I have to tell you, this just gets me fired up. If the border states are asking for more resources, and Americans are getting killed because of this border violence, then damn it, send the the reinforcements. And if you can’t send the military or enough border patrol folks to get the job done, then contract it out. I guarantee that plenty of folks would answer the call if there was a demand for such a thing.
But my guess is that because of the politics of the matter, the feds are trying to hold off doing anything effective or visible like this. But like I have mentioned before, the deaths of Americans trump politics any day of the week, and the citizens of the border states are getting pissed. Especially after the death of Americans a few weeks back, and the recent death of rancher Robert Krentz. Robert’s death will come to symbolize what is going on at the border, and for today’s federal government not to act upon this, will only further erode the people’s trust in that government.
I also have a suggestion for how to enforce the border. If an immigrant wants to ‘illegally’ enter into this country, then I say treat them like criminals. I say put up massive tent city prisons along the borders, and instead of shipping these folks back to Mexico, put them in these outdoor prisons and have them serve some time. I would put Sheriff Joe Arpaio in charge of the whole thing, and truly make the act of ‘illegally’ entering into the US a punishable offense.
We could also use those prisoners for work details along the border. They could help repair roads, pick up trash that other illegal immigrants left, repair the fence, help repair damage done to personal property like Robert Krentz’s ranch and otherwise pay the US for their crimes in the form of labor. I would imprison them all too. Murderers, drug smugglers, people smugglers, etc. Keep them all detained, and have them all enjoy the great outdoors at a tent city for awhile. –Matt
Edit: Be sure to check out Sheriff Joe’s inmate powered bicycle generator project. lol He is tweeting about it as we speak.
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The deceased Arizona rancher, Robert Krentz.
States Boost Border Security as Pleas to Washington Go Unmet
March 31, 2010
Border states are looking to take matters into their own hands, boosting law enforcement to patrol for illegal immigrants while their pleas for federal assistance go unmet in the wake of the killing of a prominent Arizona rancher.
Border states are looking to take matters into their own hands, boosting law enforcement to patrol for illegal immigrants while their pleas for federal assistance go unmet in the wake of the murder of a prominent Arizona rancher.
Local authorities suspect Robert Krentz, found dead on his cattle ranch Saturday night, was killed by an illegal immigrant who fled back across the border into Mexico.
Gov. Jan Brewer told Fox News on Wednesday that after repeatedly calling on the federal government to send in 250 National Guard troops, she hasn’t ruled out making the call herself.
“I can, and I haven’t ruled that out,” she said. Brewer has also offered state law enforcement help to the county where the killing occurred, while the Arizona Department of Public Safety and Department of Corrections are helping to coordinate the search for the suspect, according to her office.
But Brewer stressed that Arizona cannot afford to sustain or maintain the additional National Guard presence. She said border security is a federal responsibility — and she said the administration simply is not stepping up.
“We’ve been talking to the federal government in regards to our borders and it just seems that they don’t want to participate in any shape, form or manner,” she said. “They just don’t even respond.”
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also announced Tuesday that he’s increasing law enforcement along his state’s border with Mexico while the investigation is underway. His office said New Mexico state police and local sheriff’s offices have stepped up patrols all along the border — and that the U.S. Border Patrol has increased its presence as well.
But officials including Brewer, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and several U.S. representatives out of New Mexico have called for a much bigger federal presence on the border — a combination of National Guard and Border Patrol — in the aftermath of Krentz’s murder.
“The federal government’s responsibility is the border. It’s a federal responsibility, not a state responsibility,” McCain said. “So the federal government should be the ones that pick up the tab for sending the guard to the border.”
Matthew Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, told FoxNews.com in a written statement that the department “will respond directly to the members of Congress” who are making the requests.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, formerly the governor of Arizona, “shares these members’ concern about the safety of U.S. border communities and is committed to working with our state, local, tribal, and Mexican law enforcement partners to combat threats from violent cartels on both sides of the border,” he said.
Napolitano, since taking over Homeland Security, has increased the number of intelligence analysts, special agents and canine teams along the border. But critics say Border Patrol teams are ineffective and that hundreds of miles of fencing are either missing or not high or sturdy enough to keep out illegal immigrants.
The Krentz killing has served as a rallying cry for those who have long called on the federal government to overhaul its approach to the southwestern border. The Krentz family had personally been airing its concerns about illegal immigrants to federal authorities for years.
Though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just returned from leading a delegation to Mexico City to discuss the offensive against the drug trade and related border violence, the State Department had no comment on the Krentz killing.
The White House could not be reached for comment.
A few days before the murder, Texas Gov. Rick Perry deployed helicopters to the border to patrol and wrote to Napolitano calling for the federal government to do more to stem border violence.
In a letter to Napolitano, Perry asked for the department to use a new drone for surveillance along the Texas-Mexico border — he complained that the handful of drones currently in operation are split between North Dakota and Arizona.
Story here.
There is no National Consensus on how strict or how lax immigration and border control policies should be. The Party in power now seeks to achieve a perpetual majority by registering and voting the millions of illegals already here. The Party out of power was too eager to accept campaign contributions from employers of illegal aliens and too vulnerable to pressure from Hispanic grievance groups to effectively control the border when they had the chance.
State and County paramilitary forces are the only alternatives, and these only in places where the locals really want the border controlled enough to support them.
Some of those State and County Defense Forces, Guards, Rangers and Sheriff's Posses might hire contractors, if the political will exists to legislate funding for such. That's a big if.
Comment by Cannoneer No. 4 — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 1:02 AM
Is border control and illegal immigration a defense issue?
Or is it a minor law enforcement issue? Illegal border crossing is only a misdemeanor.
Are they economic refugees who deserve our aid and sympathy?
Or are they unwelcome intruders invading the sovereign territory of a once prosperous Westphalian nation-state who can no longer absorb them?
Different people have different answers to those questions. Agreement is unlikely.
Comment by Cannoneer No. 4 — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 1:43 AM
Maybe the states could use contractors as a way to send a message to the feds? lol Yeah, your right though and I doubt they would ever go down that path.
One of the factors why states want the feds to send troops, is cost. Either the defense of the country comes out of the border state's budget, or the federal budget.
Comment by headjundi — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 1:13 AM
Arizona has Rangers. They need more of them.
Comment by Cannoneer No. 4 — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 1:20 AM
The American electorate has the opportunity for public referendum every two years, which they almost never avail themselves of, preferring incumbent thieves for rolling Federal pork and bringing home the bacon to the districts.
Most have never seen the Mexican border, don't particularly care what goes on there, and would gullibly swallow the anti-enforcement propaganda that would be pushed by Party and grievance group media arms.
The folks on the border are on their own, much as they were when their ancestors first settled there. The more vigorous culture will expand, the less vigorous will contract, and lines on maps in Washington defining de jure borders will not match up with de facto control on the ground as the actual frontier shifts. Washington will perk up if Don Pancho of the Chihuahua Cartel burns down Columbus again, until then they have higher priorities.
Comment by Cannoneer No. 4 — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 3:59 AM
Interesting. Possibly a public referendum is in order, and then politicians could work off that. Although to me, if the border states are having problems, and American citizens are getting killed because of this activity, I would have to go with the side that it should be dealt with.
To me this also defines quite literally what defense of country is all about. We are so used to fighting wars overseas, that when there is a threat on the border and citizens are getting killed, we seemed to be confused about what to call that. Defending Iraq or Afghanistan's border with troops, is more important than defending the US border with troops?
I also think that if most people lived the same reality as the border towns and property owners, they would see for themselves these issues. That would be some shared reality, and would help with a public referendum on such things.
Comment by headjundi — Thursday, April 1, 2010 @ 2:59 AM
Dustin Carnevale of FAIR will be my guest at 5:40 PM New York time today to talk about the murder of Robert Krentz on News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network.
You're invited to ask him questions. Please go to http://www.joinchatnow.com to participate. There is no charge.
All the best,
Gary
Comment by Gary Baumgarten — Thursday, April 8, 2010 @ 4:25 AM