Posted on 03/06/2006 1:12:39 PM PST by Impeach98
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INVASION USA
Ban on wire transfers by illegals proposed
Supporters believe it will remove major incentive for crossing border
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Posted: March 6, 2006 2:32 p.m. Eastern
James L. Lambert © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A Republican candidate for a vacated congressional seat in southern California is proposing a ban on wire transfers by illegal aliens from the U.S. to Mexico.
The plan "will remove a major incentive for illegal immigration and increase national security," said Howard Kaloogian, a well-known California activist who launched the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis.
Kaloogian is the front-runner for the San Diego-area congressional seat held by Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was sentenced last week to eight years in prison on corruption charges.
Howard Kaloogian
"[T]he Mexican government is making billions of dollars every year from illegal aliens who enter the U.S. illegally and then wire that money back to their families in Mexico," Kaloogian said Saturday at a news conference at the border.
The economy, he contended, bears the cost of illegal aliens, who pay no taxes but receive taxpayer-funded services.
"It's absurd that we continue to allow those who have broken the law by entering this nation illegally to then enjoy the benefit of collecting wages illegally and then sending those funds to a foreign nation," Kaloogian said.
Howard Kaloogian at the Mexican border Saturday.
The proposal, if adopted by Congress, would require anyone wiring money to Mexico to provide identification to financial institutions or wire-transfer operators to prove citizenship.
An estimated $15 to $20 billion is moved annually from the U.S. to Mexico through private-party wire transfers. Howard Kaloogian at Mexican border Saturday
Kaloogian said past legislative proposals involving transfers by illegal aliens merely have imposed an extra fee.
The new proposal, he argued, "will establish leverage with foreign leaders such as Mexico's Vicente Fox who has sent a wink and a nod to their citizens to enter the United States illegally, collect wages that ad up to 10 times those paid in Mexico and then send those funds back to Mexico."
Claudia Garcia de Spencer, spokeswoman for the San Diego chapter of the Minutemen volunteer border patrol, spoke at the news conference in support of the proposal.
"Four and a half years after 9-11, our federal and state officials still refuse to confront threats allowing our borders to be breached thousands of times each day by foreigners," she said. "As a new citizen who followed the procedures and obeyed the rules, this (illegal immigration) is a shocking affront to me and is a slap in the face to all loyal Americans."
Kaloogian was a California state assemblyman from 1994 to 2000. He helped launch the pro-troops organization Move America Forward. His candidacy has received a variety of endorsements, including support from Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, publisher of Forbes magazine.
A special election for Cunningham's congressional seat is scheduled April 11. If no candidate receives a 50 percent majority, run-off will take place between the expected Democrat candidate Carolyn [sic] Busby and the top Republican vote-getter.
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Another bandaid...
Might as well block PayPal, too.
Anyone who has talked to immigrants both legal and illegal knows these folks are shipping huge amounts of tax-free cash out of the country by every means possible. Foreigners in the US are supporting their families around the world with under the table earnings and the scale is massive.
So he's proposing creating a 20B a year underground money transfer industry ? That we can't monitor. Oh that's great.
Secure the damn border. Fine employers (for real). None of this 'creative' boloney. It isn't that difficult.
PING - for your attention, consideration, comments and discussion :)
Heard that each taxpayer pays an additional $2000 annually to cover the underground economy.
Why can't these funds be confiscated as the fruit of illegal activity.
Why can't racketeering laws apply?
Ooops. On second thought, the illegals would just bring all of their extended family over if they can't wire money to them at home in Mexico. Bad idea...
"The proposal, if adopted by Congress, would require anyone wiring money to Mexico to provide identification to financial institutions or wire-transfer operators to prove citizenship. "
Oh, that'll work. I don't suppose any of these illegals have friends or co-workers who are citizens, eh? Silliness. It'll just make for new businesses to take money from the illegals and then wire it to Mexico, using a citizen to do the wiring. Dumb!
Right now its legal for illegal aliens to send money from the U.S. to a foreign country and Vincente Fox and company profit handsomely.
It's time for that to stop.
"The economy, he contended, bears the cost of illegal aliens, who pay no taxes but receive taxpayer-funded services."
How come they don't pay taxes?
This isn't a Band-aid, this is major funding for Mexico. It's the second largest cash cow. Vincente Fox no doubt will call this an economic attack on his country. This will force Mexicans to physically take the money back and when they try to cross the border with more than $25 G's it get confiscated. Use the money to pay for Border Guards.
1) Stopping new immigration by illegal aliens.
2) Doing something about those already here to discourage their continued stay.
Kaloogian's proposal addresses the 2nd. There need to be many other things done (fining employers, deporting illegal aliens picked up by law enforcement, etc...) but this is a positive step in the right direction.
Kaloogian will be a good partner with Tancredo.
Why not just stop employers from paying the illegal workers in the first place?
So are the clerks at the grocery stores where they wire the money via Western Union going to be arrested if it is discovered an "illegal" wired money? Yeah, sounds like a great plan.
I don't think your analogy works. Illegals use wire transfers of cash because there is a giant underground cash-for-labor economy that they earn their income from.
Not a lot of illegal aliens with their Wi-Fi logging on to PayPal.
Kaloogian's proposal addresses the real problem, which is the millions who come in and work for cash and then send money home to relatives, family members, etc...
How about this... the U.S. gets better cooperation from Vincente Fox when the 2nd largest source of money to the Mexican economy is put in jeopardy!
Good Idea :)
Okay, that accounts for 3 illegals. What about the rest of them?
Same argument as cigarettes and alcohol. The store gets fines and the employees who keep breaking the law get fired by the store because they can't afford the employee who doesn't enforce the law.
Good idea.
One doesn't need WiFi to use PayPal. All that's needed is a checking account (even that of a cooperating U.S. citizen) and a basic internet connection.
You attitude is why we have the illegal immigration problem today -- a total unwillingness to try things that will help bring this problem under control.
None of the solutions are perfect, but they are all needed to get this problem handled now for national security reasons, if not for the economic hardship it imposes on American citizens.
Many of the governments in Latin America now depend on the American dollars being sent back to the home countries. We need to curtail it so these nations, particularly Mexico, will cooperate with the US Government in making people use the legal immigration system.
Kaloogian, as usual, is out front with ideas to solve problems. That is why he is so popular with conservatives. So stop being so negative and get with the program!
Either that or it will force them to set up bank accounts at Bank of America for deposits, so people can withdraw the cash down in Mexico...
http://www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom/press/press.cfm?PressID=press.20030929.01.htm&LOBID=5
It's like Strategic Defense Initiative with the Soviets.
In this case though its addressing where the money is.
Follow the money!
"Illegals use wire transfers of cash because there is a giant underground cash-for-labor economy that they earn their income from."
They also come into the post office and buy international money orders and mail them to Mexico. They go to convenience stores and buy money orders, specifically drawn on Mexican banks, too.
This is a stupid idea, and it won't work. It will merely make more paperwork for those who deal with this money. So Jesus is an illegal. His cousin, Jose, is a US citizen. So, Jesus goes with Jose to the Western Union and Jose hands the money over and sends the wire. Jose shows his driver's license or his passport, for Pete's sake. The money gets wired.
It's that simple. And for those illegals who don't have a cousin who is a citizen, some enterprising citizen will start a business taking the cash to the Western Union and wiring it off.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Living in California I can tell you that in the spider holes I've seen and the houses with 10+ illegals living in them, not many had DSL, dialup, or Broadband.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
My idea is and always has been to seriously PUNISH those employers/owners who HIRE illegals! Simple, really. But if you feel better punishing the minimum wage clerks, go right ahead. They can always move on to McDonalds.
What paperwork are you even talking about.
When a published copy of the proposal is printed I'll try to send you one, because you seem to gloss over the points and don't understand the reasons that illegal aliens use the wire transfers and don't mail the money home in the first place!
I sooo love your Denny Crane signature!
Once again I find myself in total agreement with you!
Sometimes, I wonder whether a proposed measure to curb illegal immigration is actually intended to curb illegal immigration, or to provide less-than-honest folks a way to make money off of illegal immigration.
Then again, I doubt that any politician would consort with any folks who fit the description of "less-than-honest." (BTW, that last sentence is EXTREME SARCASM).
(((:~)>
Totally agree with you about the businesses that hire illegals, but remember, alot of the hiring isn't done by big corporations but small time under the table jobs.
And you are not going after the clerks as the target really, just as you aren't going after the clerk at the mini mart who sells tobacco and alcohol to minors.
The people who get into big trouble are the shop owners for not complying with the law, just as the people in this case are the people who run the Money Transfer shop you walk into to send the money. They are in this to make a profit/for cash, and if they lose money from breaking the law then they won't keep looking the other way.
actually the IRS issues tax payer ids to illegals now so they don't need SSNs. I know there are still some people paying illegals with cash, but the tax ids are how the big corps can hire them.
Good thing public libraries don't provide free internet access.
Whoops! They do. (I live in CA, too. Can I also claim to be an expert on that basis?)
LOL, when BOA systems crashed and my paycheck didn't get autodeposited. I was offered three times to wire money to Mexico while I was on hold.
"Once again I find myself in total agreement with you!"
Shocking, isn't it? [grin]
Zero chance.
???
You expect there to be a strong financial mob of hush hush money transfer third parties to spring up? Sure, there might be some, but it will be the exception not the rule. Western Union won't be opening up a subsidiary in the Yellow Pages advertising "we'll match you up with a U.S. citizen to wire money for you and all your illegal alien friends! Se Habla Espanol!"
"Shocking, isn't it? [grin]"
It's becoming less so.:)
"Sometimes, I wonder whether a proposed measure to curb illegal immigration is actually intended to curb illegal immigration, or to provide less-than-honest folks a way to make money off of illegal immigration. "
Hmm...or just stupidity. I think that putting out some effort at the borders to stop entry, along with deporting every illegal that shows up wherever they show up would work a lot better than this piddly messing around with wire transfers. But, hey, what do I know?
Why not a ban on illegals?
The owners are NOT free to sell someone else. They face fines, penalties and can be shut down and lose their license for repeated offenses.
" Because when George goes to pay his gardener, his maid, the guy he hired on the street to pour cement for his back patio"
That accounts for 3 illegals - what about the rest of them?
Maybe but it doesn't happen here. Just the clerks are charged. I've seen it happen several times.
STUPID!
How the heck do you prove the transferee is an illegal? Or are we going to ASSUME the transfer is illegal until you produce your Birth Certificate, Passport, etc.?
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