[This was a letter to the Mercury News in response to an OpEd piece written by the consul general of the Mexican Consulate in San Jose regarding border concerns with our countries. It wasn’t printed in the paper but did make the online edition.]
There are two points I would make to Bruno Figeroa. First, the American Constitution guarantees the right of the People to freely assemble and to bear arms. Second, the United States is a nation of laws. So his call, oddly addressed to no one in particular, to stop the Minutemen and their ilk while ignoring the constant blatant violation of American law by his countrymen and women is badly focused and inappropriate.
While I have little use for them, the Minutemen have shown that they are in fact nothing like armed militias such as the Aryan Nation. Despite Figeroa’s contention that border spotters may “trigger violence,” many months have passed without a single reported incident. Our government has no legal basis to ask for the discontinuance of the program.
In reality, the Mexican consulate should consider the contribution of his government and citizens to the problem of illegal border crossings. If any violence does result from Minutemen presence it will only be because someone has come in the United States illegally. Despite all the references to treaties and high concept programs between our countries, the problem will only be solved when Mexico develops its own economy to provide sufficient internal employment opportunities.
BillSaysThis 