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.
Pat
Deporting over a million people a year is a huge operation.
NO administration will do more. Our resources are stretched too thin.
Why don't you concentrate your fire on the Party of Treason officials who organize these demonstrations and who REFUSE to assist federal authorities in immigration matters? Or Catholic churches which provide sanctuary and aid rather than attack the authorities who are deporting 100,000 per MONTH?
So?
"They're in a group huddle deciding their next plan of action. Just waiting for their call to arms to be issued. lol"
_______________________________
Indeed! :)
Yeah that's the ticket. Those dumb conservatives are getting fooled by the wily media that conservatives always believe without question!
Well it's easier to believe a conspiracy than face the harder truth. Ever hear of Occam's Razor?
BS. That is pure spin.
Conservatives are the political philosophy of LAW and Constitutional principles. If the GOP wants out from under this issue, all they have to do is FOLLOW THE LAW and the Constitution.
That is not too much to ask. Not from anyone. We expect the Rats to be lawless. It is at the core of their lack of ethics. To see the GOP emulating them is too much for most of us to swallow no matter how you try and spin it.
Just as it's impossible to prevent all terrorist attacks. So, you believe we should simply not try?
susie
I didn't mention deportation. I mentioned border security. You are so frenetic with your posts that you can't even keep your head on straight.
NO administration will do more. Our resources are stretched too thin.
Oh, horsecrap. There is so much waste in government, we can find plenty of money to do the job. But too few apparently care to do so.
Why don't you concentrate your fire on the Party of Treason officials
I rail against any official who does not do their job. And I support those who do, such as the GOP House members who want to start what you say is impossible - doing a better job securing the borders.
I have to admit, I am flabbergasted daily with what seems to be happening, and even more so by the fact that some who say they are conservative republicans (and I have no reason to doubt they believe they are) who are nonplussed by it all....
susie
If some people could actually wrap their heads around the fact that Bush's policies are pissing off conservatives, their heads would explode. They just can't fathom it. They are completely unable.
And, your definition of stupidity is anyone who doesn't see things as you do?
susie
Go away irritant.
Wait till it gets late and they have a few drinks in them....lol
Interesting that while immigration is a decades-old problem, suddenly now it is a crisis that divides the GOP. Nothing has really gotten any worse, yet now it becomes a crisis. Timing is everything, as they say.
Properly pinged here!! LOL. Not to worry.
The Caravan is less than 48 hours from D.C.
Woo-hoo!
Now this President is on record as supporting an amnesty for the 20 some odd million law breakers already here.
And you see this as a good thing? This has been building to a head for 20 years and THIS President has a historical opportunity to do something about it.
And yet he'd rather suck up to open borders lobbyists and Vincente Fox than uphold this Nations laws and Constitution.
As am I. I think many on FR are republicans rather than republican conservatives, as you said. They don't seem to see the difference between the two.
Some were actually dogging the Minutemen horribly last night and was using the southern poverty law center as their talking point. Hell, they are lower on the totem pole than the aclu, but they were using them. Nothing is beneath them on this issue of illegal aliens. Nothing.
Those that do know it ignore the fact the Mexican government has built them a revolving door and gives them a instruction booklet on how to operate it.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to prevent all Illegals from entering this country.
Ok, but if the FEDGOV, the states, and the citizens of this nation REALLY put their hearts into it, we could reduce the ONE MILLION/YR. number down to, say, (INSERT YOUR TRUTHFUL ANSWER HERE).
ping
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