U.S. Border Patrol agents have just discovered a 35-foot-long tunnel beneath the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, California, after it caved in and the asphalt roadway above it collapsed. More than a dozen tunnels have been found along the southwestern border, too, in recent years.
More tunnels are probably going to be discovered, as this method of illegal immigration has grown in use after heightened U.S. security work after the 9/11 tragedies. The conditions in the countries of Mexico and others are much worse economically than in the United States-- the major trade agreements and negotiations have increased the competitiveness of businesses, but have resulted in a loss of the countries' labor and environmental conditions.
Although major trade liberalization around the world has helped the short-term bottom line of international corporations in recent years, much more needs to be done to stabilize relations between countries in order to increase their respective national security. VOID supporters hope voters will chose challengers who answer to the people of this nation over incumbents who answer mostly to the international corporations. Show your support for VOID with your contributions and time, and help spread the message for more responsible and accountable public servants.
steve smith said at :
3:55 PM, 01 12 2006 | Permalink
This is indeed a sad situation. Albeit their illegal status, the people using those tunnels are risking life and limb each trip.
Also if these tunnels prove effective entry points, there will be those working to improve their condition and numbers.
We must work to put a stop to this activity.
steve smith | January 12, 2006 3:55 PM
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d.a.n said at :
7:31 AM, 01 13 2006 | Permalink
According to Bush, anyone who calls the Border Patrol to inform the Border Patrol of illegal aliens and the location of where illegal aliens are crossing the border, is a vigilante.
So, we must be careful about giving away the location of these tunnels, or we too will become vigilantes.
Besides, government doesn't want anything to upset the cheap labor needed by Walmart, and thousands of other corporations that need cheap labor, regardless of the endangerment of illegal aliens being greedily lured here for sub-minimum wages.
But, also, the federal government has much more important things to do, such as this. How dare U.S. citizens ask Congress to address illegal aliens crossing the borders by the thousands daily (even if a few are Al Qaeda) ?
After all, our Congress has enough problems of their own to deal with. For example:
_______OUR 535 members of the U.$. CONGRESS________
7 that have been arrested for fraud;
19 have been accused of writing bad checks;
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses;
3 have done time for assault;
71, repeat 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit;
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges;
8 have been arrested for shoplifting;
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits;
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year;
________________________________________
... originally published in CapitolHillBlue in 1999. If you were to update the list, it would be even worse now. You could add all sorts of corruption and even manslaughter to the list. Congressman Janklow, who had a bad habit of speeding, and had a lot of tickets to prove it, and was convicted of manslaughter for speeding and running a stop sign, and killing a man (a 55 year old Army veteran) on a motor cycle in Dec-2003. Janklow (R-SD) also tried to weasle out with a really, disgusting, lame diabetes defense. The jury wasn't buying it. But, that's a first (i.e. blame diabetes for driving over the speed limit and running a stop sign)). And, if voters continue to support the status quo, the list will be even worse 10 years from now.
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[] On 13-Nov-2005, Brian Jackson, a Dallas policeman was shot and killed by an illegal alien, Juan Lizcano. Lizcano had become drunk and went to the home of his ex-girfriend to threaten her. As the police pursued Lizcano after he fled the woman's home, he shot Officer Jackson, who died later in the hospital. Officer Jackson was remembered by his fellow police as someone who loved his job and always went the extra mile.
[] Then, there is Jorge Hernandez, aka Jorge Soto, who killed Min Soon Chang, an 18-year-old college freshman, in a terrible head-on wreck while Hernandez was driving drunk. He had been arrested 3 previous times for drunk driving in 3 other states, and he had been deported to Mexico 17 times! Don't you wonder why illegal aliens aren't deported instantly after being arrested for drunk driving?
[] Debbie Thomas, who was the mother of three, was killed in a head-on collision on Christmas Eve 2003 when her car was struck by a car being driven in the wrong direction by illegal alien, Narciso Garcia-Jimenez. He later escaped from his hospital bed and is still at large. The car he drove had no inspection sticker and was registered to another person. When Debbie's mom learned that her daughter's killer survived and escaped after being treated at the hospital, she said she felt "angry, bitter and sad, all at once."
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Those are all crimes that should have never happened. Those are crimes allowed by government. What good is a national defense if criminals are able to cross our borders any time they please (every day)?
We can stop allowing illegal trespassers to cross our national borders. The rights of foreigners that illegally trespass do not trump the rights of a sovereign nation to secure their own border. The U.S. is not for the public use of the rest of the world no more than your home is for the public use by anyone that isn't invited. We could simply enforce the existing laws and prosecute those that illegally employ illegal trespassers. Illegal aliens are burdening our educations systems, healthcare systems, law enforcement systems, insurance systems, driving about without automobile insurance, and bringing disease and crime with them. The military can and should secure the borders and coasts, because national security and defense is the basic purpose of the military. Securing our borders, the right of any sovereign nation, is not isolationism or xenophobia; it is simply national security and defense. The military could easily secure the borders with resources we already have. We could simply position a small portion of troops along the borders where they could be more effective toward the goal of national security and defense. The U.S./Canada border (about 4500 miles) and the U.S./Mexico border (about 2000 miles) could both (about 6500 miles) be secured with 650 posts (about 10 miles apart; denser in some areas than others, with 10 soldiers per post, which would only require 6500 soldiers (about 1 soldier per mile); a biometrics IDentification system, patrols, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, remote cameras, radar, laser, sonar, thermal, seismic, and other sensors and technology could greatly enhance the ability to secure the borders also). And the Coast Guard could patrol the coast lines; what good is a massive armed forces (2.6 million active military, Guard, and Reserves) if we don't even use a small percentage (less than 1%) of the troops to protect our nation's borders? Almost quadruple the number of troops to 26,000 troops (a mere 1% of the 2.6 million active military, Guard, and Reserves), and that would be enough for troops every 1320 feet along all of the U.S. borders. See? It's not as far fetched as some want you to believe it is.
d.a.n | January 13, 2006 7:31 AM
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