“Drawing the Lines”

By William L. Garvin

If the local police department said it was unable or unwilling to protect you, your home, and your family, where would you draw the line? If you subsequently woke up one morning and found a group of strangers camped out on your front lawn, where would you draw the line? If they came in your front door and began drinking your water and eating your food, where would you draw the line? If they demanded to become part of your family and be treated equally with your children and grandchildren, where would you draw the line?

For most of us, this is nothing but an intellectual exercise but for the citizens of the State of Arizona, it was a real time nightmare. After decades of Federal neglect, they had to draw the line. After decades of Federal neglect, the citizens and their legislative representatives passed a law which was subsequently signed by the Governor to protect their borders, their homes and their families. This was solely because the Federal government was unable or unwilling to do its job.

Because of Federal ineffectiveness, there are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants living in Arizona. This is in spite of the fact that over the last three years, the Border Patrol has made 990,000 arrests on the Arizona border. This is approximately 900 arrests per day. However, those numbers don’t even begin to expose the scope of the problem. Since 2005, Phoenix (America’s fifth largest city) has earned the dubious distinction as the “Kidnapping Capital” of the country. In fact, they are exceeded only by Mexico City or they would be the kidnapping capital of the world! Last year alone, there were nearly 400 reported kidnappings in Phoenix. There are also many additional kidnappings that apparently go unreported because of fear of reprisal. Some estimates say that it may be as high as two-thirds of the total going unreported. “We’re in the eye of the storm,” said Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson. If it doesn’t stop here, if we’re not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation.”

Much of the problem can be traced directly to Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigrants. The violence that has characterized their Mexico home has now been exported across our borders. “They’re ruthless,” says Chief Anderson, “so now they’re ripping each other off but doing it in our city.” Often it is the illegal immigrants who are victimized by captors who demand ransom from the victim’s relatives in Mexico. An ABC news investigation uncovered horrific cases of chopped off hands, legs and heads when a family doesn’t pay up quickly enough. According to various news stories, ransoms range from $30,000 to $1 million. It is also reported that there have even been ransom demands for large drug loads.

In January of this year, the following summary was published: “It can happen anywhere in the city, from a busy street to back-alley shack. Time of day doesn’t matter, either, with many abductions taking place in broad daylight. The brazenness of the kidnappers is similar to the Mexican experience where drug smugglers or immigrants snatch up their rivals, associates or family members in order to pay unpaid debts for lost drug trafficking loads. Sometimes they kidnap victims who’ve just scored huge sums of money from a drug load. Sometimes the abduction is in retaliation for an earlier kidnapping.”

An earlier Wall Street Journal article interviewed a rancher South of Sierra Vista. “He has had a truck stolen, found bales of drugs on his land, and routinely has illegals approach him demanding beer. It used to be that one or two would ask a local resident for water and a sandwich and once fed, be on their way with a polite “gracias.” The new breed now comes in groups of 50. They demand to be driven to their pickup spot and if you refuse, they flip you off. Sometimes they poison barking ranch dogs or cut their throats to quiet them.” Others have had livestock killed, butchered and barbecued on the spot. A rancher was recently murdered and last week, a deputy was shot in the stomach by an illegal with an AK-47.

So that’s why Arizona drew their line. The legislation provides local law enforcement officers discretion to question those with whom they have “lawful contact” as to their citizenship. The legislation had 70 percent voter approval including 51% of Democrats. Cue the hysteria. Predictably Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) called it “apartheid”; Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) called it “Nazi Germany”; San Francisco decided to boycott Arizona; and Al Sharpton reserved his New York busses to Astroturf his protesters into Arizona. Young hooligans in Phoenix pelted the police with bottles and debris and painted a swastika on the capital building with refried beans. Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemned “the criminalization of migration” and President Obama called it “misguided” and “threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness.”

To all the above, what part of “illegal” in “illegal immigration” don’t you understand? Don’t basic notions of fairness start with following the laws of the country which you enter legally? Doesn’t fairness begin with waiting your turn and not cutting in line in front of others? When and where are you going to draw the line…or will you just surrender?