Recently, Connor Boyack -- a fellow conservative/libertarian -- posted the following status update to Facebook:

The "secure our borders" crowd isn't concerned only about securing a geographical delineation from physical threats -- they're more concerned with building walls to exclude people they don't like, and/or who economically compete with them.

I've known for a few months Connor was an "open borders" guy. Mutual friends, acquaintances and I have joked that Connor is young and when he hits 30, maybe he'll wise up and find common sense on issues like this. But this statement shows a gross misunderstanding of the "secure our borders" crowd, of which I guess I'm a part of.

I responded to Connor's status update saying that while he and I agree on most issues, this is one we do not and I found his statement to be closed-minded and intellectually dishonest. It wasn't long until someone asked me to back up my beliefs. It had to wait, of course, until I had some real time to dedicate to espousing my beliefs. So, here we go.

I'm actually all for Shurtleffesque guest worker programs, but believe we need to address the elephant in the room first. Specifically, the millions of illegal immigrants currently living in the US (or, at least, the thousands of them living in Utah). Sure, they're good people, hard workers, yadda yadda yadda, but they broke the law and, in many cases, broke several laws getting into the United States and procuring employment.

Many in Connor's camp will say our current immigration policy is bad policy represented by bad laws that shouldn't be on the books or, at least, shouldn't be enforced. I say, if a law is bad, it should be enforced to the letter so that its warts, inadequacies, and failings are clearly visible. Then legislators will take the laws off the books.

In Salt Lake County, no one may walk down the street carrying a paper bag containing a violin.

It's fun to dig up old laws still on the books that don't get enforced anymore because they've completely lost their relevance and have failed the test of time. Why are they still on the books, then? Because nobody enforces them. If someone was enforcing them, there is no doubt legislators would be under increased pressure from their constituents to strike these outdated laws from the code books.

If our current immigration laws are flawed, then they should be enforced to the letter of the law. Selective enforcement (yes, I'm looking directly at you Chief Burbank) either prevents bad laws from being recognized or does a disservice to good laws which should always be enforced. Either way, the law should be enforced.

I'd actually be okay with granting those already here illegally some sort of legal status, but only if they pay some sort of fair restitution for the crimes they've committed. The law must be upheld and must be respected.

Many "open borders" folks like to look back to the 19th and early 20th Centuries to show that our country has a rich history of welcoming immigrants. There's no denying that we welcomed many from other nations into ours. My grandmother and her family emigrated to the United States in the early 20th Century from Armenia to flee the Turkish invasion of their homeland.

Things should be no different now, right? This comparison has some merit, but for the most part, it's apples and oranges. Those who came to the United States a hundred or so years ago did it through "proper channels" and most became legal U.S. citizens. They didn't sneak in, steal someone's identity, and "live in the shadows." No, this is what they did:

• Went through a thorough registration process
• Were inspected and screened by doctors for communicable diseases (and, unfortunately, physical disabilities)
• Were turned away if they participated in belief in political philosophies that were incompatible to the constitutional republic of the United States
• Learned the predominant language (English)
• Most pursued U.S. citizenship
• Most had little or no interest in returning to live in their "home" country someday
• Most were not taking money they earned in the U.S. and sending it to family in their "home" country.

There is a lot of argument to be made that our current immigration policy is unfair, that only those who are well-educated, white-collar workers can get legal status to come here and work. "Unskilled laborers" don't really have much of a chance of coming into this country legally. I agree with all who believe that policy should change.

During the heyday of "Ellis Island" immigration, the U.S. wasn't making sure people who traveled across the ocean had graduate degrees and/or work experience in technical fields of expertise. I'd wager most of the immigrants in those days were blue collar workers. Most in those families would not see any kind of college degree for at least one or two generations.

Today, the "secure our borders" argument is more than just keeping illegal aliens out of the U.S. It's also about keeping out terrorists and drug-related criminals. The southern border is rife with criminal activity thanks to the Mexican mafia and the illegal drug trade. Senator John McCain claimed Phoenix, Arizona is the number two kidnapping capital of the world. Only Mexico City has more kidnappings, he said. I've read articles that refute this claim, but regardless, Phoenix remains the kidnapping capital of the U.S.

The docile, serene story of a small Mexican or Latin America family, independently crossing the southwestern desert in hopes for a better life in America is far from what is typical. Border land is patrolled, not just by the U.S. Border Patrol, but also by criminal agents involved in either the drug trade or the human smuggling trade. Moving people (and drugs) across the border has become a big (illegal) business. People who want illegal entry into the U.S. typically must pay, often thousands, to garner (hopefully) safe passage in a group. Individuals in these groups often endure physical and emotional hardships during their passage that can only be compared to those many African slaves endured being transported to the U.S. on board ships hundreds of years ago. Physical and sexual abuse often occurs in these groups as well.

Our "compassionate" support of perpetuation of illegal immigration also, inadvertently, supports the perpetuation of all this criminal and immoral activity.

The illegal smuggling of people and drugs needs to be stopped. Those who have come here illegally should be identified and charged with crimes they've committed.