Once a “fence” is in place however, we still have to address what must be done with the vast numbers of illegal immigrants currently living in our country.  Recent attacks on Rick Perry regarding the Texas policy of providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants provide a glimpse of the passion that surrounds this subject.

Most of what I hear coming from conservatives sounds something like:  “build the fence first, and then we’ll have a discussion about what to do with the people that are already here”.  And while our country faces issues that most would consider to be more critical at the moment (jobs, the economy, the debt and deficit), illegal immigration has a very real impact on each of these issues.  It also clearly impacts national security.

At the risk of sounding like someone who supports “comprehensive immigration reform” (gasp), I believe that we might “matriculate that ball” a little further down the field if we began to float rational, realistic ideas about what to do after we build a “fence”.  We might also create additional support and momentum for actually building the “fence”.

Personally, I don’t believe it is realistic to just say we’re going to deport them.  It simply isn’t feasible.  There are just too many people.  There are also some very real family separation issues.  And are we really going to send government agents to homes and business to demand papers, round up 12 million people, and put them on a buses?

Before anyone throws rocks in my direction, let me state that I am NOT in favor of amnesty (as defined by some small fine or penalty, and a fast track to citizenship).  It is unfair to those that followed the rules, paid their dues, and came here legally.  We tried it once, and it didn’t work.  And it is just plain wrong.

I believe that there is a much more effective set of solutions, though some will be challenging to enact, depending upon the makeup of the House and Senate.

Here are my thoughts on a set of solutions to the problem:

1.  Allow all local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to verify citizenship when making arrests for criminal offenses.  Further require all law enforcement agencies share databases and to check the arrest and conviction histories of all illegal aliens arrested for criminal offenses.

2.  Outlaw sanctuary cities/states.  (I realize that #’s 1 and 2 come with some constitutional issues, however I believe that they could be resolved and that states could be enticed to cooperate.)

3.  Deport all illegal aliens who have committed felonies

4.  Deport all illegal aliens who commit multiple DUIs, and/or who commit vehicular homicide

5.  Deport all illegal aliens with multiple drug use convictions and/or drug trafficking convictions

6.  Deport anyone who has over-stayed their Visa, after a 60-day amnesty period

7.  Require proof of citizenship for all entitlement programs (much easier said, than done, however I believe that the vast majority of Americans would support it)

8.  Improve E-verify, and then require its use by all businesses

9.  Overhaul and streamline the country’s Visa program.  It must include a requirement to “check in” with local law enforcement on a regular basis.

10.  Create a reasonable, workable, verifiable, time-limited guest worker program.  It also must include a requirement to “check in” with local law enforcement on a regular basis.

I believe that this combination of policies would entice 90+% of the illegal aliens currently here, to either a) get in the proper line for citizenship, a Visa, or a Guest Worker permit, or b) leave of their own accord.

Anybody else got any ideas?

OK, OK – we’ve all seen it.  Two young ladies climbing a section of the border fence in 18 seconds.  I’m sure they rushed back to campus, uploaded their video to YouTube and hurried out to make Ladies Night with their sorority sisters, confident that they had struck a blow for human rights.  I’ll bet they even got an “A” from their Ethics professor on their project.  I have witnessed similar naivete and less-than-critical thinking from my 22-yr old daughter who is finishing her undergraduate studies in Art, of all things, at a state school here in Texas.

Having watched this video several times, there were some things that struck me:

These were two apparently very healthy young women.  They weren’t malnourished, overweight, or out-of-shape.

They weren’t accompanied by any babies, small children, or elderly people.

They weren’t carrying anything – no backpacks or bags with water, food, clothes or other provisions.  I’m guessing that they also weren’t carrying any narcotics or guns.

In the video, it appeared to be a beautiful day.  It wasn’t raining.  It wasn’t a bone-chillingly cold January night or brutally hot August day, as can be the case here in the desert southwest.

They simply climbed up one side of the fence – they didn’t struggle to maneuver their bodies over the top of the fence and down the other side – a much more formidable task.

And while the video doesn’t document what they did prior to climbing the fence, I strongly suspect that they didn’t walk tens of miles through the desert or spend several nights sleeping on the ground, prior to reaching the border.

Obviously, my point is that the task that these young ladies are demonstrating in their video is in no way indicative of what is typical when immigrants cross our southern border illegally.  This video is dangerous because it attempts to trivialize the discussion about the effectiveness of the border fence.

There are only two types of people who contend that a complete, well-constructed, well-maintained, continuously-monitored, modern fence won’t help reduce the amount of people crossing our borders illegally:

1.       The people that watch this video, take it at face value, put no critical thought into the issue, and conclude that a fence is a waste of money.  Useful idiots.

2.       The people who know how effective a proper fence will be and who, for whatever reason, do not wish to see a reduction in illegal immigration.

At the beginning of the video, the producer states that the cost of the border fence averages $4 million per mile and poses the question:  “Is it worth the expense”. 

There is broad disagreement on the costs of illegal immigration.  There are no agreed-upon set of assumptions and the numbers vary widely, depending upon who conducts the study and their underlying agenda.

Even so, any rational person would agree that the direct costs of illegal immigration are huge:

• Homeland Security – US Border Patrol/ICE/ATF/DEA
• Social services at the federal and state levels – Welfare/Unemployment/Food Stamps/CHIP/Medicare/Social Security/Medicaid/housing subsidies
• Education costs at the federal and state levels for illegal immigrants and their children
• Earned Income Credit for low-income tax filing illegal immigrants
• Incarceration costs for illegal immigrants
• State and local police costs associated with crimes committed by illegal immigrants

There are significant indirect costs as well:

• Medical costs for uninsured illegal immigrants born by public and private hospitals resulting in increased costs to their insured patients
• Increased automobile insurance costs to cover the large number of illegal immigrants driving uninsured motor vehicles
• Artificially lower wages for US citizens driven down by large numbers of illegal immigrants

Clearly, many illegal immigrants do pay some taxes:

• State sales taxes on purchases
• Social Security and Medicare, if they produced forged documents to obtain W-2 status
• Property taxes, if they own a home
• State income taxes

To be intellectually honest, one must deduct from the costs that illegal immigrants generate, the amount that they contribute back into the system.  The challenge of accurately estimating all of these costs is daunting and anyone with an agenda can find a set of numbers to support their case.   Given my agenda – that of a secure border and a re-vamped immigration policy that includes a temporary worker program – I will use the July, 2010 study by FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform)

http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/USCostStudy_2010.pdf?docID=4921

which states that illegal immigration costs US taxpayers $113 billion annually, at the federal, state and local levels.  This equates to a cost of $1,117 for each native-headed household in the United States.

Unfortunately, there are also some very real human costs associated with illegal immigration.  Each year, illegal immigrants are responsible for thousands of violent crimes in the United States, including assault, rape, child molestation, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and murder.  The federal government does not track crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants, however deaths caused by illegal immigrants in the United States are estimated to be in the range of 2,000-4,000 annually.

Back to the fence-climbing video producer’s question:  Is the $4 million per mile worth the expense?

All things considered – YES!

I didn’t go to Senator Kennedy’s funeral. I attended another one instead. Actually, the funeral I attended was on Friday – the day before Senator Kennedy’s.

The funeral I attended was for Staff Sergeant Clayton P. Bowen, 29 of San Antonio, Texas. SSG Bowen and another soldier, Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23 of Chapel Hill, N.C. were killed on Aug. 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. SSG Bowen’s funeral was held at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

I am proud to ride motorcycles with an interesting assortment of individuals called the Patriot Guard Riders (“www.patriotguard.org”). We attend funerals to honor current and former members of United States Military. Most of us are veterans. Some still serve on active duty. Many are just caring civilians who want to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of veterans.

I happened to be listening to my IPOD while riding in SSG Bowen’s funeral procession. As we approached the National Cemetery at Ft. Sam, I heard Johnny Cash’s rendition of the Tom Petty song “I won’t back down”. You’ve probably heard the song – it goes “Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down. You can stand me up at the gates of hell but I wont back down.”

As I listened to those lyrics, I started to think about the type of service that SSG Bowen and his comrades render to our country. I started to contrast SSG Bowen’s service to that of Senator Kennedy’s.

I have never been a fan of Senator Kennedy’s politics; however it was clear that he was widely respected as a senator and legislator. Over the last several days, I have heard and read numerous stories about his illustrious career in the United States Senate. Fellow senators and pundits have lined up to offer stories and anecdotes about Senator Kennedy’s legislative skills. Senator Kennedy seemed to be singularly adept at the art of reaching across the aisle and working with Republicans in order to get “important” legislation passed. All to often, in my opinion, it lead to incrementally larger government, higher taxes, and redistribution of wealth, but politics aside, Senator Kennedy provided long and outstanding service to the country.

As I rode past the white gravestones of the Ft. Sam National Cemetery, it struck me that Senator Kennedy’s service was of a different kind than SSG Bowen’s. Senator Kennedy’s service involved suits and ties and press conferences. SSG Bowen’s service involved desert camouflage and after actions reports. Senator Kennedy took tax payer-funded congressional junkets to Europe and South America. SSG Bowen travelled to and around Afghanistan on C-130s and UH-60’s, also at the expense of the taxpayer. Senator Kennedy held power lunches in fancy restaurants and attended cocktail parties with the Washington elite. SSG Bowen ate MREs heated up on the hood of a HUMVEE while dreaming of the next opportunity he’d have to share a beer with the guys in his platoon. Senator Kennedy was born into a wealthy and privileged family and didn’t seem to have to take responsibility when he strayed off the straight and narrow. SSG Bowen was born into a middle class family and like his comrades, had to answer to the Code of Conduct and the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Senator Kennedy devoted most of his long life to the senate. SSG Bowen selflessly gave his short life to his countrymen. Senator Kennedy was famous for compromising with the opposition in order to pass legislation. Just like in the song, SSG Bowen stood at the gates of hell and never backed down.

People serve in their own manner. Police, firefighters and first responders do their thing each and every day, 24/7/365. Rarely do we show them the appreciation they deserve. Volunteer poll workers, most often senior citizens, do a thankless job, but one critical to our democracy. Every day, millions of caring people volunteer their time at hospitals, rest homes, meals on wheels, churches, civic organizations, etc. Selfless service to others is one of the things that truly separates our country from so many others.

But as I watch the countless hours devoted to memorializing the service of a career politician, I can’t help but think that some of that attention and adoration might be misplaced.

SSG Bowen stood at the gates of hell and he didn’t back down. His comrades are standing there right now. As I tuck my children into bed each night, I thank God that they won’t back down either.