Posted on 11/11/2005 2:11:56 PM PST by VU4G10
-Washington-
Illegal immigrants are overwhelming hospitals, sheriff's departments, jails and courts in border communities, Republican lawmakers testified Thursday.
"Gangs and drug traffickers can easily overwhelm small, local law enforcement departments," said Rep. Henry Bonilla, whose Texas district includes 700 miles of the U.S.- Mexico border. "Imagine if this was happening in your town. You might feel under siege."
Border Patrol agents question an illegal immigrant caught after she crossed the U.S.-Mexico border near Harlingen, Texas, in April. GOP lawmakers testified Thursday border areas are also seeing an influx of non-Mexican immigrants.
Bonilla told a House panel that border areas are also experiencing an "invasion" of immigrants from countries other than Mexico, including some from nations that the United States monitors for possible terrorist activity.
As of October, 146,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants had crossed the border this year, he said.
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) testified that in his district, the Border Patrol has apprehended two illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, two from Indonesia, nine from Iran and one from Syria over the past two years.
In addition, he said, small sheriff's departments in his district are increasingly called on to assist in catching illegal immigrants and spend a quarter of their operating budgets assisting the Border Patrol.
At the hearing of the House subcommittee on immigration, border security and claims, some lawmakers cautioned against scapegoating immigrants.
"I know many blame immigrants for all of our nation's ills, but the statistics I see and the people I meet ? reflect an entirely different perspective," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.).
Immigrant workers both legal and illegal make up more than 25 percent of factory workers in Chicago and almost half of the blue-collar, service-related and unskilled jobs there, he said.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that our city would grind to a halt without these workers," Gutierrez added.
The hearing was the first in a series to explore the effects and costs of illegal immigration on crime, medical care, schools and government programs.
Future hearings will include testimony from lawmakers from North Carolina, Georgia and other states that have experienced large increases in immigration over the past several years.
The hearing also addressed the potential threat of a terrorist attack as a result of poor immigration security and control. Bonilla cited two newspaper articles pointing to terrorist plots to infiltrate the United States through the porous Southern border.
But John P. Clark, deputy assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in an interview that there is no evidence to suggest that terrorists have tried to enter the United States through Mexico.
Gutierrez and other lawmakers said the only solution to the immigration problem is to allow illegal immigrants to come out of the shadows and apply for legal work permits.
President Bush is pushing a temporary worker plan and several proposals have been introduced in Congress. But the issue has split Republicans with some favoring some type of "guest worker" program and others strongly opposed to giving visas to people who have broken the law to enter the United States.
Other immigration proposals also have been introduced, including a measure by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to build a 2,000-mile, high-tech security fence along the border with Mexico.
"Gangs and drug traffickers can easily overwhelm small, local law enforcement departments," said Rep. Henry Bonilla, whose Texas district includes 700 miles of the U.S.- Mexico border. "Imagine if this was happening in your town. You might feel under siege."
Coming soon to every town in America!
My vote would have to go to D, all the above. This IS intentional, no doubt in my mind. Blackbird.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that our city would grind to a halt without these workers," Gutierrez added.
How can it be, at one and the same time, that we're losing manufacturing jobs, and we need illegal immigrants to keep the factories operating? Something's wrong with this picture.
Poor naive fool. Don't you know that the only way they can keep them open is to pay subsistence wages. Not only that Americans are refusing to do those jobs.
Sheeesh:)
Hell, how do we know Gutierrez himself is not an illegal?
"Gutierrez and other lawmakers said the only solution to the immigration problem is to allow illegal immigrants to come out of the shadows and apply for legal work permits."
Morons.
Scumbags, every single one of them.
U.S. Opposes Wall Along Mexico Border (NewsMax)
MEXICO CITY -- U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said Thursday that the Bush administration is against proposals to build a wall along the United States' entire southern border.
"The President (George W. Bush) is aware of the concerns of critics who would like to build a wall around the United States," Garza told a small group of foreign correspondents. "As the former Governor of Texas, he knows that such proposals are both unrealistic and undesirable."
Some lawmakers have proposed building a wall from California to the Gulf of Mexico to stop the millions of undocumented workers who sneak over the border with Mexico.
Garza said that the best way to regulate immigration is to approve Bush's proposals for a guest worker program.
He said building a wall also would not help the United States' relations with its Latin American neighbors, relations that appeared frayed in last weeks summit of the Americas.
"Looking at the big picture, I believe we should, rather than retrenching into the isolationism that tempts some, build upon our relationships," he said.
Last week, at the fourth summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, thousands of protesters marched against U.S. President W. Bush. Furthermore, Latin American governments wouldn't agree on restarting talks on the U.S.-proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Improving co-operation with Latin America would be the United States' best guarantee of security, Garza said.
"We share the obvious need to fight terrorism," he said.
U.S. Opposes Wall Along Mexico Border (NewsMax)
Garza said that the benefits of free trade needed to be conveyed more clearly to the millions of Latin Americans who live in poverty.
"Populist slogans will not bring wealth and employment to the Western Hemisphere; free trade will," Garza said. "Those who claim that free trade is some ideological weapon forced upon them by President Bush are simply not credible."
"Garza said that the best way to regulate immigration is to approve Bush's proposals for a guest worker program."
LOL!
A guest worker program would handle, what, a couple of hundred thousand illegals? But we're talking millions already here and all at once, millions, mostly poor, unskilled, and many illiterate. We simply can't absorb and assimilate so many. We will lose our culture, our language, our sovereignty, and I don't want to become MiniMexico. Where does it say we have to support the rest of the hemisphere?
Gutierrez can take a flying jump. As far as I am concerned (and many others) the ONLY solution to the invasion of illegal aliens is for them to sneak BACK into mexico without getting caught and hope they have not left too much af a paper trail here.
THEN APPLY TO IMMIGRATE LIKE ALL OTHER FOREIGNERS.
At that time they will stop being criminal illegal aliens and for the FIRST time they will be a pending immigrant. Only then and not one single second before then.
IF that "offends" someone, well, that is just their personal problem, NOT my problem.
You asked, Where does it say we have to support the rest of the hemisphere?
Section 3 of Cronyn's bill, I believe.
Senate Bill 2941. Sen. Cronyn Establishing a N. American Fund
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.2941:
Highlights:
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of the Fund shall be--
(1) to promote economic and infrastructure integration among Canada, Mexico, and the United States;
(2) to promote education and economic development in Mexico; and
(3) to reduce the wealth gap between Mexico and Canada, and between Mexico and the United States.
More:
SEC. 4. PROJECTS FUNDED.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Fund shall make grants for projects to carry out the purposes described in section 3, including projects--
(1) to construct roads in Mexico to facilitate trade between Mexico and Canada, and Mexico and the United States;
(2) to develop and implement post-secondary education programs in Mexico;
(3) to install telecommunications technologies throughout Mexico; and
(4) to construct other infrastructure that will carry out such purposes.
More:
SEC. 5. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL- The terms of the agreement establishing the Fund shall, subject to the limitation in subsection (b), require the Governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States to contribute to the Fund.
It's no surprise that Gutierrez is pushing for amnesty for illegal aliens. He wants to help "his people".
Hell, they can't even manage to get their citizens through elementary school and they've got plans to spend our money for "post-secondary education programs"? What a joke.
and less tuberculosis
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