Is this an ominous headline or not?

The headline from the New York Times says: "Bush to Unveil Plan to Tighten Border Controls." It seems the Republicans have been clamouring for more government control of the borders. The paper reported: "'I think members of the House will like what they hear on border security,' a senior administration official told reporters during a briefing at the White House. Entry to the briefing was conditioned on anonymity."

"White House officials said Mr. Bush was considering proposals to increase the number of law enforcement and military personnel patrolling the border; to accelerate the use of high-tech surveillance tools and to step up enforcement against illegal workers and their employers."

Do secure borders mean preventing people from finding jobs or dealing with real terrorists. Last I knew Mexican farm labourers didn't fly planes into the Twin Towers. The authoritarianism in the Republican Party these days is scary. Spying on citizens, controlling people's bank accounts, de facto internal passports to travel, control, control, control. Now they want the military stationed on the border. Did it ever occur to anyone that troops on the borders may keep people out but they can also be used to keep people in?