Starting tomorrow think of Canada as a foreign country  

I know this step is necessary to avoid potential terrorists getting into the US via the Canadian border, but I still think of it as a sad day. My father was Canadian and in the old days, you could drive across the border with a carload of family and just declare you were visitng. It was equally easy coming back. I think that it made for a very friendly relationship amongst border states and our neighbor to the north.

The southern border on the other hand is a constant source of illegal immigration. The worst thing in my opinion is the number of people who die each year at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers. I can't think of anything more cruel than taking money from a desperate person who just wants a better life and then letting them die in the back of a crowded, locked truck.

living in Texas, that is so true, what is so WRONG about a fence?

of course, a certain number of illegals die every year getting lost in the deserts in the southwest.

Don't be misled. This is not about tracking or stopping terrorists. It is about keeping tabs on you. It's not designed to stop the illegal alien or terrorist who is motivated enough to cross the border in the wilderness. Brother Barry wants to know the who, what, where, when and why of you. It's the whole "hmm...your peppers are note in order... comb wit me" thing from the movies.

i am canadian and i think that this has its good point and bad.
good - canada (in my opinion) tends to grant status to pretty much anyone and everyone and are not that throrough in their background checks. this will hopefully stop terrorists going into the us and illegal guns coming into canada.
the bad - it may affect the volumn of trade we have between from the us and canada.

Oh, the feds COULD make the southern border safer, but they won't. Why?

Because that would infringe on someone's rights to come across the border, get benefits they shouldn't and then go back. How do I know? I can think of at least two patients at our office that can't speak a word of english (so not citizens) but have Medicaid. One of them even has his labs faxed from across the border!

Why am I so hot about this right now? I, who was born in the US, can't qualify for Medicaid...even though we aren't making enough to live. People who have never gone through the immigration process get medical benefits that I could desperately use right now. I need surgery and glasses. Can't afford them. Yet foreigners get expensive tests and surgeries on Medicaid.

Sorry for getting off track. I am in alot of pain and thinking about this just torques me off immensely.

If they can do this with one border why cant they do it with the other?
you know the one that really NEEDS to be closed
honestly I would rather leave the Canadian border open and close the Mexican one