BORDER POLITICS: FACTS VS. TRUTH

posted by Michael Chihak

Border czar Alan Bersin was armed with the latest statistics and facts on U.S.-Mexican border crime and illegal crossings when he spoke to municipal officials from across the state in Tucson this week.

From Bersin: Violent crime in the border region is down by double-digit percentages from San Diego to Brownsville, including 17 percent on the Arizona border; illegal immigrant arrests are down, too, including by four-fifths in the Tucson Sector in the last decade; drug cartel violence in Mexico, some of it within sight of the border, hasn't spilled across the line at all.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was armed with no statistics when she strode to the microphone a few minutes after Bersin, who was applauded by the crowd of 800. She had no facts. She had nothing to refute the commissioner's stance.

All she had were two quick-draw statements: We'll have to agree to disagree, and we need the border secured.

Thunderous applause followed.

It reminded me of the scene in an Indiana Jones movie in which Jones is confronted by a nasty-looking thug wielding a sabre. Jones' response: a shrug as he pulls out his gun and calmly shoots the guy dead.

In the case of the debate over illegal immigration, guess who Jones was?