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The Obama administration is naming a former Justice Department official, Alan Bersin, to tackle drug-related violence and illegal immigration problems plaguing the U.S. border with Mexico.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is expected to make the announcement during a visit to El Paso, Texas. Outsiders have dubbed the post a “border czar.”
“Right now our goals are two-fold. No. 1 is to prevent people at the border from entering this country illegally and No. 2 is to play a part in assisting the Mexican government in its crackdown on the drug cartels,” the source said. “That will be the primary function of this new position.”
The announcement is scheduled to take place one day before President Barack Obama is to embark on a trip to Mexico, where issues of drug violence south of the U.S. border are expected to be at the top of the agenda…
Bersin was criticized by some immigrant groups for his role in Operation Gatekeeper, a federal government operation to crack down on illegal immigration along the westernmost portion of the U.S.-Mexico border. The program was a success at reducing uncontrolled immigration through that area, but immigrants and human smugglers shifted to the east. Some blame the program for increases in immigrant deaths in the desert and on highways.
People are responsible for their own self-destructive acts. It has nothing to do with law enforcement.
Why name a “Border Czar” when you don’t really want a secure border?
Bank Bailouts.
Foreign Occupations.
No new energy policy (or did I miss it?)
War on Drugs.
No prosecution against prior admin.
No transparency.
Optimistic Budget Assumptions.
Its going to be hard for Obama to distinguish himself from all our other bought and paid for political “leaders.”
Hope dims.
I hate this already.
The BORDER is the wrong focus.
The problem is EMPLOYERS who want cheap, illegal labor.
If you don’t stop illegal employment, illegal workers will come, over the southern border or not.
# 3 Greg Allen said, “If you don’t stop illegal employment, illegal workers will come, over the southern border or not.”
Do you remember Ike’s program that worked?
Paddy,
Are you talking about the quest worker programs?
They “worked” as far as providing cheap labor. But they were highly abusive of foreign workers.
The memory of those abuses is why many liberals are against a new guest worker visa program.
As for me, I think it COULD work, if lots of safeguards for the workers are enforced.
I just Googled it, I think it was called the bracero program — but that pre-dates Ike.
# 5 Greg Allen said, “Paddy, Are you talking about the quest worker programs? ”
No. Here’s a quick synopsis: http://csmonitor.com/2006/0706/p09s01-coop.html
>> People are responsible for their own self-destructive acts. It has nothing to do with law enforcement.
Are the poor responsible for incompetent governments that drive their people to choose between starving to death or risking a border crossing?
Paddy,
I’ll check your link later. (seriously) But I need to get to some real work!
Have a nice day — despite the taxes!
Greg
#9 Have a good one. Tax Freedom day this year was April 13th.
What’s up with this Czar crap? You’d think we live in Russia or something. Friggin’ Obama!
This guy is a hack pol. But who better than a school board superintendent to guard your boarder.
Another brilliant recent appointment by O’Mama
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2229361/posts
It’s funny, but the problem with illegal immigrants and drugs from Mexico stem from the same problem: demand.
Nothing will be solved until we as a nation decide what we want: Cheap food, cheap houses, cheap roads, all thanks to illegals working below minimum wage, or a closed border with no illegals, and more expensive food, houses, and roads, all work done by Americans being paid higher wages than the illegals.
And drugs… we have to decide whether we’re going to continue this fruitless prohibition of the more harmless illegal drugs like pot, thus providing more employment to drug lords, or legalize pot and tax it and let people grow it like the huge cash crop it already is.
Either way, America. Make up your mind. And most of us are lucky enough not to live near the border that’s in chaos because of our inability to make up our national mind.
#7, Paddy-O
That is an excellent link! Specially the section “Border Patrol vets offer tips on curbing illegal immigration”.
All the answers to immigration are there, with the possible exception of what to do about children born in the US to illegal parents.
#15 Thanks. Can’t take credit though. A friend who worked in the area back then tipped me off.
You know, Obama put up a website to collect ideas that are workable. Do you think he’d use a proven solution to a huge problem this country has? I’ll post it.
Anyone want to lay odds on whether Obama REALLY wants workable solutions to our problems?
I used to spend about $1000 /year across the border (in the U.S.). too much of a hassle now. I wonder ho much this border debacle is really costing your country?
#16, Paddy-O
No thanks, that’s a sure loss for me.
Does anyone have any idea about what to do with the legal children of illegal aliens? I remember this was a huge problem with deportation.
Kick out the parents and put the kids in orphanages? Foster care? Allow parents with legal children to stay?
I have Alan Bersin for $7500 in the “Obama’s Guys Back Taxes Pool“.
# 18 Ah_Yea said, “Does anyone have any idea about what to do with the legal children of illegal aliens? I remember this was a huge problem with deportation.”
Under current law they can stay with legal relatives (if any) or, go with their parents and return when adults.
It’s best to stay with parents. Long term, we need a Constitutional Amendment to plug that hole.
#19 LOL!
And when are they going to go after the US drug cartels….Pfizer, Merck, et al?
Oh, sorry, wrong drugs.
And what about descendants of those illegal aliens Sir Walter Raleigh et al?
Oh, sorry, wrong illegals.
#20–Paddy==you are in rare form today. Good job.
#22–Dave==I don’t think our Native Americans had laws against immigration back in the day. Just a little bit too much liberal guilt?
The anchor baby issue is not a hole in the Constitution that needs to be plugged, it is the holes in the fence that need to be plugged.
Well, it’s done. I’ve sent the proven, workable solution to Obama. I’m giving 100:1 that he won’t go for it but rather, muff it badly.
Taking bets.
#24, yep.
Seal the border.
Designate 10 (or 15 or 20..) border crossings on the Mexican border where people have a non-lethal chance to cross the border.
Everywhere else on the border make it lethal to cross for everyone – alien, legal, citizen, pets. Anything. The only non lethal force option should be at the designated crossings.
Have signs in Mexico 10 miles from the border warning what will happen if they approach the US border and give directions to the nearest “non lethal legal crossing”.
17, Ironically, if you just walked across illegally you would have less paperwork, and about the same chance of getting into trouble.
I agree with those who say we should change the rule that makes anyone born here a citizen regardless of parentage. That worked when we were a growing country, but now we’re a mature one and we should have different rules.
Paddy-O, don’t fool yourself. There are plenty of proven, workable solutions. We as a country just have to decide which one to take. But each has its downside that we seemingly aren’t willing to accept. For example: Seal the border, put a huge wall up, spend billions on it, levy huge fines on employers who hire illegals. Simple. But expensive, not only for building the wall and keeping the border patrol there, but now all the employers have to hire Americans to do the shit jobs the illegals used to do for less than minimum wage, and prices will shoot up.
Face it, Americans don’t care who makes their stuff or where as long as they can get it cheap. The abstract good of “keeping out illegals” will lose out to “buy stuff cheap” every time. We know this, but we aren’t willing to admit it to ourselves.
How about this: we ask people, “Are you willing to keep out illegal immigrants if it means the produce you buy will double or triple in price?”
The problem isn’t illegal immigrants or illegal drugs coming in, it’s our addiction to both that’s the problem.
# 30 Phydeau said, “I agree with those who say we should change the rule that makes anyone born here a citizen regardless of parentage. That worked when we were a growing country,”
Yep, back when we were primarily agrarian and underpopulated it was needed. Circumstances change. It is a problem of willingness, nothing else…