Posted on 05/10/2006 10:22:29 AM PDT by NapkinUser
There is no more explosive issue on the political landscape than illegal immigration. Not only has it sharply divided the American people, who want it stopped and reversed, from the political classes, which want to legitimize and, perforce, encourage more of it. It may be singularly responsible for President Bush’s alarmingly low approval ratings.
Those, after all, are not being driven by the Left and the media. They’ve never been fans. The numbers are tanking thanks to flight by the Republican base and Reagan Democrats, who are apoplectic over the administration’s stubborn insouciance in the face of unabashed lawlessness that acutely threatens public safety.
It was inevitable that this would come to a head, and now it may have.
Michelle Malkin, who has been a stalwart on immigration, reports that the United States government has been providing Mexico with intelligence about the lawful activities of American citizens, specifically, the locations and tactics of Minuteman patrols.
The Minutemen have been maligned by pro-illegal-alien lobbyists, swaths of the mainstream media, and—infuriatingly—President Bush himself as a “vigilante” group. In fact, they are a vigilance group.
The project is a lawful association of citizens, multi-ethnic and multi-racial in background, who assiduously monitor the way government performs one of its most basic enforcement missions. That is to say, it does pretty much what CAIR and the ACLU do—except its efforts inure to the benefit of American national security rather than death-row inmates, terrorists, privacy extremists and self-styled dissidents … and thus it is frowned on by our high-minded clerisy.
The Minutemen are doing what the government refuses to do: closely watching the southern border and very publicly reporting to the under-resourced Border Patrol the tide of illegals pouring across. This sometimes shames our reluctant government into enforcing the immigration laws.
Obviously, the feds don’t like to be shamed. The reflexively pro-immigration administration thus despises the project—although, where the rubber meets the road, many Border Patrol agents are quietly thrilled that someone actually thinks their mission is important. There have thus been occasional reports, denied by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that border agents have been ordered not to make arrests in response to Minuteman reports.
Now, however, comes a much more serious charge. As Malkin notes, Sara Carter of California’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin has reported that DHS’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CPB), which runs the Border Patrol, has been providing the Mexican government with the locations of Minuteman watch groups, as well as other details about Minuteman participation in detentions of illegal aliens.
According to the report, a website maintained by the Mexican secretary of foreign relations explains that U.S. agents, as a matter of routine, notify the Mexican government regarding the locations of civilian border-patrol groups.
As night follows day, this information undermines the effectiveness of the patrols, channeling immigrant smuggling away from them. As Minuteman founder Chris Simcox told Carter, “Now we know why it seemed like Mexican officials knew where we were all the time.” Chagrined, Simcox added, “It’s unbelievable that our own government agency is sending intelligence to another country. They are sending intelligence to a nation where corruption runs rampant, and that could be getting into the hands of criminal cartels.”
Apparently aware that this is a powder keg, DHS is scrambling to justify itself. Initially, a CPB spokesman confirmed the assertions of the Mexican government website. Now, however, a back-peddling DHS is labeling the Daily Bulletin story “inaccurate.”
As Malkin reports today, DHS categorically asserts that the “Border Patrol does not report activity by civilian, non-law enforcement groups to the Government of Mexico.” Rather, “During a detention of a legal or illegal immigrant that produces an allegation of improper treatment, Border Patrol reports the allegation and allows the appropriate consulate to interview the individual in custody.”
The DHS statement is noteworthy in two respects. First, while attempting to discredit the report about providing Mexico with intelligence, it does not clearly deny transmitting information about Minuteman patrols—something the CPB spokesman previously conceded quite matter-of-factly (saying, “It’s not a secret where the Minuteman volunteers are going to be”).
DHS instead says it “reports the allegation” if “improper treatment” is alleged. But we are not told what DHS considers “improper treatment” (e.g., does it consider patrols by the Minutemen—whom the President has labeled as “vigilantes”—to be improper?). Nor are we told how comprehensively DHS “reports” the matter to Mexico (e.g., does it simply notify Mexico that an arrest has been made, or does it convey an expansive summary of the case?).
Second, DHS seems to be saying that it was compelled to disclose whatever information it may have given to Mexico by the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which President Nixon ratified in 1969.
This latter claim bears scrutiny. The consular-notification convention, and in particular its Article 36, comes into play whenever an alien—legal or illegal—is arrested in the United States. It absolutely does not require U.S. authorities to provide any investigative information or other intelligence to foreign governments. Indeed, it does not necessarily require our government to give a foreign government any information whatsoever.
On the contrary, it provides that when a foreign national is detained, he has a right to have his nation’s consulate in the United States informed of the fact of the arrest. If he does not want his nation so advised, the U.S. is under no obligation to provide notice.
If the detainee does assert his consular-notification rights, the U.S. must advise the consulate of the fact of the arrest, pass along any communications the detainee addresses to his consulate, and allow representatives of the consulate to visit with the detainee.
That’s it. If the foreign government is determined to educate itself about the case, it must do so by interviewing the arrestee (just like a defense lawyer) or by open source information (just like a reporter or any person curious enough to check the public record). It has no claim on investigative or intelligence information maintained by the United States government. Of course, our government may decide to share more information with the foreign government; but if it does, that is a function of choice, not a requirement of law.
The reasons for all this should be obvious. Americans themselves are not entitled to intelligence and investigative information from their own government, so foreigners clearly have no legal basis to demand it.
More to the point, though, let’s say the U.S. arrests a terrorist from a rogue nation that happens to be a Geneva signatory. Would anyone seriously contend that our government should provide, say, Iran with background intelligence about the case? Of course not. We want to comply with our obligations to notify foreign governments about the arrests—after all, that is our best assurance that foreign governments will reciprocally comply and notify our government when Americans are arrested in their jurisdictions. We do not, however, owe them more than that.
This situation calls for close attention. The American people should be told exactly what DHS’s component agencies have been telling Mexico. If, as DHS maintains, it is merely honoring U.S. treaty obligations, that is laudable and to be encouraged.
If, however, our government is gratuitously providing a suspect regime with information about the First Amendment-protected activities of American citizens, the immigration issue is headed for a whole new dimension of controversy.
I like your humor! :-)
A feeble effort on your part, but funny nonetheless! You have some good ones. LOL
I think the Minutemen need to take a page from the Normandy invasion book...and create bogus patrols...as many as possible...put grandma out there with her poker club...just driving around...put one guy in a truck with 3 dummies...and start to make the US border patrol guys reporting information to the Mexicans as unreliable as possible. After a couple of months of this...the Mexicans won't trust a word that the US side says...and then you start to get some things done.
1.What was your coup count from last night?
2.How much does the Mexican government pay you to post here?
3.Or do you get paid by another lobby group?
4.If so, which one?
Have a nice day Dane.
Please answer any or all of my questions. If you can take the time away from your primary duty.
LOL!
Some schmuck (who names them self after a fruit) posted a denial of this story last night written by some Border Patrol hack. This Freeper was sooooo sure of this article's veracity, you would think it had been written on stone tablets by God himself, and read by Moses. The posting of that article wasn't the problem, this poster's attitude was. you are absolutely right about the intellectual depravity issue.
disgusting if true
Blow smoke up brytlea's a$$ if you're able. Google "illegal alien revolving door". You'll ONLY get 371,000 hits...and some damned finely written analyses on the subject.
This is a massive effort fraud perpetrated on the American public probably unparalleled in human history but I would not expect anyone defenders of illegal aliens to realize admit this since the(y) FACTS are never spoken of hysterical emotionalism is preferred are the ones perpetrating the fraud in the first place.
*rolls eyes*
Now that there's funny, I don't care WHO you are! LMAO
Do I want a reason for what? I have so many posts going that I'm losing track of time! LOL
Well, don't hold your breath for Austin, Texas. That won't happen till they overtake the capitol, if even then.
Huh?!?
BRAVO!!!!!
Why is it so difficult to grasp that if the illegals become legal, they're gonna vote. With the nation teetering on the 50/50 balance for President, you think we're going to get their vote? WAKE UP! We have everything to lose here. EVERYTHING! Judges, taxes, RKBA,...everything.
Damn right I'm hysterical. YOU should be too!
Hysteria can never be allowed to overcome common sense. It is the Party of Treason which is organizing these rallies, and which is NOW allowing them to vote NOT the GOP. Attacks on the GOP only HELPS the Party of Treason's grab for power.
The only important observation is that those trying to make Illegals the NUMBER ONE issue are doing their nation a disservice. It is in the top ten but in NO WAY justifies the monomania exhibited by some folks.
It is very important as a weapon for the Party of Treason to use against the GOP. And it is being applied as such brilliantly.
Only a hysterically overly emotional person would believe that weakening the GOP is going to help solve ANY issue rather than making them ALL worse. It is very simple.
Well you won't have to embarass yourself and vote against any good people since that will not be an issue anyone is going to run on.
But you should also understand that allowing this issue to dominate your thinking blinds you to much more important ones such as National Security and Judicial appointments both of which are FAR more important than Illegals.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.