View more editorial cartoons by Lalo Alcaraz here.

It seems like the Republicons in power in Washington D.C. have found the issue they can run up the flagpole for this year's election -- immigration.  They've framed the issue and the debate in such a way as to appeal to their core constituency.  Clues of this purposeful framing is found in the language that they use.

Rather than solving the problem of "undocumented workers," Republicons can get tough and crack down on "illegal aliens."  Look at the language used for their proposed laws:

• Secure Fence Act
• Alien Gang Removal Act
• Criminal Alien Removal Act
• Alien Smuggler Transportation Act
• Dangerous Alien Detention Act

I understand that immigration reform is a serious issue.  At the same, I can't help but be a little cynical when I see language the politicians use.  Knowing that fear and xenophobia can get them re-elected, they seem to have successfully taken a portion of the immigration issue and turned it into a crime and homeland security issue.  And of course, billions of dollars will have to be spent for more law enforcement, detention facilities, and border security technology. (news conference video)

There are serious issues with how the federal government handles the immigration problem.  The recent 'get tough on enforcement' stance can have both sad and cynical unintended consequences, though.

One example would be the aftermath story of the small, one-factory town, likely to be repeated all over the country.  As reported by CNN:

STILLMORE, Georgia (AP) -- Trailer parks lie abandoned. The poultry plant is scrambling to replace more than half its workforce. Business has dried up at stores where Mexican laborers once lined up to buy food, beer and cigarettes just weeks ago. This Georgia community of about 1,000 people has become little more than a ghost town since September 1, when federal agents began rounding up illegal immigrants. The sweep has had the unintended effect of underscoring just how vital the illegal immigrants were to the local economy.

The humor in any joke is based upon a twist of some truth.  The common joke about the idea of building a 700-mile-long border fence in the American southwest is, "Whose going to build it?  Are you going to have Mexicans building it and then ask them to kindly get back on their side of the fence?"

Today, I read this headline in the Miami Herald, "Contractors at federal detention facility detained -- for fake immigration documents."  Truth is ridiculous.

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