Bush decries border project

WACO, Texas -- President Bush yesterday said he opposes a civilian project to monitor illegal aliens crossing the border, characterizing them as "vigilantes." He said he would pressure Congress to further loosen immigration law. More than 1,000 people -- including 30 pilots and their private planes -- have volunteered for the Minuteman Project, beginning next month along the Arizona-Mexico border. Civilians will monitor the movement of illegal aliens for the month of April and report them to the Border Patrol. Mr. Bush said after yesterday's continental summit, with Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin at Baylor University, that he finds such actions unacceptable. "I'm against vigilantes in the United States of America," Mr. Bush said at a joint press conference. "I'm for enforcing the law in a rational way." The Minuteman Project was born out of a long-held perception among many residents that more Border Patrol agents are needed to handle the flow of illegal immigrants. Mr. Bush was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats earlier this month for failing to add 2,000 agents to the Border Patrol, as set out in the intelligence overhaul legislation he signed in December. The president's 2006 budget allows enough money to add only 210 agents for the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico. Mr. Bush said he will "continue to push for reasonable, common-sense immigration policy." He has proposed legislation to grant guest-worker status to millions of illegal aliens already in the United States. The legislation has attracted scant support in Congress, where it is widely regarded as another amnesty that will encourage even more illegal immigration.

I lived in Texas for many years. It appeared that the typical Texan was blind to this issue.

It's not that we are blind to it - we just have a government, both at the state and federal levels, that doesn't care. President Bush didn't care when he was governor, Governor Perry doesn't care either. Thankfully, we will have some alternatives to Perry in the next Governor's election (Perry used to be a Democrat, something that many people conveniently forget).

They are not going to do anything to upset any potential voting block.

That's what this boils down to, and that's why President Bush called the patriots "vigilantes".

In fact, Government Perry is pushing a $180 Billion (yes billion) project to make it easier for people to move from Mexico to up north (Oklahomans have got to love this). It's called the Trans-Texas Corridor.You can get more information at corridorwatch.org

By the way, European companies are being used to build/oversee this. Not only can Texans lose property through emminent domain, to private companies for these toll-roads, it's not just property for toll-roads. Property that maybe used for things such as hotels, gas stations, restaraunts, etc., maybe able to be seized under emminent domain as well (we'll have to see, there are two different bills going through the house to address this issue).

By the way, European companies are being used to build/oversee this. Not only can Texans lose property through eminent domain, to private companies for these toll-roads, it's not just property for toll-roads. Property that maybe used for things such as hotels, gas stations, restaurants, etc., maybe able to be seized under eminent domain as well (we'll have to see, there are two different bills going through the house to address this issue).

Fellow Texan. The Supreme Court is set to rule this term if eminent domain can be used for private enterprise. If they rule against it, at least part of this grand scheme will die. Let's hope.

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