This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Re "Rubio and Cruz — GOP superstars" (Opinion, June 15):
If they were not Cuban-Americans, but another kind of Latino, I wonder what would be the attitudes toward enhanced border security of Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. For decades, Cubans had a free pass to legal residency if they could reach the U.S. mainland — and there were no fences, only ocean.
Those who would spend billions on new fences and more border guards along the Mexican border to address an immigration problem that doesn't exist (net Mexican immigration is now zero) need to look at a map of the southern borders of the United States. Matamoros, Mexico, is only several miles by ocean from Brownsville, Texas. And all the way to Tallahassee, Fla., the entire U.S. Gulf Coast is wide open.
On the West coast, Tijuana, Mexico, is only a short distance south of San Diego by sea. Will we need to spend billions on new Coast Guard cutters as well?
The GOP budget deficit hawks don't mind spending billions on a "border surge" because they can get it back by cutting the food stamp program.
Glen Elkins
Salt Lake City