Origins of Alligator Alcatraz: Who dreamed up the Jetport? | Opinion
In Berlin President Reagan challenged "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall." In America in 2025 our voices must join in unison, "Mr. Trump tear down that name." Even if all its prisoners were viscous predators (surely they are not) who abide by no moral code we are not exempt from our personal moral code: not to deviate from an impeccable standard of conduct, not to ridicule any human being, to regard every person with dignity, to enact our duties with an exacting sense of purpose, honorably, not as savages, and to reverence our conscience as our king. The name Alligator Alcatraz does not alter the nature of the inhabitants therein, but it subjects us to scorn and ridicule.
It's a very bad idea, this compound in the Everglades, (read attachment to see it always has been) and its name (Alligator Alcatraz) is reprehensible. Most of us agree that tracking the criminal element among illegals is a necessary governmental duty. In addition, there is good and sufficient cause to identify illegal immigrants. We need an accurate accounting of where they are, what they are doing, and what their families are comprised of. If they are employed, inquire whether they are taking American jobs, and are they being paid below the minimum wage. Employers who are breaking the law should not be exempt from prosecution. How much does our economy rely upon illegals? (undocumented) Do we distinguish those who are contributing to the economy and those who are not? Experts claim their overall impact to the economy constitutes a net benefit.
Americans need information and transparency, so we don't merely flock like sheep to our zone of comfort. Even problems that seem intractable yield when they are approached with open minds and people of good will. Compromise is not a dirty word, and it is not necessarily a 50-50 proposition. Idealism unleavened by pragmatism might prevail in Utopia, but here on earth we are challenged to arrive at an admixture of both without violating our principles.
These basic questions merely scratch the surface of the intricacies of competing interests to be resolved to determine what policies are fair and decent for Americans and illegals.(undocumented) Their impact upon Americans, positive or negative, is a priority for consideration, but we are ill-equipped to make that determination. It is easy to say, round up 12,000,000 illegals, but impossible to do at all, or without causing irreparable harm. Even the casting of a wide net involves tactics for implementation which cause more harm than good and drive us into warring camps.
The problem is exacerbated by our immigration laws, hoary with age. We are beginning our removal process by relying upon antiquated rules. Out laws must not only be just, but they must also seem to be just by embodying values based upon data and shaped to meet diverse needs. One size, as we are employing now, does not fit all. We have taken a self-righteous sledgehammer approach which damages both the wielder and those against whom the weapon is wielded.
We only need to take a step back to recognize the imperative of revamping and reforming our immigration laws to meet enlightened 21st Century standards. As is stands we are incongruently ensconced in a Model T Ford in the supersonic Jet Age. The Biden invasion was an indisputable desecration of our sovereignty and rightly deplored, but the current initiative constitutes an over- reaction that is emotional not rational. We need discussion and debate leading to consensus, not revenge accomplished by brute force.
We need to begin with verifiable data and a national conversation, not impulsive remedies that exacerbate the dilemma rather than fixing the problem. We need to come together to fashion a solution that is appropriate and measured. A declaration of war while insisting upon an unconditional surrender ignores our common bond, demeans our equal rights, and creates permanent animosities.
This controversy is tearing us apart, a veritable civil war in the making, and will increasingly continue to do so, until such time as we recognize this as a national dilemma not amenable to the unbridled exercise of superior power.. The end of the Roman Empire was signaled by its division into Eastern and Western capitals. We are embarked on a similar course: one part may thrive while another fades, but as division contributed to the demise of the Empire it will terminate America. This is the ultimate polarizing issue rocking our very foundation which must be resolved (by peace and good will with malice toward none) or else it heralds the death of our Constitutional democracy.