Fence similiar to Berlin Wall

It looks like Republicans have boxed themselves into a bad corner on immigration reform, because if reform dies, the likely culprit will be GOP bigotry. Republican lawmakers have referred to immigrants as “illegals” and warn that “amnesty” would harm the social fabric of the United States. The Heritage Foundation's recent report on immigration reform has been, for opponents of reform, a public-relations nightmare. And to top it off, the position taken by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is opposed to the position taken by the Republican Party.

There are a lot of sticking points that will likely sink the whole thing (reform), but the most stubborn point is border security. They will not budge until the border is 100 percent secure.

I look at pictures of that 600-mile, 30-foot high fence along our southern border and because I'm old enough to remember the Berlin Wall when it first went up, the sight of it makes me sick. It was not just a wall, it was armed East German border guards ready to shoot to kill, border fortifications, directional anti-personnel mines, anti-vehicle ditches, tripwires and electric signals.

Is this what Republicans want? Because if they want a closed border with no possibility of crossing, this is what they are going to have to do.

Jacqueline R. Smetak

Lone Tree