A Citizen's Suggestions (to a Reluctant Government) to Stem The Crisis of Illegal Immigration

self | 08/21/05 | joanie-f

[joanie-f]

Something happened in Boston in the winter of 1773 that served as evidence that the final straw had been laid on the camel’s back … and the spark for a revolution against tyranny and aristocracy was ignited.

What happened in Boston spread, and other colonial seaports defiantly followed the example set by Sam Adams (‘It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds’). When the news spread of what Sam Adams and a handful of Boston patriots had done, other seaports all down the Atlantic coastline followed the example and staged similar acts of defiance of their own.

Of all of the signers of our Declaration of Independence, Sam Adams probably best embodies those character traits found in colonial American patriots. He was an eloquent man, determined to keep himself informed regarding the abuses of power that continued to be heaped upon the colonies, and, in addition to sharing his insight and stirring eloquence, he was not afraid to act when it appeared that words would no longer suffice.

In spite of the education garnered, and knowledge shared, on this forum, I believe that most adult Americans could not even tell you who Sam Adams was. And, of those who are aware of his role in the revolution … and beyond … I believe most know him through his most famous declaration, ‘If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen’.

Powerful words indeed … and perhaps more powerful now than then.

But another of Adams’ statements may even prove to be more pertinent and providential in America 2005:

Among the natural rights of the colonists are there: First a right to life, second to liberty, and thirdly to property. Together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.

Life, liberty and property were the three sanctified entities that our Founders sought, and sacrifice beyond our comprehension, to guarantee each and every American – not only their eighteenth century contemporaries, but every one of us who has followed in their footsteps.

Yet during our lifetimes alone, there have been countless examples of government gone awry that have represented a direct and destructive assault upon the sanctity of those three God-given human rights that our Founders sought to ensure for us. The government-sponsored murders at Waco, the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade, the passage of the McCain-Feingold assault on the First Amendment, the court-ordered murder of Terri Schiavo, and the government land grab upheld two months ago in Kelo vs. New London come to mind. And in between each of those travesties, there occurred dozens more.

What happened in Douglas, Arizona this week deserves to be added to the growing list of what our Founders would have called ‘grievances against the King’.

In America 2005, we are experiencing a growing arrogance on the part of government at all levels … represented by the passing of liberty-restrictive laws and by judicial rulings that all but declare the Constitution a nuisance, and the American citizen a slave of the state.

But not only is government pro-actively trampling on our three most precious God-given rights, it is also accomplishing the same result by simply refusing to defend them when their sanctity is threatened by outsiders.

The illegal immigration travesty is the prime example of death through neglect.. We are pro-actively fighting a ‘war on terrorism’ six thousand miles from our shore, and yet an onslaught that is threatening to destroy us, both physically and economically, and that also affords terrorists the ability to find a home and a breeding ground from which to proselytize on our own soil, and in our own neighborhoods, is being allowed to continue unabated. Government efforts to stop illegal immigration have been half-hearted, at best – and entirely unsuccessful.

Alexander Hamilton (and Washington and Jefferson as well) vehemently opposed granting immediate citizenship to new immigrants, writing, ‘To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens, the moment they foot in our country, would be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty.’ And he repeatedly warned against allowing masses of immigrants to cross our borders, because he believed that our safety and sovereignty would be threatened by such ‘reckless policy’.

The Founders’ concerns were focused on the deadly threats to our republic represented by failing to limit legal immigration. It’s difficult to imagine what they would think of laws and court rulings that hold the American citizen/taxpayer hostage to the ‘rights’ of illegal immigrants. The fact that the American legal/judicial system would go so far as to seize the property of an American citizen and lawfully convey it to an illegal immigrant would surely be beyond their ability to comprehend, let alone condone.

The dollar cost of illegal immigration is rising exponentially, and consists of (among other considerations), the cost to the American taxpayer of:

• Providing ‘benefits’ to those illegal immigrants who are hired by American businesses looking to make a quick, illegal buck, but who provide no healthcare – thus causing their illegal employees to obtain ‘free’ (on the backs of the taxpayer) healthcare (thanks to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985).

• Food stamps, free education and school lunches, subsidized housing, and seemingly countless entitlement ‘perks’ for their children born on this side of the border.

• The cost to the American taxpayer of supposedly ‘cheap labor’ being obtained by unscrupulous businesses.

• Driving down the wages that American citizens receive in whatever businesses the cheap immigrant labor finds a foothold (generally agriculture, construction and food services)

• Incarceration costs of those illegals who drive uninsured or otherwise get in trouble with the law, pro-bono legal services, and the cost of interpreters

• The drain, sometimes to the point of collapse in the border states, on the healthcare system … indirectly resulting in inferior, and more expensive, healthcare for our own citizens.

  All of the above expenses, and more, have resulted in estimates ranging from $10 billion to $40 billion a year pilfered from the American taxpayers’ pockets as a result of our government’s unwillingness to address the immigration issue.

  I can think of much better ways to spend our money, one of which would put a major dent in the cause of the US/Mexico border immigration crisis.

  Simplistically, here is a layman’s partial solution – a very rough and ‘non-expert’ draft which would, of course require significant ‘fine tuning’ …

  Let’s use the ‘average’ of the $10 to $40 billion estimates, and assume that illegal immigrants cost the taxpayer $25 billion annually.

  The length of the US (CA, AZ, NM, TX)-Mexico border is approximately 2,000 miles.

  Many nuts-and-bolts conservatives (yours truly included) have suggested building a wall and/or stationing armed guards as a reasonable solution to the illegal immigration problem occurring across our southern border.

  Let’s look at the potential cost of doing both:

  The extraordinarily effective protective wall that Israel has built in the West Bank in order to prevent the infiltration of Palestinian suicide bombers cost them $1.6 million per mile.

  Using that figure, the construction of a similar wall along our entire southern land border, would cost $1.6 million/mile x 2,000 miles = $3.2 billion.

  Now, if we were to build small guard stations and assign an armed guard at each station every half-mile along that wall, we would require 2,000 x 2 = 4,000 guard stations.

  Let’s liberally assume that each small station (something along the lines of this or this ) would cost $100,000 each to install (including wiring for air conditioning and a set of outside floodlights, plumbing, communications equipment, etc.). The total cost for all 4,000 stations would be $400 million.

  If we were to station guards at each station so that each worked an 8-hour shift, five days a week – and hired a sufficient number of guards so as to have a guard on duty 24 hour a day, seven days a week -- we would require 21 eight-hour shifts (totaling 168 hours) per week with each guard working a 40 hour week. Therefore we would require 4.2 guards per station.

  4.2 guards per station x 4,000 stations = a total of 16,800 guards needed to patrol the border.

  Let’s assume a cost of training each guard (in the procedures to be followed and in firearms training, both of which would be done in classes of 100 or more guards per class), and the providing of each guard with a firearm, to amount to $2,500/guard. Then the cost of training 16,800 would be $42 million.

  Assume that each guard is paid an annual salary and benefits totaling $75,000. The total annual salary/benefits cost for all 16,800 guards would amount to $1.26 billion.

  Now take the estimated $25 billion dollar per year to the taxpayer cost of illegal immigration and subtract the $3.2 billion cost of an Israeli-like security wall running along the entire border and the $400 million cost of guard stations positioned every half mile along that wall, the $42 million training costs, and the $1.26 billion in guard salaries and we are left with $20.1 billion dollars (a full 80% of the figure with which we started) – which could be used for maintenance purposes, insurance, utility costs, additional equipment, etc, with a sizeable surplus left over.

  The large portion of the outlay described above is a one-time – as opposed to annual -- cost (the construction of the wall itself, especially). The construction of the wall would surrely employ thousands of Americans in the process. As would the guard positions, which would presumably be permanent, unless and until the exodus were to subside.

  Of course, all of the above are simply the estimates of a layperson, who has no expert knowledge in the costs of the physical items involved. But I believe those estimates to be not unrealistic. Neither do I suggest that I have covered all financial considerations that would be involved.

  My entire purpose in creating this hypothetical example is to suggest simply that I believe there is a fundamental, nuts-and-bolts solution to the crisis represented by the exodus of illegals coming across our southern border. And I also believe that the financial cost of such a common sense solution would be nowhere near as prohibitive as the financial cost of continuing to support (and now actually cater to, at the cost of our own freedoms) non-citizens who have committed a crime simply by being here in the first place.

  How to address the problems cause by those illegals who are already here is an entirely different issue. But I believe that stemming the source of the problem now is entirely within our power … and entirely possible, dollar-wise.

  As for the ramifications of the Douglas, Arizona Ranch decision …

  I can’t help but wonder when we citizens of America 2005 will declare that the last straw has been placed on the camel’s back. Are we more ‘tolerant’ of the tyranny of government than Sam Adams and his fellow patriots were? Are we more of a mindset that we will not take action until the abuse occurs in our own backyard? Are we more willing to wear the chains to which Adams referred, because we love the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom?

  Back in 1999, Claire Wolfe observed in her book, ‘ 101 Things To Do ‘Til The Revolution’:

  ‘America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards. '

  Considering the atrocities (both by neglect and by overt action) committed by our government in the six years since Claire penned that thought, I can’t help but wonder whether we have been pushed significantly closer to the revolution she envisioned in those last three words.

  ~ joanie ..

[BIRDS]

Well, thanks. It is an entirely non-truthful argument, however, by those who rely upon it.

As in, "the white man" WAS "here first" (in both North and South America) along with Northern Asians and Australian Aborigines. To repeat: end of story.

As to what "white men," those archaeological facts are still being written, given the ongoing exploration as to Norse populations in North America (proven but not entirely all excavated or even yet identified).

As to the Australian Aborigines being "first" in South America, already established as fact.

As to the "white man" DNA in first human populations in North America (and throughout North America later, up to and excluding the Hopi and southward), there was a tribe of peoples who populated what is now Japan, PRIOR to the Central Asians who later arrived there who became today's Japanese. THOSE earliest peoples in those now-Japanese Islands were NORTHERN EUROPEAN and they interbred with Northen Asians and migrated to North America during and after that process.

Thus, all the so-called "indiginous" peoples of now North America have the white man as their ancestor. The "indiginous" Alaskans/area peoples arrived LATER, just to be clear.

However, ALL the "tribes" in North America (excluding the Hopi and southward) are descendants of those FIRST MIGRATING "white" people intermingled with Northern Asians (who are also mixed-Northern European, to strengthen the pot, so to speak).

It's established scientific fact. There was a SECOND migration into North America by predominantly Central Asians (became the Inuit and 'eskimo') and some think perhaps continued on to Central and South America.

However, Central and South America long after the Australian Aborigines were there was peopled by Central Asians. Only later, far, far later, arrived the Spanish with language and DNA. And, at least far after the white man had long been in North America.

As tot

[moehoward]

Is there a short story version of the Hopi? That/they seem to be the dividing line of sorts.

[Aliska]

LIFO. I can't respond to all the posts directed to me now and will try to get back on some of it if and when I can. There are things about original, original settlers I'm not read up on; i.e., who was here first.

I was feeling weary and overwhelmed so took a nap. A car pulled up outside, and what do I hear, "Viva la Mexico", and "Hasta la vista", I think. Man, I hope it isn't somebody coming to see me. The car drove off and there was a knock at the door. It was the person I mentioned in an earlier post, and we had a nice visit, tried to keep it low key (she is into Christianity as an answer to all her problems in a big way, and I try to be supportive as best I can). So I took her and got her something to eat, not much in the house at the moment because it's been hot and I don't feel much like cooking or eating, took her to her apartment to gather up her things, then took her to her sister's where she is to stay for the four days she is under house arrest. Heh heh. Not laughing at her, myself. I swear I was going mad and might be having auditory hallucinations.

On another note, I was sitting at my computer minding my own business yesterday when a nice big white newer car pulled up (don't know what kind it was, kind of one of those newer SUV-type things that sticks out at the back, and two guys were out talking, "no, get them higher." I looked out and saw two guys (my ethncity) stealing my apples and carrying off half a grocery bag full, they are green yet, and it pi$$ed (uh oh had to edit that as I originally wrote it) me off because they hadn't the decency to ask. If people ask politely, I usually generously comply so long as they dont climb the darn tree like I catch the kids doing because guess who will get sued if one of the aging branches breaks off and somebody gets hurt?

So in a very little way, I know how those property owners feel along our southern border, but I didn't need that incident to drive it home, and yes, I'm royally ticked off that some illegals bet the ranch and got it, at least part of it.

I'm drained and don't know if I can keep my thoughts straight enough to write anything more that is anything approaching coherent tonight.

My world has gone mad!

[SwinneySwitch]

"And even if your wall worked for the 2,000 mile Mexican border, it would have no impact whatsoever on the entry of the majority of illegals."

Starting to give up your contention that a wall won't work on the Mexican border, bayourod?

[Happy2BMe]

bttt

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"If we were to station guards at each station so that each worked an 8-hour shift, five days a week – and hired a sufficient number of guards so as to have a guard on duty 24 hour a day, seven days a week -- we would require 21 eight-hour shifts (totaling 168 hours) per week with each guard working a 40 hour week. Therefore we would require 4.2 guards per station."

OK, so nobody working on this job can ever take vacation or get sick, because there is no reserve of manpower. Additionally, there are places on the border where you can't see what's going on fifty feet away, let alone half a mile.

Finally, if more than a very few illegal aliens DO get over, under, or around the wall in one area, the guards can't do anything about them, because there is absolutely no reserve of manpower available.

Also, you make no allowance for supervisory personnel, or for administrative overhead. Typically, you want a low-level supervisor for every 10-15 people, and a similar ratio of higher-up supervisors at each level.

"Assume that each guard is paid an annual salary and benefits totaling $75,000."

Nice assumption--but not true. The federal government costs out a civil servant at an average of $150K, which does not include any mission equipment (such as weapons, vehicles, or radios).

Finally, you have, at great expense, closed 2,000 miles of border.

That only leaves 17,000 miles unguarded.

[BIRDS]

DNA (mitochondrail DNA, which can only be associated with maternal lineage) was sampled over time and from skeletons capable of being evaluated, from across North America peoples, and over time.

And compared to mitochondrial DNA in Northern Europe, Northern Asia and elsewhere.

Longer story shorter is that all peoples among all "native americans" in North America shared mitochondrial DNA with Northern European and Northern Asian peoples (this is a vast oversimplification of the process, but the process that was done is scientifically reliable, and does define lineage), all in North America shared DNA with Northern European and Northern Asian, WHILE the ONLY people in North America who did not but who instead possess lineage shared with Southern and Central Asians are the Hopi.

The Hopi "tribe," therefore, are people who migrated almost certainly from South/Central America into southwestern North America, while all the rest (including the Seminoles in Southeastern North America) migrated from the North, originally from Northern Europe and Northern Asia.

Whether the Hopi have remained in their current location is another issue, since there's now evidence that proves the ongoing "wars" and brutalities, even, in our Southwest by peoples fighting out territories and resources in the southwest and central americas, with one another (however, those peoples all share DNA and do not share DNA with the northern groups, and were, thus, almost certainly limited by opposing interests to their "farthest northern" inhabitations of the Hopi in the southwest).

[hosepipe]

[ You've gotta hand it to 'em though, they are patient and persistant. ]

Yeah.. and its working.. currently by Dubyas hand.. no doubt the Hildebeast will do the same when and if she becomes Prez..

I don't like it, I don't like it a bit.. It seems Dubya has turned on "us".. if he was ever with "US" to begin with.. he is either complicit or stupid.. and I don't think he's stupid..

[Kevin OMalley]

lots to read, but I'll bump for later, hoping it's interesting

[SiliconValleyGuy]

There have been only one or two negative posts on this entire thread trying to cut holes in Joanie's proposals. But Joanie herself said more than once that this was just a proposal to wall off only the US/Mexico land border.

Simplistically, here is a layman’s partial solution – a very rough and ‘non-expert’ draft which would, of course require significant ‘fine tuning’ …

Of course, all of the above are simply the estimates of a layperson, who has no expert knowledge in the costs of the physical items involved. But I believe those estimates to be not unrealistic. Neither do I suggest that I have covered all financial considerations that would be involved.

And you brought up the need for administrative expenses, etc. How big do you think those figures would be compared to the major ones she has covered (the wall, the stations, the guards, their training and equipment, etc.)?

You also say that she has only covered 2,000 miles of our borders "at great expense" and not the remaining 17,000. That was not her purpose (the remaining 17,000). First things first. And anyway she showed that her proposal was subject to tuning, but still only involved 15% of the annual cost of supporting the illegal immigrants here already. Don't you suppose the northern and sea borders could be taken care of with the remaining 85%?

Just a rhetorical question. I'm sure the answer would be just as critical as your first reply.

[bayourod]

We tried using rows of fences and steel walls, along with 32 guards per mile to seal a 66 mile section of the border in California. It was called Operation Gate Keeper and it failed. See the Inspector General’s Report linked on my profile page.

Walls and fences don’t stop people determined to cross. (Israel Allows people to cross at gates therefore they don’t need to climb the fence) The Berlin Wall didn’t stop anyone, it was the guards every 50 yards with machine guns who stopped people who would otherwise have just climbed over. But if a ratio 0f 32 guards per mile weren’t enough at Operation Gate Keeper, your 9 guards per mile certainly won’t be effective.

Since 9/11 the DHS has been developing a “Virtual” fence to aid in securing the border against terrorists and smugglers. They have spent about $5 Billion on high tech surveillance. I posted an article on it yesterday and Tom DeLasys has been mentioning it this week.

The virtual fence includes sensory equipment mounted on blimps that are tethered, satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, manned fixed wing and rotary winged aircraft, towers, and even underground.

If a guard sees a truck crossing the border about a mile away all he can do is radio in the location and direction of the truck.

But consider the possibilities of a virtual fence. A satellite potentially can spot the truck ten miles before it gets to the border, read the license plate, cross reference it to known smugglers, farmers or government agencies, compare the depth of it’s tracks to known tare weights to determine the payload it’s carrying, and redirect an UAV if considered necessary.

The sensors might be able to detect radiation, explosives, drugs or other materials. Any individuals getting out of the truck could be individually tracked.

Border guards in land vehicles or helicopters could then be guided to intercept the truck or passengers if it fell outside certain parameters.

This is the future for securing our borders, not brick and mortar fences, but the anti-illegals will not be happy with it and they will continue to say that President Bush is a traitor for not protecting us from terrorists…….

[ozarkgirl]

People will try to tell you Operation Gatekeeper did not work. Try Googling "Operation Gatekeeper" and you will find a bunch of OBL's screaming because it worked so well, illegals can no longer cross there and no must go through the desert. You will first find a site that shows how many illegals it stopped then a bunch of sites screaming because "Operation Gatekeeper" is killing illegals trying to cross in the desert. It not only worked, it worked too well.

Little fences may not work, but walls most certainly do.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

From the source referenced by bayourod Raul Hinojosa says, "The total goods and services that they consume through their paycheck, plus all that they produce for their employers, is close to about $800 billion."

A little bit of imitating whirling dervishes?

The industries most dependent upon ILLEGAL immigrant, government-subsidized "cheap" labor did about $800 billion. I bet is the truth. They were before the millions and millions came and they will be there after the millions and millions go home. I bet.

I will defer to others however with an explanation and some hint of a source.

According to BEA 2003 Gross Output by Industry in Current Dollars (total = $19,732.8 billion)

agriculture (farms) was $223.8 Billion

Accommodation and food services $549.1 Billion

Total = $772.9 Billion

Note:

construction was $954.8B but there was no break out for residential, etc.

Other services, except government was $472.2B but there was no break out, etc.

[Old_Mil]

Perhaps we can arrange an exchange with Mexico. We'll send them all our 30+, minivan driving, feminazi battleaxe soccer moms, and they can send us all their 18-22 year old attractive spanish girls.

The only restriction would be there would be no returns or exchanges allowed.

In two generations, Mexico would cease to exist as a nation.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"And you brought up the need for administrative expenses, etc. How big do you think those figures would be compared to the major ones she has covered (the wall, the stations, the guards, their training and equipment, etc.)?"

Based on what I've seen in the federal government, a lot. She low-balled her manpower requirements by a very large margin, and then low-balled the cost per man by 50%. She also low-balled the construction costs (Israel did not have to pay Davis-Bacon "prevailing wage" rates). The wall is likely to cost about 10 times the amount she estimated to build and maintain.

"You also say that she has only covered 2,000 miles of our borders "at great expense" and not the remaining 17,000."

Exactly.

"That was not her purpose (the remaining 17,000)."

Considering that, honestly, the illegal aliens and their smugglers are far more likely to be intelligent, creative, and clever than the people who low-ball construction and manpower costs to get their pet ideas to work, she'd BETTER get the other 17,000 miles under control.

"First things first."

Something half begun is not done.

"And anyway she showed that her proposal was subject to tuning, but still only involved 15% of the annual cost of supporting the illegal immigrants here already."

After low-balling her estimates by a generous margin. And when the illegals still get in rather easily by going around or under her undermanned wall, we'd still get stuck with the welfare costs as well.

"Don't you suppose the northern and sea borders could be taken care of with the remaining 85%?"

No. First, most Americans will not support building a wall all the way around this country. (People who live near the coast would LIKE to go to the beach every now and then.) Second, the cost for full coverage is likely to be astronomically high. Third, we'd have to restart the draft, and draft both sexes. (We'd have to draft the men to man the far-more-than-four-per-mile posts on 19,000 miles of wall; and then we'd have to draft the women to whelp the next generation of border guards. Unauthorized inferitility will become a court-martial offense.)

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

"People will try to tell you Operation Gatekeeper did not work. Try Googling "Operation Gatekeeper" and you will find a bunch of OBL's screaming because it worked so well, illegals can no longer cross there and no must go through the desert."

Not very many people ever die in the desert, and there hasn't been an increase in the number of deaths.

The illegals were crossing where I live (rural San Diego) long before Gatekeeper, and they'll continue crossing long after. It's because they can hop on the Sunset Route freights (formerly Southern Pacific, now Union Pacific) and get past the border patrols easily.

[ozarkgirl]

As time passed apprehension numbers at Imperial Beach began to fall, while apprehension numbers at stations further east began to rise. This development suggested that some illegal crossers had abandoned Imperial Beach and shifted their entry efforts to stations further east.11

I don't suppose you actually read that or expected anyone to read the article posted on your home page did you? And where does it say it was not a success? The above was posted from your article. It said there were many allegations of falsification of numbers which in conclusion, the Attorney General decided were not true.

I must go to bed but I'm anxiously awaiting your answer. Not just more rhetoric but perhaps some true posts from the article you have posted on your home page that I cannot find in any way says a wall does not work.

[ForGod'sSake]

It seems Dubya has turned on "us".. if he was ever with "US" to begin with.

It may be something akin to JR's attitude(at least the last time it was expressed to me). That is, it was not a critical issue; there were many other issues more important....at the time at least. I couldn't understand JR's apathy concerning illegals then, and I still wouldn't understand it today if he still holds those views. Maybe Jim will give an update.

In any case, "W" has let this problem get out ahead of him. He should have known better, but his apparent lack of interest in a non-critical issue will reach critical mass in the near future....with or without his attention. If he's a bright guy, and I think he is, he'll get on top of illegal immigration. If he doesn't offer something constructive pretty soon I think Pubbies may suffer some damage in '06. Hope I'm wrong about that....sortof.

FGS

[moehoward]

Thank you.

[ozarkgirl]

Not very many people ever die in the desert, and there hasn't been an increase in the number of deaths

Perhaps you would have a little more compassion for the people that are dying in the desert trying to cross after you read this.

229 of these people are listed and the fiscal year is not even over yet. This goes from November to November and it's only thru July.

The borders must be closed for their sake as well as ours.

http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/deaths.php4