An short essay
on the current illegal immigration problem.
By Lester
Townsend
There has been a lot of
discussion on the subject of illegal immigration recently, with a
clamoring for a wall to be built along the Mexican border. The wall is
a necessary first step to correct the current problem, but much more,
than simply building a wall, must be done. In 1986 we supposedly
addressed this problem by granting amnesty to what is now stated to
have been 3 million illegal aliens ( the actual number was probably
much higher ). Because of this amnesty we now have what is reported to
be another 12 million illegal aliens ( the actual number is probably
around 20 million ).
The current situation has an
understaffed and underpaid Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service
( ICE ), rounding up and shipping back to Mexico, less
than 1/2 million illegal immigrants every year. Yes the ICE is
underpaid ( the ICE pay scales are the lowest of all Federal Agencies ).
The current situation is like a
homemaker who constantly cleans up cobwebs from her house. What she
needs to do is solve the problem at its source. She needs to kill the
spider.
We need to consider the reason
that millions of Mexicans are moving to this country. Any long term
solution must address the fact, that people will leave a country where
they have no hope of bettering their economic situation, and no way to
provide a better future for their children.
The economy in Mexico is
basically a feudal system where all property and wealth is controlled
by a very small aristocracy. The average Mexican is effectively
prohibited from owning property. With no way to own their own business,
farm, or other property, there is no way to accumulate wealth. The
system consigns the average Mexican to a life of serfdom, with no
expectation of anything other than more of the same for themselves and
their children.
Property in Mexico is owned by
the government, communist style collective farms or very wealthy
Mexican individuals. This situation leaves no easy way for the average
worker or farmer to better his lot. Mexico has a system called ejido property which gives the farmers the right to a beneficial interest
in land that they do not own. This system effectively ties them to
the land as serfs. Please do an Internet search on the term ejido
property to research this situation.
When you research the ejido
property situation in Mexico, you will see that the Mexican
Constitution prohibits foreign nationals from owning property close to
the borders or coasts. These ejido properties also prohibit the Mexican
people from owning their own plot of land. This situation has driven
millions of immigrants to the United States from Mexico.
There supposedly have been
efforts to address this situation in recent years, but these efforts
are a bad joke, when a person considers how the Mexican economy works.
Any attempt to convert ejido property to private property would require
approval of a large number of officials, who would have to be bribed.
The government pay structure for civil servants and police is very low,
and does not pay a living wage (those at the top do very well). This is
done because government employees are expected to make up, any
shortfall in income, with bribes. Conceptually this is similar to our
system of compensation waiters and waitresses with tips. The big
difference is that tips are legal. The cost of the bribes needed to
convert ejido property to private property effectively prohibits the
average Mexican from being able to own property.
Any effort to pay a reasonable
wage would require a substantial increase in the amount of taxes on
income and/or property. This increase would fall on the aristocracy
which controls most of the income, wealth, and property in Mexico. This
concentration of wealth creates a situation where there is massive
corruption and a general lack of meaningful development of the
countries infrastructure. The corruption occurs because the
bureaucrats and public officials are not paid a living wage. The
failure to pay a living wage occurs because the Mexican Aristocracy is
not willing to be subject to the taxes necessary to finance the
government. The rich would rather tolerate the corruption, and live in
walled haciendas, than pay a higher rate of tax.
The economic situation in Mexico
is basically intolerable for the average worker or farmer, and as a
result they move to the United States. Since we will not accept 20
million legal immigrants, we have that many illegal immigrants. This
failure to control our border is intolerable for us, as a sovereign
nation.
We must act to force the Mexican
government and people, to solve their underlying problems. We must
force them to kill the Mexican Spider so we can stop sweeping up
cobwebs. Basic steps to address this situation would include the
following.
We must build a wall across the
entire border with Mexico, and staff the barrier with sufficient
military ( National Guard ) and police ( Border Patrol ) forces to stop
all illegal crossing of the border. We must also guard our other
borders and sea coasts, to stop entry at other locations. The National
Guard is an institution suited for this purpose. It is better to have
them guarding our nation, than serving in foreign wars, which should be
the function of our active duty military (the question of whether or
not, we should be involved in foreign, wars is not considered in this
essay).
We must start prosecuting
employers who hire illegal workers, so the illegals will not be
attracted by jobs. If they can not find work, many will go home. This
will be much more efficient than trying to find, arrest, and deport 20
million people. Arresting, trying, and incarcerating a few dozen CEOs,
and Officers, of major corporations will go farther to solve this
problem, than hiring an additional 100,000 Border Patrol Agents.
We must then stop all legal
immigration from Mexico, until they address the economic and social
problems, which are causing the massive migration to the U.S..
Once the social and economic
conditions in Mexico change, so that the Mexican people can own their
own homes, farms, and businesses. They will no longer be compelled to
migrate to the United States, in search of a better life for themselves
and their children.
The
wide open border, between the
United States and Mexico, is a huge safety valve for the social unrest
in Mexico. As long is this safety valve exists, Mexico will not address
the problem. The steps listed above are a core of the steps necessary
to stick a cork in the safety valve.
Once the safety valve is
closed, the Mexican Aristocracy will be forced to address the problem.
If they do not make the necessary changes, to the Mexican economy and
society. They will face something akin to the French revolution. The
Mexican Aristocracy needs to reflect on the fact that Mexico does in
fact have a tradition which uses the guillotine. The recent
attack on the Arizona immigration law by the president of Mexico has occurred
because the Mexican aristocracy is terrified by the prospect of our
closing the safety valve of an open border and available jobs.
The
American
voters can do their part to kill this Mexican Spider by voting the
Republicans and Democrats out of office. Our current politicians need
to be replaced by people who will protect our borders and our National
Sovereignty. We must stop being an enabler who allows the Mexican
aristocracy to enslave the Mexican people. Closing the border and
incarcerating employers of illegals may appear harsh, but in the long
run these actions will force necessary changes in the mexican economy.
Failure to apply this tough love will allow our neighbors to be kept in
poverty and serfdom by the mexican aristocracy, and result in a continous stream of immigrants.
You can help by copying the
URL ( Internet address ) for this page, from the navigator bar in your
browser, to the body of an email message which you send to everyone you
know who wants to see action to stop the flood of illegal immigrants. Ask everyone you know to read
the message on this page.
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