Of Border States and Illegal Immigration

When we live in Illinois we hardly hear about the issue of illegal immigration unless, of course, there is a massive march in favor of illegal immigration in Chicago. There are occasional stories, but nothing like the daily recital that you get from the Arizona media.

Did you know that, according to the Associated Press  (March 5, 2008), a new study concludes that illegal immigration is costing border counties millions of dollars yearly? This is money that could be used for the health and well being of the local citizenry, but instead border counties have to spend this money on things like law enforcement and criminal prosecutions related to illegal immigration. Studies showed that costs increased 39% to 26.6 million in fiscal 2006. That’s in addition to monies that state and local municipalities spend on education, health care, welfare, etc. for illegal immigrants.

In the health area friends in Tucson tell us that local hospitals turn away US citizens because immigrants coming over the border just for health care overburden them. In the Phoenix metro area hospitals financially strapped by “free” emergency room care are closing down. An illegal immigrant (without insurance) was seriously injured and had a broken back among other injuries sustained in a single vehicle motorcycle accident. The US government (that’s US folks) provided free medical care, including numerous surgeries mending broken limbs and back. Unfortunately her injuries were so serious she’ll never walk again. After stabilizing the patient they sent her back to her family in Mexico. The family’s reaction; anger that the US sent her back. Not gratitude for the surgeries that saved her life. Mexico is supposed to have free medical care for its citizens so why was the family angry. Who knows?

Mayor Phil Gordon (Democrat) of Phoenix decided it should no longer be a sanctuary city. My first response was to thank Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but it turns out I was wrong. Pressure from the police union did the trick. Turns out that an illegal immigrant who had been stopped several months before for a traffic violation murdered a police officer. In spite of his status under sanctuary laws he had to be released for the traffic violation. Two months later he murdered a Phoenix police officer. Needless to say the unions got on Gordon’s back, but opponents of Gordon’s move said that illegals afraid of officials finding out their status won’t turn in criminals so Gordon modified the law. You won’t be asked your citizenship status if you turn in a criminal only if you are a criminal. 

Felonies are routinely committed by illegals that slip back over the border. If they’re caught, they’re released or deported and come back to commit other crimes. Mexican laws make it hard to extradite them and we the people are the victims again and again. Coyotes (that’s human and drug smugglers to the uninitiated). shot at our border patrol and terrorize border town citizens. They even shot at each other as they move their contraband away from the border. Citizens of Tucson, and other cities along the interstates have endured shootouts at local gas stations, Circle K’s and in their own back yards. Innocent victims of border criminals. The Governor of Arizona, Democrat Janet Napolitano’s. Response: To call for the banning of firearm ownership by citizens of Arizona. Nowhere in Napolitano’s request for changing Arizona gun laws was there a way to prevent border criminals from bringing guns in and using them against other border criminals, US citizens or illegal immigrants And, of course, our border patrol agents are constantly the victims of violence either through cross border shootings, stoning and intimidation. Sometimes their adversaries are coyotes other times it’s the Mexican Army. At all times it’s connected to Mexican gangs and drug lords.

Meanwhile Arizona is really enforcing e-verify. Illegal immigrants are moving out of Arizona and settling in other states like New Mexico and Texas. As a result, school enrollment is going down and schools are being closed. Education costs are coming down and the taxpayers can possibly breath a sign of relief. Cause for celebration right? Wrong. The education unions are livid. And, the beat goes on.

And. For all our efforts it’s not working perfectly. Safe houses are constantly being found and shut down usually on the western edge of the Phoenix metro area. Three houses were closed in one weekend in the Phoenix area alone. In one a 5-bedroom, they found 88 illegals and a few coyotes. In another they found 55. A couple moving into a house in the Western valley found illegals stashed there. They alerted the police. 

I know I’ve told a lot of you other stories such as sewage coming over from Mexico and polluting rivers on the American side. The Mexican government refuses to do anything about it so the US taxpayer will have to foot the bill for a larger sewage treatment plant so that the citizens of Tucson aren’t exposed to raw sewage. Or the pedophiles that come over the border to molest American children and then slip back to their sanctuary in Mexico. How long Democrats and Republicans will put up with this abuse of American citizens is beyond me. The Democrats do it because they’re catering to the Hispanic vote (in a lot of states you don’t have to have proof of citizenship to be registered to vote.), and the Republicans are catering to businessmen who want the cheap labor. At least on the Republican side it isn’t a prerequisite to belonging to the party. I know a lot of Republicans who oppose illegal immigration. Key members of Congress like Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo are opposed to illegal immigration. In Illinois we have good guys like Jim Oberweis and Peter Roskam. As for the rest, they’re idiots.

Is the water hot enough for you yet?