Happy Independence Day!

A photo of what much of our border with Mexico looks like: here.

Maybe amnesty will change this?

FAST FACT: D.A. KING IS A NATIONALIST!

Click here and here to see if you are one too!

Now: ask yourself if President Bush is…

This is a great resource Website. Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI.org)

Mexican Immigration and its Potential Impact on the Political Future of the United States

By Yeh Ling-Ling
Yeh Ling-Ling is the executive director of Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America.
Published in the Winter 2004 issue of The Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies, Volume 29 Number 4

Synopsis

The following article reinforces the position of Harvard Professor Samuel P. Huntington, Chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, who wrote in 2004 in “The Hispanic Challenge”, published in “Foreign Policy”: “…. Mexican immigration differs from past immigration and most other contemporary immigration due to a combination of six factors: contiguity, scale, illegality, regional concentration [in the American Southwest], persistence, and historical presence …. Demographically, socially, and culturally, the reconquista (re-conquest) of the Southwest United States by Mexican immigrants is well underway…. No other immigrant group in U.S. history has asserted or could assert a historical claim to U.S. territory. Mexicans and Mexican Americans can and do make that claim….”

The article describes the strategy and tactics the Mexican government is using — in concert with political activists of Mexican descent in the United States, ranging from high-level elected officials to scholars, organization leaders, and students, as well as immigration lobbies — to influence the American political process and policies. The crucial issues involved include the viability of our border.

Extensive quotes, provided to illuminate the serious problem, are cited from a broad spectrum of individuals here and in Mexico, all of Mexican descent: the political elite in Mexico, such as former and current presidents of Mexico, the former head of Mexico’s National Security Council and personal strategist to President Vicente Fox, former and current Mexican officials in charge of border issues, former and current speakers of the California State Assembly, U.S. Congressmen, numerous scholars, and organization leaders. Lobbying activities by Mexican government officials and their Mexican American allies as well as data from the U.S. Census Bureau pertaining to the explosive Mexican population increase in this country are also considered.

The author hopes to encourage public debate and stimulate a more cogent evaluation of the potential long-term political and other consequences of rapidly growing, large-scale Mexican immigration and yet another amnesty for those who have come into the United States illegally.

This is well worth the read….you can read the rest of Ling-Ling’s paper here.

How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico
By John Dillin
Christian Science Monitor
July 06, 2006

WASHINGTON – George W. Bush isn’t the first Republican president to face a full-blown immigration crisis on the US-Mexican border.

Fifty-three years ago, when newly elected Dwight Eisenhower moved into the White House, America’s southern frontier was as porous as a spaghetti sieve. As many as 3 million illegal migrants had walked and waded northward over a period of several years for jobs in California, Arizona, Texas, and points beyond.

President Eisenhower cut off this illegal traffic. He did it quickly and decisively with only 1,075 United States Border Patrol agents – less than one-tenth of today’s force. The operation is still highly praised among veterans of the Border Patrol.

Although there is little to no record of this operation in Ike’s official papers, one piece of historic evidence indicates how he felt. In 1951, Ike wrote a letter to Sen. William Fulbright (D) of Arkansas. The senator had just proposed that a special commission be created by Congress to examine unethical conduct by government officials who accepted gifts and favors in exchange for special treatment of private individuals.

General Eisenhower, who was gearing up for his run for the presidency, said “Amen” to Senator Fulbright’s proposal. He then quoted a report in The New York Times, highlighting one paragraph that said: “The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican ‘wetbacks’ to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government.”

Years later, the late Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower’s first attorney general, said in an interview with this writer that the president had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration when he took office.

America “was faced with a breakdown in law enforcement on a very large scale,” Mr. Brownell said. “When I say large scale, I mean hundreds of thousands were coming in from Mexico [every year] without restraint.”

Although an on-and-off guest-worker program for Mexicans was operating at the time, farmers and ranchers in the Southwest had become dependent on an additional low-cost, docile, illegal labor force of up to 3 million, mostly Mexican, laborers.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, published by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association, this illegal workforce had a severe impact on the wages of ordinary working Americans. The Handbook Online reports that a study by the President’s Commission on Migratory Labor in Texas in 1950 found that cotton growers in the Rio Grande Valley, where most illegal aliens in Texas worked, paid wages that were “approximately half” the farm wages paid elsewhere in the state.

Profits from illegal labor led to the kind of corruption that apparently worried Eisenhower. Joseph White, a retired 21-year veteran of the Border Patrol, says that in the early 1950s, some senior US officials overseeing immigration enforcement “had friends among the ranchers,” and agents “did not dare” arrest their illegal workers.

Walt Edwards, who joined the Border Patrol in 1951, tells a similar story. He says: “When we caught illegal aliens on farms and ranches, the farmer or rancher would often call and complain [to officials in El Paso]. And depending on how politically connected they were, there would be political intervention. That is how we got into this mess we are in now.”

Bill Chambers, who worked for a combined 33 years for the Border Patrol and the then-called US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), says politically powerful people are still fueling the flow of illegals.

During the 1950s, however, this “Good Old Boy” system changed under Eisenhower – if only for about 10 years.

In 1954, Ike appointed retired Gen. Joseph “Jumpin’ Joe” Swing, a former West Point classmate and veteran of the 101st Airborne, as the new INS commissioner.

Influential politicians, including Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D) of Texas and Sen. Pat McCarran (D) of Nevada, favored open borders, and were dead set against strong border enforcement, Brownell said. But General Swing’s close connections to the president shielded him – and the Border Patrol – from meddling by powerful political and corporate interests.

One of Swing’s first decisive acts was to transfer certain entrenched immigration officials out of the border area to other regions of the country where their political connections with people such as Senator Johnson would have no effect.

Then on June 17, 1954, what was called “Operation Wetback” began. Because political resistance was lower in California and Arizona, the roundup of aliens began there. Some 750 agents swept northward through agricultural areas with a goal of 1,000 apprehensions a day. By the end of July, over 50,000 aliens were caught in the two states. Another 488,000, fearing arrest, had fled the country.

PLEASE READ THE REST HERE!

Atlanta Immigration Summit – Please RSVP Today
Found in Press Release
Written by New America Media
Posted on 2007-07-02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Alex Moe 646-812-4885
Immigrant Rights Groups Contact: Elena Shore 415-503-4170

ATLANTA — Michael L. Thurmond, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Labor, and Hispanic pollster Sergio Bendixen will meet with Southern ethnic media and immigrant rights groups at the 2007 Immigration Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by New America Media (NAM) in partnership with the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, this free summit will offer unique opportunities for reporters and editors who face the immense challenge of covering immigration in the Southern United States.

At a time of intense national debate over immigration reform – the number one concern for ethnic media – cities across the South are roiled by changing demographics, anti-immigrant legislation, and growing anti-immigrant sentiment in their communities. The Senate’s failure to move the immigration bill forward has made the immigrants’ rights movement more important than ever – as immigrants face a future of increased raids, local anti-immigrant legislation and enforcement without legalization.

The goal of the summit is not only to bolster the communications of the Immigration Rights Movement, but also to strengthen reporting around immigration issues. The event will be a major benchmark in connecting ethnic media to one another, as well as to key leaders of the national Immigrant Rights Movement, and to the local community-based organizations working around this subject.

Pollster Sergio Bendixen, CEO of Bendixen & Associates, will share the findings of a new poll of undocumented immigrants in the United States and discuss its implications for the South.

Michael L. Thurmond, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Labor, will share his views on the economic and labor issues surrounding the immigration debate.

The day-long summit will include panels on where the national Immigrant Rights Movement is headed, how to build a more effective collaboration between ethnic media and immigrant rights groups in the South, how to cover immigration policy, and strategies for dealing with and covering the anti-immigrant backlash.

Ethnic media now provide news and information for one out of four adults in the United States, according to NAM multilingual polling. Nowhere has the growth of this sector been more dramatic than in the South. Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that by 2025 Georgia, Florida and Maryland would be among a handful of states in which the minority population will outnumber whites. Additionally, Atlanta has more than a dozen Korean-language newspapers, along with robust Hispanic, African-American, Chinese, Vietnamese and Hmong media.

This free summit will provide a rare occasion for journalists in this sector to meet and build relationships with advocates on the frontlines who can help them cover these issues more effectively for their communities.

When: Thursday July 12, 2007
9:00 a.m. Breakfast and Registration
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Program (lunch included)

Where: University of Georgia Alumni Center
Atlanta Financial Center
3333 Peachtree Road, N.E.
South Tower, Suite 210
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: (404) 266-2622

Cost: There is no charge for this event.

RSVP: Please RSVP no later than Tuesday July 3rd.

Media: Please RSVP to Alex Moe at 646-812-4885.
Immigrant Rights Groups: Please RSVP to Elena Shore at 415-503-4170.

Hosted by New America Media, the largest national association of ethnic media in the U.S.

Co-sponsored by Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia, National Immigration Forum, Center for Community Change, Asian American Justice Center, and the National Council of La Raza.

DA–when I heard the good news, I was, for the first time in my life, TRULY
proud to be an American. To watch the news and and to know that I was a part
of that movement gave me a deep sense of personal satisfaction. Knowing that
calling my senators every day, and participating in the protest rallies
actually made a difference. In fact, my wife and I opened a bottle of
champagne that night and toasted the victory at 9pm as Sean Hannity began his
show with the announcement……

S.S.

New immigration laws are a go in Georgia

Sunday, July 1, 2007
By Michael French
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA – City and county officials said they are ready and compliant for the new immigration laws that go into effect today and the new rules will not be a burden on Cobb governments.

State Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) Senate Bill 529 mandates that local and county governments verify the legal status of people applying for local, state and federal benefits, trains police officers to enforce federal immigration laws and verifies the immigration status of all those arrested for DUIs and felonies.

Those found to be illegal immigrants are reported to the Department of Homeland Security under the new state law.

“This bill impacts almost every aspect of government,” Rogers said.

Any company receiving a government contract must verify the legal status of all employees and all government employees must be legal residents.

According to Rogers, private companies will have six percent of wages held from all foreign national employees until the proper I-9 forms are filed by those employees at tax time.

The new law also does not allow private businesses to claim wages as tax deductions for employees who have not filed I-9 forms, encouraging companies to hire legal workers.

“It’s easier than filling out an I-9 form,” Rogers said.

Rogers said “it will be easy” to bring all governments and agencies into compliance on July 1 or soon after.

“We’ve given them all the tools,” he said. “Most of it will be electronic. A large majority had no idea the tools were available.”

The electronic services include the Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) database for public safety officials and the federal Employment Eligibility Verification/Basic Pilot Program for employers to verify the legal status of workers.

Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens jumped the gun and got ahead of the pack on immigration law compliance.

As early as October 2006, Olens directed county staff to move forward on meeting the requirements of SB 529 well in advance of the July 1, 2007 date.

“We’ve been compliant for months,” he said. “We’ve been on the pilot program for months and just signed agreements for SAVE. We’re the first government in the state that’s compliant before it’s legally required.”

Olens called the new laws “minimal” in their impact on county government operations.

“This isn’t an issue,” he said.

Rogers said 90 percent of electronic verifications of immigrants come back within 20 seconds.

Olens said only time will tell if the federal government holds up their end of the bargain and picks up those illegal immigrants arrested for felonies and DUIs.

“The federal government needs to be fully engaged,” Olens said. “This (law) is a band-aid step in the right direction.”

Rogers admitted the federal side of enforcement is lacking.

“The frustration I hear is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t put a hold on people. It’s a manpower issue.”

Mayor Bill Dunaway the city of Marietta has always made employee verification for city government and government contract jobs as its standard operating procedure.

Dunaway concurred with Olens and Rogers that the weak link will be the federal government.

“I don’t think the feds are gearing up for it,” he said.

Dunaway said the city has cracked down on day laborers within city limits in the past year and the efforts have “greatly improved” the situation.

He said city staff and public safety asked permission to enforce no-trespassing policies on private property to remove day laborers from business parking lots.

“You don’t see the day laborers on Powder Springs Street like you used to,” he said.

John Helton, director of CobbWorks said, “We at CobbWorks don’t do direct service for illegal immigrants.”

Don Beaver, COO of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, said legal immigrants have helped the county economy.

“Cobb County continues to have a wealth of workforce,” he said.

Beaver added that immigrants add to the county workforce.

“Those on work visas fill critical roles or they wouldn’t be here,” Beaver said. “The housing industry has benefited from the large number of immigrants that are employed in that segment.”

He said their benefit to Cobb cannot be quantified.

“Immigrants make up a very large percentage of the workforce,” he said. “There’s a very large component of our economic forecast.”

D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist in Cobb, said he worked hard to promote and defend Rogers’ bill.

He predicted “a lot of local governments will not be in compliance with 529” on July 1.

King added that despite a few potential hiccups with compliance on July 1, he sees the bill as a success.

“It’s designed to make life uncomfortable for illegal aliens and their employers, and that’s what it does,” he said.

King said he hears that some illegal immigrants are planning to move out of Georgia where laws are not enforced.

“I took a lot of abuse for raising my voice on this issue a year ago,” he said. “Those days are drawing to a quick conclusion.”

Read the rest here

mfrench@mdjonline.com