Border problems. .While I abhor the use of violence against anyone, including immigrants, either legal or illegal, in this post-9/11 era the issue of the porous porous /por·ous/ (por´us) penetrated by pores and open spaces. po·rous adj. 1. Full of or having pores. 2. Admitting the passage of gas or liquid through pores. border, as mentioned in Tim Vanderpool's article ("Border Vigilantes vigilantes (vĭjĭlăn`tēz), members of a vigilance committee. Such committees were formed in U.S. frontier communities to enforce law and order before a regularly constituted government could be established or have real authority. ," April issue), is one of utmost importance and concern. I would like to think President Bush would do all he could to secure the borders, both north and south, but he appears to lack the will to do so. Since the Border Patrol is understaffed, the private citizens and militias are going to fill that vacuum, like it or not. I saw nothing in Vanderpool's article that offered any solutions to this problem. Are we to let illegal immigrants illegal immigrant n. an alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa. (See: alien) of unknown nationality continue to cross into the Southwest? How easy could it be for a terrorist to sneak across the Mexican border and into San Diego County, California San Diego County is a county located on the Pacific Ocean in the far southwest of the U.S. state of California, United States along its border with Mexico. According to the 2000 Census, its population was 2,813,833, making it the third largest county by population in the state and , or Pima County, Arizona Pima County is located in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. The county is named after the Pima American Indian tribe which was indigenous to the area. As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the population was 946,362. ? Instead of attacking concerned citizens, Vanderpool ought to offer some reasonable solutions to our ever-growing border problem. Andrew Griffin Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is a city in Louisiana and the parish seat of Rapides Parish. [1] [2] It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. I share Vanderpool's disgust with the violence of militias in Arizona. However, before overlooking them as rightwing psychos, perhaps we should examine whether their complaints are just, albeit ignorantly exercised. The influx of illegal immigrants in the Southwest is causing many problems for the poor and working class, made worse by the current Republican control of government. In fact, it is the wealthy businesspeople that profit from, and thus welcome, the immigrants' cheap labor, making it difficult for working class Americans--black, white, Hispanic, or whatever--to find jobs earning more than $8.00 per hour. While I in no way advocate violence as a means to make a point (we see how well that works in other disputes), we as liberals must examine why the racism is occurring instead of dismissing it. If not, we are giving the conservatives in America, including Bush, a gigantic gi·gan·tic adj. 1. Relating to or suggestive of a giant. 2. a. Exceedingly large of its kind: a gigantic toadstool. b. gift. When liberals don't stick up for America's working class and poor, conservatives get away with their class warfare unchecked. The left's misguided acceptance of illegal labor is a grave error. Andrea Lorenz via e-mail |
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