Visiting liberal friends in their upscale home in Denver, we were taken aback by the measures they and their neighbors took to prevent home invasion and theft. They had had a lot of break-ins recently, they told us, so they were being extra cautious.
No door was ever left unlocked for a moment, not even the glass doors to their privacy-fenced back yard when they were sitting with a clear view of the yard. Garage doors were open only when they were physically in or around the garage. Large potted plantings, purchased for their front yard landscape, were carefully hidden away until they could be permanently placed in the ground. Neighbors, who lost their patio furniture to thieves in the night, subtly chained and locked their replacement furniture in place.
Yet when the discussion turned to immigration one evening, our liberal friends had very different ideas on what should be done about the open Mexico border and the invasion of unauthorized immigrants flowing into our southern back door. They saw no irony in the fact that if they applied their immigration principles to their personal property, they would have no doors on their home at all.
Liberals' attitudes may be changing though. A September YouGov-Economist poll found that a very slight plurality of Democrats—a proxy for liberals—now favors a border fence along the Mexican border. Moderates and conservatives favor a border fence in much higher numbers: 65/24 and 87/8 respectively:
The internal numbers are more surprising. Everyone, including Hispanics, now favors a border fence. "Every demographic tested, be it sex, age, race, party ID, household income, or region," writes blogger Allahpundit, "tilts towards supporting a wall, with no group besides Dems less than 10 points net in favor."
The immigration crisis is, at its core, a home invasion crisis, and most Americans are justifiably angry at Washington's refusal to stop it and, worse, for Washington's complicity in it. A June Rasmussen Reports poll found that "55% of likely voters think the policies and practices of the federal government encourage people to enter the United States illegally."
Protecting our national home from illegal intruders isn't unreasonable, and it's not an issue that can be ignored. Liberals are beginning to get it. Will Washington policymakers?