Foes of immigration law in rush to gather signatures

PHOENIX — Admitting it’s never been done before, foes of the state’s new immigration law hope to gather close to 155,000 signatures to put the issue to voters.

And they need to do it in less than four weeks — and with only volunteers and virtually no cash at all.

The group, Compassion for All, seeks to effectively repeal SB 1070. That law, set to take effect July 29, will require police to check the immigration status of those they stop if they reasonably suspect the person is in the country illegally and make being an illegal immigrant a state crime.

It would take just 76,682 valid signatures to put the law on “hold” until the November election. And backers would have until July 28. But the danger in that is that if voters ratify the measure anyway, it becomes a permanent part of state law that could be repealed only by taking the issue back to the ballot.

This plan seeks to effectively repeal it with a new version of the law, a plan whose potential defeat in November would set no precedent.

To do that, though, backers need 153,365 valid signatures. With the normal error rate, that means they need to turn in closer to 200,000.

More to the point, they need them by July 1. With only a few thousand now in hand, Moira Carney acknowledged Monday meeting that goal is unprecedented.

“But we are fighting an unprecedented situation where our legislature has chosen to adopt policies geared at removing from our midst 500,000 of our fellow human beings, disrupting the lives of countless families, ruining our economy and making our state the subject of boycotts and international ridicule,” she said at a press conference at the Capitol.

Carney, treasurer of the group, said going this route has another advantage: It allows backers to not only effectively repeal SB 1070 but also to ask voters to block legislators from passing any immigration-related legislation for the next three years.

That is aimed at the possibility lawmakers, as their next move, might try to deny birth certificates to the children of illegal immigrants that are born in this country.

Courts have concluded that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of the status of the
parents.

But Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, the architect of this new law and similar measures, has said he wants to mount a legal challenge to that in hopes of getting the courts to change their position.

The petition drive originally began late last month when the Rev. John Auther, a Phoenix Catholic priest, filed the necessary legal papers. Since that time Auther has stepped away from the fight.

AZ/MX Border-5 Hours on the Fence
Date: 5/31/10
Good Morning All:
Last Thursday I was asked to fly Brady Beauchamp, a Republican candidate for US Congress (CD1 AZ) to Sierra Vista, AZ for a tour of the Arizona/Mexican border. I was invited to go on the tour and eagerly accepted. We spent 5 hours on the border fence. This tour was given by Border Patrol personnel at the “rubber meets the road” level, not higher headquarter staff or Public Information Officers level. There were certain tactical information they were not allowed to share for security reasons and we could not photograph Border Patrol Officers (BPO) for their personal safety. I tried to insert several photos in this email but it overloaded the computer which spent all day yesterday trying to send the email so I’ve had to redo this report without the photos. I’ll send a second email with a few and reference them to this email. Hope this all works. There are media rumors that the BP is sitting back 50-60 miles from the border fence at road check points and not on the “line”. This is ABSOLUTELY not the case. There are officers on the fence 24/7. The first line of defense, and best way to stop illegals is to catch them at the fence or within a mile after entering the US.
There are several (at least 6) fence types in just the 50 miles or so that we saw. Most fences are built with a 5’ footing to discourage burrowing under the fence but the vertical part of the fences are all different, not a standard appearance, different shape metal, different spacing, different height. Some are vertical concrete filled steel posts, some are vertical columns with heavy wire mesh, and one style is solid steel plate put up by the National Guard some years ago using metal aircraft landing planking. Some fence styles are 10’, some 12’, some 15’. Each style fence was built by different contractors and there is nothing standard. ALL have some weaknesses, ALL were climbable or scalable using one technique or another...rope ladders, wooden ladders, etc. The BPOs like to be able to see through the fence so there are no surprises hiding on the other side. The cartels have even built big hydraulic operated truck ramps mounted on a big truck to lay hydraulic ramps up,over and down the American side so they can drive vehicles over the wall. Their favorite trick is to cut the fence with welding equipment and put hinges on the “door” they cut so it can be used frequently. They cleverly use clay or putty colored to match the steel members to hide the cuts so their doors won’t be discovered and welded shut by us. The cartels operate with impunity on the Mexican side as the whole police and military force is paid off. It blew my mind to see blue flags waving in the breeze to mark the locations of blue 55 gal water barrels within a few yards of the fence (on the Mexican side) to show the illegals where to “top off” before assaulting the fence.
Every illegal who crosses is under the control and management of one of the drug cartels. They pay $1000-2000 each for the “service” the cartel provides in getting through the fence and to a “safe” destination. Family members are detained by the cartel in Mexico until the payment made in full by sending $ back to Mx. The BP is catching huge numbers of illegals but their effectiveness is limited by the number of agents available on the “line”. No one goes along or without the cartel blessing. Groups run from 5 to 20 or more and are “guided” by a cartel employee who bolts at the first sing of trouble as they are usually also known criminals. One a “catch” is made the Officer takes them to headquarters for identifying, fingerprinting and paperwork. It sounds like there is about 25-30% of the Officers time is doing these administrative duties. Our hosts said if they had double the number of agents and about one “back office” staff for every 3 agents they could stop nearly every illegal. The men (I saw no female Officers) are VERY dedicated, concerned, serious red blooded Americans...every bit the commitment, dedication and focus of our military...except I think the military has better leadership and moral because of it. What would REALLY help the cause would be to build a double fence, of standard design, parallel to the current fence and about 50-75’ apart and focus patrol in between. I suggested land mines and snipers stationed periodically but that didn’t sell. One of the better techniques they use is to drag tires behind their trucks next to the border fence to create a smooth trail in the dirt/dust. They then drive slowly along “tracking” the dust areas to detect a crossing. Using radios and other agents, they they try to sandwich the intruders. They have other tactics and technological equipment in use which helps greatly but would not talk much about it. There is one piece of equipment we viewed but could not “see” that is a real “force multiplier”. It’s a truck mounted, 1 million dollar system that can track humans a long way off. With several more of those the job would get more effective quickly. Every time the US changes tactics so do the cartels—it’s a real cat and mouse game. The BPO like having the drones but say they are not nearly as effective as helicopters for finding and staying over a group of illegals until ground personnel and capture them...they want lots more copters..
Then we came to the San Pedro river. The fence stops. The environmentalists will not allow a permanent fence to be built across the river (seasonally active stream and not the day we were there) because it’s a riparian estuary and environmentally sensitive. That area had been real active recently according to the BPO standing watch there. As we drove up he had been watching a Mx spotter in the cottonwood trees across the border. He anticipated a group coming through any time now. In that area the “fence” is some large X beams welded in 15’ sections that my Toyota could drag out of the way. A couple mile from there and going up the foothills for the mountains in that area, the fence quit....yes I said quit. That is US Forest Service land and “you can’t build your darned fence on our ground”. That is possible going to change but still there is no fence there and the mountains are a “main highway” for drug entering our country. As Pogo (cartoon character from many years ago) said “I have seen the enemy and he is us”. It is freaking unbelievable!!
This section of the border is divided into sectors of about 20-30 miles each. The BP estimates that about 100 illegals try to cross every day and 500 each night in each sector. Their personal estimates for illegal population in the US is 35-40 million, not the politically correct number the politicians and media use of 10-12 million. From interview and experience with the illegals they say those entering do not wish to assimilate into our way of life. They are Mexican and only want to be Mexican. It reminds me of what we saw throughout Central and south American on our trip there. Every population center on that continent was being overrun by people migrating to the cities and overwhelming the infrastructure and economic support systems.
Sound a bit different than what you hear from Washington or the media? It is...but remember this is from the “troops on the line” not the bureaucrats or their willing accomplices, the media. I’ll close with the impressions I gathered and have considered for a couple days. The trip was both incredible and incredulous. Once again our nation has put brave, loyal, dedicated defenders of our way of life in harms way and not given them the support, mentally or physically, to do the job and do it right. Under the present conditions it is “no win”. The politicians and press do not have the intestinal fortitude to follow the will of the American people. The majority of Americans want our borders protected and politicians will NOT support getting it done. The current strategy reminds me , chillingly, of Vietnam. I know I was there for two tours and flew 350 combat missions. We lack the political will, shun and don’t support the troops, not doing what is right...all in the name of politics. Our President, our senators, our head of Homeland Security have never seen what I saw or talked to the real warriors on the line. Shame on them...Washington is too comfortable and/or they are too important to take the time....what a disgrace.
Other than that I don’t have an opinion. Feel free to spread this email to your friends and family of America!

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