Bachmann on Immigration

Presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, a Republican, has made recent statements on immigration.  Here is a summary of her recent statements:

1.  From Candidate Bachman’s website, we find the following statement on immigration:

“The last time our immigration laws were overhauled was in 1986, when Congress granted amnesty to almost three million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and promised increased border security in the near future. Twenty years later, the number of illegal immigrants in our country has quadrupled, with no end in sight. Rather than repeating the mistakes of our past, I believe Congress must work to secure our nation’s borders and enforce the immigration laws already in place. Once this is achieved, improvements to the current system can be considered. Those who approach our immigration system legally and work through the established process should be welcomed. However, any proposal for reform must not reward those who choose to break our laws by entering the country illegally.”  LINK

2.  last Month, Ms. Bachmann made the following comments:

“How do you solve it? You build a barrier, a fence, a wall — whatever you want to call it. You build it,” Bachmann said. “As president of the United States, every mile, every yard, every foot, every inch will be covered on that southern border.”  LINK

3.  A group supporting Rep. Michele Bachmann‘s presidential bid will run a radio ad this week that attacks Texas Gov. Rick Perry for being too moderate on immigration.

 “Rick Perry signed a law to make taxpayers pay college tuition for illegal immigrants,” the ad says. “Michele Bachmann opposes giving government benefits to illegal immigrants.”  LINK

4.  At a Florida tea party debate on Monday, GOP presidential candidate and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann criticized policies allowing undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition for public universities by hearkening back to a previous era.  She stated, “…the immigration system in the United States worked very, very well up until the mid-1960s when liberal members of Congress changed the immigration laws…”  LINK

I see two messages with Ms. Bachmann’s recent statements:

1.  Absolute Border Security along the Southwest Border with Mexico first.  Once that is accomplished, we can then discuss immigration reform for the remainder who are here illegally. 

2.  Distance yourself from political rivals who might be seen as too soft on immigrants (ie. Perry).

“Border Security” seems to be a catch phrase used by  many politicians today.  An excellent recent article by Truthout.org addresses this issue.  According to the article, “In adopting the border security rhetoric following 9/11, the federal government raised unrealistic expectations that the border can indeed be sealed and secured. Yet, never in our nation’s history have we actually controlled our 1,963-mile border with Mexico. Contraband and non-authorized crossings have been a constant of border life, not a recent development.”  LINK

The article also states, “Despite the border security buildups and $100 billion spent along the southwestern border, no terrorists or terrorist weapons have been seized.”

I think it would help immensely if our political leaders, Republican and Democrat alike, properly defined the goals behind the “secure our border” catch phrase.  How about the border with Canada?  Should we fence that off as well?  

Before we wall off our country, perhaps we should look to history for guidance.  How effective was the Great Wall of China?  Here is an answer I liked from the Web:  “the troops and officers assigned to the Wall were notoriously ineffective, and there are a number of accounts of them betraying gates to the invading nomads. In addition, the cost of keeping the Wall manned and repaired was high, and the Empire often did not want to afford the expense. In short, the costs probably outweighed the benefits.”  LINK

Here is another summary of the Great Wall of China:  “Paradoxically, the wall wasn’t a fully effective line of defense. Various invaders managed to breach the barrier. Every sentry was a potential weak spot, because sentries could be bribed. In the mid-1600s at a well-fortified mountain pass near the Yellow Sea, a turncoat general simply let Manchu horse soldiers ride through. The invaders marched into Beijing, established a new dynasty, and did no further work on the Great Wall — which had, after all, failed to hinder their invasion.”  LINK