President Bush’s plan to send thousands of National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border is appropriately being met with skepticism. It’s a blatant attempt to appease the conservative base in an election year when his approval rating is headed toward zero.
Bush’s plan won’t work. Until we deal with the root of the problem – the reason Latin American immigrants are so desperate to come here – they are going to keep trying to enter our nation, no matter what. Are our Guard troops going to start shooting them?
The United States – you and me – have held down Latin America for a long time. Sure, its governments are plagued by corruption. We can use that as an excuse to not help them, or we can acknowledge that many of those dictators came to power or stayed in power because we supported them.
We need a trade agreement that makes sense. We need to help build infrastructure in Latin America. We need to admit that, in the past, we have supported dictators who were friendly to our corporations and, because of that, overlooked atrocities they committed against their own citizens. And we need to ensure we’re no longer doing that.
Our corporations need to be responsible citizens of third-world nations. It is true that some of them raise the standard of living for their workers. It’s also true that many of them take advantage of a labor class that will do anything for bread.
We need a more streamlined system for becoming legal residents and citizens of the United States.
The catastrophe of our immigration problem is complex. I don’t have all the answers. I do know that until we begin dealing with the real problems, no border fence – whether it’s made of concrete or soldiers with guns – will stop Latin Americans from attempting to enter this nation illegally.
Putting more guns on the border intensifies an already divisive situation. We’re bound to have a shootout, a dead kid who ran when a soldier told him to stop, or a violent protest.
Then Bush’s numbers will drop even more, and he will start taking Republicans who are facing re-election this year down with him.
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If teacher layoffs keep making headlines, education might become a major issue in November.
The Santa Fe Public Schools are laying off 37 teachers. In the Gadsden Independent School District, 27 are looking for new jobs. The Las Cruces Public Schools are considering cutting travel, vehicle and other funds to avoid laying off teachers because of a projected $7 million shortfall this year.
Why is this happening?
The state is mandating a 5 percent pay increase next year. It will take up almost the entire increase in state funding for school districts. Meanwhile, utility costs have skyrocketed.
Didn’t we have a huge surplus of oil and gas money to spend this year? Couldn’t this have been avoided?
It wasn’t. There are going to be some angry teachers roaming the state looking for new jobs, and some angry parents, because class sizes will grow as a result of the layoffs.
If the state is going to mandate higher teacher pay and tougher licensure requirements (which the state should do), it has to provide the money for school districts to keep up. Right now, the state is not doing that. Teachers are being paid more, but their loads are increasing as others are laid off, and other necessities are suffering.
Overall, that probably means the quality of our education system stays the same.
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Police officers recently spoke to elementary school students in Las Cruces about reporting crimes. And they handed out pencils.
Guess what’s printed on the pencils: “Speak out! Stop crimes against children! Susana Martinez, district attorney.”
You guessed it. No phone number. No Web address. No physical address.
I don’t think this is going to be another pencilgate, and here’s why. The pencils were paid for with a federal grant. Martinez’s office applied for $5,000 to promote the reporting of crimes during national crime victims week, April 24 through 28. The Department of Justice knew exactly how the money would be spent, down to the words that would be printed on the pencils, and approved the grant, Martinez told me.
In addition, Martinez said, the pencils contain a useful message: Speak out to stop crimes against children.
The pencils Doña Ana County Treasurer Jim Schoonover handed out to elementary school kids had no message – just his name, title and the government of which he is treasurer. The pencils were paid for with state money, and it’s because of a provision in the New Mexico Constitution that County Attorney John Caldwell says Schoonover has committed a felony crime.
Regardless, should any law enforcement agency agree to investigate Schoonover’s pencils and later refer the case to the district attorney’s office, the fact that police handed out the Martinez pencils is bound to add another twist to this saga. Martinez and Schoonover are both Republicans.
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But my last item today will come as a surprise to those who consider Martinez a die-hard Republican who is out to take out all Democrats by any means possible.
She is supporting Gary Perez for county assessor.
That’s right. Perez, a Democrat, is up for re-election this year. His Republican opponent is H.F. “Junior” Adams.
Here’s what Martinez had to say about why she supports Perez:
“There needs to be some experience, education or training to hold these positions,” she said after telling me that Adams is not qualified for the job.
That’s a major blow to the Adams campaign. Martinez is probably the most popular Republican in Doña Ana County.
Many Democrats literally hate Martinez. She was once a member of their party. Then-District Attorney Greg Valdez fired her in the mid-1990s. She sued him for wrongful termination, won a big settlement from the state, switched parties and used the money to beat Valdez in the 1996 election. She has been untouchable ever since, causing weeping and gnashing of teeth among many Democrats.
Many Republicans are frustrated with Martinez. Though the party has pushed, she has repeatedly refused to run for a statewide office such as attorney general. She tells me she loves her job and has no interest in a higher office.
Comments like those Martinez made to me about Perez and Adams don’t help her popularity among some Republicans, either.
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Keep the news tips coming. You can send them by commenting at the end of this posting or e-mailing me at the address listed in the right column of this page. Thanks for reading today!