Friday, December 8, 2006

New Mexico fence

It was realeased yesterday that New Mexico Governor Richardson proposed increasing security along the U.S. Mexico border instead of building a fence. While the fence always seemed like a bad idea the increased security seems like an expensive idea.

What the fence would do is that once immigrants cut hole in the fence, future immigrants would use the same holes (in all likelihood) making it easier to catch them.

The one big problem is that we still have a giant revolving door on the U.S. / Mexico border. They come across, we send them back. They come across again, we send them back again. The idea of sending back illegal immigrants / undocumented workers really isn't a solution.

What needs to happen is the economy of Mexico has to be improved to provide jobs for all the "undocumented workers". Or that we have to expand NAFTA do allow workers from one of the three nations work in any other of the three nations - the way that the E.U. does.

Its not that I'm unsympathetic. My father's parents came from Sicily. My mother's parents came from Cuba. My parents met in New York City. My problem is that the people don't want to immigrate "the right way".

This is where imprisoning them on one of the Pacific Islands we captured during WW2 might be useful - although its a decidedly British tact. But there are people with much more to loose than I have.

take care,

Jay

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