I do not like border fences. They are un-American. President Reagan demanded that the Berlin Wall be torn down. Why does the beacon of freedom want to build a fence? Some say, just enforce the laws already on the books. This is misguided, because although it is illegal to be a noncitizen inside the United States without permission, the written law does not make it mandatory that such people be deported.
SB 744 does not change Section 1357 of the current Immigration and Nationalization Act. Section 1357 currently makes the reporting to the attorney general of people suspected of being in the country illegally optional. The answer is to mandate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement be contacted and assume custody in every case that a local law enforcement officer encounters a suspect he or she has reason to believe may not have been lawfully admitted.
Senate Bill 744 creates a new bureaucracy costing $5.2 billion. It creates more government when the real answer is more ICE enforcement. My friends and staff have personally experienced car theft and home invasions by noncitizens, only to see the perpetrator released without deportation.
No matter what we build on the border, because America offers free opportunity to all who make it here (a testament to a virtuous nation), people will understandably find ways around it. Only if they reliably believe they will be returned to their country of origin if discovered, will they recognize that the effort is not worth it. Maybe then, with our help and prayerful support, they will direct their efforts to making their own country more like the United States, which remains, at least for now, the shining city on the hill.
Thomas W. Burkart • Hamel
