On deporting illegal aliens - Thoughts of a retired Border Patrol agent

One of the original intentions of immigration law, and the effort to locate and remove those illegally in our country, was the concern for displacement of American employees. It was considered somewhat the acid test. If American employees were being set aside, the offending illegals were arrested and deported. At some juncture in the recent past, that concept was apparently pitched out the window. The big conundrum is not so much that it happened, but rather why did it happen. It's the product of a frightening political shift that is totally incomprehensible to anyone other than those who seek reelection. It's also bi-partisan. It has to stop, and we have to return to rational thinking.

Depending on whose estimates one uses, we have nearly as many illegals employed as we do legal residents and citizens out of work. Certainly more than 50 percent. That quite simply has to stop.

That we cannot deport such huge numbers, and therefore must create a method through which illegals can remain, is pure political bunk. How do we deport them? In earnest. We start with number one, and we work our way up the ladder. We streamline the processing, and remove administrative road-blocks. When I was first in the Border Patrol, we were led to believe that there was a time when processing an illegal was nothing more than a 3x5 hand written card; probably during Operation Wet Back. Today, the same thing can be done, but on a computerized system. Prints can be digitally checked, and repeat offenders can get their due. Yes, it can be done, and it must be done. All, however, is contingent on a relatively well-sealed border. That's the first order of the day.

Hasta La Vista,

Gary Fossen,

Jacksonville, Oregon