-=> Quoting John Sampson to Walter Luffman <=-
 JS> I've publicly come out against the militarization of the Southern
 JS> Border  for one very valid (IMHO) reason. What would the rules of
 JS> engagement be for  our troops on the border? With the shooting death of
 JS> one Mexican boy on the  border by a Marine squad doing recon work and
 JS> the subsequent uproar that it  caused, it's painfully obvious that we
 JS> can't send troops to the border and  seal it off.
Nor should we, unless we are ready to declare either
martial law along the border or war with Mexico.  Soldiers
are warriors, and their training is not at all similar to
the training given law-enforcement officers.  Even former
military police personnel require some retraining before
they can function as civilian LEOs.
 JS> As long as the ex-military are under the age of 37 when they join the 
 JS> Border Patrol, it'll be just fine. The Civil Service law requires that
 JS> anyone appointed to a law enforcement position covered under the law 
 JS> enforcement provisions of the Federal Retirement program, MUST be
 JS> appointed  and enter on duty before their 37th birthday.
The selection of that particular age is interesting.  It
is just below the earliest age at which a member of the
Armed Forces can take a regular 20-year retirement, since
no one may legally enlist before his/her seventeenth
birthday.  This effectively prevents military retirees
from "double-dipping", and that probably was the intent.
OTOH, right now the services are forcing out a lot of
good people with civilian-convertible skills before they
reach retirement age; most of these people _would_ be
eligible under the age-37 rule.
 JS> However, we need not only more people on the border, but more in the 
 JS> interior to remove those who are already here in the country. Forget 
 JS> another "amnesty". The last one was an unqualified disaster. But
 JS> that's the  subject of another post.
No argument on the "disaster" part.  And if you decide to
write that other post, you can be sure I'll read it.
 JS> Lastly, the INS, the parent agency for the Border Patrol, is the one 
 JS> federal agency that has experienced tremendous growth for some time
 JS> now. We  have NOT been under the budget axe. We ARE however, under
 JS> scrutiny for  mismanagement, and rightly so. There is a plan to disband
 JS> the agency and  transfer the various functions to other agencies and
 JS> make the Border Patrol  a seperate Justice Department agency. Time will
 JS> tell what happens. 
Transfer the Border Patrol to DOJ, eh?  Sounds like a
move to consolidate all law enforcement power under one
Cabinet office -- one might even call it empire-building.
I've heard a bit about mismanagement in INS, and I
wouldn't be surprised by it even if I hadn't heard
anything -- I _expect_ a certain degree of mismanagement
in every organization, and even more so in government
agencies.  But I'd like to hear more. 
 JS> The biggest complaint is the dual role the INS has. Both an
 JS> enforcement  role and a benefit granting role which many times is at
 JS> odds with itself. 
Separating the two roles may be a good idea, or not --
I don't know enough about it to have an opinion.  But
in general, I think law enforcement agencies should be
_only_ law enforcement agencies, with all other duties
handled elsewhere.
Walter, wluffman@usit.net    CompuServe: 74721,3464
... A bleeding heart can be hell on the carpeting.
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