First, I'm new to these forums, and I thought that I'd post my latest article about Ron Paul that's available on my web site, www.smallgovtimes.com.

Is Ron Paul our only hope for a secure border?
Link: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/0...ion/index.html

Michael Savage calls it a “third world invasion”. I call it an “immigration travesty”. Whatever phrase you wish to attach to it, our southern borders are as open as Al Gore's wallet in a carbon credit retailer.

Rudy Giuliani proclaimed New York City a sanctuary city as Mayor. McCain sponsored the immigration reform bill (dubbed “Amnesty bill” by immigration activists) that died quickly in Congress and Mitt Romney's position on immigration keeps changing, at least according to John McCain. Fox News took a jab at Romney during the debate several days ago, questioning the fact he had hired illegal immigrants to cut his own lawn.

If immigration is your issue, then Ron Paul appears to be your man. Paul has held the most consistent position on immigration out of any of the candidates running for the White House during his decades of service in Washington D.C.

Paul accurately cites the incentive that America offers as the main driving force behind illegal immigration: our social programs. “We subsidize illegal immigration, we reward it by easy citizenship, either birthright or amnesty,” Paul once said at a debate at Saint Anselm College earlier this year.

“But we force our states and our local communities to pay for the health care and pay for the education. Why wouldn't they bring their families? And because of our economic conditions, we do need workers. But if we had a truly free market economy, the illegal immigrants would not be the scapegoat. We would probably need them and they would be acceptable.”

According to Ron Paul's campaign web site, the United States must “physically secure our borders and coastlines” before Congress debates various immigration proposals. He also supports the government getting tough on those who violate their visas and demands the government track visa holders and deport anyone who has overstayed them. Paul reminds us that a number of the 9/11 terrorists held expired visas.

Paul wants to end Welfare for illegals. Instead, America's immigrants who crave the American dream are welcome to it, provided they work hard, like the rest of us, and follow the rules that were established for their presence in our nation. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for an illegal's use of “hospitals, clinics, schools, roads and social services,” he said.

In addition to streamlining the availability of our social services, Paul supports ending the birthright citizenship that America provides to all persons born within the borders of the United States. Birthright citizenship declares all persons born in the United States to be citizens even if the mother is an illegal alien.

In 2006, Paul voted in favor of a bill supporting the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group of immigration enforcers who monitor the U.S.'s southern borders and report illegal immigrant crossers to authorities. The bill would have provided funds to tip off the Mexican government to the locations of these Minuteman volunteers, as to provide illegal crossers with an easier route across the border and into our nation.

Paul voted in 2004 to pass a bill that would require hospitals to report any suspected illegal immigrant who is receiving treatment before the hospital gets reimbursed for the costs. The bill also provides authorization for hospitals to refuse treatment to illegals if that person can be safely transported back to their home country for similar treatment.

The Texas Representative supports skilled laborers finding work within this nation, so long as a legal process is followed. He voted back in 1998 to increase the number of temporary visas provided to immigrants who are deemed “highly skilled” to 115,000 by the year 2000.

As of 2003, Paul has scored a perfect 100% on immigration issues by FAIR, or Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization of 250,000 “concerned citizens” that fight for border security.

Ron Paul draws some of the largest crowds as he campaigns for the White House, and for good reason. His victory in several straw polls recently illustrates his growing popularity among political patriots who have finally began to reject the “same old” from our nation's politicians. No longer will many Americans tolerate the lip service that our Senators and Representatives have, in large part, gotten away with over the past several decades.

Paul represents a new voice in America – a voice that demands accountability in Washington and restores the individual freedoms that our revolutionary heroes fought so diligently for hundreds of years ago. He provides an outlet for frustrated and disappointed Americans who recognize the downward spiral that our government seems to be taking - enlarging government, expanding power and restricting individual liberties of the American people.

Don't vote for the same old politicians in 2008. If you want our borders secured, individual freedoms restored and government downsized, look no further than the humble congressional district in southeastern Texas.