Kowabunga

Now that Spitzer's plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens in New York has fallen apart, Hillary has to change her tune in a Kerryesque Flip-Flop fashion. It was just a little over a week ago that Hillary came out in support of Sptizer's plan to license illegals in his state, and she did her best to make it clear that she was in favor of amnesty and citizenship for illegal aliens without using the word amnesty. Now she is changing course with the winds of change.

From MyWayNews:

"I support Governor Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal," Clinton said in a statement. "As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system."

What this means, liberally speaking, is that illegal aliens only have to wait until after the 2008 election at which point, if Hillary is elected, there will be a hard push for amnesty (better known as "fixing our broken system"). Once amnesty is granted, they will no longer be considered "undocumented people" (liberal speak for "illegal alien") and so can get drivers licenses and other documents.

If our immigration system is broken it is because Congress has failed to enforce our laws, as failed to secure our borders despite the calls from across America to do exactly that, it has failed to put the breaks on "sanctuary" cities by cutting Federal funding to cities that enact such laws. We don't need immigration reform; we need our current laws enforced.

Hillary continues to show that she doesn't get the illegal alien and immigration issue. Immigrants are not living "in the shadows" as the hard left often claims. Illegal aliens are, and that is because they have broken many of our laws, not just the ones involving crossing our border.

Hillary's position is quite clear on her own campaign website:

…a path to earned legal status for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar.

Setting aside that illegal aliens routine violate, not respect, our laws, what is the "high bar" Hillary speaks of? None is defined. If respecting our laws is a prerequisite to legal status (amnesty by any other name is still amnesty), then it would not be possible for illegal aliens to gain legal status: they've already failed to meet muster.

It is paramount that our current laws be enforced and sanctuary cities eliminated (starting with San Francisco), in addition to securing our borders BEFORE any form of immigration reform can be discussed. What the Leftists and other elites (there are some on the right as well) want to do is grant amnesty first and start the whole cycle of illegal aliens overrunning our borders again. Only 20 years from now it won't be 12-20 million illegals to contend with; it will be 50 million.

Enforcement first then we can discuss the rest of the issues around immigration reform.

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Hillary Amnesty Spitzer

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It is clear to me that Hillary Clinton is solidly on the side of granting amnesty and citizenship to illegal aliens, people who by their being here are in violation of U.S. laws. From CNN.com:

Asked by reporters Sunday why it's taken so long for clarification Clinton admitted she "wasn't as clear as [she] should have been" but added, "I broadly support what governors like Elliot Spitzer are trying to do."

And what is it governors like Spitzer are doing? Failing to uphold their oath of office by defending and protecting our constitution and enforcing our laws, including and specifically, our immigration laws. This is not limited to governors like Spitzer, but to mayors of cities like San Francisco and new York that set up sanctuary laws that frustrate immigration officials and allow illegal aliens to live in this country illegally.

Clinton said governors around the nation are left with the burden because she said the Bush administration and the federal government as a whole have failed to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.

Thus it is Bush's fault, despite the fact that Bush is in the same court Hillary is and wanted to grant amnesty and a path to citizenship to illegal aliens. How about putting the blame where the blame is due? On congress for failing to supply our Federal law enforcement agencies with the manpower and the tools to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders? How about on governors like Spitzer who push to legitimize illegal aliens by issuing them drivers licenses? How about on the cities that pass sanctuary laws and then again on Congress for not cutting federal funding to cities that do so?

"But finally I do not believe we can resolve this problem unless we bring people out of the shadows," Clinton said, adding that undocumented immigrants should have a pathway to citizenship but they'd need to register, pay taxes, pay fines, learn English, and wait in line after those who've come to the United States legally. Those who have committed crimes, she said, should be deported.

It is more accurate to say that we can not resolve this problem by not penalizing cities that pass sanctuary laws, allowing illegal aliens to flourish. Granting illegal aliens a pathway to citizenship is not an acceptable answer, just as deporting the 12+ Million illegals already here may not be a viable solution.

Illegal aliens commit identity theft, frequently using the social security numbers of real Americans in order to fraudulently obtain jobs. They buy cars and drive without legitimate drivers licenses and without insurance. By the way, even in California, there is a serious problem with people WITH licenses not maintaining auto insurance. Just by giving illegal aliens drivers licenses does not mean the problem of them (or any other person) driving without insurance will go a way. (For those of you who are interested, in California you only have to provide insurance at the time you renew your vehicle registration. The tactic used is that people get insurance for that one month when they need to register their vehicle and get their tabs, then they cancel the policy.)

The only way to solve the illegal alien problem is by first securing our borders, and then enforcing our existing laws. We don't need immigration reform, nor should we be giving amnesty to illegal aliens nor passing laws that serve as a backdoor to amnesty, such as the DREAM Act that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. We should also terminate all Federal funding to cities that pass sanctuary laws.

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Hillary Clinton Democrat Liberal Moonbat

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Sometimes I question President's Bush judgement. Not often, mind you, but sometimes, especially where the issue of illegal aliens is involved.

Newsday is carrying an article about a deal cut between President Bush and the State of New York where New York will implement a new form of secure driver's licenses in exchange to being able to issue them to illegal aliens. From the Newsday article:

The deal comes about one month after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a plan whereby illegal immigrants with a valid foreign passport could obtain a license.

Saturday's agreement with the Homeland Security Department will create a three-tier license system in New York. It is the largest state to sign on so far to the government's post-Sept. 11 effort to make identification cards more secure.

Spitzer, who has faced much criticism on the issue, said the deal means New York "will usher in the most secure licensing system in the nation."

Quite frankly, New York can implement this system of secure licenses without a provision for issuing them to illegal aliens. That New York is implementing the issue of driver's licenses to illegal aliens is not surprising as Spitzer is a hard-left Democrat.

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New York Spitzer Bush Dubya

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It seems like there is a lot of abuse of various systems in this country, now we have two Indian tribes offering memberships in their bands, for a price, and claiming it will but illegal immigrants on the path to legal status. From MyWAy News:

For prices starting at $50, two nonfederally recognized Indian tribes are offering membership to thousands of illegal immigrants, claiming they can achieve legal status by joining the groups.

But immigration authorities insist becoming a tribe member gives no protection against being deported. And immigration advocates condemn the practice, saying it defrauds immigrants of money and gives them false hope.

"You can't just decide to become a member of a tribe and all of a sudden legalize your status," said Marilu Cabrera, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Sounds like these two "tribes" have found a way to increase their "tribal" coffers by scamming illegal aliens and maybe trying to scam U.S. Law.

The article reports that people have paid as much as $1,200 for membership in the Kaweah Indian Nation, which is not federally recognized, as it has no relationship to the Kaweah tribe that at one time did exist.

There are several others operating, and prosecutors will have difficulties prosecuting them as the victims, illegal aliens, are afraid of coming forward as they may be turned over to immigration officials and subsequently deported.

People who would seek to profit from illegal aliens in such a fashion are despicable, and I hope that investigators are able to secure enough evidence to try and convict these scumbags.

This is yet another reason we have to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. It is because we have a long history of ignoring border security and the vast number of illegal aliens that such crimes are able to take place and even flourish.

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immigration scam crime

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The State of California wants to tax its residents in order to provide Cal Grant sand fee waivers to illegal aliens attending Community Colleges. Illegal aliens already enjoy the privilege of only paying in-state tuition rates.

According to the San Jose Mercury News in its editorial:

The "California Dream Act," SB 160 by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would extend eligibility for Cal Grants and community college fee waivers to undocumented students who've attended a state high school for three years; these students already qualify for in-state tuition but not for state or federal aid.

This is a good investment for the state. Brought across the border illegally by their parents, these young people grew up in California. They'll work in California, pay taxes, use services and raise children. Whether they manage to become legal citizens or not, they aren't going away. With a small investment, the state can help swell the ranks of programmers, nurses and technicians.

There are a few problems with this so called "Dream Act," first of which why shouldn't California focus on educating its youth who are not illegal aliens first? The piece also goes on about how California will hit a shortage of college educated workers; how are you going to guarantee that they will stay in California rather than move someplace where the cost of living is more conducive.

They also try to gain support by calling it an investment, when in reality it is a liability. Investments are things like stocks, bonds and real estate, not someone else's education. I can accept that a person paying for their own education, or of their children, as being a kind of investment, but not when they are forced to pay for the education of someone else's children, especially people who have violated our nation's laws.

With no access to state or federal aid, undocumented students often don't see college as a realistic goal. Some get private scholarships or work their way through - an estimated 1,000 undocumented students attend University of California or California State University campuses - but only the most determined complete a degree.

Question for law enforcement: If there are illegal aliens known to be in the colleges and universities, why are they not being rounded up and deported?

The collapse of the federal immigration bill killed a federal version of the Dream Act which included the promise of green-card eligibility for undocumented youths who complete two years of college or military service.

Now part of this last bit includes something I could agree with: Legal status to those serving in the Armed Forces for those youth who were brought here illegally by their parents. I would even say that if they serve a four year enlistment, putting them on the fast-track to citizenship, but they have to complete the four years first to counter-balance their lack of legal status, and must not have any criminal history aside from their status as illegal aliens to enter the Armed Forces. This would be in keeping with policies that have existed recruiting people into the military who want to immigrate to the United States without showing undo favoritism to illegal aliens. Illegal aliens should not be given any legal status simply for completing two years of college at tax payer expense.

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California Dream Act

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The Washington Times is running an interesting piece on Bruno Kirchenwitz, a now former employ of 7-Eleven, who was fired after an incident where a couple of Hispanic's threatened him and then subsequently fired shots at the store.

The sequence of events has to do with the fact that Kirchenwitz wear's a Border Patrol cap when he is not working. In the interview on the Washington Time's site, Kirchenwitz is very specific that he doesn't wear the cap to work, but since he rides the bus, it is likely that people would recognize him as the guy with the BP hat.

At the 7-Eleven, these two poster children for giving amnesty to illegal aliens, threatened Kirchenwitz, then returned with an M-1 rifle and fired five rounds into the store, which had several customers, including a family with a small child.

No one was hurt, though there were several customers present, including a family with a child. Police issued an arrest warrant for one of the men, Richard Ramirez, an illegal alien who had been deported before by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Basalt Police Chief Keith Ikeda said the department identified the second man, who is living in Colorado legally, though no warrant is issued for his arrest.

Question #1 - why is an illegal alien running around with a firearm? This is a Federal felony.

Question #2 - Ramirez is a known illegal alien who has previously deported. Why is he still here?

Question #3 - why isn't there a warrant out for the arrest of the second perp?

Question #4 - who the hell provided an illegal alien with a firearm?

Richard Ramirez is the kind of "upstanding" illegal that the Democrats want to give legal status and citizenship to. Yet it is Kirchenwitz who gets fired from his job.

It is clear to me that these two thugs came into 7-Eleven in order to specifically harass Kirchenwitz, and that he is a victim. Seriously, what would 7-Eleven have done if they had pulled a gun and shot him on site?

At least I don't have to worry about boycotting 7-eleven. I haven't seen one in Minnesota, where I now live, yet. But I think I will skip getting a Slurpee next time I am in California.

Meanwhile, Ramirez and his accomplice should be prosecuted under the full power of the law, and deported once they have served their sentences.

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Kirchenwitz 7-Eleven

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I sent the following note to Senatpor Coleman via his website:

Dear Senator Coleman:

A few weeks ago I was delighted that you voted against cloture on the Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (aka McKennedy Amnesty Act). Now I am disappointed that you have supported cloture. I understand that you have aneeded amendment that may be added on to this legislation. Howeer you know as well as I do that any and all amendments may be stripped from the final bill during joint session.

This bill is a bad bill for many reasons, mnost specifically it allows any illegal alien to gain legalization with forged documents. Even if an amendment is added on by the Senate to require a secure passport be presented, that would likely be stripped away in joint session.

No set amendments can fix a bad bill, and this is an extremely bad bill.

I implore you to end your support of this legislation and opose it as you previously have done.

Thank you

Todd C. Hansen

We'll see if it does any good.

As for Amy Klobuchar, for what good it will do, I sent the following:

Dear Senator Klobuchar:

I am writing to you in regards to the Immigration Reform Act of 2007 now before the U.S. Senate.

I oculd go on for pages on why this is a bad piece of legsilation, however I think I will stick to one major point.

The requiremnet for legalization is a couple of easy to forge documents with which an illegal alien can then forge a new identity. At the very least, aliens wishing legalization under this act should be required to provide a secure passport with biometric data.

However, I recognize that even if the Senate were to approve an amendment to make such a requirement, there is a high likelihood that it will be stripped away during joint session.

No set of amendments can fix a bad bill, and this is a very bad bill that poses signifcant national security risks.

I implore you to opose this bill, regardless of the amendments attached to it.

Sincerely

Todd C. Hansen

I have no doubt that the only way to defeat this bill is here and now in the Senate. For some reason I wasn't surprised that it was borugh back to life so soon after its initial defeat.

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McKennedy Amnesty Immigration Reform

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The Senate has voted to move ahead with the McKennedy Amnesty bill, also known as the Imimigration Reform Act of 2007.

I am very disappointed that both of my Senators, Coleman and Klobuchar, voted for cloture. I am especially disappointed in Coleman as previously he voted against cloture.

The question now is: how many people will be rushing the Border in the McKennedy Race For Amnesty?

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Amnesty McKennedy Immigration Reform

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The McKennedy Amnesty Bill, also known as the Immigration Reform Act of 2007 has been defeated…for now. "We are not giving up. We are not giving in," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass threatened.

For those keeping score of how the Senators voted, the roll call vote is on the Senate website.

In the bipartisan effort to defeat this bill, it is interesting to note that more Democrats voted against than Republicans voted in support of it.

For my own state, Norm Coleman got it right, casting a "no" vote, while the hard-left Moonbat Amy Klobuchar voted in support of granting amnesty to illegal aliens, many of whom have broken more laws than just crossing our border.

What is truly surprising is that hard-left Moonbat from California, Barbara Boxer, voted against it. Surprising but true.

From FoxNews:

"There are a lot of good things in this bill," Reid said. "I'm a creature of the Senate. I understand we live by the rules that govern this body. I accept that. We're going to do everything we can to pass this bill as soon as we can. When is that? I don't know, but we're going to work hard and try to put aside the hurt feelings that we have. The country needs and the Senate needs to do this."

Good things if you are here in this country illegally. Illegal aliens are rewarded under this act for having jumped the immigration line by not having to return to their country of origin at get at the back of the line. What does this tell the millions of immigrants (and hopefuls) who play the rules and worked their way through the immigration process?

I have a better idea: rather than passing this bill, or a similar bill, how about we enforce our existing immigration laws. That's what I call Immigration Reform.

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McCain Kennedy McKennedy Amnesty Immigration Reform

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The Big Dubya's popularity with me is taking a bit of a nose dive over the McKennedy Amnesty bill, more properly known as the Immigration Reform Act of 2007.

It is being reported that Bush has said that any reference to this legislation is scare-mongering and empty rhetoric. He has also said that the immigration system is in need of reform.

Earth to Dubya: the immigration system is in need of enforcement!

One of the biggest problems with the proposed legislation is that it will begin temporary "Z" visas to illegal aliens the day it is signed into law. It also requires that only about half of the fence (or wall, barriers, etc) be completed. These so called visas for illegals will be available BEFORE even that little bit of border security is completed. Add to that the fact that the documentation that can be used to "prove" that an illegal alien was in country prior to January 1, 2007, are easily counterfeited and you have a system designed, by intent, to allow millions more illegal aliens to be on the path to permanent residency than the 12+ million already here.

When Ronald Reagan authorized the first amnesty program in 1986, there were provisions in it that specified that our borders would be secured so has to eliminate the influx of aliens across our borders. The borders were never secured. The amnesty was also supposed to be a one time deal, and the proof required to receive legal status was far more stringent, including having to be able to prove that any given individual had resided in the U.S. for more than five years.

Whether or not we implement a program to put the over 12 million illegal aliens currently living within the United States is one thing. It may be the right thing to do. Hard to say, and my crystal ball is not currently working. However, doing so without first securing our borders, North as well as South, is to court an additional influx of aliens intent on participating in the proposed program.

Legal immigration has always been a part of our nation's history, as well as playing a significant role in its future. The legal path places many hurdles in the path of those who seek to come here, including criminal background checks and health checks.

With the advent of millions of people entering our country illegally, bypassing these checks, we suffer increased crime rates as well as a resurgence of diseases that had previously been eradicated from the United States, including tuberculosis.

I don't have a problem with establishing a guest worker program, or even granting "Z" visas to illegal aliens wishing to stay here if first we secure our borders before any such visas are issued, and second, that they pass ALL security, criminal and health checks that people who have sought entry to our country have had to undergo.

My two cents, for what it's worth.

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Bush Immigration Reform Illegal Aliens Amnesty

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A lot is happening on the immigration front, mostly bad. Hugh Hewitt has taken to labeling it McCain-Kennedy Amnesty 2.0, which is fairly appropriate. Not sure what I would call it, except that anything Ted Kennedy supports and thinks is good, has got to be bad for this country. And this is. Here's a clip from MyWay News on what it does:

The proposed agreement would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a "Z visa" and - after paying fees and a $5,000 fine - ultimately get on track for permanent residency, which could take between eight and 13 years. Heads of households would have to return to their home countries first.

They could come forward right away to claim a probationary card that would let them live and work legally in the U.S., but could not begin the path to permanent residency or citizenship until border security improvements and the high-tech worker identification program were completed.

A new crop of low-skilled guest workers would have to return home after stints of two years. They could renew their visas twice, but would be required to leave for a year in between each time. If they wanted to stay in the U.S. permanently, they would have to apply under the point system for a limited pool of green cards.

There is a lot more to it than that, including to reports that the wall/fence has been cut and half and may be killed altogether.

Anything this loose on the handling of illegal aliens is bad, and amounts to amnesty. That is not something I would advocate as illegal aliens routinely use forged documents and harvest the Social Security numbers of working Americans in order to get jobs. That is not exactly law-abiding, and also leads to identify theft and bad credit ratings because of the illegal's activities.

This is something I currently have to deal with. It turns out an illegal alien has been using my social security number for sometime. I ma not HAPPY about that fact.

Now I learn they intend to grant them amnesty and let them stay.

Okay, it may be unrealistic to deport 12 million people, but to let them get off so easy for their criminal behavior is simply NOT RIGHT!

We must build a wall and secure our borders, north and south. After that, we can determine the best way to handle the growing problem of illegal aliens within our borders. Whether that means they are given a choice to go home and return as temporary workers or deport them and close the gates on those who violated our laws can be debated. But allowing them to stay and pay a $5,000 fine, which is way to little to discourage this kind of behavior, as they have violated more laws than just the manner in which they entered the U.S. , is plain wrong.

There may not be a perfect solution to the issue of illegal aliens within the U.S., but anything short of securing our borders first is a non-solution.

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Amnesty McKennedy McCain-Kennedy

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The headline on this made it sound like some civil rights group was suing the LA Police Department in order to protect illegal aliens. For a change, this is not the case. From BreitBart:

Illegal immigration opponents have sued the Los Angeles Police Department, taking aim at its long-standing policy of ignoring most suspects' immigration status.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Superior Court seeks to force officers to inform federal immigration officials when illegal immigrants are arrested on drug charges.

The department prohibits officers from inquiring about the immigration status of suspects, a policy strongly supported by Police Chief William Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Currently, LAPD, and many other police departments across the country are not allowed to check a suspect's immigration status for strictly political reasons. The reasoning for this is that many mayors have taken it upon themselves to implement a policy that treats the illegal alien population as strictly a Federal problem. The end result of such policies is that we end up with illegal aliens filling our prison system for crimes far more serious than drug running.

Reading that a citizen group is working to force the LAPD to identify a suspect's immigration status is good to read about. I hope this develops into a nation-wide trend, as then we may be able to seriously curtail the illegal alien problem, as well as "take a bite out of crime."

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Illegal Aliens Immigration LAPD

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Hazelton, Pennsylvania, gets it right. The city has just enacted the toughest anti-illegal alien law in the nation. The law stipulates $1000 fines for landlords who rent property to illegal aliens, and bushiness who hire illegal aliens ill not be granted licenses. Harsh on the business community. Based n the news report, it does not seem to penalize illegal aliens, like turning them over to the INS.

From the FoxNewsarticle:

Barletta proposed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act last month as a response to what he said were Hazleton's problems with violent crime, crowded schools, hospital costs and the demand for services. Opponents argued it was divisive and possibly illegal, but supporters argued illegal immigrants' growing numbers have damaged the quality of life in this northeastern Pennsylvania city.

"What you see here tonight, really, is a city that wants to take back what America has given it," Barletta said.

This is a welcome contrast to cities like San Francisco that have enacted sanctuary laws that protect illegal aliens.

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