COULD I POSSIBLY AGREE WITH SOMETHING FROM CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER?

 

…The border fence and observation tower near Nogales, Mexico.

 

There are very good reasons that the parents in Central America send their children to America.

Well, I guess I have to say that I must now be believing in miracles.  I make that declaration because I have found an area in which I find that I agree with the conservative opinion writer, Charles Krauthammer.

What?  Is it possible that I could have the same opinion on something as the Kraut-Man?

Well, first it must be clear, it’s only in agreeing on a few issues regarding the current humanitarian disaster occurring on our southern borders.

The main area is that to stop the migration, President Bush’s 2008 Sex Trafficking Law needs to be amended to allow those that come to the US from other countries to be treated the same as those coming from Mexico or Canada.  That’s not going to deal with those that are already here, but it should stop or help slow down the flow of young refugees.

It must be understood that regardless of the rule changes, all of those children that are able to make it to our doorsteps do deserve to be given a review to see if they qualify as a true refugee and deserve life-saving international protection.  If any of our children had to flee their home in order to save their lives, we would want them to have that same opportunity.

I also agree with Mr. Krauthammer that, if they are to be returned to their home countries, it should be done, “….under the most humane conditions. Buses [or planes] with every amenity. Kids accompanied by nurses and social workers and interpreters and everything they need on board. But going home.  One thing is certain. When the first convoys begin rolling from town to town across Central America, the influx will stop.”

On this last part, it may or may not “stop” the migration, but over time it should become much more manageable.

A final item that I agree on is that the southern border still needs to be secured.  If that means finishing the fence like that across the border in the Nogales area, or adding more personnel, then so-be-it.  Spend whatever it takes to at least, take away the physical open border issues that allow the drug cartels and the smugglers access into the US through the open areas of our border.

OK, I think this is now where I stop agreeing with Mr. Krauthammer. 

I do not agree with Krauthammer that the president has been “lax and indecisive”.  If anyone wants to talk about being “lax and indecisive”, let’s take a look at the current “do nothing”, Republican run, House of Representatives, with a record-low national approval rating of +7%.

Then take a look at the Senate Minority Leader that had said even before the 2009 Presidential Inauguration that the GOP’s #1 priority was to not support the new president and to make him a 1-term president.  A goal of which they totally failed at, even though the conservatives still performed a record number of Senate Filibusters. 

And finally, take a look at the fact that the conservative Koch Brothers organizations spent over $150 million in ads against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), while only a total of $27 million was spent in favor of the act.  We know how well that all worked out for Krauthammer and his cronies?

But I digress.  Let’s get back to the border crisis.

Mr. Krauthammer does not agree that all of these Central American individuals that are turning themselves over to the border control personnel are here due to “violence and poverty”, as does the administration.  The Kraut-Man says, they are here solely due to, “Obama’s unilateral (and lawless) June 2012 order essentially legalizing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who came here as children.”

Sorry Krauthammer, that order was for those already here and brought to the US as children.  And if you are correct, why did it take the refugees 2 years to start coming to our borders? 

Krauthammer says, “When has there not been violence and poverty in Central America?”  The truth is, over the past two years, where the gangs in Central America had at once just ruled their local neighborhoods, some gangs are now ruling whole towns or districts.  The local authorities are useless as they are being paid off by the drug cartels.  The chances of being killed in some Central American towns is 1 out of 2 if you are not a gang member.  The chances of being raped is even worse for any of the local young girls. 

Of course, the parents in those towns are going to risk taking their children, or spending whatever it takes to get their children to America.   And these smugglers can get $5000 to $7000 per child, just to get them out of their countries and hopefully on to America. 

A rancher interviewed recently, that owns a few hundred desert acres on the border, has already found 3 dead youngsters that didn’t make it across the desert area of his property.  The rancher has since put a few water storage barrels on his border trail just to hopefully keep these so called “travelers” from dying when they cross his property.

Obama has blamed much of the crisis on Republicans for their failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform.  Of course, Krauthammer totally disagrees.  I guess I fall in the middle of this situation.  I agree that if Speaker Boehner and the House Republicans had done their job and put a version of the Senate Immigration Bill up for a vote, much of the border would have been closed with the extended fence and the 20,000 additional border personnel the bill would have provided.

But that would not deal with the fact that the real problem is not an unsecure border.  These refugees are not sneaking through.  They are turning themselves over to the border patrols.  The problem in Central America is two-fold.  The drug cartels and the gangs have caused the problem of those wanting to escape to America.  What are the border patrol supposed to do with a mass of juveniles or of mothers, bringing their children and turning themselves in, to the border security?

Comprehensive immigration would help, but the real issue is much more serious when dealing with what is going on today. 

First, fix the law, at the same time, pass the bill to deal with the current human crisis.  Then get the message out that those that do arrive will immediately be returned to their original countries.  And finally, get the damn border secured with a fence and with whatever additional personnel it takes. 

It’s not a one-fix-for-all issue, but it’s going to take both political parties working together in order to get it fixed. 

And for us, here in the US, getting the GOP to work with the Dems, that’s the biggest problem.

Copyright G.Ater 2014