While researching something else I came across an interesting news story.

Border emergency declared in New Mexico
Governor says area 'devastated' by human and drug smuggling

source

The Governor of New Mexico, after looking into this issue, has decided to take extreme measures to address a major problem facing his state and what he sees as Federal inaction on the issue. The article goes on to point out that declaring a state of emergency in these counties makes $750,000 in state emergency funds immediately available. THe Governor has pledge to add $1,000,000 to that number.


Questions for Debate:

Will this approach effectively help address the problems faced by New Mexico's border towns, ranches and farms?

Does this issue gain credibility when considering the fact that the Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is former member of President Bill Clinton's cabinet and a Democrat?

Will this approach "shame" the federal government into addressing illegal immigration in one way or another?

What diplomatic issues could arise between America and Mexico as a result of this action? What could the negative effect of them be on America?

Will this approach effectively help address the problems faced by New Mexico's border towns, ranches and farms?

Depends on how the money is spent. I’m sure the immediate need is to put a commanding security force along the border, either National Guard, extra police officers, assistance from the armed forces or a combination. But this is just a stop gap measure; nothing short of a true barrier will ensure long term success.

Does this issue gain credibility when considering the fact that the Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is former member of President Bill Clinton's cabinet and a Democrat?

Not sure how his former employer or his party affiliation adds credibility to the issue. I’m sure his past connections and political education will come in handy, but this guy is a governor, that in itself carries weight.


Will this approach "shame" the federal government into addressing illegal immigration in one way or another?

Who will they hire for their maids and grounds keepers? Next to the Iraq mess this is second on my list of reasons to sack the current regime. I don’t think you can “shame” this bunch, dignity and integrity are prerequisites for shamefulness.

I though we’d see more federal movement on the issue a few months back when the citizen volunteers started patrolling the border.

What diplomatic issues could arise between America and Mexico as a result of this action? What could the negative effect of them be on America?

To be honest I don’t care. Mexicans and their leaders have taken advantage of the situation far too long. Remove the opportunity for illegal Mexican immigration and eventually they’ll take back their country from their corrupt leaders. If we were going to experiment in Democracy building we should have started right next door.

As I understand it the money is to be targeted primarily at adding law enforcement officers, paying overtime to existing officers, and creating a border region office of the New Mexico Office of Homeland Security. Other minor projects have been mentioned, but these three are where the bulk of the funds are said to be targeted.

I tend to agree that we will never be able to resolve the situation unless we decided to either erect and properly patrol a true barrier on the border, or we invade and conquer Mexico to eventually turn the area into our new 51st-60th states.



I agree to a point. However, it is difficult to paint this particular Hispanic Governor as an "Anti-Immigrant" or "Anti-Hispanic", "right-winger" when you consider his political past and connections. That was really what I was getting at here. It is hard to paint him as "crazy, white, right-wing, militamen", or a racist, when you consider his background. This is a favored tactic of some the supporters of illegal immigration (then again, these days, smear tactics seem to be everyone's favorite approach in the political arena ).



I am anything but a supporter of the Bush Administration, and this is definitely in the top 3 of my major issues I have with them as well.



I was speaking in broader terms. Congress has taken no action on the border issue as well. With a Congressional election just around the corner this effort my help pressure Congress into action IMHO. At least I can hope it will have such an effect.



I could not agree more. Bravo!

So long as we remain the "out" for the horrible situation that is life for anyone other then the leadership in Mexico, the people of Mexico will never see a revolution against the corrupt and dishonorable that make of the majority of their countries elites.

1.) I think it will definitely ruffle some Washington feathers and will gain attention to the subject. But will it push through any protective legislation or help to put military or tighter restrictions on the border? Unlikely.

2.) I think some high-profile names do not hurt, but people will grow tired of hearing about it. The issue has been knocking at Capitol Hill's door for a long time now- just because two states are in states of emergency carries little weight... I mean after all they have many important things to deal with at the moment- such as who to have lunch with on the night of January the sixteenth.

3.) Highly unlikely, I'd go just so far to say that many of those in the federal government will slide it somewhere on their to-do lists and it will never be seen again.

4.) If the Mexican government is a government at all it will understand that every sovereign state has the responsibility to protect its own people. America is being invaded by illegal aliens with the direct aid and knowledge of the Mexican government, the ramifications are simply a tighter clamp on illegals crossing into America from New Mexico and other border states.