The following is an email message that I received from the Minutemen today:

Build the U.S. Border Fence Now!

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and the Bush administration are deservedly under assault for not keeping their promises. After a long public outcry over promises broken, the government says they have agreed to construct a border fence. But this is Washington, promises aren’t meant to actually be honored. Chertoff and the Bush administration are creating needless public controversy about the fence over what must be done to and with the land, and they are exploiting a backdoor Democrat Party and Open Borders Lobby effort that provides a smoke screen for the feds to hide behind and do nothing about the promises already made to build a border security barrier.

You and I both understand that in the real world, when you say you’re going to do something, you do it. The deadline set by the feds themselves for installing a new border fence is quickly approaching. Plans to make it real should have long since been implemented. The problem is Chertoff and the Bushies don’t really want the fence, and have been delaying construction by hiding behind all the red tape.

They allow the border invasion to continue and U.S. citizens die at the hands of illegal aliens. They claim they have been completely stymied in finalizing the path of the fence because of sacred Indian burial grounds, wildlife habitats, eco-impacted rivers and streams, and places of cultural significance all more important to local citizens than U.S. national security priorities. Never mind that the U.S. Federal Government already owns a 60 foot right of way all along the entire border, and could act at any time it chooses.

In order for the fence to be put up as proposed by Chertoff, it would take months, if not years to get approval for construction of a fence through these controversial areas on private or protected land.  Knowing this, the Secretary decided to go ahead and announce that he will just break all kinds of environmental and special constituency laws and create a public relations and legal backlash that will tie up the project for years. This tactic is unacceptable and we demand that the National Guard be placed on the border immediately while the fence is built on U.S. Federal Government right of way, as a national security project.

Don’t Buy the Misinformation!

Moreover, the truth is the fence Chertoff is talking about trying to make law-abiding Americans hate is NOT the double layered fence that was promised to us and signed into law. This is a partial fencing project with vehicle barriers that have proven ineffective at stopping pedestrian crossings.  Illegal aliens easily and frequently cross these types of barriers.

The Department of Homeland Security has misled us about the amount of border fence in play, as well.  They have claimed 302 miles built as of 2/6/08, however, this “fencing” consists of 145 miles of vehicle barrier, 78 miles of old railroad tie-fencing that was already in place, and 79 miles of pedestrian barriers. Less than 10 miles of the promised double-layered fencing has been installed!

It would be refreshing to see a politician actually be a leader instead of sitting there like a special interest or mainstream media ventriloquist’s dummy. We elect our representatives to lead this nation in a time of peril, not to follow the whims of the mob. They are in place to evaluate our situation, hear out our concerns, and then to make the best decision they can as our representatives. Sometimes these decisions aren’t popular, but they are necessary for the good of the people. Even the majority vote isn’t always the right decision, and that is why we need real leaders to represent us, not a polling machine.

Mr. Chertoff exercised what some are calling an “extreme abuse of authority.” The Bush administration announced bluntly they have decided to waive almost 30 laws that could have hindered the construction of the border fence. Presumably, they didn’t do this on the fly; authority was granted by Congress to make exceptions of this kind.  But they have proceeded in a typically ham-fisted, jack-booted public presentation that is alienating many who actually support border security. Incompetence, or maliciousness by the Bush administration?

Chertoff had this to say, “Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation, and Congress and the American public have been adamant that they want and expect border security. We’re serious about delivering it, and these waivers will enable important security projects to keep moving forward. At the same time, we value the need for public input on any potential impact of our border infrastructure plans on the environment – and we will continue to solicit it.”

Bold Words Now Let’s See Some Action.

Bold words need to be backed up with bold action.  Take a stand and help us put an exclamation point to the Chertoff statement that “Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation!”  Chertoff has yet to show this government legal maneuver as a mark of true leadership for national security, and not a political ploy to divide law-abiding citizens over principle versus process, and thereby actually galvanize resistance to border fence construction.

MCDC calls on Secretary Chertoff to keep this administration’s promise, honor the intent of Congress in the Secure Fence Act, do not give in to mainstream media and Open Borders Lobby criticisms – and do the right thing for the safety, security and sovereignty of America. Most importantly, we call on Secretary Chertoff to be a leader of trust, a person of character unmindful of political agendas or personal career gain who puts the American people first this time. If he does so, we won’t forget it. Should he fail to, we won’t forget it.

Will our federal government choose to keep this new promise made, or continue to leave us with a broken, hemorrhaging and increasingly dangerous border?

ACT NOW to ensure we have the necessary resources to organize a strong campaign to defeat amnesty bills, and help remind our Washington lawmakers that border security demands we build physical fencing.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Politics-Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.