Crossing the line

Dear Editor,

Honest news outlets and columnists, for some time, have reported the atrocious weakening of our southern border. Border patrol reports approaches from 170 different countries and that well over 2 million have rushed the border since President Joe Biden took office. And what about the estimated 600,000 “gotaways?” Where are they? What are they up to?

Fentynal traffic and overdose deaths are a gruesome reminder of open borders. Illegal migrants have tramped through Arizona lettuce farms, contaminating the crops and have violated Texas ranches. The list goes on.

The following desired steps will look cruel to some. But we have to keep the bad actors out and admit the worthy in manageable amounts.

¯ Close the borders immediately without warning. Warnings cause rushes. Admit only those scheduled for immigration court. Back up Border Patrol with the National Guard. Mexican president won’t like it. That’s tough!

¯ Complete the border wall. Where construction is impractical, add additional patrols and electronic surveillance.

¯ Grant asylum only to those who enter legally. They must apply from their home country or a country of passage other than Mexico or they will be subject to the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Once determined they are safe, they will be subject to complete ID that includes fingerprints, DNA, facial recognition and assigned a timely immigration court hearing date. Failure to attend means instant deportation once caught.

¯ Migrants caught crossing illegally will be denied asylum for a designated number of years. No exceptions. After complete ID procedures, they’ll be deported unless wanted for a felony in the U.S..

¯ The illegal migrant who was acquitted in the death of Kate Steinle had been deported seven times. How about “Three strikes and you’re out?” After three illegal returns, three years will be served in Guantanamo.

¯ If an illegal migrant is criminally responsible for the death of a U.S. citizen, the penalty will be the same as for first-degree murder.

¯ Change the “anchor baby” situation. A child born here should have U.S. citizenship only if the mother was here legally .

President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics continue to hurl condemnations. Yes, he was brusque and left office in a negative way after enduring the “Russian Collusion Hoax” and frivolous impeachment. He did provide secure borders, low inflation, energy independence and a deterrence to the thug Vladimir Putin.

All that is dangerously weakened by the current administration.

Terry D. Hallock,

Warren

Outside influences

Dear Editor,

Back in the old west the con man would ride into town with a new elixir or miracle potion. The townspeople would line up to get the new item until they found out it was bogus and ran him out of town. Today he rides in on the grant money train full of grand ideas and promises.

There have been several trains coming to town lately. One with the promise of a great boutique hotel on Liberty Street in the downtown. Everyone would like to see an old building rehabilitated but just where are the hotel clients going to park. Most people would like a parking lot adjacent to their hotel. Where is the boutique parking?

The next train to come steaming in loaded with grant money is going to build some more senior living facilities. Not that that is a bad idea but why do we need more senior living when every week the Warren County Housing Authority advertises vacancies in all of its facilities?

A train that came in a few years ago with grant money to burn thought that a boat launch on Liberty Street would be a great idea. Now, for someone who doesn’t know about the river it sounds like a great idea. So let’s build a multimillion dollar boat ramp.

But the river isn’t deep enough for pleasure boats, only jet fishing boats, kayaks and canoes. Why spend millions on a boat ramp when a nice canoe/kayaks facility would be more than adequate. As for the fishermen with their jet powered boats, I asked a number of them if they would use a ramp on Liberty Street and they all said no. Too much hassle to get into and out of town and didn’t want the hassle with canoes and kayaks. So save a bunch of money and build a canoe/kayak launch for much less.

And speaking of the hassle of getting in and out of town. Once the intersection at Market and Penn has the roundabout with traffic moving through very quickly there is going to be a major jamb up at Liberty Street. When PennDOT proposed the roundabout and the city said OK, why didn’t they do it with the condition that PennDOT fund the new traffic lights at Penn and Liberty? This would really ease traffic congestion — and at no expense to the city.

Finally, I guess we don’t learn from the past. Years ago a man rode the Grant Train into town and built some condos and never finished what he started, leaving a foundation for the city to clean up. And he is always way behind in property taxes. Now he has the audacity to come before the council and ask them to fund the rebuilding of this geothermal heat system, that was paid for with grant money to begin with. Thank you city council for telling him no.

Lou Dussia,

Warren