We must enforce laws that already exist

We do have an immigration problem along the Mexican border, but not an emergency. It's nothing new. It's been going on for years because the laws haven't been enforced.

Our representatives from both parties have more or less looked the other way. Actually the number of illegal immigrants is down considerably, nevertheless it's still a problem and should have been dealt with long ago.

It makes sense to have a barrier of some kind. However, building a wall won't make all the problems go away. Most of the large shipments of drugs come through legal ports of entry hidden with other freight.

So, yes we need a barrier, but we also need better means of apprehending illegal entry. We also have to enforce the laws on the books. That doesn't mean separating children from parents. It does mean insisting that anyone coming into the country does it legally and seeing they don't violate the terms of their visa.

I don't like the idea of a wall, but I think it is necessary. Of course a wall won't be built overnight. Common sense says that we should get started. We don't fund the whole thing at once. Maybe by the time we had a substantial start on it, we might have an idea of how much it will cost. I suspect that both the president the congress are clueless at this time.

Of course, all this would require cooperation. Right now Congress, led by Nancy Pelosi, wants to stop anything Trump wants to do just like Republicans did for Obama. The president, on the other hand seems to thrive on chaos. It's time for everybody to start working together and stop acting like spoiled children.

Ron Flowers

Elk Grove Village