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This is a rebuttal to Mr. Blumel’s essay below. It will appear in the February issue of the LP News…………………………..
I was flattered that Mr. Blumel’s felt my essay on Immigration Reform published in the Nov. 5 LP News, was worth his comment. (December 05 LP News) I also find that I must agree with some of his assertions: the first being that the war on drugs is itself corrosive and unenforceable, and secondly that “Increased Border Enforcement” is unworkable, as the implementation currently operates.
I am very familiar with the Cato Institute discussion “Backfire at the Border” and many other writings such as “In Focus: Immigration Debate” published by U.S. Foreign Policy In Focus and “The Illegal Alien Problem: Enforcing The Immigration Laws by Dr. George Weissenger of New York Institute of Technology. I have found that no social or political ideology has a corner on genius and consider them all. I do depend finally on my thirty years in Border Enforcement in the Customs as a troop and as a manager, as an instructor in INS and Customs cross training, and as an instructor in the Overseas Training Program providing guidance to foreign Border Officials. Most of all when preparing an essay as important as this, I rethink all the issues that have led me to my position and ask for opinions from former colleagues, who are really the only experts.

To establish Mr. Blumel’s assertion that “Border Enforcement” alone is unworkable, we only need to look at the “Iron Curtain”. Folks crossed those heavily guarded borders with about the same facility and those border guards were willing to shoot.
However, the claim that “Backfire” is a practical discussion is a bit of a stretch. In the document, Douglas S. Massey, advanced a brilliant analysis of the North American economic integration brought on by NAFTA but did not address the practical bureaucratic issues of the implementation of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Such issues as: the effect of implementing regulation, functional priorities and funding, effectiveness of functional responsibility, policy changes such as, from administrative remedial actions to judicial actions and just the lack of focus on a primary tool – “focus on the illegal activities of the employers who benefit”.
In illustration consider that the relatively recent Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act added 5000 Border Agents and only 300 interior enforcement agents. I assert that the Administration since the early 1990’s has intentionally avoided enforcing the immigration laws (at the work place) inside the United States. In fact there is evidence that INS shut down internal enforcement in response to Census Bureau concerns that official statistics could minimize the parameters of the illegal alien population.
The conclusion drawn that “Enforcement without legalization cannot stop illegal immigration” is not adequately supported in the argument; as there has never been an attempt at real enforcement.
A serious revision of the entire concept of migration, conducted by people who really understand the issues, is what is really needed! An example of the kind of practical problem solver might be Congressman Sylvester Reyes, from El Paso, TX. This veteran of many years in Border Enforcement has proven himself to be creative and effective in spite of the odds and other bureaucratic challenges. Effective fair and equal enforcement of the law must first be demonstrated so that is clear that when a new law is passed it will be observed. This would then be followed by clear and concise policies and laws with due consideration given to maintaining a workforce that supplies needs it in a timely fashion.

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