Comments:

D.A. – “Although not being the type that usually protests, we believe in this one and are planning to attend your rally next Sunday at 3:30….”

R.P. Atlanta

Pay us enough, and we’ll do it
By ROBYN BLUMNER
From the St. Petersburg Times…USA
Published April 15, 2007

Inevitably, during a debate on illegal immigration, someone will claim that we need this population because they will do the work that no American will do. President Bush said it Monday in Yuma, Ariz., while pushing his new guest worker program. Temporary workers, he said, are needed so the Border Patrol “will not have to try to chase people who are coming here to do work Americans are not doing.”

This argument infuriates me. There is no such thing as work that Americans won’t do. (Bush neatly arabesqued around what “Americans won’t do” by saying what “Americans are not doing.” Same message.)

Americans will do any kind of work. They dig coal miles underground in dangerous mines, they pick up garbage on the street, they work in sewers, they harvest fruits and vegetables on their own farms and they fill mind-numbing assembly-line jobs.

Here is what Americans by and large won’t do. They won’t work in physically demanding jobs for a wage that doesn’t support a family. They won’t do grueling work, such as in roofing or construction, that doesn’t offer sick pay or annual vacation time. They won’t work in the blood and bile pits of slaughterhouses without reasonable health and safety standards.

When these industries complain that they can’t find American workers, what they mean is they can’t find enough people willing to work for the pay, benefits and working conditions offered. Illegal immigrants do take American jobs, by allowing employers to make jobs unpalatable. If this shadow work force were unavailable, market forces would transform most of those jobs into decent work.

A piece in the Wall Street Journal in January illustrated this point. The article described what happened when a chicken processing plant in Stillmore, Ga., lost 75 percent of its primarily Hispanic 900-member work force after an immigration raid. Immediately the company, Crider Inc., advertised that it had boosted its wages a dollar an hour, and started to provide free transportation and free dorm rooms. The company went to the state employment office to find low-skilled laborers and ended up with 400 candidates, of which 200 were hired.

It turns out that the local African-American community lined up for these jobs. Though the experience wasn’t all rosy.

According to the Journal, “the allure of compliant Latino workers willing to accept grueling conditions despite rock-bottom pay has proved a difficult habit for Crider to shake.” The result was a high turnover rate as complaints arose over conditions and pay.

Powerless employees are so much more attractive than those the law protects.

President Bush has made it a centerpiece of his immigration reform initiative to offer people who have been working in the United States illegally a “Z” visa. The visa would legalize their status, be good for three years, and be indefinitely renewable.

John Keeley of the Center for Immigration Studies says Bush’s plan is “sanctioning a serf class of workers.” I agree. It also keeps around a group of vulnerable workers who will continue to exert a downward pressure on wages.

A disturbing 48-page report by the Southern Poverty Law Center titled “Close to Slavery” (www.splcenter.org) documents the abuses that our current guest worker program inflicts on these essentially disposable humans. Because they are consigned to one employer and have no mobility and few legal rights, guest workers are often cheated of their wages, forced to live in squalid conditions and made virtual prisoners. If they complain, they can be deported.

There is more, click here to read it. Then send it to your U.S. Senators. I am.

Press Release – San Diego Sector Public Information Officer
Posted by AP April 14, 2007

San Diego CBP Border Patrol seizes three million dollars worth of marijuana in brazen smuggling attempt

Agents interdict four-vehicle narcotics convoy after drive-though of the International Boundary near Tecate, California

April 13, 2007

Chula Vista, Calif. — At 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning, CBP Border Patrol seized four Sport Utility Vehicles containing 4,042 lbs. of marijuana worth more than $3,000,000 and arrested one driver. A Border Patrol agent working in an area near Tecate, CA observed a four-vehicle caravan covered in dust, driving on State Route 94. The agent linked the convoy to a gate that had been forced open near the International Boundary.

After stopping the last vehicle of the convoy and finding numerous marijuana bundles inside the vehicle, the agent arrested the driver. The three other vehicles continued west on SR-94 towards San Diego. Multiple agents, as well as a CBP Air helicopter, continued observation of the caravan. One of the three SUV drivers pulled off the highway and stopped in a trailer park near Barrett Lake and absconded from the scene. Agents later seized the vehicle and other marijuana bundles found inside.

The final two SUVs made an abrupt U-turn near Dulzura and returned eastbound on SR-94 towards the Tecate Port of Entry. In Tecate, the two SUVs split up, one driving west and the other vehicle driving east along the border fence, where the drivers then both abandoned their vehicles and jumped over the fence into Mexico. Border Patrol agents near that area of the International Boundary responded to the scene and discovered numerous other bundles of marijuana in the two abandoned vehicles. The Mexican citizen driver of the initial vehicle was turned over to Operation Alliance, a collaborative multi-agency anti-drug taskforce.

The Border Patrol continues ensuring the safety and security of our nation,s border by preventing dangerous people and dangerous drugs from entering our country. The San Diego Sector Border Patrol has seized 18,705 lbs. of marijuana since October 1, 2007, a 34% decline from year-to-date Fiscal Year 2006 seizures.

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This from the Marietta Daily Journal today

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Chip Rogers defends immigration enforcement

By Michael French
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA – State Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) said Friday that his Immigration Compliance Act, which takes effect July 1, is not new law but reinforces federal laws already on the books.

“I find it somewhat puzzling that Congress seems to be caught up in immigration reform,” he said, adding that Congress has yet to enforce its existing immigration laws.

“It is not simply a federal issue,” Rogers told a crowd gathered for Kennesaw State University’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Suburban Conference. “The states are the ones that have to deal with this problem.”

Rogers said his immigration act, passed during the 2006 legislative session, tackles immigration enforcement at every level, from employment policies to law enforcement and state and federal benefits eligibility.

“This impacts (immigration enforcement) through every area,” he said. “No other state has passed the comprehensive bill like we did.”

Rogers said the act mandates that state agencies verify employees’ immigration status through an Internet-based Basic Pilot Program, as well as verification of employers with state contracts.

People who apply for state and federal benefits like welfare also will be checked using the Systematic Alienation Verification Entitlement program to determine their citizenship status.

Rogers said Georgia State Patrol officers will be certified in immigration law training and people accused of felonies and drunken driving would be checked for deportation alerts.

“You need to come here legally,” Rogers said.

Dr. Ernesto Silva of the University Department of Foreign Languages said he came to the United States 20 years ago from Peru.

Now a legal U.S. citizen, Silva said he is concerned that enforcement of this magnitude would breed resentment among the up-and-coming generation of Latinos.

He said through increased law enforcement, parents could be deported from their children who are legal, naturalized American citizens, and foster anger among young Latinos affected, making it less likely for them to assimilate and embrace American culture.

“Immigrants are being criminalized,” he said. “They’re afraid. This creates another issue.”

Silva said there is too much focus on enforcement and deportation and not enough on helping illegal aliens become legal citizens.

“Most illegal immigrants come to work,” he said. “I can see the fear in Latinos right now. They’re being too harsh on a group of people who are quite vulnerable.”

Rogers said the laws are not new or enhanced mandates, simply laws that have been on the federal books for some time that need to be enforced before more unused laws are passed.

He added the immigration act is not targeting Latinos or Hispanics, but illegal immigration.

“I don’t care what color you are or religion you are,” he said. “None of that matters.”

Big bald ugly guy on the radio tomorrow…Saturday April 14, 2007 2-3 PM

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From the Athens Banner Herald on yesterday’s press confrence for the next Congressman from the 10th District of Georgia.

Candidates stump on immigration

By Vicky Eckenrode | Morris News Service | Story updated at 10:46 PM on Thursday, April 12, 2007

ATLANTA – Anti-illegal immigration activists who were key players in pushing Georgia’s sweeping reform law last year threw their support Thursday behind state Sen. Jim Whitehead in his bid to fill late Congressman Charlie Norwood’s seat.

Whitehead, a Republican from Evans, is one of at least a dozen candidates considering running for the 10th Congressional District seat, which became vacant when Norwood died in February.

Earlier in the day, Whitehead’s supporters gathered at the state Capitol to endorse his stance on illegal immigration.

D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, who lobbied heavily last year for a state law cracking down on public benefits and employment for illegal immigrants, said he thought Whitehead’s positions matched up closely with Norwood’s.

“When we lost Charlie Norwood, both Georgia and the United States lost a very strong and courageous voice for our border security and a real solution to our illegal immigration crisis,” King said.

Whitehead said he opposes any measure giving illegal immigrants already in the country a way to stay longer and is in favor of a House bill floated last year that would have made it a felony to be in the country illegally and increased border security measures.

On Monday, President Bush called for Congress to reconsider his plan for a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the more than 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the United States.

“I am in no way going to vote for amnesty for illegal aliens,” Whitehead said when asked about his reaction to Bush’s plan.

Whitehead recently sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asking that any vote on the issue be postponed until the 10th District seat is filled by someone.

Whitehead said that according to his polling of potential voters in the district, illegal immigration is the leading issue, followed by tax reform and education. The war in Iraq trailed farther down the list, Whitehead said his poll showed.

But Whitehead is not the only Republican campaigning on a hard-line stance against illegal immigration.

Athens physician Paul Broun has sent out mailings and plans to release a new television ad highlighting the topic.

“I think it’s important to the voters of this district,” Broun said while making campaign stops Thursday. “I have not seen enough yet in the way of the federal government to secure the border.”

Broun also said he thinks Bush’s guest-worker proposal is the wrong way to go.

“We need to enforce the law that’s on the books,” he said.

Read the entire story here.

AJC report on yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee decision on SB 15

Legislature 2007: Driver’s license bill clears House panel

By Brian Feagans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/13/07

A Senate-passed bill that would make driving without a license a felony on the third offense cleared a key House committee Thursday over objections that the penalty is too harsh.

Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta) launched a lively debate —- one that eventually centered on illegal immigrants —- after questioning the logic of SB 15. Someone shouldn’t be stripped of their voting rights and put in prison for up to five years for failing to have a Georgia driver’s license, even on the third offense, Bruce said.

“Because you don’t have a license doesn’t mean you don’t know how to drive,” Bruce told fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee.

But Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta) said Georgia can’t tolerate people driving its roads without passing a driving exam. Some may not be able to see well or know the rules of the road, Wiles said.

Wiles said violators currently receive a mere “slap on the wrist,” but under his bill they would face two days in jail for a first offense, 10 days for a second and 1-5 years on a third violation —- a felony.

A Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund representative told the committee the felony provision would make Georgia’s unlicensed driver’s penalty far more severe than any other state’s. It constitutes cruel and unusual punishment barred by the Constitution, said Isaiah Delemar, who heads up MALDEF’s regional office in Atlanta.

That prompted D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, to point out that he knows several people —- including the teen his group is named for —- who died in wrecks caused by illegal immigrants. “What we’re trying to do is deter people from moving to Georgia, getting a license plate and driving with impunity,” King said.

Rep. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta) also questioned Delemar’s logic before he and the other committee members passed the bill. He asked Delemar how many violations it would take to warrant a felony. “Five, seven, 10?” he asked.

See here for complete report

Handy facts extracted from AJC today….

For those who understand the ITIN and all that it provides illegal aliens, some information from the AJC and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

From today’s AJC…hurry while the link is still good.

Route to legal status can be taxing

It’s impossible to put an exact figure on how many illegal immigrants are paying state and federal income taxes, though the Internal Revenue Service says nearly 1 million returns were filed with Tax ID numbers in 2003, the most recent year that data is available. Most estimates put the number of illegal immigrants in the United States at 11-12 million.

The number of people applying for Tax IDs has been on the rise in recent years. Last year, the IRS issued 1.5 million nationwide, a 30 percent increase from 2005. Nearly 10.8 million Tax IDs have been issued since the program started in 1996. The numbers are issued to wage earners, as well as spouses and children who could be claimed as dependants.

People can also use Tax ID numbers to file Georgia income taxes, said Charles Willey, spokesman for the state’s Department of Revenue. Willey said his agency couldn’t offer an estimate of how much revenue the state has received from people using Tax ID numbers, but the IRS says that close to 42,400 people in Georgia had the IDs in 2003.

Some critics see downsides to illegal immigrants filing tax returns and receiving specially assigned numbers from the IRS to make the process easier.

“It makes illegals seem more embedded in U.S. society,” said Steve Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies. “It just creates a greater contempt for immigration law.”

Camarota also said that issuing tax ID numbers allows illegal immigrants to get refunds that they couldn’t claim if they simply used bogus Social Security Numbers. He said most illegal immigrants make so little that they would be likely to get a refund.

Nearly 79 percent of the 353,000 returns filed for 2000 with a Tax ID number generated refunds. The average refund was $942, according to the study released in 2004 by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Note from D.A.
10.8 million ITINs issued since 1996 – but only 353,000 tax returns in 2000, with 79% of those getting a cvheck from the IRS? More to come soon.

Dustin Inman Society supporters:

PRESS CONFRENCE TOMORROW AT THE GEORGIA CAPITOL

Georgia Congressman Charlie Norwood, a national treasure and a great American, passed away recently. With the exception of the illegal alien/open borders lobby, we will all miss him and his courage very much.

Norwood’s Congressional ( Ga. District 10 ) seat will be filled by a special election on June 19, 2007.

The Dustin Inman Society has endorsed Georgia state Senator Jim Whitehead as the best candidate for the office. Jim understands that we can begin to solve our national illegal immigration crisis by securing our borders and enforceing our laws…the concept of attrition through enforcement. D.A. will be a speaker at a press conference to endorse Jim at the Georgia Capitol on Thursday, April 12, 2007.

The short press conference will be held on the Capitol steps at 11:00 AM…tomorrow.

If you can get away and come to the Capitol to show the media our support tomorrow, it will be a big help to Jim and his effort to continue Congressman Norwood’s struggle for border security and the equal application of U.S. immigration and employment laws in Congress.

The Jim Whitehead for Congress Website here .

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow if you can come to the Georgia Capitol!

Thanks…dak
——- Whitehead for Congress media release below———-

Jim Whitehead for Congress

For immediate release: April 11, 2007

Illegal Immigration Opponents to Endorse Whitehead in State Capitol News Conference

(Atlanta, GA) – Georgia’s leading groups battling the state’s flood of illegal immigration will endorse State Senator Jim Whitehead (R-Evans) for the vacant 10th District seat in the U. S. House of Representatives Thursday at the State Capitol Building in Atlanta.

Whitehead has pledged to vote against any form of amnesty for illegal aliens if elected to Congress, including current proposals by the Administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Whitehead has requested Pelosi schedule no vote on the issue until a new representative for the seat is sworn in after the July 19 Special Election.

WHO: State Senator Jim Whitehead, national immigration spokesman Phil Kent, Dustin Inman Society President D. A. King

WHAT: Endorsement of Jim Whitehead as the best candidate to combat illegal immigration

WHEN: 11:00 AM, Thursday, April 12

WHERE: Georgia State Capitol Building, South Wing Stairs

Jim Whitehead for Congress

PO Box 619, Evans, GA 30809

Phone (706) 651-9350; FAX (706) 651 – 9364

Contact: Joel McElhannon

Mobile (770) 617-7216; Email: joel@whiteheadforcongress.com

On the Web: http://www.whiteheadforcongress.com/

The Canadian left on Robert Pastor, another 9/11 and the NAU

Note: added here 8 May 2007 3 minute video from CNBC on the AMERO and the borderless continent

Globalists envision another 9/11 crisis as great for creating climate for North American Union

Destruction of the popular sovereignty of Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans is “just a crisis away”
by Jerome R. Corsi, WND Columnist

Robert Pastor, a leading intellectual force in the move to create a North American Union, told WND he believes a new 9/11 crisis could be the catalyst to merge the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Mr. Pastor, a professor at American University, says that in such a case the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP – launched in 2005 by the heads of the three countries at a summit in Waco, Texas – could be developed into a continental union, complete with a new currency, “the Amero”, that would replace the U.S. dollar just as the euro has replaced the national currencies of Europe.

In May 2005, Pastor was co-chairman the Council on Foreign Relations task force that produced a report entitled “Toward a North American Community,” which he has claimed is the blueprint behind the SSP declared by President Bush, Mexico’s then-President Vicente Fox, and Canada’s then-Prime Minister Paul Martin.

At American University in Washington, D.C., Pastor directs the Center for North American Studies where he teaches a course entitled “North America: A Union, A Community, or Just Three Nations?” As WND previously has reported, Pastor is on the board of the North American Forum on Integration, the NAFI, a non-profit organization that annually holds a mock trilateral parliament for 100 selected students drawn from 10 universities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Pastor had published an interview in Spanish in the Oct. 24 issue of Poder y Negocios. He told the magazine crises can force decisions that otherwise would not be made.

“The 9/11 crisis made Canada and the United States redefine the protection of their borders,” Pastor explained. “The debt crisis in Mexico forced the government to adapt a new economic model. Crises oblige governments to make difficult decisions.”

This was the first time WND had found a major intellectual leader behind the push to integrate North America suggesting that a crisis of 9-11 proportions might be just what was needed to advance the process toward establishing a North American Union and the “Amero”. Professor Pastor along with the U.S. Bush administration envisions that “the “Amero” will replace the Canadian Dollar (along with the current currencies of the United States. and Mexico). WND reached Pastor in his office at American University and conducted a telephone interview to make sure the Spanish publication accurately reflected his views.

He affirmed the Spanish interview represents his thinking.

“What I’m saying is that a crisis is an event which can force democratic governments to make difficult decisions like those that will be required to create a North American Community,” he said. “It’s not that I want another 9/11 crisis, but having a crisis would force decisions that otherwise might not get made.”

Entire article here.

( The Canadian) Editorial note:

The North American Union (NAU) would destroy and replace Canada, and subject Canadians to a Christian far right, neo-fascistic, and anti-democratic political-military-industrial complex toward a sought Orwellian “New World Order”.

Make comments about this article in The Canadian Blog.