“Compassion” Exterminates a Family…More than a little sympathy should be felt for the majority of illegal immigrants who have come to the United States to escape the crushing poverty of their home countries (not just Mexico, but several Central American nations). The recent extermination of a San Francisco family, however, makes the case very plainly for tighter control of our sovereign borders.
    It began with gridlock in a San Francisco intersection. One of the drivers, Edwin Ramos, got sick of waiting for the intersection to clear. He got out of his car, aimed his AK-47 Russian assault rifle at the car and driver he thought responsible for the gridlock and fired. He killed Anthony Bologna, 49, and his son, Michael, 20. The younger Bologna son, Matthew, 16, died from his wounds later.
    Important points to consider: One--Ramos is in the United States illegally. He is a native of El Salvador. He has no documents to indicate he entered this county legally.
    Two—He is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as “MS-13,” arguably the largest and most violent criminal organization in the hemisphere. Even if Ramos had tried to enter the country legally, his membership in MS-13 would have disqualified him. Widespread in the U.S. and Central America, the ultra-violent MS-13’s criminal activities in the United States include drug smuggling and dealing, gun running, people smuggling, murder for hire, theft and arson.   
    Three—Ramos was convicted twice before in felony cases (2003 and 2004) but his file was never turned over to ICE because San Francisco considers itself a “Sanctuary City.”
    That means that city police and other officials will not turn over information on an individual’s status as an illegal alien to federal authorities. He was arrested earlier this year when a gun used in a double homicide was discovered in a car Ramos was driving. The D.A. decided not to file charges against Ramos and ICE was not notified.
    Ramos is going to face murder charges for killing the Bologna family, though it is unlikely that his wanton crime will earn him the death penalty; the District Attorney, Kamala Harris, personally opposes capital punishment.
    The crime could have been prevented on three separate occasions: if Ramos had been deported for his 2003 and 2004 felonies, or if he had been reported to ICE after the gun incident this year. Instead three lives were sacrificed so that the “Sanctuary City” could carry on hiding lawbreakers from federal authorities.
    Ramos’s story is no isolated case, but the vast, vast majority of undocumented residents in this country are hard-working people who stay out of trouble. We will have to find some sort of solution for them which will be characterized by our traditional values and our love of liberty and fair play.
    We must seal our borders against illegal entry and deport any undocumented individual, without exception, who is a member of a criminal gang or who has committed a crime. …And we must impose sanctions, including cutoffs of federal money, to the so-called “Sanctuary Cities,” which fail to report violations of federal law.

You and what Army?…To secure our borders will require a vastly expanded Border Patrol and military backup. An area command of the Army should be created with bases along our southern border. The battalions assigned to this command should be selected from the state National Guards and also be rotated in from the regular Army. They should establish strong points and patrols along the known and suspected routes of entry into the country, with larger bases for reserve troops, light armor and tactical helicopter support further back from the border area.
    Congress should empower the soldiers in the “Border Command” area to detain suspects to be turned over to civilian law enforcement, and to respond with force when force is applied against our Border Patrol or troops on our own soil.
    There have already been gunfights on our side of the border. Smugglers bringing in drugs and illegal immigrants have included men who at least wore the uniform of the Mexican Army and who carried military weapons.
    Meanwhile, on the Mexican side of the border, courageous President Felipe Calderón is directing his army in a desperate war against the powerful and violent narcotics gangs. It is an uphill battle. Nuevo Laredo is in the hands of the narco trafficantes. The Mexican government and the narco terrorists are fighting for control of Ciudad Juarez, where more than 400 persons have been murdered this year. Tijuana is also at risk.
     If Calderón fails to regain control of the border cities, we better be ready for the violence to spill over onto our side of the border.