The President has it Backwards

Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) met recently with President Barrack Obama about border security and immigration reform. He then hit the streets saying the president said he would not secure the border UNTIL there was a comprehensive immigration reform program passed by the Congress.

This is a backwards approach to this problem. After attending the Republican Party of Texas Convention last week in Dallas, Texas, one thing became perfectly clear; the will of Conservatives (and truly, most Americans) is THE BORDER MUST BE SECURED FIRST. The federal government has failed in one of its basic responsibilities to its citizens. That of defending the borders of the United States of America. President Obama told Sen. Kyl, "if we secure the border, then you guys won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform."

Let's be clear about one thing. The border must be secured. The leak must be stopped. Putting comprehensive immigration reform ahead of border security is the moral equivalent of engaging a massive gulf beach cleanup while ignoring the gaping hole in the bottom of the gulf that is spewing thousands of barrels of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico.

Any immigration reform program will apply to some and will, by necessity, exclude others. Without a secure border, those excluded under the new plan will simply become the next phase of an ever increasing illegal immigration problem.

President Bush's record on illegal immigration was one of the biggest failures of his administration. He destroyed the confidence of the American people that their government would perform its primary role of defending the nation's borders. President Obama's record, while somewhat better, has been a mixed bag. Putting more people on the borders, then cutting off funding for the fence. Stopping workplace raids and then increasing raids. Appointing good people to defend the borders while removing their tools and authority to do their jobs. Combine this record with the statement above and you have a mixture that continues to destroy public confidence in government's commitment to border security. We must stop the leak! The borders and all ports of entry to this country must be secured. Then, and only then, will the American people listen to immigration reform proposals.