Letter: Blame the immigrants, bill Mexico

The media has been focusing lately on the separation of children from parents when families are apprehended crossing into the U.S. at our southern border. The ensuing outrage flails out only at the present federal administration rather than looking at all the options to solve or even prevent this situation. The responsibility for this problem rests totally with the parents who illegally cross the border with their children. They are to blame for the separation; immigration officials are only following the law. One should ask our two U.S. senators why they allow the law to do this. Automatically returning families to their respective countries would eliminate the need for separation. For Mexican citizens, returning them to the southern tip of their country might help them reflect on the wisdom of trying to cross into our country. Putting a tariff on Mexican goods to pay for the cost of our apprehending people illegally crossing our border might spur their government to work on their side of the border to prevent illegal crossings.