Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080423-1.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 23, 2008
Loyalty Day, 2008
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Americans believe that every man, woman, and child has unalienable rights, dignity, and matchless value. Advancing these ideals was the honorable vision of our Founders and the mission that helped shape this great country. On Loyalty Day, we celebrate the legacy of freedom and the shared ideals that bind us together.
Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen demonstrate their love of country by stepping forward when America needs them most. By putting our country’s security before their own, the men and women of the Armed Forces have strengthened our Nation and brought hope to millions around the world. All Americans are grateful to the members of the military and their families for their service, sacrifice, and dedication, and we are proud of their accomplishments.
Through their good works, our Nation’s volunteers bear witness to their steadfast love for America, as exemplified in their commitment to service and good citizenship. Loyalty to this country brings with it a commitment to aid our family, friends, and fellow citizens all across this broad and welcoming land. These volunteers demonstrate their gratitude for the blessings of freedom by helping build a more hopeful future for our children and grandchildren. All Americans can put their loyalty into practice by learning more about the history of our country, flying the American flag, and contributing to our communities.
Two hundred and thirty-two years after the founding of our country, we remain committed to advancing freedom and renewing the values that sustain our liberty. Through the spirit and determination of our people, our Nation will prosper and our liberty will be secure.
The Congress, by Public Law 85-529, as amended, has designated May 1 of each year as “Loyalty Day.” This Loyalty Day, and throughout the year, I ask all Americans to join me in reaffirming our allegiance to our Nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2008, as Loyalty Day. I call upon all people of the United States to join in support of this national observance and to display the flag of the United States on Loyalty Day as a symbol of pride in our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080422washington.htm
April 22, 2008
Ghanaian pleads guilty to conspiracy and alien smuggling charges
WASHINGTON - A Ghanaian man pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling in connection with his role in smuggling East Africans to the United States, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor, and Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today.
Sampson Lovelace Boateng, 53, admitted that between approximately June 2006 and February 2007, he conspired with others to smuggle unauthorized aliens to the United States by providing them with fraudulently obtained Mexican visas. Boateng charged approximately $500 per visa. These documents, which Boateng obtained through a corrupt employee of the Mexican Embassy in Belize, enabled East African aliens to travel into Mexico and reach a point where they could be smuggled across the southern U.S. border. Boateng’s co-conspirators housed the aliens for several days or weeks in Mexico and then smuggled them to the United States by various means, including by concealing the aliens for more than twelve hours in the luggage compartments of buses. Smuggling fees totaled approximately $5,000 per person by the time the aliens reached the United States.
Boateng pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina to one count of conspiracy and three counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit. He faces five to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Upon completion of his sentence, Boateng will be removed from the United States.
Boateng and his co-conspirator in Mexico, Mohammed Kamel Ibrahim, were charged in a 28-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on Oct. 31, 2007, and unsealed on Dec. 5, 2007. Ibrahim is currently awaiting extradition to the United States to face prosecution.
The investigation was conducted by ICE Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles offices, with assistance from the ICE Miami office, the ICE Attache in Guatemala City, the Diplomatic Security Office of the U.S. Embassy in Belize and the DEA Attache in Belize. Valuable support was provided by the ICE Forensic Document Laboratory and U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami. Belizean authorities also provided substantial support.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brian Rogers of the Criminal Division’s Domestic Security Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Harvey of the District of Columbia.
— ICE —