Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The pristine Arizona desert

 
An Arizona Search & Rescue team patrolling the border as part of the MCDC (Minuteman) effort happened
across one of the largest rest areas for human smuggling ever discovered.

The rest area (also called a 'layup') is in a desert wash area and is approximately one mile long.

The observers estimated that there were over 3,000 discarded back packs along with countless water containers, food wrappers, clothing and other trash.

The author wrote, "As I kept walking down the wash, I was sure it was going to end just ahead, but I kept walking and walking, and around every corner was more and more trash!"

The "illegal super-highway" trail heads directly to Tucson, Arizona. And, then, maybe to your town.

Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter notes that of the 854 miles of border barriers authorized by Congress in 2006, only five miles of double fencing and 70 miles of single fencing have been built.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Blog comment o' the day: Mexifornia

 
All seven of our regular readers are sure to enjoy this comment from Don Surber's blog; it's one of the most interesting we've seen since the Internet was discovered by Al Gore in 1968.

Commenter Jose Blow responds to another's assertion that "...[Nancy] Pelosi has helped improve America, even if only slightly. She’d do a lot more for this country if Republicans would just get out of the way.”

Well, I live in Southern California. Anybody who wants to see how the Dems have “improved” the state are welcome to come here and check it out for themselves.

We’re overrun with illegals who we’re pelting with giant wads of cash. Our businesses are fleeing like Saddam’s army. Our emergency rooms have either closed or have become like the Department of Motor Vehicles, where you sit for hours among people who speak no English, to be waited on by people who speak broken English.

Our roads are so potholed you’ll actually lose pieces of your car as you bounce and plunge over them. Our law-enforcement officers aren’t allowed to use any level of force against non-Caucasians, or they’ll get suspended or fired before they’re sued.

A huge portion of our work force is on the government payroll, and they’re always clamoring for more benefits, higher salaries, and bigger pensions. Our politicians are as corrupt as oily banana-republic dictators. Our schools produce people who can’t read, write, or think, and who answer every challenge with the shout of “Racism! Gimmie money!”

California is a Third World nanny state. This is what the Dems want for the rest of you. We’re done here. We’re toast. The Golden State is no more. We’ve become Mexifornia, with a few obscenely wealthy oligarchs living in splendid isolation, a dwindling middle class, and a giant writhing mass of poor who’ll never be good for anything except manual labor, breeding, and voting themselves more government handouts.

But that doesn’t mean the rest of you have to go the same way.

Stop the Dems before it’s too late.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

New York state issues drivers licenses for illegals

 
Gordon Taylor at Red State:

The question before the state [of New York] was, "What should we do to get rid of illegal aliens driving illegally in New York State?"

A. When stopped for a traffic violation, arrest them for driving without a license.

B. When stopped for a traffic violation, arrest them for driving without a license and also for being here illegally and deport them.

C. Apologize for the inconvenience and send them on their way with a free lottery ticket.

D. Escort them to the nearest Department of Motor Vehicles to get a license.

The answer the state chose was... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...D

The New York Post summarized the ramifications for residents of the state.

Gov. Spitzer announced yesterday that illegal immigrants will get driver's licenses - but at a cost to legal citizens because they'll now be useless as airport ID... Spitzer said the state would no longer require a Social Security number or proof that a person is not eligible for such a number in order to qualify for a driver's license.

...States that fail to meet the [2005] standards will lose their certification by the Department of Homeland Security, meaning that driver's licenses in those states will no longer be valid for air travel, entry to federal facilities and for tax purposes... Travelers will now have to carry a second form of ID, like a passport, which was met with criticism yesterday.

"To outright dismiss the security needs of our state and nation and provide illegal aliens documentation is dangerous and inconceivable," said Sen. Dale Volker (R-Depew)... "Gov. Spitzer should not view New York state driver's licenses like baseball cards - handing them out just to score political points."

Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), the ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security, said: "I strongly disagree with giving state-authorized IDs to illegal immigrants. More importantly, this proposal raises serious homeland-security concerns..."

True, but I can think of few other concerns as well.

Such as the possibility of illegal voting scams that would benefit the likes of Hillary Clinton and Spitzer himself.

Story idea: Larwyn. McLovin's drivers' license: Gothamist. UBL's license adapted from: TRJ.

Monday, September 03, 2007

The ACLU, open borders, and el Presidente

 
Larwyn relays Jay's request that blogs link to the Top Ten Reasons To Stop The ACLU.

#6 may be reason enough for many folks:

6. The ACLU advocate open borders. Not only have the ACLU opposed the Minute Men, a group who are simply exercising their freedom of speech, protesting and stepping up where the government is failing, but they have helped illegals cross the border.

Larwyn continues by neatly tying #6 together with a disturbing post from Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard:

...Mexican President Felipe Calderon's first State of the Nation speech delivered today:

President Felipe Calderon blasted U.S. immigration policies on Sunday and promised to fight harder to protect the rights of Mexicans in the U.S., saying "Mexico does not end at its borders." The criticism earned Calderon a standing ovation during his first state-of-the nation address.

There's more:

"We strongly protest the unilateral measures taken by the U.S. Congress and government that have only persecuted and exacerbated the mistreatment of Mexican undocumented workers... The insensitivity toward those who support the U.S. economy and society has only served as an impetus to reinforce the battle … for their rights."

He also reached out to the millions of Mexicans living in the United States, many illegally, saying: "Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico..."

During the speech, Calderon began to shout, spittle flying as the intensity of his rhetoric increased. He went on to state that, because Mexican nationals can be found in nearly every country throughout the world, "all the world is Mexico! All the world, I say! There are no borders for Mexicans! We may cross into any territory, unannounced, and without documentation! Even the moon and the stars will be ours! Will be --"


Calderon's New Map of the World

At that point, the screaming Calderon was escorted off the podium and calmed with heavy doses of sedatives.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Elvira 'Rosa' Arellano uses the classic rapist's defense

 
The deported Elvira Arellano continues to speak out despite her cruel and unusual residency south o' the border:

Having returned to Michoacán after ten years of having worked in the USA without documentation, Elvira Arellano demanded that the government of Mexico take a firm position and protest against the hate and racism that exists in the USA toward all 12 million or more of its undocumented workers from Mexico, who every single day face raids, deportation, and the separation of their famllies.

While liberals progressives position Elvira as this generation's 'Rosa Parks', her statements won't exactly resonate through the ages. In fact, they won't be remembered this time next month.

"The United States is the one who broke the law first. By letting people cross over without documents. By letting people pay taxes."

As Jay Tea observes, that sort of thing is the classic 'rapist's defense.'

We get it, Elvira. America shouldn't have worn tight-fitting clothes and high heels. Because, in so doing, America was asking to be violated.

"I believe in my heart that the people of this nation do not, in their hearts, want to destroy our lives, our families and our communities."

No one other than Arellano broke apart her family. In 2002, she was arrested in the post-9/11 security crackdown on airport employees and was subsequently convicted of using a fake Social Security number. That charge led to the deportation order. Critics have observed that if she wants to be with her son, she should bring him to Mexico with her.

But her love for her son doesn't appear to quite outweigh his value as a political tool. Just one more question, Elvira: which of our laws are okay to break and which are not?

Michelle Malkin has the essential wrapup.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Just wondering...

 
Would it be okay for you to break into an empty home because you wanted a nicer place to stay?

Would it be reasonable for you to break into a family's home because they had a spare bedroom and might be looking for a full-time nanny?

Would it be acceptable to crash a party at the Playboy mansion because Hef had plenty of extra food, drink and some really cute females?

Would it be fair to sneak into the local YMCA to work out because you didn't want the hassle of siging up and paying a membership fee?

Would it be justifiable to sneak onto a large corporate campus because they had advertised some jobs in the paper?

Would it be advisable to allow millions of non-citizens to enter the country without sanction, while paying for their health-care and use of public services?

* * *

I'm just wondering how that line gets drawn by folks like Hillary Clinton?

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Democrats Support Voter Fraud

 
Michelle Malkin alerts us to an important vote that almost certainly wasn't reported in your newspaper:

On the Senate floor right now, members just finished voting on an amendment... that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls. You know, so illegal aliens and other ineligible people don’t undermine the integrity of the election process.

The amendment failed 42-54.

You’ll notice that not a single Democrat cast a vote in favor of the photo ID requirement for voters.

Interesting. I need a photo ID to board a plane, to present a check, or to buy a bottle of single-malt. But not to vote, thanks to the Democratic Party.

There can be only one reason that Democrats opposed this measure: they hope to see massive voter fraud in 2008.

Think I'm exaggerating? Just consider this leaflet handed out at a 2006 Democratic "get out the vote" rally in Texas.

Act accordingly in 2008.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Michelle Malkin vs. Susan Church

 
Michelle Malkin delivered a nice smackdown of Susan Church tonight on The O'Reilly Factor. The question we should ask each and every apologist for illegal immigration is:

Which laws are okay to break?

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Instapundit's Advice to Legislators

 
Counselor Glenn Reynolds offers some outstanding advice to our so-called legislators:

(1) Make the process open, transparent, and timely, with hearings, drafts on the Internet, and no last-minute bills that no one has read;

(2) Earn people's trust, don't demand it, and treat enforcement like it matters;

(3) Respect people who follow the law, and make legal immigration easier, cheaper, and simpler, rather than the Kafkaesque nightmare it is now;

(4) Don't feel you have to be "comprehensive" -- address the problems you can deal with first. The trust needed to deal with other problems will come later, after you've shown some success and some good faith.


Crafting the legislative equivalent of Tolstoy's War and Peace in hidden back-rooms doesn't build trust, especially when only about 12 miles of the promised 700-mile fence have been built.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Fear This: Hillary Clinton on Immigration

 
While there's good news on the illegal immigration front today -- the shamnesty bill just went down in flames -- more battles remain. Consider if you will, Hillary Clinton's various attempts to sponsor amnesty and guest-worker programs (source: Numbers USA).

Sen. Clinton is a cosponsor of S. 2075, the DREAM Act of 2005: Need a reward for sneaking into the country and then evading the police for five years? Well, how does amnesty and in-state tuition sound? If my kids sneak out of the country and then back in, can they get the in-state tuition deal?

S. 2075 would grant in-state tuition and amnesty to illegal aliens under the age of 21 who had been physically present in the country for five years and are in 7th grade or above. Such a reward for illegal immigration serves as an incentive for more illegal immigration.


Sen. Clinton is a cosponsor of S. 2109, the National Innovation Act of 2005: Need to import cheap high-tech workers? Then have I get a law for you! Unfortunately for American workers, it's a raw deal. Furthermore, it's easy to prove that this program (H-1B) is being abused. Law firms like Cohen and Grigsby are openly counseling employers how to game the legal system to avoid hiring "qualified and interested U.S. worker[s]."

S. 2109 would continue the H-1B program that every year imports additional high-tech workers as part of "comprehensive immigration reform." The H-1B program has been shown to harm American workers by depressing wages and displacing workers. As well, S. 2109 suggests that comprehensive reform must include provisions to "eliminate delays in processing immigration proceedings, including employment-based visa applications." This provision would do nothing but encourage the rubberstamping of applications, which is already happening because of the existing "backlog elimination" program and would promote and encourage fraud and corruption.


Sen. Clinton is a of S. 340, the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007: Running a farm and need, cheap -- but legal -- unskilled labor? Well, Hillary's got your back!

S. 340 is an amnesty for agricultural workers. Of the 1.2 million illegal aliens currently working in agriculture, an estimated 860,000 plus their spouses and children could qualify for this amnesty, so the total could reach three million or more. The potential recipients of the amnesty will be required to prove at least 863 hours or 150 work days of agricultural employment in two preceeding years. S. 340 would, subsequently, allow these “blue card” illegal aliens to apply for legal residency (i.e., amnesty), provided they demonstrate that they have worked in agriculture here: (1) 100 work days per year each of the first five years following enactment; (2) 150 work days per year each of the first three years following enactment; or (3) over the course of the first four years after enactment, 150 work days per year for three of those years and 100 work days for the other. The AgJOBS amnesty has also been introduced as S. 237. Read an analysis of the AgJOBS amnesty.


Sen. Clinton is a cosponsor of S. 237, the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007: Need cheap, legal indentured servants? Hillary can do!

S. 237 is an amnesty for agricultural workers. Of the 1.2 million illegal aliens currently working in agriculture, an estimated 860,000 plus their spouses and children could qualify for this amnesty, so the total could reach three million or more. The potential recipients of the amnesty will be required to prove at least 863 hours or 150 work days of agricultural employment in two preceeding years.S. 237 would, subsequently, allow these “blue card” illegal aliens to apply for legal residency (i.e., amnesty), provided they demonstrate that they have worked in agriculture here: (1) 100 work days per year each of the first five years following enactment; (2) 150 work days per year each of the first three years following enactment; or (3) over the course of the first four years after enactment, 150 work days per year for three of those years and 100 work days for the other. Read an analysis of the AgJOBS amnesty.


Sen. Clinton was a cosponsor of S. 2381, the Safe, Orderly, Legal Visas and Enforcement Act of 2004: or, more properly, the Unsafe, Disorderly, Illegal Unenforcement Act of 2004.

Introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), S. 2381 included an amnesty that would have granted Legal Permanent Resident status to certain illegal aliens (and their spouses and minor children) who have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years and worked for an aggregate of 2 years. Virtually all of the 10.3 million illegal aliens estimated to have been living in the U.S. in March 2004 could have qualified for this amnesty, along with their spouses and children. As well, S. 2381 would have significantly increased overall immigration numbers by increasing the number of family visas and exempting from the family-based visa ceiling all immediate relatives. See analysis of S. 2381 provisions.


Sen. Clinton cosponsored S. 2444, the Kennedy INS restructuring bill: if you're looking for a way to add hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in short order, S. 2444 hits the mark!

This legislation contained both structural and policy problems that would encourage illegal immigration and potentially increase legal immigration. The most far reaching provision proposed in S. 2444 was the change in the definition of immigration law. S. 2444 would have redefined immigration law to include not only the Immigration and Nationality Act but also Executive Orders and international agreements. In so doing, the bill would have opened up massive possibilities for increased legal and illegal immigration. For example, the President could have agreed to amnesty all illegal aliens in a trade agreement or in an Executive Order. The President also could have created new categories of legal immigrants, increase refugee numbers, triple H-1B visas, etc. In addition, S. 2444 would have facilitated asylum fraud and add thousands of illegal aliens to the population each year by greatly reducing the detention of asylum applicants while their cases are pending, allowing them to disappear into the public. While the numeric impact of the Kennedy restructuring bill is almost impossible to determine, the policy changes outlined in S. 2444 would certainly have increased illegal immigration and very likely increased legal immigration, thus adding to the 8-9 million illegal migrants already residing in the U.S. as well as increasing legal immigration levels.

Hillary Clinton. Let the buyer beware.

AgJOBS:

AgJOBS: Legalizing Indentured Servitude: What Kind of America Will You Choose?

Indentured Servant: An indentured servant is an unfree laborer under contract to work for a specified amount of time for another person – often for low or no wages – in exchange for accommodation, food, other essentials and/or free passage in a new country.

Indentured Servitude Banned with Slavery: Indentured servitude was abolished along with slavery when the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1865.

AgJOBS indentures illegal alien agricultural workers:
• Section 101(a) of AgJOBS grants amnesty in the form of “temporary residence” (via a “blue card”) to illegal aliens who worked in agriculture between December 31, 2004, and December 31, 2006.
• Section 103(a) permits these formerly illegal “temporary residents” to apply for adjustment to lawful permanent residence only if they perform at least: 2,587 hours of agricultural work during the first three years after enactment; 2,875 hours of agricultural work during the first five years after enactment; or during the first four years after enactment, 862.5 hours of agricultural work per year for three of those years and 575 hours of work for the other.
• Section 103(c) says that, if temporary residents do not perform the requisite work and apply for permanent status within seven years of enactment, they are deportable.
• AgJOBS permits employers of formerly illegal temporary residents to pay these workers as little as minimum wage. It also freezes the “adverse effect wage rate” for H‐2A workers at its January 1, 2003, level for three years, after which the wage rate may be increased by no more than the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index from two years prior.

Required Labor + Specified Duration of Labor +
Substandard Wages + Free Passage in a New Country =
Indentured Servitude

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Smokin' Hot Border News!

 
Tigerhawk notes a striking Stratfor report on corruption within the Mexican government:

About 400,000 Mexican police officers are under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for corruption and suspected links to organized crime, La Jornada reported June 26, citing government sources. Most of the officers are from Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Baja California, Guerrero, Michoacan, Mexico and the federal district.

Yes, you read that right. Four hundred thousand Mexican police officers are under investigation "by the Attorney General's Office."

To put this into context, there are a bit more than 670,000 total sworn police officers -- corrupt and otherwise -- in the United States, a substantially larger country.

Naturally, I have a couple of questions: ...How many people does the Attorney General's Office have at its disposal to investigate these 400,000 allegedly corrupt officers? ...How many Mexican police officers are not under investigation?

Meanwhile, the Washington Times has an exclusive report regarding a monstrous forgery ring (hat tips: Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin):

The head of a Mexican forgery ring was convinced he could make phony documents that illegal aliens could use to indicate fraudulently that they were eligible for a new amnesty, says a government affidavit recounting wiretapped phone calls the man made.

Julio Leija-Sanchez, who ran a $3 million-a-year forgery operation before he was arrested in April, was expecting Congress to pass a legalization program, which he called "amnesty," and said he could forge documents to fool the U.S. government into believing illegal aliens were in the country in time to qualify for amnesty, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent said in the affidavit.

In recounting a wiretapped telephone conversation, ICE agent Jason E. Medica said he heard Mr. Leija-Sanchez tell an associate the forgery ring could "fix his papers" to meet the requirements of a legalization program such as the bill the Senate is debating today.

Ace's reaction: "Why, it's almost as if those already breaking the law actually wouldn't mind breaking a couple of other laws to gain legal status."

Predicted headline for next week: MEXICAN POLICE RUNNING ENORMOUS FORGERY RING!

Hat tip el grande: Larwyn

Newt's Ten Steps to Deal with Immigration

 
Newt Gingrich offers Ten Simple, Direct Steps to a Legal American Immigration System (hat tip: Conservative Crawfish):

1. Keep the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli commitment and control the border. In The Reagan Diaries (HarperCollins, May 22, 2007), President Ronald Reagan wrote that he was going to sign the Simpson-Mazzoli bill because “it’s high time we regained control of our borders and [this] bill will do this.” For national security reasons, it is vital we regain control of our border. Congress should pass a narrowly written emergency border bill to finish the necessary fence in less than a year and to have complete border control within two years.

2. Announce an immediate shift of Internal Revenue Service resources to audit companies that are deliberately hiring people illegally. We do not have to focus on deporting those who want to work. We need to focus on the Americans who are getting richer by deliberately breaking our laws, hiring people illegally and failing to pay taxes. These people are cheating their own country. We should focus on fining and making it economically impractical for Americans to deliberately encourage law breaking. Economic penalties for knowingly hiring someone who is illegal should rise dramatically with each employer (including subcontractors) conviction, making it simply too expensive to cheat. This will eliminate the magnet of illegal jobs, will begin to diminish the flow of new illegal workers and will lead some illegal workers to return home voluntarily.

3. Outsource to American Express, Visa or MasterCard the job of building a real-time verification system so that honest companies can confirm the legal status of all workers and identify people with forged papers before they hire them as fast as your automatic teller machine identifies you and gives you money in a matter of seconds. We must distinguish between companies that deliberately hire illegal workers and companies that hire people who they believe are legal. It is the government’s duty to help this second group of companies by providing a real-time verification system for identifying the legal status of all workers so that it is possible to screen out those with illegal documents. The government should outsource the creation of this system so that it is easy, fast and accurate.

4. Focus deportation efforts on criminals. Those who claim that opponents of the Bush-Kennedy-McCain bill support mass deportations are simply wrong. We want a system in which honest work is available for law-abiding workers and in which the natural attrition of declining job availability will reduce illegal behavior. However, there is one group that should be deported immediately, and the law should be modified to make it easy to do so. Criminals have no future in America. In every major city and increasingly in small cities and even small towns, gangs have become a problem and people feel a rising sense of insecurity. There are at least 30,000 illegal gang members now in the United States. The system should focus on deporting criminals so that people who are here illegally understand that breaking the law will get them deported immediately.

5. Cut off all federal aid to any city, county or state that refuses to investigate if a criminal is here illegally. These so-called “sanctuary cities” are in effect abetting the violation of American law and increasing the risk to honest, law-abiding Americans. They should be cut off from all federal aid if they refuse to help enforce federal law.

6. Offer intensive education in English to anyone who wants to learn English, and make English the official language of government. This will begin to reassert the commitment to assimilation and Americanization that has historically been part of legal immigration to America.

7. Ensure that becoming an American citizen requires passing a test on American history in English and giving up the right to vote in any other country.

8. Within the context of these proven changes, establish an economically driven temporary worker program like the Krieble Foundation proposals. Any temporary worker would have to pass a background check to ensure they are not a criminal, would have to give biometric information (retinal scan and thumbprint) for a special card that would be outsourced to American Express, MasterCard or Visa so it would be harder to defraud and counterfeit, and would have to sign a contract committing them to pay taxes and obey the law or be removed from the United States within two weeks without recourse to long court processes.

9. Create a special open-ended worker visa for high value workers who bring specialized education, entrepreneurial talent or capital that will grow the American economy and make America a more prosperous country.

10. Workers who came here illegally but have a good work relationship and community ties (including family), should have first opportunity to get the new temporary worker visas, but instead of paying penalties, they should be required to go home and get the visa at home. This way they are beginning their new career in America by obeying the law. It is amazing that those who advocate a large fine and the new Z visa, which would be administered in a hopelessly expedited manner, suggest that going home to get a new legal admission to the U.S. is somehow too complicated. If people can break the law by entering the county illegally, they should be able to obey the law and enter America legally.

Hmmm. A pragmatic, rational and systematic approach for dealing with illegal immigration. I wonder why not a single one of our thousands of Congressional representatives and staff members could come up with something this practical?

Sunday, June 24, 2007

A bunch of lawyers "screwing the American worker"

 
Cohen and Grigsby, one of the largest law firms in Pittsburgh, posted a recent immigration seminar online. In the seminar, the firm advises clients how to ensure foreigners are hired even though laws require that Americans are given top priority in recruitment.

In the video, the firm's VP of marketing tells the audience, "...the goal here of course is to meet the requirements... but also do so as inexpensively as possible, keeping in mind our goal. And our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker."

The Programmer's Guild posted a synopsis of the seminar online (hat tip: Larwyn):


CNN's Lou Dobbs happened upon the video and delivered a stunning assessment: "This is a bunch of cute little lawyers... playing little corporate games and screwing the American worker."


The Associated Press also picked up the story:

A U.S. senator wants an investigation into the ethics of a law firm whose YouTube video highlights how to circumvent the law to obtain visas for foreign employees... Attorneys say it's not illegal — but Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has asked Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to examine the firm's tactics.

...Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee, sent a letter to Cohen and Grigsby, demanding to know how many visa petitions have been filed by the firm in the past five years. He denounced the firm's tactics as discrimination.

...The video clip appears to confirm the suspicions of many who accuse companies of placing want-ads in newspapers to show the Department of Labor it is recruiting Americans, knowing all along that they won't attract qualified applicants...

Palma Yanni, a Washington, D.C.-based immigration lawyer, said the department requires companies to make a good-faith effort to hire an American before applying for a work visa for a foreigner... "By encouraging employers not to make a good-faith effort, they are violating the rules, period," Yanni said of Cohen and Grigsby's tactics.

The first priority for the Labor Secretary? Let's hope it's outsourcing immigration-law advice to offshore legal firms. In fact, here's a seminar I'm thinking of holding.


Don Surber: "Nobody knows what a petard is anymore. Everyone knows what You Tube is. Cohen and Grigsby just YouTubed itself."

Sunday, June 17, 2007

The GOP's contemptuous disregard for its base

 
Michelle Malkin provides an update on the debacle of an immigration bill as viewed by a Beltway insider.

Senate Immigration Update – June 15, 2007

All indication is that Harry Reid has chosen to resume consideration of immigration sometime next week, possibly as early as Wednesday. It is his folly – a curious political choice designed to avoid the "do-nothing" label he so richly deserves.

But as much as he should be blamed personally for choosing to bring the bill back, it is the Republican leadership and Republican "grand bargainers" who are deserving of America's contempt. Grand bargainers Graham, Kyl, Martinez and McCain made their deal with the devil a long time ago. And now, after a week of deal-making and arm-twisting, Senator Lott and McConnell have joined forces with them and with Democrats to pull together the 60 votes needed to pass an immigration bill that not only has no chance of working, but undermines our nation's rule of law, damages our national security and will cost billions of dollars.

They do so knowingly and firmly over the objections of the American people. They have done so with great contempt for those who dare to question the decision or put up a fight. It is now up to the American people to demonstrate at a level never seen before in American politics that this is an unacceptable breach of faith with them and will not be tolerated. It is the only hope at this point that this terrible legislation – that has no chance of working – does not become law.

Up to now, a handful of Senators have been able to fight for amendments – and more, to fight for the transparency necessary to expose this bill's fatal flaws. Senators Sessions and DeMint properly objected to a sham amendment process that was limiting the rights of Republicans. Other members offered amendment after amendment designed to target the bill's many weaknesses - but few were granted votes. Their efforts and of those other members who didn't just "accept the grand bargain" have exposed the bill to the American people.

But now, those members are not the hope. They are going to be limited in their ability to do anything to stop this bill. In short – the very Senate leadership who repeatedly asks that the Republican caucus stick together are now rolling their conservative members to do a deal with Democrats – to do a deal with Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton.

The hope now lies with the American people. The American people have been speaking – and Senators are beginning to listen. Don't give up now. It is clear that Senators are beginning to understand that this bill is not supported by a sizable and important segment of the American public – middle America. There are many Senators still on the fence that are being counted on to pass this bill. This is why today it is up to the people. If there is any hope – the American people must speak, and must speak loudly. Make phone calls to Senate offices, repeatedly, and non stop until the bill is defeated. Faxes and email – flood their offices. Fax in voided checks to the NRSC and the RNC with letters saying you won't support them – and if you have ever given money before, ask for it back. Make very clear that this is the ultimate breach of faith and that there will be consequences.

Spread the word, America – there are a handful of Republican Senators who can stop this – and it is up to you to hold them accountable. It is up to you to tell them that you refuse to take this – you refuse to be sold a bill of goods. You are on to them – you know the bill cannot work. You know that this bill is "not better than the status quo" as the powers-that-be would have you believe. You know that this bill will cost YOU billions of dollars. You know that this bill harms our national security and undermines the rule of law. You know.

If you speak, they will listen. Go.

Write to the White House

Write to your Congressional Representatives

Write to the "GOP" Senators

The contemptuous disregard that the GOP leadership has paid to its constituency is mind-boggling. Make your voice heard.

Line o' the Day

 
Should credit go to Glenn Beck or Slublog over at Ace of Spades for today's award winner? I report, you decide:

Glenn Beck made an interesting point on his show Friday. He said the debate over this bill represents a battle not between the right and left, but between the political class and the American voter. I think he's on to something. Given the level of anger this bill has created, it's hard to believe most members of Congress do not know where their constituents stand. And yet the bill lives.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Fred Thompson on the Immigration Bill

 
In May, Fred issued the following statement:

With this bill, the American people are going to think they are being sold the same bill of goods as before on border security. We should scrap this bill and the whole debate until we can convince the American people that we have secured the borders or at least have made great headway...

By the way, how's that 700 miles of fence -- which Congress approved last year -- coming?

Friday, June 15, 2007

Amnesty: the Last Step

 
David Frum offers a stellar perspective on illegal immigration (hat tip: Power Line):

I for one am absolutely open to considering an amnesty plan at any date after the FIFTH anniversary of the completion of border control measures, including an effective employment verification system.

I am open to an amnesty plan after the flow of new illegals has been halted and we have seen significant attrition from the existing illegal population.


I am open to amnesty after - and only after! - federal judges start assisting local law enforcement agencies that wish to enforce the law rather than forbidding them to do so.

I am open to amnesty after a US president demonstrates a willingness to respond with some modicum of respect to the immigration concerns of the American public - and is not looking for any transparent gimmick that will get him from here to the bill signing.

Hey, here's a thought: Why doesn't President Bush condemn the decision by federal judge Colleen McMahon to require the town of Mamoreneck, NY, to pay $550,000 to illegal aliens and create a center from which they may violate the immigration laws of the United States conveniently, publicly, and with impunity? If ever one legal case destroyed what little "confidence" remained in the seriousness of the US government on immigration, this was that case. And the President has said ... what exactly?


If we have learned anything from the hard experiences of the recent past it is that amnesty must be the last step in any intelligent program of immigration enforcement. When it is the first step, it rapidly becomes the only step - or rather, the first step to the next amnesty and the next after that.

We have learned too that the political leadership in Washington wants a radically different outcome to this immigration debate from that desired by the large majority of the American people.

Confidence? Well in the words of an expert on the subject:

"Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."

Thursday, June 14, 2007

How's that 700 miles of fence coming?

 
On October 26, 2006, President Bush signed a bill authorizing the construction of a 700-mile long fence separating the United States from Mexico.


At the time, Bush said:

Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and, therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise... We have a responsibility to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously.

Just a few days after the signing of the bill, DHS refused to commit to a timetable for fence construction.


And loopholes in the legislative process left the administration with leeway as to when, where and how long a fence would be created. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff reportedly set a goal of two or three years for construction, but only "after completion of an immigration overhaul."

Construction of the fence, as mandated in the bill, was not contingent upon any such overhaul. So is it any wonder that the new, monstrously complex immigration bill -- a document that makes War and Peace look readable -- can't get traction?

How's that 700 miles of fence coming? And why would we believe border security will be taken seriously this time?

The net result of this disconnect is that even staunch Republicans have abandoned the President for deserting his conservative base. The Bush approval-o-meter stands at below 30 percent (and that's still above the Democrat-controlled Congress).

Here's my stab at a bumper sticker. Feel free to email it to your Representative in Congress.


Build the fence that was signed into law. Then we'll talk immigration reform.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Uhm, how about just building a fence for starters?

 
The Democracy Project on the ill-fated immigration bill:

Voters have consistently viewed immigration reform as meaning improving border security and reducing illegal immigration. Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters believe it is Very Important for "the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration." Adding pressure to Congress is the fact that voters see this objective as achievable --68% of Americans believe it is possible to reduce illegal immigration. Just 20% disagree. A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 82% believe the federal government could do more to reduce illegal immigration.

Hmmm. I'm no polling expert, but I think this means there would be bipartisan support for the government improving its enforcement of the borders and reducing illegal immigration.

Shhhhhh. No one tell John McCain and Teddy Kennedy.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Sign the No Amnesty Petition

 
The message is clear. The vast majority of Americans favor sealing the border first, before Congress foists an enormous bureaucracy on an unsuspecting public.