You Break It You Buy It!

Source: azcentral

Or in this case: CLEAN IT!

Jail inmates to clean up desert mess
Sheriff: It helps planet, fights illegal immigration

Water bottles. Sleeping bags. Empty food containers.

It's an unsightly mess left behind at temporary campsites set up by illegal immigrants trekking through Maricopa County's desert areas.

And starting today, about 200 jail inmates will be cleaning it up.

Dubbed "Operation I.C.U.," because the desert requires "intensive care," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the desert trash pickup is a new phase in his fight against illegal immigration and an effort to improve the environment at the same time. The "Illegal Alien Campsite Clean Up" will occur monthly.

"These people are coming here illegally. They're breaking the law, and they're destroying our desert," Arpaio said. "It's disgusting."

Deputies have been coming across campsites and snapping photos of the filth since Arpaio's anti-human-smuggling unit began looking for and arresting illegal immigrants in March. So far, 351 illegal immigrants have been jailed, and Arpaio said their mess needs to be cleaned up.

Deputy Chief Brian Sands estimates there are about 15 large illegal campsites in the western part of the county. They are used as "drop zones" and temporary staging areas for illegal immigrants. The immigrants will stay there anywhere from a couple of hours to several days, until they can be picked up and transported to their destinations. They usually leave in a hurry, dumping blankets and other trash. In some areas, trash piles are knee deep.

"There's all these little campsites over the years that have turned into this big mess," Sands said.

Illegal dumping not only ruins views but threatens the health of people who live or play there; over time, it pollutes the ground and groundwater.

Offenders who dump trash rarely are caught, and cleanups are costly.

Arpaio said his cleanup will cost taxpayers almost nothing. Trash bags and dump trucks have been donated, and inmate labor is free. Of the 200 convicted inmates who will take part today, 10 are foreign nationals from Mexico, Arpaio said. The inmates will get an extra bologna sandwich for their work.

Kind of hard hard not to love Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his blunt ways. Is there a serious argument against this? If you caught a kid spray painting grafitti on a wall would it be cruel and unusual punishment to make him clean it up? Yet illegal aliens leave thousands of tons of trash in one of the most fragile ecosystems on earth.

A reminder...

I think this is no more than common sense, you want to cross the border illegally and get caught? Currently there is no punishment. Being deported is NOT a punishment, why? You are merely returned to status quo ante, in other words it would be like telling a bank robber to return the ill gotten gains and letting them skip off on their merry way. Let me repeat that, Deportation is not, I repeat, not a punishment in any way shape or form.

As just a teensy tiny way of getting a handle on this enormous problem, what if we were to include a punishment along with deportation? Perhaps a month cleaning up the feces, used toilet paper, syringes, spoiled food, dirty diapers, used tampons etc. etc. of the other border jumpers might serve as a mild deterrent to breaking the law.

This also has the benefit of being scrupulously fair, which is why the left and open borders boosters will loathe it.

H/T Minuteman blog

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