Through the ongoing debate to see who has the right to patrol this nation’s borders, the one aspect of the immigration issue lost in the shuffle is what’s being done about the long-standing barriers between Mexico and the U.S.
As the recent visit by Jim Gilchrist showed, the main argument quasi-patriots use about border security is that the U.S. Border Patrol is powerless to control the influx of “illegals” into this country. They support their stance with sound bites, claiming it’s a critical national security matter.
With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision last year to send 1,000-plus Army Reservists to patrol the southern-most border, it seems the problem has not been solved but has gotten quantifiably worse.
Nevertheless, you can’t keep a good bitch down. With “[t]he largest fence expansion in the history of the Southwest border” well underway, according to the Los Angeles Times, the government would have us believe that they are now taking a serious approach toward immigration.
With slogans such as “Formidable but not lethal; visually imposing but not ugly; durable but environmentally friendly and economically-built but not flimsy,” it seems that they are just trying to sell the latest batch of hybrid-electric SUVs.
With their new approach of, “If you can’t beat them, just slow them down,” the government seems only to be adding plates of steel to the same old cat-and-mouse game that’s been going on for decades.
The government plans to build 240-plus miles of new fencing along the U.S./Mexico border for next year alone. This is along a border that spans nearly 2,000 miles.
Amid the arguments about why immigrants should not be allowed to cross, and all the rhetoric about the borders being a national security matter, I pose this question: What is being done about the Canadian border?
The U.S. has not one but two borders. But, unlike Gilchrist, Michael Chertoff (the Homeland Security czar) would rightfully have us believe the northern-most border is more porous and a greater security risk than its cousin to the south.
It’s been proven by various FBI security tests (as reported in the National Post) that “Smuggling nukes through Canada [is] easier than Mexico.” With nearly 2,000 miles more of flat land to cross – and minus the scorching heat and rugged mountains along the southern border – the Canadian border would seem more appealing to terrorists.
Throughout history, this nation has prided itself on building bridges and knocking down barriers. Yet here it is, planning one of the longest walls in modern history. This should not be this generation’s legacy to its children.
The new plan to stop migration by building a fence is a folly. The real problem lies within current immigration laws. Why not invest the money being thrown into the fire by building bridges toward immigration reform? Why not allow people with a dream of self-improvement to come work, live and prosper in this great nation of ours?
We should all be allowed to pursue the “American Dream,” because America comprises the entire Western Hemisphere.
Si, se puede.
Mizraim Martinez is a junior computer science major and a contributing writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.
