Our borders define the geographical extent of our country.
Our borders must
be protected from unwaranted invasions of agricultural pests, illicit drugs, Africanized
honey bees,
mosquito-born diseases and other uninvited guests.
The uninvited
guests most in the news today are various types of human migrations.
One class
is those who are genuinely in danger for their religious or political beliefs.
This
class of refugee deserves our scrutiny and if it is determined there is a risk to
the well-being of these people, we are obligated to help them.
There is a caveat
here. There are ways to bring this to the attention of the American authorities
without
breaking our laws by crossing the border like a thief in the night.
Before we
condone and accept that they may have needed to do exactly that, it needs to be shown
that they exhausted all possible remedies.
For example: if someone is being pursued
by death squads in Columbia and they make it safely to Costa Rica,
does that entitle
them to proceed onward to the U.S. border since there may be fewer economic opportunities
in Costa Rica?
Good question.
If someone is having difficulties in Botswana
should they flee to Norway because they have a good social safety net?
The nearest
safe harbor rule should apply and America must be counted upon when truly needed.
Regarding economic refugees.
Everyone wants a better life for themselves
and their families.
This is a normal human desire.
However, it may be that
we have realized that perhaps our country has an optimum carrying capacity
where
schools, health care, policing, transportation etcetera can be available for all
citizens.
It is certain a billion people would enter America tomorrow if given
the chance.
Perhaps some of our energy and our treasure might go towards educating
and providing for needy in other lands
so that it might make it possible for them
to survive without wrenching dislocations.
Most people love their home and their
country and leave only as a last resort.
If we could cough up for something as
simple as a well pump in a small village it could make an outsize difference.
Or
suppose we educated everyone. Educated families show a remarkable tendency to be
of a size that is supportable by the resources at hand.
If all your children are
surviving it's not necessary to have nine.
And educated children have this uncanny
habit of supporting their seniors in their old age. Sounds like a win-win.
We'd
likely have to worry less about our borders and some $50 billion wall,
if we invested
a small amount in solving the issues before they lead to migrations.
And if they
grew up successfully in their own country, we could invite them to visit us,
share
our hospitality and return home with a warm glow about Americans.
And what about the "bad hombres"?
We must be eternally vigilant.
We
must be fair and we must be true to our ideals.
But we must be eternally vigilant
because there are some bad eggs out there with various agendas.