Our National Guard currently has about 1,500 troops along our southern Texas border. Kinky Friedman said yesterday that he wants to up that number to 10,000 National Guard troops. In addition, Kinky wants to fine employers up to $50,000 for each undocumented worker that they hire. He also wants to make immigrants pass a criminal background check before they can work in Texas. Kinky said, "Texas can no longer wait for our federal government to solve our illegal immigration problem. These are steps that Texas can immediately take to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants penetrating our border."
Although I am a Kinky supporter, I must admit that I don't like the idea of sending more of our National Guard to the border. They are not trained for this kind of duty, and we need them to be available for emergencies - not tied up on the border. I also doubt if the criminal background check will work as desired. If an employer is given a fake social security card and number, then the background of the real person applying will not be checked.
I do like his idea of stiffening the fines on employers though. This is the only thing that will slow down illegal immigration. As long as there are jobs to be had here, people will come to fill them. When employers stop hiring the undocumented workers, they will stop coming. Fences and troops will make little difference as long as there are jobs available.
Kinky also outlined some other plans. He said he wanted to:
# Repeal the business tax recently enacted in Texas.
# Freeze state spending with adjustments only for inflation and population growth.
# Give more money to Houston to deal with crime created by Katrina evacuees.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteI'm really bummed out after reading that and checking the links.
For the truth on Kinky Friedman, watch these videos. Or you can check out, Kinky Friedman and Texas Issues.
ReplyDeleteKinky may not be perfect or even close to it, but he's real and he's in it for Texas. If anyone would like me to address any issue just visit my blog and ask.