Free Republic

Our nation's greatest and most obvious vulnerability remains our pourous and unprotected southern land border. Yet every day, unknown numbers of human and drug smugglers, criminals and potential terrorists continue to illegally enter the United States. And yet the best and most effective way of preventing illegal foot and vehicle traffic from entering is border security fencing. Since construction of the San Diego border fence began in 1996, the smuggling of people and narcotics has dropped drastically; crime rates have been reduced by half, according to FBI statistics; vehicle drive-throughs have been eliminated. Recognizing this success, Congress passed and President...

One-Fifth of an AmericanHow much is an immigrant's life worth, exactly? How do you justify a border fence? Why is it OK to consign millions of unskilled Mexicans to lives of desperate poverty? I'm told it's because Americans should care more about their countrymen than about a bunch of foreigners. OK, but how much more? Surely there's some limit; virtually nobody thinks, for example, that Americans should be allowed to hunt Mexicans for sport. So, exactly how much are you willing to hurt a foreigner to help an American? Is a foreigner's well-being worth three-quarters as much as an American's,...

The reason comprehensive immigration reform remains in jeopardy, despite yesterday's partial resuscitation, is that it is a complex compromise with too many moving parts and too many competing interests. Employers want a guest worker program; unions want to kill it. Reformers want to introduce a point system that preferentially admits skilled and educated immigrants; immigrant groups naturally want to keep the existing family preference system. Liberals want legalization now; conservatives insist on enforcement "triggers" first. There is only one provision that has unanimous support: stronger border enforcement. I've seen senators stand up and object to the point system, to chain...