Labor, labor, labor
Update: Less than 24 hours after the announcement cited below, the Department of Homeland Security has changed its tune, er, mind.
I had a friend in college who taught me the pleasures of tuning out empty rhetoric about the U.S. - Mexico border with the phrase “border, border, border.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune has a complete review of the latest twist in the ongoing saga to mount the best damn theatrical production of “National Security for a National Economy” at the Tijuana-San Diego border. I should qualify that last statement: the best damn theatrical production the local kids can put together by holding a bake sale and setting up a lemonade stand.
The story begins with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner telling The Associated Press that the federal government of the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth is considering turning to volunteers to form an auxiliary border patrol.
If this smacks of jingoistic propaganda to you, well, you’re in excellent company. The head of the Minuteman Project, a volunteer auxiliary border patrol and border security issues theater troupe, shoots down the Commissioner’s trial ballon by saying the idea betrays a stingy, unserious approach to the problem.
But the real money quote, and I mean that in every sense of the term, comes from a Border Patrol union rep who argues:
They wouldn’t need to do this if they came up with a national strategy that makes sense. The Border Patrol will never be successful if all they do is focus on the border.
The irony of this moment is almost too delicious to bear. For the last two years, on this very web site, I have joined the chorus of those who point out that illegal immigrationn is a problem of economics not sovereignty, of workers making logical cost-benefit analyses rather than common criminals thumbing their noses at the law.
On several occasions, I have also observed that the process of globalization is unlikely to make these economic issues go away and that only a strong labor movement and/or aggressive labor market regulations will address the legitimate concerns of those who bemoan the negative impact of illegal workers and black markets.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask the Border Patrol union rep cited above. I’m sure the prospect of an all-volunteer, unpaid, non-union Auxiliary Border Patrol had nothing to do with his sober assessment of the stiuation.
Related: Via Wonkette, via mediabistro, the Dobbs Watch Blog sponsored by the [U.S.] National Association of Manufacturers, keeps track of just how much red meat Señor Dobbs serves to his loyal, anti-immigrant, pro-America audience.
You know, the funny thing about red meat is, if you don’t mix in some greens now and again, that stuff will kill ya. I’m particularly fond of organic produce picked by well-paid farm laborers. How about you, Mr. Dobbs? How would you like your agriculture industry regulated?