Amid the constant yammering about how to solve the border crisis, two important truths are rarely heard.
Common sense might tell you that more immigration cops on the Mexican border would stem the human tide. In this instance, common sense would trick you. In 1995, there were 4,400 U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Mexican border. That year, the undocumented population stood at 5.4 million.
Today, nearly 20,000 agents are arrayed along the southern frontier. Yet, somehow, the undocumented population has grown to just over 11 million. Nobody knows for sure why that happened.
Then you have the question of visa overstayers. These are folks who arrive in the United States with a proper visa in hand. They are legally obligated to return home once their visa expires. But last year, according to Homeland Security, an estimated 850,000 overstayed the time limit and simply disappeared. Where are they? Quien sabe?
I share my immigration experiences in my book: We Were Always Here: A Mexican-american’s Odyssey: Chavira, Ricardo: 9781558859135: Amazon.com: Books
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 