Immigration Game
In reading your June 4 story on the Border Patrol’s arrest of 320 illegal immigrants in Ventura County, I was struck by Border Patrol Agent Mike Malloy’s characterization of the apprehended law breakers: “There weren’t tears, resistance or crying. A lot of joking and kidding, actually. They know what the game is--it’s something they knew when they entered this country.”
We as a nation should be ashamed of ourselves, because we have failed so miserably to control our borders that illegal immigration has indeed become a game to the thousands who illegally enter this country each day.
Illegal immigrants perceive the remote possibility of apprehension and deportation as an inconvenience more than anything else, a momentary hassle worth enduring in exchange for the siren song of free education, medical care and other benefits.
We need to get tough on illegal immigration and regain control of our borders, if only to convince those who flout the laws of this nation that doing so is no laughing matter.
ELTON GALLEGLY
Member of Congress
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