2004 Immigration News Archives Digest
This is a summary of each post only. The numbers in parenthesis after each entry are the number of comments and number of trackbacks.
For the full archive (large file), click
here.
December 31, 2004
Dan Stein of FAIR has a guest editorial about the impact of illegal immigration on California here: ...One week after his re-election, President Bush dusted off an immigration proposal first made in January 2004 that proved to be so wildly unpopular with voters that it was not only pulled off...
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December 30, 2004
BusinessWeek: [...Describes an anti-illegal immigration group in Utah...] GOP activists such as Sears spell trouble for George W. Bush. As the President woos Hispanic voters with Cabinet appointments, political appeals, and immigrant-friendly policies, a rebellion is bubbling up through his party's ranks. The reason: The influx of illegals is hitting...
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December 29, 2004
From this: A state Board of Education member says students studying immigration should learn about the effect illegal immigrants have on crime rates, education costs and language barriers... As one might expect, the media and "immigrants rights" groups are up in arms. The very thought that someone would not want...
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You have to see this handwritten letter [200k PDF] from Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) to believe it. It looks like something a kidnapper who'd run out of newspapers to clip would have sent. Via John & Ken's post here....
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Visa hopes to entice Latinos into money-transfer business: Eager to accelerate the growing trend away from the use of cash and checks, Visa International is pushing plastic in Latin America. Visa — composed of thousands of banks that issue credit and debit cards — has launched an aggressive campaign to...
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In "A Passion for Immigration Reform" the NYT offers the usual canards ("jobs Americans won't do") and lies ("anti-immigrant group") and confusion (what exactly is "amnesty", and isn't giving "immigrants" a green card "amnesty"?) For the truth about this matter, see the following: Bush Immigration Plan Would Allegedly 'Destroy the...
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December 28, 2004
From this: The government agency responsible for protecting the nation against terrorist attack is a dysfunctional, poorly managed bureaucracy that has failed to plug serious holes in the nation's safety net, the Department of Homeland Security's former internal watchdog warns. Clark Kent Ervin, who served as the department's inspector general...
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Miami Herald: When foreign nationals arrive at Miami International Airport and ask for asylum, some wind up criminally charged for trying to sneak into the country with false papers. Others are detained, some for months, before their cases are decided. Prosecution and detention of asylum seekers are among the examples...
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From this: BOSTON -- Legislators have reintroduced a bill that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to attend state colleges and pay regular tuition. In June, Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed the legislation, known as the In-State Tuition Bill. This month, Rep. Marie St. Fleur, D-Suffolk, and Sen. Jarrett Barrios,...
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December 26, 2004
Jill Stewart: Forgive me if I missed the media coverage of the international dustup between Democratic state Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles and the Mexican government the other day. The media downplay stories they perceive as "blaming the victim," particularly on the hands-off topic of illegal immigration. Romero has...
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Mark Krikorian of CIS: Sometimes it seems that the only people who are expected to comply with the immigration law are nominees for cabinet posts... ...A humane but uncompromising effort would welcome legal newcomers but do everything possible to prevent illegals from entering the country and prevent those who got...
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The El Paso Times offers up "Guest-worker plan is needed, but not under pressure". While certainly not as bad as other pro-amnesty editorials, it slightly sneakily tries to give Mexico some helpful words of advice. After issuing the usual canards ("Mexicans working illegally in this country take jobs that Americans...
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WASHINGTON - Everyone considers immigration reform a top priority when Congress reconvenes next month. But no one agrees what "reform" means. "I fully understand the politics of immigration reform," President Bush assured reporters this week. Many lawmakers, including the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, call tougher enforcement the centerpiece...
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WASHINGTON - Arizona Sen. John McCain and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy are working together to draft a bipartisan bill for comprehensive immigration reform to introduce in the new session of Congress. The efforts, bolstered by President Bush's reiteration on Monday that he wants to give temporary legal status to any...
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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: President Bush says he wants to revamp an immigration system that is "not working" and is "not compassionate" through a program that can't work and would be anything but "compassionate" to Americans forced to pick up the tab. During his end-of-the-year news conference, the president formally revived his...
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December 24, 2004
Wal*Mart is facing a class action lawsuit from former janitors: After the raids, nine of the immigrants filed a suit in state court in New Jersey, with Cuban lawyer Gilberto Garcia of law firm Garcia and Kricko. Before that case developed, New York City attorney James L. Linsey of Cohen,...
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December 23, 2004
TRENTON -- Mayor Doug Palmer issued an executive order yesterday, promising immigrants ["illegal aliens"] they will have access to city services without fear of being hassled, interrogated about their immigrant status or deported. Here's what the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey has to say. What we need to do...
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December 22, 2004
TUCSON - A federal judge on Wednesday lifted a restraining order blocking enforcement of a voter-approved initiative to deny illegal immigrants some public benefits. The order means the initiative immediately becomes Arizona law......
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December 21, 2004
Bring it on: Mexican President Vicente Fox's renewed efforts to lobby for change in U.S. immigration policy may hurt his cause more than help it and could galvanize opposition in a divided American Congress, senior U.S. officials said. The Mexican government is planning a multipronged effort in the United States...
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This just in: President Bush announced today that he will once and for all fix the problem with illegal immigration by making everyone a legal immigrant starting January 2005 and removing any immigration barriers for entering the U.S. "Listen, the only reason we have illegal immigrants is because we have...
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FAIR on Bush's press conference: At this morning's White House press conference, you were asked a question about your plan to reform U.S. immigration policy. In response to the question, you repeatedly made the point that your proposal entails allowing workers in other countries to enter or remain in the...
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Michelle Malkin provides several links you need to fully understand Bush's recent press conference....
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The BBC has a "report" on illegal immigration into the U.S. The scare quotes are because it has all the insight that you'd expect, couple with a few errors, at least one of which has been corrected. As might be expected the correction isn't noted in the new version. It's...
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December 20, 2004
Lou Dobbs: It remains to be seen whether intelligence reform legislation will produce substantive improvements in our national security. Republicans and Democrats alike certainly hope so, as do we all. But Congress and the White House failed to approve other reforms passed by the House of Representatives that would have...
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December 18, 2004
From Lou Dobb's 12/16/04 show: ...CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They sneak across the border seeking jobs they can't find in Mexico. The question isn't why they come, it's why can't Mexico's economy support its own people. Nearly half of Mexico's population lives in poverty. Ten percent are indigent, existing...
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>LOS ANGELES -- The Riverside Sheriffs' Association has joined law enforcement agencies in urging a boycott of Mexican products, services and vacations. The boycott is an effort to pressure Mexico into extraditing fugitives wanted for murder in the United States... Mexico refuses to extradite suspects facing the death penalty or...
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December 17, 2004
SacBee: The California congressman who bankrolled signature gathering for the recall of Gov. Gray Davis has taken a first step toward financing a constitutional amendment that would deny benefits to illegal immigrants in the state. Rep. Darrell Issa, through the Rescue California Leadership Committee, is mailing letters to every voter...
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WashTimes: Mexican Ambassador Carlos de Icaza yesterday said millions of Mexican nationals now illegally in the United States are hard-working residents who take jobs Americans refuse, but their rights are "completely unprotected" and the White House and Congress need to find a solution. "It is up to the American public...
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Helmet-haired demi-MILF Linda Chavez provides this bit of surreality: ...Whether we care to admit it or not, most of us benefit from the services of illegal aliens, even if indirectly, and the law that ensnarled Kerik has turned many good people into scofflaws... ...I have special reason to be concerned....
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December 16, 2004
Morton Kondracke offers a column in support of the Bush/Fox Amnesty. In a way, it seems like something that would have been written all the way back in January 2004: If President Bush is going to keep his promise to spend political capital on a bold second- term agenda, he...
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From this: Wall Street Journal senior editorial writer Jason Riley doesn't think much of conservatives who don't accept his employer's "there shall be open borders" dogma. Consequently, his occasional op-ed pieces slamming what he calls the "anti-immigrant Right" demonstrate no effort to engage their arguments or confront immigration realities that...
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William F. Buckley Jr.: The new intelligence law, courtesy of 9/11, is mystifying because it does not face directly what is the most prominent threat to homeland security. It is: inimical action by non-Americans. All the people who participated in 9/11 were foreigners, here under various auspices. And yet the...
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From the AP's "ACLU sues for access to records on immigration sweeps": A lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union seeks access to public records involving the arrests last summer of more than 400 illegal immigrants in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In June, a small group of Temecula-based Border...
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December 15, 2004
Heather MacDonald: Now that the Bernard Kerik nomination has crashed and burned, President Bush should ask the next candidate for Department of Homeland Security chief the most important question for the job: Will you enforce the law against border trespassers? ...Yet fear of offending the race and rights lobbies has...
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It's a magical world: Adding to the immigration debate, state Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero has scheduled a hearing Thursday in Los Angeles on the cost of holding illegal-immigrant convicts in state prisons and why the federal government isn't paying more. Romero, D-Los Angeles, estimated the state pays as much...
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DailyBreeze: Redondo Beach lawyers said they plan to file an appeal after a judge Monday extended her order barring the city from enforcing a law prohibiting laborers from soliciting employment on public streets and sidewalks. City Attorney Jerry Goddard said unless directed by the City Council to do otherwise, he...
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I can't comment on all the machinations involved here and what they mean, but: Attorneys for the state want a federal judge to let Arizona begin enforcing the provisions of Proposition 200 next week. In legal papers filed Monday, Mary O'Grady, the state's solicitor general, said nothing in the voter-approved...
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December 14, 2004
SacBee: The federal government wants to deport convicted felon Patricia Ann Law but freed the Santa Clara woman from jail last month anyway. Law, 52, is among the first Northern Californians to participate in an experimental program intended to keep immigrants out of jail while their deportation and asylum cases...
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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - Central American nations are putting aside border bickering to allow the relatively free movement of people and goods between nations - a goal that has U.S. officials worried about a jump in smuggling of drugs and people in a region already plagued by crime...
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The Wall Street Journal has an editorial supporting the Bush/Fox amnesty, and using Bernie Kerik's nanny problem as an example. It's only available to subscribers, but an excerpt is here: ...Think about the Kerik example: The man and his wife have two small kids.... A nanny offers that help, and...
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December 13, 2004
In response to the WashTimes article mentioned in the last post ("Hillary goes conservative on immigration"), Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine offers the following. I've tried to condense his thoughts down as much as possible, and I've put fact-based corrections in brackets and in bold: Hillary's National I.D. Card [...slags...
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The WashTimes offers a roundup that's similar to the one earlier offered by NewsMax. It also mentions HillaryNow.com, "a group dedicated to drafting Mrs. Clinton to run for president."...
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December 10, 2004
Let's play newspaper editor and correct the problems in the article "Lower tuition rate for undocumented immigrants sought" by Elise Castelli of the Boston Globe. My corrections are in brackets and in bold: Advocates for [illegal] immigrants and refugees yesterday renewed their demand for cheaper, in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants...
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December 09, 2004
WashTimes: The immigration security provisions stripped out of the intelligence overhaul bill will be introduced as a separate bill on the first day of the next Congress, House leaders promised yesterday, and will be their first priority for passage. "We're doing this to stop the next terrorists and to take...
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Tucson Weekly has more on the environmental damage caused by massive illegal immigration....
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Deseret News: A new grassroots group that wants to close the borders to illegal immigrant is targeting Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, both R-Utah. Barry Hatch urged dozens of people attending a meeting at the South Jordan public library Wednesday night to flood their offices with phone calls and...
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Tamar Jacoby has yet another misleading editorial about massive immigration, this time in the NY Post. It might help if you read the editorial in a Tokyo Rose voice. From "Winning the Border Battle": Our increasingly educated, middle-class workforce isn't interested in hard manual work, but millions of campesinos south...
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PHOENIX - A federal judge has given the OK for Gov. Janet Napolitano to officially proclaim approval of Proposition 200. Judge David Bury, in an order released Wednesday, said Napolitano is free to declare that voters approved sections of the initiative which require proof of citizenship to register to vote...
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December 08, 2004
ZZZZZZzzzzzz: Accusing the Republican Party and business groups of stoking "anti-immigrant, anti-Latino" fervor, the Legislature's Democratic Latino Caucus on Tuesday urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to denounce "racist" GOP campaign ads mailed during recent Assembly races. Members of the 27-member caucus also called on the Republican governor to speak out against...
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December 07, 2004
For some unknown reason: Napolitano wants OK to get law ready to go: ..."We're obligated to implement the law unless a judge tells us we can't," said Napolitano, adding her proclamation is merely a formality. She said state agencies are ready to carry out Proposition 200 when the judge tells...
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SacBee: A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the city of Redondo Beach from arresting day laborers who solicit jobs on the street... In issuing a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall said the city's policy could do "irreparable harm" to workers and questioned whether it was constitutional......
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There's a detailed article from November 2001 here: When [9/11 hijackers] Hanjour and Almihdhar showed up at DMV Express [in Virginia], they apparently already had two forms of ID--a passport and a legal visa would have been accepted---because they did not submit DL6s to establish their identity. But they did...
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From "Liberal" Loony Land: The prospect of revisiting the immigration reforms [which were stripped out of the Intelligence "Reform" Bill] alarmed others. During a pointed exchange on the House floor last night, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the reforms "egregious" and "extraneous" and signaled that Democrats would oppose them. "I...
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From the S.F. Chronical editorial "Intelligence vs. immigrants": Attempts to improve the nation's security should not be used as a cover to carry out a stealth attack against immigrants. That is in effect what Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and his allies in the House of Representatives have been trying to...
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The WashTimes covers the FAIR report previously blogged here. From the WashTimes article: Illegal immigration costs the taxpayers of California — which has the highest number of illegal aliens nationwide — $10.5 billion a year for education, health care and incarceration, according to a study released yesterday. A key finding...
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December 06, 2004
The immigration-related provisions might have been removed from the Intelligence Reform Bill. If the bill passes, illegal aliens could continue to get driver's licenses and could continue to use foreign IDs that are only of use to illegal aliens. That's despite the fact that 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers...
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From the Arizona Republic's Robert Robb: I was critical of Proposition 200, the illegal immigration initiative, prior to the election. It was, in effect, expressing a sentiment by enacting a law of unknown effects and consequences. And I don't think that's good governance. But the voters passed it, and supporters...
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From Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA): If the intelligence reform bill has any chance of passage when Congress returns to the Capitol this week, it must meet all the goals outlined by the September 11 commission's comprehensive report, not just the few selected by the Senate. Specifically, it will have to...
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December 04, 2004
Sometimes my comments aren't exactly top-drawer. In most cases that's simply because I crank them out instead of spending the time to make them as good as they could be. So, the comment I left here should be considered simply a work-in-progress: The only problem with outsourcing is all the...
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The Cato Institute's Daniel Griswold has a column in Reason Magazine supporting Bush's "guest" worker plan: "Beyond the Barbed Wire: Bush won a mandate for immigration reform". In their Hit & Run post about this article, I left the following comment: If you have the time, I'd very strongly suggest...
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December 03, 2004
News of Nativo Lopez has been featured here in the past. He's the president of the groups Mexican-American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana and he tends to get a fair amount of almost always favorable press attention. Just a week ago he was featured in a discussion of the San...
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From immigration lawyer Matt Hayes in the WashTimes: At last weekend's APEC summit, President Bush made clear the administration will try to justify its planned amnesty of illegal aliens as something necessary for greater border security. Despite unending criticism of his January call for the amnesty, the overwhelming passage of...
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NewsMax: Leaders of a group representing more than 300 family members of 9/11 victims urged Congress on Tuesday to scrap the intelligence reform bill because it doesn't include key provisions to secure the nation's borders against terrorist infiltration - the same objection raised by one of the bill's leading opponents,...
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The Arizona Republic article "Successor must know border issues" was written before the announcement of Bernie Kerik as the new head of the DHS, so it's a little out of date. Nevertheless, in the process of discussing the "re-education" of the new head of DHS to understand border issues, they...
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December 02, 2004
From this: ...the Washington, DC-based Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is calling [White House counsel Alberto Gonzales] to task for his reported involvement with the National Council of La Raza, which has endorsed his nomination for attorney general... I don't think they should be compared with the KKK. However,...
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From a Palm Beach Post editorial: Social Security used to be considered the untouchable "third rail" of American politics, but immigration soon may replace it. Both candidates bobbed and weaved around the subject during the presidential campaign, and neither party has offered credible ideas for reform, fearing the political implications...
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From Alan Elsner of Pravda, er, Reuters: Republicans who want to slow immigration to the United States and crack down on illegal immigrants believe they are gaining political strength and public backing, which may pose a problem next year for President Bush... But he may face growing anti-immigrant sentiment, not...
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December 01, 2004
As part of my effort to help out the National Council of The Race, I called Jane Harman's office and expressed my support for the immigration-related provisions of the 9/11 bill. The lady who answered the phone sounded nice, but she didn't seem to grasp the implications of the Matricula...
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November 30, 2004
FAIR: Analysis of the latest Census data indicates that California's illegal immigrant population is costing the state's taxpayers more than $10.5 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. Even if the estimated tax contributions of illegal immigrant workers are subtracted, net outlays still amount to nearly $9 billion...
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The National Council of The Race wants you to call Congress about the 9/11 bill. Sure, why not? Here's the phone numbers, and you know what to do....
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U.S. News discusses Bush's "guest worker" plan: Back in 2001, George W. Bush, a newly elected president from a border state, had immigration on his mind. Within weeks of his inauguration, Bush vowed to extend a hand to Mexico, making an ambitious guest-worker proposal a hallmark of his administration. The...
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Let's go to the tape: The chairmen of the 9/11 Commission don't really care much about immigration as it relates to national security... Now, we're back here to James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in Wisconsin, and he's pushing for language to prevent illegal aliens from obtaining driver's...
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AZ Republic: Proposition 200's latest legal saga begins today when its opponents seek a temporary restraining order in Tucson federal court to prevent the immigration measure from becoming law... The U.S. District Court judge could immediately grant the 10-day restraining order and prevent it from becoming law while a judge...
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November 29, 2004
From the WashTimes: U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement's ability to gather and share intelligence data, conduct the investigations needed to guard the nation's borders against terrorists and enforce immigration law is being challenged by a growing number of ICE supervisors and agents. Both supervisory and rank-and-file personnel, in numerous interviews,...
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From this: A renewed focus on immigration reform after the election by the Bush administration is making some Border Patrol agents nervous. They are worried that misinformation about an "amnesty" program will trickle down to prospective immigrants by word-of-mouth, resulting in a surge in illegal immigration similar to the one...
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NewsMax: The chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission said Sunday that Congress shouldn't press to close a giant national security loophole exploited by the 9/11 hijackers before passing new intelligence reform legislation - even though the Commission itself urged dealing with the problem. "We're very reluctant to see...
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November 26, 2004
I'm all for clubs that remove barriers, and if you are too, read this San Bernardino Sun article. What's that you say? It starts out with race baiting and goes downhill from there? It refers to illegal immigrant activists as "immigrant activists"? It includes the following: The Mexican-American Political Association...
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November 23, 2004
The LAT has a 1726 word article about Los Angeles' answer to the Big Dig. From "An Education in Expansion": Using a combination of aggressive real estate negotiations, political gamesmanship and eminent domain, the Los Angeles Unified School District is scooping up hundreds of acres of land in a $14-billion...
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November 22, 2004
Professor Bainbridge has yet another post supporting Bush's "guest worker" plan. Not only that he's linking to a yet another column by Jason Riley of the WSJ that supports the plan. Bainbridge seems to think Bush-style "immigration reform" is the moral choice. Driving millions of wages down near the minimum...
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November 19, 2004
WashTimes: ...Rep. Charlie Norwood, Georgia Republican and chief sponsor of the Clear Law Enforcement for Alien Removal Act (CLEAR Act), joined with 21 other House Republicans this week in urging President Bush not to grant what they called amnesty to illegal aliens, saying it would be "detrimental to our national...
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November 17, 2004
The L.A. Times continues to define the new normal. The article Governor, Mexico Far From a Good Fit contains many hidden assumptions that would be shocking if things in California - specifically California's liberaldom elite - were at least somewhat normal. For an example, let's examine this passage: Schwarzenegger seems...
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Here's some good news: A record 157,000 illegal immigrants were removed from the United States during the past year as U.S. authorities stepped up efforts to track down those who may pose security risks, the government said Tuesday. About half of those deported in the year ending Sept. 30 had...
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I hate to be cynical, but the senders of the letter are the "usual suspects" and they've sent other letters in the past that the Bush administration appears to have basically ignored. Nevertheless, they should be congratulated for continuing trying to talk to the brick wall: The chairman of a...
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Daniel Weintraub of the SacBee held an online chat. Here's one Q&A: Question: How big a role will our broken immigration policy play in the next election (federal and state)? answer: I wouldn't be surprised if immigration became a major issue again, and it will happen overnight if we are...
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Heather MacDonald has a new column discussing, among other things, political correctness, Norm Mineta, the Temecula illegal alien sweeps, and our porous northern border: ...A glance at a tiny section of the northern border, separating Vermont and a small part of New York from Canada, makes clear how lackluster the...
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Phyllis Schlafly: ...The real threat to Social Security doesn't come from giving young people this opportunity. The threat comes from a Bush administration plan to load illegal immigrants into the Social Security system, an idea that would skyrocket costs and bankrupt the system at the same time baby boomers flood...
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November 15, 2004
From the WaPo guest editorial "A Line Has Been Drawn in the Arizona Sand" by Tamar Jacoby: Arizona voters sent a signal to Washington on Nov. 2. That front-line border state is feeling besieged and, not surprisingly, sharply divided over illegal immigration. Though its booming economy is dependent on foreign...
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From the SacBee: ...Bush is signaling renewed attention to immigration. That's heartening advocates of reform, dismaying skeptics and raising questions of both strategy and tactics... With a filibuster-proof 63 senators already co-sponsors, the AgJobs bill could be poised to move. Supporters, many of them organized through the Agriculture Coalition for...
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AP: Tucked into last week's otherwise predictable California election results lay a cautionary tale about the election year's most uncovered issue: illegal immigration. Republican Rep. David Dreier, the 24-year Los Angeles-area veteran who chairs the powerful House Rules committee, won re-election to his House seat with just under 54 percent...
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November 10, 2004
FAIR reacts to Bush's renewed attempts to push through the Bush/Fox Amnesty. Away back on September 5, I reposted this February 5 2004 WashTimes article, so don't say you didn't know what was coming: [White House spokesman Trent Duffy] said the president delivered a passionate defense of his immigration plan,...
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November 09, 2004
Prop. 200 vs. the elites is discussed in "Arizona Calling: The brewing immigration backlash" and "Fighting back"....
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Rep. David Dreier (D-CA) was interviewed by KABC's Doug McIntyre and the transcript is here. Topics discussed include Political Human Sacrifice, Dreier's record on immigration matters, and his support for Bush's guest worker plan. Surprisingly, in the interview he calls that plan a "bracero" program, something that I've noted with...
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November 04, 2004
Arizona's Proposition 200 has passed 56 to 44. The Arizona Republic licks their wounds: Arizonans approved Proposition 200 Tuesday, sending a message about their frustration over illegal immigration while defying opposition from many prominent political leaders. The measure, designed to combat voter and benefit fraud by non-citizens, quickly became the...
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October 31, 2004
From the WashTimes: House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier is waging a furious re-election battle after he was targeted by a Los Angeles radio talk show as a "political human sacrifice" for his record on illegal immigration. In the past month, Mr. Dreier and Republicans have spent an estimated $1...
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October 27, 2004
Two letters from the 10/21/04 La Canada Daily Sun discuss Political Human Sacrifice's David Dreier. We Need Dreier: David Dreier got $3 billion passed through Congress to help keep emergency rooms open in Southern California. As bad as the situation is now, imagine how much worse it would be if...
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As you may recall, earlier this year a group of pro-borders challengers were trying to be elected to the board of the Sierra Club. For many years the Club had favored reduced immigration, but that policy was reversed several years ago. And, Carl Pope, the head of the Club mounted...
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From this: An immigration reform organization recently conducted an investigation into possible voter fraud in Wisconsin. The probe revealed that non-citizens of the United States could decide the 2004 presidential election. Susan Tully, the Midwest field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), says she became concerned about...
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As previously discussed, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) is scheduled to be "sacrificed" as part of the Political Human Sacrifice campaign by SoCal talk jocks John & Ken. And, he has the support of a local newspaper chain. Supposedly reporters at that chain are given "hands off Dreier" orders. The newspapers...
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[Cross-posted to the-lonewacko-blog.redstate.org/story/2004/10/27/155338/04 and the Command Post] If you live in Southern California, you've probably heard about Political Human Sacrifice by now. That's the attempt by KFI AM 640 talk jocks John & Ken to unseat two Congressmen who refuse to do anything about our incredible problem with illegal immigration....
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October 21, 2004
The L.A. Times has a kinda blah editorial suggesting that the candidates at least speak about immigration matters. It somewhat gives the false impression that we need some kind of guest worker program, which is not entirely clear. Points in its favor: one sentence is about enforcing the laws against...
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Remember the post "California legislators ask Mexican Senate to intervene [in driver's licenses for illegal aliens]"? I don't know if those requests crossed the line. Perhaps they were legal, or perhaps not. From the U.S. Code: Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of...
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Edwin Meese III and Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation have a long piece on immigration policy here. I only briefly scanned it, but it seems like it gets most things right....
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It looks like Vicente Fox has lost a round: LINCOLN, Nebraska Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns said Wednesday during a visit to Mexico that he would not support recognition of Mexican consular identity cards for migrants because they pose a security threat. Johanns discussed use of the cards during a meeting...
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October 19, 2004
(Washington, DC—October 18, 2004) In what must be a new world's record for historical revisionism, open border lobbyists from both the political left and right are fighting to remove critical immigration policy reforms from the final version of a bill that would implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The...
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From Prop. 200-style system already law in Mexico: MEXICO CITY - The provisions of Proposition 200 have stirred up a storm of debate in Arizona. But here in Mexico, they're already the law. Arizona's contentious ballot proposal would require voters to show proof of their U.S. citizenship when registering to...
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October 18, 2004
From NumbersUSA: Our Capitol Hill team has learned that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, chief sponsor of H.R. 10, is under tremendous pressure from the White House to back down from his current position supporting the immigration provisions of H.R. 10 so that a final bill can be agreed...
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More threats from our friends to the south: In recent days Mexican President Vicente Fox and his Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Ernesto Derbez, have sent barbed messages to the U.S.A. The main message — Mexico plans to get tough with the U.S.A. regarding the treatment of migrant workers in...
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As previously described, KFI talk jocks John & Ken are conducting a "Political Human Sacrifice" designed to fire a local congressman who's extremely weak on illegal immigration, Rep. David Dreier. Said Rep. has a guest column published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin entitled "Immigration must play by rules." OK,...
(0 / 0)
October 14, 2004
From the 10/13 debate, President Bush: ...I believe there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do the job... I wonder how many nurses, teachers, or high-tech workers would...
(11 / 0)
This article from Oregon was written before the debates. It doesn't have much more than the title tells you and it falsely states that the country is divided on immigration. No, the great majority of Americans favor an end to illegal immigration. On the other side are the elites. Numerically...
(1 / 0)
From AP: The government agency in charge of airport security spent nearly a half-million dollars on an awards ceremony at a lavish hotel, including $81,000 for plaques and $500 for cheese displays, according to an internal report obtained by The Associated Press. Awards were presented to 543 Transportation Security Administration...
(0 / 0)
The Houston Chronicle's "Another Voice" section reprints an article from Mexico's El Universal newspaper entitled "Politics of immigration": The complicated U.S. electoral climate has caused a proliferation of opportunistic proposals by politicians looking for the support of a sector of the U.S. electorate that is very conservative and even racist....
(1 / 0)
Kids in some town in Iowa simulated a 1907 voyage to Ellis Island by dressing up in period costumes, going through inspections, etc. etc. On the MultiCultiCult danger scale this is pretty low, but nonetheless some of it is a little revealing: [A student] said he learned during the unit...
(2 / 0)
From the report "Losing Ground or Staying Even: Republicans and the Politics of the Latino Vote" by University of Maryland Professor of Government James Gimpel: The President’s guest-worker proposal for illegal immigrants has had no discernable impact on Latino voters. Candidate positions on immigration policy are a low priority for...
(1 / 0)
October 12, 2004
From the AP: Neither President Bush nor Sen. John Kerry has devoted much attention lately to his plan for fixing America's failed immigration policies – a sticking point for states paying the financial and human costs of the thousands of workers who sneak into the country each year. While the...
(0 / 0)
From the LAT: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones proposed federal incentives Monday to create jobs in Mexico and help reduce the economic motive propelling illegal immigration. Jones, revisiting a theme of his campaign, argued that a porous border with Mexico threatens national security and called for a sharp increase...
(0 / 0)
CNN/Money has a borderline wacky happyfun report on dual citizenship. When one passport won't do: An estimated 40 million Americans are eligible for citizenship in another country. Any takers? Here's a product of globalization that isn't as easy to spot: the dual citizen. He's the guy on the plane who...
(1 / 0)
According to an unconfirmed report from a TV viewer: Just saw Bob Schieffer, moderator of tomorrow nights debate, on Hannity and Colmes and he mentioned a "probable" question about illegal immigration. Let's hope this comes to pass, and he's able to ask tougher questions than Bill O'Reilly. If you'd like...
(0 / 0)
October 11, 2004
From Newsweek: The census bureau's annual figures on family incomes and poverty were bound to become familiar factoids in the Bush-Kerry combat. The numbers seem to confirm what many people feel: the middle class is squeezed; poverty's worsening. In 2003 the median household income dropped for the fourth consecutive year,...
(1 / 0)
October 09, 2004
Mother Jones (yeah, I know) excerpts their subscriber-only article "Red Alert" here. It looks at how the DHS is protecting us, and whether they're doing the acceptable job everyone has been told they're doing: ...Defending America has been a pillar of President Bush's reelection campaign. Only the president, argue his...
(1 / 0)
U.S. Rep Joe Baca is striking back at John & Ken's Political Human Sacrifice (see this for a summary of Political Human Sacrifice). He's sent a letter to other congressmen complaining that his record has been distorted by the "anti-immigrant" group BetterImmigration.com (His letter is in this PDF file). Not...
(1 / 0)
October 08, 2004
From this: Most Carolinians believe it should be harder for people to immigrate to the United States, according to the 2004 Carolinas Poll. About 80 percent of those surveyed said they oppose loosening restrictions for America's newest arrivals... The article closes with the thoughts of a cheap labor pimp: "If...
(2 / 0)
Some congressmen are trying to gut the House 9/11 bill of its most vital provisions: ending driver's licenses for illegal aliens and preventing the acceptance of foreign ID cards that the FBI and the DOJ call a security threat. Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers had a combined total of...
(1 / 0)
October 07, 2004
From FAIR: The American Civil Liberties Union and other open border advocacy groups are attempting to rewrite the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, leaving out important sections dealing with immigration policy, charged the Federation for American Immigration Reform. In assessing the situation that led to the attacks of 9/11, the...
(2 / 0)
From the CSMonitor's "Mexico's other migrant wave": ...Upwards of 1 million Mexicans are successfully crossing into the US each year, leaving behind a dearth of laborers. Increasingly, that void is being filled by... poor Indians from remote villages throughout Mexico. ..."Our workforce has left," says Tomas Torres, the general secretary...
(0 / 0)
October 06, 2004
I added a few explanatory links to the last post ("House GOP firm on 9/11 bill") and posted it at RedState (redstate.org/story/2004/10/6/203334/979) and the Command Post. If you've read the previous post, and especially if you've already sent a FAX, no need to visit those two fine sites just for...
(0 / 0)
From the WashTimes: House Republican leaders say the immigration reforms in their intelligence overhaul bill will remain, despite prodding by Senate Republicans and the White House to delete the provisions. The bill calls for a crackdown on driver's licenses for illegal aliens, easier deportations and limits on the use of...
(0 / 0)
Maybe it is a zero sum game: National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), India's top association for IT firms, has said new and start-up software firms will be affected in a major way due to filling up of the annual limit for the controversial guest worker programme through...
(0 / 0)
The Kansas City Star has an editorial "Keep tuition law for immigrants" that starts its lies with title. The law in question deals with illegal aliens, not "immigrants." It allows those illegal aliens to get a better deal on college tuition than U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. The lies continue...
(1 / 0)
From Ruben Navarrette of the Dallas Morning News: ...Americans shouldn’t be going out of their way to accommodate illegal immigrants — or when you really get down to it, those Americans who employ them — by making life in the United States comfortable for people who shouldn’t be here. I’m...
(0 / 0)
October 05, 2004
Dan Stein of FAIR offers said compendium about Arizona's Prop. 200. It shouldn't come as a surprise that some of the same scare tactics that were tried against California's Prop. 187 are now being repurposed in Arizona....
(0 / 0)
October 04, 2004
Clay Robison - chief of the Houston Chronicle's Austin Bureau - offers us an editorial entitled Our reality: Immigrants always part of Texas' 'picture'. It starts out like this: Almost every time I write about the deficiencies of state government — a practice akin to shooting fish in a barrel...
(1 / 0)
Time Magazine has a somewhat biased blurb about Arizona's Prop. 200. They even use the phrase "anti-immigrant", just like the Arizona Republic. Nevertheless, it contains this interesting bit: ...The measure could affect the presidential race in a state where Bush and Kerry are running neck and neck. Some opponents hope...
(1 / 0)
From the press release "Tancredo Stunned by White House Maneuver to Exclude Key Immigration Component of Intelligence Bill": WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO-06) was shocked to learn of the White House’s demand of House Republicans to exclude portions of the House Intelligence Bill which would prevent those who...
(2 / 0)
From "Hatch's bill for tuition breaks for undocumented immigrants bypasses floor vote": Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has inserted his "DREAM Act" into the budget authorization for the Justice Department, bypassing opposition from Republican leaders who have refused to schedule a floor vote on the measure to permit states to give...
(11 / 0)
From this: Fed up with what they say is the Bush administration's failure to address a growing illegal immigration problem, a small group of conservatives has launched a series of radio ads seeking to convince voters to oust President Bush from office. Last week, a group called Friends of the...
(1 / 0)
From Another [L.A. County] Emergency Room Closes its Doors: It is official the emergency room at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Van Nuys closed its doors today. The hospital was reportedly losing $1-million each month. This closing leaves only 13 trauma centers in operation in the county, down from 26...
(0 / 0)
From the WashTimes: The White House has told House Republicans that it wants them to remove provisions in their intelligence-overhaul bill that would crack down on illegal aliens' obtaining drivers' licenses, allow easier deportation and limit the use of foreign consular ID cards... The Bush administration originally signed off on...
(0 / 0)
October 03, 2004
From Human Events: AgJobs is legislation only a liberal could love. Yet, conservative Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) its sponsor, has now moved to take his bill straight to the floor. This bill to legalize illegal aliens working in American agriculture helped to stall much-needed class action reform from coming before...
(1 / 0)
I'm all for family pride, but this guest editorial might be going just a tad too far. Is there a way to support family pride without also supporting divided loyalties? Yes, I know he proudly mentions in there his uncles who fought in WWII. What if WWII had involved Mexico?...
(0 / 0)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A yearlong crackdown on immigration violations has led to a drop in gang-related violence in the Charlotte area, according to police... At least one gang member arrested in the original roundup and then deported has returned to Charlotte and been arrested again... Latino gang members are among...
(0 / 0)
From the KCStar: When Kansas passed a law in May allowing certain noncitizen immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at state colleges, critics envisioned a flood of those students. Now that the fall semester is under way, the flood looks more like a trickle... "This law is new to Kansas...
(1 / 0)
October 02, 2004
The LAT prints a column from regular citizen Beverly Antel of Torrance. She goes a bit "overboard" on the Titanic references, but nevertheless: I am an African American woman of mixed ethnic ancestry whose parents encouraged her to embrace diversity from a very early age. I attended integrated schools in...
(8 / 0)
October 01, 2004
From the NY Post: Scores of non-English speaking parents gathered at City Hall yesterday, calling for reforms to make the school system more immigrant-friendly... [other demands deleted...] The demonstrators yesterday demanded passage of a bill that would require report card translations and interpreters at parent-teacher conferences. The chances of this...
(3 / 0)
September 30, 2004
For reference, here's a list of such organizations from FAIR....
(1 / 0)
September 29, 2004
From an editorial by Tufts University's Lawrence E. Harrison: ...We have to find ways to legitimize immigration policy as an issue of high national interest and open debate. We must insist that the candidates develop clear positions on what to do about immigration policy. Do they support open borders? If...
(1 / 0)
September 28, 2004
Bill O'Reilly interviewed President Bush, and the first part of the interview was broadcast on Monday. I didn't see it, but a transcript is here. I couldn't find an official transcript, but since that agrees with the quote printed in Bush: Militarizing Border Won't Stop Illegal Deluge I'm going to...
(4 / 0)
September 27, 2004
Here's a quote from the leader of a small Hispanic extremist group: "Go back to Boston! Go back to Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims! Get out! We are the future! You are old and tired. Go on. We have beaten you. Leave like beaten rats. You old white people. It is your...
(7 / 0)
In June, I posted a similar article about Mexico's new "border czar." He repeated his dream recently: "I would like to see a border similar to the one that Europe has right now ... where they have common, very common objectives," [Arturo Gonzalez Cruz, a Tijuana businessman named in April...
(7 / 0)
September 26, 2004
CalInsider offers a must read opinion piece. He gets just about everything right, which is close enough....
(0 / 0)
The WashTimes editorial "Undermining border security" first discusses their report "Illegals detained at border released onto U.S. streets". If you haven't yet read that, you should. The editorial ends with this: But DHS has a different view of reality. In its responses to Mr. Grassley's questions, Homeland Security said it...
(2 / 0)
The Arizona Republic - which has just about publicly announced its biases against Proposition 200 - has yet another fisk-worthy article: "Calif.'s lesson: Reforms don't stop illegal immigration." Rather than provide a full-on fisking, here's the summary. The first few paragraphs of the article match the headline. It looks like...
(1 / 0)
From the Boston Globe's "In Mexico visit, enmity greets Harvard scholar": Ever since the release earlier this year of his book "Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity," (excerpt online here)which argues that Mexican immigrants pose a threat to American culture, Samuel P. Huntington has been the US...
(3 / 0)
The article MVD bust labeled 'gift' for Prop. 200", as one might expect from the source, tries to make the most of a poor choice of words by a Prop. 200 supporter. The more important statements in the article come from the spokesperson for the anti-Prop. 200 forces, former AZ...
(1 / 0)
From this: More than 10,000 foreign-born people are working under slave-like conditions in the United States, and California is a major port of entry for them, a new report said Thursday. The study by the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley and the non-profit Free the Slaves...
(1 / 0)
As previously posted, 26 Arizona DMV workers were caught in a driver's license scam The report Scam spotlights smuggler savvy discusses those arrests, and ends with this bit that would be funny if it wasn't so scary: ...The arrests Thursday mark only the latest in a history of problems at...
(1 / 0)
September 25, 2004
From the AP's "Hispanics threaten state boycott over license bill veto": Angered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto this week of a bill to allow illegal immigrants to drive legally in California, Hispanic leaders and pro-immigrant groups are organizing protests and a national boycott of the state in their campaign to...
(0 / 0)
In the article "Boxer says U.S. less secure, ties Jones to Bush policies", Sen. Boxer tells us: "The direction we're going in is not the right direction, is not the good direction, either in foreign policy or domestic policy... Bill Jones likes this direction and wants to join with Bush...
(0 / 0)
Heather MacDonald offers "Ignored In Open-Borders Debate: Rising Cost Of Second Underclass". This appears to be a condensed version of her previous article "The Immigrant Gang Plague". See also "The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave" and "Hillbangers"....
(3 / 0)
Dana Milbank in the WaPo writes about a certain candidate's web site. Can you guess which candidate he's referring to? On the [CANDIDATE'S] campaign's Spanish-language Web site, prominent display is given to a translation of [THE CANDIDATE'S] Jan. 7 speech proposing an immigration plan involving "guest workers." But the speech...
(3 / 0)
September 24, 2004
The Washington Times has an overview of the possibility of illegal aliens voting, but they don't provide any evidence of how many illegal voters there might be. They also provide background information on how little verification is made of voters in Maryland and Virginia. The article closes with a representative...
(1 / 0)
Can you guess which of the following really happened? BERKELEY — State Rep. Miroslav "Mike" Wise recently received one of the Soviet Union’s highest honors for civilians, in part for his work in trying to secure driver’s licenses for undocumented workers... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics gave Wise the...
(1 / 0)
September 22, 2004
From a press release, presented for amusement purposes only. In 1999 a US Senator was approached by a novelist for help with a US-Mexican immigration plan for the novel "Estados Unidos/United States" (pub. 11/03). In 2004 Bush, then Kerry, proposed plans duplicating the fictional amendment......
(0 / 0)
September 21, 2004
From John O'Sullivan: Last week Time magazine breached an important taboo in the establishment media. It published a powerful indictment of America's current immigration policy -- and in particular the U.S. government's scandalous tolerance of illegal immigration -- under the striking title: "Who Left the Door Open?" ...Given the potentially...
(1 / 0)
Bill O'Reilly will be interviewing Bush next week, and he wants to know what to ask. Send your "pithy" questions to Oreilly@foxnews.com. I've only seen his show once or twice. But, I've seen "Internet rumors" that he's gone soft on immigration matters. In the past he's had exposes of extremists...
(2 / 0)
From Senate candidate campaigns for reform of immigration system: U.S. Senatorial candidate Bill Jones praised the role of immigrants in building California, but called for a reform of the state's and the nation's immigration system during a campaign stop here last week... ...He does not support giving illegal immigrants driver's...
(0 / 0)
From Lou Dobbs' Campaign cowardice: The national media's focus on President Bush's National Guard service, or neglect of duty, and Senator Kerry's heroism, or opportunism, 35 years ago has been a boon to both candidates' efforts to avoid concrete discussion of the most important issues facing middle-class Americans... ...And while...
(0 / 0)
September 20, 2004
The FDIC - "an independent agency of the federal government" - is working with the Mexican consulate in Chicago, banks, and community groups to give home loans to "immigrants." If they're legal immigrants, and thus American citizens (or on their way), why is a foreign government involved? The article "NWI...
(1 / 0)
If voting by illegal aliens is not a problem, why are "immigrant advocates" so vehemently opposed to people having to show proof of citizenship when voting? From "Critics blast Horn's bid to reduce fraud": Californians would have to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when...
(0 / 0)
September 19, 2004
[cross-posted at the-lonewacko-blog.redstate.org/story/2004/9/19/225351/640 and the Command Post] From August 28's edition of the CPUSA's house organ People's Weekly World (cache used because site down): U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) has introduced controversial legislation to sharply curtail the rights and daily activities of immigrants [sic; only illegal immigrants would be affected...
(3 / 0)
The AP has an article about the attempts to catch "the nearly half-million immigrants who have ducked deportation orders or are targets for removal because they were convicted of a crime." The article is by Elliot Spagat and Laura Wides: "Drive to deport illegal fugitives 'a losing battle'": Even as...
(0 / 0)
From Investor's Business Daily: Is America's establishment finally waking up to the fact that the country has a serious, dangerous border problem? One sign of raised consciousness, currently on newsstands, is a Time magazine cover story that sounds the alarm about illegal immigration and blasts the federal government for failing...
(0 / 0)
September 18, 2004
That's according to our borders czar, Asa Hutchinson: Hutchinson also gave a lukewarm response to last week's report by the ranking member on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, who says the border needs a $1 billion infrastructure investment fund and a doubling of...
(1 / 0)
September 17, 2004
National Review associate editor Meghan Clyne has a review of the film A Day Without A Mexican: "A Day Without Misrepresentation?" Back in May when this first came out, I pointed out on a comments thread on another blog that this was the ultimate strawman film. As Clyne says: Therein...
(2 / 0)
If radio hosts hold a rally designed to "fire" one of the most powerful congressmen, and hundreds of people showed up, don't you think the L.A. Times or the L.A. Daily News would have a little bit of an obligation to cover the story? Unfortunately, news.google.com shows that the only...
(1 / 0)
September 16, 2004
A new PAC has been formed: Americans for Legal Immigration PAC: Americans for Legal Immigration (ALI-PAC) has formed to address the disparity between the public's desire for more control of illegal immigration and the actions of lawmakers. Varied polls indicate that over 75% of America's legal citizens want more done...
(0 / 0)
In City Journal, Heather MacDonald comments on TIME Magazine's recent cover story: ...Time magazine just may have started a revolution in the mainstream press’s attitude towards illegal immigration. For decades, public outrage over illegal immigration met only scorn or indifference from the elite media. The New York Times recently dismissed...
(1 / 0)
From the WashTimes: An immigration initiative in Arizona that would require secure identification to vote in elections and to receive public benefits was endorsed yesterday by more than two dozen Republican state legislators and candidates at a rally outside the statehouse in Phoenix. Arguing that illegal immigration in Arizona is...
(1 / 0)
September 15, 2004
The SteinReport has the scoop: In a stunning revelation, the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO), a division of the Executive Office for Immigration Review staffed by highly paid senior adminstrative law judges, says that enforcement actions against illegal immigration have bottomed out - at zero......
(0 / 0)
Steve Lopez of the L.A. Times has a two-parter on illegal immigration: Sunday's "She Wants a Fair Policy on Migrants" and today's "Illegal, Yes, but He Dislikes the Label". The first interviews someone who's opposed to illegal immigration, and the second interviews an illegal alien who's also, in some respects,...
(0 / 0)
From this: The chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus [Tom Tancredo R-CO] yesterday questioned the commitment of the nation's border czar [Asa Hutchinson] to track down and deport the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens in the United States, asking whether he had "any real interest" in getting...
(0 / 0)
FAIR has filed a formal request with NC's Board of Elections. This is similar to the formal request they made of New York....
(0 / 0)
September 14, 2004
From The Hill: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) considered calling for a top Bush administration official to resign after reading his recent comments on enforcing immigration laws, according to sources... A spokesperson for Tancredo said the lawmaker was “fairly angered” with Hutchinson’s comments. The staffer added that Tancredo and Hutchinson were...
(1 / 0)
From the Salt Lake Tribune: He has been accused of promoting mass immigration, terrorism and amnesty for illegal immigrants. Utah Republican Congressman Chris Cannon has paid a political price for his efforts to "fix" the nation's "broken" immigration system - not to mention mowing through 92 percent of his $472,000...
(0 / 0)
September 13, 2004
Insight Magazine has a roundup of the latest Bush giveaway: Those in Congress who really want to protect Social Security should put some action behind their bluster. They should add language to the Labor-Health-Education Appropriations bill prohibiting funds from being spent to carry out an expensive Social Security giveaway to...
(4 / 0)
Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily discusses the TIME cover story "Who Left the Door Open?" He offers a summary of the article and has several good suggestions and a few not-so-good suggestions. One of the good ones: "the firing of all top immigration officials who do not enforce the laws –...
(1 / 0)
The Washington Times offers this summary of Political Human Sacrifice: A Los Angeles radio talk-show duo has targeted two House veterans for defeat as "political human sacrifices" because of their records on illegal immigration. California Reps. Joe Baca, a Democrat, and David Dreier, a Republican, were deemed the "winners" after...
(0 / 0)
A letter to the Washington Times editor: Regarding "Rounding up all illegals 'not realistic'" (Page 1, Friday) by Jerry Seper: Asa Hutchinson has once again clearly demonstrated that he is not up to the task of protecting the U.S. borders. His statements and inaction show that rich bureaucrats have little...
(0 / 0)
FAIR lays into our "border czar" over his interview with the Washington Times. "Hutchinson�s Remarks Indicate Cheap Labor Bias of Administration": In a startling interview in the Washington Times, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Security, Asa Hutchinson, admits that the immigration enforcement agency that he oversees...
(1 / 0)
Justin Levine - who works at KFI (640AM Los Angeles) - has a long post explaining why Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) needs to be "politically sacrificed" for failing to take action on illegal immigration. As previously posted, KFI's John & Ken are encouraging their million or so listeners in SoCal...
(0 / 0)
September 12, 2004
From a July 2004 press release from Northeastern University ("in the heart of Boston"): After making up nearly half of the overall growth in the nation’s labor force during the decade of the 1990s, new immigrants have been responsible for 60 percent of civilian labor force growth between 2000 and...
(1 / 0)
Remember the story about half (or 53%) of the working-age population of Los Angeles being functionally illiterate (or similar)? When I originally posted that, I said there might be some observer bias involved, as the people who wanted to provide the services also did the survey. However, that wasn't the...
(4 / 0)
From Drudge: The U.S.’s borders, rather than become more secure since 9/11, have grown even more porous and the trend has accelerated in the past year. Based on a TIME investigation, it’s fair to estimate that the number of illegal aliens flooding into the U.S. this year will total 3...
(1 / 0)
September 10, 2004
Oops, sorry. Our breaking news about Rathergate has been interrupted by a story that actually matters. From "A 9/11 Anniversary Primer: A neglected report shows how the U.S. government was a travel agency for terrorists:" A report explaining how that horrific 9/11 attacks came about, and why something similar will...
(2 / 0)
In order to avoid sending my blood pressure through the roof, I'm not going to quote from the Washington Times interview with our so-called "Borders Czar" Asa Hutchinson. The article is called "Rounding up all illegals 'not realistic'" and it includes a picture of a thoughtful Hutchinson as he presumably...
(2 / 0)
In 66% in state favor anti-migrant issue the Arizona Republic reports strong support for the Protect Arizona Now initiative. PAN would attempt to reduce illegal immigration. It would also attempt to end voter fraud by requiring voters to prove they're U.S. citizens. It has "widespread support across party lines" in...
(1 / 0)
September 09, 2004
Lawyer? Like money? Look here: Despite a string of defeats before federal trial judges, Howard W. Foster has doggedly pressed on with a type of litigation he pioneered: using RICO to target companies that allegedly hire undocumented workers for the purpose of driving down wages... [He's brought] five Racketeer Influenced...
(1 / 0)
In the previous post there was a quote from VP Cheney about the massive flow of illegal immigrants over our southern border. Perhaps he should read this TownHall column: ...al Qaeda may have come to the same conclusion as many economically driven illegal immigrants: The U.S. is still not serious...
(1 / 0)
At a town hall meeting in Iowa, VP Cheney was asked about immigration, and here's his reply: Well, we've tightened up significantly on the borders since 9/11. We've had to. We've significantly beefed up our border security and so forth. But it continues to be a problem. Part of the...
(2 / 0)
September 08, 2004
Hi. I'd like to speak to the approximately 50% of Los Angeles County residents who can read this. Did you guys (and gals) know that the other half of Los Angeles County's 16-years-and-older population might be unable to read these here squiggles? For those of you who can read English,...
(2 / 0)
The DHS has just granted asylum to someone who's "the foreign minister-in-exile of the secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and a former military adjutant to Chechnaya's generalissimo, Shamil Basayev." The Beslan school massacre may have been ordered by the latter named individual. Don't you feel all safer now? Much more...
(3 / 0)
September 07, 2004
L.A. talk jocks John & Ken (KFI 640AM) have announced the results of their Political Human Sacrifice poll: Congressmen David Dreier (Rep.) and Joe Baca (Dem.) are the choices to be Politically Sacrificed. KFI listeners are encouraged to tell everyone to vote these two hacks out of office... You might...
(1 / 0)
As previously posted, Wal*Mart is in talks to settle the case alleging it hired illegal alien janitors: The discount chain did not reveal details about the talks but, in documents filed with Securities and Exchange Commission, predicted that any settlement would not significantly affect its earnings. Even if the settlement...
(0 / 0)
The San Diego Union-Tribune has a recount of how one Honduran illegal alien was smuggled into the U.S. Allow me to summarize: Used an altered Mexican ID card to board a Southwest flight with five others... Subject of story had paid for his ticket, but the tickets for the other...
(0 / 0)
MCALLEN [Texas] - A late-night tip led U.S. Border Patrol agents to five rooms at the Matador Motor Inn, where human smugglers had abandoned 22 men from China. Although the Chinese nationals were economic migrants, their discovery Aug. 16 in downtown McAllen left many with an uneasy feeling. If a...
(1 / 0)
September 05, 2004
Here are some quotes from Tom Tancredo: A Colorado congressman who has led the charge for better border protection says he doubts even a terrorist attack on the U.S. Congress itself would change the minds of some of his colleagues about the need to shut down the flow of illegal...
(2 / 0)
NRO wins with the quote of the week in this article: The White House's heavy hand on [illegal alien amnesty, etc. being mentioned at the GOP convention] might stem from the understanding that their side would lose in an intramural GOP debate on immigration. No one criticizes the White House...
(2 / 0)
Why is the Bush-Cheney website displaying the Mexican flag? This page wants to know. Sure, it's from a TV commercial that apparently makes the point that people from all (Latin American) countries come to America, and that page unfortunately fails to point out that it's from a commercial, but even...
(1 / 0)
This is from Feb. 5 2004, but since I didn't link to it at the time: Growing frustration over President Bush's immigration plan and lack of fiscal discipline came to a head behind closed doors at last weekend's Republican retreat in Philadelphia. House lawmakers, stunned by the intensity of their...
(1 / 0)
From this: A new policy close to adoption by the Department of Homeland Security will effectively muzzle any dissent within the U.S. Border Patrol by making agents fear for their jobs if they speak to the media, said local and national union officials Friday. Agent Ron Zermeno, a union official...
(1 / 0)
He was confused a couple months ago, and with his link to the WashTimes guest editorial "Where is the debate on homeland security?" he's still confused. It's not that there shouldn't be a debate on homeland security, and it's not that that editorial doesn't bring up some very important facts,...
(0 / 0)
September 03, 2004
From last month, FAIR has a list of recommendations Bush could implement (but most likely won't)....
(1 / 0)
In an attempt to show that he might be worse, John Kerry recently made more pro-illegal immigration promises in Fresno. Well, he wasn't really in Fresno, he just phoned his pandering in: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry capped a recent farm workers convention by promising to propose "comprehensive immigration reform"...
(1 / 0)
From a 2003 entry on Dana Rohrbacher's website: The federal government is thinking about giving away Social Security benefits to illegal aliens. Various interest groups are pushing for the Social Security Administration to sign a "Totalization Agreement" with Mexico that would entitle illegal aliens to Social Security benefits. With Social...
(1 / 1)
The president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has a guest opinion in the L.A. Daily News: No matter how one feels about minimum-wage laws or the underground economy, there is little disagreement that illegal immigrants, who make much less than Wal-Mart employees, are overwhelming public services in places like...
(2 / 0)
September 02, 2004
From this: ...Illegal immigration could be stopped at any time. Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, a twenty-six year veteran of the border patrol, commented on the issue of curbing illegal immigration during a debate on PBS’s News Hour with Jim Lehrer. “We can show statistically that the employer sanctions was...
(2 / 0)
CalInsider links to a five-page letter from the folks who run California's private hospitals. Due to money problems from many sources, many of them might be forced to shut down. The major reason appears to be because of the "uninsured." Of course, despite spanning five pages, the letter fails to...
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As previously discussed, those opposed to the Protect Arizona Now initiative are switching tactics and front groups. The article "Foes of immigration bill shift attack" gives more information: Steve Roman, a spokesman for the groups organizing to oppose the measure, said Wednesday that Arizonans are unaware of the unintended consequences...
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September 01, 2004
The Protect Arizona Now initiative has survived its first legal challenge (by the SEIU), and will probably appear on Nov. 2's ballot. The report "Immigration referendum survives union court challenge" unwittingly sums up the problem: [PAN] has strong support in public opinion polls, despite facing opposition from the state's political...
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From the WashTimes: President Bush's proposed "guest-worker" program, which could grant amnesty to as many as 8 million illegal immigrants, has been pushed into the shadows at the Republican National Convention, much to the ire of conservatives... "I don't like it, and I don't think it should be in there,"...
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From Arnold's speech before the GOP convention, here are some of the ways to tell if you're a proper Republican: you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government you believe a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member...
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August 31, 2004
From the WaPo: An Iraqi-born man was arrested yesterday for allegedly lying on his application to become a naturalized U.S. citizen and failing to disclose that he was a member of the former Iraqi intelligence service. Sami Khoshaba Latchin, 57, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago to...
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As you may recall, before choosing Alan Keyes to run against Barack Obama, the IL GOP held a ludicrous search for a candidate. About the only person they didn't consider was Chitown's own Bozo the Clown. Eventually they settled on Alan Keyes, who now trails Obama by a whopping 41...
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Newsday has a report similar to, but not as good as, the one in the previous post: Even as Michael Bloomberg heralded New York's diversity Monday, President George W. Bush's controversial plan to put in place a temporary worker program is getting no major billing at the Republican National Convention....
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TNR has the scoop on Tom Tancredo's failed attempt to get something about immigration into the GOP platform: You would think that as a member of Congress, Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo would enjoy special privileges at this convention. And, for the most part, you'd be right: Tancredo has invitations to...
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August 30, 2004
The NYT editorial "A Platform for Immigrants" supports the "original" Bush plan for immigration "reform." In so doing, they get so many things wrong it's hard to know where to begin. As a first start, let's examine this paragraph: Anybody who has watched the Republicans wrestling with this explosive issue...
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The North County Times reports on a website that lists companies in the Temecula, CA area who pledge not to hire illegal workers. So far, there are only 22 companies on the list, but if the coverage area was broadened there might be many more. The NC Times report includes...
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I think at this point we can assume he's representing the administration's viewpoint: Presidential nephew George P. Bush, campaigning in Tucson Thursday, backed off his weekend charge [that would be 8/21/04 --LW] that the U.S. Border Patrol's use of pepper-ball guns is "reprehensible" and "kind of barbarous." In Mexico City...
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A new joint program from the U.S. and Mexico flies some deported illegal aliens back into central Mexico, rather than dropping them off at a border city. The L.A. Times reports that so-called "rights groups" are up in arms about this new program. To get the plane ride, the alien...
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Thankfully someone has some sense: Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) plans to start a nasty floor fight at the Republican National Convention in New York this week unless the GOP convention platform includes elements of his immigration proposals. He calls the current platform “weak” and “Clintonesque.” The third-term former nonprofit-organization executive...
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August 28, 2004
From the AP: Remittances sent home to Mexico by workers abroad reached $7.87 billion in the first half of 2004, 25.9 percent higher than the same period of 2003, the country's central bank reported Wednesday. Experts say remittances are rising, but that some of the increase is due to increasing...
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August 27, 2004
In one or two columns, Steve Lopez of the L.A. Times was starting to make some sense. See April's "Way Too Many People in Paradise". However, with his latest discussion of illegal immigration he's reverted to the usual LAT set of canards and "experts". From "Handouts? Go Beyond the Usual...
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LaShawn Barber has a long post about Bush, immigration, the 9/11 report, and "compassion" here....
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The department of Customs and Border Protection - part of the DHS - wants our border guards to stress the customer services aspects of their job. You'd think they would want to stress, oh, I dunno, security instead of etiquette, but I guess that wouldn't be "compassionate." Remember, this is...
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From the NYT: ...Yesterday morning, leaders of the platform committee fought to fend off a last-ditch effort by conservatives to challenge a plank supporting Mr. Bush's proposal for a "guest worker" program that would be open to some currently illegal immigrants, which some conservatives denounce as a form of amnesty....
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August 26, 2004
Mark Krikorian of CIS offers a must-read article on the draft GOP platform in "Splintered Plank: The White House spins and misses on immigration:" The administration's effort to choreograph the platform's approach to immigration — an exertion greater than those undertaken in behalf of other platform issues — clearly shows...
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The Inland Empire's Daily Bulletin has a report on the recent CIS study that found that illegal immigration costs the U.S. $10 billion per year and legalizing those illegal immigrants would cost $29 billion per year. A Cato Institute economist tries to offer a talking point, but, thankfully, the Daily...
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The WashTimes has excerpts of the draft GOP platform: The draft's immigration section, titled "Supporting Humane and Legal Immigration," backs the president's case for giving some illegal aliens temporary legal status under a guest-worker program, a position vehemently opposed by immigration-control forces in the party. "A growing economy requires a...
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The GOP Convention website has a form letting you suggest items for the platform. That form has a nice popup menu on which you can select the topic that's most important to you: Homeland Security, Crime, Education, etc. etc. Only one tiny problem: immigration isn't on that popup, despite being...
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August 25, 2004
As previously posted, a small number of paintball-style non-lethal weapons have been used by the Border Patrol to non-lethally protect themselves against rock-throwing illegal aliens and smugglers. Mexican politicians complained, "high-level" meetings were held. Then, Presidential Nephew George P. Bush went to Mexico and dissed the Border Patrol and their...
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From this: The alleged leader [was arrested in Mexicali where he] was caught with a group of Iraqis and Iranians en route to the United States, according to Mexican officials Montoya is reportedly also wanted by the FBI. In case you missed that, he was caught with a group of...
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Can you spot the error(s) in the following newspaper report from Torrance, CA's Daily Breeze? Cedillo pushes immigrant license bill PROPOSAL: L.A. Democrat hopes to rally support today with a new plan to give driving privileges to illegal residents. By Michael Gardner, Copley News Service SACRAMENTO -- Gil Cedillo agonizes...
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Waterville, Maine mayor Paul R. LePage sent an email to the governor of Maine complaining about the governor's support for what amounts to an illegal alien sanctuary law. From the article "Immigration status law irks LePage": LePage charged that the move encourages illegal immigration, which he said presents security risks...
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From the LAT: Illegal immigrants cost the federal government more than $10 billion a year, and a program to legalize the undocumented would nearly triple that figure, a study released today concludes. The analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes efforts to legalize an estimated 8 million to...
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The draft GOP platform, according to the NYT: ...it also supports the expansion of legal immigration, a position that is already drawing opposition from some in the party's conservative base... On immigration, the platform supports Mr. Bush's call for a new temporary worker program that would also be open to...
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Michelle Malkin's latest column touches on George P. Bush's comments about the Border Patrol: George P. Bush calls it "barbarous" that we arm Border Patrol agents with plastic pellet guns. The true disgrace is that we have rendered our border guards defenseless, handing them toy guns instead of real weapons....
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August 24, 2004
From the LAT: Front-line U.S. border security officers are divided over whether the nation is safer from terrorism than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks, and many say morale in the Department of Homeland Security is low, according to a poll released Monday. A slim majority — 53% —...
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From the WashTimes: Maryland election officials have been stymied in their efforts to purge illegal aliens from the state's voting rolls. They have begun compiling a database of the state's 3 million registered voters, then they "hope to compare our data with the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service]," said Linda...
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August 23, 2004
From the WashTimes: The Republican Party's platform will oppose amnesty for illegal aliens, predicts Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the platform committee chairman. "I believe it likely there will be a strong statement against amnesty," the Tennessee Republican said in an interview with The Washington Times... Sounds good! Coincidentally enough,...
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I can't figure out whether this NY Post blurb is a satire or is based on real comments: Housewives in Westchester and other wealthy suburbs are in a tizzy because their housekeepers and nannies are about to lose their driver's licenses. Letters recently went out from the Department of Motor...
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August 22, 2004
One tiny, teensy-weensy, itty-bitty problem. That was the only company in the entire U.S. that was fined for immigration violations in the first five months of the year. "Employer fines plummet for hiring illegals": Since 1998, the federal government has fined just four companies in San Diego County and none...
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Although the 9/11 commission cited the need for increased border security, the majority of the nation's customs and border officials say they are ill-equipped to prevent another terrorist attack, according to a survey planned for release on Monday. "The vast majority of America's front-line border protection personnel do not believe...
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August 21, 2004
On August 13, Reuters ran "Mexico protests US border agents' pepper weapons": Mexican opposition legislators are up in arms over the US Border Patrol's use of weapons firing plastic bullets filled with pepper powder against Mexican migrants as they cross the border illegally... nonlethal weapons have been used sporadically for...
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August 20, 2004
Our border enforcement is about to get a lot better. Or, at least, it's about to be made to look a lot better: New labor rules proposed by the Department of Homeland Security would muzzle internal critics of the Border Patrol by making it easier to punish and fire agents,...
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From the Tucson Citizen: ...the University of Arizona was awarded a $10 million grant [from the National Science Foundation] to improve mathematics education among Latinos... The grant will fund research, professional development of teachers and development of leaders in math education... Among the goals of the new center are to...
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August 19, 2004
Serving as an antidote to their other immigration coverage, the NYT provides a report on gangs that are moving into rural areas to take advantage of the illegal aliens who are going there for jobs: Gang activity has traditionally been a function of immigration and labor-migration patterns. Today, with those...
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August 17, 2004
Sounds good so far! Let's keep reading this Chicago Tribune story: Several Chicago-area banks are leading rapid growth in a new, more flexible type of home loan that allows immigrants without Social Security numbers to secure a mortgage. Hmmm... Why don't they have SSNs? That's curious... Lenders have become more...
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It may be, of course, too late: Maryland elections officials, alerted this week that a greater number of people who aren't American citizens may be voting than previously thought, ordered their staff to find ways to purge the rolls of illegal voters. "There appears to be a resignation that noncitizens...
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August 16, 2004
The Washington Times offers a confusing article: Pennsylvania Rep. Melissa A. Hart will lead the Republican Party platform subcommittee that will tackle politically sensitive immigration issues, The Washington Times has learned... "I'm still getting up off the floor. This is great for those of us interested in a more moderate...
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Three more reports about the Temecula townhall meeting where DHS Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson was repeatedly booed by over 1000 citizens are available: The North County Times' "Cheers, jeers at immigration town hall meeting": A town hall meeting that was supposed to ease concerns about illegal immigration in the region left...
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From the El Paso Times: Mexico-born U.S. citizens who missed their chance to reclaim their Mexican nationality last year can try again starting today... [El Pasoan Maria Caballero] was naturalized seven years ago but last year she decided she wanted her Mexican rights back, she said... "The big one would...
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August 15, 2004
The Telegraph UK offers a report similar to the one in the previous post and previously covered here. The exception is they do it from a completely gullible perspective: President Bush has launched a drive to halt illegal immigration across America's porous southern border, amid growing fears that terrorists may...
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August 13, 2004
Congressman Darrell Issa held a townhall meeting about immigration in Temecula earlier today. Special guests included DHS Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson and KFI's John & Ken. Hundreds of KFI listeners and other immigration reform supporters showed up. The meeting lasted an hour and a half and the audio will probably be...
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August 12, 2004
From a WashTimes editorial: When it comes to immigration, the administration is laboring to come up with a coherent formula to protect the nation's borders. Judging from recent actions and statements by Department of Homeland Security's Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, the administration hopes to solve the problem by putting out the...
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That's what's on the signs in the picture on this report of Gil Cedillo's latest attempt to get driver's licenses for illegal aliens: Cedillo issued a news release Wednesday in Sacramento stating that he received a proposal from Schwarzenegger listing conditions under which the governor would support Senate Bill 1160....
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August 10,