By Domenico Maceri

In April of last year California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the volunteers known as the Minutemen for doing “a terrific job” in reducing significantly the number of illegal immigrants.

President George W. Bush called the group “vigilantes.” The concern was that they could cause problems at the border since they’re not federal agents.

Recognizing that there is a problem at the U.S.-Mexico border, Bush decided to send the National Guard. It was a way of showing that he was serious about border control.

Schwarzenegger was initially against sending the California National Guard to the border, but recently changed his mind. 1,000 National Guards will be deployed to the Mexican border.

That’s too bad, for his initial position was the correct one.

Putting the National Guard at the border sends a wrong message to our southern neighbors. It says to them that we are almost at war.

The suggestion of war emerged by naming the mission “Operation Jump Start,” which is typical of military endeavors.

Explaining his decision to send the National Guard, Schwarzenegger said that it’s not a military operation since most Guard troops will be unarmed and far away from the front lines.

The Guards’ role will be to fix trucks, repair roads, operate cameras, and do other logistical work. This will allow the Border Patrol to have more time and do the riskiest part of the job.

The presence of the Guard at the border is not just the wrong approach because it insults Mexico, but also because it will not work.

People will find ways of getting in. The National Guard certainly won’t stop those who come into the U.S. as tourists or students and overstay their visa. Currently, there are 3.6 million such individuals.

If we were really interested in controlling illegal immigration, we’d be attacking the real problem—the availability of jobs for undocumented workers.

If our government officials spent some time putting some teeth into punishing companies that hire individuals without proper documents, then illegal immigration would end.

Everyone knows that if jobs weren’t easily available, people would not risk their lives crossing the Arizona desert.

But attacking the real problem would have a dramatic effect on our economy. This is particularly true in California.

Imagine, for example, if raids were to occur in agricultural sites during harvest time.

Of course that won’t happen. If it does, it will be an accident that will be easily corrected as it was in Georgia several years ago.

Immigration officials raided some sweet Vidalia onions fields at harvest time.

The workers fled quickly screaming “migra,” but those who screamed the loudest were the owners. They complained bitterly to their elected officials and the raids stopped. Yes, illegal immigration is bad, but business is business and you don’t interfere with that.

In essence, by putting the National Guard at the border we continue to blame the poor people who are desperate enough to risk their lives for a job. And we label them criminals as the House of Representatives did in December of 2005. One of the features of the Sensenbrenner’s immigration bill is the change of illegal entry into the U.S. from a violation of civil immigration law into a federal crime.

By attacking poor people who are desperate for a job we let the wealthy, i.e. the companies, off the hook. Yet, the “crime” committed by the undocumented workers would not be possible without the tacit cooperation of those who give them jobs.

The real culprits are therefore the companies. But the companies have lobbyists in Washington and the undocumented workers don’t, so we send the authorities to deal with the “lawbreakers” in the form of the National Guard.

The National Guard at the border is a lousy idea. When the National Guard won’t succeed in controlling the border will we send in the Marines?

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Domenico Maceri (www.languageblogger.blogspot.com), PhD, UC Santa Barbara, teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA.