I am forced to once again ask, “What will it take?”
What will it take for our government to finally secure our nation’s borders, especially the border that is supposed to separate the United States from Mexico?
I just returned home from participating in a panel discussion at St. John’s University in Jamaica, New York that took up the broad issue of immigration and focused most of its attention on Arizona’s new immigration law SB 1070.
Upon my return home I checked out my e-mail and found that I was sent a couple of news reports from friends around the country that reported on the horrific fate suffered by Rolando Armando Flores Villegas, the lead investigator in Mexico who was attempting to unravel the events leading up to the killing of David Michael Hartley, an American citizen who was, according to his wife, shot in the back of the head by armed Mexican thugs as the Hartley road their jet skis on Falcon Lake, a body of water that straddles the US/Mexican border on the 30th of September.
I have attached one of those articles below- it was posted by CNN.
I was angered, as I suspect many others were, when at first the news reports appeared shortly after the story broke that an American citizens had been killed on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake that indicated that Mexico was not willing to participate in the investigation, even calling into question the truthfulness of Tiffany Hartley, David Hartley’s distraught wife who appeared on national television programs with her mother-in-law, Pam Hartley.
Initially the excuses provided by the government of Mexico for not conducting a search of the Falcon Lake ran the gamut, from skepticism that a murder had even been committed to claims that somehow the Hartleys were engaged in some illegal activities to raising the possibility that Mrs. Hartley had killed her husband.
Mexican officials even claimed that they only had one boat and that the boat was not operational.
Mexican officials also refused to permit American law enforcement officials to enter the Mexican side of the lake in order to search for Michael Hartley’s body.
However, when 6 citizens of Mexico were allegedly assaulted in New York City- Mexican officials took to the streets of Staten Island, New York to patrol New York City streets to protect their citizens and were not blocked from doing so by the local government.
Here is the news report on NBC-TV about this:
Let me make this perfectly clear- hate crimes are utterly unacceptable. Period!
However, the level of hypocrisy and double standards is absolutely outrageous when you compare Mexico with the United States!
When the United States attempts to construct a fence on the border, the government of Mexico decried the efforts even while Mexico itself was constructing its own border fence in an effort to secure its border with Guatemala!
When a citizen of the United States is shot and killed inside Mexico our officials are prohibited from searching for his body and his wife was initially all but accused by Mexican officials of either killing her husband or somehow falsifying information about what purportedly had transpired!
Finally the law enforcement officials in Mexico begrudgingly agreed to conduct an investigation into this horrible homicide of a citizen of the United States and the lead investigator is killed and his head is severed and delivered to the Mexican military as a clear warning.
Yet our border remains porous and illegal aliens who violate our nation’s borders and succeed in traveling away from the borders of the United States or manage to enter the United States though the inspections process have little to fear that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will make no effort to find them, arrest them or seek their removal from the United States!
From all I have read and seen and heard- the state of Arizona would not have sought to enact its own immigration law had the federal government of the United States done what it should have been doing for decades- secure our nation’s borders against unlawful entry by illegal aliens whose true identities, backgrounds, affiliations and intentions are unknown and unknowable.
Furthermore the federal government of the United States has failed to create an immigration system that possesses real integrity to not only address national security and other such concerns, but also honors the countless millions of lawful immigrants who have come to the United States to build this nation and in seeking their own thin slices of the “American Dream” also helped further the successes of our nation and our citizens.
I can tell you that in working with my colleagues in conducting investigations of narcotics trafficking organizations that the level of violence associated with the drug trade carried out in the United States has been unfathomable! The only rule that ruthless transnational gang members and narco-traffickers follow is that, literally, anything goes! These thugs think nothing of killing the family members of those who cross them. They kill spouses and children and often in the most brutal way possible!
Consider this quote from the news report below:
“This is a very unfortunate incident, but it’s also unfortunate that these things happen quite regularly,” Lopez added. “The whole beheading and dismembering thing, it’s kind of a calling card for drug cartels.”
It is amazing that our military officials boast about how the “troop surge” has been effective in Afghanistan and Iraq but the same concept is never employed in securing our borders or in enforcing the immigration laws of the United States.
Will we have to witness the beheadings of law enforcement officers or perhaps political officials in the United States to wake up our “leaders” in Washington? I would remind you that Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Surrender has stated that more than 230 cities across this nation, from coast to coast and border to border, are infested by members of the extremely violent Mexican drug cartels. Other pernicious transnational gangs can be found in additional cities from one end of our country to the other.
Our government is failing at its most fundamental responsibilities of securing our nation’s borders and seeking to prevent the entry of criminals and terrorists whose goals include the slaughter of large numbers of our civilian population and the ultimate destruction of our nation and our way of life.
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
We the People, throughout this nation must seek opportunities to make it clear to our political “representatives” that we understand their game plan and won’t tolerate it!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels and members of al-Qaeda!
If reading this makes it difficult for you to sleep now- perhaps you could do something worthwhile- perhaps you might spend a couple of your sleepless hours writing letters to your elected representatives this evening and remind them that Election Day is just months away!
We the People can add to the consternation of these politicians who are failing to live up to their oaths of office by contacting them and making it abundantly clear that election day is coming and they should think of election day as their personal “Day of Reckoning!”
Our government must live up to its obligation of protecting its own citizens and, indeed, all who are present in our country from the criminals and terrorists who would threaten our lives and the survival of our nation and our way of life. In the end, the government is actually those who are elected to act as our “leaders.” Those who fail to truly lead and look out for those they are supposed to represent, need to be sent packing this coming Election Day!
If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
Any politician who refuses to work to secure our borders and create an immigration system that has integrity is either corrupt or too dumb to keep his (her) job. Any politician, irrespective of party affiliation who favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the outrageous betrayal that this would represent given the national security implications that this program would have, should be shown the door at the next election!
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
In less than 3 weeks, each and every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection and more than one third of the members of the United States Senate will have to face their constituents. They need to be reminded that they work for us, We the People!
However, the practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians. I implore you to get involved!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Represent
Native. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated; this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
Mexican investigator in Falcon Lake case beheaded, Texas lawmaker says by CNN Wire Staff
