Border Security and Deportation
By Tom Campbell
Some on the left, driven by their strong aversion to President Trump, led the state to become a “Sanctuary State.” Even when local law enforcement wants to cooperate, this law prevents California sheriffs from turning over criminals appropriate for deportation unless the federal officials had obtained a court order for each of them. Immigration arrests thus have shifted from safe areas, like county jails, to street arrests, in neighborhoods and homes, where the danger to law enforcement is much greater, and, incidentally, the likelihood of picking up someone else than the intended individual is greater. Some local law enforcement, however, prefer not to send information to the federal immigration authorities as a routine matter, citing their concerns about trust in the local immigrant communities. The decision should be up to the local law enforcement. The current “Sanctuary State” law prohibits such local decision-making.
Also, some on the left say no to any physical barrier at the border. Yet California already has such a physical barrier. If an opponent to any physical barrier is consistent, she or he would tear down the border barrier at San Diego or Calexico. They would also remove the immigration and custom desks at our airports. When returning from out of the country, why not allow individuals to pass directly to ground transportation, rather than waiting in line at customs?
Furthermore, secure borders achieve more than immigration goals. Our nation and our state are experiencing an opioid epidemic; most of those illegal drugs are smuggled across our border. Open borders would give up on cutting off that flow.
The sensible, practical, economically wise, and also compassionate approach is to be found not in the far right or the far left. Here is how an independent, moderate sees the solution. Those who entered our country illegally and broke our laws should be deported. California law enforcement officers should make their own decisions, locality by locality, as to how best to coordinate with federal authorities in doing so. Those who are already in the US, and have not committed any crime other than entering illegally, should be offered full participation in our country as citizens, as of the date the border is secure. The border is not secure simply because more leave California than enter; it is secure when virtually no one enters illegally. A physical barrier is not necessarily required everywhere, but it is absurd to exclude its value in some places. The United States has the right to decide whom we invite to enter our country, and whom we invite to become fellow citizens. Those should be individuals with skills that our country needs; and those who have already started making, or re-making, their lives here.
The above are statements on several public policy issues drafted by Tom Campbell, former US Congressman, former California State Senator, former Director of Finance for California, and currently Interim Chairman of the Common Sense Party. They are meant to initiate consideration of several important issues; they are not the official views of the Common Sense Party. Please feel free to submit your own thoughts on these issues on the Open Policy Discussion Page.
