GOP Posturing for Immigration Win prior to Elections

National Public Radio (NPR) posted an article about how faced with tough midterm elections Republicans are seeking a small victory with another enforcement only bill. The small victory would come in the 700 mile double-fence along the Mexico border. The GOP concerned about projecting a policy of strict border enforcement could tout the 700 mile wall as a small victory this November.

Democrats have called the Republican stance as election-season pandering, but have not moved to block the bill, even as they continue to call for a more comprehensive immigration bill. The standoff between the parties is evident and in this story also by NPR, Illinois Democrat Senator Barack Obama comes to a conclusion. He said, "My conclusion based on the current politics is that unless the American people had a sincere sense that we are making progress on the border issues, we are not going to be able to resolve the pathway to citizenship."

I say give the GOP their small victory and let them build a wall, fence or barrier of any sort. Let's not get into how effective it will be. I previously posted on that matter here. Last week I was reminded of just how futile the 700 mile fence is going to be when my mechanic Fernando recalled his story of how he crossed the border some 17 years ago. He stated, "I attempted to cross four times and got caught every single time. He added for 3 months I attempted to get accross. The smugglers tried to get me accross by having me go through the desert and through the mountains, over 10 foot fences and everytime I was got caught."

So, I asked, "Okay, how did you finally get her?". To which he replied, "On my last attempt, I had no more than $200.00, so I went to this smuggler that someone had recommended. Fernando indicated he was somewhat skeptical when the smuggler took him to a bar and told him let's get some beers. He said, "It was 3 o'clock in the morning and by this time we were somewhat drunk. The smuggler say's let go and we began to walk towards the border".

Fernando added: "We get within 500 feet of the border and the smuggler takes a beer and dumps it on himself. He takes another beer and dumps it on me. He takes out a fake green card and says to put it in my wallet. He instructs me to get within sight of the border agent, pull out my wallet and take out the green card.

So, as he approaches the border agent, Fernando does just that, hands over his newly aquired green card and hands it to the border partol agent. The agent looks at him, down at the card, looks over at both of them and says, "Too much Cerveza"? They smile and both respond, "Si un poco!" ("Yes. A little"!)

Thus after what began as a number of dangerous attempts to illegally cross the border, Fernando managed to just walk accross the border. He eventually settled in Los Angeles and began his 17 year stay as an illegal immigrant.

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