This affects my community as we have such a large influx of illegal immigrants. For those that think because we voted for Bush we love everything he does- take a look at how outraged many of us are with his stance on Border Control and Immigration. Many of us feel that Bush has been too lenient on our borders and allowed counties, like mine, take a hit again and again with the destruction of the environment, crime and drug trafficking as illegal immigration continues.
(Of course, many of the libbies here in Bisbee would rather see a more porous border so that they can have access to their.... ummm...herbs).
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Locals express range of reactions to Bush plan
By Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review
BISBEE — Local border residents expressed a variety of opinions of President George W. Bush’s pledge to temporarily post National Guard troops in the region, with reactions Monday ranging from a man who called it a step in the right direction to a woman who said she was on the verge of tears over the move.
“I think if (Bush) actually puts the National Guard on the border, he will have finally done something right in his second term,” said John Waters, 65, of Palominas. “I believe that the lack of border security is one of the worst injustices ever done to the American people,” he said “If he does something now, it could be a step in the right direction.”
Bisbee resident Lauren Roberts, however, said she was distressed by Bush’s decision and expressed concern for families who have members living on both sides of the border.
“I’m on the verge of tears,” said the 55-year-old librarian. “I remember growing up and hearing about the Berlin Wall and how it separated families, and militarizing the border is just creating another Berlin Wall.
“I think (sending the National Guard to the border) is horrible, I think it’s fear-based and I’m ashamed for my country.”
Susan Rose, a retired resident of Sierra Vista and a proponent of tighter border security, said the president’s announcement came too late to redeem her opinion of him — but held out hope for the effectiveness of National Guard troops.
“I’m already Bush-ed out,” said Rose, who recently purchased land near the border in Palominas. “But let’s hope (the troop deployment) still does some good.”
Eric Nelson, 63, a semi-retired Palominas resident and a loyal Republican, also said the announcement came too late to redeem his opinion of the president. And while he said Bush’s plan “looked good on paper,” he felt it was too little, too late to fix the problem.
“I think this is a last-ditch effort to pacify people come election time,” he said. “I voted for Bush both terms, but now I wouldn’t vote for him for dog-catcher.”
Waters, however, said he placed more blame on state-level leaders, such as Gov. Janet Napolitano, for the lack of attention to the border crisis. He said the federal government was taking too much blame for a problem that local officials have failed to address.
In Naco, Ariz., bar owner Leonel Urcadez, 53, thought that sending troops to the border was the wrong approach to curtailing illegal immigration. He would prefer to see officials concentrate on employers who hire undocumented workers.
“I would like to see a ratio showing the number of people in the field compared to the number of people out there checking for (illegal aliens) in the workplace,” he said.
Naco resident and local mechanic Ernie Rodgers, 53, thought the presence of National Guardsmen would have little effect on his community - the border wall running through town already has the local immigration problem under control, he said.
Rodgers predicted the only noticeable benefit for Naco would be money spent at local businesses by the incoming soldiers.
Ted White, 77, of Bisbee, said he thought a far-reaching guest-worker program, such as the Bracero Program, which brought Mexican guest workers to the U.S. from 1942 to 1964, would make it unnecessary to beef up law enforcement on the border.
“During those years, you didn’t see any illegals,” said White, who characterized Bush’s National Guard deployment as “Band-Aid politics.”
Back in Palominas, Mary Frances Clinton, 63, said she was opposed to putting National Guardsmen on the border in part because it reinforces the idea that the Border Patrol cannot secure the border on its own.
“The Border Patrol truly is as effective as enforcement can be against the infinite variety of ways crossers can cross,” she said.
“The temporary solution is to regulate that immigration flow with work permits,” she added. “The permanent solution is to resolve the economic imbalance causing the immigration flow.”
Herald/Review reporter Jonathan Clark