Virtual fence

On January 13, 2010 Conses Garcia-Zacarias was sentenced to a maximum of 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison for running over and killing 37 year old Lori Donohue and her eight year old daughter Kayla as they walked from Kayla’s dance class to their car. Garcia-Zacarias was intoxicated at the time of the killings and was in the United States illegally (1).

Angel Maturino Resendiz was arrested 18 times by 11 different Federal or State law enforcement agencies in a 25 year period with the last arrest occurring in Lexington, Kentucky in 1996. From March 23, 1997 until he surrendered to officials in July 1999 he murdered 12 people. A sad fact is Resendiz, after killing eight people, was in custody but was released by immigration enforcement authorities on June 1, 1999. After being released Resendiz continued his murderous ways and committed four more murders (2). Resendiz’s crime spree was so horrific he became known as the “Railway Killer”.

On September 11, 2001 2,973 people lost their lives in the worst single attack ever on U.S. soil. 15 of the 19 hijackers that flew those airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania should have never been issued visas or granted entry into the country (3). As sad and frightening as 9/11 was, most people would be shocked to learn that, on average, 4,380 people each year lose their lives to people that enter our country illegally or overstay their visa’s (4).

In May 2009 President Barak Obama’s de-funded plans to finish the construction of the barrier fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. $147 million was slashed from the barrier project’s budget by the President (5). Now President Obama has submitted his 2011 budget proposal which will eliminate 180 border agent positions and reduces funding for the “virtual” portion of the fence system by $226 million (6).

Given the events of 9/11/2001 it is easy to understand the attention that focuses on any incident involving airplanes. In response to the Christmas day bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab President Obama is shifting resources away from the Southern border and emphasizing air travel security.

In January 2009 our new President signed an executive order authorizing the spending of $400 million annually for abortions performed overseas (7). Now that our country is in an economically challenged position maybe it is time to rethink and re-prioritize our spending. Common sense would dictate that $400 million dollars should be spent protecting American lives instead of being used to kill the unborn in far away countries.

$400 million would replace the $226 million the President has removed from border security activities and still leave a $174 million surplus. How many Border Patrol Agent positions would $174 million create? 1500, 2000 or maybe even more? After the initial $226 million outlay in year one the entire $400 million could be earmarked to secure our nations borders with additional agents and equipment.

A secure non-penetrable border fence is not a tool to practice prejudice against a group of people but rather a tool to ensure the safety of the American citizen that pays for that fence and their safety with their tax money.

Carl D. Goodson
Clute, TX

(1) www.lohud.com/article/20100114/NEWS01/1140367/DWI-killer-of-mother--daughter-gets-maximum-sentence
(2) “Invasion” Michelle Malkin Copyright 2002 Regnery Publishing inc. pp.87-102
(3) “Outrage” by Dick Morris and Eileen McCann copyright 2007 HarperCollins Publishing p.21
(4) www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53103
(5) www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/050809dnnatborderfence.4053ed2.html
(6) www.infowars.com/obama-proposes-to-cut-180-border-patrol-agents/
(7) www.rueters.com/article/idUSTRE50M3PQ20090123