Backlash in the heartland: Tougher enforcement turns up heat on illegal immigrants

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH ^ | Sunday, September 7, 2008 | Jill Riepenhoff and Stephanie Czekalinski

[Liz]

Label them "enemies of state." They are moving reconquista forward inch by inch.

Third World peasants are marched over the border to begin the process. Once they squat here, the illiterates cop an arrogant sense of entitlement---like America owes them a living. They violate our borders, invade our cities, towns and suburbs, establish multiple identities with several stolen SS nos, and ride the US gravy train for all its worth.

As Freeper raybbr insightfully posted: the invaders feel entitled to participate in our government, our security, our prosperity, our legislative process, and our thriving society.

The reconquistadores are well into The Plan----one newly sworn-in "US citizen" said, "Now we're gonna run this country like it should be run."

That means forget about the Constitution---Banana Republic here we come.

About time to show these Third World Wonders the way to go home.

[GrannyAnn]

Twice, she applied for a tourist visa. Twice, the U.S. denied her entry. “I try to do things the right way,” she said. “But if you don't give people a way to do things without breaking the law, what do you expect them to do?”

Her attitude above says it all. I will get what I want regardless of your silly immigration laws. I'll tell you what I expect you to do - STAY HOME!

[Tennessee Nana]

The Terry Anderson Show...

“If You Ain’t Mad, You Ain’t Payin’ Attention!”

Terry’s guest tonight will be Ted Hayes...

Call Terry LIVE 9-10 PM PST at (866) 870-57521

LIVE stream at http://krla870.townhall.com/

http://www.republicbroadcasting.org/index.php?cmd=listenliv

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2076965/posts?page=1

[TKDietz]

“Sounds to me as though people would want to come legally and have none of those bad things signify.”

People do want to come here legally. They can’t though unless they have family here that can petition for them. A citizen child who is at least 21 years of age can petition for his parents in Mexico or Central America and probably have them here within a year. The wait might be fifteen or twenty years if a green card holder is trying to get a relative over, or if the relative is not what CIS considers an “immediate relative,” which by the way would not include adult siblings. Really, there is no way for most of these people to come here legally. If it was possible, they’d be doing it. Since there is no legal means for most to come, a lot of people are going to come illegally. That’s just a fact of life we are having to deal with. I’m not saying it’s right for them to come here, but we’re talking about what are mostly dirt poor people with no education and no hope for a better life in their countries. They see our country as a land of incredible opportunity where they can make in a few days what they would make in a whole month where they come from. I bet most of us, if we were born in the same position, would do the same thing.

[okie01]

I bet most of us, if we were born in the same position, would do the same thing.

Of course, we would. But that doesn't make it right -- for the people who are going without a job or stuck with a lower-paying job because of illegal labor, or for the taxpayers who are paying to educate children, provide health services and welfare for people who aren't entitled to it.

But, as you point out, they're going to come anyway -- so long as their entrance is unimpeded and there are employers who will hire them.

Thus, the enforcement mechanism has to be focussed on a.) the border and b.) employers.

Once the problem is under control -- and the true status of the labor market is known -- we can talk about an effectively regulated guest worker program.

[TKDietz]

A guest worker program and probably some limited amnesty for many of the illegals currently here is coming in the next couple of years regardless of who gets elected. I’d be willing to bet money on it.

[palomonte]

most of us....would do the same thing.

Probably so - but to me that’s not the point - most of us would rob banks if they didn’t keep the money locked up.

The point is not to direct rage at the illegals - as you say most of us would do the same - the point is to hold our “leaders” responsible for not enforcing the law - they are the first to say we are a nation of laws.

[TKDietz]

I agree with that. I think we are actually making some progress in that regard too. Deportations are up, especially when it comes to illegals who are getting in trouble with the law. I can remember just a few short years ago seeing case after case where illegals were arrested and put in our local jails for committing crimes and INS would never come and get them. I worked as a public defender and represented countless illegals over the years. I'd see people plead to all sorts of serious crimes and still not get deported. INS would have a “hold” on them at the jail, but they'd never come and pick these people up and eventually the jail would have to let them go. It used to make me sick to see someone I new had done something horrible like molest children just walk free when he could have easily been deported. Now ICE is deporting criminal aliens left and right, and even deporting those picked up on minor crimes. On top of that, the feds are actually charging record numbers of people for illegal reentry. It used to be that people who were deported could just come right back in and the worst thing that would happen to them if they were caught is that they'd get deported again. Now record numbers are getting charged in federal court for illegal reentry. Those who were just deported but who had not been in other trouble are usually just spending a few months in jail and then being deported again with a stern warning that the next time the sentence will be much worse. Most of them have never been in jail before and they don't like it at all. Those who were convicted of serious crimes before being deported are actually getting serious time for nothing other than illegal reentry, up to 20 years with no parole. This is what we should have been doing all along, enforcing the existing laws. We need to step up these prosecutions so that they all get the message, and so that those who remain try extra hard to keep their noses clean. All indications are that the illegal population is shrinking and less are coming over. Hitting a few of these employers that hire illegals and prosecuting people who reenter is causing a lot of these people to self deport. If bread winning husband gets deported now, wife and kids are a lot more likely to go home on their own than they would have been just a couple of years back. There are some positive developments going on now. It's not all bad.

[okie01]

...is coming in the next couple of years regardless of who gets elected. I’d be willing to bet money on it.

I won't take that bet. The question is: how many illegals can be forced out of the country by employer (and municipal) enforcement before that step becomes politically convenient?

[TKDietz]

We're actually getting rid of a lot more by deporting those who get in trouble. I think they are shooting for 200,000 this year, and when we deport all these people often their spouses and children are leaving too. During the Eisenhower administration's Operation Wetback a couple of million Mexicans went back home even though only 130,000 were actually deported. I doubt we see huge enforcement efforts against employers. We'll see some big highly publicized raids like we've been seeing, but that will be it. The powers that be don't want to take that too far because they're afraid of alienating major campaign contributors. I'm glad to see the stepped up enforcement on aliens that get in trouble though, and the stepped up prosecutions on people who reenter after being deported. This way we are getting rid of some of the criminal element and encouraging those who remain to really keep their noses clean. That's a win win for all of us, and of course it doesn't really hurt the politicians because the criminals aren't funding their campaigns.