House Immigration Bill Is Needed!

Public pressure is still needed to push through meaningful immigration reform while the issue is still on the nation's mind. Two stories should be cause for concern to Americans who want to see progress on this front. First, an AP story out of Phoenix, Arizona, where Latino leaders and some faith-based organizations (though the report doesn't mention which ones) are pressuring Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to shut down a hotline he created for people to report illegal aliens. The line has received about 300 calls in just a few days, though none have been acted upon yet. Arpaio defends the hotline, saying it is not unconstitutional and pointing out that other federal agencies have similar hotlines. Opponents are whining about racial profiling.

Call me crazy, but how is enforcing the laws of the United States of America a bad thing?

The second story is in the Arizona Star, reporting that the number of National Guard troops posted along the Arizona/Mexico border will be cut in half by the end of next month despite providing much-needed assistance. "National Guard soldiers have helped free up agents to patrol by manning radios and control rooms, and repairing vehicles, roads and fences. They have also provided extra eyes and ears on the border with observation posts called entrance identification teams stationed along the border on hills or peaks." The extra security has also helped increase illegal alien arrests and drug seizures, as well as building primary fencing. Predictably, 'immigrant rights' opponents of border security are whining about the Guard presence, saying that the increased militarization there has forced illegal aliens to cross the border in much more remote places, thus making it more difficult.

Excuse me, but I thought that they weren't supposed to be coming here at all! Wouldn't it be good to make the crossing more difficult, thus deterring them from trying it?

This brings me to a final point: real progress. Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill (H.R.2954) called the Secure Borders FIRST (For Integrity, Reform, Safety, and Anti-Terrorism) Act of 2007. Among other things, it would actually enforce border security first by increasing personnel and resources, implement the VISIT program that was created back in the late '90s (but which has yet to be implemented) to track who is entering and leaving the country, increase penalties and crack down on certain illegal aliens (gang members, for example), establish requirements for employment verification, and establish English as our official language.

From what I can tell, and from what I've read about it, this is a good piece of legislation. If we're not going to simply enforce what's already on the books (which is what we should have been doing for the last 20 years!), this is the next best thing. We need to bring public pressure to bear on our Congressional leaders to get this done, and then make sure they DO IT. No more empty promises; the American people have the will to make this happen, but does Congress? They haven't yet. But, the will of the American people can force them to do the right thing even against their own will, as we saw with the amnesty bill. Let's make it happen!

There's my two cents.