Photo by Spencer Selvidge
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at a Texas Tribune Event
Posted on 12/16/2015 4:00:34 PM PST by Liz
Photo by Spencer Selvidge
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at a Texas Tribune Event
In a rare bipartisan compromise on illegal immigration, the next federal budget will provide nearly $1 billion in funding for Mexico and Central America to help stop the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar announced Wednesday.
Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, said he worked closely with Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth in securing the $897 million for the region — an increase of almost $200 million for Central America alone.
Cuellar said the money, much of it to promote economic stability and development, will give immigrants more reason to stay home, all the while providing badly needed breathing room for overtaxed law enforcement officers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Laredo native said too often policymakers focus their attention on those crossing over the border into the U.S. while ignoring the problems festering on the other side of it, making it harder to stop the flow.
We continue to play defense on our goal line when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration, Cuellar said. I’ve repeatedly said that to stop illegal immigration here at home, we must provide strategic investment abroad.
The funding is part of the deal to fund the U.S. government in the 2016 fiscal year. Finalized Tuesday night, it still has to be passed in both houses and approved by the president before becoming law.
The funding package includes $750 million to support the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle, a program aimed at implementing economic and legal reforms in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, plus $100 million to help Mexico combat drug trafficking, Cuellars office said.
The catch-all spending bill Congress is set to pass this week will provide President Barack Obama with the funds he needs to admit an extra 45,000 refugees in the next two years, including a minimum of 10,000 from Syria.
Congressional leaders did not use the Obama administrations annual request for funds as leverage to force him to address concerns with the resettlement program, and they did not negotiate the addition of a measure backed by conservative lawmakers that would require the administration to jump through additional security hoops when admitting Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
Instead, House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending package Tuesday, after weeks of negotiations with House and Senate leaders, that includes a blank check for the president's plan. ... (Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
“$1 billion in funding for Mexico and Central America to help stop the flow of undocumented migrants to the United States”
sub for: “help stop” = “expedite”
Uniparty lies with every breath.
News reports say the notorious tax-exempt Clinton Foundation charity setup a money-making private equity fund in the corrupt country of Columbia. Why Columbia?
WIKI REFERENCE---In 2000, the Clinton administration committed $1.3 billion in foreign aid to the corrupt country of Columbia...... and up to five hundred military personnel to train local forces.
An additional three hundred civilian personnel were allowed to assist in the eradication of coca. This aid was an addition to $330 million of previously approved US aid to Colombia. $818 million was earmarked for 2000, with $256 million for 2001.
The Clinton-era appropriations for his Columbia Plan made Colombia the third largest recipient of foreign aid from the United States at the time.
--SNIP--
As of 2008, the U.S. has provided nearly $1.3 billion to Colombia through Clinton Plan Colombia nonmilitary aid programs:
<><> Alternative Development (2000-2008 cost: $500 million)
<><> Internally Displaced Persons (2000-2008 cost: $247 million)
<><> Demobilization and Reintegration (2000-2008 cost: $44 million)
<><> Democracy and Human Rights (2000-2008 cost: $158 million)
<><> Promote the Rule of Law (2000-2008 cost: $238 million)
LONG READ--REST AT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Colombia
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The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is a project of the Center for Public Integrity, focused on issues such as "cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power".
In 2013, the consortium had 160 member journalists from 60 countries. The ICIJ brings together teams of international journalists for different investigations (over 80 for Offshore leaks). It organizes the bi-annual Daniel Pearl Awards for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting.
The ICIJ's director since 2011 is Gerard Ryle; other staff members include Michael Hudson, while the Advisory Committee in 2013 includes Bill Kovach, Phillip Knightley, Gwen Lister, and Goenawan Mohamad.
The ICIJ might examine ALL of Clinton-era foreign aide disbursements---and Hillary's foreign assistance....to determine if the Clintons have offshore accounts in those countries....or if so-called charities have been setup by the notorious Clinton Foundation to money-launder by siphoning off kickbacks.
In theory, I might support some amount of money if it kept people at home. I have actually favored paying people to leave because it would save money and perhaps allow them to survive in the country of their birth.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez warned the US will be
inundated w/ even more contagious illegals if billions
of US tax dollars are not handed over.
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The United States should provide billions of dollars to help Central American nations curb the flow of illegal migrants, Guatemalan President Otto Perez said, and his government warns the problem will get worse if Washington fails to help.
Fleeing violence, trying to reach relatives already in the United States or seeking jobs, record numbers of child migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have been stopped at the southern U.S. border this year, causing widespread alarm. Last month, the three countries pitched Washington an ambitious development plan to confront the issue.
They want to pump about $10 billion into the region to create jobs and lift living standards, with the bulk of funding coming from the United States, Perez told Reuters. He hopes the plan could come up with about $2 billion a year from 2015 to 2019, a sum he equated to roughly 10 percent of annual U.S. spending on border security and immigration enforcement.
"Now we understand it's not simply a question of the United States saying: 'Right, here's $2 billion a year for five years' for example - the governments of the three countries have to play their part too," the conservative Perez, who took power in early 2012, said in an interview late on Monday.
The US aid package would boost infrastructure and provide more jobs in all three countries, especially in areas that send large numbers of migrants to the United States, he added.
The three Central American governments are urging the United States to shoulder the lion's share of the costs, arguing that U.S. demand for illegal narcotics has fueled violence among drug gangs across much of the impoverished region.
"The United States has to support this, it has no other option," Guatemala's foreign minister, Carlos Morales, told Reuters. "If they don't support it, the crisis will kick off again, you can count on it."
Perez said he hoped the United States would put up about 60 percent of funding. "But we'll have to discuss it calmly and see what each individual country can do, and what can be achieved by common consent."
During meetings in New York in September, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Central American officials he hoped Congress could approve about $300 million in funding, Morales said, noting the sum was "nothing" given the scale of the problem.
Central American leaders are due to meet Vice President Joe Biden on Nov. 12 in Washington to sound out U.S. support for their plan, Morales added.--SNIP--
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Kieran Murray) http://news.yahoo.com/u-stump-billions-curb- central-america-migration-perez-171130651.html
"They get a couple billion and I'll vet votes."
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HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR TAX DOLLARS
The crooked Guatemalan president absconded to the US w/ the country's foreign aid money---just here for a better life---to do some money laundering (cackle).
Former Guatemala Prez used US banks to launder millions (elected to "redistribute" nation's wealth)
An ex-president of Guatemala faced charges in NY that he used US banks to launder millions looted from his impoverished nation. Alfonso Portillo took office in 2000 pledging to redistribute Guatemala’s wealth.
Portillo, 61, allegedly ran scams to drain the impoverished country's coffers. The feds say Portillo embezzled about $2.5M provided by the Taiwanese embassy....$1.5 million was earmarked for “Libraries for Peaceâ€....books for school kids.
Portillo personally endorsed three, $500,000 checks issued against an account at the Intl Bank of China in Manhattan, then deposited the cash in the Miami bank account of a Guatemalan bank controlled by “a close associate and political supporter†.....the money was funneled to bank accounts in Paris in the names of Portillo’s ex-wife and daughter.
Portillo swindled nearly $4M defense funds ...and plundered the national bank run by his alleged co-conspirator through overdrafts financed by public reserves -- stolen money paid for expensive watches and cars, for himself and his associates, according to the indictment. (NY POST 5/28/13)
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/former_guatemala_ program_used_from_bJ7Akdr3YK85070OumW5FN
AND to prevent bank robberies, we will subsidize the bank robbers. Brilliant!
Who’s `blowhard’ always “rubbing it in” that he told us every step of the way that giving the GOP another chance was a mistake?
Norm?
Well Norm. You were right.
Yup. Me. Been called much worse though. By some people on this very thread in fact.
Sometimes being right means being right alone...though I wasn’t. I just wasn’t shy about going to virtual war over it. And if people don’t like it, it’s not my problem. I simply spoke the truth and history has repeatedly shown it.
Pure insanity.
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