May 3, 2005
IDEAS AND OPINIONS
Letters to the Editor:
‘Minute Men’ cost taxpayers $$$I am writing about the formation of the "Minute Men" project along the Arizona border.
They are a group that is trying to bring national attention to the government's lack of response to the border problem that we are facing.
While I do agree that there IS a problem, I feel that there are more efficient ways that this problem can be dealt with.
Mexican nationals send over $16 billion dollars in remittances to family members in Mexico every year.
I am of the opinion that if we were to properly utilize this flow of immigration, it would bolster our economy by raising the labor force and increasing our nation's output.
The way things stand right now, however, make a reformation of immigration and enforcement of border laws rather tricky business.
The formation of groups that can be seen as militias that have armed members patrolling our border only suggests to Mexican people that no one in the United States wants a flow of new immigrants.
This serves only to raise tension between our two nations.
I feel that we need to find a way to encourage legal immigration and discourage illegal immigration, which is both costly to fight, and dangerous to attempt.
If the United States promoted and actively pursued legal immigration laws, I believe it would encourage a healthy flow of workers to enter out labor force legally.
This not only raises our production, but also raises tax revenue for the government.
I believe that an additional bonus to this would be added encouragement for the Mexican government to work harder on reforming their own economy in order to keep their labor force high and to increase production in their own nation.
I know that this is not an easy problem to fix, but I believe that forming armed militia groups at the border is not the answer.
We need to focus instead on finding a solution that benefits both nations, and also allows people to pursue honest, productive lives and do so legally.