Let’s seal the border

Letter date: 
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Letter publisher: 
gazettetimes.com
Letter author: 
James P. Carrick
Letter body: 

Our president has threatened executive action to deal with the current crisis on our southern border. Great. I have a simple, effective suggestion: Seal the southern border.

The President has the power and legal authority to use the National Guard to that end. If we have the resources to care for these “refugees” we have the resources to build and patrol the fences this will require. Where fences can’t be utilized we have a Coast Guard and Navy that can seal off the Rio Grande. Easily. All it requires is the political will and some courage. What does the President have to lose? He can’t be re-elected.

The President would get little or no opposition from conservatives, and it must be a first step before any further immigration reform or “amnesty” can even be considered. Failure to seal this border will only lead to an escalation of the problems we see there now and further compromise our national security in countless ways.

The cost to do this, what ever it is, is minuscule in comparison to the costs of humanitarian assistance required to take care of these people flooding our border, regardless of the status one chooses to confer upon them. The cost of doing nothing is incalculable.

Additionally, with the threat of terrorism increasing daily, this should be a higher priority than ever. The president’s claim that the border is “more secure than ever” is ridiculous. The proof of that can be seen on television on every network, every day. How stupid does the president think we are?

It is well within our ability to protect our sovereignty and seal the southern border, and if the president is serious about anything, it should be this.

James P. Carrick