L.A. shooter exploited 'loophole'

The Washington Times ^ | July 11, 2002 | Stephen Dinan

[robowombat]

The man who killed two persons at Los Angeles International Airport on July 4 gained legal residence in the United States through a limited amnesty program that has since expired but that President Bush and Democrats in Congress want to reopen.

[Brownie74]

The article is more a warning about allowing 245i to be slipped back into law.

Watch what happens after the November elections. Things are going to start popping again.

[Marine Inspector]

Typical government employee, doing everything in triplicate.

[Marine Inspector]

You are absolutely correct.

I predict 245(i) by Christmas.

[Brownie74]

I predict 245(i) by Christmas.

I sure hope you are wrong but you are probably pretty much on target.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Is this really the way we want to do business?

Molly Hennenburg had a good segment on this on Fox last night and wrapped it with the Qatar visas for sale scandal. She ended the report by stating that many caitol hill people are starting to change their minds.

Tonight FOX Pulse program should really light a fire in formerly complacent public. Mexicans smuggling Arabs.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Every one of them, including Hashem Hadayet, displaced a legal immigration applicant who was playing by the rules and waiting their turn in line."

Now, that's a new one. Are you certain that's the case? I have never seen that mentioned anywhere, and I've read a lot on 245(i).

Having said that, it's a damned shame that evil people take advantage of what was designed primarily to benefit good people. But criminals will be criminals, and they will take advantage of loopholes and opportunities to do evil...it's their nature.

We also saw terrorists walk into the country legally, no way to stop that either, unless you are willing to completely shut-off the ability for anyone to come to the US, for business, vacation, family visits, anything at all...

To keep this incident in perspective, our representative Republic form of government saw us vote a criminal into office not once, but TWICE in the past ten years. Does that mean that the system doesn't work and should be abandoned?

No, it simply means that NOTHING is perfect.

Thanks for the ping.

Luis

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Weren't we told that Section 245(i) only applied to foreign nationals who were the victims of INS paperwork snafus..."

I said that, as did others, and it's still one of the many designed functions of the extension.

"...and that it couldn't be exploited by terrorists?"

I didn't say that, but there's little that couldn't be exploited by terrorists, including a Visa for a homicide bomber and his family to go visit the Mouse in Orlando.

Face it, a terrorist could enter the nation as part of a visiting orchestra, to visit family, conduct a legitimate business transaction...any reason.

[rmlew]

The less foreign nationals are checked the more likely it will be that terrorists and criminals will enter the US.

[Sabertooth]

Now, that's a new one. Are you certain that's the case? I have never seen that mentioned anywhere, and I've read a lot on 245(i).

I thought I'd pinged you to this Washington Times article...

More than one-quarter of all immigrants winning legal residence in the United States in the past three years were once here illegally and took advantage of an expired law letting them gain legal status, according to an advocacy group's report released yesterday.      

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which wants stricter limits on immigration, said the number of people adjusting their status skyrocketed after Congress passed a law in 1994, named 245(i) after its location in the immigration code, that let them apply for a green card without having to leave the United States.      

Since then, almost 1 million people who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas have gained green cards. In 2000, they made up 28.3 percent of new legal residents; in 1999 they made up 25.4 percent, and in 1998 they made up 29.4 percent.     

"People aren't getting the truth about 245(i) — it's literally taking over our legal immigration system," said Dan Stein, executive director of the federation. "You're crowding out people who play by the rules and transforming the program into a permanent feature of the immigration system."

... "Apparently our elected officials in Washington see no correlation between giving one-quarter of all legal immigration slots to people who came here illegally, and other people making the decision to come here illegally," he said.
LINK

Note that the figure of nearly a million doesn't cover all of the Illegals Amnestied by various incarnations of Clinton's Section 245(i).

The law, called 245i, was first enacted in 1994 and allowed all illegal immigrants to apply to become permanent residents.

First they had to find a sponsor, an immediate family member here legally or an employer, then pass an INS background check and pay $1,000. Nearly 1.5 million illegal immigrants have become legal under 245i, nearly 12,000 of them from countries considered sponsors of terrorism.
LINK

I've just seen a note from Marine Inspector that indicates I may have been in error in my statement that all of the Amnestied Illegals displace law-abiding immigrant candidates (flagging him for clarification here). He's indicated that the number is closer to 50%. If that's the case, then given this figure of almost 1.5 million Amnesties under 245(i) since 1994, about 750,000 legal immigrants were displaced by Illegals.

The other 750,000 Amnesties apparently busted our immigration caps.

Is this all acceptable to you as an immigration policy?

[sarasmom]

Well isn't that special?

And how many people opposed to 245i get tagged as cold hearted, racist, evil, anti-immigration isolationists? Why is it so hard for the federal government to enforce the law in one of the few areas they are actually empowered to have authority?

Bush is dead wrong on this particular issue.I have yet to see anyone, including Bush, explain why it is advantageous to the legitimate,legal, citizens of the USA, current and future, to "amnesty" illegal invaders.

There are already exemptions to "normal" immigration routes such as claiming asylum for emergency situations.To reward people whose first act on US soil is to break our laws is ludicrous!

[Marine Inspector]

I've just seen a note from Marine Inspector that indicates I may have been in error in my statement that all of the Amnestied Illegals displace law-abiding immigrant candidates (flagging him for clarification here). He's indicated that the number is closer to 50%. If that's the case, then given this figure of almost 1.5 million Amnesties under 245(i) since 1994, about 750,000 legal immigrants were displaced by Illegals.

The illegal has to have a sponsor to benefit from 245(i). If that sponsor is a US citizen husband/wife, then the illegal will not displace anyone, as there is no limit on husband/wife immigration.

A son/daughter, under certain circumstances, can sponsor the father/.mother illegal. In this case, the illegal will displace an alien in their home country waiting for an immigrant family visa.

A employer can also sponsor the illegal. If this is done, then that alien displaces an alien in their home country waiting for that work visa.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for the ping.

[Twodees]

Yep, that's what the Mexican pols keep talking about, so apparently someone has told them that's when they'll get their wish list fulfilled.

So, the GOP is promiosing them that they'll open the flood gates all the way and the democrats are just champing at the bit to do so. Looks like we have a "damned if you do, damend if you don't" choice coming up this fall, huh?

[skeeter]

Face it, a terrorist could enter the nation as part of a visiting orchestra, to visit family, conduct a legitimate business transaction...any reason.

Agreed. However there's no sense in the federal govmnt actually making it easier for him to do so.

[Regulator]

Headline you'll never see:

"Amnestied Illegal Alien Commits Terrorist Act at LAX"

Gee, we don't know why this average ordinary fellow did this...he's just a hardworking immigrant...

[Sabertooth]

Gee, we don't know why this average ordinary fellow did this...he's just a hardworking immigrant...

He was only here to murder the Jews that Americans don't want to kill.

[Black Agnes]

Yeah, he did it for free, those greedy American teenagers would have demanded they be paid exhorbitant wages! The horror!