Reader offers solution to illegal immigrant problem

Dear editor:

For at least 20 years I have completed surveys pertaining to our immigration polices and have sent donations. To date it has been a waste of time and money.

We have laws on the books that would have solved most of the immigration problems had they been followed.

The liberals tell us that illegal immigrants are good four our country, that our people won't work for the wages paid to illegal immigrants (II), especially for farm workers.

If that is true and II dried up, farmers would have to pay more for laborers from our legal workforce and prices would rise.

What's new? In 1975 I spent $160 a month for food for eight persons. Now I pay $250 a month for minimum for two and that is cheaper than the monthly food bill for many two person families.

How many II are working on farms in the Midwest, our nation's breadbasket? When I was a kid in Michigan two neighbor farms used legal Mexican immigrants (and/or U.S. Mexican citizens) every year to pick crops.

Many legal Mexicans also worked in northern Michigan picking fruit. It would seem that most farmers using II are in the West (California) and the Southwest. Granted there are II in every lower 48 states, mostly working for minimal wages. Who does Washington hire to pick apples and Idaho to pick potatoes/beets?

In the meantime our country is wasting millions of dollars for welfare, food stamps, social security, education, drivers licenses, etc. for these II.

I worked for 48 years before I could get social security. How can II get social security by sneaking into this country? I'm not particularly prejudiced by race, but most of the illegals (not counting the unknown number of terrorist) are uneducated or undereducated (by our standards) Mexicans from Mexico.

Thanks to Congressional raiding of social security funds and the baby boomers our nation is facing serve problems with future benefits. We don't need the extra expense of II taking our hard earned lifetime social security.

Our countries expense (our tax money) is much more for these II than farmer's extra expense and future rising food cost. We must do something more than a fence (which you can tunnel under) and the few border patrolmen.

I have deuised the following plan which will initially cost a goodly sum but will, in time, cost less than what we are spending on II and possibly, terrorist. Unfortunately it will probably never go into effect thanks to "do gooders" and world opinion as this plan will be considered by some as too hard nosed!

We, in effect, are at war with the II. Not counting WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, this war is now and is directly affecting our nation. We fought England twice and Spain once for our freedom, our rights, and our hpes and dreams for our citizens and country.

We must return to those patriotic times to protect that which is ours. My four phase plan follows:

1. First we must get out of Iraq now. Once we captured Sadam and determined that there were no weapons of mass destruction, our job was done! My opinion is that we had no moral or legal right to interfere with another country who had not attacked us.

Terrorist (9/11) and big oil. No terrorist from 9/11 were found, and we certainly aren't benefiting from Iraq oil. So, get out now!

We, like the good guys we are, are trying to set up standards and run Iraq like our country, which we have no business doing.

I ask any doubters this: would we want any country to occupy our country and be telling us how to run our country (The U.N. in point)?? It won't/can't work anyway. Christians and Muslims mix like oil and water. Do I have to mention the crusades? Nothing has changed in over 2,000 years and isn't about to change now.

We can't be a big brother to all the people on this earth. It would be nice if we could solve the world's problems (the U.N. hasn't) and cause every human to live in peace (utopia?) But we can't and never will in our lifetime. All we are doing is sacrificing our troops for an unwinnable ideal!

2. Once out of Iraq our military will return to the states expect for a few who will go to other foreign soil. Our National Guardsmen will in the main return to their respective states, no longer on federally recognized active duty.

Once back to civilian life they will become part time GIs until their yearly 15-day federally recognized active duty comes up. Part of my plan is to send these 15-day Guardsmen to our southwest to augment the border guards on patrol.

Most of our Guardsmen are infantry types and would get their yearly training benefiting them and our nation. As there are 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii exempted due to distances involved) guards could be scheduled to provide coverage all year. For services trended the added yearly travel expenses would be worthwhile.

3. The boarder between the U.S. and Mexico is approximately 1,400 miles from Texas to California where roads do not exist in the border vicinity a two lane road and bridges could be built for quick use by boarder guards/National Guardsmen only (no civilian traffic). Shacks could be built on this road near favorite border crossings and/or a maximum of 100 miles apart (about 15 shacks).

Shacks could be manned 24 hours by three guards on eight hour duty. Sleeping cots and cheap cooking facilities could be provided.

The shacks would have photographing and fingerprint equipment. Illegals will be photographed and fingerprinted.

At least one prison centrally located, maybe two if needed, could be built for II only. Prison size would be based on the amount of estimated/known II crossing yearly.

The prison would have the bare necessities only. No televisions, gyms, libraries, etc., and should be as self supporting as possible.

Every prisoner works- no wedges; cigarettes; booze; drugs; candy; etc. There would be separate wings for women and children (under 10 years old) and males including children age 10 and above.

II caught first time would be printed, photographed, and escorted back to the boarder. II caught the second time (verified by prints and photos) would not receive trial of any type would be immediately transported to the prison.

An automatic 10 year sentence would be imposed (no bail). For those II who used violence trying to escape guards (on U.S. soil), a 20 year (no bail) sentence would be imposed.

At the end of their 10/20 year sentence they would be escorted to the boarder. If caught again the sentence would be for life. Each prison would have an old fashion scaffold. II who killed any American citizens would be hung without trial.

II who escape detection and were found at a later date in any state would be sent to the prison for II.

4. Once the prison/shacks/roads are built and National Gaurdsmen are in place, our government would notify the Mexican government of our new laws and procedures for II.

If Mexico doesn't like it, tough, it's our country.

If our liberals, religious fanatics, etc., who see the world through rose colored glasses are unhappy, I say again, tough!!

As with prostitution; booze; drugs; cigarettes; and politicians who waste our money, we cannot eliminate all II but enactment of these procedures will definitely slow them down.

Pen Bidwell