Posted on 05/21/2004 3:46:15 PM PDT by Libloather
House OKs bill to let U.S. soldiers guard border
Sergio Bustos
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- U.S. soldiers may be asked to keep undocumented immigrants and potential terrorists out of the country.
The House on Thursday passed a defense authorization bill, which includes a provision that would let U.S. troops join with U.S. Border Patrol agents in guarding the nation's borders with Canada and Mexico.
The bill authorizes Defense Department programs for the coming fiscal year, which will begin Oct. 1. The border troop amendment, championed by Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., passed the House late Wednesday by a 40-vote margin, 231-191.
The provision stands little chance of surviving beyond the House because it was not part of the Senate's version of the defense bill.
"If troops were needed, they could be of significant assistance to prevent the infiltration of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens, and could prevent the entry of weapons of mass destruction into our country," Goode said.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, who spent 26 years with the U.S. Border Patrol and opposed the amendment, said it was "simply the wrong solution to our current problems along the border."
"This amendment will send our military personnel to our borders at a time when they are already stretched thin in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Kosovo, Bosnia and over 100 other countries around the world," he said. "We cannot and we should not ask our military personnel to patrol our borders."
Southern Arizona lawmakers whose districts run along the U.S.-Mexico border echoed Reyes' argument.
"Border security is and continues to be a top priority for me and for the Congress as a whole," said Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Tucson.
"But the Goode amendment would militarize our border and stretch the resources of our Army."
We'll need some more soldiers :|
And on to the Senate...
Did you see this?
Take that Posse Cometatus Law.
Yeah but are they gonna be allowed to STOP them.
What about bringing them HOME to protect our own borders dumba$$
I see several comments saying we need to do something, but not with troops. Ok. Then, how? Are we going to deploy Congresscritters?
Or citizens' militias?
If we can't patrol the borders, we don't have borders. Well, that's kind of simplistic, because we do patrol the borders, just maybe not as much as we should.
You wouldn't believe how much we should. I have a co-worker who is afraid to open his garage door at night.
My County Sherrif has announced he is going to augment the Border Patrol with his deputies. The problem of illegals now outweighs any other crime category in a county that is nearly as large as the state of Connecticut.
Sorry, larger than...Connecticut covers 4800+ square miles, and Cochise County covers 6100+.
Why do you think it is now being considered to put FEDERAL troops on the border?
Because the militia are starting to get their act together and soon could begin to have a real impact on stopping the flood of criminal illegal aliens crossing the border in violation of the law.
The fed will not be there to stop the mexicans. They will be there to arrest the Americans that are stopping the mexicans. The mexicans will be mearly "tresspassing due to somewhat less than fully documented "migration.""
What a crock.
(COPY AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY. Revise and extend as you see fit. Start a movement, print a petition, start a political party, confront your legislators, write letters, post posters, drop leaflets. Demand, demand, demand
)
18 POINT ACTION PLAN: Border Violators
1) Close all US borders to illegal entry forthwith by any and all means possible, including military presence.
2) Maintain legitimate immigration levels at modest annual level with requirements that immigrants be employable or sufficiently wealthy for self-support if they do not intend to work, proficient in basic English and willing to be assimilated into American culture and language. All applicants shall provide prints, photos and DNA samples.
3) Legal immigration shall be awarded to individuals on a lottery basis, wherein all countries are given equal status in the immigration lottery, without regards to color or economic plight of originating nation.
4) Individuals of Islamic faith (muslims) from any country shall be denied immigration privileges or entry into the US. Christians and Jews from muslim countries fleeing religious persecution shall receive preferential and accelerated immigration privileges.
5) Detain all border violators, taking photos, prints and DNA samples of said violator while at the same time, checking for out standing warrants. If no warrants are outstanding, return border violators to home country within 20 days via commercial airline and submit cost of such action, including processing and housing costs for said violator, to country of origin. If costs are not paid within 30 days, reduce any and all aid to said country by a like amount.
6) Should any country from which a border violator originates not currently receive any aid from the US, the Justice Department shall be authorized to seize or secure liens on assets owned, managed or registered to that country to the full extent of the obligation.
7) Establish new Guest Worker Visa (GWV) category, renewable every six (6) months, for unskilled labor positions wherein all applicants shall provide prints, photos and DNA samples. Work permitted of such applicants shall be limited to one of several categories, including childcare, lawn/gardening, restaurant staff, cleaning, and the like. Families of GWV workers are not permitted to enter US, nor will the birth of a child in the U.S. to one of GWV status confer citizenship to either parent or child.
8) Any violation of civil or criminal laws shall result in the forfeiture of the GWV and immediate return to originating country.
9) GWV holders shall be prohibited from claiming unemployment benefits, welfare support or free medical service.
10) The originating country of all GWV holders shall be responsible for any loss caused by their citizens, including emergency medical claims and claims resulting from illegal acts committed while in the US.
11) Companies that hire GWV holders shall submit to the Immigration Dept the name and GWV number of that individual, along with a description of employment tasks. Companies that fail to report employment of GWV workers, or hire border violators, shall be subject to fines and penalties. GWV workers shall not be subject to unemployment tax because they shall not be eligible to receive unemployment compensation. GWV workers shall be paid with check, having income tax withheld.
12) Border violators, or any non-citizen not possessing a valid visa, detained by local police for any reason shall be turned over to border control officials for immediate deportation action, except if they face criminal charges in other jurisdictions.
13) Border violators and GWV workers shall be prohibited from voting in local, state and federal elections.
14) Border Violators shall NOT be afforded the rights enjoyed by American citizens, as guaranteed under the constitution.
15) Public education (at institutions supported by taxpayer dollars) at any level (pre-school, kindergarten through the university level,) shall NOT be available to Border Violators (or children of Border Violators) and schools that enroll such individuals shall be subject to penalties.
16) Foreign Students (F/S) (individuals admitted to the U.S. for the purpose of attending any educational facility,) private institution or public (i.e. supported by taxpayer dollars,) must have valid student visas, such visas being in force only if the F/S attends school full-time. F/S shall be required to pay tuition, housing and related costs such that all their educational costs are fully reimbursed to the institution attended. The originating country shall pay for any and all loss caused by students while on U.S. soil.
17) Border Violators seeking emergency medical treatment shall provide pictures, fingerprints and DNA samples along with country of origin, and shall be treated then incarcerated until information provided can be verified. Originating country shall bear the costs of medical treatment and confinement.
18) Children born in the U.S. to border violators, illegal aliens or of foreign nationals in the U.S. for any reason (including temporary visitor, school or work visas,) shall not be eligible for citizenship as circumstances of birth, nor shall the parents or parents family members (relatives) be conferred U.S. citizenship as a result of such births.
Hey what a concept!! Next thing you know we will be arming pilots.
((((( HOLDING BREATH )))))
If we're going to do it, it's got to be with troops - and, frankly, lots of them.
We've got two borders of about 2,000 miles each - that's 4,000 miles. At one person per mile, working normal hours, we'd need 16,000 people just on the borders - with NO administrators! (Yes, I know, no admin is an impossible dream).
Practically, if we want to actually take control of the border, we need 100,000 troops. Anything less than that, we're just playing the same silly games that have gotten us to the present point.
Build walls and fences everywhere it's practicable along the entire lengths of both of our land borders and have our troops there to keep these vermin, on the other side, out.
Give all the illegals in our country 90 days to sell everything they don't want to take with them and get out.
After 90 days, every illegal caught loses everything but the shirt on his/her back and returns to their home country with nothing.
No excuses. No appeals. That's it. Game over.
That's a bunch of B.S.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes -- "This amendment will send our military personnel to our borders at a time when they are already stretched thin in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Kosovo, Bosnia and over 100 other countries around the world," he said. "We cannot and we should not ask our military personnel to patrol our borders."
Rep. Jim Kolbe -- "But the Goode amendment would militarize our border and stretch the resources of our Army."
The amendment doesn't say that the military will be sent to the border nor would it militarize the border. The amendment "authorizes the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, under certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions, to assist the Department of Homeland Security in the performance of border protection functions."
Amendments For H.R.4200The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (H.R. 4200) is the bill. You can do a search for it here.1. H. AMDT. 532 to H.R.4200 - An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 108-499 to authorize the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, under certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions, to assist the Department of Homeland Security in the performance of border protection functions.
Sponsor: Rep Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [VA-5] (introduced 5/19/2004)
Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 5/19/2004 House amendment agreed to.
Status: On agreeing to the Goode amendment (A001) Agreed to by recorded vote: 231 - 191 (Roll no. 196).
This is Virgil Goode's website.
Here's a thread about this same subject from yesterday: Amendment calls for troops along border
BTTT
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