American Society at Risk

Is it any coincidence that the highest percentage of any group in the US suffering identity theft is Hispanic, and that the hotspot for this crime is Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale? Page one NY Times story today.

I think not. Surely this story should illustrate that the lawlessness of illegal immigration cuts across all levels and ethnic groups in American society, threatens the fabric of our society and can not be allowed to continue.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet the Republican candidate for the 8th congressional district of Arizona, Randy Graf. He said that in his area alone, thousands cross the border each day, with carjackings, traffic accidents and bankrupt medical centers on the rise. In Illinois, as we know to our cost, most of the members of a family were killed in a fiery crash caused by an illegally licensed driver.

Graf did say that 75% of the problem could be addressed by what he called "interior enforcement", requiring employers to verify valid Social Security numbers, coupled with requiring new IDs for legal immigrants. The process needs to be streamlined so the costs are not onerous for small businesses. (The government might need to outsource that.) The secondary solution, but the first priority, is to enforce our border with fencing at the ports of entry, some of which has been done, and moving from patrolling to actually guarding our border.

One statistic he mentioned was that 50,000 illegal immigrants a year come from countries other than Mexico.

So we have identity theft, accidents and the bankruptcy of trauma centers on the border, (not to mention voter fraud). This impacts some of the most vulnerable members of society, those who can least cope and can least afford it. And beyond that, our country can no longer afford to take the risk of leaving our borders invitingly open to terrorists.