7.13.2014
Understanding Illegal Immigration
Like most Americans, I believe that the fact that we are a nation of immigrants is what makes the U.S. the best place to live in the world. As cultures from all over the world have mixed and mingled in this country for over 200 years, the best of each culture eventually gets incorporated into the American lifestyle. That mix strengthens our society, our culture, and our nation. It is a large part of what makes America the greatest nation on earth.
The best argument I have ever heard for illegal immigration was two sentences long. About 1997 I was having a beer after work with a friend of mine who had come into this country illegally and had since obtained a green card. I asked him why he had taken the risk to come to this country illegally. He stated “ In Mexico I can work all week and not have enough money left to buy a pair of shoes. Here I can buy a pair of shoes with one hours wages.” At that time my friend was making about $12 an hour. That’s about what a pair of shoes cost in Kmart in 1997.
Like most illegal immigrants he is caught between all the problems in Mexico and a broken immigration policy in the United States. I have broached this question with several other friends of mine that came to this country illegally, and they all have pretty much the same comments. They are all good people, and the immigrants (both legal and illegal) that I have worked with and been friends with are all honest, hard working people who just want to have a decent life. They also understand the problems that illegal immigration is causing in both Mexico and the United States. They all realize how much illegal immigration costs the American taxpayer, and they realize the problems a porous border causes. They all know that there are criminals and drug runners that cross the border every day along with honest people seeking a better life. Yet their argument is very sound. I have had illegal immigrants ask me “If you were in my place, what would you do?” And I have to admit, if I had the choice of living in the poverty and fear of Mexico or the relative prosperity and safety of the United States, I know what I would choose and where I would want my loved ones to live.
America’s immigration process is absurdly long and ponderous. If we had a more efficient immigration system the problems of illegal immigration could be greatly reduced. Yet our immigration policy is actually very liberal compared to most countries in the world. One of the most hypocritical aspects of the illegal immigration issue is the attitude and policies the country of Mexico has toward immigrants into Mexico from other Latin American countries. Mexico enforces some of the harshest immigration laws in the Western Hemisphere, and quickly imprisons or deports anyone caught in their country without legal status. Yet the same elected officials of Mexico that create and enforce these laws in Mexico scream bigotry and injustice if America enforces its own sovereignty and laws. The government of Mexico continually insists that America allow open access to America’s resources regardless of a persons legal status, while sealing their borders and enforcing strict and severe immigration laws in Mexico. With our self-serving politicians in the U.S. turning a blind eye to the illegal immigration, Mexico is able to maintain a double standard, benefiting from both sides of the immigration issue while America continues to suffer the problems of a poorly secured border, and other Latin American countries continue to suffer in greater poverty as Mexico will not open its job market to them. It appears that the government of Mexico is pulling a favorite trick of the Party Nazi’s, calling everyone else a racist and a bigot while being the real racists and bigots themselves.
The truth about illegal immigration is that none of the politicians care about the immigrants. The George Bush Republicans want to allow illegal immigration because their big business friends can make loads of money off cheap labor, while having a large enough workforce to suppress unions and keep wages down. The Democrats all want illegal immigration to continue because they believe that eventually the immigrants will become legal and vote for Democrats, and many Democrats receive money from employers that benefit from the effects of a large, cheap work force. Even the Mexican government is perfectly content to allow illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. to continue, as income sent to Mexico from the U.S. Is now the single largest source of revenue in Mexico. They do not care how much danger their citizens are in crossing the border and dealing with all the criminals, human smugglers and hardships it takes to get into the U.S., as long as they continue to send money back to Mexico. This is shameful.
If any politicians in the U.S., Mexico or any other country cared about the plight of illegal immigrants they would work to help Mexico and other countries becomes safe and prosperous so that their own citizens can make a decent living in the country they where their families and loved ones are. Instead our politicians are perfectly content to allow human trafficking, the dangers of illegal immigration and the problems it causes to continue to fester on both sides of the border. And the Mexican government doesn’t want to help their own citizens because they get a free boost to their economy with no investment by the government or the wealthy upper class in Mexico.
The Problems of Illegal Immigration
The reasons for illegal immigration are obvious, but the costs to America are severe. Illegals are generally at an incredible disadvantage. This is due to such problems as language and cultural barriers, lack of saleable skills, bigotry and all the challenges that legal immigrants may face, along with the fact that they must live under the radar to avoid arrest and deportation. If they cannot find work that pays enough to live on, they must often rely on free government services for some or all of their needs. Annually hospital bills unpaid by illegals cost American taxpayers billions, the cost of other social services are equally outrageous. Add this to the costs of bilingual education, other additional expenses schools must absorb and all other services used by illegal immigrants, and the costs are in the ten’s or hundreds of billions. Additional expenses are incurred in law enforcement and prisons if an illegal immigrant is arrested. This is one of the primary reasons for the budget problems of the southwestern border states. The overall net effect is a burden on the American taxpayer that he can no longer afford.
Another problem of an unsecured border is the passage of criminals and illegal contraband. This is most notable in the amount of illegal drugs that come into the US from Mexico, and the guns and stolen vehicles that get into Mexico from the U.S. This hurts both countries. There have been so many gang members come into the U.S. through Mexico that the Latino gang MS13 now dwarfs both the Bloods and the crypts in sheer numbers in Los Angeles. Large gang populations of any kind destroy neighborhoods and ruins lives. In the case of MS-13, one of the most violent and powerful gangs in North Carolina, federal authorities estimate that “approximately 90 percent of U.S. MS-13 members are foreign-born illegal aliens and depend upon the Texas-Mexico border smuggling corridor to support their criminal operations. Over 25% of today’s federal prison population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country, 12% of felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by illegal aliens.” In Los Angeles, 95% of outstanding warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the outstanding fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens. These are people that are selling drugs to school children, committing all sorts of violent crimes and are engaging in many other criminal activities. America has enough of it’s own problems, we don’t need to allow in criminals form other countries to cause us more.
Our poorly guarded border presents an even more deadly problem for Mexico and its citizens. It facilitates any easy flow of guns, stolen cars, cash and other things the drug cartels covet and need to continue their reign of terror in Mexico. While securing the border would choke off this lifeline of goods and cash to the cartels, our politicians put their own self interests ahead of the best interests of citizens of both countries.
George Bush and Barak Obama, among others, have often made the statement “…(illegal immigrants) are doing jobs that Americans won’t do”. This statement is a cop-out and a lie. I have done hard physical work most of my life, and it started before high school. I will bet that I did more hard blue collar work before I was 20 than both George Bush and Barak Obama have done in their entire lives. Who are they to tell us what Americans will or will not do? The fact is Americans will, and always have, done whatever is needed and necessary. America was built on hard work and ingenuity, and neither can prosper without the other. What Americans won’t do is work their butts off for sub-poverty level wages, because we believe that the labor of each individual has value, and we know that in a country as wealthy as the U.S. there is no good reason that anyone willing to work cannot be able to make a decent living. This is more than I can say for anyone who would make the above statement, including both Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama.
Overall an unsecured border and illegal immigration are a net financial negative for the average American taxpayer. While illegal immigrants do usually work and pay taxes, many work under the table, and the overall amount of taxes paid by illegals does not offset the cost to American taxpayers. In 2009 the L.A. Times Reported that illegal immigration costs California at least $5 billion a year. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated the costs in 2011 to be over $21 billion in California and $113 billion nationally. The real number probably lies somewhere in between, but either way it is too much. This does not take into account the fact that billions of American dollars every year go to Mexico from the US. If those dollars were spent in the US they would generate badly needed tax revenue and jobs.
Is There a Solution?
The problem with the dependency Mexico has developed on money from the US as its largest form of income is that it is less likely to develop the jobs and human resources that a country needs to become self sufficient. Illegal immigration is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole, it helps hide the problem but the real hemorrhaging continues underneath. The best solution to illegal immigration would help the Mexican people to have a peaceful and prosperous life in Mexico. Right now, the choices for the average Mexican citizen are both negatives. Either live in a country that is run by corrupt politicians and criminals, or risk the problems and hardships of illegal immigration. Wouldn’t better choices be either to have a safe existence making a decent living in Mexico, or coming to the U.S. legally and unencumbered by the burden of illegality if that is your desire?
The biggest problems Mexico faces in becoming a viable economic world power are the wealth and power of the drug cartels and the corruption within their own government, much of it caused by cartel money. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that wholesale earnings from illicit drug sales range from $13.6 billion to $48.4 billion annually. A large portion of this belongs to the drug cartels in Mexico. This has resulted in the cartels infecting nearly every facet of life in Mexico through fear and violence, and the problem is quickly seeping across the border into the US as these cartels engage not only in smuggling and distributing illegal drugs, but any other criminal activity that they can profit from.
Unfortunately, legalizing drugs alone will not stop these cartels, as they are not just drug dealers, but are complex and highly organized crime cartels, involved in all aspects of organized crime including kidnapping, extortion, slavery, auto theft, murder for hire and every other type of vile crime. The drugs are where they get most of their money now, but unless they are extinguished permanently they will continue to wreak havoc on the people of Mexico. Stopping prohibition did slow down organized crime in the U.S., but the criminals found other ways to make illegal profits.
Enforcing laws that would criminally prosecute employers for hiring illegals would definitely be a deterrent to illegal immigrants that are coming to the U.S. to find honest employment, but it would mean nothing to the gang members and criminal cartels. These criminals would continue to conduct their brutal activities on both sides of the border. Sealing the border, legalizing drugs and prosecuting employers will not solve this problem. These actions may make a difference in the U.S., but the people of Mexico would continue to suffer under the tyranny of these cartels, and would only encourage anyone who can leave Mexico to get out. If not to the U.S. then to somewhere else. This would have the effect of the most educated, capable and prosperous leaving, further hampering Mexico’s ability to compete in the global market and create a better life for its citizens.
Per the BBC –
“Five years ago, Mexico President Felipe Calderon launched a war on drug cartels. Since then at least 40,000 people have been killed in drug-related crimes, according to official figures. But the government stopped updating its total figure at the end of 2010, making it difficult to track progress in 2011. Political scientist Eduardo Guerrero puts the total at 47,500, if deaths reported in the newspapers this year are included. Others believe the government has been too narrow in its definitions and the total could be approaching 60,000.”
The regrettable truth is, that the only way the people of Mexico will ever be given a chance to prosper in their own country is to eradicate the cartels in Mexico. This would require fighting an effective war against these cartels. The government of Mexico has obviously failed in their efforts to enforce their laws and suppress these cartels. It will require a joint effort between United States and the Government of Mexico to accomplish this task. The current efforts by both governments are completely ineffective and are getting virtually no results in solving the problem. The U.S. government spends billions each year and stops only a small percentage of the illegal drugs that cross our borders.
The cartels presents an enemy that is extremely vicious, barbarically brutal, and willing to do anything to enhance their power and wealth. This is an enemy that has slaughtered tens of thousands of innocent people and has committed some of the most heinous and vile acts of torture, body mutilation and mayhem ever seen in a civilized nation. This is not a battle that can be fought as a police action or as domestic law enforcement would fight a common criminal. This battle would need to be fought as a war on terror if this evil is to be eradicated. This will require the co-operation of both the American and Mexican military and law enforcement to find these vicious animals wherever they are hiding. This will also require a combined effort by both governments to secure the border from both sides, as to cripple both the flow of guns and munitions into Mexico and the flow of drugs from Mexico into the U.S. It will also require a combined effort by military and police to provide safety for honest citizens on both sides of the border, as the drug cartels will no doubt step their attempts at mass murder and mayhem in both countries when they are under pressure from the military and law enforcement agencies of 2 governments.
Unfortunately politicians on both sides of the border are unwilling to do this. The reason the Mexican government cannot win this battle alone is because they do not have the resources, and because cartel money supports so much corruption in Mexico that the government has basically become dysfunctional. On the other hand American politicians are such political cowards that they will not take on this very complex problem in an effective way. Most of our politicians are so worried about being politically correct that they will not take the steps necessary to protect innocent lives. They continue to keep our border poorly enforced and law enforcement understaffed and unable to wage an effective fight against these cartels. To some politicians it seems that it is more important to respect the rights of terrorists and criminals than to respect the rights and lives of our law enforcement agents and innocent civilians.
Whether we want to be or not, we are in a war with the criminal cartels in Mexico . They are perfectly content to destroy millions of lives in both Mexico and the U.S. as long as they can profit from it. If the people of Mexico are ever to have a chance at a decent and prosperous life in their own country, they need to enjoy the freedom from fear that we enjoy here in America.
Common sense tell us that the only way to solve this problem is to take action. I believe these actions should include –
– Legalize ‘softer” drugs, primarily marijuana. This is the largest cash crop for the cartels and the least harmful of currently illegal drugs. Most people that know anything about marijuana would agree it is less harmful than alcohol. This would take a lot of revenue from the cartels, and if it were taxed heavily in the U.S. it would still be cheaper as a legal substance than it is today as an illegal drug, and the taxes could be spent fighting the war on the cartels.
– Streamline immigration laws, bring the immigration process into a reasonable time frame, so it encourages the legal immigration process.
– Secure the border. This will greatly slow the flow of guns, money, stolen vehicles and other contraband from the U.S. to the cartels in Mexico. It will also make it easier to stop the flow of illegal drugs and contraband into the U.S. from Mexico.
– Prosecute employers that hire illegals. This would discourage illegal immigration, encourage use of the legal immigration process and allow law enforcement personnel at the border to concentrate on stopping drugs and criminals.
– Destroy the criminal cartels in and their affiliates in both countries. This would require treating them as enemy combatants or terrorists, rather than common criminals, on both sides of the border.
– Help to stimulate the Mexican economy. The Bush Free Trade agreement is in place, and while it is having a severe negative effect on American jobs, it should help the economies of Latin America. (I am not in favor of NAFTA, but perhaps it will have a positive effect in stemming the need to come to America to get decent work). It may do well if we can secure the border and get illegal human trafficking, gun running and drug traffic across the border reduced to a minimum.
If we can elect politicians with the courage to take these actions, we can improve the lives of both the people in Mexico and the U.S. This would be the first step in helping Mexico become a viable economic power. If that can be accomplished illegal immigration will no longer be a problem for either country. Without the influence of the Cartels, Mexico could be a safe, prosperous and welcoming country. It would be interesting to see how many Americans would then immigrate to Mexico to live and work.
usgovinfo.about.com/od/immigrationnaturalizatio/a/caillegals.htm
articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/02/local/me-cap2
www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/19/welfare-tab-children-illegal-immigrants-estimated-m-la-county/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16111475
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War
druglibrary.net/schaffer/Library/basicfax.htm#q7
www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary.html