I had to get some additional grocery items on the morning of Thanksgiving Day.  Thankfully, I found my local Wal-Mart open. As I walked around the store, I was struck with the realization that virtually every other customer I encountered was either obviously Hispanic or was speaking Spanish. That got me to thinking. With the current debate on the necessity to secure our southern border, and with a new study stating that there are at least 21 million illegal aliens in our country, nearly twice former estimates, what affect is that having on my home state?

It isn’t difficult to see that there are many school age children in the illegal alien community. Since my state was recently rated near the bottom of the pile in scholastic achievements, the added burden of educating these children has to have an impact on our schools. Do we want this to continue? Just the requirement to hire bilingual teachers and staff to accommodate Spanish speaking children must necessarily siphon money away from other school programs.

As much as the pro immigrant crowd want to push the idea that illegal immigrants pay their way by paying sales, income and property taxes, common sense says that isn’t the case. Many illegals are paid “off the books” in cash, and pay no income tax at all. Because of lax enforcement, they also have ETB cards, Section 8 housing benefits and other public assistance. Can we really afford this?

So now, there are organized “caravans” of citizens from Central American countries approaching, or already at our southern border. Their stated intention is to cross by any means possible and then demand, (not ask for, demand) asylum in our country. Forget that they have already been offered asylum in Mexico. Forget that the international definition of asylum states that those seeking such status must request it in the the first country they reach where the threat to their person no longer exists. Forget that our country, which is already 21 Trillion in debt still grants millions of dollars in “foreign aid” to the asylum seeker’s home countries. Forget that many of our social service networks and school systems are already overwhelmed by the demands of the tens of millions of illegals who are already here. We must still allow these people in. No! Enough of this insanity!

The Republicans, who I believe lost control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections because they didn’t have the courage to fix the broken healthcare disaster that “Obamacare” has created, or secure our southern border with a wall, can finally do the right thing in the “Lame Duck” period which will last until the new Congress is sworn in in January.

They can use the power of “Reconciliation” in the Senate to pass funding on the “Wall” and move towards reasonable immigration reform which doesn’t include another blanket amnesty. They can pass legislation which will start the process to end the magnet of “birthright citizenship”, by amending the Constitution. The Democrats will scream bloody murder, but I believe the majority of American Citizens, including those Naturalized Citizens who came to this county legally, will fully support such measures. Man up Republicans! Finally do the right thing!  Effective January 3, 2019 work on these issues will effectively be “Dead On Arrival” in the House of Representatives for the next wo years.