Burning Atlanta

I'm going to talk out of my ass for a minute. It's easy to get hung up on all the stories revolving around illegals: Rapes, robberies, murders, DUI deaths, driver's licenses, guest worker programs, this protest, that counter protest, so I try to take a step back once in a while.

Overall, from my perspective, things are going pretty well. Oklahoma, Arizona, Tennessee, Georgia and a number of localities are passing laws targeting illegals or those that hire them. More states are lining up to join in. Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina, perhaps Nebraska, and probably more. These state initiatives are having an effect. The federal government still isn't doing jack. Yes, they're doing more but they weren't doing anything for a long while, except for our Border Patrol officers who were risking their butts everyday in what must have seemed  like a lesson in futility.

Now,  the fed is a little more concerned about securing the border but I don't think they're serious. I don't think they have the will to do it. I think most of the efforts are little more than an act. Yes, there's been more interior enforcement but, again, much seems contrived and not serious. A scam, a few token arrests, a half-hearted attempt little more than political cover and a stall waiting for Congress to pass the next amnesty.

You can just about see where this is going. In another couple of years, after more states have stepped in, the fed is going to try and claim success at gaining control of the border and that "their" enforcement has worked. In fact, the most gains will come from the states stepping in to do what the fed adamantly refuses to do, enforce the laws. Much of the next effort for an amnesty will be a replay of the last attempt. "We can't survive without another 400-500 thousand low-skilled workers every year. Rational, reasonable and humane..." My ass. My hope? NO AMNESTY in any way, shape or form until this country gets a grip on the problem. Not until a million people crashing our borders turns into about a million leaving every year. AND what about visa overstays? None of them has addressed that issue.

What bothers me about the plan Bush and others tried to push was their bullshit solution that if we let in another 500,000 every year that will take pressure off the border and give the border patrol more resources to focus on the "real" criminals. Total horseshit. That will only encourage even more people to make the trip. Any form of amnesty sends the WRONG message. Any form of rewarding people that have shown a total disregard for our laws only encourages others to think the same way.

I'm hoping Congress won't do anything for a few years rather than doing the wrong thing. I'm hoping to see more results from the states taking a tough stand. I'm hoping to see more illegals leaving and fewer coming, even knowing that the federal government will try to take the credit. How do you tell the enforcement efforts are working? Just listen to the illegals and their supporters whining. It's gotten louder but we aren't there yet. When you here them squealing like Ned Beaty in Deliverance, we're at about the right point.