Borders

The new year brought a new law for California that has made a big splash in the news.  It seems that now illegal aliens can apply for and receive drivers licenses.  In reading all the articles, this law has been coming or a few years and now is implemented in 2015.  On the face of it, it is difficult for me to reconcile providing an official State document that can be used for all sorts of things to someone who is fundamentally living an illegal life.  I get all the rationalizations on why this is something that the State should be doing.  There are the arguments about giving them more mobility, allowing them to get insurance, giving them some legitimately, allowing for sanctioned identification, etc, etc, etc.  But...like I said it's difficult for me to reconcile it.  They are illegal.  Illegal.  As in breaking the law.

But this issue of driver's licenses is a subset of the whole immigration issue.  No matter where you turn we are being failed by our elected representatives when it comes to immigration.  Comprehensive immigration reform is something that would be good for everyone, and something that can be achieved, but as far as I can see partisan bickering is preventing it.  Every faction has their ideas about what to do, what to prioritize, what the solution is.  But fundamentally, this is a human problem.  Our country is made up of immigrants.  Hell, that's how it started.  So on the one hand we should be bending over backwards to accommodate as many as possible.  On the other, a society cannot continue without the rule of Law.  And when laws are broken, it's difficult to reconcile the rationalizations that are provided by people who want a solution at any price.

I also don't get why we can't solve this problem when so many others can.  Look at the borders in the European Union.  They seem to be able to create a system in which people can move freely.

And then there is our border with Mexico.  It's like an armed fortress.

There are a wide variety of border issues throughout the world.  Some are extremely secure, some are a lot looser.  Look at Israel/Gaza.  Talk about secure!  Or North Korea/South Korea.  Now that is a demarkation.  But it seems to me that we should be able to come to some accommodation with Mexico regarding our border.

But one thing is for sure.  This problem isn't going away.  Here in SoCal we are becoming more and more of a Hispanic based culture.  That isn't bad...it just is.  And we'd better figure out how to make it more rationale and legal for as many as possible to live a life without fear.  It's in all our interests.