" I didn’t think it was possible for the Senate GOP to screw this up and with it the prospects for 2014 and beyond, but it is doing so."

Hugh Hewitt: Say It Ain’t So, Senator Cornyn

In today's debate, the threshold question is: Should the nation have immigration laws?

Until 1875, there were none.

White House: Hey, if we get away with this, we may not even vote on other bills either!

White House Won't Rule Out That Obama Will Sign Other Bills--Such As Immigration Reform--That Are Not Put to Yea-or-Nay Votes in Both Houses

Obama Readying Immigration Overhaul Despite Political Risks

WASHINGTON - The punishing battle over healthcare is still unresolved, but the Obama administration is quietly laying plans to take up another issue that could generate even more controversy and political division--a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Already, senior White House aides have privately assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation in 2010 to provide a road to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented workers now living in the United States.

Read more!

Letter: Retired U.S. Border Patrol Agent

In April of last year I wrote an open letter to a prominent Senator who is no longer in office.

That letter is more relevant today than it was last year.

Soon the U.S. Senate will vote on a massive amnesty bill while trying to hoodwink the American public into thinking it is a "reform" bill. Illegal aliens come to this country primarily for two reasons:

1. To get employment. (They will work for half or less what a legal alien or a U.S. Citizen will accept).

2. Illegal aliens come to this country to get benefits such as free medical care, public schooling, low-income housing and other benefits of a free society that our ancestors bought and paid for with blood, lives and severe sacrifice.

Yet, those who sneaked across the border in the dead of night have marched on our streets demanding rights and privileges dearly bought by Americans since the Revolutionary War. They have paid nothing except, perhaps, a smuggling fee of $3000 or less.

Our Congress Critters of the liberal persuasion and those in the pockets of the cheap labor pimps want to roll out the benefit carpet to them.

Under this horrendous bill, a "Z" visa recipient will get everything he always dreamed of: A bonifide social security card, a job, (likely at a still much reduced rate), in-state tuition and free education for his anchor babies or foreign born offspring. He will receive all the benefits that a regular "Green Card" holder except he additionally gets a free pass for document fraud, social security fraud, having already been ordered deported, unpaid medical bills, a criminal history check that is so laughable and cursory and hurried as to be non-existent.

There are other crazy provisions as yet undisclosed. Perhaps even the co-authors of this bill, (NCLR, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others) besides Kennedy, Kyl and Bush don't even know the extent of the giveaway of American Birthright contained in this outrageous bill.

In other words, the "Z" visa holder gets everything he always wanted simply by having broken our laws. What many of the public don't realize is that the "Z" visa is just as good as jumping through the hoops and getting a "Green Card". Except that the Green Card holder has to submit to more extensive checks and balances.

The "Z" visa is good for life, renewable every 4 years. We know that the renewal process will consist of the elbow movements of a bureaucrat with a rubber approval stamp.

Additionally, all the requirements attached to upgrading from the initial "Z" visa will be waived. Just as in the '86 Amnesty Act, there is a "hardship" provision which means that fees don't have to be paid and any other requirement will be waived.

Below is the letter I mentioned above. Nothing has been changed except the addressee.

It is now addressed to Sen. Trent Lott. I don't expect him to even read it as he and the others have simply closed their minds while opening their pocketbooks to "special" interests.

Dear Senator Lott:

There is a huge amount of propaganda and myths circulating about illegal aliens, particularly illegal Mexican, Salvadorian, Guatemalan and Honduran aliens.

1. Illegal aliens generally do NOT want U.S. citizenship. Americans are very vain thinking that everybody in the world wants to be a U.S. citizen. Mexicans, and other nationalities want to remain citizens of their home countries while obtaining the benefits offered by the United States such as employment, medical care, in-state tuition, government subsidized housing and free education for their offspring. Their main attraction is employment and their loyalty usually remains at home. They want benefits earned and subsidized by middle class Americans. What illegal aliens want are benefits of American residence without paying the price.

2. There are no jobs that Americans won't do. Illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans can't take and still support their families. Illegal aliens take low wage jobs, live dozens in a single residence home, share expenses and send money to their home country. There are no jobs that Americans won't do for a decent wage.

3. Every person who illegally entered this nation left a home. They are NOT homeless and they are NOT Americans. Some left jobs in their home countries. They come to send money to their real home as evidenced by the more than 20 billion dollars sent out of the country each year by illegal aliens. These illegal aliens knowingly and willfully entered this nation in violation of the law and therefore assumed the risk of detection and deportation. Those who brought their alien children assumed the responsibility and risk on behalf of their children.

4. Illegal aliens are NOT critical to the economy. Illegal aliens constitute less than 5% of the workforce. However, they reduce wages and benefits for lawful U.S. residents.

5. This is NOT an immigrant nation. There are 280 million native born Americans. While it is true that this nation was settled and founded by immigrants (legal immigrants), it is also true that there is not a nation on this planet that was not settled by immigrants at one time or another.

6. The United States is welcoming to legal immigrants. Illegal aliens are not immigrants by definition. The U.S. accepts more lawful immigrants every year than the rest of the world combined.

7. There is no such thing as the "Hispanic vote". Hispanics are white, brown, black and every shade in between. Hispanics are Republicans, Democrats, Anarchists, Communists, Marxists and Independents. The so-called "Hispanic vote" is a myth. Pandering to illegal aliens to get the Hispanic vote is a dead end.

8. Mexico is NOT a friend of the United States. Since 1848 Mexicans have resented the United States. During World War I Mexico allowed German Spies to operate freely in Mexico to spy on the U.S. During World War II Mexico allowed the Axis powers to spy on the U.S. from Mexico. During the Cold War Mexico allowed spies hostile to the U.S. to operate freely. The attack on the Twin Towers in 2001 was cheered and applauded all across Mexico. Today Mexican school children are taught that the U.S. stole California, Arizona, new Mexico and Texas. If you don't believe it, check out some Mexican textbooks written for their schoolchildren.

9. Although some illegal aliens enter this country for a better life, there are 6 billion people on this planet. At least 1 billion of those live on less than one dollar a day. If wanting a better life is a valid excuse to break the law and sneak into America, then let's allow those one billion to come to America and we'll turn the USA into a Third World nation overnight.

Besides, there are 280 million native born Americans who want a better life.

I'll bet Bill Gates and Donald Trump want a better life. When will the USA lifeboat be full? Since when is wanting a better life a good reason to trash another nation?

10. There is a labor shortage in this country. This is a lie. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American housewives, senior citizens, students, unemployed and underemployed who would gladly take jobs at a decent wage.

11. It is racist to want secure borders. What is racist about wanting secure borders and a secure America?

What is racist about not wanting people to sneak into America and steal benefits we have set aside for legal aliens, senior citizens, children and other legal residents?

What is it about race that entitles people to violate our laws, steal identities, and take the American Dream without paying the price?

For about four decades American politicians have refused to secure our borders and look after the welfare of middle class Americans. These politicians have been of both parties. A huge debt to American society has resulted. This debt will be satisfied and the interest will be high.

There has already been riots in the streets by illegal aliens and their supporters. There will be more. You, as a politician, have a choice to offend the illegal aliens who have stolen into this country and demanded the rights afforded to U.S. citizens or to offend those of us who are stakeholders in this country. The interest will be steep either way.

There will be civil unrest. There will be a reckoning. Do you have the courage to do what is right for America? Or, will you bow to the wants and needs of those who don't even have the right to remain here?

There will be a reckoning. It will come in November of this year, again in 2008 and yet again in 2010.

We will not allow America to be stolen by third world agitators and thieves.

David J. Stoddard

U.S. Border Patrol (RET)

Hereford, Arizona

VERIFIED AS "TRUE" ON SNOPES.COM

Comprehensively Bad: Faux Immigration Reform

May 23, 2007, 6:45 a.m.
By John Fonte


Deputy White House chief of staff, Joel Kaplan, a key negotiator in the Senate immigration bill, told the Washington Post that there are “things in this bill that Republicans and conservatives have wanted for a long time.”

Did he have any of the following items in mind?

One-day amnesty: Once the bill is enacted illegal aliens can apply for and receive probationary legal status immediately. Criminal/terrorist background checks are required to be completed by the “end of the next business day.” Illegal Monday, legal Tuesday, now that’s almost instant amnesty.

Tax amnesty: Unlike last year’s Senate amnesty bill, which required the illegal immigrants to pay three of five years back taxes, this year’s bill does not require them to pay any back taxes. Senator Kennedy wanted them to pay some taxes, but the White House insisted upon a complete tax amnesty.

Faux enforcement “triggers”: The so-called “enforcement” measures do not require that the border be secure. They only require that a few thousand more Border Patrol agents be hired (not deployed); that about half (370 miles) of the already authorized 700 miles of border fence be built; and that a few other bureaucratic inputs are announced. Then DHS will authorize the second phase of the amnesty by awarding the Z visas. Can anyone imagine Michael Chertoff declaring that these phony “triggers” have not been met?

Weak employer verification: This is not the long-promised “tamper proof” identity for employment. No serious fingerprint digital system is required, massive fraud will continue.

No exit system for guest workers: The guest workers are supposed to be “temporary” and required to eventually leave. But there is no way to enforce their leaving because there is still no Entry-Exit system in place.

Trust criminal gang members: As former Ashcroft deputy Kris Kobach notes there are more than 30,000 illegal immigrant gang members “trafficking in drugs, arms, and people.” They get a Z (amnesty) Visa if they simply sign a “renunciation of gang affiliation.” I guess the Senate-administration “negotiators” trust these M-13 guys.

“Section 136: Nothing in this section may be construed to provide additional authority to any State or local entity to enforce Federal immigration laws.” Why not? The illegal aliens who were part of the Fort Dix terrorist conspiracy were stopped by local law enforcement 56 times but their immigration status was never checked. This bill does nothing to ensure cooperation between local and federal officials in combating terrorism.

No real merit or skills-based (point) system instead current extended family chain migration is accelerated: The chain migration of extended family members will continue and be greatly expanded for the next eight years and only then would a skills-based merit (points) system supposedly go into effect. That is, if you really believe that after eight years a skills system would be adopted against strong business and liberal opposition.

Costs over $2 Trillion: Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation has estimated that the costs to American taxpayers for low-skilled immigrant households is $19, 588 per household, per year. The lifetime costs for the Senate amnesty are estimated to be over 2 trillion dollars.

Okay, maybe Kaplan was not referring to any of the above. Perhaps he meant that the Senate bill has begun a serious effort at assimilation, which many of us “have wanted for a long time.” After all, the White House press office trumpeted, “Strengthening the Assimilation of Immigrants.”

Title VII: Section 707 spells out the details. The term “assimilation” disappears; the concept of “Americanization” never appears; and the Euro-speak weasel word “integration” enters the text. Thus, 100 million federal dollars will be given to states and cities to award grants to “nonprofit organizations with experience working with immigrant communities” for “effective integration of immigrants into American society.”

In plain language this means that the State of Illinois’s Office of New Americans funnels federal funds to groups like La Raza and MALDEF. The type of “integration” that the new citizens will be learning can be gleaned from remarks of Jose Luis Gutierrez, the head of the Illinois Office of New Americans as reported in the Chicago Tribune April 6, 2007.

“The nation-state concept is changing. You don't have to say, `I am Mexican,' or, `I am American.' You can be a good Mexican citizen and a good American citizen and not have that be a conflict of interest. Sovereignty is flexible.”

Gutierrez is a dual citizen who is actively involved in Mexican politics. He votes in both the US and Mexico and is active in political campaigns in both nations. His political allegiance is clearly divided. He will not choose the United States over Mexico. Remember this is the guy in charge of assimilation; sorry, I mean “integration.” In short, the Senate bill can’t even get assimilation right.

There is almost nothing in this bill that “Republicans and conservatives,” Democrats and liberals, or Americans of any political persuasion “have wanted for a long time.” What the American people have “wanted for a long time” in the five and half years since 9/11 is for the Bush administration to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to “provide for the common defense” by securing the borders and interior of the United States of America — in this solemn duty the administration has failed miserably.

National Review Online

— John Fonte is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

7 reasons why Tom Tancredo could be our next President

"A Line In The Sand": Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border.

Prepared by the Majority Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommitte on Investigations, The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, Chariman

***WARNING***
The report contains material that is violent and graphic in nature

*************************************************************************
1. Drug trafficking organizations and human smuggling networks are proliferating and strengthening their control of key corridors along our Nation’s Southwest border.

2. The Mexican drug cartels wield substantial control over the U.S.-Mexican border. Law enforcement on the border agree that very little crosses the respective cartel territories, or “plazas,” along the Southwest border without cartel knowledge, approval, and financial remuneration.

3. These criminal organizations and networks are highly sophisticated and organized, operating with military style weapons and technology, utilizing counter surveillance techniques and acting aggressively against both law
enforcement and competitors.

4. Drug trafficking organizations, human smuggling networks and U.S. based gangs are increasingly coordinating with one another to achieve their objectives.

5. Federal, State and local law enforcement report new and ever-increasing levels of ruthlessness and violence associated with these criminal organizations, which are increasingly spilling across the border into the United States and moving into local communities.

6. Each year hundreds of illegal aliens from countries known to harbor terrorists or promote terrorism are routinely encountered and apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.

7. The existing resources of the U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement must continue to be enhanced to counter the cartels and the criminal networks they leverage to circumvent law enforcement.

CONGRESSIONAL IMMIGRATION REFORM CAUCUS
Chairman Tom Tancredo, Chairman

Victor Davis Hanson says that now, after the elections, "congressional reformers will be blitzed by advocates of the failed status quo with a series of false assumptions concerning the issue...The evidence suggests that massive illegal immigration causes as much upheaval inside Mexico as it supposedly prevents - while aggravating, not solving, problems in the United States." Rethinking Illegal Immigration