Bartley viewed Mexican workers, hungry for opportunity and ready to work, as an asset to the American economy. When the Clinton administration, with strong support from Republican nativists, went to work on a Berlinesque wall on the Califorina border, Bartley worried that the migrants would shift their routes into the desert and the number of deaths from exposure would grow. Indeed, that is precisely what happened.
Look, the Mexicans are going to come across the border legally or illegally, the only question is how can we best manage that process for the good of all.
Bartley was a good conservative voice in America and he will be missed by many, obviously not by all, but nevertheless one should never speak badly of the dead--its very poor form.