BORDERS

I received this e-mail today: (All emphasis mine, ed.)

According to the Arizona Republic, a top Homeland Security Official has confirmed that the President's 2006 budget will not include funding for additional Border Patrol Agents.

Mike Albon, a spokesman for U.S. Border Patrol Agents says additional help is badly needed, and without extra funding, "the agents are not going to be there. We need all the help we can get."

What makes this such an intriguing issue is the fact that during the hotly contested debate over the Intelligence bill passed by Congress late last year, part of the reason it passed was because language was included that called for a doubling of the size of the Border Patrol over the next five years-or the addition of 2,000 agents per year.

However, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, told USA Today that an increase of that size simply wasn't feasible?

Not feasible?

Right now, Mexico is knowingly sending more than one million of its own people each year to illegally enter the United States it would seem to us that the American people are under attack. In fact, the Mexican government has gone so far as to print and distribute more than 1.5 million copies of "Guide for the Mexican Immigrant", a kind of "how-to guide" for crossing the border illegally.

To underscore the issue, word is that the Mexican government is threatening to sue the State of Arizona in "international courts" to block implementation of Proposition 200--Arizona's bold law that blocks services to illegal aliens!

The issue has gotten way out of hand, and additional Border Agents must become "feasible" if the American people have any hope of being protected.

But, if you aren't convinced that the Illegal Immigration issue isn't worth pursuing just look at these numbers taken from a Washington Times report:

* In 2004, 1.15 million illegals were apprehended.
That is more than 3,100 every day, and a 24% increase over 2003.

* Of the 1.15 million, 23,000 had criminal records.
84 were murder suspects, 37 were suspected kidnappers,
151 were wanted on sexual assault charges, 313 were robbery
suspects, and nearly 2,700 were implicated on drug-related charges.

* In 2004, Border Agents made 8,577 drug seizures and confiscated
1.4 million pounds of illegal narcotics with an estimated street value
of $1.62 billion.

These were the ones that Border Agents caught. What about the millions that got away? What kind of records do they have? What kind of terror will they bring to our neighborhoods, homes and families?

While the President called for another $80 billion in funds to fight the war on terror thousands of miles away, the one right here at our borders is being hopelessly lost!

HeavyHanded says, quiz time, folks:
What are the top three revenue producing items/categories for Mexico?
#1 is oil.
#3 is tourism.
What is #2?

Answer: U.S. money flowing back to families in Mexico from workers, both legal and illegal, working in the United States.

Without this, this pathetic government would collapse. No wonder the Mexican government wants to flood the U.S. with its people and "eliminate" the border.

They are threatening to sue us for things like prop 200; yet it is illegal in Mexico for illegal immigrants in Mexico to try and get services from Mexican institutions and will face imprisonment or deportation for doing so. So the things that are illegal to do in Mexico are perfectly acceptable for their citizens to do in the U.S. Go figure.