It’s amazing what you find in old files! I was going through some of my dad’s old Post Scripts columns for a new project, when I found one about immigration and border walls during the George W. Bush administration. Here’s what he published in The Gallatin North Missourian on April 19, 2008:
Steel Curtain
“They say it is a steel curtain descending across America from San Diego on the Pacific to Brownsville on the Rio Grande. Behind it lies a nation so confused and hazy by its immigration policies that it has decided to wait for things to fix themselves. The evidence of this problem is visible at the border with Mexico. There the Department of Homeland Security is rushing to enforce an ineffective system of fencing and sensors, trucks and boots on the ground. It is an example of immigration reform that is not working.
Failed Pilot Project
“In Arizona, a 28-mile pilot project to build a “virtual fence” of sensors and camera has fallen short of expectations. The government says it is not working. Why? Because of too much haste and too little consultation with our Border Patrol. The main contractor, Boeing, rushed into the project with the wrong software. Its cameras could not focus on targets and rain bothered everything else.
Miscues From the President
“The Bush Administration has confused things further by saying the system is working but won’t be expanded. This is not good news for the folks in that area where pouring billions into a real fence is viewed as simply insane. Mayor Ray Borane of Douglas, Arizona, said that people on the Mexican side have cut through the fence with torches, welding on doors with their own locks, going in and out at will.
Dotted Line in Texas
“In Texas, the fence is a dotted line, blocking some places but not others. It cuts though the University of Texas at Brownsville. But it blocks the migration of wildlife by bifurcating preserves in which the country has already made a heavy investment. At the same time, it does not disrupt things that really matter, like golf. It stops short of the River Bend Country Club and a luxury gated community owned by a Dallas millionaire.
Of Course, Borders Must Be Secure
“Let’s agree that any country needs to control its borders. And this one has done too little on that front. But that worthy goal founders when the overall strategy boils down to simplistic components–bits of fencing and technological cure-alls. This means bringing people onto the book. This means being realistic about the supply of visas. This means letting people in through ports of entry instead of chasing them across the desert. Only then will we restore order to a broken system.
Rethink Policies
“The view from Mayor Borane’s part of the world, shared by dozens of border mayors, sheriffs and governors, is that nothing short of an army of federal agents standing shoulder to shoulder for 2,000 miles would shut the border the way the hard-liners want. The sensible solution is to bring the visa supply in line with reality, let workers and family members through more easily and give the Border Patrol the resources to catch drug smugglers and other bad elements engaged in crime.
Fence, a Monument to Government Failure
“As for the fence, we like Mayor Borane’s suggestion to let it stand as a monument to the government’s chronic inability, so far, to do anything smart about illegal immigration.”
Dad’s column did not, of course, address the more recent family separation policy and the legal right some migrants have to seek asylum. But it’s amazing how spot on this column from 2008 rings true 11 years later!