"Congressional delegation wants action on immigration policies"

From this:
Upset with what they say is the federal government's failure to prosecute illegal immigrants, the entire 19-member California Republican congressional delegation has asked the U.S. attorney general for a meeting to discuss the matter.

In an Oct. 20 letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, the Congress members also criticized the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego for what they called its "lax prosecutorial standard" of only prosecuting those illegal immigrants with two felony convictions in the San Diego District.

"We write to request a meeting with you to discuss our frustration with the current policies within the Administration related to the prosecution of criminal aliens," the letter states.

The letter goes on to say that too often, illegal immigrants who should be jailed instead benefit from "the current practice of 'catch and release.' "

The Republicans' letter to Gonzalez appeared to be the latest sign of a growing level of conservative Republican frustration with the Bush administration on several issues, including what they say is its failure to enforce the country's immigration laws.

Last week, nearly one-third of the House's 231 Republican members sent a letter to President Bush, saying that if he expects to get their support for a temporary guest worker program, he first needs to clamp down on illegal immigration by strengthening the nation's borders and enforcing immigration laws.

Reached by phone in Washington on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista ---- one of the signatories of the letter ---- said that he and other Republican members of Congress took a more diplomatic approach with the Bush administration until late 2004.

"Before the president was re-elected, all of us felt what we had to say had to be said behind the scenes ---- and it was," Issa said...

Comments

From Tired immigrant's blog:
I'd been in the U.S. a whole year before I realized that there were country-quotas. American law did not want too many Indians coming to America. So, they had imposed limits on how many could get Green Cards from a single country. A Greek programmer I worked with got his Green card a year after he applied for it. He was a nice guy. I didn't grudge him his success...but I did think it was a bit unfair. Still, I prefer the guy who comes illegally -- at least he doesn't cut into my quota.
The idea behind country quotas is fairness for people from all over the world,. Very few Greeks immigrate to the US these days, most stay in the EU. I think that is the reason he received his green card so quickly. At any rate the quota system doesn't work very well in practice since most immigrants come from a handful of Third World countries. Mexico is number one in both legal and illegal immigration.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908706.html
Immigrants Admitted by Top 20 Countries of Birth, 2003
Specific countries
1. Mexico 115,864 16.4%
2. India 50,372 7.1
3. Philippines 45,397 6.4
4. China, People's Republic 40,659 5.8
5. El Salvador 28,296 4.0
6. Dominican Republic 26,205 3.7
7. Vietnam 22,133 3.1%
8. Colombia 14,777 2.1
9. Guatemala 14,415 2.0
10. Russia 13,951 2.0
11. Jamaica 13,384 1.9
12. Korea 12,512 1.8
13. Haiti 12,314 1.7
14. Ukraine 11,666 1.7
15. Canada 11,446 1.6
16. Poland 10,526 1.5
17. United Kingdom 9,601 1.4
18. Pakistan 9,444 1.3
19. Peru 9,444 1.3
20. Cuba 9,304 1.3
Other 224,117 31.8
All countries 705,827 100.0
Source: 2003 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

So from what I read, I guess you are unhappy with -- feeling "tired" over -- US immigration law, or thinking it is unfair, because regarding getting a green card, when you said 'Jump', we as a nation didn't say 'How high'. Have I got that about right?

Your story is not one to elicit a lot of sympathy. Not from someone who's seen his part of the country demographically transformed so that it no longer seems like home anymore. Including by the presence of too many Indians who are definitely a lot more Indian than they are American. What about Americans who think America as it is -- or in some places, was -- has a lot of value and would like to see it stay that way?

I assume you came on some sort of work visa, not an immigrant visa -- correct? What makes you think you are, in any way, entitled to get a green card because you came on a non-immigrant work visa? See, as an American, I'm a little 'tired' of that sort of thing myself. And here is my reasoning: if by giving out work visas, what we're actually going to end up with is a lot of new permanent residents, then I'd like to know that, or have it explicitly stated, beforehand. So I can then consider that factor as one of many when I go to decide whether I'd like to see the work visa program continue or not. Make sense?

In case you still have doubt: the primary purpose of America is not be 'benevolent' to any foreigner who happens to think he ought to be able to live here.

Has it occurred to you that America would not be America anymore if it filled up with too many immigrants? Many of whom seem to desire little assimilation other than as consumers who want to experience the superior material prosperity here, brought about by economic and political stability, all the result of the work done by previous generations of Americans.

"Dishwashers, cars, $3 coffee, 50 channels on TV, and lots more. But, more than anything else was.... choice."

So what's stopping the development of this back in India? Could emigration of intelligent, educated people be a factor?

Going to Alberto Gonzalez to ask for a crackdown on illegal immigration? Don't make me laugh. That's like going to the Crips or MS-13 and asking them to please do something about all those drive-by shootings.

I don't think most Americans understand their own immigration laws and how just or unjust these laws are. My story is a clear example, where I have found most Americans bewildered about it, and yet this is *their* law, even if they're ignorant about it. Benevolence is is great; but, ignorant benevolence is depressing.