Illegal Immigration: A victimless crime?

Right. It's a procedural violation, much like crossing a red light. From the San Francisco Examiner. -Angela



July 27, 2009

San Diego, CA ---In the wake of the murder of Border Patrol Agent and father of two Robert Rosas, the issue of illegal immigration and its impact on all of us is again top of mind. The illegal border crosser is often described by the media as a poor migrant worker, that is just looking for a job and a way to support their families. In some cases that is true however almost daily we hear of unthinkable crimes being committed by people who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place.

Is Illegal Immigration a victimless crime? Not hardly. The men that allegedly murdered Agent Rosas weren’t hard-core cartel members but illegal aliens trying to cross into the US undetected. Yet some illegal immigrants themselves are victims.

This is the first of a four part series on the victims of illegal immigration. In Part II, I will highlight the dangers faced by those seeking a better life in the US as many are raped, robbed, tortured and left for dead by unscrupulous “coyote” guides. In Part III, I will address the impact on the American worker and the economic crisis it has contributed to in California and elsewhere. In Part IV, I will address the crimes committed against American citizens. Crimes like murder and dismemberment, which have left a trail of injured and dead Americans of all ages nationwide.

First, this is not an attempt to demonize any ethnic group. People cross the US border illegally from every country on the globe and for any conceivable reason. This is not a racial issue though some will attempt to play that card, as perhaps it is the only one in their hand. It is not a new phenomenon either. The illegal immigrants of the mid to late eighteen hundreds were largely Irish and Chinese coming here to work on the railroads. The government was as complicit in their illegal entry then as it is today.

On this day however we are reminded tragically of just how dangerous the border area has become. In a 2006 study conducted by the Border Counties Coalition , the twenty-four US counties that run along the border with Mexico were combined into a fictional 51st State and compared against the other fifty. Not surprisingly they collectively ranked #1 n crime, crimes involving drugs, crimes involving children, Federal crimes and lastly, immigration crimes. Additionally these same counties had the nations highest incidence of Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Chagas disease. This suggests with empirical data that you don’t have to be the victim of a crime to be negatively impacted as most, if not all of the cases of these once eradicated diseases in this country can be traced to people illegally entering without proper health screens.

At one point in 2006 it was estimated that as many as 15,000+ illegal aliens were crossing into the US each day. Roughly twenty-percent were criminals. We know this because they had already been deported for felonies in the United States. In fact according to the Center For Immigration Studies , a large percentage of felons in state and federal prison are illegally in this country costing the taxpayer upwards of $1.6 billion dollars per year. Statistics though are pliable and can be bent or “spun” to accommodate most any position. The open borders activists will of course cite another report published by the Immigration Policy Center in which they assert that statistically immigrants, whether illegal or legal, were substantially less likely to commit crimes or be incarcerated than native born US citizens. Still, the fact remains that whether likely or unlikely to commit crimes, a good percentage of all criminals in prison are illegal aliens.

Routinely, Border Patrol Agents arrest illegal border crossers with gang affiliations like MS-13 ; their colors displayed proudly in the form of facial and body tattoos. Backpacks and clothing with gang symbols are found in remote desert areas across the southwest having been discarded after their owners were picked up by their sponsors and driven to major urban areas around the country.

The alleged killers of Border Agent Rosas were reportedly part of a people smuggling operation working out of Tecate, Mexico. One of the six men charged, Jose Eugenio Quintero Ruiz, was wanted for two murders and rape in the United States. Somehow, at least one of the 26 people involved in the Rosas shooting made it all the way to San Jose before his cell phone betrayed his location and he was arrested. The network of people smugglers in both the US and Mexico is wide and varied in their funding and sophistication. 

In the next article I will address crimes against the illegal immigrants themselves by men and women on both sides of the border who will do almost anything, to anyone, for a buck or a peso. For many, the illegal immigrants dream of traveling to El Norte and living the good life is abruptly and tragically cut short. Most of this could be avoided, if only the governments of the United States and Mexico made illegal immigration and secure borders, a priority.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-17495-San-Diego-Immigration-Policy-Examiner~y2009m7d27-Illegal-Immigration-A-victimless-crime