Friday, March 24, 2006

My Tucson: Failing to fix border problem a disservice to citizens

BARNEY BRENNER

Tucson Citizen

It's a hot-button issue, and the Tucson sector is the worst in the country.  Illegal immigration is burdening local hospitals, straining their services and finances.

The human traffic in the area south of Tucson is seriously damaging our Sonoran Desert, producing mountains of trash, a trampled environment and areas reeking of human waste.

Most are coming to build better lives, but some are ruthless criminals.

Those we're lucky enough to apprehend cost us for their incarceration. Those we don't catch are a greater concern: We've even found Arabic materials near the border and smugglers in a shooting war with our Border Patrol.

Proposed solutions range from deporting all those here illegally and using the military to seal our borders to granting amnesty to everyone who has already sneaked in.

I believe the best proposals lie between these extremes.

The root of the problem is the porous border. Illegal entry must be prevented, and multilayer fencing and barriers are effective solutions, as has been proved south of San Diego.

An unexpected benefit there has been a decrease in crime and an increase in property values on both sides of the border.

Those who compare a border fence with the Berlin Wall conveniently forget that the communists were imprisoning their people. We're protecting ours. (And I bet they have doors and locks on their own homes.)

A flurry of legislation is emerging - including bills from Arizona Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain.

Attempting to oust all those here illegally would produce not only social chaos, but also economic upheaval.

Kyl's plan requires that, within five years, otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants return home for a year before applying for legal entry.

This would produce a relatively orderly transition without giving advantage to those breaking our laws over those playing by the rules.

Even Sen. Edward Kennedy, who co-sponsored McCain's bill, recognizes the merits of this provision. It's essentially an undoing of trespass, rather than a granting of amnesty.

For those who call this requirement harsh, try entering Mexico illegally and see what happens.

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