National Guard To The Border

If President Bush does announce tonight that he is sending Guard units to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants it will be the first smart domestic policy move he has made in his administration.

The U.S. is essentially being overrun with illegal aliens and the Border Patrol is not big enough to handle the job. It has not been stated how the Guard will operate, but having some units do their two-week yearly training stint on the border might be a good idea. They will receive some good training while patrolling the desert, possibly useful if sent to the Mid East and the units will be doing their natual job. Defending the nation's borders.

The cry from politicians both Amerian and from south of the border is already being heard. Vincente Fox, Mexico's president, called the president to complain about militarizing the border. Bush hopefully listened respectfully and then told him to shut up and do something about stopping the flow of illegals on his side of the Rio Grande. It is known that Mexican authorities frequently help illegals with maps and water.

The only argument from our side of the border against this idea is that it will further stretch the already heavily committed National Guard. This is something that has to be taken into consideration, but it can be worked out. If not regular army units should be sent.

Finally, no one in Washington should listen to the cries that this move is anti-immigration. It is, in fact, pro-immigration. By stopping the illegals it will again make American citizenship something to be prized, not something you can simply steal by sneaking into the country.

No word has leaked about what will be done with the 11 million or so illegals already inside the nation. My guess is the president will tie this tough border stance to the guest worker card program that he has been pushing. If thoroughly enforced I would go along with the guest worker idea, but considering the government fails to enforce its current laws I'm not holding my breath on that issue.