Como se dice "alien invasion?" The Best DeFence, part 1 As you know, outside of the politics of medicine and medically related commerce, I try not to get too political in this forum. Not that I don't want to -- I've got opinions about all the major political issues, just like you do… Sometimes I'm aching to share them, but I usually don't. However, I can remain silent no longer on the illegal immigration issue. The unchecked flow of illegal (sorry, undocumented) border-hoppers from the south is washing over us like a Texas flash flood. It negatively impacts our bottom line, greatly compromises our security, and erodes our national identity… Come to think of it, it's also a serious public health issue, so I don't need to apologize! The crisis is finally front and center on our national stage -- so much so that politicians from both sides of the aisle are being forced to reckon with it (or at least talk about reckoning with it). But this is no cause for celebration. Despite what's at stake -- and in spite of what Main Street America thinks -- it looks like these bozos are about to enact new "anti illegal immigration" policies which amount to the equivalent of a band-aid on a bullet wound. Don't believe me? Before I give you the details, I want you to consider the scope of the problem: Even conservative estimates peg the number of illegal Hispanics in America at around 10 million. Altogether, just the Mexican nationals among the illegals send more than $15 billion home to their native country every year. This represents Mexico's second largest income stream - second only to oil exports.
Around 25% of Mexico's GDP (or gross domestic product, which is around 250 billion) comes from CRIME, according to Wikipedia. A huge percentage of that crime (narcotics trafficking, human trafficking) takes place in the U.S. An estimated 75% of the illicit drugs in this country come in through our southern border. The gang-murder numbers prove it, to In L.A. alone, more than 90% of outstanding homicide warrants are for illegals.
Despite the bleeding hearts' claims that illegal immigrants are good for the U.S. economy, the National Academy of Sciences calculates the lifetime fiscal impact of the average adult Mexican immigrant (the amount of taxes paid vs. the value of government services used -- like emergency medical and surgical healthcare) to be a NEGATIVE $55,200. That's over half a trillion dollars when multiplied by just the 10 million or so illegals already here. Keep reading… The above statistics are just a few of the more egregious numbers you won't hear from the major media or from politicians salivating over cheap labor (Republicans) or a huge new block of dependent minority voters (Democrats). But they're vitally important to understanding just what's at stake for both America and Latin America if we were to close the border and neutralize the illegal immigrant threat to our economy. Just consider for a moment the first two bullet points from above… The money illegals in the U.S. send home to Mexico alone represents their second largest income stream. But consider how much cash is also flowing south as a direct result of the crime that's crossing the border. For the sake of argument, let's say: Half the $250 billion a year Mexico's raking in from crime comes from drugs… And half of those drugs are sold in the U.S. after being smuggled over the border… And that only half of that revenue makes it back to Mexico after stateside dealers (likely illegals, for the most part) get their cut… Then the real amount of money flowing back to Mexico and points south as a direct result of the open U.S. border must be at least $77.5 billion per year -- more than twice as much money as their top industries (oil and tourism) combined. Incredible, this river of dirty money, isn't it? Yet even without numbers like these to paint a compelling portrait of what the REAL effects of illegal immigration are, you might get the point by the reactions from leaders and diplomats of the major Latino states south of our border to some of the solutions the U.S. has been proposing. You can read about them in parts 2 and 3 of this essay, starting with your next Daily Dose. Protecting borders, not taking orders, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. | 
