Heartbreak for Mexico

"In another year, we could be at the end of the era of illegal migration because of all the fear,"

Sounds like a headline, eh? Yet the LA Times didn't go with it--they went with this one:

Migrants send less money back to Mexico

Gotta admire their reportorial specificity. Contrary to popular belief journalists do follow commandments, in this case, "thou shalt not refer to illegal aliens as illegal aliens". After all, we've been told that people aren't illegal, which is fine and dandy if only talking about people. But if talking about aliens/migrants/fancy name of the day, they surely can be, otherwise we're wasting millions funding ICE. But such things are trivial distractions, so let's move on.

From the story:

But migrants have been quick to adapt to the shifting conditions, such as staying put on the U.S. side to avoid the new rigors of reentering illegally after coming home to Mexico.

Quick to adapt, wow--just like any other human being. Too bad they can't adapt to a decent guest worker program that allows them to come do the excellent work most of them do without the privileges of the vote or drivers licenses or home ownership without credit scores or credit cards without credit scores or social security numbers stolen from citizens.

Speaking of the ICE men, and women, they've lately been cracking down across the land (confirmed not only through media stories but personal acquaintances), which could shift the conditions for those still remaining in America illegally due to the shifting conditions. Who says the problem can't be addressed without comprehensive reform? Word of mouth is powerful.

However, a short term crackdown doesn't a long term trend make. It's likely this reversal towards law and order may shift back in the favor of lawlessness come next year. All of our potential POTUS candidates have at various times shown their love for lawbreakers. To them it's a game of pandering, and "them" even includes non-candidates such as residents of the Vatican. And those forces are powerful. But if nothing else our latest crackdown and the resulting behavioral changes has shown what can happen once the hammer drops, even if only a few inches.

Liberals will label such a post unfeeling but they should carefully consider their own whining about Bush hacking the Constitution into pieces regards terrorism and civil liberty issues. Nevertheless, conventional wisdom would suggest your humble correspondent is perhaps a callous, unfeeling, bitter rube not smart enough to vote for Barack due to a clinging of xenophobia. You decide. In the meantime, there are ways to get this Mexican labor flowing back to northward into Los Estados Unidos so they can commence their hard work and most importantly, according to the LA Times at least, resume the much-needed flow of wire transfers of Jeffersons back southward to help ease the burden of their corrupt government who doesn't care a whit about them. It's called a real guest worker program, beefed up borders, and continued enforcement. As we've seen, it just might work.