The "Impossible" Dream

It is neither wise, nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border.--President George "Pancho" Bush, May 15, 2006.

I bet that makes all the drug runners, welfare heroes, and La Raza revolutionaries breathe deep sighs of relief, as they work dilligently toward the complete social ruination of the U.S.A.

Bush supporters suggest that deporting 12 million illegal aliens is impossible, or at least somewhat more implausible than stumbling over the Holy Grail in a local landfill, right next to Hillary's most recent book. Some equate the two finds, but I digress.

In a moment of unusual rhetorical grandiloquence, the president assured us that "There are those here in Washington who say, 'Why don't we just find the folks and send them home.' That ain't gonna work." (June 8, 2006)

Vox Day--euphemistically known as "Herr Vox" in the blog world, these days--has made recent lucid comments demonstrating the silliness of these assertions, as most of you know.

Removing incentives for aliens to remain--such as free medical care, lower tuition costs, food stamps, or employment--probably makes more sense than mass deportations, at least in the short term; I'm all for these attempts, and have been writing to that effect for quite some time.

But the idea that deporting 12 million invaders is "impossible," or more unrealistic than The DaVinci Code defies common sense. A country capable of landing men on the Moon and bringing them back home safely not once but several times can find a humane way. Americans defeated Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire in WWII, and held the imperialistic Soviet Union at bay for over forty years. Is removing 12 million undesirables beyond us? Curiously, rebuilding a barbarian haven like Iraq from the rubble up is considered doable, as is the securing of its borders and the insertion of an alien form of governance into its body politic, while removing massive numbers of illegal aliens from our soil is beyond the ken of mortal men. This notion strikes me as absurd.

I think the truth of the matter is that the supposed futility of mass deportation is a smokescreen. The reality we face is that our--ahem--"leaders" have zero interest in even attempting the task. I'm not naive; I understand the difficulty in facilitating such a goal. Imagine, if you will, Sir Edmund Hillary standing at the base of Everest, gazing up at its lofty peak, and pronouncing in oratorical rhapsody: "'Tis better not to try at all, than to fail in the attempt. Forget conquering the mountain; I cannot conquer myself;" after which he trudges away, face downcast, weeping on Tenzing Norgay's shoulder like a spurned prom queen. Even this analogy does injustice to the idea-in-question, for removing our problem source would not pose so monumental a task as scaling the highest mountain on Earth. As others have pointed out, initiating a deportation program, in conjunction with the removal of incentives for illegal immigration, would bring about self-deportation. As good parents understand, people respond to those who mean business far differently than to those they know fall prey to manipulation and vacillation. A strong stand on the issue teaches by example that we're not kidding around.

Am I concerned about fatalities along the way? Not really. Air conditioned buses pale in comparison to arduous treks across the Mojave, with little more than gila monsters and the hellish glare of the sun for company. The concern is a valid one, and as I suggested, we should treat these people with care and preserve their human rights. However, I'm convinced the point is raised more as an excuse for inaction than a legitimate worry for the health of Mexican border-jumping-beans. At least among those who deem giving them water jugs and maps en route an appropriate response.

How many hundreds have died cooped up in shipping containers, in the backs of sealed moving vans, braving the Rio Grande's currents, or gasping from dehydration on a desert trail? These folks are accustomed to far worse than deportation brainstorm measures instituted by a multiculturally-sensitive federal government, I assure you.