Aiding and Abetting

While enjoying a nice case of insomnia last night, I flipped over to Scarborough Country on MSNBC and found paleocon Pat Buchanan interviewing the Lynyrd Skynyrd-looking founder of a Minuteman Project-type group called the Yuma Patriots and his son, and the smarmy founder of Border Angels, an illegal alien assistance group.

Flash Sharrar (I couldn't make up a better name) started the Patriots after his son was carjacked and robbed of $700 at gunpoint by a group of illegals when he returned home after eleven months of combat duty in Iraq.

Enrique Morones founded a nonprofit called Border Angels, a group that helps illegal cross dangerous stretchs of the U.S. Mexican border by providing assistance in the form of water stations (in the summer) and clothing drops (in the winter).

Morones was rather smug and self-righteous, and actually had the gall to insist that illegals had the right to cross the border as we wrongly took (I can't remember the exact phrasing) Mexico's land (meaning California, Arizona, etc). Buchanan was quick to call him on this ("Hey Buddy, Mexico invaded us," again not an exact quote).

While watching the segment I began to wonder; why do we provide tax-exempt status and other types of government assistance (through the form or permits) for groups that assist in committing crimes such as Border Angels?

The express goal of Border Angels is to help illegal aliens penetrate this country successfully by easing their illegal entry. We would certainly frown on groups that assist in other forms of human smuggling, so why does group such as Border Angels get a pass?

Border Angels exists to help facilitate a criminal practice, and in doing so assists in making it easier to carry out other illegal enterprises, such as drug and human smuggling. According to the dubious definition provided by the Wikis, this would appear to be racketeering.

It's time to shut them down.