I grew up next to Hadrian’s Wall, a physical barrier erected by the Romans to ensure traffic between the Romanized Britons and wild, barbaric Picts (my ancestors) did not cause too much trouble. That may be why I’m sympathetic to Sen. Frist’s piece in the San Diego Union Tribune today:
There’s no doubt that physical barriers can make a real difference. When Congress mandated the construction of a 14-mile fence in San Diego, a drastic downturn occurred in illegal immigration. While law enforcement apprehended 200,000 border violators near San Diego during 1992, the number dropped to 9,000 last year. Since other areas remained unsecure, however, illegal immigrants have continued to come to San Diego.
As a legal immigrant who had to endure bureaucracy, delay, threats and incompetence from the INS, my libertarian leanings have no problem with the idea of making illegal immigration just as difficult…