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opinion:
our view
Round‘em
up, ship‘em home
The U.S. Justice Department this week announced the reinforcement
of a 50-year-old law requiring noncitizens to inform the government
of a change of address within 10 days of moving.
The penalty for
non-compliance will be deportation, giving those living within
our borders just one more thing to worry about while being
an outsider.
We can only hope
the INS does a better job with that paperwork that it did
with the visas sent out to terrorists after last year’s attacks.
The government
has already shown itself willing to detain people indefinitely
for merely fitting a profile of a terrorist, so we can likely
expect many people getting shuffled back from whence they
came.
The government
is understandably trying to adjust its policies in the face
of our new unseen enemies, but some of the measures just do
not seem like they will work.
One option being
discussed is the repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act, which
prevents the American military from being used in a law enforcement,
except when designated by Congress or the Constitution.
The law dates back
to the Civil War, when soldiers roamed the countryside, making
their own law.
If revoked now,
American citizens might someday face the possibility of an
errant “smart bomb” raining down on their neighborhood.
With elections
fast approaching, we can expect a flurry of activity from
members of Congress trying to outdo each other in proving
to their constituents that they are tough on terrorism.
The free-for-all
that occurred when everyone wanted to lead the Pledge of Allegiance
during that other recent brouhaha showed just how important
image can be.
In its fight to
protect Americans from the scary elements of the world, we
have to make sure we protect ourselves from an overzealous
government as well.
The prospect of
“X-Files”-like personal identity microchips does not seem
that preposterous anymore.
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