Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/350405
Oursouthernborderisbeingdelugedwitha record number of unaccompanied alien chil- dren crossing the Rio Grande into Texas, over- whelming the Border Patrol and Homeland Security agencies. It is projected that upwards of 90,000 will have been detained and released in the US by October, whom by law are given a court order that protects them from immigra- tion hassles and then released to family and friends already in the US until their court date. Itappearsthatabouttwo- thirds of the children have legit- imate asylum cases, but if his- toric trends hold true, nearly half of Hispanic immigrants ordered to go to immigration court never show up choosing instead to join the legion of ille- gal emigrants living under Bor- der Patrol radar. To the emigrants such life is far preferable to the poverty, rampant crime, and corruption they fled. But as they tell their countrymen the cycle escalates, putting further strains on Amer- ican hospitality and humanitar- ian relief for those that defy our laws. This issue pits those who would like to see limited am- nesty extended to some illegal immigrants against a broader question held by many others: To what extent can American communities, and jobs held by natural-born Americans, sur- vive a quasi-legal immigration onslaught? These concerns drive a building protest movement, that first took place in Mur- rieta, California in early July, but last week spread to places like Oracle, Arizona, and Hous- ton, Texas. A protest in Dallas last Friday saw a stand/shout-off where those against immigra- tion clashed on the streets with by pro-immigration protesters. There are several causes for the surge of unaccompanied im- migrant children including in- creasing foreign criminal gang predation, government corrup- tion and ineffectiveness, and ironically increased border secu- rity because many parents who illegally came to the US on a seasonal basis for work now re- main because of the increased likelihood of being caught cross- ing the border to return to their families. Considering the im- proving economy, their vast numbers, employer willingness to look the other way, the rela- tively mild consequences of be- ing caught, and our overbur- dened immigration courts and officers, there is no wonder that the US is an increasingly attrac- tive magnet for those seeking a better life. The bulk of the current crisis on the border however is tied to a 2008 law signed by George W. Bush that grants protections for child asylum seekers who may have been part of a hu- man trafficking chain. It means that children from non-contigu- ous countries have full due pro- cess rights. Those rights are now part of a massive deporta- tion backlog clogging immigra- tion courts such that it takes up to three years and vast legal and humanitarian resources to adjudicate. The unintended consequences of that 2008 law, along with Obama White House policies that soften the border by making it easier for some illegal immigrants to be recognized as legitimate US residents, stoke the political rhetoric and ensuing street pro- tests. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both parties were appalled this week when they were told the daily cost of housing the mi- grants has gone from $255 to $1,000 per day. Such out- rageous expenses must be reigned-in by having commu- nities and charities assist with humanitarian efforts and in- stituting a wholesale overhaul of how those seeking asylum are handled. In addition we must help stem the flow of il- legal entrants by better secur- ing our borders and helping our neighbors address the corrup- tion and crime associated with feeding our demand for illicit drugs. To this end it is impera- tive that we address drug abuse as the health problem it is rather than continue the coun- terproductive war on drugs in- carcerating millions of our own citizens only to abet foreign drug traffickers. The money saved, court dockets reduced and prison cells emptied can help provide refuge, adjudica- tion, and housing for those that come in desperation while pro- viding opportunities for pro- ductive citizens. The knee-jerk response of those protesting against safe harbor is an offensive display of selfishness and entitlement, particularly by those whose for- bears like mine immigrated to the United States to afford them a better life. Whether the anti-immigration protest move- ment gains enough steam to impact the upcoming election remains to be seen, but it will be shameful if it succeeds in de- nying help to those needing ref- uge and humanitarian assis- tance. While there are no sim- ple solutions this should not keep us from pursuing the myr- iad ways to mitigate illegal im- migration. RichardMazzucchiisaretired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renew- able energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sus- tainable and spiritual lifestyle and operate a barbecue equip- ment and supply business. He can be reached at living- green@att.net. Positivepoint Myriad ways to mitigate illegal immigration Cartoonist's take There was far more worth consideration, in my humble opinion, in "America: Imag- ine the World With- out Her," by Dinesh D'Souza (with John Sullivan directing and Academy Award-win- ning producer Gerald Molen), than one column could justifiably contain. The movie could not, after all, contain all that was in D'Souza's book of the same title, which I intend on finding, buying and read- ing. The brief synopsis from Fandango.com does a fair job as far as it goes: "('America') takes you on a journey of dis- covery that will bring you face- to-face with the heroes who built America, in the times in which they lived, bled, and sac- rificed in order to build a great nation…and their present day critics (and) their stories in their own words, so you can decide which America you be- lieve in." D'Souza states that Barack Obama did not create the anti- American left, it created him. Consider what George Orwell said: "The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their under- standing of their own history." Correspondingly, Mr. D'Souza stated "What I find striking is the highly selective view of history that is routinely taught not only in colleges but also in the public schools. This is a view that trolls through Amer- ican history, isolates a half- dozen fact, pulls them all to- gether, and passes them off as a narrative of American shame." What irks him, and I share the sentiment, is all of the im- portant American history that's skipped over. "Most of our young people think that is our history, the shame part alone… (that) leaves out huge episodes of America, which is the Indus- trial Revolution, the spread- ing of the railroads, the great entrepreneurial and innova- tion history of America, and the First and Second spiri- tual awakenings, which trans- formed the country." In "The United States of Am- nesia—Many leftists work hard to erase from public memory America's most positive sto- ries," writer Lee Habeeb (Na- tionalReview.com, 7/4/14) de- scribes it thus: "Regretta- bly, the American story is being told in large mea- sure by people who don't like our country and want to change it by erasing those parts of our his- tory that don't comport with their view of man's relation to government— and to God. (They say) If only America were less American, the world would be a better place. If only we toned down the emphasis on the individual, and turned up the emphasis on the collective, America would be a better place. If only our Constitution were a 'living Con- stitution,' less concerned with limiting government's power… we'd be a better country." To the contrary, that document "unleashed the God-given po- tential of a people as no other single document in human his- tory has done." One of D'Souza's interviews with leftist critics was with Bill Ayers, the unapologetic ter- rorist from the 1960s, who be- came an advocate for radically transforming our education of young people—in an anti-Amer- ican, anti-capitalist direction— through the Chicago Annen- berg Challenge and the Woods Fund Board. Obama worked with Ayers and helped fund Ayers' efforts, as meticulously documented by Stanley Kurtz in "Radical-in-Chief." "There is a straight line from Bill Ayers the domestic terror- ist of the late 1960s, to Ayers the subversive education 're- former' of the 1990s, to Ayers the defiant, bitterly anti-Ameri- can interviewee of today. There is also, I fear, a straight line from Obama the Marxist-Le- ninist student of the 1980s, to Obama the ally of Ayers in his subversive educational agenda of the 1990s, to Obama the law- less Radical-in-Chief of today. Ayers, presumably, is no lon- ger violent and Obama, pre- sumably, is no longer a Marx- ist. But for both, the deep hos- tility towards America as we have known it remains." (Paul Mirengoff, Powerlineblog.com, 7/03/14) At the time of this writ- ing, the prominent news is the flood of illegal immigrants at our southern border. It is the manufactured leftist agenda of one Barack Obama, with mi- nor roles by previous presidents who failed to build a long, strong double fence. However, it is only because of Obama's reckless abrogation of his du- ties to "faithfully execute" the laws of this nation that they keep coming with a belief that they will be allowed to stay—a belief created by Obama's own extralegal pronouncements of amnesty for young illegal aliens. We have the spectacle of bus- ses being turned away by citi- zens who have had enough of this kind of "transforming" of America, which has prompted faux outrage by the usual lib- eral suspects. They're shocked, shocked that people would ob- ject to our government facili- tating a literal invasion from other countries and not put the invaders promptly on planes, busses and trains back to their countries of origin. We've even been told that the INS, HHS and other alphabet agencies should not be interfered with, that the illegals will be "pro- cessed" and treated with "jus- tice" and "fairness." News reports say money is being spent on ads in the Cen- tral American countries where many of them come from to discourage them from making the hazardous trek north. Ex- cuse me for asking the obvi- ous: Why waste money on ads when the message could get out much faster by simply and im- mediately "processing" them back to their home countries and letting local media inform everyone that they are wast- ing money and effort trying to cross our border? If you don't think that, as President, Obama is "faithfully executing" an agenda to turn America into a third-world land of low and absent stan- dards, opportunities and free- doms, you're not paying atten- tion — wake up. The way I see it America — believe not the le The bulk of the current crisis on the border however is tied to a 2008 law signed by George W. Bush that grants protections for child asylum seekers who may have been part of a human trafficking chain. It means that children from non-contiguous countries have full due process rights. Those rights are now part of a massive deportation backlog clogging immigration courts such that it takes up to three years and vast legal and humanitarian resources to adjudicate. Sounding off Alookatwhatreadersaresayingincommentsonourwebsiteandonsocialmedia. Itisnottheschool'sfault.Yesthearea borders the school, but it does not belong to the school, therefore they have no reason to take care of it, and clean it up as if it were school property. If the community is worried about it, the community should then work together to get it taken care of. Rebecca Leah Calkins: Regarding a suit filed against RB High by Marysa Nichols' father The school has installed numerous cameras in the parking areas and other areas of the school. What really needs to happen is that creek be mowed and the overgrowth re- moved, and transients and druggies would move away from that area as they would no longer be hidden while engaging in criminal activity. Heidi Root: Regarding a suit filed against RB High by Marysa Nichols' father Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Don Polson If only we toned down the emphasis on the individual, and turned up the emphasis on the collective, America would be a better place. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, July 22, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6