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SALT LAKE CITY -- If there is one point in the debate over unlawful immigration that all sides agree on, it's the critical importance of having a secure border.
A proposal by a Utah Congressman could enhance border patrol efforts, and as a result, pave the way for a more rational discussion of overall immigration reform.
Rep. Rob Bishop is a sponsor of a resolution that would simply exempt border patrol forces from restrictions imposed by the Interior Department on environmentally- sensitive lands. It is a simple action that could have a big impact.
While President Barack Obama asserted this month the border is largely secure, border patrol agents will tell you that government regulations prevent them from effectively monitoring hundreds of miles of territory where, consequently, thousands of undocumented immigrants and drug cartel operatives enter the U.S. daily.
The problem is most pronounced in Arizona, where the vast majority of border acreage is federal land, much of it protected under wilderness designation. The border fence, which indeed has proven effective, is interrupted when it crosses sensitive areas, and Bishop's research indicates those areas have become a funnel for a stream of undocumented travelers heading north.
More than half of all of the deportable aliens apprehended along the entire Mexican border last year were caught in Arizona - an average of more than 500 a day. Of course, the environmental regulations exist for good reason, but the stream of immigrants has itself brought significant degradation to the land. One could argue that disrupting the procession will better protect the land than do rules that immigrants ignore, but prevent border agents from doing their jobs.
KSL believes the proposal is worthy of bipartisan support. Truly securing the border is a political necessity before all parties will sit down for a serious discussion on fixing a broken immigration system, and dealing reasonably with the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already here, and who have no intention of crossing back over a porous border.
E-mail: cpsarras@ksl.com
