Once easy, Illegal Immigration Now Risky:
Bush Builds 12 ft Tall Steel Fence Along Border With Mexico and Increases Border Agents and Patrols
Posted on 10/06/2004 3:41:49 AM PDT by MikeJ75
You know what makes me nervous about President Bush? It's not his facial expressions. Nor his verbal clumsiness. I don't care about his alleged weakness at the podium. What concerns me more than anything else is his demonstrated weakness at our borders.
Immigration enforcement is the six-ton elephant in the room. Barely two sentences were devoted to border control in the first presidential debate, despite the fact that the major issue of the showdown was leadership on national security. Both President Bush and Sen. Kerry bloviated about throwing more money at the Department of Homeland Security, while ignoring the fundamental problem: Our immigration laws are being broken en masse because America is unwilling to enforce them – clearly, consistently and unapologetically – until it is too late.
The vice presidential candidates are no better. Dick Cheney, alas, has dutifully defended the administration's abominable amnesty plan, which amounts to a mass government pardon of illegal visa overstayers and border crossers and deportation fugitives at a time of war. (We are at war, aren't we, gentlemen?) For his part, Sen. John Edwards supports the just-as-awful Democratic version of this illegal alien incentive policy.
On the same day of the presidential debate last week, alarming news broke in McAllen, Texas, which underscores the illegal immigration-terrorism nexus. The feds have been investigating evidence from a high-level al-Qaida operative that the terrorists were planning to poison our military's supply of MREs (meals ready-to-eat). In the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers initiated a sweep of a McAllen-area defense subcontractor, the Wornick Company, which produced MREs and had been an alleged target of al-Qaida.
Luckily, no signs of sabotage or terrorist infiltration were uncovered. But the place was crawling with illegals (mostly, but not all Mexican) who used falsified ID and employment forms. In an all-too-rare occurrence, an executive from an employment agency that provided workers for Wornick was indicted last week for flouting immigration rules and faking documents. Last year, a measly four employers faced criminal prosecution for immigration employment violations.
There are countless Pollyannas in the political, media and intellectual elite who continue to downplay the dangers of open borders. "Better intelligence" will solve the problem, they argue naively. "We are a nation of immigrants," they preach cluelessly. "Family values don't stop at the Rio Grande," they babble pointlessly.
Meanwhile, the patient and undeterred minions of Osama bin Laden dispatched from abroad are here. Others are cooperating with other immigration outlaws to wreak havoc on our security. Not far from Bush's Crawford ranch, there are ominous signs that al-Qaida has teamed up with illegal alien smugglers from Mexico to bring new operatives through the southern border. The feds recently disclosed that suspected al-Qaida operative Adnan Shukrijumah – a young Saudi pilot on the run since Sept. 11 – met with the notorious El Salvador-based gang/ alien-smuggling operation, Mara Salvatrucha.
And in southern Arizona, site of the final presidential debate, the illegal Arab alien smuggling route known as "Terrorist Alley" is as unprotected as ever. Unknown numbers of al-Qaida in America have fraudulent identification, which enables them (like their Sept. 11 predecessors) to blend into the vast sea of 13 million other immigration outlaws, who have little fear of getting caught. It doesn't help matters when Bush's own border security undersecretary, Asa Hutchinson, states publicly that it's "not realistic" for his own officers to try to do their jobs and deport law-breakers.
In an even more shameful betrayal, the White House is now reportedly pressuring stalwart House Republicans into scrapping important immigration enforcement provisions of the House Intelligence bill that speed up the deportation process and bar illegal aliens from obtaining valuable driver's licenses or using easy-to-fake foreign consular ID cards. Why? Because they are politically unpopular with ethnic constituencies.
This race is not just about who is better able to hunt down and destroy our enemies abroad. It's about who is more willing to hunt them down right here, jail them, kick them out and keep them out of our home. President Bush has shown he can stand up to the international Axis of Weasels. He must show the same resolve against La Raza, the immigration lawyers and Teddy Kennedy.
There is probably the underlying reason WHY George W. Bush will not act to tighten our borders, in the last sentence. He is still trying to forge an alliance with Teddy Kennedy, who for whatever reason, believes in an endless amnesty for illegal aliens in this country. But considering the number of times that Teddy has repulsed President Bush's offer of co-operation on any number of matters, perhaps this may be the time to take the gloves off with Clan Kennedy. Certainly on November 3rd.
I watched Reps Roy Blunt and Tom Tancredo discuss this yesterday on Lou Dobbs. The House Republican leadership, according to Blunt, seem determined to see this through. It'll be interesting to see if Bush exercises his veto pen for the first time in his Presidential life to stop truly meaningful Homeland Security legislation.
So flame away...
Somewhere I read that a Texas judge owned one of these companies. Can't find it now..anyone have a link?
Garbage.
The problem we are talking about is not one or two individuals who invade us on a skuba tank; the problem is the flow of tens of millions of people in which hundreds or thousands of enemy soldiers hide easily.
911 was accomlished and supported by a number of individuals, none of whom had any reasonable excuse to have a visa and be in the US. We don't need hundreds of billions of dollars of US taxpayer money and troops stationed in 183 countries overseas to solve the problem of homeland security. What we need to do is close the borders and kick the enemy out. It is not that difficult a problem--it should be the first priority.
Garbage.
The problem we are talking about is not one or two individuals who invade us on a skuba tank; the problem is the flow of tens of millions of people in which hundreds or thousands of enemy soldiers hide easily.
911 was accomlished and supported by a number of individuals, none of whom had any reasonable excuse to have a visa and be in the US. We don't need hundreds of billions of dollars of US taxpayer money and troops stationed in 183 countries overseas to solve the problem of homeland security. What we need to do is close the borders and kick the enemy out. It is not that difficult a problem--it should be the first priority.
Garbage.
The problem we are talking about is not one or two individuals who invade us on a skuba tank; the problem is the flow of tens of millions of people in which hundreds or thousands of enemy soldiers hide easily.
911 was accomlished and supported by a number of individuals, none of whom had any reasonable excuse to have a visa and be in the US. We don't need hundreds of billions of dollars of US taxpayer money and troops stationed in 183 countries overseas to solve the problem of homeland security. What we need to do is close the borders and kick the enemy out. It is not that difficult a problem--it should be the first priority.
Malkin marginalizes herself with her one-note-Charlie harping on immigration.
I adore Michelle and she always makes good points but I don't think she fully understands the basic problem with Mexican border control. If she does, she won't mention it or offer any alternatives. Here's the problem, and please feel free to offer solutions as the border states need some help on this one. The policy, as it stands now, is to interdict, jump through a few bureaucratic, paper-shuffling hoops, put 'em on a bus, and return them to a collection point a few blocks south of the border. Since 9/11, they probably separate terrorism suspects for special processing and maybe special deportation. This is a whole nuther kettle of fish and I'm waiting for the ACLU to jump all over the "equal treatment", racial profiling issues.
Although few politicians, with the exception of Tancredo, and no talking heads, seem to grasp the fundamental folly of this revolving door policy, I imagine most here see it very clearly. The illegals often beat the bus back across the border! O'Reilly has been beating this drum for a couple of years and one of his guests, a current border patrolman, when O'Reilly asked naively if he ever rearrested the same illegal, said that he had personally rearrested the same FAMILY 4 times in one shift!
Compounding the problem is that illegals provide cheap labor for agriculture, domestic servants for the rich, etc. Who wants to pay $5 for a head of cabbage? OK. You can't fine them as they have nothing. Incarceration would be a step up for them and expensive as many more facilities would have to be built and staffed. Can't torture or kill them. ACLU would have a meltdown and almost no one would support it since we would be wading the river if we were in their shoes. There was even a big flap about an electrified fence and an ongoing flap about desert water stations to keep illegals from dying of thirst. That leaves.....what?
I'm happy to report that, finally, there's a low key trial program underway which appears, from early assessments, to be making inroads. Some illegals are getting a free plane ride to Mexico City instead of a free bus ride 3 blocks south of the border. Under the assumption that they can't hop a plane, or other transport, right back to the border, the issue of repeat crossings in the same day, week, or month is improved. Some, not all, may even decide that another 2,000 mile hike ain't worth it. Some, interviewed while inflight, said it would not deter them at all. Maybe not, but it will inconvenience them. It will slow them down. It does introduce a disincentive. They WILL worry about being caught again.
The former revolving door was an expensive joke on both sides of the border. Upwards of $1billion/yr for nothing. Govt. jobs program. Some will zero in on the relatively high cost of the plane. They evidently would prefer to hire a man with a shovel to come every day and move a mound of dirt from one place to another rather than hire a dumptruck and loader to remove it. Anybody know how much flight time empty military cargo aircraft spend boring holes in the sky for "training"? The Navy/Coast Guard could "train" while hauling a load of illegals down south.
The bottom line, for me, is that we need to force Mexico to address their internal problems rather than just let them walk across the border and become OUR problem.
Jesse J. Holland
September 30, 2004 5:00 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP)--The Sept. 11 commission on Thursday urged House Republicans to remove immigration restrictions and new law enforcement powers from a bill that carries the commission's recommendations for reorganizing U.S. intelligence agencies.
"We're very respectfully suggesting that provisions which are controversial and are not part of our recommendations to make the American people safer perhaps ought to be part of another bill at another time," commission leader Thomas Kean told a news conference in the Capitol.
The House has begun moving its version of the bill through five committees, and Republican leaders expect to have the full chamber vote on it next week.
In the Senate, the parallel bill deals only with creating the job of national intelligence director and creating a national counterterrorism center, both recommended by the commission that investigated Sept. 11. But the House bill goes farther by including increased anti-terrorism proposals and expanded penalties for illegal immigration and money-laundering.
John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said House Republicans think "all of these provisions are directly linked to the commission report."
"We think they will all make the country safer and we're moving forward through the process," Feehery said. "We've gone through the committees, we're going to get to the floor and then we'll get to conference and that will decide what ultimately can be accepted and can't be accepted by members of both bodies."
If the Senate and House pass different bills, a compromise version must be worked out in a joint House-Senate committee and then agreed to by both chambers before it can go to the White House for the president's signature.
The Sept. 11 commission contended that the nation's 15 military and civilian intelligence agencies' failure to cooperate precluded an effective defense that might have prevented the 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington. The panel recommended creation of a national intelligence director to control and coordinate all the agencies.
In addition, the commission called for more safeguards at home, such as setting national standards for issuance of drivers' licenses and other identification, improving "no-fly" and other terrorist watch lists and using more biometric identifiers to screen travelers at ports and borders.
While Kean said some of the House immigration and border security provisions "are very, very good and do come right out of our report and we support those very, very strongly," but others are "much more controversial and those are the ones we're concerned about."
Commission vice-chairman Lee Hamilton specifically pointed out "alien removal provisions" as one of those issues.
One of the things the House bill would do is deny immigrants certain court appeals, including banning court reviews of claims that an illegal immigrant would be tortured upon return to his or her home country. [boo-hoo]American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Timothy Edgar called that part of "the enactment of a hard-line anti-immigrant policy."
"We respectfully submit that consideration of controverisal provisions at this late hour can harm our shared purpose of getting a good bill to the president before the 108th Congress adjourns," Hamilton said.
Congress' legislative process will highlight the problematic portions, Feehery said. "We'll find out what is controversial and what is not controversial," he said.
Hamilton and Kean - who were joined by several other members of the commission - again endorsed the bill being debated in the Senate, called upon both chambers to push ahead with changing their oversight structures and said the new national intelligence director should have full budget and hiring and firing power.
The House, Senate and White House disagree on how much power the intelligence director should have.
"If you're not going to create, for instance, a strong national intelligence director with powers both appointive and over the budget, don't do it," Kean said. "It's not going to be any better than what you have now."
The Senate bill is S. 2845. The House bill is H.R. 10.
1. Any illegal alien who is arrested and charged with a crime in the U.S. must be sentenced to serve five years in prison (real prison; under very harsh conditions) for violating this nation's immigration laws -- and that's regardless of how his/her criminal case for the incident in question is even adjudicated in court.
2. No illegal alien should be permitted to have standing in civil court (i.e., they can't sue anyone in a U.S. civil court). Any illegal alien who is sued in a U.S. court should have a default judgement rendered against him, and any assets he has to his name must be seized and turned over to the plaintiff in the case.
3. An illegal alien who is arrested for a violent criminal offense should not have his case tried in a U.S. criminal court; he should be considered an enemy combatant, and his case should be adjudicated before a military tribunal. Someone who enters this country illegally and deliberately injures or kills an American citizen isn't a criminal -- he's a f#%&ing invader.
Will these measures do anything to prevent a terrorist from finding his way into the country and doing harm to it? No.
But they will certainly put everyone in their place by sending the clear message that illegal aliens do not enjoy the rights and privileges of U.S. citizens.
A fence will have to be installed on our side of the field. As a courtesy we'll even post warning signs.
Border control agents should have shoot on sight orders for anyone found in that 50 meter no mans land. Let the bodies rot in the sun as a warning to other attackers.
Every illegal alien should be found and executed as a non-uniformed enemy combatant. Once again we should be courteous and give them 30 days to leave the country before we start the round-up.
A constitutional ammednment needs to be passed that will deny citizenship to people born in the US if their parents were here illegally at the time of their birth. Again we'll be courteous and give them 6 months to get the word out that we don't accept litters dropped on our doorsteps as citizens. After 6 months they fall into the non-uniformed enemy combatant category
People are angry over this issue. They'll (like me) still vote for the President but we want meaningful reforms instead of an AMNESTY plan disguised as a harmless guest-worker initiative.
Bush's border policy stinks. It's a National Security issue.
BUMP
Near many military facilities, particularly Area 51, there are signs that say any attempted entry will be met with deadly force.......why can't we do the same on the border...Oh, silly me, deadly force is only applied for American citizens.....
"Malkin marginalizes herself with her one-note-Charlie harping on immigration."
She is talking about ILLEGAL MIGRATION...an invasion. And I've noticed you do some "one note " harping yourself for the very tiny minority of you here who prefer this invasion. The republican congress doesn't agree with you. Ask majority whip Blunt.
Do you believe U.S. homeland security is possible without control over its borders?
Yes 6% 427 votes
No 94% 7000 votes
Total: 7427 votes
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/
Once easy, Illegal Immigration Now Risky:
Bush Builds 12 ft Tall Steel Fence Along Border With Mexico and Increases Border Agents and Patrols
c#19
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