Posted on 07/28/2007 2:30:04 AM PDT by starbase
Somebody may be pouting at the White House over the collapse of the comprehensive amnesty legislation. For seven years, the Bush administration has been unable or unwilling to enforce the immigration laws, leading to an out-of-control deluge of illegal aliens across the nation's Southern border.
Suddenly, the feds are about to do what they said couldn't be done. They've been winking at employers who shrug at the widespread custom of taking prospective employees at their word that the Social Security card they offer is genuine, even when the employers suspect it is not and sometimes even when they know it is not.
Don't ask, don't tell. Social Security cards are widely counterfeited in Mexico for sale to illegals about to cross the border. The Social Security Administration routinely warns employers when they discover suspicious numbers entered into its electronic database, but only now the feds are warning employers that they're about to get serious about enforcement. Maybe.
Many employers, particularly restaurants, chicken pluckers like Tyson's, Perdue, Pilgrim's Pride and other low-pay companies, are suddenly terrified that they will shape up or pay enormous fines. Pilgrim's Pride, one of the largest, has fired a hundred illegals with illegal cards at one plant in Texas, and warns that more firings are coming. The company, which employs 55,000 workers in the United States and Mexico, acknowledged that it dismissed some employees but won't say how many or why, but a spokesman says "there undoubtedly will be additional terminations." The fired workers have been replaced. This is curious, because we've been told by the amnesty advocates that illegal or not, the illegals are needed because they will do the jobs nobody else will do. Enforcing the law is always a good thing to do,
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Well, they are doing a tiny fraction of what they should have been doing.
I’ll have to look back through my research on this. I believe that some of the named companies have ties to the White House.
I’d also like to know the status of Foster’s RICO suit against Tyson. Anyone have a current update?
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r110:1:./temp/~r110HLljIT:e56618:
SENSE OF SENATE ON IMMIGRATION.
(a) Findings.—The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) On June 28th, 2007, the Senate, by a vote of 46 to 53, rejected a motion to invoke cloture on a bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform.
(2) Illegal immigration remains the top domestic issue in the United States.
(3) The people of the United States continue to feel the effects of a failed immigration system on a daily basis, and they have not forgotten that Congress and the President have a duty to address the issue of illegal immigration and the security of the international borders of the United States.
(4) People from across the United States have shared with members of the Senate their wide ranging and passionate opinions on how best to reform the immigration system.
(5) There is no consensus on an approach to comprehensive immigration reform that does not first secure the international borders of the United States.
(6) There is unanimity that the Federal Government has a responsibility to, and immediately should, secure the international borders of the United States.
(7) Border security is an integral part of national security.
(8) The greatest obstacle the Federal Government faces with respect to the people of the United States is a lack of trust that the Federal Government will secure the international borders of the United States.
(9) This lack of trust is rooted in the past failures of the Federal Government to uphold and enforce immigration laws and the failure of the Federal Government to secure the international borders of the United States.
(10) Failure to uphold and enforce immigration laws has eroded respect for those laws and eliminated the faith of the people of the United States in the ability of their elected officials to responsibly administer immigration programs.
(11) It is necessary to regain the trust of the people of the United States in the competency of the Federal Government to enforce immigration laws and manage the immigration system.
(12) Securing the borders of the United States would serve as a starting point to begin to address other issues surrounding immigration reform on which there is not consensus.
(13) Congress has not fully funded some interior and border security activities that it has authorized.
(14) The President of the United States can initiate emergency spending by designating certain spending as ``emergency spending’’ in a request to the Congress.
(15) The lack of security on the international borders of the United States rises to the level of an emergency.
(16) The Border Patrol are apprehending some, but not all, individuals from countries that the Secretary of State has determined have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism who cross or attempt to cross illegally into the United States.
(17) The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating a human smuggling ring that has been bringing Iraqis and other Middle Eastern individuals across the international borders of the United States.
(b) Sense of Senate.—It is the sense of Senate that—
(1) the Federal Government should work to regain the trust of the people of the United States in its ability of the Federal Government to secure the international borders of the United States;
(2) in order to restore the credibility of the Federal Government on this critical issue, the Federal Government should prove its ability to enforce immigration laws by taking actions such as securing the border, stopping the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States, and creating a tamper-proof biometric identification card for foreign workers; and
(3) the President should request emergency spending that fully funds—
(A) existing interior and border security authorizations that have not been funded by Congress; and
(B) the border and interior security initiatives contained in the bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes (S. 1639) introduced in the Senate on June 18, 2007.
Folks, your efforts upon the immigration issue have not only been heard, but FELT by members of the US Senate. Finally some sense of good sense has surfaced among the elected elite.
Same old story. After ignoring immigration laws for six years, all of a sudden the Feds raided some places to show their wonderful admiration for the law, then Bush demanded “comprehensive immigration reform” in return for his bangup job of enforcing the law. Now they think they can run the same play and get us all to go along next time. Idiots! Further proof that these elitists have absolutely no respect for the people they are supposed to represent. They really think we are all stupid.
The incoherency and hypocrisy of the Bush administration is never better illustrated than by the issue of illegal immigration and border security.
Post 9/11, Bush had the moral and legal authority to control the border and to evict anyone without legal status. He did nothing, except to further compound the problem through amnesty and continued neglect.
Can anyone muster a defense or justification for this Bush policy?
The ebb would have probably come one it's own...just in time for Hillary to echo her husband's mantra "It's the economy stupid".
The sudden interest in enforcement by this administration will provide President Bush with an opportunity to say, "I told you so" on his assertion that there will be a shortage of labor.
Nice to see that Big Brother slipped this beauty in. Everything else is BS - this is what they want.
I'm not even observant in my faith, but this is some serious "mark of the beast" stuff. And I hope no one is stupid enough to think they'll stop at "foreign workers".
Link seems broken - amendment #S-2495 by Sen. J. Isakson
110th Congress
S.Amdt. 2495: To restore the credibility of the Federal Government by taking...
To restore the credibility of the Federal Government by taking action to enforce immigration laws, to request the President to submit a request to Congress for supplemental appropriations on immigration, and for other purposes.
An amendment to H.R. 2638: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008.
Offered: Jul 26, 2007
Sponsor: Sen. John Isakson [R-GA]
Actions: Jul 26, 2007: Amendment SA 2495 proposed by Senator Murray for Senator Isakson to Amendment SA 2383.
Jul 26, 2007: Amendment SA 2495 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
LOL!
Those secure enough in their trust of the Almighty ought have no fear of the "beast" nor any "mark" and I would think those who are fearful ought take a closer spiritual inventory.
I have every confidence when the "mark of the beast" as described by John is implemented, that mark will be taken by its recipients in full knowledge and consciousness of its context.
It's nice to know that you are strong in your faith. Unfortunately, your judgement is sometimes sorely lacking. Not only did you post this "sense of the Senate", you actually are buying into the notion that somehow they have heard our voices and are now contrite!
Folks, your efforts upon the immigration issue have not only been heard, but FELT by members of the US Senate. Finally some sense of good sense has surfaced among the elected elite.
You might be better off than I in the next life, but in the current one, I feel compelled to tell you that this "To Serve Man" crap coming out of the Senate is really a Cook Book!
They're only throw us crumbs. I'm still not a believer.
The elites want to grow the poor and eliminate the middle class which gave the federal government the recent “slap” over illegal immigration.
Ever Vigilant.
For businesses, it provides a low-wage, compliant labor pool.
For Mexican elites, it provides a safety-valve, in which poverty-stricken members of the population can obtain work in the US and send money home to support their families.
For US financial institutions, it provides a market - lots of high-fee accounts, plus wire-transfer fees for money sent home.
For liberals (got to appease those folks), it provides an opportunity to redesign the electorate (voter identification is discrimination).
And of course all this will be cloaked in high-sounding platitudes.
_____________________________________________________________________
Unable? This is the POTUS, right?. This is the same guy who took us into a pre-emptive war for the first time in history, isn't he? Unable? He could have shut the border down tighter than turtle p**** if he wanted to.
One of the very few things I don’t mind paying taxes for is our military,if guarding our boarders against invasion isn’t one of their primary functions, it damn well should be and I don’t mean putting a token number of unarmed national guardsmen on the border.
I would reinlist for that duty right now if I were young enough that they would take me.
bump
Yup!
A general heads-up if I may: Just as "global warming" wasn't quite as global or quite as warm as advertised and so needed to become "global climate change", many well-publicized incidents of Americans rushing to replace deported illegals at Swift and other sweatshops is sending the illegal-immigration industry sloganeers back to the drawing board. "They do the jobs Americans won't do" is starting to be replaced by the emotional end-run "they're just trying to provide for their families."
This is just the administration “fluffing up the PR” so they can now push Specters NEW IMMIGRATION BILL!
This one will include the AMNESTY without the need for the pretense of the Z(zorro) visa.
This one will give amnesty to ANYONE with a child in public school regardless of citizenship. (essentially from the brief press releases, it looks like the push the citizens out for illegals program)
This PR enforcement charm effort is just cover for ANOTHER AMNESTY PUSH BEFORE THE ELECTION!
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way. - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Father of the Welfare State
“Can anyone muster a defense or justification for this Bush policy?”
Yes. The laws are starting to be enforced, the wall will get built, albeit as quickly as ecological, financial and politically possible.
What has to happen first is starting to happen. It should have happened in 1986 but it didn’t. We don’t condemn Reagan for amnesty. Don’t condemn Bush. More is getting done now then since the 1950’s.
States are doing more to stop the flow of illegals and the fed is going after the businesses. Bush said he wants an immigration bill. We may not like what Bush asked for but we are getting what we wanted which is enforcement of the law.
I don’t know. If Bush doesn’t surface an immigration bill, would states be stopping illegals at the border and would businesses get busted for hiring illegals? Would the Minutemen be in existence? Would states and local communities become more involved in anti-illegal activities?
One thing about Bush. When he needs to fire up the base about something affecting our country, he tends to do it by inciting the base to act against him rather then pull for him. It’s been that way for 6 years now and has proven very effective.
It’s a Herb Brooks strategy that worked great with the 1980 USA hockey team. You have all these management types and beuerocrats who believe you failed before you even recruited players. Then you get all your players united against you while you use that motivation to get the most out of them.
Sounds like the Conservative base and the US Senate.
Duncan Hunter in a debate said after a company fired it's illegals there was a huge line of Americans at that plant looking to be hired to replace the illegals.
And the Tooth Fairy is real. This country built the trans-continental railroad in 7 years, put a man on the moon in less than 10 years, the Panama Canal in a decade, the Hoover Dam in 4 years, and the Empire State building in 400 days. But this Administration hasn't been able to complete a 14 mile long section of fence that was started in 1996!
More is getting done now then since the 1950’s.
Which ain't saying much.
we are getting what we wanted which is enforcement of the law.
What color is the sky on your planet?
If Bush doesn’t surface an immigration bill, would states be stopping illegals at the border and would businesses get busted for hiring illegals?
The States aren't, and to date there's been exactly 1, count them 1, report of a companies officials being held responsible. The only other activity on the legal front is a privately filed RICO suit against Mohawk Carpet. Which, by the way, the Bush Administration is arguing against the plaintifs. So by its actions the Bush Admin doesn't want to see corporate CEOS held responsible for knowingly violating the law.
Actions speak far louder than words.
Would the Minutemen be in existence?
The Minutemen predated the abominable Bush Amnesty Bill.
L
In the health care industry - assisted living facilities are REQUIRED BY LAW to fingerprint and drug test ALL APPLICANTS.
If any suspicious activity shows up - we are forbidden from hiring these people.
Why isn’t this the policy for all ..?? Some say the cost - but we make our employees pay for the cost up front - and then refund the amount if they pass their 90-day probation period.
Page two was a real winner; Wes Pruden byline and an Economist pop-up.
Yes, I also thought simply announcing Wes as “Editor in Chief” (shouldn’t that just be “Chief Editor”, or is he more formidable than we know?), might not have justified it’s own page.
Ran across this on another thread:
“The Mexican Mafia is dangerous because even though it has fewer than 300 actual members, it controls a 40,000-man street army eager to advance its violent agenda.”
“Is the new Godfather Mexican? “... book details the growing influence of the Mexican Mafia in the United States and claims the organization is far more dangerous than some well-known gangs in the country.
“... has spent ten years researching street gangs. His latest publication, The Mexican Mafia, goes inside America’s most secretive and most violent street gang. “While the Crips and the Bloods have gotten traditionally a lot of press attention and public notoriety, the Mexican Mafia is a much more significant problem in terms of crime and the justice system.”
” This country built the trans-continental railroad in 7 years, put a man on the moon in less than 10 years, the Panama Canal in a decade, the Hoover Dam in 4 years, and the Empire State building in 400 days. But this Administration hasn’t been able to complete a 14 mile long section of fence that was started in 1996!”
And you are absolutely correct. But the Transcontinental railroad didn’t have to deal with unions, ecological studies and lawsuits from every lunatic fringe group conceivable. The WTC came down on Sept 11 and there is still a hole in the ground 6 years later. When did katrina happen? With 200 billion in tax dollars provided they still haven’t done anything.
The fence or wall could be built in a few months? Sure, you still have to hire the workers, pay them, house them, feed them. Are they going to be unionized? You know the RATS are going to require this. What about their benefits? Are these workers federal employees? How is the bidding taking place? Has the bidding took place and who is the general contractor on this job? What about the project plan to complete the fence? We are budgeted to build 700 miles? Well how long under the perfect circumstances would it take to build a mile of fence? What about building all the support infrastructure to go along with the project? Are these people all going to live in tents?
How much does the government pay the owners of the land that border the proposed fence? Or is it eminent domain which we are so quick to condemn? How about risk management? Who is going to protect these workers from Mexican gangs firing from across the border? Are we going to attack Mexico? What is the risk management plan? What is the plan to fend off lawsuits that are sure to ensue? With a liberal 9th circuit controlling California and Arizona, how many injunctions will be filed to prevent contstruction from taking place at all?
How much is it going to cost? 3 billion? 20 billion? 100 billion? Do you know? I sure don’t. One thing I do know. There has to be a project plan somewhere, created by someone with all the information I listed.
Then again, A couple of dozen drones with the technology we presently have, combined with a larger border patrol will probably accomplish the same thing and could be in place by next Tuesday?
Build a fence... Yeah, OK.
I guess the politicians I email didn’t like the idea that if they wouldn’t secure the border, I could only assume that they expected me to do it and that they ought not be alarmed at my methods of doing so.
Hilarious post! You forgot the /s at the end, though.
“Hilarious post! You forgot the /s at the end, though.”
Sorry /s
However, are you suggesting that these aren’t legitimate questions? I believe they are and as an American I am entitled to know how we are going to do this?
Give me particulars. We are the party of logic and reason. The RATS are the emotional basket cases. We sat here and bitched and moaned about illegal immigration and enforcing laws and building fences. And we won. Yay us. We are all proud of ourselves that we beat the President into the ground on this. I believe we call the President Jorge now.
Now build the fence. OK, how? I was saying what it would take to build the fence. 700 miles of it. From a Project Managers point of view. No emotion, no partisanship.
I’m glad we won, we need a fence. How do we build it? What might be a good idea is to get peoples input on how we would go about building a fence. I would be interested in everyones ideas. From a construction standpoint.
“I would be interested in everyones ideas. From a construction standpoint.”
Sorry, left something out. My idea. It involves a moat and ill tempered seabass with frickin laser beams on their heads.
Seriously, the Fence would have to be a 'rolling camp job', with the first wave surveyors, next, the dirtwork folks to prep for the fence crew.
I doubt it would be practical to run back and forth to housing on a daily basis, so a logistics train of housing, power, water and sanitary services would follow, and at that point it would make more sense to feed the crews as well at a camp kitchen/mess, buffet style... Make that part of the compensation package.
Check out railroad tracklaying crews, oilfield camp jobs, new highway construction models for paradigms.
Job ads for operators through laborers on the internet, reasonably generous pay, could well attract the labor force you desire. Many will be former military, others will be looking for a grubstake, college money, or what they need to make a fresh start.
SOme will come to just have 'worked on the fence' on their resumee, much like the Alaska pipeline.
Let see only pulled the Border Patrol technologically out of the 1960s into the 21st century. But that right, don’t bother the Know Nothings with facts.
Bush wants to piss me off so I will do his work for him?
Wow, I thought I was reading the NYTimes or The Nation.
It seems simple.
Secure the border.
Enforce immigration laws with extreme prejudice.
At minimum, all immigrants need to be sufficiently vetted to ascertain they are not terrorists, and to determine they want to work and contribute to our fine nation.
Want more cheap labor? Process more immigrants legally through proper channels.
Want more worker productivity? Eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies by reducing the size of government. Unleash the power of American entrepreneurship by slashing taxes and tax compliance paperwork.
Want to defund terrorists? Drill everything in sight, perhaps including Paris Hilton - I’ll volunteer for that assignment.
We??? You got the proverbial mouse in your pocket?
Add sensors - not expensive at this point. Later we can double the barrier with the second 400 yards or so from the first. When sensors detect something at the first barrier, border patrol responds outside the second. If some regions experience infiltration regularly, double the wire to increase their height, add a third layer, station more border patrol nearby, etc.
It is not like this is some unsolved problem. Armies have routinely made fronts hundreds of miles long impassable by anything less than full blown enemy army, since world war one.
“I would be interested in everyones ideas. From a construction standpoint.”
As a quick-to-erect, temporary, impediment, I’d suggest taking retired RR flat cars. Turn them on their sides, anchor them with I-beams fore and aft and place Concertina wire rolls securely along the tops.
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