If we had a robust economy the illegal population would have been not as much a problem as it is now. It also would have been much more manageable. We would be able to accommodate the illegals in a more orderly fashion. We must deal with the problem in the correct order. With the economy so bad, the luxury of so many illegals has raised up to bite us. So, the first step is to secure the border. Otherwise, it would be like bailing out a leaking boat.
I am thinking of a better way than mowing down our southern intruders. If we did mow them down, think of the international uproar that would follow. Think of what would happen if we chased the OWS crowd out of Times Square with bullets like was done in Yemen or Syria. So therefore, the technological method is the best way:
We should have had by now the ability to slow down the influx of intruders so that we don't have the drain on the public dollar. We should be smart enough, as the most powerful nation on earth, to create a secure border. If it requires eyes in the sky drones, cameras, IR sensors, vibration sensors, proximity sensors, boots on the ground and the newest satellite mounted long-wavelength infra-red sensors then we must do it. No, easily defeated electric fencing (they can be shorted circuited) with machine gun manned watch towers is old school and, realistically, cannot be done on the large scale of a 2000 mile border. That's why it is only done on small scale things like prisons and the Berlin Wall which was only 90 miles. For things like the North and South Korean border, North Korea uses landmines. I am not sure we want to act like North Korea. It would cause that international uproar thing and might jeopardize our relationship with Mexico.
I think we should stick with apprehending the crossers. What do we do to them once they are apprehended? Finger print them, DNA sample them and send them back over the boarder with the warning that if they come back, we will put them in internment camps with no way to get out for a long long time. We should not spend all that money to give them a second chance. That includes families, women, children, babies—everyone caught a second time. It will be a real internment camp. We have done them before. And the message will be clear to the families that had their poor Julio go over a second time: He won't be collecting $200 (like in the game Monopoly), he won’t be back and he won’t be sending money back home. Soon the message will spread down in Mexico that crossing the border is a no-go. The task will become more manageable and those who are in our country illegally can be dealt with next.
Thank you. I appreciate very much your serious and thoughtful reply. No BS.
But ...
“No, easily defeated electric fencing (they can be shorted circuited) with machine gun manned watch towers is old school and, realistically, cannot be done on the large scale of a 2000 mile border.”
It can. Why can’t it?
Any country being invaded has the right to repel the invaders. Our constitution empowers us to do that very thing. So, since we are so empowered and the history of man is filled with countries protecting their borders with deadly force, why is it wrong?
Part of your reply is just what we did that got us into our situation and complicated as hell for the rest. Is it not easier/smarter/more economic and safer to deny further entry and deport those here?
This IS a national security matter and should not be ‘policed’ for lack of a better term. Let Mexicans and ALL others know that they will face deadly force and many will stop trying to cross on threat alone. Those that continue are the hardcore/criminal/terrorists and a real threat to our country.