Mr. President, Plug This Damn Hole!
For weeks, Americans have been following the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as a British Petroleum offshore oil well has been spewing thousands of gallons of crude oil into the ocean each day. At the same time, our diligent President has been busy golfing, attending musical concerts and watching the Washington Nationals play baseball. In addition to ignoring the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for weeks on end, Mister Obama is also trying to deceive the American public about another runaway disaster.
For months and years, the American people have been enduring hardships related to another uncontrolled leak that the Congress and the administration seem to want to ignore indefinitely. Our largely unsecured border with Mexico has been flooding the United States with millions of illegal aliens who are overtaxing our public schools and hospitals while also threatening to bankrupt the social welfare systems of many states like California. With a so-called “tough, no nonsense” former border state governor, Janet Napolitano, heading the Department of Homeland Security, government agents charged with enforcing immigration laws have been effectively stymied from performing their interior enforcement duties.
While the economic crisis worsens, leftist Democrats like US Representatives Luis Guiterrez and Jan Schakowsky are howling about the fact that the Arizona state legislature has attempted to address its own state’s unique problems related to the hordes of illegal immigrants squatting in the Grand Canyon State. Within a few weeks, Arizona law enforcement officials may be allowed to question criminal suspects as to their citizenship and immigration status! Undocumented aliens may be referred by local police to the Feds. How totally outrageous! How can anyone support such fascist, police state tactics?
Closer to home, last week, I was contacted by the human resources department of a college where I sometimes work and requested to schedule an in office appointment at which time I was asked to present proof of my citizenship and my eligibility to work lawfully in the USA. Somehow, the original I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) form that I completed and filed long years ago had been lost or misplaced. This same thing happened to many of my colleagues. Therefore, I had to produce papers to establish my identity and to demonstrate that I could be employed legally in the USA.
I chose to present a current copy of my passport rather than using multiple forms of other acceptable identification since this one document would suffice for all purposes. When the human resources department employee certified that my documentation was correct and valid, I quipped that I was now qualified to visit Arizona. No one has offered to file a lawsuit on my behalf for the indignity of having to present my papers and to verify my citizenship for a second time by the same people who lost my original forms. Worst still no grandstanding politician has denounced my mistreatment.
This example brings me to my main point: What exactly is so onerous about the new Arizona law that is scheduled to go into effect next month? As a native born American, I have been called upon to document my identity on various occasions. Why is it so burdensome for resident aliens to do the same? Under current Federal law, all aliens legally within the USA are required to carry their identification documents at all times to begin with, so where is the hardship?
As for the complaints about the potential for racial profiling, Arizona’s police cannot demand that an individual produce his or her identification documents unless the individual is already being questioned for another lawful police purpose. Run a red light, make an illegal left hand turn, get into a tavern brawl or pass a bad check and the police may make an additional inquiry as to your status. If you are peaceful and law abiding person, the Arizona authorities cannot initiate any questioning as to your lawful or unlawful presence within the country.
According to US Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the President suggested that the Department of Justice would challenge the constitutionality of the recently enacted Arizona law directed towards curbing illegal immigration in order to compel the Congress to pass “comprehensive immigration reform legislation.”
This pollster tested term is the latest euphemism for a federal amnesty program. The Arizona state law tracks the statutory language of the largely ignored existing federal immigration laws that Obama has deliberately neglected to enforce. Speaking of upholding the rule of law, Mister President, how’s your Auntie Zeituni Onyango by the way? How convenient that the administrative deportation orders in her residency case have been rescinded without explanation.
Despite his kowtowing to Mexican President Calderon, as a meaningless political gesture, President Obama neverthess dispatched one thousand additional agents and officials to the Southern border. That number would not even rate as a good turnout for an ACORN rally. These officials are not actually apprehending any aliens, but Obama expects that these personnel with vaguely defined duties will somehow serve to reassure angry Arizonans as to his resolve to do something or possibly nothing at all about their plight.
Mister Obama’s real objective is to propose an amnesty program under the guise of a “a comprehensive immigration reform” bill. As of today, there is no genuine public support for such a measure and the administration is rumored to be contemplating some form executive action to achieve the same result without having to run the risk of exposing vulnerable members of the Democratic Congressional majority to the further wrath of irate voters in November. The liberal fantasy of the Obama camp is that these immigrants can be transformed by welfare checks into instant Democratic voters to replace the disaffected, native born malcontents who are grumbling about unlimited taxation, high unemployment and excessive government spending.
Apart from widespread American opposition to amnesty, another problem is that there are vast numbers of illegal immigrants who do not really care about assimilating culturally and to pledging their allegiance to the American flag or becoming citizens. Many simply want to reap the benefits of living in the United States while preparing for the day that they can retire on their accumulated earnings in their countries of origin. These people are simply exploiting the American economy for their own benefit
It is worth noting that without the massive influx of immigrants, many public school districts would be shuttering schools rather than fighting overcrowding and seeking to build new schools. Teachers’ unions have a vested interest in keeping their members fully employed and education bureaucrats are feathering their nests while demanding more taxes.
Leftist activists never pass up an opportunity to engage in political street theater. One of their more recent complaints against members of the Tea Party movement is that these conservative and libertarian activists have co-opted some of the left’s own techniques for staging rallies and public demonstrations. Sometimes, the left is completely off base in terms of their protest rallies, but they are never held accountable. Consider the fact that Joshua Hoyt, the director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights led a protest directed against the ICE detention facility in suburban Broadview, Illinois a few weeks ago. The purpose of this demonstration was to call for an immediate halt to government sponsored deportations.
None of the supine media types covering this event bothered to ascertain the fact that the detainees in question were in fact dangerous criminals. For the sake of a photo opportunity, Hoyt and his followers were in effect demanding the release of convicted rapists, drug dealers, robbers and worse. I seriously doubt too many humble cooks, dishwashers, janitors, nannies and maids were incarcerated in Broadview. In face of massive pressure from outraged citizens opposed to another amnesty proposal for illegal aliens a few years ago, the administration of President George W. Bush was reluctantly forced to take some action. A middle of the road approach was chosen as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were given the green light to step up raids upon factories that were using large numbers of illegal workers. Additionally, the agency was directed to expedite its efforts to apprehend and deport illegal aliens with criminal records. Typically, this meant arresting those aliens who had been convicted of violent crimes and other felonies. These are the types of detainees usually housed in Broadview, but Hoyt‘s followers were not interested in technicalities.
Liberal apologists who favor granting amnesty insist that the problem is simply too big to permit large scale deportations and other forms of meaningful law enforcement to be used to deter further illegal immigration. During the Eisenhower administration, however, a stepped up program was developed to curb illegal immigration. A former military general was given the task of implementing the enforcement initiative and as many as one million illegal aliens were deported annually. The resolve of that particular administration effectively slowed the number of illegal aliens seeking to enter the USA from Mexico for a number of years.
Unfortunately, the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Ma) chose to begin adjusting the immigration laws during the Sixties and things rapidly deteriorated afterwards. The welfare state house of cards that Kennedy helped assemble has manufactured many of the conditions underlying the current crisis.
In fairness, I sometimes wonder how we can really blame so many illegal immigrants for violating our laws? If the back door to the candy store is left unlocked and no one is minding the counter, why should we be surprised if thieves avail themselves of an opportunity to fill their pockets with loose change and goodies without paying for the sweets? The sanctions for violating American immigration laws are not nearly as severe as those in force in Mexico.
In any given year, remittances wired to Mexico are that nation’s second or third largest source of income. Many of these dollars are derived from fraudulent claims for Earned Income Credit benefits. The fraud runs into hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Many of these dollars are derived from bogus claims for EIC benefits for non-existent children. The incentives for prospering by exploiting the American government are great while the potential penalties for cheating the system are minimal to the point of being negligible. The American public wants increased border security and interior enforcement of immigration laws, but the political elites are opposed.
Amazingly enough, many of the same immigrants who would think twice before demonstrating against the corrupt regimes ruling their banana republic nations feel no apprehension about vocally and publicly criticizing the American government and demanding more benefits and services. You would be protesting too if you were a recipient of thousands of taxpayer dollars in terms of cash and benefits without facing any meaningful consequences in such sanctuary cities as Chicago, Illinois.
**
Daniel J. Kelley is a regular contributor to The Chicago Daily Observer
Great article and I agree with you 100%. I don’t understand where the injustice is to ask someone for proof of citizenship. If I am pulled over in Chicago for any moving violation, I have to show my driver’s license and proof of insurance. I don’t hear anyone complaining about that being a violation of your rights. We are often required to show proof of identity. Now police in Arizona, instead of ignoring the fact that the person they just pulled over is not a citizen or the person they stopped on the street for loitering is not a citizen, they can actually do something about it, instead of turning the other way. We have been hiding our heads in the sand for much too long when it comes to immigration, and I really don’t understand why.
It will take decades to clean up the mess in the gulf, if we don’t act to deal with the disaster at our borders it will take lifetimes to correct the situation. It really is simple, enforce the laws on the books and send them home (children and all). If I were to go to Mexico to try to do what they do in coming here I would be a guest in their jail system. That would be a much better situation to be in than that the unfortunates from poorer nations that try to enter Mexico from the south, they often end up dead.
I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. All of us ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated, but this is not the case.
I know the proponents of this law say that the majority approves of this law, but the majority is not always right. Would women or non-whites have the vote if we listen to the majority of the day, would the non-whites have equal rights (and equal access to churches, housing, restaurants, hotels, retail stores, schools, colleges and yes water fountains) if we listen to the majority of the day? We all know the answer, a resounding, NO!
Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics and do what is right, not what is just popular with the majority. Some men comprehend discrimination by never have experiencing it in their lives, but the majority will only understand after it happens to them.
Dan,
I believe Obama told the Rep from AZ he does not want to lock down the border before enactment of immigration reform. He is obviously looking for politically expediant solution, so, once again he errs on the side of his idealism and his partisan asperations for America.
Arizonan’s safety comes a distant second.
By the way, they are challenging the law in court which means that someone in the administration had to actually break down and read it.
At least, I would think they would have. If I was the judge presiding over this affair, I would start by asking the rep of the administration if they knew what they were objecting too.
I think I would not take the bet that the answer is “Yes we have.” given their public objections first voiced when this wsa first flown up the flag pole.
Anyway, have you read it Dan? You are a card carrying “barrista” and thus should know whether or not there are any possible legal grounds for squashing the AZ immigration law.
Please get back to us on this.
Frank
I have reviewed the text of the Arizona statute and unless an activist judge who is predisposed to invalidate the law is assigned to the case, I really do not see how Attorney General Eric Holder prevails upon behalf of the President. The provisions of the actual law are far milder than any of the inflammatory rhetoric being used by its liberal opponents to condemn it.
My thinking is that the administration wants the law voided because Obama does not want interior enforcement to succeed to any degree. One of the debating points of the amnesty crowd is that a compromise is necessary because border security and law enforcement activities (none of which are rigorously applied on a daily basis) cannot work.
If Arizona achieves any degree of success, numerous states and municipalities are likely to follow suit and pass similar laws.
There is a very simple and elegant solution to our illegal immigration problem that involves only three steps.
1) Establish a central registry where persons of good character, free of criminal record and properly bonded can go and become deputized as adjunct immigration officials and offer a bounty for each illegal delivered back the border. Give them the same protections currently afforded bounty hunters today and merely insist that they carry professional liability insurance.
2) Pepper the entire border with anti-personnel mines. They are cheap, less expensive that border patrol agents, and require little to no maintenance.
3) Finally, hand out mandatory prison sentences to anyone who knowingly employs, sells merchandise to, or provides non-emergency services to, illegal aliens. Add a fine and or surrender of assets additionally as step one’s program funding. Step one would pay for itself in cost recoupment, but the additional savings would be a bonus.
These people bring drugs, crime, steal jobs, and operate entirely outside the system without even a modicum of assimilation. Let them return hence they came and don’t let the proverbial door hit them on their collective posterior.
[...] Mr. President, Plug This Damn Hole! | Chicago Daily Observer [...]
Of course, with my solution, supra, we could eliminate I.C.E. from our federal budget. Save the tax payers millions and get more folks off the government dole.
Charles, Charles , Charles. You want to mine the border?
Where are the deer and the antelope going to play if we did that?
Dan/Charles
I have been thinking of the idea of mining the border and I have thumbs down on that. You see, I beleive that the desirable outcome is for US legal citizens to have the ability to stroll aimlessly along the banks of the Rio Grande with no fear of encountering the dreaded Mexicanus Mujadus.
So, I think employing an old tactic of “Charlie” in the river banks and beds; the punji stake. I am also thinking of a wonderfully natural and green solution of introducing paranja from the Amazon.
I would resort to humane “Ink Mines” that mark the target for weeks as you would find in school fire alarms if punji stick and paranja prove to be less than effective. I don’t think profiling for Blue skinned people would be against the law even in California.
Frank
It is worth noting that a previous liberal icon, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was perfectly willing to enforce American immigration laws and to insist upon border security throughout the Great Depression. Obama’s refusal to follow suit defies reason apart from political expediency for himself.
To Mr.DeBarnone- Your ink mine solution presupposes that the Federal Government has the interest in maintaining and securing our borders and enforcing the laws if the perpetrators were only made apparent. The Arizona Controversy, the Anointed One’s Administration’s derision of Governor Brewer and the fact that his executive agencies have jumped on the “Boycott Arizona” bandwagon suggests the EXACT OPPOSITE. Consider this: we have deep water mines and huge nets undersea to prevent Sino and Russo subs from entering our sovereign waters because they are armed with nuclear warheads. At the same time millions of illegals enter this country, while the Department of Homeland Security sits with its collective head up its backside. The illegals cause far more damage long term than any radioactive fallout or mushroom cloud on the horizon. No administration in the last 50 years has secured our southern border and our entire society is paying the price. The Republicans like the cheap labor and are too greedy to fix the problem, and the Democrats like the votes. So there you have the entire problem in a nut shell. Like I said, mine the border, send out bounty hunters and send them all packing. Simple enough.
Mr. Kelly, you will appreciate this. Homeland Security, that great protector of our borders, has added a six year old Ohio girl to their terrorist watch list and when the error was pointed out to them, they refused to change her status. What a waste of tax dollars. We could take the salary of every officer, train volunteers who would actually do the job for free, or something analogous to the peace corp., and actually make a difference in the issue. All you have now is a bunch of do nothing bureaucrats sitting on their butts sucking your and my tax dollars down their gullets and out of our wallets. What a waste. Obviously, since the Anointed one is considering amnesty for all 10 million of them, he wants this country permanently ruined and is set on bringing about the “Post American Era”, even if it was not here before his election. The bureaucrats and government unionized workers are all in bed with him. And why not? They get bought off with great benefits, do little or nothing, only work a short while, can double dip, and once they are in the system, it takes heaven and earth to remove an incompetent, even if they were so inclined. We already all work almost until June to pay for these jerks. What happens when they have a “snow day” and tell the “non-essential” personnel to stay home? NOTHING CHANGES. Let them stay home all the time. http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/ohio-6-year-oid-alyssa-thomas-turns-up-on-terror-watch-list/19532082
I concur with Mr. Saunders regarding ICE. It’s an agency that either needs to be completly disbanded or gutted in order to make it effective. For to long, ICE has been employing agents who do nothing but sit around and live off the federal dole. As a result, it has grown to become an agency that is incompetent to protect our boarders. In the not do distant future, it wouldn’t surprise me to see that federal agencies such as ICE become serious voting conerns in upcoming election which will either lead to ICE’s demise or just the opposite in which real reforms will be implemented in that ineffective agents will be replaced by those who actually do their jobs.
“All Men are created equal”! The founders had it right, when attempting to form a perfect union and they also knew that they were not there yet but knew we one day would get there. Lincoln moved us forward as did JFK and LBJ. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.
It is my contention that this AZ law is not constitutional and will fail when challenged (unless, of course, they keep adding more amendments), pretty funny for this so called perfect law, that many internet bloggers claim it was copied “Word for Word” from the Federal law, which I frankly do not believe, if it was then no amendments would have been made, right?, of course, keep those lies coming.
As for the undocumented workers, as was attributed to Ronald Reagan “It’s the Economy, Stupid”. When the economy is good we say let’s all celebrate “Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” but when the economy is down “it’s all your fault, you damn immigrant”. This too will pass, the real problem is the narcos, arms and people smugglers and that’s what the focus should be on.
Don’t you find it funny that no one ever voted for Brewer for Governor, she is trying to get elected on the back of undocumented workers, it’s all about politics, do not be fooled. In the last few months Busy Brewer has passed S.B. 1070, no permit conceal weapons law, the famous Birthers law, banning Ethnic studies law, (could she be behind the Mural in Prescott, Arizona) and if history is a lesson and if she can read, she should look up Arizona’s House Bill 2779 from two years ago (which failed when legally challenged) and the craziest one the boycott of Martin Luther King Day, not wanting another holiday, how crazy is that. I believe there is an undercurrent to their enactment of new laws, they real love following a distinct pattern. Poor Brewer, in an attempt to gain sympathy, in an interview she first said her father had died in Germany fighting the Nazi in World War II (which ended 1945) and we find out her father was never in Germany and died in California in 1955 (watch her play the victim card, again) and then she went to Washington and came back empty as always, poor dear.
One of your best articles you ever wrote. One thing about Dan, he goes right for the target! I think you should have your own TV/radio show!
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