My column in today’s Marietta Daily Journal. I have added some hyperlinks to educate the reader.

Amnesty – Again is Back on Front Pages

“I hope by now the American people understand the need for comprehensive immigration reform is a clear need”
President George W. Bush, at the Yuma, Arizona Border Patrol headquarters – April 9, 2007.

“Last year we passed the worst piece of legislation I’ve seen here in my thirteen years”
Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss, on the U.S. Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2005 – to the Marietta Rotary club – April 4, 2007

Having been in office since 2001 and taking an oath – twice – to faithfully discharge the duties of the office of the President, with several million illegal border crossings a year and the terror of 9/11, “Dubya” now hopes the American people understand the need for “immigration reform”?

This is the same man who, as Governor of Texas, said of the illegal border crossers and the Rio Grande River: “Hell, if they’ll cross Big Bend, we want ’em”! The same man who labeled American citizens “vigilantes” for having spent part of 2005 observing the border and reporting illegal crossings to Border Patrol using cell phones…from lawn chairs.

We do understand Mr. President, all too well sir.

That even more labor equals even lower priced labor is not that difficult a concept to grasp.

Not many Americans fail to understand that the phrase “comprehensive immigration reform” is code for finding a way, any way, to officially allow the millions of illegal aliens who have been allowed to live and work in the U.S. illegally to remain here… like we did in 1986.

Memo to the President and Congress: No gracias and no sale. Been there, done that and sadly, we have the t-shirt. It reads: “Press one for English”.

Much like the menu at the corner Mexican restaurant, in the language of the President’s – and much of Congress’ – never ending effort to repeat the failed amnesty of 1986, you basically get the same five ingredients served fifty different ways.

Neither do many working Americans fail to understand that no one is mentioning any penalty for the millions of criminal employers who have been rewarded for faithful campaign donations with a virtual free pass on illegally hiring the taxpayer subsidized “cheap” labor that flows in from Mexico.

Now that amnesty-again by any other name is on the front page – again – look for the usual suspects in the media to renew the name calling aimed at marginalizing the huge majority of Americans who demand secure borders and an equally applied rule of law, without conditions…any conditions.

Many in the press like to paint those who oppose illegal immigration and our unsecured borders as “anti-immigration” – rather like labeling the activists involved with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as being “anti-automobile”.

Few will argue with Senator Chambliss’ remarks to the Rotary club regarding last year’s Senate amnesty bill, but his use of the long worn-out phrase describing illegal aliens as being in “the shadows” is nonsense. No one has forgotten the angry and defiant Mexican flag – waving criminals marching in the U.S. last year demanding American citizenship while screaming “THIS IS OUR CONTINENT and WE ARE AMERICA”!

In the shadows indeed.

For years we have been given the false choice of either rounding up and deporting millions of illegal aliens or rewarding them with what they came for: Legal status. For years we have been told the former is “impossible”.

Senator Chambliss says that now our government will decide which of the illegals are “behaving themselves” and which are “burdening our health care and legal systems”. The Senator told the Rotarians that “we will round up the latter folks and send them back”. Hmm.

It is not clear if stealing the identities of Americans, manufacturing and using false documents, illegally accessing taxpayer funded services or repeatedly driving with out ever having a driver’s license is regarded as “behaving themselves”.

All of those actions are treated and prosecuted as crimes when committed by Americans in America.

The announced plan is to now make the “well behaved” criminals “Temporary Workers”…that can perpetually renew their “temporary” status. Proving what much of Europe has learned…few things are more permanent than a temporary worker.

Senator Chambliss added that “we’ve got to enforce whatever we put in place”.

Let’s start by enforcing what we have already put in place. Secure American borders – at any price – enforce the existing laws and watch as the flow of illegal immigration stops and the illegals go home. That is what most Americans want. We are America.

D.A. King is president of the Dustin Inman Society, a Marietta-based coalition actively opposed to illegal immigration. On the Web: www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org

These guys are saving me a lot of writing!

Bush’s migrant proposal gets chilly response
Matthew Benson
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 10, 2007

Nearly one year ago, President Bush made a splash with his visit to Yuma as he talked about the coming deployment of the National Guard to the border and focused debate on illegal immigration.

On Monday, the response was chillier and more muted as Bush returned to the border outside the southern Arizona city.

He again advocated what he calls comprehensive immigration reform, again talked about the need to secure the border while ensuring a stable workforce and some means to achieve citizenship for the millions already living here illegally. advertisement

Bush called on Congress to send him an immigration bill he can sign this year. But middle ground between the border hardliners and migrant advocates has been hard to find. That was apparent Monday, as Bush’s comments drew him into a crossfire of reaction. A sample:

I heard him say the same ol’ thing he always does. It’s always all show, no substance. He’s a lame duck. He will not get anything accomplished. I’d stake my life on it.”

– Ray Borane,
mayor of the Arizona border town of Douglas

There was nothing new today. We’re certainly hopeful he has sufficient influence to get something through Congress.”
– Alfredo Gutierrez,
a Democrat and former state senator

If it looks like amnesty and smells like amnesty, it’s amnesty. It’s simply asinine. The dots don’t connect.”
– Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa

The president doesn’t know the issue down here like he wants people to think. The people of Arizona are sick and tired of being sick and tired of waiting on the federal government to act.”
– Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Chandler

All he’s trying to do is introduce a new way to say the same thing. If we give all these people amnesty today, what are we going to do with the people who come tomorrow?”
– Don Goldwater, nephew of Barry Goldwater
and a Republican gubernatorial candidate (2006)

The days of playing politics, of using immigration as a campaign tactic, are over. If we don’t get (immigration reform) done this year, it’s going to be very difficult to get it done in 2008.”
– Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix

I strongly encourage President Bush to support legislation that deals with the issue of illegal immigration but does not create a new path to citizenship or expand chain migration.”
– U.S. Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz.

You can read the entire article here.

Press release on the President’s amnesty-again speech of yesterday from FAIR

We agree.

Bush Immigration Speech Calls for Same Old Illegal Alien Amnesty and Guest Worker Program, Says the Federation for American Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Repeating the same tired
rhetoric about immigration that has used for more than six years, President
Bush in a speech in Yuma, Arizona, again called for a middle class-killing
guest worker program and an amnesty for illegal aliens. The president also
touted his modest achievements in the area of immigration enforcement, a
belated effort begun to gain credibility with the American public only
after his desired guest worker amnesty bill evoked nationwide opposition.
In his Yuma address, President Bush reiterated his assertion that
millions of new guest workers are needed to “do jobs Americans aren’t
doing.” The president also denied that his plan top legalize millions of
illegal aliens does is an amnesty, because they will be required to pay a
few modest fines, learn a bit of English and wait a while before receiving
citizenship.
“There was absolutely nothing new in President Bush’s speech today,”
said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform
(FAIR). “It was filled with familiar promises of future enforcement, all of
which have been repeatedly broken by this and past administrations”
According to FAIR, the president’s case for a massive new guest worker
program and an illegal alien amnesty are based on misleading half-truths
that he uses repeatedly. “When President Bush asserts that guest workers
are needed to ‘do jobs Americans aren’t doing,’ he ignores the obvious fact
that Americans aren’t given the opportunity to do certain jobs because they
are filled by lower wage illegal aliens. From New Bedford, Massachusetts,
to Greeley, Colorado, we have seen evidence that when immigration raids
clear out the illegal labor force, American workers have lined up for these
jobs.
“The last thing a country in which more than one-fifth of the adult
population is functionally illiterate, and in which low-skill, low-wage
workers are heavily subsidized, needs is a massive infusion of still more
unskilled, low-wage workers. The Bush guest worker plan amounts to a death
sentence for the American middle class,” Stein stated.
In his speech, President Bush, yet again, offered the false choice of
mass deportation or mass legalization as the only two options available for
dealing with millions of illegal aliens living in the U.S. “President Bush
keeps asserting that we cannot deport 12 million people, even though no one
has seriously suggested that as an option. The alternative to amnesty is
not just deportation, but sustained and consistent border and interior
enforcement that convinced illegal aliens to leave on their own,” Stein
said. “Slapping illegal aliens on the wrists with a few fines and other
requirements does not change the fact that what he is proposing is amnesty.
They may go to the ‘back of the line for citizenship,’ but for illegal
aliens, the back of the line would form in this country under the Bush
plan, while those who played by the rules would wait at home,” Stein
concluded.

SOURCE FAIR

President Bush Discusses Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Yuma, Arizona
U.S. Border Patrol – Yuma Station Headquarters
Yuma, Arizona

White House News

In Focus: Immigration Reform

10:21 A.M. MST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thank you all very much, please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the warm weather. (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Twenty-eight degrees in Washington.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, 28 degrees in Washington, that’s right. I appreciate you sharing that with me. (Laughter.) Sometimes it’s a little hotter than that in Washington. But I’m glad to be back here in Yuma. Thank you so very much for your hospitality. Thanks for your service to the country. I appreciate so very much the work you’re doing day and night to protect these borders. And the American people owe you a great debt of gratitude.

The Border Patrol is really an important agency. I know some people are wondering whether or not it makes sense to join the Border Patrol. My answer is, I’ve gotten to know the Border Patrol, I know the people serving in this fine agency — I would strongly urge our fellow citizens to take a look at this profession. You’re outdoors, you’re working with good people, and you’re making a solid contribution to the United States of America. And I want to thank you all for wearing the uniform and doing the tough work necessary, the work that the American people expect you to do.

Last May, I visited this section of the border, and it was then that I talked about the need for our government to give you the manpower and resources you need to do your job. We were understaffed here. We weren’t using enough technology to enable those who work here to be able to do the job the American people expect. I Returned to check on the progress, to make sure that the check wasn’t in the mail — it, in fact, had been delivered.

I went to a neighborhood that abuts up against the border when I was here in May. It’s the place where a lot of people came charging across. One or two agents would be trying to do their job and stopping a flood of folks charging into Arizona, and they couldn’t do the job — just physically impossible. Back at this site, there’s now infrastructure, there’s fencing. And the amount of people trying to cross the border at that spot is down significantly.

I appreciate very much Ron Colburn and Ulay Littleton. They gave me the tour. Colburn, as you know, is heading up north. He’s going to miss the weather. More importantly, he’s going to miss the folks he worked with down here. I appreciate both of their service, I appreciate the tour. The efforts are working — this border is more secure, and America is safer as a result.

Securing the border is a critical part of a strategy for comprehensive immigration reform. It is an important part of a reform that is necessary so that the Border Patrol agents down here can do their job more effectively. Congress is going to take up the legislation on immigration. It is a matter of national interest and it’s a matter of deep conviction for me. I’ve been working to bring Republicans and Democrats together to resolve outstanding issues so that Congress can pass a comprehensive bill and I can sign it into law this year. (Applause.)

I appreciate the hard work of Secretary Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. I appreciate Commissioner Ralph Basham, he’s the main man in charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. David Aguilar, Chief of the Border Patrol is with us. David, thank you for the job you’re doing. Lieutenant General Steven Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau. I want to thank the governor of the state of Arizona, Janet Napolitano. I appreciate you being here, Governor, thank you for taking time from the session to be down here. It means a lot when the governors take an active interest in what’s going on in the borders of their respective states.

I appreciate so very much Senator John Kyl. Kyl is one of the most respected United States senators and I’m proud to be with him today — and glad to give him a ride back to Washington, I might add. (Laughter.)

I appreciate members of the congressional delegation who have joined us: John Shadegg; Jeff Flake — from Snowflake, Arizona, I want you to know — and I appreciate you working on this immigration issue; Congressman Trent Franks, and Congressman Harry Mitchell. I appreciate you all taking time for being with me here today, it means a lot that you’d come.

I want to thank Senator Tim Bee, he’s the president of the Arizona State Senate, for being here. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. Larry Nelson, the Mayor of Yuma, Arizona. I appreciate you being here, Mr. Mayor.

I do want to thank Major General David Ratacheck, the Adjutant General of the state of Arizona; thank all the local and state officials; and, most importantly, I want to thank the Border Patrol agents and I want to thank the National Guard folks for wearing the uniform. I am proud to be the Commander-in-Chief of all these units here today and I appreciate your service to the United States of America. (Applause.)

I hope by now the American people understand the need for comprehensive immigration reform is a clear need. Illegal immigration is a serious problem — you know it better than anybody. It puts pressure on the public schools and the hospitals, not only here in our border states, but states around the country. It drains the state and local budgets. I was talking to the governor about how it strained the budgets. Incarceration of criminals who are here illegally strains the Arizona budget. But there’s a lot of other ways it strains the local and state budgets. It brings crime to our communities.

It’s a problem and we need to address it aggressively. This problem has been growing for decades, and past efforts to address it have failed. These failures helped create a perception that America was not serious about enforcing our immigration laws and that they could be broken without consequence. Past efforts at reform did not do enough to secure our nation’s borders. As a result, many people have been able to sneak into this country.

If you don’t man your borders and don’t protect your borders, people are going to sneak in, and that’s what’s been happening for a long time. Past efforts at reform failed to address the underlying economic reasons behind illegal immigration. People will make great sacrifices to get into this country the find jobs and provide for their families.

When I was the governor of Texas I used to say family values did not stop at the Rio Grande River. People are coming here to put food on the table, and they’re doing jobs Americans are not doing. And the farmers in this part of the world understand exactly what I’m saying. But so do a lot of other folks around the country. People are coming to work, and many of them have no lawful way to come to America, and so they’re sneaking in.

Past efforts at reform also failed to provide sensible ways for employers to verify the legal status of the workers they hire. It’s against the law to knowingly hire an illegal alien. And as a result, because they couldn’t verify the legal status, it was difficult for employers to comply. It was difficult for the government to enforce the law at the work site. And, yet, it is a necessary part of a comprehensive plan. You see, the lessons of all these experiences — the lesson of these experiences is clear: All elements of the issue must be addressed together. You can’t address just one aspect and not be able to say to the American people that we’re securing our borders.

We need a comprehensive bill, and that’s what I’m working with members of Congress on, a comprehensive immigration bill. And now is the year to get it done. The first element, of course, is to secure this border. That’s what I’m down here for, to remind the American people that we’re spending their taxpayer — their money, taxpayers’ money, on securing the border. And we’re making progress. This border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut down to criminals and drug dealers and terrorists and coyotes and smugglers, people who prey on innocent life.

We more than doubled the funding for border security since I’ve been the President. In other words, it’s one thing to hear people come down here and talk; it’s another thing for people to come down and do what they say they’re going to do. And I want to thank Congress for working on this issue. The funding is increasing manpower. The additional funding is increasing infrastructure, and it’s increasing technology.

When I landed here at the airport, the first thing I saw was an unmanned aerial vehicle. It’s a sophisticated piece of equipment. You can fly it from inside a truck, and you can look at people moving at night. It’s the most sophisticated technology we have, and it’s down here on the border to help the Border Patrol agents do their job. We’ve expanded the number of Border Patrol agents from about 9,000 to 13,000, and by the end of 2008, we’re going to have a total of more than 18,000 agents.

I had the privilege of going to Artesia, New Mexico, to the training center. It was a fantastic experience to see the young cadets getting ready to come and wear the green of the Border Patrol. By the time we’re through, we will have doubled the size of the Border Patrol. In other words, you can’t do the job the American people expect unless you got enough manpower, and we’re increasing the manpower down here.

This new technology is really important to basically leverage the manpower. Whether it be the technology of surveillance and communication, we’re going to make sure the agents have got what is necessary to be able to establish a common picture and get information out to the field as quickly as possible so that those 18,000 agents, when they’re finally on station, can do the job the American people expect.

But manpower can’t do it alone. In other words, there has to be some infrastructure along the border to be able to let these agents do their job. And so I appreciate the fact that we’ve got double fencing, all-weather roads, new lighting, mobile cameras. The American people have no earthly idea what’s going on down here. One of the reasons I’ve come is to let you know, let the taxpayers know, the good folks down here are making progress.

We’ve worked with our nation’s governors to deploy 6,000 National Guard members to provide the Border Patrol with immediate reinforcements. In other words, it takes time to train the Border Patrol, and until they’re fully trained, we’ve asked the Guard to come down. It’s called Operation Jump Start, and the Guard down here is serving nobly.

I had the chance to visit with some of the Guard, and Mr. Mayor, you’ll be pleased to hear they like being down here in Yuma, Arizona. They like the people, and they like the mission. More than 600 members of the Guard are serving here in the Yuma Sector. And I thank the Guard, and, equally importantly, I thank their families for standing by the men and women who wear the uniform during this particular mission. You email them back home and tell them how much I appreciate the fact they’re standing by you.

I appreciate very much the fact that illegal border crossings in this area are down. In the months before Operation Jump Start, an average of more than 400 people a day were apprehended trying to cross here. The number has dropped to fewer than 140 a day. In other words, one way that the Border Patrol can tell whether or not we’re making progress is the number of apprehensions. When you’re apprehending fewer people, it means fewer are trying to come across. And fewer are trying to come across because we’re deterring people from attempting illegal border crossings in the first place.

I appreciate what Colburn said — he puts it this way, they’re watching — “They see us watching them,” that’s what he said, “and they have decided they just can’t get across.” And that’s part of the effort we’re doing. We’re saying we’re going to make it harder for you, so don’t try in the first place.

We’re seeing similar results all across the southern border. The number of people apprehended for illegally crossing our southern border is down by nearly 30 percent this year. We’re making progress. And thanks for your hard work. It’s hard work, but necessary work.

Another important deterrent to illegal immigration is to end what was called catch and release. I know how this discouraged some of our Border Patrol agents. I talked to them personally. They worked hard to find somebody sneaking in the country, they apprehended them; the next thing they know, they’re back in society on our side of the border. There’s nothing more discouraging than have somebody risk their life or work hard and have the fruits of their labor undermined. And that’s what was happening with catch and release. In other words, we’d catch people, and we’d say, show up for your court date, and they wouldn’t show up for their court date. That shouldn’t surprise anybody. But that’s what was happening. And the reason why that was happening is because we didn’t have enough beds to detain people.

Now, most of the people we apprehend down here are from Mexico. About 85 percent of the illegal immigrants caught crossing into — crossing this border are Mexicans — crossing the southern border are Mexicans. And they’re sent home within 24 hours. It’s the illegal immigrants from other countries that are not that easy to send home.

For many years, the government didn’t have enough space, and so Michael and I worked with Congress to increase the number of beds available. So that excuse was eliminated. The practice has been effectively ended. Catch and release for every non-Mexican has been effectively ended. And I want to thank the Border Patrol and the leaders of the Border Patrol for allowing me to stand up and say that’s the case.

The reason why is not only do we have beds, we’ve expedited the legal process to cut the average deportation time. Now, these are non-Mexican illegal aliens that we’ve caught trying to sneak into our country. We’re making it clear to foreign governments that they must accept back their citizens who violate our immigration laws. I said we’re going to effectively end catch and release, and we have. And I appreciate your hard work in doing that.

The second element of a comprehensive immigration reform is a temporary worker program. You cannot fully secure the border until we take pressure off the border. And that requires a temporary worker program. It seems to make sense to me that if you’ve got people coming here to do jobs Americans aren’t doing, we need to figure out a way that they can do so in a legal basis for a temporary period of time. And that way our Border Patrol can chase the criminals and the drug runners, potential terrorists, and not have to try to chase people who are coming here to do work Americans are not doing.

If you want to take the pressure off your border, have a temporary worker program. It will help not only reduce the number of people coming across the border, but it will do something about the inhumane treatment that these people are subjected to. There’s a whole smuggling operation. You know this better than I do. There’s a bunch of smugglers that use the individual as a piece of — as a commodity. And they make money off these poor people. And they stuff them in the back of 18-wheelers. And they find hovels for them to hide in. And there’s a whole industry that has sprung up. And it seems like to me that since this country respects human rights and the human condition, that it be a great contribution to eliminate this thuggery, to free these people from this kind of extortion that they go through. And one way to do so is to say you can come and work in our country for jobs Americans aren’t doing for a temporary period of time.

The third element of a comprehensive reform is to hold employers accountable for the workers they hire. In other words, if you want to make sure that we’ve got a system in which people are not violating the law, then you’ve got to make sure we hold people to account, like employers. Enforcing immigration is a vital part of any successful reform. And so Chertoff and his department are cracking down on employers who knowingly violate the law.

But not only are there coyotes smuggling people in, there are document forgers that are making a living off these people. So, in other words, people may want to comply with the law, but it’s very difficult at times to verify the legal status of their employees. And so to make the work site enforcement practical on a larger scale, we have got to issue a tamper-proof identification card for legal foreign workers.

We must create a better system for employers to verify the he legality of the workers. In other words, we got work to do. And part of a comprehensive bill is to make sure work site enforcement is effective.

Fourth, we’ve got to resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants already here in the country. People who entered our country illegally should not be given amnesty. Amnesty is the forgiveness of an offense without penalty. I oppose amnesty, and I think most people in the United States Congress oppose amnesty. People say, why not have amnesty? Well, the reason why is because 10 years from now you don’t want to have a President having to address the next 11 million people who might be here illegally. That’s why you don’t want amnesty. And, secondly, we’re a nation of law, and we expect people to uphold the law.

So we’re working closely with Republicans and Democrats to find a practical answer that lies between granting automatic citizenship to every illegal immigrant and deporting every illegal immigrant.

It is impractical to take the position that, oh, we’ll just find the 11 million or 12 million people and send them home. It’s just an impractical position; it’s not going to work. It may sound good. It may make nice sound bite news. It won’t happen.

And, therefore, we need to work together to come up with a practical solution to this problem, and I know people in Congress are working hard on this issue. Illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law, and pay their taxes, and learn the English language, and show work — show that they’ve worked in a job for a number of years. People who meet a reasonable number of conditions and pay a penalty of time and money should be able to apply for citizenship. But approval would not be automatic, and they would have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law.

What I’ve described is a way for those who’ve broken the law to pay their debt to society and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.

Finally, we have got to honor the tradition of the melting pot, and help people assimilate into our society by learning our history, our values and our language. Last June I created a new task force to look for ways to help newcomers assimilate and succeed in our country. Many organizations, from churches to businesses to civic associations, are working to answer this call, and I’m grateful for their service.

And so here are the outlines for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. It’s an emotional issue, as I’m sure you can imagine. People have got deep convictions. And my hope is that we can have a serious and civil and conclusive debate. And so we’ll continue to work with members of both political parties. I think the atmosphere up there is good right now. I think people generally want to come together and put a good bill together — one, by the way, that will make your job a lot easier.

It’s important that we address this issue in good faith. And it’s important for people to listen to everybody’s positions. It’s important for people not to give up, no matter how hard it looks from a legislative perspective. It’s important that we get a bill done. We deserve a system that secures our borders, and honors our proud history as a nation of immigrants.

And so I can’t think of a better place to come and to talk about the good work that’s being done and the important work that needs to be done in Washington, D.C., and that’s right here in Yuma, Arizona, a place full of decent, hardworking, honorable people. May God bless you all. (Applause.)

END 10:45 A.M. MST

FAST FACT: In the Tuscon Sector alone, Border Patrol is apprehending 2000 illegal border crossers a day…a 2005 U.S. House of Representatives report estimates that law enforcement is able to catch 10-30% of the total.

Do the math.

Ahhh…the rich blessings of “cheap labor”.

Antelope Valley Press — Lancaster, Calif.
Cost of illegals: $420 million in government aid

Los Angeles — Through their citizen children, illegal [aliens… criminals] in Los Angeles County collect $420 million annually in welfare and food stamps, according to a report requested by 5th District County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services told the supervisor… READ ALL ABOUT IT here.

In the e-mail bag today:

Comments:

“Thanks for the stand you take, and for the work you do. As a blogger, I have spent a good bit of time taking a stand against illegal immigration. In order for me to get information out to others, I depend upon organizations like yours”.

R.P.
North Carolina

Thanks for the note R.P. The price of losing this battle is losing our borders, our rule of law, our common language…our nation. dak

An AP story on the near total absence of U.S. prosecution of people illegally entering the U.S., then, some background from World Net Daily on two American Border Patrol Agents who live in small cells without their families – in U.S. prison – for attempting to stop a drug smuggler from Mexico.

Welcome to the New America. Maybe another path to citizenship amnesty will stop this sort of thing?

Illegal border crossers rarely prosecuted

By Alicia A. Caldwell
Associated Press Writer

EL PASO, Texas – For all the tough talk out of Washington on immigration, illegal immigrants caught along the Mexican border have almost no reason to fear they will be prosecuted.

Ninety-eight percent of those arrested between Oct. 1, 2000, and Sept. 30, 2005, were never prosecuted for illegally entering the country, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. Those 5.2 million immigrants were simply escorted back across the Rio Grande and turned loose. Many presumably tried to slip into the U.S. again.

The number of immigrants prosecuted annually tripled during that five-year period, to 30,848 in fiscal year 2005, the most recent figures available. But that still represented less than 3 percent of the 1.17 million people arrested that year. The prosecution rate was just under 1 percent in 2001.

The likelihood of an illegal immigrant being prosecuted is “to me, practically zero,” said Kathleen Walker, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Federal prosecutors along the nation’s southern border have come under pressure from politicians and from top officials in the Justice Department to pursue more cases against illegal immigrants.

But few politicians are seriously suggesting the government prosecute everyone caught slipping across the border. With about 1 million immigrants stopped each year, that would overwhelm the nation’s prisons, break the Justice Department’s budget and paralyze the courts, immigration experts say.

The Justice Department itself says it has higher priorities and too few resources to go after every ordinary illegal immigrant. Instead, the department says it pursues more selective strategies, such as going after immigrant smugglers and immigrants with criminal records.

T.J. Bonner, the union chief for Border Patrol agents, said the most effective solution would be to dry up job opportunities in the U.S. by cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

“The employers are the ones breaking the law,” he said, suggesting the creation of an “idiot-proof” system to check the immigration status of workers and the prosecution of any employers who knowingly hire those in this country illegally.

“It’s much like our tax laws: People don’t pay their taxes out of an overriding sense of citizenship; it’s a healthy dose of fear,” Bonner said.

Under federal law, illegally entering the country is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and up to six months in prison for a first time. A second offense carries up to two years. If an immigrant has been prosecuted and deported and then sneaks back into the country, he can be charged with a felony punishable by up to two years behind bars. Those with criminal records can get 10 to 20 years.

The federal figures on arrests and prosecutions were collected and provided to the AP by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University in New York.

The number of illegal immigrants arrested at the border is dwarfed by the number who make it through. “For every person we catch, two or three get by us,” Bonner said.

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement that 30 federal prosecutors have been added to the Southwestern border to handle the rising number of immigration and border drug cases and noted that securing more prosecutions would require hiring more judges and public defenders and building more courtrooms and jails.

Authorities also note that illegal immigrants who make it past the border are not necessarily home free. In the past year, immigration officials have conducted numerous raids on workplaces.

Boyd noted that the Border Patrol can charge illegal immigrants with civil violations punishable by fines of $50 to $250. But Border Patrol officials said most Mexican immigrants are not sent before a judge to be fined.

“The majority are offered and granted … voluntary removal back to Mexico,” said Xavier Rios, an assistant chief Border Patrol agent in Washington. “We don’t seek to prosecute everyone.”

Boyd said the Justice Department pursues charges if a case involves human smugglers, if an immigrant has a felony record in the U.S., or if he has been deported before.

“When you consider the other high-priority laws that the department is charged with enforcing, such as drug trafficking, firearms offenses, violent crime, national security, child pornography, and corporate fraud, the department is achieving a balance of immigration enforcement with other important areas,” Boyd said.

Last month an undated internal Justice Department memo released as part of the congressional investigation of the firings of eight U.S. attorneys revealed that in Texas, most illegal crossers have to be caught at least six times before their case will be forwarded to prosecutors.

Still, some border regions have decided to crack down.

Along the Border Patrol’s 210-mile Del Rio sector in West Texas, any illegal immigrant arrested since 2006 is jailed and prosecuted, under a federal project called Operation Streamline. It was briefly repeated along a narrow stretch of border in New Mexico. And Maricopa County, Ariz., officials are using a state anti-smuggling law to prosecute both suspected smugglers and the immigrants who pay them.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a former state judge, said that the prosecution rates amount to “dereliction of duty” and that the government should spend whatever it takes to lock up and deport every illegal immigrant.

Read the rest here.

Border Patrol agents sentenced to prison 11-12 years for shooting drug-smuggling
suspect in buttocks as he fled across frontier
October 20, 2006
World Net Daily

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were sentenced to prison terms of 11 years and 12 years for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks as he fled across the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, Texas, sentenced Jose Alonso Compean to 12 years in prison and Ignacio Ramos to 11 years and one day despite a plea by their attorney for a new trial after three jurors said they were coerced into voting guilty in the case, the Washington Times reported.

As WorldNetDaily reported, a federal jury convicted Compean, 28, and Ramos, 37, in March after a two-week trial on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.

Ramos is an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve and a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year.

On Feb. 17, 2005, he responded to a request for back up from Compean, who noticed a suspicious van near the levee road along the Rio Grande River near the Texas town of Fabens, about 40 miles east of El Paso.

Ramos, who headed toward Fabens hoping to cut off the van, soon joined a third agent already in pursuit.

Behind the wheel of the van was an illegal alien, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila of Mexico. Unknown to the growing number of Border Patrol agents converging on Fabens, Aldrete-Davila’s van was carrying 800 pounds of marijuana.

Unable to outrun Ramos and the third agent, Aldrete-Davila stopped the van on the levee, jumped out and started running toward the river. When he reached the other side of the levee, he was met by Compean who had anticipated the smuggler’s attempt to get back to Mexico.

“We both yelled out for him to stop, but he wouldn’t stop, and he just kept running,” Ramos told California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Aldrete-Davila crossed a canal.

“At some point during the time where I’m crossing the canal, I hear shots being fired,” Ramos said. “Later, I see Compean on the ground, but I keep running after the smuggler.”

At that point, Ramos said, Aldrete-Davila turned toward him, pointing what looked like a gun.

“I shot,” Ramos said. “But I didn’t think he was hit, because he kept running into the brush and then disappeared into it. Later, we all watched as he jumped into a van waiting for him. He seemed fine. It didn’t look like he had been hit at all.”

The commotion and multiple calls for back up had brought seven other agents – including two supervisors – to the crossing by this time. Compean picked up his shell casings, but Ramos did not. He also did not follow agency procedure and report that he had fired his weapon.

“The supervisors knew that shots were fired,” Ramos told the paper. “Since nobody was injured or hurt, we didn’t file the report. That’s the only thing I would’ve done different.”

Had he done that one thing differently, it’s unlikely it would have mattered to prosecutors.

More than two weeks after the incident, Christopher Sanchez, an investigator with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, received a call from a Border Patrol agent in Wilcox, Ariz. The agent’s mother-in-law had received a call from Aldrete-Davila’s mother in Mexico telling her that her son had been wounded in the buttocks in the shooting.

Sanchez followed up with a call of his own to the smuggler in Mexico.

In a move that still confuses Ramos and Compean, the U.S. government filed charges against them after giving full immunity to Aldrete-Davila and paying for his medical treatment at an El Paso hospital.

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof told the court that the agents had violated an unarmed Aldrete-Davila’s civil rights.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is a violation of someone’s Fourth Amendment rights to shoot them in the back while fleeing if you don’t know who they are and/or if you don’t know they have a weapon,” said Kanof.

Kanof dismissed Ramos’ testimony that he had seen something shiny in the smuggler’s hand, saying that the agent couldn’t be sure it was a gun he had seen.

Further, Kanof argued, it was a violation of Border Patrol policy for agents to pursue fleeing suspects.

“Agents are not allowed to pursue. In order to exceed the speed limit, you have to get supervisor approval, and they did not,” she told the Daily Bulletin.

Those shell casings Compean picked up were described to the jury as destroying the crime scene and their failure to file an incident report – punishable by a five-day suspension, according to Border Patrol regulations – an attempted cover up.

The Texas jury came back with a guilty verdict. Conviction for discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence has an automatic 10-year sentence. The other counts have varying punishments.

“How are we supposed to follow the Border Patrol strategy of apprehending terrorists or drug smugglers if we are not supposed to pursue fleeing people?” said Ramos, who noted that he only did on that day what he had done for the previous 10 years. “Everybody who’s breaking the law flees from us. What are we supposed to do? Do they want us to catch them or not?”

He also noted that none of the other agents who had responded to the incident filed reports that shots were fired and, besides, both supervisors at the scene knew they had discharged their weapons.

“You need to tell a supervisor because you can’t assume that a supervisor knows about it,” Kanof countered. “You have to report any discharge of a firearm.”

“This is the greatest miscarriage of justice I have ever seen,” said Andy Ramirez of the nonprofit group Friends of the Border Patrol. “This drug smuggler has fully contributed to the destruction of two brave agents and their families and has sent a very loud message to the other Border Patrol agents: If you confront a smuggler, this is what will happen to you.”

The El Paso Sheriff’s Department increased its patrols around the Ramos home when the family received threats from people they believed were associated with Aldrete-Davila.

Dot “The ultimate goal of any White House policy ought to be a North American economic and political alliance similar in scope and ambition to the European Union,” opined an Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial on September 7, 2001. “Unlike the varied landscapes and cultures of European Union members, the United States, Canada and Mexico already share a great deal in common, and language is not as great a barrier. President Bush, for example, is quite comfortable with the blended Mexican-Anglo culture forged in the border states of Texas, California and Arizona.”

Dot S.2611
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by Senate)________________________________________

SEC. 113. REPORTS ON IMPROVING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY.

a) Requirement for Reports- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on improving the exchange of information related to the security of North America.

3) VISA POLICY COORDINATION AND IMMIGRATION SECURITY–

The progress made by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to enhance the security of North America by cooperating on visa policy and identifying best practices regarding immigration security, including the progress made—

(A) in enhancing consultation among officials who issue visas at the consulates or embassies of Canada, Mexico, or the United States throughout the world to share information, trends, and best practices on visa flows;

(B) in comparing the procedures and policies of Canada and the United States related to visitor visa processing, including–
(i) application process;
(ii) interview policy;
(iii) general screening procedures;
(iv) visa validity;
(v) quality control measures; and
(vi) access to appeal or review;

(C) in exploring methods for Canada, Mexico, and the United States to waive visa requirements for nationals and citizens of the same foreign countries;

(D) in providing technical assistance for the development and maintenance of a national database built upon identified best practices for biometrics associated with immigration violators;

(E) in developing and implementing an immigration security strategy for North America that works toward the development of a common security perimeter by enhancing technical assistance for programs and systems to support advance automated reporting and risk targeting of international passengers;programs and systems to support advance automated reporting and risk targeting of international passengers;

SEC. 114. IMPROVING THE SECURITY OF MEXICO’S SOUTHERN BORDER.

*******************************************************************************

Dot STRIVE Act of 2007 H.R.1645 (Introduced in House)
________________________________________
SEC. 113. REPORTS ON IMPROVING THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY.

a) Requirement for Reports- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on improving the exchange of information related to the security of North America.

3) VISA POLICY COORDINATION AND IMMIGRATION SECURITY–

The progress made by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to enhance the security of North America by cooperating on visa policy and identifying best practices regarding immigration security, including the progress made-–

(A) in enhancing consultation among officials who issue visas at the consulates or embassies of Canada, Mexico, or the United States throughout the world to share information, trends, and best practices on visa flows;

(B) in comparing the procedures and policies of Canada and the United States related to visitor visa processing, including–
(i) application process;
(ii) interview policy;
(iii) general screening procedures;
(iv) visa validity;
(v) quality control measures; and
(vi) access to appeal or review;

(C) in exploring methods for Canada, Mexico, and the United States to waive visa requirements for nationals and citizens of the same foreign countries;

(D) in providing technical assistance for the development and maintenance of a national database built upon identified best practices for biometrics associated with immigration violators;

(E) in developing and implementing an immigration security strategy for North America that works toward the development of a common security perimeter by enhancing technical assistance for programs and systems to support advance automated reporting and risk targeting of international passengers;

Subtitle C–Southern Border Security

SEC. 121. IMPROVING THE SECURITY OF MEXICO’S SOUTHERN BORDER.

Dot Now click here to see what just one of our U.S. Universities is doing on the North American Union outlined here.

AND….do not watch this 24 minute video exposing what your federal elected official likely has no clue about.

Letter from Congress to Speaker Pelosi on amnesty-again.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

We are Democratic and Republican Members who are united in asking you not to bring amnesty legislation to the House floor.

Citizenship is the greatest honor and responsibility our country can offer. Millions of people around the world play by the rules, obey the law, and often wait years for the opportunity to legally immigrate.

When Congress granted permanent residence to millions of illegal immigrants in 1986, we required them to wait, pay a fine, and “learn” English. The result was legally and publicly recognized as amnesty.

Amnesty hurts vulnerable American workers, burd ens American taxpayers, and rewards lawbreakers. It encourages more illegal immigration. And it tells all those who have patiently waited abroad for their turn to come to the United States that they are foolish.

The United States has the most generous legal immigration system in the world. We should take the side of American workers and taxpayers, legal immigrants and the rule of law. Please oppose any effort to put illegal immigrants on the path to amnesty.

Sincerely,

CLICK HERE TO SEE SIGNATORIES