Border Patrol Agents Slam Alien Amnesty

 U.S. law enforcement on the frontlines are speaking

their minds about the president’s immigration moves

 

By Mike Blair

 

US. Border Patrol agents, secretly the most outspoken critics of the Bush immigration plans, are warning that security on our borders presents a clear and increasing danger as even more illegal aliens flood into the country.

Some officers who spoke to AFP explained that they feared losing their jobs or being handed departmental reprimands if their identities were known. Their comments came in the wake of the meeting between President George W. Bush and his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox.

Speaking by telephone, a Border Patrol agent in Arizona said that this country’s immigration policy, as it pertains to Mexico and Canada, “is a farce.”

He also expressed his disillusionment with the lack of White House commitment to the work of the Border Patrol.

“We cannot even get decent vehicles to drive on our daily patrols. Many are junk and should have been put out of service years ago. Sometimes I think they would be smarter to give us horses. There is no way that we can keep the aliens out, while the highest levels of our government are pussy-footing with Mexico’s leaders and trying to snare the Hispanic vote in America. We simply do not have the time or the resources,” he said.

Another officer, on duty in southern California, echoed similar sentiments, making it clear that others shared his views. He felt there was a panacea for securing our borders:

“The military is the only answer. Only the military has the manpower that we require to get the job done. I think it was in American Free Press where I read that the U.S. taxpayers spend more money to keep secure the borders of foreign countries than they do their own.

“That being the case, our job is hopeless and keeping America safe is also hopeless. When anyone—and I do mean anyone—can enter this country without much trouble because our borders are not secured, then no one in this country, regardless of where in the country they live, is safe. Ask the families of the people who died on 9-11. They know that,” he concluded with tinge of bitterness.

The Border Patrol agents are not alone in having misgivings about the risks facing the United States from new immigration policies and a lack of serious commitment to providing greater security at U.S. borders.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who heads the Immigration Reform Caucus, says that Bush’s plans will just worsen the terrorism danger that already exists due to the massive flow of illegal aliens from poverty-stricken Mexico.

“Our borders are as porous as ever to those who wish to enter the country illegally,” he warns.

Another member of the caucus, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Virginia), advocates stationing U.S. troops on the border to support the Border Patrol.

“I think a valid point would be that the failure to enact immigration reform substantially makes us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack,” said Goode.

His comments reflect the fact that, contrary to public perceptions, there have been problems with the flow of illegal aliens in his district, tucked away in central Virginia.

OBLIVIOUS

Other concerned observers argue that the White Houses appears oblivious to the reality that the United States is running up massive trade deficits, the latest being with Mexico. Official figures show a trade imbalance of $37 billion in Mexico’s favor–and it is growing.

Some critics point to the origins of the problem beginning in 1994 when the United States had a trade surplus with Mexico. Then, along came the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Clinton and Bush administrations’ efforts to allow U.S. industry to flow south of the border, taking with it millions of American jobs.

Those same critics warn that the latest concession to allow illegal Mexican aliens—at least 8 million of them—to remain in the United States and work will rob Americans of jobs. Such a policy, they point out, will set a low ceiling on wages for menial jobs in America, further aggravating the economic situation.

Dissenting voices in the United States complain bitterly that all the concessions are one way and benefit Fox, leader of a country with high levels of poverty and endemic corruption, and with no real commitment to securing the Mexican side of the border.

In part, the flow of illegal aliens suits the Mexican economy, with millions pouring into the United States and easing the burden at home. Additionally, there is a constant flow of dollars back to Mexico from the millions of illegals in this country.

The explanation from President Bush and those who support his policies is that “America is part of the global economy.”

His critics respond that his global economy is costing millions of American jobs.