Posted on 04/08/2005 1:46:00 AM PDT by BurbankKarl
President Bush has called the Minutemen, who are now patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border:"vigilantes." I suppose that Bush believes anyone who wishes to help enforce our laws and maintain U.S. sovereignty is a vigilante. If our president had not abdicated his responsibility in this matter, the Minuteman Project would not exist. However, he did and they are doing a great job!
Despite the erroneous propaganda perpetuated by the liberal media, the ACLU, the Mexican government, and even our president, the Minutemen are not a group of wild-eyed racists--with bloodlust in their hearts. They are retired police officers, former military men, laborers, businessmen, moms, and dads, in short--they are a cross section of America. The only difference between these Americans and most of us, is the fact that they are willing to sacrifice their time and are even willing to put themselves in harm's way. They like most of us, are fed up with our government's lack of interest in enforcing our borders.
Much has been made of the fact that many of the Minutemen volunteers carry firearms.They do not chase down illegals with guns drawn. They are carrying weapons for self-defense purposes only. They do not apprehend suspects. They are simply operating as the eyes and ears of the incredibly under-staffed U.S. Border Patrol. The area along the Arizona border with Mexico (where the Minutemen are stationed) has become a very violent sector, filled with Latin American drug smugglers. Perhaps, we should remind the left that we as U.S. citizens, still have the right to bear arms.
The Minutemen have taken on the responsibility of spotting and reporting anyone seen, illegally crossing the border. Period.
The Project's duties were well described by Minuteman spokesman Mike McGarry this weekend, he said : "You observe them, report them, and get out of the way."
This past weekend saw the first patrols of the Minutemen, which yielded several arrests of illegal aliens. On Saturday, volunteers spotted and reported sightings of illegal crossings. Their actions resulted in 18 arrests.
As of Tuesday (three days after patrols began), the Minutemen were responsible for aiding in the arrest of 176 illegal aliens. These numbers will continue to rise and by the end of April, this dedicated group of men and women will have done their country a great service. With every illegal alien who is apprehended, President Bush looks a bit more foolish and impotent.
20 years ago we were told that there were about 1.5 million illegals in the country. President Reagan told us the way to fix this problem was to give them amnesty and to put in place sanctions against the employers who were attracting them by giving them jobs. By the time the amnesty was all said and done, it turned out that there were actually about 3 million illegals who were made into citizens. This amnesty essentially reset the counter to zero.
Since then we have had 6 or 7 additional amnesties. Through the first President Bush and the Clinton efforts we made a poor effort at trying to enforce sanctions against employers. There were about 1000 enforcement actions against employers per year during this period.
Now, after all these amnesties the PEW Research center tell us we have almost 11 million illegals and that the number has grown by about 25% during the first 4 years of this Bush Administration. Bears Stearns estimates the number at closer to 20 million and there numbers are perhaps equally believable. The truth probably lies in between. And at the same time, enforcement actions against employers have fallen to less than twenty (20) per year. President Bush has redirected the efforts of the 2000 agents responsible for interior enforcement against the 400,000 illegals who have either committed serious crimes and not been deported, skipped their court dates or ignored a deportation order. The 2000 agents have arrested a heck of a lot of these criminals but the number has grown from 400,000 to 465,000 so they are not making much progress. We lack detention space so when the Border Patrol captures an illegal who is not a Mexican they just release them and of course 90% of them never show up for their court dates. President Bush has done a little to strengthen the borders. He has added maybe 1000 Border Patrol Agents. But Congress recently authorized him to hire 10,000 more agents in increments of 2000 per year over 5 years but he only budgeted to hire 210.
Obviously anywhere an illegal can enter, so can a terrorist.
What else did you want to know?
You could ask them to consider the impact on their fellow citizens who are being impacted by the influx. When a construction worker sees his hourly wage fall from $12 to $8 per hour as the result of an unlimited influx of cheap labor it means a 50% cut in his already meager standard of living.
And then you could ask them to consider the impact on children. Americans tax themselves hard to provide decent public schools for our children. There is always room in school for one more child but that does not mean there is room for 10,000, particularly if most of them don't speak English. Is it right to sacrifice the education of our children because the people of another country won't take care of their own?
Christian charity begins at home and our first responsibility is to our citizens who are already here.
"I've just been so proud of the man Bush is and how he stood by his principles in other controversial issues that it's hard to understand why he's taking the easy way out on this one."
I have to agree with you there .. it's been hard for me to understand also .. especially since 9/11.
"I've refused to give the GOP money lately, sending a note along with their requests stating that Bush's appeasement policy on illegal immigration"
My last contribution to the RNC was a mexico 20 pesos bill. They didn't return it. Perhaps this is the way to get the RNC's attention. Contribute in Mexican currency.
"Blame the employers (large & small) who are hiring illegals. How many of the Mexicans would come if there were no jobs for them to send UNTAXED $$$ back to the hellhole called Mexico?"
How about the Bush Administration enforcing those laws for employers? Nawwww...that might upset some of his contributors. Bush is sleaze.
The "fruit" of Dubya's effort is a big turd.
In light of the President negligence in defending and securing the border, his "vigilante" remark should have been expected.
You have a right to your opinion, and here's mine:
Your comment is disgusting. Why don't you just put a big "Hillary in '08." sign in your yard, because that's what all of this President Bush and Republican bashing is going to accomplish. And believe me, I WILL be here to say "I told you so."
"...the Minutemen need a good marketing team to begin fundraising." Minutemen, meet the Swifties...
Why are you blaming the messenger?
The President dissed me and you by allowing an illegal invasion to go on unabated, the border to remain unsecured after 9/11 -- while referring to patriots as "vigilantes."
And still you think the man is an untouchable king?
NO SALE
another anti-bush thread?
You are either not aware of or reject the Second Amendment. So we've established that you're no conservative.
"...the illegals crossing the border are not shooting their way in."
They usually wait until they get here before they start shooting (see Calif/LA crime stats).
The Republicans are so damn stupid. Once the illegals sneak into this country, they ain't going back, plain and simple. Once they are here long enough, they eventually get amnesty. Once they get amnesty, they are eligible for most of the legal doucments available to American citizens (including a drivers license which is all you need to vote). These people all vote Democrat. The Democrats might be killing thier own young with legalized abortion but they as quickly replacing them will illegal aliens and the cowardly Republicans refuse to do anything about it.
YUMA PATRIOTS group is forming from father whose son who served in Iraq was recently robbed and carjacked outside Yuma, ca.
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