Friday, February 22, 2008

Alan Colmes and Open Borders: Political Hack or Stupid?

One thing I can say for Alan Colmes:  He is at least relatively honest about his position on illegal immigration (if deceptive in how he defends that postion).   I heard Alan Colmes say flatly last nigh )jeard about 15 minutes of his radio program--don't ask) that he is for "open borders" (no restrictions on people coming into this country from Mexico, or presumably anywhere else, with the probable exception of known terrorists and criminals).

All right.  We already know that committed leftists favor open borders, including the Democratic Presidential candidates, but will generally try to DECEIVE about their true position.  Colmes, at least, limits his deceptions to his arguments for his indefensible positon.

First, Colmes said that a "wall" is stupid, because the problme now is that illegal immigrants are afraid--afraid even to go backt o their own country.  Colmes said that we need to have a free flow of people back and forth across the border, instead of having them trapped in fear in the United States.

For this totally false argument, Colmes has been nominated for this week's "Flying, Fickle Finger of Fate" award for one of the week's most conspicious stupidities.

I live in El Paso.  I used to go to Juarez, Mexico (right across the Rio Grande from El Paso) fairly often.  There has NEVER been any action taken by U.S. authorities to stop people from LEAVING the country (other than perhaps checks for car thieves transporting stolen cars into Mexico).  Even the Mexican authorities don't reall care about people LEAVING the United States, and going into Mexico.  They may peridically engage in harassing "border control" measures, but ONLY to try to get us to reduce enforcement the other way.  There is FREE passage of people INTO MEXICO.  No one is afraid to go back to Mexico, except for one reason:  THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COME BACK. Any illegal immigrant from Mexico is freely able to go back into Mexico.  I know it.  They know it.  Alan Colmes does not seem to know it (or merely wants to raise a picture of a "wall" trapping people on both sides of the border, and doesn't care if what he says has any truth to it).  The border fence will not change that free movement of people into Mexico.

This false image of people trapped in fear behind a Berlin type "wall" is ony the most egregious of the deceptions Colmes tried to sell his listeners.  He raised the prospect of mere "checkpoints" so that we "know" who is coming into the country, but with an open, Canada type border.  Michael  Moore once did a TV program segnment with people just walking back and forth over the Canadian border, with no one caring or trying to "secure" that border.  The reason, of course, is that there has been NO PROBLEM with the Canadian border (more later on this).

Notice how DECEPTIVE this all is.  Do we "know" who is coming into this country merely by having "checkpoints" at the border?  Of course not.  You can't check the background of every person at the border "checkpoints".  It would stop border commerce cold.  Mexican people come across the border into El Paso every day on various kinds of visas.  It is totally false that we "know" who all of these people are.  Sure, a free flow of people would be nice for border communities like El Paso.  El Paso shops want Mexican citizens to be able to shop in El Paso.  That is why there are border control stations on highways OUT OF EL PASO.  The more hassle people get at the border coming into the United States, the more long lines (coming in) and frutation put a crimp in border commerce and travel. The problem is that if you allow relatively free traffic across the border in border cities, you MUST have enforcemtn policies in place elsewhere to keep from losing control of the border situation.  You MUST discourage people from simply melting into the rest of the country as illegal immigrants living permanently in the United States.  That is exactly what Alan Colmes dos NOT want to do--have ENFORCEMENT against illegal immigration. 

As I say, you don't really "know" who is coming into this country with mere border checkpoints. But let us say you did.  Let us say that at least border checkpoints give you an opportunity to check who is coming through those checkpoints (that is the purpose of the new passport requirement for even border cities like El Paso).  So what.  If a person does not want to go through the checkpoint (say a terrorist or criminal), can't the person just come across the border elsewhere?   What is to stop them?  Colmes doesnot want a fence.  He wants "open borders".   There is NOTHING to stop people from crosssing an "open border" somewhere other than a checkpoint.  That is exactly what Michael Moore's point was about the Canadian border (there may be SLIGHTLY more enforcement now--this was before 9/11).  There is not much attempt to stop people from just walking across with no  check at all. How do we know who those people are?  WE DON'T, and that is why this pro-illegal immigration propaganda is all DECEPTION   Advocates for illegal immigrants say the most outrageous things as if they make sense, or weren't obviously false (e.g. Alan Colmes).

To be continued.

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