If you wind the historical clock back 20 or 30 years, before high fences and the army of Border Patrol agents and check stations that have sprung up all along the border, you will find the cause of the immigration problem. It’s not due to the lack of fences or lack of Border Patrol agents. It’s due to the lack of common sense that was used to implement social reform. At one time the flow of illegal traffic in this country was quietly welcomed and it was bi-directional.

Not so long ago, the illegals that came to this country performed the jobs that we wouldn’t do, paid “their” taxes, and returned home to their families once the work season was over or when they had accumulated enough money to live well in Mexico. So what changed?

Slowly but surely we have improved the quality of “the bait” so that they come here to stay. They bring their entire family with them, risking the lives of their children and even grand children for their chance at the American dream. “We the People” have created this mess. I am a slightly right leaning Republican with a strong Libertarian component. How is it that I could have contributed to the rise in social programs that has led to the so-called immigration crisis? I can answer that in two words. Political malaise. I have always voted Republican because the party used to best represent my views. I didn’t pay attention to what was going on in the large-scale political arena because “the party” had my back. Or so I thought. The rise in social programs that has led to the anchoring of illegal immigrants in this country went unnoticed by me and many, many others. The more socially liberal among us did what they thought was the right thing to do. Their misguided efforts and our inattention has created a mess.

Border fences are a huge waste of money, time, and effort. They don’t and won’t stop illegal traffic. Increasing the number of Border Patrol agents (whom I respect immensely by the way) has not solved the problem. The so-called solutions that have been offered up so far are akin to running a shredder through a field that has an infestation of mesquite. The mesquite disappears from view for a little while but it comes back in greater numbers. The solutions don’t address the real problem.

The solution to the illegal immigration problem begins with social reform. If there was no free housing, no anchor babies, no free food, no free medical, etc for an illegal immigrant there would be no reason for them to stay here. No reason to risk the lives of their families to bring them here. In addition to removing the social bait, we need to create a new kind of doorway into this country. One that allows for the ebb and flow of people who are coming here to work and then returning to their home. The cycle is as old as this country and we have disrupted it by changing the goal of the illegal immigrant from making money and going home to coming here with no intent to leave. The reality is that the illegal population does a lot of work in this country. If we remove them completely our already struggling economy would be negatively affected. The restaurant industry would be hurt immensely. Farming would be hurt. The truth is, we need them to come here. We just don’t need them to stay.

Once an intelligent solution to our failed social policies is implemented, the Border Patrol could get back the business of protecting our borders from real threats and not maintaining a merry-go-round that has a line of people waiting to get on it that stretches to infinity.

It’s not fair to bait someone to come work and live here illegally and then turn around and build a huge military force that is tasked with returning the invitees to the back of the merry-go-round line. It’s absolutely not fair to the Border Patrol agents to task them with this duty. They have more important things to attend to.