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Paula Abdul is looking for love... on TV's "Love Smart"!
Sexy actress/model/cheerleader/choreographer/music critic/singer/Laker Girl/television star/accused contest-swayer/nail care expert Paula Abdul is single and looking for love.
In case she doesn't respond to my emails or she gets a TRO, she'll be featured on a Valentine's Day special on CBS called "Love Smart". And, she'll be getting help from an expert:
Dr. Phil and Abdul will "explore the life of an unmarried international celebrity who is looking for love."
Posted to Celebrities at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
Tim Kaine's SOTU response
Virginia governor Tim Kaine responds to Bush's speech here:
The failure of the federal government to implement and enforce a rational immigration policy has resulted in a confusing patchwork of state and local efforts. We should welcome those who seek to lawfully join and contribute to our American family. At the same time, we must ensure that our homeland defense efforts begin with consistent federal action to protect our borders.
At first glance you might think it sounds more American than Bush's take on immigration. Then, you slap your forehead as you realize that Tim Kaine supports illegal immigration and you realize it's just a different flavor of dreck from that provided by Bush.
Posted to Immigration at 08:00 PM | Comments (2)
Bush's 2006 State of the Union address
Here's the full text of the speech.
Others say that the government needs to take a larger role in directing the economy, centralizing more power in Washington and increasing taxes. We hear claims that immigrants are somehow bad for the economy – even though this economy could not function without them. All these are forms of economic retreat, and they lead in the same direction – toward a stagnant and second-rate economy.
I haven't heard anyone argue that "immigrants" in general are bad for the economy. However, a large number of low-wage illegal immigrants are definitely bad for the U.S., especially for those on the lower end of the wage scale. As far as "second-rate" economies are concerned, we should be a bit more like Japan (innovation, robotics, etc.) rather than like those second- and third-rate economies that are still reliant on stoop serf labor.
Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values, and serves the interests of our economy. Our Nation needs orderly and secure borders. To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection. And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty ... allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally ... and reduces smuggling and crime at the border.
We need a president that "that upholds our laws" rather than one that tries to subvert them. Under Bush enforcement has fallen even lower than what it was under Clinton. He could do much more enforcement if he wanted. He doesn't want to because he's corrupt.
And, a "guest worker program" is amnesty. And, those "guests" will never go home. Very few people are aware of just how anti-American Bush's guest worker plan was intended to be.
Back to Our Leader:
Our economy is healthy, and vigorous, and growing faster than other major industrialized nations. In the last two-and-a-half years, America has created 4.6 million new jobs – more than Japan and the European Union combined. Even in the face of higher energy prices and natural disasters, the American people have turned in an economic performance that is the envy of the world.
However, see this and from this:
an analysis of the latest Census Bureau data shows that between March of 2000 and March of 2004, the number of adults working actually increased, but all of the net change went to immigrant workers. The number of adult immigrants (18 years of age and older) holding a job increased by over two million between 2000 and 2004, while the number of adult natives holding a job is nearly half a million fewer.
And, American teens are being boxed out of low-wage jobs by illegal aliens.
Posted to Politics at 06:16 PM | Comments (3)
Live-blogging the 2006 State of the Union address
Later today, I'll be live-blogging it. Well, actually, I'll try to find a disembargoed copy and quickly summarize it. Then, I'll watch an old Alf episode.
I predict that Bush's SOTU will include the following or very close equivalents:
"we need comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system"
"good-hearted people doing jobs Americans won't do"
"match willing workers with willing employers"
There's a roundup of his past mentions of "guest" worker schemes here. They think he'll concentrate on the border security bits and leave out the "willing workers" bits. Since Bush already has this memorized, I think he'll include them. We shall see.
UPDATE: Here my SOTU discussion.
Posted to Politics at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)
Lawyers: make big money suing illegal alien employers!
Zirkle Fruit is an apple producer in eastern Washington, and they recently settled a lawsuit brought by former legal workers. Those workers alleged that Zirkle hired illegal aliens in order to drive down their wages. The settlement amount was $1.3 million. Not exactly a large amount, but the lawyers involved will probably get a good part of that and there's much more where that came from....Lawyers now begin the task of locating and notifying Zirkle employees eligible for an undetermined share of the settlement funds.There's background on the case in "RICO: A New Tool for Immigration Law Enforcement":
Eligible workers would be those who have legal work documents or are U.S. citizens and were employed during the class period beginning Nov. 5, 1999, through Sept. 8, 2004.
Volk told the judge he was not certain how much money eligible workers might receive. But he said it would be based on hours worked during the class period and likely would be less than $2 an hour...
Olivia Mendoza is an agricultural worker in Washington state's fruit industry, and, while the fruit business in Washington is a billion-dollar-per-year industry, she and many of her co-workers live in poverty. Part of their poverty is due to the fact that some employers, like Ms. Mendoza's, lower industry wages by illegally hiring low-skill foreign nationals without proper work authorization.See also "Illegal Alien Employer Capitulates - Most Important Victory Since Proposition 187" and this from 2002.
Not only do these illegal aliens work for less than US citizens and legal workers, like Ms. Mendoza, they also accept inferior and even unsafe working conditions. Aside from perpetuating poverty among illegal aliens themselves, the hiring of illegal aliens also suppresses wages and worsens working conditions for legal employees like Olivia Mendoza. Fortunately for her and thousands of Americans in similar circumstances, there is recourse...
Previously:
How to make big money with illegal immigration
Are you a lawyer who likes money?
New South Federal Savings Bank... and RICO?
Idaho county sues illegal alien employers under RICO
"Forging a New Use for Civil RICO"
Federal Court OKs Suit Against Tyson for Hiring Illegal Aliens
Posted to Immigration at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
"Homeland Security:Safe Deposit Boxes Are Fair Game"
Conspiracy Planet? OK, so we're dipping a bit low in the barrel, but:Homeland Security has begun exercising its new power to 'identify' the contents of your safe deposit box.Perhaps even lower down:
This news should be seen in the context of the many rumors floating around on the internet.
The so-called temporary re-authorization of the PATRIOT I and II legislation included the power, which gives the Department of Homeland Security an unprecedented power to 'identify' assets held in citizens' private safe deposit boxes...
According to in-house memos now circulating, the DHS has issued orders to banks across America which announce to them that "under the Patriot Act" (whatever that crap means) the DHS has the absolute right to seize, without any warrant whatsoever, any and all customer bank accounts, to make "periodic and unannounced" visits to any bank to open and inspect the contents of "selected safe deposit boxes." Further, these boxes, taken from a DHS list of people who are considered "hostile to the present government, citizens who have visited outside the United States before or after 9/11 to countries now considered to be hostile to this country" " :Russia, Peoples Republic of China, Mexico, Guatemala, Spain, Italy, Egypt, France, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Turkey or the Sudan" or any citizen who has a bank account in any of those listed countries are considered to be of legitimate interest in the "ongoing investigations into foreign and domestic terrorism."However, from the April 1, 2005 AP report "Government wiretaps, searches up 75 percent":
...Operating with permission from a secretive U.S. court that meets regularly at Justice headquarters, the FBI has used such warrants to break into homes, offices, hotel rooms and automobiles, install hidden cameras, search luggage and eavesdrop on telephone conversations. Agents also have pried into safe deposit boxes, watched from afar with video cameras and binoculars and intercepted e-mails...
Posted to Privacy at 07:42 AM | Comments (2)
Pacific News Service: "Tired of the White Left"
It takes the Pacific News Service to feature a column called "Tired of the White Left":Editor's Note: NAM contributor Roberto Lovato is attending the World Social Forum in Caracas, where more than 60,000 people, half of them from outside Venezuela, have gathered for the annual event. His impressions will be posted throughout the week.How sad. But, I guess if the white left revolutionary vanguard is of the wrong color than new leaders of the proper color must be found. It's time they knew their place. I guess Katrina vanden Heuvel will have to find a new proletariat to champion.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Standing proudly beneath the statue of Latin American liberator, Simon Bolivar, located at the center of a Caracas plaza, World Social Forum delegate Dorothea Manuela says she feels more at home here than she does standing near the statues of dead white revolutionary men dotting parks back home in Boston.
"It's inspiring to come here and see people from all over the world leading their own struggles," she says. I ask her about the leadership of struggles in the United States and the beaming smile of the self-described "black woman who is ethnically Puerto Rican" disappears.
"Being here reminds me how very important it is for all of us to change the U.S. But we can't change the U.S. unless we all deal with the white left's racism and privilege" says the statuesque "fifty plus" Manuela. Along with members of her Boston-based Rosa Parks Coalition, Manuela and many of the World Social Forum delegation from the U.S. are delivering a strong message to the thousands attending the global gathering: We (nonwhites/people of color) can lead ourselves. Whites do not speak for all of us...
...The racial dynamics at the Foro seem more like the dynamics on the field of the World Cup, where the non-white majority exercise leadership concomitant with their numbers, while whites have their place too. The tenor here touches on a shift in the way movements have historically been carried out in the U.S. "Why don't they come here to Latin America to lead struggles here?" asks Dorothea Manuela. "Because they know they can't. Why do they lead struggles in places where they are now a minority? Because we let them – and that has to change. That will change."
Another World Is Possible.
In other sad news, we learn that, supposedly, no one talked to Cindy Sheehan at an event at which she had supposedly received top billing.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 04:41 AM | Comments (0)
Bellwood, IL: school kids beat up UPS driver
A UPS driver was beaten up by 15 to 20 school-age kids who surrounded his vehicle in Bellwood Illinois. Video at the link. They apparently came from a nearby middle school. Are we Brazil yet?
The driver appears to be white, and based on the demographics there's an 80% chance that the perps were black.
Your assignment:
1. Spot the first "liberal" who claims the driver had it coming.
2. Spot the first "liberal" who claims the perps are just misunderstood.
3. Assuming my presumption above is correct, spot all the "liberals" who will not even consider this to have been a hate crime, but who would have rushed to call it that if the (presumed) races were reversed.
Posted to MultiCultiCult at 01:31 AM | Comments (4)
"Mexican police arrest four illegal Iraqis"
MEXICO CITY - Mexican federal agents have arrested four Iraqis trying to sneak into the United States without proper documents, the government said Monday.The AP says their last names indicate they're Christians, by which they presumably mean Chaldeans.
Wasim Francis Schamoun and Ivan Yalda, both 23, and Refon Chlil Oraha and Thaer Salem Yelda, both 27, were found on a bus in the northern city of Navajoa after police received an anonymous tip, the attorney general's office said in a statement.
The Iraqis were in Mexico illegally, the statement said...
Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
Patriot Act creates new federal police force with broad powers; security force for foreign consulates
The Patriot Act creates a "United States Secret Service Uniformed Division" that is "subject to the supervision of the Secretary of Homeland Security."The new police are empowered to "make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony."And, from this we learn that the USSS has other powers as well:
The new police are assigned a variety of jurisdictions, including "an event designated under section 3056(e) of title 18 as a special event of national significance" (SENS).
"A special event of national significance" is neither defined nor does it require the presence of a "protected person" such as the president in order to trigger it. Thus, the administration, and perhaps the police themselves, can place the SENS designation on any event. Once a SENS designation is placed on an event, the new federal police are empowered to keep out and to arrest people at their discretion...
This DHS/USSS Praetorian Guard also doubles as…a security force for foreign consulates on American soil...UPDATE: Fox has apparently been looking into this, but they don't go into the consulate connection:
...Given the threat of warrantless arrest powers for the new federal police, the DHS/USSS consular guards could quickly be brought in to squash dissent from any pesky but peaceful patriotic protesters who just might happen to show up outside the offices of foreign consulates in the future...
...These facilitators of "tolerance" for foreign meddling, Open Borders and illegal alien amnesty just might be sporting new Secret Service uniforms, serving under the direction of the President of the United States and the Homeland Security Secretary.
So, for all of the peaceful Minuteman Project volunteers out there across this great land, enjoy your First Amendment freedom to assemble peaceably while you still can.
And be advised that the days of anti-Matricula Consular Card demonstrations outside of Mexican Consulates may be numbered...
A new provision tucked into the Patriot Act bill now before Congress would allow authorities to haul demonstrators at any "special event of national significance" away to jail on felony charges if they are caught breaching a security perimeter.The ACLU and Bob Barr are opposed to it; an FPM writer says that's just more Bush-bashing.
Sen. Arlen Specter , R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsored the measure, which would extend the authority of the Secret Service to allow agents to arrest people who willingly or knowingly enter a restricted area at an event, even if the president or other official normally protected by the Secret Service isn't in attendance at the time.
Under current law, the Secret Service can arrest anyone for breaching restricted areas where the president or a protected official is or will be visiting, but the new provision would allow such arrests even after those VIPs have left the premises of any designated "special event of national significance." The provision would increase the maximum penalty for such an infraction from six months to one year in jail.There's more at the link.
In a post-Sept. 11 world many non-political events have been designated National Special Security Events and would rise to the higher status. Examples of possible NSSEs are the Olympics or the Super Bowl. In 2004, the presidential inaugural balls and President Ronald Reagan's June funeral procession in Washington, D.C., were designated NSSEs...
A spokesman at Specter's office said the senator was surprised by the clamor over the provision, which merely makes a technical change to clear up legal confusion over who has arresting authority at NSSEs. His office had no further comment on the provision. Committee Ranking Member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also declined comment. Republican and Democratic House Judiciary Committee leaders did not return calls for comment.
White House sources say the measure was not instigated by the administration and pointed out that it was a stand-alone bill that was rolled into the Patriot Act by Specter's office during House-Senate conference negotiations. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told FOXNews.com that the White House would not comment on the intent of the measure, but that the president is concerned with preserving individual rights.
"President Bush is committed to protecting the American people's national security as well as their civil liberties," she said.
Secret Service representatives said the agency does not comment on pending legislation...
Posted to Politics at 10:10 PM | Comments (2)
Special Order 40: "Jack Dunphy", Daryl Gates, Mike Carona, Police Commission
The pseudonymous LAPD cop "Jack Dunphy" gives an overview of Los Angeles' sanctuary city policy here:...Since 1979, when the LAPD enacted Special Order 40, police officers in Los Angeles have been prohibited from taking any action "with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person," and from detaining or arresting anyone based solely on the suspicion that he has illegally entered the country. "Undocumented alien status in itself is not a matter for police action," the policy states. "It is, therefore, incumbent on all employees of [the LAPD] to make a personal commitment to equal enforcement of the law and service to the public, regardless of alien status."In related news, there's some kind of a video apparently featuring Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates and LA Police Commission Presidents Edith Perez and Rick Caruso here. I didn't watch it and I don't know if it has exclusive interviews or compilations or what.
...the LAPD is set to issue a directive intended to clarify what its officers should and should not do when dealing with criminal suspects believed to be in the country illegally. The measure was discussed last week at a meeting of the Los Angeles police commission, the civilian panel that oversees the city's police department...
...But the mere suggestion that the LAPD may reexamine the constraints that Special Order 40 places on its officers has triggered alarm in immigrants'-rights circles. "How do you make sure that the policy doesn't spill into other abuses?" said Linton Joaquin of the National Immigration Law Center. "Our concerns are that the [LAPD] not get into the business of immigration enforcement."
In other words, because there is risk of abuse, why do anything at all about the epidemic of crimes committed by illegal aliens? Such talk is falling on increasingly deaf ears these days, especially in those cities hardest hit by the crime wave Mac Donald described in her House subcommittee testimony...
Posted to Immigration at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)
Kiefer Sutherland wins SAG award
The Screen Actors Guild has selected "Kief" as Best Actor for his work on the television series 24.
In other news, sources say that he's dating "stunning PR executive" Tricia Cardozo. Whether that source is actually the stunning PR executive herself remains unclear.
Recently, "Kief" also seems to have engaged in wild antics at a local establishment. A certain "dynamic public relations executive" was not happy with his previous antics.
And, America's favorite RINO Sen. John McCain will be appearing on a February episode of 24.
And, here are some Kiefer Sutherland pics I took during the filming of the TV show 24 back in 2002.
Posted to Celebrities at 01:12 PM | Comments (0)
AP's Martiga Lohn offers pro-illegal immigration propaganda
Yet another PIIPP from the AP:M.M. is a small man and he speaks softly, but he wants his words to be heard.He apparently entered illegally and applied for asylum. His application was denied, and despite that he's continued to remain here. And, he has three U.S. citizen children. Obviously a difficult situation, and that's just the way the AP likes it. While we need to have some degree of fairness, supporters of illegal immigration would like to apply that same "fairness" to anyone who can manage to sneak over the border.
M.M. -- he asked that he be identified only by his initials because immigration authorities could deport him if they find him -- has lived in the area around the meatpacking town of Worthington for more than a dozen years, the past five illegally.
He disagrees with what politicians and officials are saying about getting tough on illegal immigrants, but he says most people like him are afraid to make noise.
"I want this to be heard for all the people," M.M. said this month at a community education center. "We are all afraid to speak up. That's what's happening. The reason we're afraid is we don't have the documentation. As human beings, we all have rights -- this is how it should be."
Then, we get into the corruption angle:
No one knows for sure how many of the immigrants living in Worthington -- they make up a third of the town's 11,300 residents -- are illegal. Social service providers don't ask. Neither do the police, unless they're investigating document fraud or other crimes related to a person's immigration status, Police Chief Mike Cumiskey said.So, basically, the local cops look the other way. A question: if the local pork plant cost the town money, would they still look the other way? Do they look the other way because the pork plant brings in most of the town's money? What do we normally call such a situation?
But Jose Comparan, an immigrant from Mexico, says a large share of the immigrants who work at Worthington's pork plant are living in the country illegally.
Sean McHugh, vice president of communications for Swift & Co., which owns the plant, declined to comment. McHugh said the Greeley, Colo.-based company is looking closely at the issue of immigration. The Worthington plant employs about 2,000 people.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 12:59 PM | Comments (1)
Cynthia Tucker is an idiot
Posted to Immigration at 04:56 AM | Comments (5)
Mexican immigration official arrested for smuggling illegal aliens
MEXICO CITY - The U.S. Border Patrol arrested a Mexican immigration official who was allegedly trying to help a group of undocumented migrants sneak into the United States, the Mexican government said Sunday.
Immigration agent Francisco Javier Gutierrez was arrested at a checkpoint near Alamogordo, N.M., about 100 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, the Mexican Interior Department said in a news release.
Gutierrez had been fired on corruption allegations last year but returned to his job after winning a court case in which he claimed he had been unfairly dismissed, according to the National Immigration Institute...
Posted to Immigration at 04:20 AM | Comments (2)
Brownsville Herald offers joke article about border security
Remember the old joke?Q. Why are there so many trees on the streets of Paris?Now, in an attempt to do that old chestnut one better, Sara Ines Calderon offers "Border violence likely affecting migrants":
A. So the German soldiers can march in the shade.
A recent wave of violence against Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley has the potential to harm immigrants who pass through here.Keep planting those trees.
..."When millions of Mexicans crossing the border are perceived as enemies, they are going to try to respond to that situation," said Ignacio Corona, professor of Mexican and Latin American Cultures at Ohio State University.
...Increased enforcement at the border — more Border Patrol agents for example — makes migrants more desperate, driving them to extreme measures or dangerous geography, according to Karl Eschbach, a demographer who studied the causes of migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border in the early 1990s through 2003.
"It would affect the ordinary labor migrant who attempts to come across, and I can't imagine that it's affecting them for the good," Eschbach said. "As enforcement becomes more effective, there becomes a motivation to act in a desperate way."
Some call this trend "increased militarization" of the border, which Corona said is bound to increase violence. A stronger militarized presence at the border makes smugglers, and by extension immigrants, more desperate, a perfect recipe for violence.
"Forces are going to be opposed, and they are going to provoke some kind of response, some kind of retaliation," he said. "If you don't have a weapon, you are going to use a stone."
Posted to Immigration at 03:53 AM | Comments (1)
Cindy Sheehan plants a wet one on Hugo Chavez
Maybe he could convince her to stay. In related news:
CARACAS, Jan 29 (IPS) - An informal International Women's Tribunal, meeting at the sixth World Social Forum in the Venezuelan capital, found "imperialism" and U.S. President George W. Bush guilty of violating the human rights of people in countries like Iraq and Cuba...And:
Among the many events at this year’s World Social Forum in Caracas was the WOMEN SAY NO TO WAR gathering featuring Cindy Sheehan. Venezuela president Hugo Chavez called Sheehan "Ms. Hope."Other pictures of Cindy and one of Susan "Medea" Benjamin at the last link.
UPDATE: Wouldn't you like to live in Cindy's commune too?
CARACAS, Venezuela - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who just announced that she is weighing a run for Senate, plans to protest again outside President Bush's Texas ranch, Venezuela's president said Sunday with Sheehan by his side.(Pic above via this)
"She invited me to put up a tent. Maybe I'll put up my tent also," Chavez said, to applause from activists invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the leftist World Social Forum...
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 09:06 PM | Comments (3)
Stewart Simonson: another crony in a key position?
60 Minutes has a report on the Department of Health and Human Services ordering just 100,000 doses of a drug designed to combat the effects of a dirty bomb: "The Worst-Case Scenario". HHS says it's just their first order and there will be more to come. The company that developed the drug was counting on getting a much larger contract and says unless they and other companies get a firmer commitment it might be a while before major production could begin. And, needless to say, that might be too late.Certainly, we need to subtract from the equation both the company's biases and 60 Minutes' - especially Ed Bradley's - demonstrated biases. However:
...Who made the decision to buy 100,000 doses instead of 10 million? It was Stewart Simonson, the man who oversees Project Bioshield. Simonson is a Republican political appointee who, before running Project Bioshield, was a lawyer for Amtrak. Republicans as well as Democrats have criticized his management of the program.From back in October: Is Stewart Simonson qualified to lead our pandemic response?
"Secretary Simonson just appears to be over his head on this particular issue," says Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, who chairs the committee that oversees Project Bioshield.
Davis, who usually supports the administration, is taking the unusual step of calling in this story for Simonson’s removal from Bioshield...
There's certainly a chance that he's being unjustly criticized. However, given the Bush administration's history of appointing unqualified joke candidates (Harriet Miers, Julie Myers, Michael Brown, etc.) and given the importance of his job, can we afford to take any chances?
Perhaps it's time for sane Republicans to start thinking about how all this looks and start opposing the Bush administration rather than taking the eventual heat for supporting them.
Posted to Politics at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)
Goodbye, Year of the Cock
It was a mixed year, starting with the secret thrill I obtained from going to Chinatown and verifying with a couple of not-entirely-fluent English speakers that we were indeed in the Year of the Cock. But, it's now a whole new animal:In Chinese astrology, the dog is the most likable, honest and straightforward of all animals. Its influence is expected to bring a year of justice and harmony.
Each year of the Chinese 12-year zodiac is dominated by an animal. And each year also comes under the influence of one of the five elements - fire, water, wind, earth and wood. This year is a fire year...
Posted to WackyHumor at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
Dave Montgomery of KRT on Rob Allyn, Mexico's propagandist
Knight-Ridder's Dave Montgomery offers a very standard sketch of Rob Allyn, the Dallas PR consultant who's been hired to spread Mexican propaganda in the U.S.: "Mexico hires public relations firm to improve its image in U.S."
There is absolutely nothing new about Allyn in this article, but if you aren't familiar with his story check it out. You'll note that - like all the other sources who've more or less provided free advertising for his campaign - Dave Montgomery fails to ask Allyn if he's already registered or intends to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act:
The purpose of FARA is to insure that the American public and its law makers know the source of information (propaganda) intended to sway public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, the FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S... ...An agent of a Foreign principal is any individual or organization which acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal, or whose activities are directed by a foreign principal who: ... 2. acts in a public relations capacity for a foreign principal...
Obviously, Knight-Ridder's readers should be informed whether Allyn is a Registered Foreign Agent or not. Wouldn't a news organization that's seeking the truth rather than offering a flattering portrait try to find that out? Isn't that what those "journalists" are supposed to do? After reading this article, should we consider KRT a real news organization, or should we consider them simply a propaganda tool?
Note also this:
A small group of protesters aligned with anti-immigrant groups protested outside his office last week
And, for you people at the lower levels:
But, in a telephone interview from his Dallas office, Allyn said his company has "been flooded" with supportive telephone calls and e-mails, many of them from CEOs and senior political figures. "They've all been congratulatory and encouraging us," he said. "People at that level understand the value of Mexico as a trading partner."
There's another thing for Knight-Ridder to look into. Which politicians have called Allyn congratulating him on his efforts? Shouldn't the public know about that? A real news organization might look into that.
Since this report appeared in the Wichita Eagle, please take a moment and ask Sherry Chisenhall, their editor. This might be an address for KRT: news@krtinfo.com
Previously: Ruben Navarrette Jr. defends his friend, Rob Allyn, LULAC criticizes Mexico's pro-illegal immigration propaganda, New York Times' Simon Romero does Rob Allyn's work for him, Rob Allyn is a "longtime Bush family adviser"; Foreign Agents Registration Act? and Mexico agitating international community, Fifth Columnists against U.S.
Posted to Immigration at 01:52 AM | Comments (1)
LAUSD: Johnnie Cochran Middle School
On the 24th, the Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously voted to rename Mt. Vernon Middle School (near Crenshaw and Venice) in honor of Johnnie Cochran. He attended that school as a lad:
"This extraordinary, superb lawyer with movie-star celebrity status was an outstanding student at Mt. Vernon Middle School and Los Angeles High School," principal Scott Schmerelson told the Associated Press.
His client list included: Todd Bridges, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Oh, and also Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson.
"It's in bad taste," Denise Brown told Reuters. "Yeah, he was a great defense attorney. But what about your moral obligation to children and society?"
Somewhat related: Oakland's proposal to rename Jefferson Elementary School.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 02:06 PM | Comments (1)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg supports illegal immigration... again!
New York City's mayor says illegal aliens don't cost the state money. Perhaps he'd be willing to put his money where his mouth is: let's do a complete accounting, and give or take from Bloomberg the costs. Of course, there are major non-economic costs, and some of those - like giving a foreign power increased political power inside our country - are a bit hard to put a dollar figure on.While we're waiting, perhaps he should produce the studies:
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday that illegal immigration doesn't drive up costs for New York City taxpayers because illegals don't utilize the services that are available to them.He also show he knows his canards:
Challenged by a caller who complained during Bloomberg's weekly WABC Radio show that illegal immigration had caused health care costs to spiral out of control, the mayor cited unnamed studies that he said prove the charge simply isn't true...
...Bloomberg said illegal immigrants were an essential part of the U.S. economy, saying: "All the jobs that they do - who would fill those jobs? Nobody else is willing to do it."Corrupt or just an idiot? You decide.
Besides, he added, "We're not going to go deport 12-plus million undocumenteds."
Instead, [he] proposed an amnesty program for those illegals already here, telling WABC: "Let's give them - let's get control of the borders and give those that are here a card where they don't have to worry. And if they want to become citizens, that's great."
Previously: "Mayor Bloomberg has betrayed all the legal residents of New York City", "Mayor Mike fully supports illegal immigration" and "New York City blacks have a friend in Mayor Mike Bloomberg". From the not-completely-idiotic side comes: Bloomberg opposes non-citizen voting for New Yorkers and "NYT, Bloomberg against non-citizen voting".
Posted to Immigration at 02:22 AM | Comments (4)
UC study: by Third Grade, Preschool benefits disappear
More bad news for Meathead, aka "Rob Reiner". He's trying to push through a free-preschool-for-all proposition in California. That would probably eventually result in mandatory preschool. Past coverage starts here. There's been a massive TV and radio propaganda effort, and it might have paid off among voters who are unable to investigate all the downsides and hidden assumptions of Reiner's statistics.Now:
As proponents of universal preschool in California kicked off their campaign with news of an upbeat poll, a study on the lasting effects of preschool indicates many of its benefits may wear off by the time students reach third grade.However, Reiner's popularity is pretty low, so maybe the voters will have second thoughts once they realize who's agenda all those cuddly commercials have been promoting.
The University of California study, parts of which will be released today at a Sacramento conference, focuses on non-English-speaking children who went to preschool. Students who had gone to preschool gained a head start on literacy and language skills that gave them a leg up through third grade, according to the study by UC Santa Barbara professor Russell Rumberger, director of the UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
Rumberger's national study comes as the universal preschool camp, led by Hollywood movie director Rob Reiner, campaigns to convince voters that all 4-year-olds would benefit from a year of free preschool and that every public dollar spent on universal preschool would result in future savings on education, crime reduction and social services.
Other studies, among numerous attempts to assess the impact of preschool in general, have established that universal preschool gives children a boost in kindergarten and beyond.
The Reiner camp hopes to increase attendance to at least 70 percent of all 4-year-olds. The campaign is starting on a high note with results from a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showing that 63 percent of likely voters support the initiative...
Posted to California at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
Blagojevich gives illegal aliens better deal than veterans
Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is truly a piece of work. His latest attempt to give benefits to illegal aliens is opening a state-sponsored low-interest mortgage loan program to citizens of other countries who are here illegally:"People who are working hard, paying their taxes, are of good moral character ... regardless of their immigration status, they, too, should be able to share in the American dream," U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) told reporters at a December 11 service at New Zion Baptist Church in Chicago, where Blagojevich announced the program.Thankfully, that "back and forth" has just ended, with the American side winning.
"Buying a home is a key first step for many working families to start realizing the American Dream," Blagojevich said in a statement. "But when you are paid in cash, or you can't open a checking account or establish a credit history, applying for a mortgage loan is a lot more difficult. That's why we created the Opportunity I-Loan program to help Latino families, African-American families, Asian-American families, and so many other families qualify for a loan and buy a home."
...One of those [Republican candidates for governor], state Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), said he intends to introduce a bill to prohibit state-backed loans to anybody but legal Illinois residents. He said people he has met on the campaign trail are outraged over the idea of the state backing loans for illegal aliens.
"The general public is furious, to say the least," Brady said. "I'm a state senator, and I heard about this Saturday and he announced it on Sunday." The program went into effect the next day...
..."Our governor is sending a message: Break our laws and we'll reward you with a new home," [candidate Jim Oberweis] said. "It's absolutely insane. We are going to reward people who are here illegally with more attractive interest rates than we give to our veterans, people who have risked their lives for our country...
...Gerardo Cardenas, a spokesman for Blagojevich, said the governor decided not to go to lawmakers with the program partly because of problems in neighboring Wisconsin, which launched a similar program about a year ago.
"In Wisconsin they went through the legislators to do this, and it has been back and forth with the governor and legislators," Cardenas said. A bill that would end Wisconsin's program is under consideration...
Previously: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich gets a $720,000 heated driveway and Jim Oberweis for Illinois governor. There are even more shocking Blago posts to come in the near future.
Posted to Immigration at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)
AVWatch gets competition from other site
Over the past several months I've posted a few entries about L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and I've put "AVWatch" in the title to make it easier to find them (use the search box to the right).
I recently discovered a site dedicated solely to keeping a close eye on the person some call "mayor reconquista": "Antonio Watch". It doesn't seem to have anything on MEChA or Tony Villar's other past unsavory activities and associations, concentrating instead on recent events. Hopefully they'll get around to that and thereby reduce my workload.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 01:07 PM | Comments (1)
"New Immigration Strategy: Koreans Send Children to America for Adoption"
The Pacific News Service - naturally - treats this as an acceptable practice, but perhaps some immigration official somewhere will look into this scam:SAN FRANCISCO--A growing number of South Korean parents are paying retired couples in the United States to adopt their children. These Korean parents say teaching their children English is a priority, as well as other factors including avoiding compulsory military service for young men and gaining the prestige of an American education.Related: Korean anchor babies and "birth tourism"
One out of three Korean parents are willing to send their children abroad for the sake of a better education, according to a study by the Center for Korean Education Development in Seoul in the Korea Times. In the past, parents would ask relatives living in the United States to adopt their children, but more parents are now seeking out Caucasian families.
The Korea Times in Los Angeles reported the story of a Korean woman in Los Angeles on a work visa and employed as a nurse. She wished to bring her two teenage children to the United States from Korea and paid a retired American couple to adopt them...
Posted to Immigration at 11:09 AM | Comments (1)
Halliburton gets $385 Million detention facilities contract
Halliburton's KBR subsidiary has got yet another "Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity" contract, and this one is of interest both from the immigration and the tin-foil hat perspective. It involves building detention centers. Of course, detention centers are "multi-use facilities" and can be used to keep people in, keep people out, transship people, and so on. They could be used in case of a natural disaster to provide emergency housing. Or, in the case of the bird flu to detain victims, even against their will. Or, they could be used for mass deportations of illegal aliens. Or, they could be used to detain the millions of illegal aliens who'd come here if Mexico completely collapsed. A million and one uses. From this (also here, here, and here):...The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities.This isn't an entirely new idea; KBR had a similar contract from 2000 to 2005. However, considering Katrina, the bird flu, and the heating up immigration situation it seems to have a bit more saliency. UPDATE: More details in "Deal struck to build immigration jails".
The contract may also provide migrant detention support to other U.S. Government organizations in the event of an immigration emergency, as well as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency, such as a natural disaster. In the event of a natural disaster, the contractor could be tasked with providing housing for ICE personnel performing law enforcement functions in support of relief efforts.
Posted to Miscellania at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
"Banks aim to help immigrants send money home"
What a heart-warming title to this CSM report. Of course, they don't go into the downsides: billions of dollars is flowing out of the country and being used to prop up corrupt foreign governments and depriving those countries of the citizens and industries they need to improve. And, that encourages those corrupt governments to send us even more of their people. And, many of those "immigrants" are in fact illegal aliens. And, that leads to banks and other remittance companies profiting off illegal immigration and that leads to political corruption as politicians are given donations by those companies and then look the other way.And, it has this:
...As part of a global effort to lower remittance costs, the US government recently began working with the Mexican government, numerous banks, and nonprofit groups to launch two initiatives.The Bush administration is deeply involved in supporting the moves outlined above. Whether they're leading the banks or the banks are leading them isn't known. In either case they're completely corrupt.
One, the New Alliance Task Force (NATF), focuses on providing immigrants' accounts with low-cost remittance services while promoting financial literacy. The other initiative allows US bank customers to send money to a Mexican bank account at low cost through the Federal Reserve's Automated Clearing House's international wire-transfer service, Directo a Mexico. Most banks offering this service charge the sender between $2.50 and $3 per transaction, according to the GAO. The recipient Mexican bank receives a share of 67 cents, and is not permitted to charge the recipient any other fees.
Both programs are geared toward Latin Americans, who send an estimated $30 billion abroad each year. Most of the institutions participating in NATF are community banks in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; however, the program was recently launched in Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles. Since October, as many as 50 banks across 20 states have enrolled in the Directo a Mexico program, with more expected to join in the coming months.
These fee-reducing initiatives, along with the fact that US banks have been able to accept the Mexican consular identity card as a valid form of identification to open an account since 2002, have made sending remittances easier and more affordable for immigrants. Bank executives now hope that Latino immigrants will take advantage not only of their remittance services but also other financial offerings as well...
See also "Indiana's Bank Calumet gives home loans to illegal aliens", Their money or your safety, and "The Fastest Way To [profit from illegal immigration]"
Posted to Immigration at 04:56 AM | Comments (3)
Border incursion details; Mexico claims they were U.S. soldiers
Keep digging:MEXICO CITY - Mexico's top diplomat suggested Thursday that American soldiers disguised as Mexican troops may have been in the military-style Humvee filmed earlier this week protecting a marijuana shipment on the border.Meanwhile, the LAT has details on a few past incursions:
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez also told a news conference that U.S. soldiers had helped drug smugglers before. However, he offered no evidence.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico made no immediate comment on Derbez's claims...
Derbez said Thursday that the men photographed by Texas law enforcement could have been Americans.
"Members of the U.S. Army have helped protect people who were processing and transporting drugs," Derbez said. "And just as that has happened ... it is very probable that something like that could have happened, that in reality they were members of some of their groups disguised as Mexican soldiers with Humvees."
Three U.S. soldiers have pleaded guilty to running a cocaine smuggling ring from a U.S. base in Colombia, and a fourth is being tried in Texas this week.
Derbez said there was no proof that the men seen in the incident were Mexicans.
Derbez also said his country will send a diplomatic note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding that U.S. officials tone down their comments on Mexico's security and immigration problems.
Several of the incidents described in the Department of Homeland Security reports appeared to involve Mexican officials getting lost or pursuing suspects. For example, five Tijuana police officers pursued two men across the border in 2004. Some of the officers fired at the suspects while on U.S. soil, according to a Border Patrol report. The police returned to Mexico after arresting the men.UPDATE: From this:
Other encounters were more suspicious and add to concerns among many U.S. law enforcement officials that corruption in Mexico is eroding efforts to gain control of the border and combat trafficking in humans and drugs.
In October, Border Patrol agents in the El Cajon area east of San Diego reported seeing Humvees on the south side of the border fence. Minutes later, they saw two men in Mexican military uniforms carrying rifles in a creek bed north of the border, according to the records. When an agent approached, the two men ran south and drove off in the Humvees. Agents found footprints indicating three or four individuals had come north of the border and then returned.
Other incidents included Mexican helicopters flying north into U.S. airspace near El Paso for about 15 minutes, five Mexican officials armed with assault rifles entering the country near El Centro and returning without incident, and two Mexican police officers observed wandering along the U.S. side of the border near Yuma, Ariz.
Witnesses in El Paso reported in 2004 that a Mexican military-style helicopter landed just south of the border and armed men in federal police uniforms crossed into the U.S. and questioned them about vehicles before returning to Mexico, according to a Border Patrol report...
In a [formal] diplomatic note issued late Wednesday by the U.S. embassy in Mexico City, Ambassador Garza, requests a full investigation of the incident...
The U.S. Ambassador also protested what he refered to as rhetoric in Mexico that characterizes U.S. efforts to control its border as racist. He said that Mexican efforts to oppose measures under consideration in the U.S. Congress further polarize the debate on immigration and border security. He added that the Mexican actions, "only serve to polarize the debate on immigration and undermine the efforts of those who seek viable solutions to illegal immigration and border security."
Posted to Immigration at 01:50 PM | Comments (1)
Jennifer Aniston hair style: Sedu or T3 Tourmaline?
Which hair iron does Jennifer Aniston's stylist use?
Recent reports seem to indicate that it's actually the T3 Tourmaline and not the Sedu as you might have heard. Confirmation seems to come in the form of the Allure article pictured here, although questions remain. Is Chris McMillan still Jennifer's stylist? Has he switched straightener irons?
Based on his solid recommendations in the past, I'm leaning towards the T3. I also believe when he says the "rounded" version, he's referring to the T3 Tourmaline 3/4" Domed Iron #83934. Developing...
Posted to Celebrities at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)
Mexico withdraws illegal alien maps; AP calls them on lies?
Mexico has apparently decided not to give maps to their citizens showing them the best routes to cross illegally into the U.S., the AP reports. We also learn the DHS head Michael Chertoff condemned the maps.While the Mark Stevenson report contains questionable language ("anti-immigrant groups") it also has what appears to be an attempt to call Mexico on their BS:
Miguel Angel Paredes, spokesman for the federal Human Rights Commission, said the government wanted to "rethink" its plan because human rights officials in border states expressed concern that the maps would show anti-immigrant groups _ like the Minutemen civilian patrols _ where migrants likely would gather.Also see "U.S. opposes Mexico giving maps to migrants: Chertoff".
"This would be practically like telling the Minutemen where the migrants are going to be," Paredes said. "We are going to rethink this, so that we wouldn't almost be handing them over to groups that attack migrants."
...Mexico is angry about U.S. civilian groups that have organized patrols along the border and has accused them of attacking migrants.
However, there is little evidence of that and the groups seldom _ if ever _ target water tanks or rescue beacons.
One of the most well-known groups, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, placed a link to the maps on its Web site but did not advocate using them to find illegal migrants...
Posted to Immigration at 12:32 PM | Comments (1)
Special Order 40 allows felony arrests
From this:A long-standing order designed to restrict Los Angeles police from enforcing immigration laws does not bar officers from pursuing deported felons who have re-entered the country, Assistant Police Chief George Gascon told the Police Commission on Tuesday.The article then contains quotes from "liberal" activists and mentions that this "clarification" was prompted by Heather MacDonald's articles. What exactly this "clarification" means and what exactly the police are actually doing is a bit unclear; perhaps "Jack Dunphy" will weigh in at NRO.
The interpretation of Special Order 40 - the 27-year-old policy that prohibits officers from arresting people for illegally entering the country and from investigating a person's immigration status - comes as Los Angeles Police Department leaders get ready to finalize a department directive on how officers should interpret the order's restrictions.
"We deal with violent felons who are wanted, regardless of what their immigration status is," Gascon told the new Police Commission. "We have always acted upon information regarding this very specific population."
Posted to Los_Angeles at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)
Sensenbrenner: no amnesty; perhaps U.S. Chamber of Commerce should register as foreign agent
From this:Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the House point man on immigration, yesterday said that a guest-worker program like the one proposed by President Bush is amnesty and that he cannot accept it in a final immigration bill...Along the same lines, see Rob Allyn is a "longtime Bush family adviser"; Foreign Agents Registration Act?
"It seems to me that if you give these people the temporary cards, and the president talked a little bit about that yesterday out in Kansas, whether they are three-year cards or six-year cards or any other term, how do you get them to go back home when they expire?" he said.
He also said when Congress and the White House agreed in December 2004 to increase the U.S. Border Patrol by 2,000 agents a year, then two months later the president only funded 210 positions, it "was embarrassing both to the administration and those of us who fought for increased assets for border protection in the intelligence bill and then were let down."
...He also said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce "should be ashamed of themselves" for sponsoring meetings with Luis Ernesto Derbez, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, in Chicago in December, after which the minister criticized the House bill.
"What they are doing is saying that it's OK to use fake Social Security numbers. I don't think that anybody who is in business ought to be condoning the use of false documentation," Mr. Sensenbrenner said. "If they continue promoting speeches by Mexican government officials then maybe they ought to register as an agent of a foreign government under the law."
Posted to Immigration at 07:56 AM | Comments (1)
Should Maywood CA secede? Should they change their name to "Aztlan City"?
Maywood is a small (1.14 square miles), densely packed (28,000 residents), and almost exclusively Hispanic city southeast of Los Angeles. In fact, it's 96.3% Hispanic, with just 739 whites and only 43 blacks.Now:
City Council in this predominantly Hispanic Los Angeles suburb has passed a resolution prohibiting local police from taking on immigration enforcement duties.It doesn't take much effort to see that there might be other reasons for this beyond an attempt to conserve resources. For instance, proudly featured at their site is the release from February 14, 2005 indicating their full support for Gil Cedillo's attempt to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens (PDF file). It includes
Maywood's resolution, passed unanimously 5-0 late Tuesday, also promised to reject any future federal law mandating cooperation between police and immigration officials in the city of 45,000 residents [according to Maywood's website, the 2000 Census says 28,000 -- LW].
"We want to make clear that our police department will not become immigration agents," said mayor Thomas Martin. "We also want to send a message to places like Costa Mesa that police should be focused on gangs and drugs, and not overextending their resources..."
SB 60 was re-introduced by Senator Cedillo to provide hard working and law abiding immigrant drivers across the state with access to a California Driver's License. Currently, immigrant drivers are not allowed the opportunity to obtain a valid California Driver's License.Obviously, that's misleading. Those affected by this would be illegal aliens, not "immigrants". And, those who enter or stay illegally and no doubt work illegally and use illegal documents are not "law abiding". The claim in the second sentence is completely false: legal immigrants can get driver's licenses.
Until such time as Maywood announces they're seceding, they are a part of the United States. If they don't act like it, perhaps it's time for the state or the federal government to step in and take action. It's not like something similar hasn't happened before, and only back in 2003 and involving the nearby South Gate. See "South Gate: Mexico Comes to California" or State controller to audit South Gate after corruption scandal.
On a side note, see if you notice anything strange about their history page. Just as a guess, did they type that in out of an old book?
And, would any "liberals" out there care to speculate exactly how a city so close to South Los Angeles could have so few African-Americans? While there might be other reasons, I know what I suspect.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 06:25 AM | Comments (3)
Border incursions: CBP wants investigation; Mexico issues border ban
FWIW:U.S. and Mexican officials on Tuesday were investigating a bizarre encounter between Texas lawmen and heavily armed intruders who were wearing Mexican military uniforms while evidently escorting a caravan of sport utility vehicles that was smuggling marijuana into the United States.Oddly enough, I don't believe her.
The smugglers, spotted on the U.S. side of the border in remote western Texas on Monday afternoon, hastily fled back into Mexico, leaving behind nearly a half ton of marijuana and setting one of their vehicles ablaze...
Kristi M. Clemens, assistant commissioner for U.S. customs and border protection, issued a statement saying the agency is reviewing the confrontation and has asked the Mexican government for a "thorough investigation."
Gov. Rick Perry has ordered an investigation into the episode.I'm slightly less skeptical of their investigation. Meanwhile:
"Whether indeed members of the Mexican military crossed into Texas, or they were thugs dressed up as Mexican military, the incident is unacceptable and troubling," said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt.
A day after as many as 20 armed men in military fatigues crossed the Rio Grande into Texas before being chased back by U.S. authorities, the Mexican government ordered its troops not to come within 2 kilometers of the border.
While the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry and Defense Ministry denied their military had a role in providing protection for Monday's marijuana smuggling operation into Hudspeth County, the government said its military wouldn't be permitted in the border zone without authorization.
The face-off along the Rio Grande between the drug smugglers and U.S. law enforcement officials came just days after Mexican and U.S. officials downplayed news reports that U.S. Border Patrol agents have occasionally seen what appear to be Mexican army units in the United States.
"If it rattles like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a damn snake," Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West said. "There's no doubt it's Mexican military..."
Posted to Immigration at 02:49 AM | Comments (1)
AVWatch: Villaraigosa to give Democrat's Spanish-language SOTU response
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are proud to announced that Antonio Villaraigosa, the Los Angeles Mayor and former member of MEChA, will offer the Spanish-language response to Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday Jan 31.
The former president of the UCLA chapter of the racial separatist group has previously admitted that his Spanish is a bit rusty. Seeing as he was born here and no doubt English was his first language and all. No doubt Villaraigosa will write the speech in English and have someone translate it, assuming he writes it himself at all. More likely someone else will write it for him and he's just been selected because of his race.
There's no word on whether Teddy Kennedy will be offering a response in Gaelic, or whether he speaks Gaelic at all.
There's also little reason for an American party to broadcast something like this in a language other than English because almost all native-born Americans know English and almost all new citizens are required to have some English fluency. The target audience for this speech would seem to be mostly recent immigrants, together with a large chunk of illegal aliens. None of those groups can vote, although the Dems are working on that.
According to the AP, Villaraigosa "has been seen as a rising Democratic star since his election in May as the first Hispanic in 133 years to lead Los Angeles". One of the reasons for his stardom in the Democratic Party is that he was once a leader of a group that wants to "liberate" "Aztlan", i.e., transform the U.S. southwest into a Chicano homeland.
The AP also includes this bit which I'm pretty sure has been discredited:
In the last presidential election, exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks found Bush winning 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, up from 35 percent in 2000. Democratic Sen. John Kerry won 53 percent, down from 62 percent four years earlier for Democrat Al Gore.
Posted to Immigration at 10:27 PM | Comments (1)
" Central Valley orange growers look to Thailand for labor"
This blog has a shocking revelation to announce soon. Well, OK, not that shocking. But, it will make use of this:Can workers from Thailand be imported in enough numbers to harvest the Central Valley orange crop?
California Citrus Mutual, an organization of growers, is studying a proposal from a labor contractor to bring in enough Asian workers on a temporary basis to get the fruit off the trees.
Orange growers are the latest Central Valley farmers to complain that traditional sources of field labor are producing fewer and fewer workers.
Blamed are tougher controls of the border with Mexico and higher paying jobs in Central Valley construction luring what workers there are.
A final deal has not been worked out for the Asian workers but is being actively considered according to Exeter-based California Citrus Mutual.
Posted to Immigration at 06:20 PM | Comments (2)
The myth of $10 lettuce
Pro-illegal immigration suppoters frequently claim that lettuce would cost $5 or $10 a head if we reduced illegal immigration. There are many counterarguments to this claim, but in any case under no circumstances would a labor price increase lead to such a drastic total price increase. For instance, a figure I've used is that the labor costs of lettuce are just 10%; double the cost of labor and you might increase the cost at the grocery store by 10 cents or so.
It would be nice to get a definitive answer to the exact amount, and if you want to help out please leave a link.
Alternatively, here's a 1996 research paper about Loose Leaf Lettuce. Not being an expert I can't get a bottom line, but someone else says "it takes 20-25 cents to grow a head of lettuce and 15 cents is for labor."
Can someone point to something at that page giving a bottom line?
Posted to Immigration at 05:05 PM | Comments (3)
Don't blame the Vatican for the socialistic views of the U.S. Catholic Bishops
That appears to be the bottom line of this article:...Pope Benedict XVI actually made reference to distinctions between "national and international migration, forced and voluntary migration, legal and illegal migration, [and those] subject also to the scourge of trafficking in human beings."Previously: "Coalition vows to defeat harsh immigration bill [HR 4437]", "Arizona Catholic Bishops support open borders" ("live out the principles of global solidarity", "the goods of the earth belong to all people", etc. etc.), "Does Catholic Charities respect our laws?", and "Catholic Church & Charities Illegally 'Aid and Abet' Aliens".
That's illegal - not "undocumented"!
The Pope's message said nothing about illegal aliens having a right to enter the United States at anytime they want, as many times as they want, for whatever reason they desire.
Pope Benedict's message, as with most Papal statements dealing with refugees and other immigration-related issues, focuses entirely on Christian charity and pastoral care—especially administering the sacraments to the faithful in foreign lands.
The point is that the American Bishops, or any Bishop for that matter, cannot make the faithful do something that is unjust—in this case open the U.S. borders to all...
Posted to Immigration at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
Is the American labor movement irrelevant?
FAIR offers the press release "As Ford Downsizes Its Workforce, Bush Plans to Downsize Work":The American worker is caught between outsourcing jobs and importing foreign workers, and no one in Washington is standing up for them. As 55,000 Ford workers join 50,000 General Motors workers facing the prospect of finding new jobs, the Bush administration is pushing a new foreign guestworker plan to import workers, the Democrat leadership is pursuing increased immigration, and organized labor is disintegrating, with a growing number of unions focused on organizing immigrant workers rather than defending American jobs...
..."While the American worker agonizes over where the next paycheck will come from, and whether it will support a family, the administration and the Senate try to pass new laws to increase the giveaway of American jobs to foreign workers," observed Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The irrelevance of the American labor movement will be permanently fixed in the mind of American workers if it fails to act in defense of American jobs for American workers. The breakaway unions that are focused on organizing immigrant workers, most of them illegal entrants, are not only destroying the union movement, they are selling out American workers."
Posted to Immigration at 09:15 AM | Comments (2)
"Blacks vs. Latinos at Work"
From the WSJ:Donnie Gaut, an African-American with 12 years of warehouse experience, applied for a job in 2002 at Farmer John Meats, a large Los Angeles pork processor ["Dodger Dogs", Vin Scully, etc. --LW]. When he was turned down for the position, a job stocking goods that paid $7 an hour, Mr. Gaut decided the problem wasn't his resume -- it was his race. He filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces antidiscrimination laws in the workplace.A racial power group will be along shortly to complain about this racist article. Get Cecilia on the line.
Last October, the EEOC secured a $110,000 settlement from the company to be shared by Mr. Gaut and six other black applicants who were rejected for production jobs at Farmer John based on their race, according to the agency.
The EEOC says it found that the pork packer, owned by Clougherty Packing Co., had been almost exclusively hiring Hispanics for warehouse, packing and production jobs. Clougherty was acquired by Hormel Foods Corp. in 2004...
A new wave of race-discrimination cases is appearing in the workplace: African-Americans who feel that they are being passed over for Hispanics.
This kind of case marks a shift from years past, when blacks were likely to seek legal action against employers who showed preferential treatment toward whites. The cases highlight mounting tension between Hispanics and blacks as they compete for resources and job opportunities...
Somewhat related: "Do Connecticut McDonald's discriminate in favor of Hispanics?"
Posted to Immigration at 07:11 AM | Comments (0)
Wells Fargo gives home loans to illegal aliens
From this (very similar report here):Wells Fargo is first major California lender to offer home loans to illegal immigrants, 10News reported.If you bank there, please stop.
"We're not required to ask the immigration status of any of our customers. That is the responsibility of the federal government," Wells Fargo bank representative Jerry Ruiz said.
The program is called "Celebrate Home" and Wells Fargo says it complies with all federal regulations, 10News reported.
On an unendorsed-but-isn't-that-interesting note, see "The Bush family and the S&L Scandal". Since it has some of the stock Prescott Bush stuff at the end I'm not willing to put much trust in the rest of the article, but you never know.
Posted to Immigration at 04:09 AM | Comments (0)
Armed standoff near El Paso. Mexican Army?
From this:Mexican soldiers and civilian smugglers had an armed standoff with nearly 30 U.S. law enforcement officials on the Rio Grande in Texas on Monday afternoon, according to Texas police and the FBI.Previously: "Mexican military incursions: Chertoff downplays, excuses"
Mexican military Humvees were towing what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana across the border into the United States, said Chief Deputy Mike Doyal, of the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Department.
Mexican Army troops had several mounted machine guns on the ground more than 200 yards inside the U.S. border -- near Neely's Crossing, about 50 miles east of El Paso -- when Border Patrol agents called for backup. Hudspeth County deputies and Texas Highway patrol officers arrived shortly afterward, Doyal said.
...An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the incident happened at 2:15 p.m. Pacific Time...
Posted to Immigration_terror at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)
Humane Borders, Mexican government to give maps to illegal crossers; Jim Kolbe, Pima County support
Pima County (home of Tucson) and Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) are supporters of a plan by the Humane Borders group to pass out maps to Mexicans showing them the best places to illegally cross our border. Story - with several comments - here.HB, headed by Rev. Robin Hoover, is working with Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, a quasi-governmental group on the scheme. The maps will be passed out in Mexico's south, not just at the border. They show various terrain features (to people who probably don't have or know how to use compasses and who are not familiar with the desert), as well as the locations of water stations and rescue beacons.
The effort is supported by Pima County, partly as an attempt to help alleviate the expense of dealing with hundreds of corpses found in the desert, said Enrique Serna, a deputy county administrator who accompanied Hoover to Mexico...I'll bet the Mongols wish there had been "liberals" and corrupt politicians in China back in the day.
Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe, a Republican, said he supports the maps as a way of saving lives. But the best way of keeping migrants from dying in the desert is by helping Mexico create jobs and reforming U.S. laws to better manage migration, he said.
"It's hard to disagree with giving information to your citizens to save their lives," Kolbe said. "Ideally, what I would prefer is that they hand out flyers saying You don't have to cross the desert because there are jobs in Mexico, and here is some job information.' But that isn't going to happen, because there aren't jobs in Mexico..."
Note that Humane Borders joins a growing list of U.S. organizations that are assisting the Mexican government with their agenda. See "Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law collaborating with Mexican government", MALDEF getting "moral support" from Mexico, and this report about Suffolk County (Long Island).
Here's more on Pima County.
UPDATE: The LAT offers "Mexico to Issue Border Survival Guides" and the AP offers "Maps to aid illegal Mexican migrants". And, yes, selecting the Al Jazeera version of the AP report was intentional, and the same report is here:
Mauricio Farah, one of the [National Human Rights Commission]'s national inspectors, said: "We are not trying in any way to encourage or promote migration... "The only thing we are trying to do is warn them of the risks they face and where to get water, so they don't die." ...Farah said migration "is a human right" and that "the United States should be grateful" the commission is doing something to curb the death toll, because "hundreds of thousands of Mexicans help maintain their economy".Why can't they help maintain Mexico's economy? Oh yeah, that corruption thing.
Posted to Immigration at 04:26 PM | Comments (1)
Gallup poll: Only 25% approve of Bush's handling of immigration
The poll was conducted Jan 20-22, and 62% disapprove. Certainly, among that number are some people who think the borders aren't porous enough, but I'm sure that the great majority of those who disapprove do so because of the porous borders and the lack of workplace enforcement. In December, only 28% approved.
Posted to Immigration at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
George Bush, the Democrats, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, or the Communist Party USA?
This page has open borders quotes from various people or groups. Without looking at the link below each quote, can you identify whether it was George Bush, the Democrats, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, or the Communist Party USA who said the quote?
Posted to Immigration at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)
WHEDA home loans for illegal aliens program shut down
Supporters of illegal immigration will be saddened to learn that a bill signed into law last year will prevent the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) from giving home loans to illegal aliens.The article with the news is from the Business Journal of Milwaukee and the author is Jennifer Batog, but it doesn't appear to be at their site. In any case, it's located at MSNBC under the misleading title "Detractors kill immigrant loan program". Those in question aren't "immigrants", they're "illegal aliens". And, if MSNBC were in favor of this I doubt whether they would have used such negative words and in a negative sense.
"It's going to have a devastating effect," said Maria Monreal-Cameron, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin.Previously: Home loans for illegal aliens facing resistance in Wisconsin
The Immigrant Lending Program was a partnership among WHEDA, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. [contact them] and 25 banks statewide. Participating banks included Associated Bank, Green Bay; Guaranty Bank, Brown Deer; and Mitchell Bank, Milwaukee.
Some lawmakers, including state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), felt the effort rewarded illegal immigrants and sent a message that Wisconsin didn't take immigration laws seriously.
...Ending the loan program was regrettable, [WHEDA executive director Antonio Riley] said, but he added signs are emerging that the private sector may begin offering fixed-rate loans to undocumented people at conventional rates. The program also increased lenders' knowledge and understanding of how to underwrite and process loans for people without Social Security numbers, he said.
...MGIC insured mortgages obtained through the housing authority's program. The agency was one of the lenders participating in MGIC's "Building a Life in America" program, which insures mortgage loans for those without Social Security numbers, said Geoff Cooper of MGIC.
...[Mitchell Bank] will continue to offer mortgages to people without Social Security numbers...
...The loan program's supporters could reintroduce the program in future legislation, Wieckert said.
Posted to Immigration at 06:25 PM | Comments (2)
President Bush supports illegal immigration in Kansas
Our Leader visited Kansas earlier today and was asked some questions, one about immigration. The question was asked in Spanish, and the transcript provides the English version. The slightly coherent question apppeared to deal with discrimination against Hispanics, and included this bit that should have made Bush proud:I come from Venezuela, which is a different country. But all of us are Hispanics and all of us embrace ourselves in the Americas, because America is -- North America, the United States, and Central and South America -- we are one continent and embrace each other.It should have made Bush proud, but apparently his Spanish skills are right up there with Peggy Hill. Instead of answering what was asked, he launched into the pre-programmed "Guest worker spiel #4". I'm going to reprint the whole thing below the jump just so you my readers can bask in the barely-coherent open borders views of our "conservative" leader:
First of all, bienvenidos. And we have an obligation in this country to enforce our borders. And there's huge pressure on our borders. It's been a long border, obviously, with Mexico, and a long border with Canada. And the biggest problematic area right now is the border with Mexico, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.I'm stumped. How exactly can we make clear to all that our president is an un-American, anti-American, complete idiot?
The issue is not only Mexican citizens who are coming across the border illegally, but it's other citizens who are coming across the border.
And our obligation is to use a wise strategy to shut down the trafficking of anything illegal across the border. We're a country of law and we must enforce the border.
BUSH: And we spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C., analyzing the border issues and strategizing with Congress about how to do a better job, including the following things: one, increasing the number of border patrol agents; two, increasing the use of technology on the border so that you can see people coming through -- you know, drones, for example, and then be able to rally the border patrol to stop people from coming across.
Some physical barriers, particularly in urban centers, are now being constructed. Some berms -- there's parts of our border where, literally, you can just drive across.
I mean, there's nothing -- you know, you just land and in you come. And it's hard. The demarcation zone is different. And it makes it hard for people to enforce the border.
Secondly, when we detain somebody at the border, we've got to have a rational policy to help back up the people we're paying to enforce the border.
And by that I mean if you are somebody from central America, for example, caught coming into our country, that the policy has been to give you a notification to report back to a judge and they will hear your case.
Well, guess what? A lot of them don't come back. They are here because they are trying to better their lives and they are going to move into our society as best as they can.
And they are not going to return back. So we're ending what's called catch and release and we're beginning to provide more detention space for our border patrol to be able to say to people, particularly from Central America and South America, you know: You've come illegally; we're sending you back home.
Thirdly, in terms of workers, we do have H1, H2B visa programs that we are constantly analyzing with the United States Congress. It makes sense that highly skilled workers, for example, be given work permits here in the United States if it helps us meet an economic objective.
But I feel strongly that we need to take the worker program a step further. And I'll tell you why. I'm mindful that most people come here to work. There are a lot of people in your state dependent upon people coming here to work.
I tell you, I used to say that, when I was the governor of Texas, family values didn't stop at the Rio Grande River. And people, you know, if they could make 50 cents and had mouths to feed or $5 and had mouths to feed, a lot of people would come to try to find that $5 work.
And so, here's my position, and that is that, if there is someone who will do a job an American won't do, then that person ought to be given a temporary worker card to work in the United States for a set period of time.
I do not believe that any guest worker program ought to contain amnesty because I believe that, if you granted amnesty to the people here working now, that that would cause another 8 million people or so to come here.
I do believe, however, it is humane to say to a person: You are doing a job somebody else won't do. Here is a temporary card to enable you to do the card (sic).
The length of the stay here will be dependent upon the actions of the Congress. It's conceivable you could have a three-year period with a renewal period.
I've thought a lot about this issue. I just want you to know. By the way, when you mentioned guest worker, a lot of people automatically spring to amnesties. All I want is to grant legal status. That's just not the case. I don't believe we ought to do that.
But I do believe we ought to recognize there are people doing work others won't do. And there's a lot of good employers here in Kansas employing these people. And the employers don't know whether or not somebody is here legally or not.
What's happened is a whole kind of industry has sprung up around people coming here.
BUSH: And it's inhumane, it's inhumane for the people being trafficked into the United States and it's not fair to employers who may be breaking the law.
And here's what I mean. You got people being smuggled into the United States of America by these criminal networks. They're called coyotes, "coyots," and they're bringing them in the back of 18- wheelers, stuffing human beings to come and do work in America that Americans won't do, in the back of 18-wheelers.
You've got a whole forgery industry up and running. And so these guys show up with documents so the employers says, "Well, they look legal to me." They don't know whether they're legal or not legal.
And I know that we got a lot of our border patrol agents trying to catch people sneaking in the country. And so it seems like to me that why don't we recognize reality, give people worker cards on a temporary basis, so somebody can come back and forth legally with a tamper-proof card that will enable an employer to know whether or not they're hiring somebody who's illegal. And if we catch employers after that hiring somebody illegal, there's got to be a fine and a consequence.
And so a compassionate way to enforce our border is to give people a temporary worker card, without granting amnesty.
That's a long answer to a very important problem, that now is the time for the United States to take it on squarely, in a humane way, that recognizes the situation and deals with it in an upfront way.
And I want to thank you for your question.
Posted to Immigration at 04:01 PM | Comments (2)
Herndon Embraces All With Respect and Tolerance (We HEART illegal aliens)
Allen Benson and Leila McDowell-Head are members of a group called "Herndon Embraces All With Respect and Tolerance". They support the Herndon Virginia day laborer hiring hall, and the Washington Post - itself also a supporter of illegal immigration - prints a guest column from them: "Compassion: A Community Value".
I'm sure those profiting off this illegal labor are quite compa$$ionate. And, HEART's "tolerance" appears to be lacking for those who support our laws:
An influx of "white pride" protesters and Minutemen (a group best known for its vigilantism on the Mexican border) harassed the day laborers.
What skill. Can you fit three unsupported smears in just twenty-five words?
we agree that Herndon should have the right to solve a local problem without interference from national organizations.
Herndon does not have the right to support hiring illegal aliens, something that's a violation of federal law.
We support the right of day laborers to work, and we are cognizant of the dire conditions under which many of these laborers (and their families) live -- without health insurance, steady employment, vacation time or sick leave. The desire to work -- a basic American value -- should not subject anyone to antipathy.
Since we know that three-quarters of day laborers are illegal aliens, isn't there a better way? Namely, preventing them from coming here in the first place.
If bleeding HEART "liberals" want to help the poor and uneducated citizens of Mexico and Central America, they should go there and do that. Importing cheap labor so they can then be abused and receive low wages in a high-cost economy does them and us no good.
It certainly will make some mush-minded useful idiot "liberals" feel good. And, it will certainly provide clients for those organizations that help the poor. What better way to get new clients and funding than to import poor people? But, if there were no illegal aliens available to take these jobs, then wages would have to rise for legal workers. And, that would lead to the conditions for those workers being less dire. So, if HEART's useful idiot members don't want workers to be abused and be forced to live in dire conditions, they should support our laws instead of advocating undermining them.
While she might have other motivations, and I don't want to engage in mind-reading, note that Leila McDowell-Head is or was the Director of Communications for a group called the Center for Community Change (communitychange.org):
Helping low-income people, especially people of color, build powerful, effective organizations through which they can change their communities and public policies for the better.
One of their workers tries to smear those who support our immigration laws as members of "white pride" groups, at the same time as her group expresses its preference for "people of color"? Who exactly is the racist here?
Previously: "Have Herndon officials conspired to violate federal law?"
Posted to Immigration at 03:39 PM | Comments (2)
Bring on the noise, bring on the Commies
"World Can't Wait" - a Revolutionary Communist Party-linked group - will be conducting nationwide protests on Jan. 31 to coincide with Bush's State of the Union address. The protests will be in one of the only forms that the far-left understands:
At 9:00 PM EST, just as Bush starts to speak, everywhere we will BRING THE NOISE. In a cacophony of sound, we will drown out his address with music: from drums to violins, from hip hop and classical; and with noise: banging pots and ringing church bells, sound car horns and lifting our voices.
How very therapeutic.
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
Study: 75% of day laborers are illegal aliens
The University of Illinois at Chicago and UCLA have conducted a survey of 2660 day laborers in 20 states and D.C. The NYT provides some of the findings in "Broad Survey of Day Laborers Finds High Level of Injuries and Pay Violations":- 75% were illegal aliens
- more than half said they'd been cheated out of wages in the past 2 months
- earnings median: $10/hour, $700/month
- only a "small number" make over $15,000/year
"We were disturbed by the incredibly high incidence of wage violations," said study author Nik Theodore, of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We also found a very high level of injuries."Would you please send an email to public *at* nytimes.com and suggest they put on their thinking caps? The reason those laborers are able to be abused is because they're illegal aliens. Many "liberals" - including those at the NYT - support illegal immigration, and they therefore support the abuses that those workers are subjected to. There is no other option: if someone is here illegally, they're liable to be abused. And, "liberals" support that abuse by supporting illegal immigration.
..."This is a labor market that thrives on cheap wages and the fact that most of these workers are undocumented. They're in a situation where they're extremely vulnerable, and employers know that and take advantage of them," said another study author, Abel Valenzuela Jr., of the University of California at Los Angeles...
...In addition, the laborers have become the target of groups opposed to illegal immigrants...
...The biggest hope for day laborers, the study said, are the 63 day-labor centers that operate as hiring halls where workers and employers arrange to meet. These centers, usually created in partnerships with local government or community organizations, often require workers and employers to register, helping to reduce abuses. Many of the centers set a minimum wage, often $10 an hour, that employers must pay laborers.
Note also that while the NYT covers their immigration status in the second paragraph, the AP - another illegal immigration supporter - waits until the twelfth paragraph: "Day-Laborer Study Finds Community Ties". Please write to feedback *at* ap.org about that.
Posted to Immigration at 09:02 AM | Comments (1)
American Chamber Mexico supports immigration "reform"
The "American Chamber Mexico" is apparently similar to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:The American Chamber is an independent organization that fosters business ties between Mexico and the United States. Its member companies represent 85 percent of the foreign investment in Mexico.They're also coming out in favor of the McCain-Kennedy massive amnesty scheme:
[AmCham president Larry Rubin] said migration reform would benefit both businesses and Latin American workers. He added the American chamber's collective clout has helped push legislation in the past.
"This forum helped achieve the approval of the Central American free trade agreement less than a year ago, thanks to the Amcham presidents," Rubin said...
Posted to Immigration at 06:35 AM | Comments (1)
Is Paul Hackett too intelligent for the Democratic Party?
The candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio - a Democrat - recently caused the pro-illegal immigration Victorians in his party to have the vapors:U.S. Senate candidate Paul Hackett told a Toledo crowd this week that he'd deport all illegal immigrants if the national budget permitted, stirring another controversy over his candor — this time among Democrats.Yes, that's right: the Toledo Blade is trying to get him to apologize for opposing illegal immigration. The blog report here provides the background that that newspaper does not. See also this. And, many DUmmies are on the right side.
Several local Democrats said they disagreed sharply with Mr. Hackett's statements, made Wednesday night to a group at the University of Toledo...
Mr. Hackett said in a telephone interview yesterday that many immigrants are "exploited" by American corporations, and laws must be changed to help them. He did not elaborate, except to say he opposes amnesty for immigrants in the country illegally.
Asked if he stood by his statements, Mr. Hackett said: "Illegal immigration is illegal. It's that simple."
...Asked about illegal immigration, Mr. Hackett said the Bush Administration "is willing to let illegals come in and take the jobs of Americans." When an audience member asked Mr. Hackett if he would deport illegal immigrants, the candidate replied, "If we can afford to, yeah."One wonders if the Dems will try to undercat Hackett's pro-American views and drum him out of the party. After all, supporting illegal immigration is practically a requirement for being a Democratic politician.
Several Democrats in attendance said the comments surprised or disappointed them.
Frank Szollosi, a Toledo city councilman, said Mr. Hackett appeared "to the right of Pete Wilson" — a conservative Republican and former California governor — on immigration...
As for Szollosi, he's an idiot. Comments at his site are only for "team members", so I'll have to put my comment on his post here:
Help me understand this. Won't a "sensible amnesty program" just lead to more illegal immigration, just as all those other amnesties have?
After all, if you start looking "easy", people come to take advantage of your offers, right?
Word spreads quickly: "the U.S. is giving an amnesty!", "the U.S. will give you an amnesty if you just wait long enough!", etc. etc.
So, millions more illegal aliens will come here to take advantage of future "sensible amnesty programs".
That will result in more of those border deaths that you decry. And, it will result in more worker abuse, more corruption, more corrosion of our laws, more power for the Mexican government inside our country, etc. etc.
OTOH, if you start enforcing the laws the word about that will spread, resulting in less illegal immigration.
That will result in no need to future "sensible amnesty programs", fewer deaths on the border, and less worker abuse.
It would also be Hackett's job as an elected representative to support the laws of the land rather than try to undermine them.
Posted to Immigration at 04:54 AM | Comments (2)
Brad Knickerbocker of the CSM: Can you trust his reporting?
Most definitely you can. Assuming that is, of course, that you want heavily biased yellow reportage such as that featured in "Across the country, many mobilize against illegal immigration".
The bottom line of the report seems to be to portray those opposed to illegal immigration as various kinds of bad people. Some of the words and phrases used in the article include: "nativism", "anti-immigrant", "extremist movements", "extreme anti-immigrant sentiment", "conspiracy theories", "opposed to multiculturalism", "[historical] violent reactions to immigrants", and "extremist activities". And, those are words coming from the author; those from the people he quotes are even worse.
One of the "conspiracy theories" is "reconquista". Let's see now. The majority of Mexicans think the U.S. Southwest rightfully belongs to them. And, many U.S. politicians are former members of the racial separatist group MEChA. And, Mexico has come right out and said that sending us people gives them political power inside the U.S. And, their consuls repeatedly interfere in our internal politics. Given those facts and all the others available, should you trust anything Brad Knickerbocker writes?
The article reads less like a simply biased report and more like propaganda designed to smear those opposed to illegal immigration and support those who profit off illegal activity.
Some of those quoted include:
- Mark Pitcavage, "a historian of extremist movements with the Anti-Defamation League and an adviser to law-enforcement agencies." (Here's more on the ADL).
- Devin Burghart of the Center for New Community, "a faith-based human rights organization in Chicago"
- Jean Rosenfeld, of the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion.
- Mark Potok of Southern Poverty Law Center
Please write CSM senior editor Richard Bergenheim and let him know the CSM has lost several credibility points because of this article.
Posted to Immigration at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
Ambassador Tony Garza: "Illegal immigration is a threat to our system of laws"
Antonio "Tony" Garza is our ambassador to Mexico and a close ally of George W Bush. As previously noted ("U.S. Amb. Garza to Mexico: respect our borders and our laws"), either he's playing at being the bad cop, or he's a bit more forthright than our own president. The previous post had some of his quotes from a newsletter he published in response to Mexico's latest temper trantrums, and the report "Mexico's comparison of border fence to Berlin Wall draws U.S. ire" has another quote from the newsletter:
"Illegal immigration is a threat to our system of laws and an affront to the millions around the world, including in Mexico, who play by the rules in seeking to come to the United States."
I have no idea what's going on here, but bear in mind he's very close to our own "American" president.
Posted to Immigration at 11:08 AM | Comments (5)
Ending "catch and release" proving elusive
Remember back in October when DHS head Michael Chertoff promised to end the "catch and release" of OTM ("other-than-Mexican") illegal aliens? C'n'R is the process whereby aliens from Brazil and other countries are given a notice to appear and then never show up. See Chertoff promotes "Temporary Worker Program" at Senate meeting for the details. For follow-up, see Sean Hannity doesn't read this site and "Boob Bait for Bubba".Now - little surprise - comes word that C'n'R is still going on to a certain extent. But, this report does show that - no surprise there either - actually enforcing our laws can have a dramatic effect. And, it shows that word of our policies spreads quickly:
...But in this border town [McAllen, Texas] on the front lines of the efforts to combat illegal immigration, some Border Patrol agents said they continued to face an uphill battle, with too many illegal immigrants and too few detention beds.
In the first three months of the 2006 fiscal year [Oct./Nov./Dec. 2005?], the number of illegal immigrants caught crossing the border from countries other than Mexico surged nearly 30 percent compared with the same period last year, despite hopes that the policy would deter such would-be immigrants.
And, despite the promise of nearly 2,000 additional detention beds to ensure that illegal immigrants do not flee before being deported, thousands of illegal immigrants continue to be released with notices to appear in court.
...The number of illegal Brazilian immigrants apprehended soared last summer but plunged more than 90 percent in the month after the strict detention and deportation policy started. The number of illegal immigrants from Honduras who were caught dropped 33 percent.
Officials remain confident that the policy will be applied across the board by October, as planned.
...A study released last fall by the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, said domestic security officials would still "not have enough beds to accommodate every OTM" this year, even with the added slots. OTM refers to illegal immigrants that are other than of Mexican origin.
Some immigration agents said they fear that the bed shortage will worsen in the spring and summer, when illegal immigrants crossings typically rise. Officials acknowledge that the shortage of detention space has forced them to detain some groups of illegal immigrants, primarily Central Americans, who arrive in the largest numbers, while releasing others.
...The number of people processed through expedited removal increased to 10,607 in the first quarter of this fiscal year, up from 4,227 in the first quarter of last year, official figures show.
Although the number of illegal immigrants released on their own recognizance remains high, it is not as high as last year. In the 2005 fiscal year, 70 percent of illegal immigrants classified as "other than Mexican" were released.
..."When illegal immigrants know they will be caught and sent home promptly," [White House spokesmanErin Healy] said, "theyre going to be less likely to cross the border illegally in the first place."
The president of the union of Border Patrol agents, T.J. Bonner, said many agents remained frustrated.
"Theyre claiming that theyre placing everyone into expedited removal, and that that will solve the problem," said Bonner, who heads the National Border Patrol Council. "The truth is that we simply dont have the detention space to hang on to people in any substantive manner to deter anyone from coming into this country."
...In recent months, some illegal immigrants have begun claiming to be from El Salvador because a court ruling from the 1980s, when civil war wracked El Salvador, requires officials to allow Salvadorans to see judges before deportation. Domestic security officials are trying to change that.
And the shortage of detention space for families has led to an increase in the number of unrelated illegal immigrants who say they are families.
"It filters back," Ed Payan, assistant chief of the Border Patrol station here, said. "They know who is being let go..."
Posted to Immigration at 08:50 AM | Comments (1)
"'Osama's People' Smuggled Into U.S.?"
From this:Court documents in a Brownsville, Texas drug-smuggling case cite a wiretapped telephone conversation by one of the smugglers who said that "Osama's people" are ready to be transported across the Mexican border into the U.S.See also this roundup of recent infiltration reports:
The Brownsville Herald reported earlier this week ["Infiltration from the south feared"]:
"[Paperwork in the case] contains details of a December 2004 incident in which [one smuggler] tried to secure transportation for 20 Middle Eastern 'terrorists' waiting to enter the United States from Monterrey, Chiapas and Puebla in Mexico.
"Recorded telephone conversations authorized under the U.S. Patriot Act and a court order captured the [suspect] referring to the 20 men as 'gente de Osama.'" ["Osama's people"]
..."During a Jan. 5, 2005, telephone conversation, [the smuggling suspect] described the men as 'Iraqis,' ages 25 to 33, who were willing to pay $8,000 for transportation past Border Patrol checkpoints in South Texas and into the U.S. interior.
"[The suspect] mentioned that eight of the men were coming to Progreso, northwest of Brownsville. He said they were 'dangerous' and 'really bad people.' They carried guns and made the smuggler that was helping them 'afraid.'"
FBI officials declined to comment further on the case. But one federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the paper that the men labeled "terrorists” turned out to be illegal aliens from a "nation of concern.”
The FBI declined to say whether "Osama's people" made it across the border or if authorities had apprehended them.
In a December 4 incident that received scant media attention, a Bangladeshi Muslim man named Fakhrul Islam was among a group of 13 illegal aliens arrested near Brownsville, Texas, just across the border from Mexico. Border Patrol agents have said that one of the men detained along with Islam was a member of Mara Salvatrucha, a violent Salvadoran criminal gang with more than 300,000 members across Central and North America, including powerful enterprises in several major U.S. cities.That report apparently appeared in a newspaper called La Jornada.
Posted to Immigration_terror at 04:24 AM | Comments (2)
Newsday's Bart Jones wins award!
This site extends congratulations to Long Island Newsday's Bart Jones over being selected as a co-winner of the Third Annual VDARE.COM Worst Immigration Coverage Award. He was selected for his work on that paper's "Immigration Q&A" column, and his co-author Mae Cheng shares the award.
Note that Jones' news reports have been featured here in the past. While he's shown his not-completely biased side, his reportage has been pretty horrific. For an example, see "Help Bart Jones of Long Island Newsday find the border!"
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 11:23 PM | Comments (1)
"Guest" workers: Mehlman, Bush win; America, GOP lose
The Los Angeles Times reports on the Republican National Committee supporting a "guest" worker scheme in Amid Rifts, GOP Backs Guest-Worker Plan by Peter Wallsten:...Bush aides and senior Republican strategists say that taking a hard-line stance against illegal immigration risks alienating Latino voters, just as California's 1994 campaign for Proposition 187, which GOP then-Gov. Pete Wilson supported, helped turn California into a Democrat-dominated state.So? Ending illegal immigration doesn't imply ending immigration. Perhaps someone should make that point.
...Pullen withdrew his resolution Friday after the full committee voted almost unanimously to side with Bush, urged on by a series of speeches by committee members who said they or their relatives were immigrants...
Cultural conservatives charge that illegal immigrants are taking U.S. jobs. But businesses, another key piece of the GOP donor base, rely on immigrant labor.How many lies can you spot in that one paragraph? Not all "cultural conservatives" oppose illegal immigration, and nowhere near all opponents of illegal immigration are "cultural conservatives". And, those who oppose II have other claims than just taking jobs. And, only a small percentage of businesses rely on "immigrant" labor, with some mainly relying on the illegal variety.
...Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman told reporters that allowing workers from abroad to work legally in the U.S. was the only way to control the flow across the border...Obviously, controlling the flow is well within our grasp. It would, however, take a GOP leadership that wasn't corrupt to its core.
And, the WashTimes offers GOP backs Bush on guest-worker plan by Stephen Dinan:
"The question is not 'Is there an issue?' -- the question is 'How you deal with it?' and I think we have to deal with it in a comprehensive way -- we don't have to deal with it in a way that's anti-immigrant," said party Chairman Ken Mehlman, who said the resolution "reflected where the president was."There are basically only two groups calling moves to stop illegal immigration "anti-immigrant": the Democrats, and the GOP leadership. Obviously, that claim is false. If the GOP leadership weren't corrupt, it would work to show how false that claim is.
Posted to Immigration at 02:11 PM | Comments (2)
Who ordered the release of dozens of League City day laborers? (Julie Myers?)
Did the new head of ICE, Julie Myers, order the release of 72 day laborers - all or most illegal aliens - who were picked up by immigration agents? That's what Debbie Schlussel says.
I also suggest reading the news report, which has been titled "Who ordered arrests of dozens of League City day laborers?" Obviously, they're asking the wrong question. The correct question is finding out who ordered those illegal aliens to be released back into the U.S. One can practically smell the local corruption coming off the page.
UPDATE: From the "Gee, thanks, but, well, it's like this" file comes "[Tom] DeLay: Detainess shouldn't be released". It's written by the same person as the KHOU report, one TJ Aulds. That reporter still seems to be confused about our country's laws, wondering why anyone would want to arrest and deport illegal aliens. And:
DeLay is not likely to find much support for his stance from members of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
A top official with LULAC's district office said he would ask for the local chapter of the organization to investigate.
The Latin American Organization for Immigrant Rights as well as the Progressive Workers Organizing Committee plan to protest in front of the League City police department this afternoon.
David Michael Smith, one of the organizers, said his group is promoting an immigration policy that establishes a process for illegal immigrants to become legal residents.
LULAC supporting illegal immigration? No! As for the "progressive" group, I guess ol' TJ was too busy being confused about someone supporting our laws to sound out their name or visit their site ("If you want socialism, give us a call.")
Posted to Immigration at 06:55 PM | Comments (6)
Republican National Committee supports Bush "guest" worker scheme
From "Republican Divide Over Immigration Keeps Widening":...At their winter meeting in Washington, D.C., RNC members approved a pro-Bush plan resolution by Texas committeeman Bill Crocker. That forced the withdrawal of a resolution against the plan proposed by Arizona committeeman Randy Pullen.The Chamber of Commerce represents America? I - and the vast majority of Americans - beg to disagree.
The Crocker resolution called for a "functional program which will allow workers from other countries to enter the United States to work for a fixed period of time."
It also said such a program must provide "no amnesty" for those here illegally, but did not exclude "legalization," the term favored by immigration proponents.
GOP leaders, including Vice President Dick Cheney, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, lobbied hard for the Crocker resolution and against the efforts of immigration critics...
The RNC vote came a day after a coalition of business and labor groups declared its determination to fight for legalization and increases in foreign workers.
"We have decided that this is a fundamental, essential issue to the future of our economy," said Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"This is not an issue that the fundamental organizations representing our economy, representing society, are going to walk away from," he said...
And, yes, the article has some terminology problems but let's hope the usually sane IBD is just having a bad day. For more similar problems, see the earlier "Immigration Rift in GOP Up for Vote" (also here). For background, see 1/13's "RNC member calls for anti-illegals vote".
Previously: Republican National Committee rejects "amnesty". Again!
Posted to Immigration at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)
A Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law / California State Bar update
As previously discussed, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law is collaborating with the Mexican government on the "Voces Unidas" project.
CHRCL "is generously supported by the California Legal Services Trust Fund", causing me to ask whether state-managed money was being used to help an invading foreign power.
It took a few weeks, but the State Bar has replied to my question and indicates that none of the State Bar's Legal Services Trust Fund's grant money is going towards CHRCL's "Voces Unidas" project:
To qualify for a LSTF grant, a recipient must be either a "qualified legal services project" or a "qualified support center" as described in California Business and Professions Code section 6213. Grant recipients certify that they meet all statutory criteria and that they will spend grant monies in support of qualified legal services projects and restricted to matters directly related to the needs of legal services clients.
Posted to Immigration at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
Republican National Committee rejects "amnesty". Again!
From this:Members of the Republican National Committee waded publicly into the immigration policy debate today, a rare acknowledgement that a consequential glob of the Republican base has revolted against President Bush's influence on the party's immigration platform.Of course, every time that Bush, Chertoff or other administration hacks promote Bush's amnesty scheme they say they oppose amnesty, so the only thing that means is that they're still lying to everyone. No word on whether the Bush-backed scheme includes a "guest" worker plan.
But the author of a resolution that rejected Bush's preference for a legal framework to deal with the millions of undocumented workers living in the U.S. withdrew the measure right before a vote.
Randy Pullen, a RNC member from Arizona, said it was clear that his resolution would fail and he did not want to "put people on the record" against the wishes of the majority of the party.
Still, he said, "it shows we could have a discussion like this."
A different immigration measure, pulled together with the support of the White House, passed overwhelmingly. It included strong language endorsing tougher border security and rejected -- though it did not define -- amnesty for undocumented workers...
Posted to Immigration at 03:07 PM | Comments (1)
Los Angeles City Council approves illegal alien day laborer hiring hall
The municipal entity known as the City of Los Angeles is directly enabling illegal immigration by leasing a section of the parking lot of a new Van Nuys Home Depot from that store. They're paying $1 per year, and a non profit called the Youth Policy Institute will run it. The vote in favor of this was unanimous.
Once again: the City of Los Angeles is directly enabling illegal labor and illegal immigration.
Now, see the entry "Home Depot, Antonio Villaraigosa, Fernando Guerra, and Microsoft" from last June and this entry about City Councilman Ed Reyes.
Home Depot was paying a lobbyist $10,000 per month to lobby the Council concerning their day laborer sites. It appears to have been successful.
Of course, one remedy is for city residents to file suit against the City. Another would be for some intrepid reporter to do a bit of digging on this story and follow the money.
Posted to Los_Angeles at 07:09 AM | Comments (2)
Coalition vows to defeat harsh immigration bill [HR 4437]
From this:A U.S. coalition of business, labor unions and religious groups launched a campaign on Thursday to defeat a bill backed by Republicans that would turn some 11 million illegal immigrants into felons.So far I haven't been able to find out the name or URL of this organization, but if you know please leave a comment.
The coalition of 24 organizations, many of which rarely agree on politics or economics, denounced the bill passed by the House of Representatives last month and called on the Senate to enact legislation to include a guest worker program and a path for illegal aliens to gain legal status.
..."We are extremely disappointed with the proposal that passed the House last month," said Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which represents some 3 million businesses...
...Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, which has 1.8 million members, called for comprehensive reform to take control of the border and provided a way for illegal aliens to gain legal status...
...Other groups joining the coalition include associations representing builders and contractors, health care providers, the hotel and restaurant industries, Latino organizations, farm workers, the American Jewish Committee and Catholic bishops...
And, see this remarkably similar page... from April 21, 2004:
Today, a remarkable alliance of business, labor, religious, ethnic, and immigrant advocacy groups ran a full-page ad in Roll Call, the newspaper of Congress, signaling their support for comprehensive immigration reform... [the groups were:]
*Business: American Health Care Association; American Hotel & Lodging Association; American Nursery & Landscape Association; International Franchise Association; National Council of Chain Restaurants; National Restaurant Association; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
*Labor: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFL-CIO); Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union; Laborers’ International Union of North America; Service Employees International Union; UNITE! (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees); United Farmworkers of America; and the United Food and Commercial Workers.
*Religious: American Jewish Committee; Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service; and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
*Ethnic: Hispanic Alliance for Progress; The Latino Coalition; League of United Latin American Citizens; Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and the National Council of La Raza.
*Immigrant Advocacy: American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Forum.
Posted to Immigration at 05:05 AM | Comments (2)
Patriot Search! launched; one week's searches is a gold mine of info
Only terrorists have something to hide, so from now on I suggest using Patriot Search! instead of Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, or Google. (I added the exclamation mark to their name.)
Regarding the previous entry "Feds want Google search data; got search data from other engines", the motion is in this PDF. Of more interest, the original subpoena, together with a letter from Google's lawyer, is in this PDF.
I wonder how much interesting data mining the government could do with all the web searches even for just a week. How many times, for instance, does the string 'george w bush illegal immigration' come up? What about, for instance, 'mike johanns' (our wonderful secretary of agriculture.
What about, say, 'alberto gonzalez raza'. Wouldn't it be interesting to know how many times people search for that?
What about searches for relationships that the searched names would like to remain secret? For instance, let's say an administration figure had a business (or personal) relationship with some shadowy figure (or sexy intern) thirty years ago. Let's say those two names do not appear together on any web page. In that case, if someone is searching for it, that means that someone else knows...
Oh, the wonderful massaging of the data that could ensue.
Note that AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN are the mystery search engines that complied.
Yahoo! responds!
"We are vigorous defenders of our users' privacy... We did not provide any personal information in response to the Justice Department's subpoena. In our opinion this is not a privacy issue."
As for MSN:
"We did comply with their request for data in regards to helping protect children, in a way that ensured we also protected the privacy of our customers... We were able to share aggregated query data (not search results) that did not include any personally identifiable information, at their request."
Posted to Privacy at 11:45 PM | Comments (1)
Drum Major Institute immigration study discredits all who support it
A "progressive" think tank called the Drum Major Institute ("DMI") recently released a study on immigration. In the study, they advocate for open borders, although it appears they don't realize exactly what the effects of their study would be. Under their plan, we wouldn't deport illegal aliens. Rather, we'd just make sure that they worked under the same conditions as legal workers.
Of course, all the millions of illegal aliens who'd come here to take advantage of this would then either: reduce many more jobs to near minimum wage, or they'd end up unemployed and obtaining welfare benefits, or they'd end up working illegally. Or, all three at various stages.
The study is truly something like a five year old would come up with, and perhaps that explains why it's received favorable mentions from other "progressives".
Here's Mother Jones. See my comment, which I believe is fairly good. (nofollowpolicy)
Another is Katrina vanden Heuvel, the New York elitist editor of the far-left Nation:
For those concerned about human rights, it's easy to see why undocumented immigrants in the United States need legal protection.
Hello, Mr. Orwell! Illegal aliens need legal protection over and above that which they already have: being detained, tried, and/or deported humanely? And, those concerned about human rights shouldn't support illegal immigration, since whenever there's illegal immigration, there is automatically a greatly increased chance of abuse. Of course, if illegal immigration stopped vanden Heuvel's domestic staff might have to spend more on lettuce.
But it's still a challenge to make the case for immigrants' rights to working and middle-class Americans, apprehensive that illegal immigrants are taking their jobs and driving down wages.
Those little people, especially the ones out there in the hinterlands...
Polls suggest that voters from low- and middle-income households are more likely to express anti-immigrant attitudes... ...That means mass deportations and attempts to cut off future immigration are out...
Now, I strongly suggest reading the second comment here from TangoMan. It's a long comment, but he completely eviscerates the DMI's "study". Obviously, the DMI and their supporters have a great deal more thinking to do.
Posted to Immigration at 07:52 PM | Comments (2)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) part of the "Culture of Corruption"?
From "Report: Congressman backed defense project critical to donors":A high-ranking California Republican congressman preserved funding for a defense project critical to a New York investment company that raised more than $130,000 for him, according to a published report Thursday.Here's a little more on Jerry Lewis and illegal aliens and the site firejerrylewis.com.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, who now chairs the House Appropriations Committee, denied wrongdoing in response to the USA Today story. He said he had no knowledge of the connection between the investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and the $8.8 billion project to build a secure computer network for the Navy and Marines until he heard about it from USA Today.
"It is absolutely and unequivocally false to suggest that any decision on funding for the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet was in any way based on a lobbyist's request, or as a favor to someone who was donating campaign funds," Lewis said...
The day after the fundraiser, the House passed Lewis' defense spending bill that preserved funding for the Navy project. The money remained intact in the final House-Senate version of the spending bill that Lewis helped negotiate.
Lewis, meanwhile, was preparing his bid to become House Appropriations Committee chairman - a contest in which fundraising is key. Lewis' Future Leaders PAC gave $407,000 to 69 House candidates in the 2004 election. The Cerberus-related money amounted to nearly a third of that amount.
Lewis told USA Today that Cerberus' fundraising "played a very significant role" in the fact he won the post a year ago...
Posted to Politics at 02:20 PM | Comments (2)
Mexican military incursions: Chertoff downplays, excuses
On Saturday, the Daily Bulletin offered "Mexican soldiers defy border", which reported that:The Mexican military has crossed into the United States 216 times in the past nine years, according to a Department of Homeland Security document and a map of incursions obtained by the Daily Bulletin.Of course, for the past five years they've been "determined to gain control of the border".
U.S. officials claim the incursions are made to help foreign drug and human smugglers cross safely into the United States. The 2001 map, which shows 34 of the incursions, bears the seal of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy...
Kristi Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would not confirm the number of incursions, but said Saturday the department is in ongoing discussions with the Mexican government about them.
"We -- the Department of Homeland Security and the CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) -- are determined to gain control of the border and will continue to collaborate with our partners on the border," Clemens said...
This isn't a new story. On May 13, 2002, WND offered "Mexican official confirms border crossings". In December, "Border Patrol fears conflict with Mexican military".
On Tuesday, the WashTimes offered "Mexican military incursions reported":
The U.S. Border Patrol has warned agents in Arizona of incursions into the United States by Mexican soldiers "trained to escape, evade and counterambush" if detected -- a scenario Mexico denied yesterday.Note also: "[Rep. Rick] Renzi [R-AZ] wants state border patrols, border incursions investigation".
The warning to Border Patrol agents in Tucson, Ariz., comes after increased sightings of what authorities described as heavily armed Mexican military units on the U.S. side of the border. The warning asks the agents to report the size, activity, location, time and equipment of any units observed.
It also cautions agents to keep "a low profile," to use "cover and concealment" in approaching the Mexican units, to employ "shadows and camouflage" to conceal themselves and to "stay as quiet as possible."
Border Patrol spokesman Salvador Zamora confirmed that a "military incursion" warning was given to Tucson agents, but said it was designed to inform them how to react to any sightings of military and foreign police in this country and how to properly document any incursion...
Now comes Michael Chertoff who, according to information and belief, works for the United States as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, being quoted in "Chertoff calls reports of Mexican military incursions overblown":
"I think to create the image that somehow there is a deliberate effort by the Mexican military to cross the border would be to traffic in scare tactics... We have a good relationship with the Mexicans and I think treating this as an alarmist issue that suggests we're in danger of some significant overreaching is not accurate and not helpful."Or, in English: President Bush's handlers are worried that these true reports will lead to restricting the cheap labor pipeline.
According to Chertoff:
"I think we average about 20 a year, and a significant number of those are innocent things where ... police or military from Mexico may step across the border because they're not aware of exactly where the line is."However:
The head of a labor union that represents about 10,500 U.S. Border Patrol agents dismissed Chertoff's remarks as "diplomatic response" to a long-running problem on U.S.-Mexico border.In the WashTimes report, Bonner also points out that Mexico's military, just as ours, has GPS units. No doubt those GPSes are a bit more advanced than the civilian one like the one I have. And, they're probably integrated into a mapping system. And, there are no large trees on the border, and unless you're in a deep ravine, there are no obstructions to block your GPS from receiving a signal.
"It really doesn't surprise me that he's playing the diplomat," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. "This is a guy whose time on the border can be measured in hours, not years."
All of this would be less significant if we could trust that Chertoff and the Bush administration were publicly diplomatic but privately vowing to take decisive action. Based on their past actions, it's obvious that they could care less just as long as the cheap labor keeps flowing.
Posted to Immigration at 04:36 AM | Comments (6)
Feds want Google search data; got search data from other engines
From this:The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases.The feds want "one million random Web addresses" and "records of all Google searches from any one-week period."
The move is part of a government effort to revive an Internet child protection law struck down two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law was meant to punish online pornography sites that make their content accessible to minors. The government contends it needs the Google data to determine how often pornography shows up in online searches.
Google intends to "vigorously" fight the effort, but, as Daniel Brandt informs us, they're a bit "connected". And, way down in paragraph 10 comes this:
The government indicated that other, unspecified search engines have agreed to release the information, but not Google.
Posted to Privacy at 01:07 AM | Comments (1)
Wendy's Chili Finger Finder gets nine years
Anna Ayala, who claimed to have found a severed human finger in a bowl of chili she got at a San Jose Wendy's, has been sentenced to nine years in California prison:
"Greed and avarice overtook this couple and they lost their moral compass," Judge Davila said... [he] also ordered the couple to pay almost $22 million (12.5 million pounds) in restitution but Wendy's officials indicted to the court they would only seek to collect approximately $170,000, representing the wages lost by employees at the San Jose restaurant where working hours were cut back after a downturn in business.
This story was last featured here in: Breaking: Wendy's chili finger settled $50 debt
Posted to Miscellania at 03:32 PM | Comments (1)
George W Bush indicted for crimes against humanity
The "International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration of the United States" has indicted U.S. president George W. Bush for his crimes.
Although the indictments have no legal effect, they will make those on the very far-left feel better. The "International Commission" is sponsored by the "Not in our Name" group, and a partial list of supporters is here.
Without looking, can you guess some of the names?
Here's a partial list:
* Edward Asner
* Michael Avery, president of the National Lawyers Guild and professor, Suffolk Law School
* Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies
* Michael S. Berg, grieving father of Nick Berg killed in Iraq May 7, 2004, and one man for Peace
* Center for Constitutional Rights
* Marjorie Cohn, professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and executive vice president of National Lawyers Guild
* Eve Ensler, playwrite
* C. Clark Kissinger, contributing writer for Revolution and initiator of the Not In Our Name statement of conscience (and a proud member of the Revolutionary Communist Party)
* Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine and author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Back America from the Religious Right
* Barbara Olshansky, deputy legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and author of Secret Trials and Executions
* National Lawyers Guild
* National Lawyers Guild, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
* Not In Our Name Project
* Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and author with Ellen Ray of Guantanamo: What the World Should Know
* Stephen F. Rohde, civil liberties lawyer and co-founder of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
* Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University (because some people really love their animals)
* Gore Vidal
* Cornel West
* Howard Zinn, historian
Get your tickets for the January 20,21,and 22 performances hearings now.
Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 02:20 PM | Comments (1)
Badnarik... for Congress?
In a barely noticed move, libertarian/loony Michael Badnarik is running for Congress in Texas' 10th District. He'll be facing off against Michael McCaul. In our time/space continuum, McCaul is a Republican. The candidate - who only lost the presidential election by many dozens of millions of votes - is embarking on a "listening tour". The district includes such metropoli as Katy, Brenham, Tomball and, just barely, Austin. We wish him and the Libertarian Party luck in whatever dimension they find themselves.
Posted to Politics at 06:00 AM | Comments (3)
Thought Vacuum at the New York Times
The NYT offers the editorial "Immigration Vacuum":
Immigration is a national problem that too many local governments have mistakenly tried to fix.
The problem is mostly concerns illegal immigration. Obviously, there are federal, state, and local laws, and localities are not able to, for instance, suspend federal laws relating to political corruption. See also, for just one example, "'Sanctuary' practice in Houston draws fire". Cities and states can't just pass the buck.
Take Manassas, Va., where the City Council has finally suspended what was clearly an unconstitutional housing ordinance aimed at immigrants, mainly Hispanics. The Council wanted to make it illegal to have too many extra aunts, uncles and cousins in a single residence, although the word was out that Anglo cousins did not have to worry.
Just because it would have affected illegal aliens doesn't mean it was "aimed" at them. If it wasn't being enforced against white people, then there are certainly remedies. Did anyone try to seek remedy? Therefore, can't we assume that the NYT is simply lying? And, many people understand the word "Anglo" as a slur. And, it's certainly something I didn't expect to see coming from the editorial board of the New York Times.
The NYT continue with misrepresentations of two more, using the word "anti-immigrant" along the way. Then, they make the misleading statement that the "immigration system in this country is broken".
Then, the compare HR4437 to "the Know-Nothing anti-Irish movement", and:
But the worst part of the bill makes it a felony to shield or offer support to undocumented immigrants, even unknowingly. So what about the church group that provides shelter, no questions asked, or the woman who drives a neighbor to the store?
For the answer, see "Will HR 4437 cause humanitarian groups to be prosecuted for giving emergency aid to illegal aliens?"
There is simply nothing in the language of this section (one strongly advocated by border-state U.S. attorneys and which actually deals with alien smuggling and related offenses) that says anything that could be reasonably interpreted as an attempt to prosecute someone who gives a meal to an illegal alien or provides emergency health care.
The editorial is, for the most part, just more pro-illegal immigration propaganda from our out-of-touch elites. However, with the "Anglo" crack I think we can definitively say that the New York Times is just on the other side.
Posted to Immigration at 10:22 PM | Comments (3)
A question for Professor Kevin R. Johnson
The titular person is the:"Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Mabie-Apallas Public Interest Professor of Law and Chicana/o Studies Univ. of California, Davis, School of Law". He operates the ImmigrationProf blog, and a few days ago I left a comment at his entry "THE 'PAPER CEILING' -- UNDOCUMENTED YOUTHS FACE BARRIERS AT THE BRINK OF ADULTHOOD (First in a Series)", which contains a report from:
Nick Guroff and Singeli Agnew are freelance writers studying journalism at U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Their reporting is supported by a special James Irvine Foundation grant to develop reporting fellowships for U.C. students and the ethnic media. This is the first in a series of articles on growing up undocumented.The article is what we refer to here as a PIIPP. The comment didn't show up, but since there don't appear to be comments at many other entries, perhaps it's just a technical problem. So, I'll put it here and try sending a trackback. Herewith my comment:
If Fermin gets a tuition discount, it will come at the expense of a U.S. citizen, most likely a Student of Color.
What would you say to that U.S. citizen who had his discount taken away by Fermin, Professor Johnson?
Posted to Immigration at 05:05 PM | Comments (3)
OCRegister columnist Yvette Cabrera gushes over Mexican consul
Orange County Register columnist Yvette Cabrera offers "Consul ready to hear, help 'paisanos'". It's all about Mexican Consul Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro Amieva. It isn't just a puff piece, it's like a huge helium balloon filled with helium, cotton balls, and marshmallows....The cell phone on his hip buzzes constantly. Aides hurry in and out of his office with documents for him to sign. Dozens of people wait patiently outside his office. Yet Ortiz Haro isn't fazed by any of this. He takes a puff from his Red Kamel Lights cigarette, dashes off his signature on the paperwork and then greets the next visitor.OK, now to cleanse your mind, here's a hypothetical question.
..."If only everyone was this efficient," says a content [client] as he shakes the consul's hand on his way out...
...Unlike other consuls, who sometimes have a bureaucratic air about them, Ortiz Haro is easygoing, ready with a quick joke, and puts his fellow Mexicans at ease with his immense knowledge of everything and anything Mexican.
Instead of stuffy ties, he prefers a simple, button-down shirt. His business coat? Draped on his chair. His writing utensil? Not a Montblanc or a Waterman, but a chubby Sharpie.
After spending several days in his office over the past year, I realize that Ortiz Haro is much more than a diplomat...
Let's say that Mexico has invaded Texas and is trying to take it back. Let's say a tense standoff has resulted, and the Americans inside Texas need someone to take a message to American forces outside. It's a top secret message, and if it fell into Mexican hands it would have a devastating impact on the American forces.
Would you trust Yvette Cabrera to deliver that message?
While I wasn't familiar with the author before this piece, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.
Posted to Immigration at 01:57 PM | Comments (5)
LULAC discredits self again with embarassing website
The League of United Latin American Citizens opened a web site in December called weareracist.com. Their idea was to fight back against various Minuteman groups that put up pictures of alleged illegal aliens and the contractors who employed them. Now, they've taken it down. They claim it was because they'd received threats from those who wouldn't identify themselves.
While LULAC's credibility is highly questionable to begin with, this parting shot is particularly hard to believe: making terrorist threats is illegal, and law enforcement agencies are quite adept at finding out who's making them.
There also appears to be a tiny bit of friction between their HQ and their Massachusetts group:
Local LULAC members have said they had no role in creating the Web site, which also showed photos of people in Texas, Virginia and California. But Laura Medrano of Framingham, LULAC’s Northeast regional vice president, said she called the national office and asked them to take down photos of William LaBarge and Mal Schulze. "I asked them to take down pictures of Mr. LaBarge and Mr. Schulze," she said. "They have not intimidated anybody. There is no indication they have ties to white supremacists."
Related: LULAC gets unaccustomed questioning
Posted to Immigration at 08:14 AM | Comments (3)
"Give the land back is a faulty argument"
Conor Friedersdorf of the Beyond Borders offers this editorial about those who claim that the U.S. southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico....Even the worst ideas can endure when they're not directly challenged. At present there are people who earnestly believe the United States owes immigration spots to foreign Latinos to atone for historical sins. As we consider this particular argument, let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the United States did seize the Southwest from Mexico somewhat unfairly. Now consider how arbitrary it would be to undo that particular historical wrong amid the vast sweep of centuries stretching behind us...He goes on, but my argument is much shorter and much more basic: this is now our land no matter how it was obtained. Anyone who works to take it away is automatically declaring themselves an enemy of the United States. In that case, no further argument is necessary.
Posted to Immigration at 04:13 AM | Comments (3)
U.S. Amb. Garza to Mexico: respect our borders and our laws
I don't know exactly how to interpret a recent newsletter from U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza, especially given his past comments. Since he (of course) has close ties to Our Leader, do his statements reflect the Bush administration's thinking? Is he playing the bad cop in some charade? I have no idea.MEXICO CITY- U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza on Friday asked Mexicans to respect America's right to protect its borders and said there has been widespread misinformation about a proposal to extend to border walls and tighten immigration enforcement.And, from March 2005, see: U.S. Amb. Tony Garza: "Reliance on remittances from the U.S. is not a viable economic policy."
In a five-page, more than 2,000-word newsletter released to coincide with the beginning of the new year, Garza wrote about House Bill 4437, which must still be considered by the U.S. Senate but would build 700 miles of additional fences along the U.S.-Mexico border while making illegal entry a felony and enlisting military and local police to help stop undocumented migrants.
"Some have said a border fence violates human rights and have even compared it to the Berlin Wall," Garza said. "Comparisons of proposals to alter our border policies to the Berlin Wall are not only disingenuous and intellectually dishonest, they are personally offensive to me.
"The Berlin Wall was built to keep people trapped inside, and was created by an oppressive authoritarian government," he said. "In stark contrast, our democratically elected government has proposed methods of protecting its own citizenry and enforcing our immigration laws."
...In the newsletter, Garza said the measure "is not an effort to 'close' the U.S. border. Neither is the bill just about fences."
"There is no human right to enter another country in violation of its laws," he said. "Every sovereign state has the right to control the entry of foreigners. Mexico too imposes immigration controls."
..."But we do trust that our neighbors will respect our right to those measures on our own territory," he said, "and will understand the distinction we make between legal and illegal immigration."
Posted to Immigration at 11:25 PM | Comments (2)
Joel McNally of Capital Times offers a five-year-old's view of immigration policy
Madison, Wisconsin's Capital Times is "Wisconsin's Progressive Newspaper." As part of that "progress", columnist Joel McNally has asked one of his five-year-old relatives to write about immigration policy. You can read the results in "Our own Sensenbrenner fights the alien among us".
Since the young 'un isn't named, let's call him "Billy".
Dear Billy:
Congratulations on your first column! However, I believe you don't fully understand this issue, prefering instead to engage in childish name-calling and smearing. For instance, this:
Politicians from states along the Mexican border are so controlled by local fears and racial prejudices they can be downright un-American in proposing vicious, anti-immigrant legislation.
Obviously, Billy, those on the border are on the front lines of an invasion from another country, and that invasion is costing those states a great deal of money and impacting life for all their residents: overcrowded schools, hospitals shutting down, and so on and so forth. Trying to simply blame it on racism is not only wrong, it shows a deep inability to understand these important issues. For just one of the many counterexamples that could be provided, see "Texas' borderland sheriffs: Washington ignores illegal immigration crisis".
I'm going to let your kindergarten teacher correct the rest of your essay, but just to help you out some more, let's look at this:
The bill is so viciously draconian that it is even opposed by such staunchly conservative institutions as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal... You know a congressman is a wild-eyed extremist when he makes President George Bush look temperate...
Ju$t for fun, Billy, I've hidden a $ecret clue in this paragraph that $hould help you under$tand why Bush and those group$ $upport immigration "reform". Can you find it? Very good, Billy!
The paper wants to know what you think, so please do so: tctvoice *at* madison.com.
Previously: I discussed a biased Capital Times news report. And, before then, I wondered whether they were really The Onion in disguise.
Posted to Immigration at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
Horse industry threatened by lack of cheap labor...
...and no one cares.
The article "American Horse Council: Immigration Bill Could Impact Horse Industry" - which is not a joke - presents a stark choice: either we get "comprehensive" immigration "reform", or the "horse industry" might be severly impacted.
So, America, what will it be? Will we have massive legal and illegal immigration and the cheap labor the industry needs, or will we make the horse industry raise wages and perhaps even close down a few racetracks? It's your choice America!
Let's all write ahc *at horsecouncil.org and give them the bad news.
Posted to Immigration at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
LULAC gets unaccustomed questioning
I don't know how many times I've seen articles from the "so-called" "liberal" media featuring unopposed quotes from the League of United Latin American Citizens, MALDEF, NCLR, and similar racial power groups. The "reporters" become even more transcriptionists than usual when dealing with these groups, and I don't think I've ever seen a reporter call them on their obvious lies. On the other hand, those on the American side are frequently asked to respond to the charges of racism leveled by these groups.
The first article that I think I've seen in which the tables are turned is "Hispanic Group Defends Calling Opponents 'Racists'" from CNS News. Reporter Jeff Johnson actually calls Brent Wilkes from LULAC on that organization's BS.
It's truly a stark contrast to the normal pabulum offered by the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other "news" organizations. I'm sending the link to those sources' ombudsmen as an example of the type of reporting that they refuse to do.
Posted to Immigration at 05:35 AM | Comments (0)
Wacky in Waco: lawyer allegedly kidnaps client over fees
A Waco, Texas lawyer allegedly kidnapped a former client who failed to show up in court after she had posted bond. She and three friends allegedly abducted him on his wedding day, handcuffed him, and drove him around while he called friends trying to get the $5000 he owed. Now, the lawyer is charged with kidnapping.
(N.B.: Most lawyers compensate for not being that dumb by being more evil.)
Posted to WackyHumor at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
The Economist thinks divided loyalties are acceptable
The Economist offers a fairly stock article about HR4437 and the fence in the unsigned article "Shots across the border". It contains this highly questionable bit:
Perhaps Mr Fox's biggest mistake has been his failure to lobby effectively over migration on Capitol Hill. Andres Rozental, who heads the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (and is Mr Castaneda's half-brother), notes that this contrasts with the effort made to secure passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, when Mexico used its network of over 40 consulates to lobby Congress. Another unused channel of influence is the one-in-12 people born in Mexico who now live in the United States (see chart). Most are there legally and many are eligible to vote.
Isn't it a bad thing to have millions of voters in a country who can be swayed by a foreign power? Don't we refer to those people as having divided loyalties, and don't we doubt whether those people are not completely patriotic citizens?
In fact, for The Economist's edification, here's the first part of the "Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America":
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen..."
Seems pretty clear-cut to me. Maybe they do things differently where The Economist is from, but over here those who would form part of that "channel of influence" would seem to be in violation of their oath.
Please contact letters *at* economist.com and let them know what you think.
Posted to NAU at 05:34 AM | Comments (1)
New York Times discusses plight of illegal alien, supports union busting
Order a new batch of hankies, because the NYT has a new PIIPP ("pro-illegal immigration puff piece"). It's called "More and More, Women Risk All to Enter U.S." and it's from Lizette Alvarez and John M. Broder. Here's the first paragraph of this specimen:
It took years for Normaeli Gallardo, a single mother from Acapulco, to drum up the courage to join the growing stream of Mexican women illegally crossing the border on the promise of a job, in her case working in a Kansas meatpacking plant for $5.15 an hour.
Like other PIIPPs, it drones on and on informing us of the plight of her and others with whom we're supposed to have sympathy. But, as usual, there are a few things the NYT doesn't discuss.
First, didn't Americans used to do meatpacking jobs for a much higher wage? (See "Tamar Jacoby dissed, discredited"). Of course, that was before illegal aliens were brought in to bust unions and lower American wages.
So, why is the New York Times supporting union busting and lowering wages for low-skilled American workers?
And, another uncomfortable question: did Lizette Alvarez' ethnicity "inform" her coverage?
And, if the Mexican government paid the NYT to promulgate pro-illegal immigration propaganda, how would that differ from this article? Was the Mexican government - or one of our own Fifth Columnist organizations - involved in the genesis of this article in any way? How exactly did the NYT run across Ms. Gallardo? (These questions aren't that far-fetched, at least for the Denver Post).
And, let's consider this:
...a growing number of single women... are coming... to find jobs, send money home and escape a bleak future in Mexico.
Why is that, New York Times? Why is the country of Mexico - a country with more millionaires than Germany - unable to take care of its own people? Has the NYT looked into that, or was it too busy writing articles that Sally Struthers would consider too treacly?
...They come to find work in the booming underground economy...
Is that a good thing? Perhaps the NYT should look into whether that "booming underground economy" is actually having an extremely corrosive effect on our country, undercutting our laws and spreading corruption. What other kinds of underground economies are OK? Will we see weepy articles about streewalkers, pimps, crack dealers, or those who sell illegal animals?
Now, let's look at this bit and see if we notice anything questionable:
[The NYT's victim spent] eight hours at night and committ[ed] $500 to a coyote, she stumbled down a rocky hill near Tucson and broke her ankle. The coyote left her sitting on a nearby highway in the desert, where the Border Patrol eventually found her, took her to a local emergency room and deported her to Nogales, Mexico, the next day... A Mexican immigrant group, Grupo Beta, took her to a Mexican hospital where she was told she needed surgery on her ankle at a cost of 3,000 pesos, or seven weeks' salary. She also owes the friends who gave the coyote $500.
The NYT won't tell you this, but Grupo Beta is funded by the Mexican government. Simply calling them a "Mexican immigrant group" is misleading.
And, note how things changed when the NYT's sympathetic victim crosses the border: she's immediately expected to start paying for things. On our side - the side where the NYT believes that money grows on saguaros - she wasn't asked to pay - or will not pay - for the emergency room visit. On the other side, things aren't quite so generous.
Please write public *at* nytimes.com and suggest they find less biased reporters and editors.
Posted to Immigration_piipps at 09:55 PM | Comments (7)
Massachusetts: no discounted college tuition for illegal aliens
The bill that would have given discounted college educations to illegal aliens in Massachusetts has failed in their House:...The 57-96 defeat was a blow to the Democratic leadership in the House, which had pushed for the bill. Earlier in the day House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, had sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to support the bill.I did my part, pointing out that DiMasi and other Democrats want to take discounted college educations away from U.S. citizens and give them to citizens of other countries who are here illegally.
Moments after the vote, DiMasi said he was disappointed, but said he hadn't pressured lawmakers, calling it a "conscience vote." He said he had promised supporters he would schedule a vote, but left it up to them to round up support.
"It wasn't an issue I was out trying to garner support for," DiMasi said in an interview in his office. "I was fully aware it was an uphill battle."
DiMasi said he didn't think the public fully understood the issue...
Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, blamed the defeat on "fear and misinformation" by the Romney administration. He said supporters will try again next year.Well, hopefully we'll start enforcing our immigration laws, depriving both Noorani and the Democrats of much of their base.
"This is not an issue that is going to go away and we are not a community that is going away," he said.
UPDATE: The Boston Globe licks their wounds here. What a wonderfully emotional photo they provide. In fact, almost all the arguments in favor of this involve emotionalism rather than reason.
Posted to Immigration at 09:47 AM | Comments (1)
House majority leader: John Boehner or Roy Blunt?
I believe Boehner is less of an insider than Blunt, however this is more important:Rep. John A. Boehner's vote last month against a bill cracking down on illegal immigration is sending "tremors" through the House Republican Conference as the Ohio lawmaker pushes his candidacy for House majority leader...Not convinced? This will do it:
...Mr. Blunt, the acting House majority leader, voted for last month's crackdown on illegal immigration and a 2004 amendment that said local law-enforcement officials should be allowed to report illegal aliens to federal authorities. He also voted against a 2002 bill that was termed a mini-amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens under Section 245(i) of the immigration code.
Mr. Boehner voted the opposite way each time, to the chagrin of those seeking more limits on immigration.
"I know how he feels about the issue -- he is absolutely opposed to what we are trying to accomplish," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican and the leader of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus...
Angela Kelley, deputy director of the pro-guest-worker and pro-legalization group National Immigration Forum [also see this], said Mr. Blunt recently has seemed to become tougher on illegal immigration.
She had a different opinion of Mr. Boehner. Although she said the Ohioan hasn't come out as a champion of legalization like Arizona Republican Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, she added that this "doesn't mean he couldn't be."
"He's also not in the Tancredo camp, so I have great hope for him if he comes out on top," she said.
Posted to Immigration at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)
California Democrat Gil Cedillo re-introduces driver's licenses for illegal aliens bill
As surely as Winter follows Fall, Gil Cedillo has introduced SB 1160, which would give driver's licenses to those who are in California illegally. SB1160 is identical to last year's SB60.
Schwarzenegger's press secretary says his opposition to this bill remains.
Most of the illegal aliens who'd get licenses under this bill are of the same race as Cedillo, who's a former member of the racial separatist group MEChA. In a long-forgotten interview, Cedillo said we should give DLs to IAs because "they were here first".
Despite all that, we're supposed to believe this bill is about "public safety".
In the press conference, "One Bill Gil" reorganized his bilingual talking points to highlight to the Spanish audience Arnold's recent motorcycle accident. Arnold might not have had the proper license endorsement. Somehow, Cedillo thinks that's supposed to make him sympathetic to the plight of those who snuck over our borders.
One of the interesting and somewhat unexpected subtexts of the article is that Cedillo might be an embarrassment to the Democratic Party, especially to those who are running for statewide office.
I have to disagree (wink, wink). I think Gil Cedillo is a perfectly fine Democrat, and one that the national Democratic Party should be proud of (wink, wink). In fact, I suggest making him the poster child for the national Dems. He truly is the heart and soul of the modern Democratic Party, and the more Americans who know about his quest the more they'll love that party.
Please do your part to help everyone in America get to know our fine California Democrats like Cedillo, Fabian Nunez, and Antonio Villaraigosa.
Posted to Immigration_dls at 04:29 AM | Comments (1)
Barely coherent Bush speech shows he can't and won't do his job
America's president spoke in Louisville KY earlier today, and the transcript is here. That link goes to his immigration-related remarks, and rather than concentrating on all the lies and canards, the easier thing would be to try to find anything in that section that's true. I'm still looking...
Can anyone locate anything in there that doesn't sound like it was said by a six-year-old? Is there anything in there that isn't fundamentally a lie?
For just one example, let's look at this:
Part of making sure that immigration policy works is you hold employers to account, but how can you hold them to account when they're being presented with forged documents?
Now, see "Employers can verify social security numbers electronically". It's a voluntary program that only a small number of employers use. Surely, Bush could have presented that as a way for employers to verify who's applying for a job, right? Perhaps he could even have gotten behind making it a mandatory program. Of course, he did not do that.
Bush also tried to draw an analogy between illegal immigration and Prohibition. Obviously, there's quite a large difference between a person who works for a large corporation and a bottle of whiskey that's traded under the table. One is a long-term relationship out in the open and involving a party who presumably follows our other laws. The other is a shadowy transaction involving parties who might not even know one another. There's very little similarity between the two.
Bush has made it clear that he's not qualified to be president of the U.S. and that he has no intention of doing the job he swore to do.
Posted to Immigration at 09:02 PM | Comments (2)
How out of touch is Morton Kondracke?
MorTON! offers "Bush Must Talk Sense To Republicans On Immigration". He starts with a bad title and goes downhill: the ones who need sense are Bush's handlers and the corrupt elites that favor massive illegal immigration.Believe it or not, Morton wants Bush to co-opt Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt and Laura Ingraham, so that those fine hosts can then turn around and explain the wisdom of Bush's plans to the great unwashed out there beyond the beltway. Unfortunately, Kondracke doesn't discuss what those hosts would do when their ratings started to plummet.
And, he can't even tell his amnesty schemes apart:
...Bush tilted right himself... declaring opposition to "amnesty" for illegals... ...but business and pro-immigrant groups are concerned that the bill will contain a provision sponsored by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would require workers to return to their home countries after their six-year work visas expire... That would disrupt employment patterns and family life and discourage illegals from reporting for work permits in the first place.Actually, the Cornyn/Kyl scheme requires the workers to go back to their countries and then register. It's Bush's "temporary" worker scheme that says they have to leave after six years. Therefore, Morton just called into question Bush's scheme.
Immigration restrictionists denounce the McCain-Kennedy provision as "amnesty," but it's really a recognition of reality: There are 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and it would be far more efficient to concentrate law enforcement resources on finding and expelling criminals among them than trying to corral them all...Now, for the truth, see "GAO: ICE all but ignores workplace enforcement".
...It's up to Bush to avoid stalemate - and there are lots of good arguments he can use to pull his party together. On the merits, he can show that enforcement-only immigration policy simply doesn't work. According to the Migration Policy Institute, overall spending on immigration enforcement increased from $1 billion in 1985 to $4.9 billion in 2002. Appropriations for the border patrol went up tenfold, and the number of agents rose eightfold. Yet, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, the number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. has averaged from 480,000 to 660,000 and a total of 9 million have entered since 1990.
Kondracke goes on to quote the National Immigration Forum and suggest that Bush should work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And, he plays the "Hispanic Vote" card.
But, wait, there's more work for me to do:
...Anti-immigrant campaigns don't win. In Southern California, Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the much-publicized Minutemen Project, a civilian border-control group, got only 25 percent of the vote and finished third...The Kilgore race appears to have hinged on something else. As for Gilchrist, Mort completely distorts the significance of that 25%. For instance, on election day, Gilchrist seems to have gotten more votes than Campbell.
And former Virginia Attorney Gen. Jerry Kilgore (R) lost to Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) despite ads that attacked Kaine's support for a day-labor site in suburban Herndon and education for immigrant children. The ad concluded, "What part of illegal doesn't Kaine understand?"
Then, he says:
Currently, the 2006 favorite [for prez of Mexico] is former Mexico City Mayor Andres Lopez Obrador of the left-wing PRD party - someone who's likely to get financial assistance from Venezuela's radical President Hugo Chavez and, if elected, could pursue economic policies that cause a surge in illegal immigration.Even more than Bush and Fox have managed to do? While I'm sure he would drive MX even further down, he might also shake things up a bit. And, he certainly wouldn't be as chummy with our "American" president as Fox has been. Plus, we'd probably see Mexico's plans a bit more clearly with someone else at the helm. I'm not in favor of Obrador, but if he won it would have some advantages that another Pepsi executive type would not have.
Then, Mort trots out the poll discussed in "FAIR Responds to Sham Immigration Poll" and Immigration "news" from the Wall Street Journal. And, he ends with this:
Doing the right thing is win-win for Republicans, if only Bush can convince Sean Hannity.Hannity might be an idiot, but I'm sure he isn't stupid. I'm sure he doesn't want to be reduced to being the night jock on a Fargo Oldies station. Perhaps Bush should learn from him, instead of the other way around? After all, Hannity actually knows what most of the public wants, unlike the Bush administration and Beltway hacks.
Posted to Immigration at 11:12 AM | Comments (4)
"Mexico Demands U.S. Allow More Immigration"
This AP report would be funny if it weren't so likely to be made fact by our "American" president:Diplomats from Mexico and Central America on Monday demanded guest worker programs and the legalization of undocumented migrants in the United States, while criticizing a U.S. proposal for tougher border enforcement...Question: if president Bush wasn't "all hat and no cattle", what would he do? What would, say, Eisenhower or Reagan have done when faced with these "demands"?
..."There has to be an integrated reform that includes a temporary worker program, but also the regularization of those people who are already living in receptor countries," Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said...
Posted to Immigration at 01:43 AM | Comments (4)
Hogai Nassery, AJC, Georgia SB 170, and muddled thinking
Dr. Hogai Nassery is a physician practicing in Chamblee, Georgia and she offers "State can't pass law, deny care to noncitizens" about that state's Senate Bill 170, which is similar to CA's Prop. 187 and Arizona's Prop. 200. As far as I know, it only deals with illegal aliens and not all non-citizens, thus the title is highly misleading. It starts out with this:
I planned to write about all of the pragmatic reasons to provide equal access to health care regardless of immigration status. The obvious reasons are that it's less expensive to provide prenatal care for an undocumented woman than to provide medical care for her premature infant and it's more economical to regulate a man's high blood pressure than to take care of him after a massive stroke.
If those people weren't here in the first place, the Mexican government would be forced to pay for them, and we wouldn't have to choose. That's the best way to deal with this issue. We bring that about by restricting services to illegal aliens, not by giving them more benefits. Remember: if you give people benefits, they'll not only stay, they'll bring their friends.
So, the good doctor is proposing something that will further increase Georgia's population of illegal aliens. It would be nice if she'd come right out and say that, but I'm sure most of her readers realize that.
After trying and failing to pull on our heart strings, she says:
Maybe one day, when our economy is less dependent on the undocumented labor force, the share of the pie that goes to their health care and education will diminish. For now, they are here because we hire them, and if you ask any South Georgia farmer or Atlanta contractor, they will tell you we need them.
Perhaps they should be paying for their healthcare then. Back in the slave days - or serf days in other countries - the plantation owners took care of all their workers' needs. Nowadays, they're able to pass the costs on to everyone else. Not only that, they've got a veritable army of useful idiot "liberals" to help them with their scheme.
Posted to Immigration at 05:13 PM | Comments (1)
More on the National Day of Protest against illegal immigration
The LAT offers "Rallies Draw Dueling Protesters in Clashes Over Illegal Immigration" and the OCRegister feathers in with "Protests resume in Laguna Beach". There are a large number of pictures from various protests here and here.
Please leave a comment if you see anything of particular interest in any of those links.
Posted to Immigration at 02:02 PM | Comments (2)
Dead souls in Minnesota
Apparently literary references are too high-brow for the Pioneer Press, otherwise they would have snuck one into the article "Illegal workers create ID crisis: Meatpacking towns say fake identities can create 'ghost' population". It's about all the fake IDs that those "good-hearted" workers use. Of course, that same fake ID infrastructure could be used by terrorists, but we don't need to worry about that: president Bush is taking care of that too.
Posted to Immigration at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
Will HR 4437 cause humanitarian groups to be prosecuted for giving emergency aid to illegal aliens?
The WashTimes punctures the latest "liberal" myth:In an apparent effort to kill any immigration reform bill in the Senate, open-borders advocates have gone to the P.R. playbook and come up with an old standby: trying to scare people into falsely believing that the Bush administration and the evil House Republicans are trying to persecute priests and nurses who provide humanitarian help to an illegal immigrant.Supporters of illegal immigration lied? What's the world coming to, I tells you.
The New York Times published a news story on the subject last week that read like a brief for the pro-legalization side. "Churches, social service agencies and immigration groups," the Times reported, are rallying in opposition to H.R. 4437...
The Times warned darkly that the bill "would broaden the nation's immigrant-smuggling law so that people who assist or shield illegal immigrants would be subject to prosecution. Offenders, who might include priests, nurses or social workers, could face up to five years in prison. The proposal would also allow the authorities to seize some assets of those convicted of such a crime." Moreover, the bill "could also subject the spouses and colleagues of illegal workers to prosecution."
...So, in the interest of accuracy, here are some relevant facts about Section 202 of the House-passed legislation, the section targeted by the bishops and the New York Times: There is simply nothing in the language of this section (one strongly advocated by border-state U.S. attorneys and which actually deals with alien smuggling and related offenses) that says anything that could be reasonably interpreted as an attempt to prosecute someone who gives a meal to an illegal alien or provides emergency health care. But the section does clearly address a very serious topic in a serious way: It substantially increases penalties for criminal smuggling rings who bring illegal aliens into the United States for commercial gain...
Posted to Immigration at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)
Dania Akkad of Monterey Herald warns: crops may rot in fields
Today's "crops might rot in the field if we don't get enough cheap illegal labor" article is offered by Dania Akkad of the Monterey Herald in "Farmworker shortage leaves growers fearing for crops".
Previously in this series of propaganda: "More fretful farmers whining for you to pay for their labor". See also Skagit County: ripped off by Mexico, growers, racial demagogues, "liberals" and "Jon Vessey, crops rotting in the fields, and pro-illegal immigration propaganda".
Should you trust anything you read in the Monterey Herald? I didn't think so.
Posted to Immigration at 08:48 AM | Comments (2)
Denton County [Texas] Democratic Party supports illegal immigration
As a whole, the Democratic Party supports illegal immigration. The various chapters of that organization do as well.
For the specific case of the Denton County Democratic Party, they attended the "National Day of Protest" against illegal immigration... on the other side:
The three dozen people opposing the Minutemen's protest Saturday included members of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Denton County Democratic Party, North Texas for Justice and Peace, Anti-Racist Action and Peace Action Denton.
Previously we had news of the San Diego and Hidalgo County (Texas) chapters of that Party having links to extremists.
LULAC was also mentioned in Costa Mesa passes local immigration enforcement law; "liberals" protest.
Until they decide to get smart and support America, remember: the Democratic Party supports illegal immigration.
Posted to Immigration at 04:38 AM | Comments (2)
Deepak Chopra, COINTELPRO agent?
Is Deepak Chopra a COINTELPRO agent? If not him, what about other New Age gurus and gurettes? Has someone dressed in black "gotten to" Shirley McClain?
Those questions and many others went through my mind as I scanned the first part of the very long post "How to Spot COINTELPRO Agents". The part that I read posits that the New Age religion was started by the government as a form of mind control and to make discussion of UFOs a fringe subject.
Of course, I don't believe a word of that, and I quickly lavaged my mind of all such bad thoughts.
The same author thinks that the Above Top Secret website (abovetopsecret.com) is run by "sp00ks".
Of course, that's all just crazy talk.
OPCEN 15 983 AOX 212 FRANCE OP 28 28 28 AUTH 17
Posted to Miscellania at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)
"Linda Chavez Cleans Up With Cheap Labor"
From 2002 comes this column about Linda Chavez. The column points out that she's a director of ABM Industries, Inc. (According to her bio, she still is).
ABM is a very large janitorial firm. Apparently they are or were very stringent about checking the legal status of their workers, and good for them. However, the column wonders whether that helps explain in part why she is more or less a cheap labor pimpette. It could be something else, of course.
Posted to Immigration at 10:15 PM | Comments (1)
Michael R. Blood / AP biased report on "National Day of Protest"
The AP reports on the "National Day of Protest" against illegal immigration in the Drudge-linked "Few Drawn to Illegal Immigration Protests" by Michael R. Blood. The very first paragraph contains a highly misleading statement:
Illegal immigration protests organized across the country Saturday drew small numbers, and some were outnumbered and out-shouted by those who support immigrant rights.
Actually, since the protests were against illegal immigration, those on the other side were protesting for rights for illegal immigrants. Based on my coverage of similar protests, I also wonder whether that's a fair characterization of those on the other side. They seem to be a bit... extreme, such as carrying banners claiming that the U.S. is actually part of Mexico and the like. Then, there's this:
But [Joseph Turner of Save Our State]'s group in Glendale was surrounded by more than 100 drum- beating supporters who chanted, "Racists go home." The two groups traded shouts and obscene gestures for more than an hour. One man was arrested for assault, police said.
The arrestee seems to have been from the other side. Not only that, Turner claims that the Glendale PD did not try to separate the two groups, and that those on the other side agree that's a bad thing to do. He also says that a police officer made the following statement during the protest:
We cannot make it too easy for you guys. If we make it easy (i.e. allow us to peacefully assemble and exercise our first amendment rights), you guys will keep on coming back and we do not want to be out here doing this stuff. He then added, we would rather you guys went to Alhambra.
Unfortunately, SOS doesn't seem to "get it". The point is to make the other side - and their enablers and supporters - look bad. You do that by completely documenting the other side's activities and not falling for their provocations. Then, you get the word out, applying lawyers as necessary. I mean, he had the AP right there, perhaps he should have tried to get them to write a non-biased report, documenting exactly how they failed to get the real story. Where is that? Where are the concise press releases that have been vetted by a lawyer?
Back to the AP's non-coverage:
In Framingham, Mass., near Boston, a small group protesting illegal immigration was met by a much larger group of counter-demonstrators, some of whom surrounded them and temporarily disrupted the protest.
I'd like to know a bit more about what sounds like a far-left attempt to stifle free speech, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, that's not the kind of news reporting the AP has in mind. And:
In Danbury, Conn., about 50 people calling themselves the Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control spent about two hours chanting and holding signs that read "Arrest Illegal Employers." Several dozen people held a counterprotest across the street.
As the link shows, they have a website and everything, so "calling themselves" seems to diminish the fact that they seem to be a real organization.
Write feedback *at* ap.org and ask them to cover this issue in a bit more depth and with a bit less bias.
Posted to Immigration at 01:07 PM | Comments (2)
Karen E. Crummy of Denver Post confused about "American" concept
The DP reports on 1/7's "National Day of Protest" against illegal immigration in "Immigration dispute flares at center". It includes this unbelievable paragraph:
The illegal immigrants, said Eric Tavares, have taken jobs away from "real" Americans.
Memo to the Denver Post: illegal aliens are not Americans, they are by definition citizens of another country. While there's the possibility they only put that in quotes because Tavares said that, isn't it correct? And, isn't it highly misleading to include it in quotes like that? In any case, an editor should have caught that and made clear what Tavares was saying, and what the DP itself was saying.
Of course, things like this shouldn't be a surprise based on the DP's history. In 2002, they collaborated with the Denver Mexican Consulate on a front-page PIIPP. More on that incident here, here, and here.
Previously:
Denver Post, Bill Owens immigration proposal will make you laugh out loud
Cindy Rodriguez
The Denver Post's sloppy journalism
"Immigration excuses need some work"
Posted to Immigration at 12:48 PM | Comments (2)
Will Massachusetts sell out Americans for $5.7 million?
The Boston Globe gleefully reports on a new study showing that allowing illegal aliens to get discounted college educations at Massachusetts colleges would generate $5.7 million in new revenue by 2009: Tax lobby sees gain in tuition proposal by Raphael Lewis.
The study is from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which is described a "nonpartisan, nonprofit group" and a "business-backed watchdog group". But, it has two major flaws.
First, in paragraph 16, we're informed that:
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation study concluded that the legislation here would create virtually no costs for the state because, by 2009, only 530 to 660 such students would take advantage of it.
Would the MTF, the Boston Globe, or the politicians who support this provide a bond to the state that would pay for any number of illegal aliens over that unbelievably low amount? I doubt it.
The second flaw is much more serious. The report did not wade into the social and political questions generated by the legislation. Those are quite substantial, and even in the unlikely event that we believe the financial conclusions of the study, they are much more important than any amount of money.
This legislation will literally put a lower value on some U.S. citizens than on some illegal aliens. Massachusetts will be giving a discount to some illegal aliens, and will be refusing to give such discounts to some U.S. citizens. Citizenship will have a lower value than simple residency.
This is especially alarming coming from a state with such a historical background and importance in American history.
If you live in Massachusetts, please visit appearances by the politicians who support this and try to publicly ask them why they want to take discounts away from U.S. citizens and give them to citizens of other countries. Perhaps you could bring along a history book and suggest they refresh their memory on this whole "United States" thing.
Posted to Immigration at 02:40 AM | Comments (2)
Mexican politicians to lobby U.S. Senators
Mexican senators and representatives are forming a united front to lobby the U.S. Senate to support "comprehensive" immigration "reform". Please write your Senators and tell them you'll be watching how they respond.
Posted to Immigration at 06:40 PM | Comments (2)
Democratic Underground Thread of the Week
This "TOTW" is indeed pathetic. It concerns the Sago Mine miners and the notes they wrote. Considering the source, can you guess the title? I'll bet you can come close.
Posted to Miscellania at 04:44 AM | Comments (0)
Boffins: Star Trek gobbledygook might become reality
The U.S. government is looking into a scheme that would use a huge magnetic field to propel a spaceship into an alternate dimension, enabling a trip to Mars in three hours and a trip to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days.
The US air force has expressed an interest in the idea and scientists working for the American Department of Energy - which has a device known as the Z Machine that could generate the kind of magnetic fields required to drive the engine - say they may carry out a test if the theory withstands further scrutiny.
(Lonewacko comments: The Z Machine is currently used to control the weather, hurricanes, and the like).
Professor Jochem Hauser, former chief of aerodynamics at the European Space Agency and a physicist at the Applied Sciences University in Salzgitter, Germany says:
"NASA have contacted me and next week I'm going to see someone from the [US] air force to talk about it further, but it is at a very early stage. I think the best-case scenario would be within the next five years [to build a test device] if the technology works."
Posted to Miscellania at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
"Dirty" Harry Reid urges Earthlings to accept new masters
Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid, new spokesman for the Alpha Centaurians, speaks to reporters while one of that civilization's 'War Birds' hovers over his head. Reid urged Earthlings not to be speciesists and to cooperate with the Centaurians' plans for the planet.
Posted to WackyHumor at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
Difficulty of obtaining Technorati rank makes service almost worthless
Dear Technorati:
I have absolutely no idea why you removed the numbers next to each citation showing that blog's Technorati rank, i.e., the number of inbound links that you say that blog has.
For various reasons this information is invaluable and it needs to be visible in each blog's citation. Making someone click a link in order to get that number won't work, since I use those numbers to scan for Important Bloggers and to filter out splogs and blogs with almost no popularity.
Accordingly, please add that back in. There is no reason why that should be computationally expensive. Simply cache the number and compute them during your off-hours; they don't change that often. Other schemes are possible depending on how your system works, but I cannot imagine why you wouldn't show information you already have.
UPDATE: It has come to our attention that you can mouse over one of the images to get this information, so they are indeed displaying this information, they're just doing it in a highly-unusable way that doesn't work in my version of Firefox. I want to be able to immediately see that information, I don't want to have to mouse over - and use a different browser or version - in order to see that.
Posted to Bloggage at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
Julie Myers now head of Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Bush has made several recess appointments, including Julie Myers to head the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE or BICE).
Almost everyone agrees that she has no real qualifications for the job.
However, she is eminently qualified in Bush administration terms:
* she's the niece of Air Force Gen. Richard Myers
* she worked for Michael Chertoff when he was at the Justice Department
* she's now married to his current chief of staff.
Announcement here: whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060104-3.html
Myer's proud father-in-law comments here: dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=5325
"I am pleased that the President has appointed Julie Myers as Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement... Julie and Tracy have consistently demonstrated that they possess the experience, judgment and determination necessary for these demanding positions. They have my trust and full support, and I look forward to their contributions to the department's mission."
Debbie Schlussel comments here.
Previously: "Will Julie Myers get a recess appointment?"
Posted to at 10:05 AM | Comments (3)
CASA of Maryland worried Sensenbrenner bill will shut their day laborer centers
In case you had any doubts about HR 4437, this might slightly allay them:Kim Propeack, spokeswoman for CASA of Maryland Inc., said her group's day-laborer centers "and other worker centers would in a large part be forced to shut down" if a bill offered by U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. becomes law...I guess that means some of their workers are not "documented", so I guess they do have something to fear. Too, too bad.
..."The majority of workers that use CASA centers are documented, but we will not become a pawn in the government's failed immigration laws," Miss Propeack said...
Cecilia Munoz, vice president of policy for the National Council of La Raza, the country's largest Hispanic advocacy group, called the bill "shortsighted and harmful."Oh, well. I guess other laws would then come into play. Alternatively, perhaps the illegal day laborers will head to more "liberal" cities or even decide that being an illegal alien here is not such a good thing.
"The whole point of day-labor centers is to organize and make orderly a process which people in communities have complained about," she said.
"So by banning it effectively, the Sensenbrenner bill would really foster disorder in communities that have day laborers."
Propeack was also mentioned in "Maryland to be sued over driver's licenses; AP not telling whole truth" and "Purging illegal aliens from voter rolls not easy".
Posted to Immigration at 09:46 PM | Comments (4)
Ruben Navarrette Jr. defends his friend, Rob Allyn
I'm not surprised to learn that San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a friend of Rob Allyn, the Dallas PR consultant who's been hired to spread Mexican propaganda in the U.S.
...Mexican President Vicente Fox tapped my friend, Dallas-based political consultant Rob Allyn, to be Mexico's goodwill ambassador... ...Suddenly, the Republican strategist is being inundated with angry and insulting e-mails, calls and nasty comments posted on Web logs. Immigration restrictionists are threatening to picket Allyn's office and asking that "patriots" boycott his firm. One zealot wrote Allyn demanding that the consultant "register as a foreign alien agent" and calling him "disgusting and treasonous."
Obviously, it's not difficult for many to consider him a traitor, even if he doesn't meet the legal definition.
But, as far as the Foreign Agent bit, perhaps Navarrette might want to look at the DOJ's FAQ:
The purpose of FARA [the "Foreign Agents Registration Act"] is to insure that the American public and its law makers know the source of information (propaganda) intended to sway public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, the FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S... ...An agent of a Foreign principal is any individual or organization which acts at the order, request, or under the direction or control of a foreign principal, or whose activities are directed by a foreign principal who: ... 2. acts in a public relations capacity for a foreign principal...
Obviously, Allyn would seem to be required to register as a FA, if he hasn't already. Anyone who interviews Allyn should ask him his status just so we know who we're listening to. Why do you think Navarrette would downplay that serious question?
See also LULAC criticizes Mexico's pro-illegal immigration propaganda, "New York Times' Simon Romero does Rob Allyn's work for him", and "Mexico agitating international community, Fifth Columnists against U.S."
Posted to Immigration at 01:37 PM | Comments (2)
Costa Mesa passes local immigration enforcement law; "liberals" protest
Last month, Costa Mesa, in California's Orange County, passed a resolution allowing their police to help enforce federal immigration laws. The resolution appears to only cover those arrested for other crimes. And, it only passed 3 to 2.Those who voted for it were Mayor Allan Mansoor and council members Eric Bever and Gary Monahan.
Voting against it were council members Linda W. Dixon and Katrina Foley. The council's switchboard is at (714) 754-5285 if you want to ask them why.
Despite - or because of - the commonsense nature of the resolution, on Tuesday there was a protest:
About 80 activists massed before Tuesday's council meeting, singing in Spanish and carrying hand-painted signs reading "Nobody Is Illegal" and "[Mayor Allan Mansoor] Is a Bigot." Other signs proclaimed the United States the property of Mexico and Americans as the interlopers.The Jean O. Pasco article ends with this:
"We demand a reversal of the agreement," said Coyotl Tezcalipoca of the Tonantzin Collective, a pro-immigrant group.Since that's from the L.A. Times, you might expect them to have left a few things on the editing room floor. So, let's turn to "Arrest disrupts Costa Mesa council meeting":
A City Council meeting broke into chaos Tuesday night as police forcefully arrested immigration-rights activist Coyotl Tezcalipoca after he refused to leave the chambers. He was charged with disrupting an assembly and obstructing an arresting officer, police said.Jim Gilchrist was there also, and he also asked his supporters to stand up and Mansoor didn't object. However, there's a chance that that had less to do with bias on Mansoor's part than the presumed tone of "Coyotl"'s suggestion.
...After accusing the council majority of trying to rid Costa Mesa of Mexicans and vowing that he and other members of Tonantzin Collective, an immigration rights group, would never allow that to happen, Tezcalipoca asked his supporters to stand up.
Mayor Allan Mansoor told him not to, but Tezcalipoca, 25, urged supporters to stand up anyway. Mansoor informed him that his time to speak was over, citing a 7 p.m. cut-off time for public comments.
Tezcalipoca refused to stop speaking, and police officers approached him and asked him to leave. He refused.
When the officer grabbed his arms, Tezcalipoca demanded that they stop touching him.
Police Chief John Hensley then ordered the officers to take Tezcalipoca outside. Tezcalipoca, also known as Benito Acosta, strongly resisted, and the officers dragged him out.
The crowd of supporters closely surrounded the five police officers, who were all trying to control Tezcalipoca, and demanded that they let him go.
The council meeting resumed about 30 minutes later...
There's a surprisingly balanced report with a large number of pictures here: la.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/143249.php
Note this bit:
Groups that made a presence include Tonantzin, Alianza Indigena-Indigenous Alliance, the Orange County LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Foundation, at least one Anarchist, and various individuals. There was also an A.N.S.W.E.R. protest sign held by a protester.However, the best picture is here: la.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/143224_comment.php#143247
It include "Coyotl" with a "We are Mexican [not Hispanic or Latino]" sign in the background, complete with the flag of their country. As could be expected, there's also a report with claims of brutalization: la.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/143246.php
Posted to Immigration at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
Democrat Enrique Morones: "U.S. in no position to advise Mexico"
Please read this segment of a letter to the editor and try to guess the writer's political affiliation:
The credibility of the Union-Tribune is less than zero when it does everything possible (in two languages) to discredit and slam Mexico every chance it gets. Once the United States stops exporting the demand for drugs (80 percent of the world's illegal drugs consumed by Americans), ruining the environment (35 percent of world environmental damage is caused by the United States and U.S. companies), stops helping to create terror (Bush policies have created more terror cells than ever), stops taking from the world (the United States consumes 30 percent of the world's natural resources) and continues to meddle in the world with a total disregard for human rights and so much more, then and only then can the United States or the Union-Tribune even consider giving advice to other countries... For now, impeach Bush and let's honor world treaties, starting with treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed after the United States Mexico and took half its territory.
Yes, you're right! Enrique Morones is a Democrat, or at least he co-hosts "True Blue Radio", which is "the San Diego County Democratic Party's very own talk radio show".
He also lead protests against the Minuteman Project.
Check out some of the pro-Morones reports to see what type of people the Democrats are involved with.
Posted to Immigration at 01:02 AM | Comments (3)
AV Press: "Citizens suing state over illegals' tuition"
The Antelope Valley Press (CA) has a commonsense editorial about discounted college educations for illegal aliens here. Backstory in "Class action lawsuit filed against California giving tuition discounts to illegal aliens".
Posted to Immigration at 05:37 PM | Comments (1)
