The truth about Obama's immigration ploy

By Thomas Sowell

President Obama's latest political ploy — granting new "rights" out of thin air, by executive order, to illegal immigrants who claim that they were brought into the country when they were children — is all too typical of his short-run approach to the country's long-run problems.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the Obama immigration policy, his executive order is good only as long as he remains president, which may be only a matter of months after this year's election.

People cannot plan their lives on the basis of laws that can suddenly appear, and then suddenly disappear, in less than a year. To come forward today and claim the protection of the Obama executive order is to declare publicly and officially that your parents entered the country illegally. How that may be viewed by some later administration is anybody's guess.

Employers likewise cannot rely on policies that may be here today and gone tomorrow, whether these are temporary tax rates designed to look good at election time or temporary immigration policies that can backfire later if employers get accused of hiring illegal immigrants.

Why hire someone, and invest time and money in training them, if you may be forced to fire them before a year has passed?

Kicking the can down the road is one of the favorite exercises in Washington. But neither in the economy nor in their personal lives can people make plans and commitments on the basis of government policies that suddenly appear and suddenly disappear.

Like so many other Obama ploys, his immigration ploy is not meant to help the country, but to help Obama. This is all about getting the Hispanic vote this November.

The principle involved — keeping children from being hurt by actions over which they had no control — is one already advanced by Sen. Marco Rubio, who may well end up as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential running mate. The Obama executive order, which suddenly popped up like a rabbit out of a magician's hat, steals some of Senator Rubio's thunder, so it is clever politics.

But clever politics is what has gotten this country into so much trouble, not only as regards immigration but also as regards the economy and the dangerous international situation.

When the new, and perhaps short-lived, immigration policy is looked at in terms of how it can be administered, it makes even less sense. While this policy is rationalized in terms of children, those who invoke it are likely to do so as adults.

How do you check someone's claim that he was brought into the country illegally when he was a child? If Obama gets re-elected, it is very unlikely that illegal immigrants will really have to prove anything. The administration can simply choose not to enforce that provision, as so many other immigration laws are unenforced in the Obama administration.

If Obama does not get re-elected, then it may not matter anyway, when his executive order can be gone after he is gone.

Ultimately, it does not matter what immigration policy this country has, if it cannot control its own borders. Whoever wants to come, and has the chutzpah, will come. And the fact that they come across the Mexican border does not mean that they are all Mexicans. The can just as easily be terrorists from the Middle East.

Only after the border is controlled can any immigration policy matter be seriously considered, and options weighed through the normal constitutional process of congressional hearings, debate and legislation, rather than by presidential shortcuts.

Not only is border control fundamental, what is also fundamental is the principle that immigration policy does not exist to accommodate foreigners but to protect Americans — and the American culture that has made this the world's richest, freest and most powerful nation for more than a century.

No nation can absorb unlimited numbers of people from another culture without jeopardizing its own culture. In the 19th and early 20th century, America could absorb millions of immigrants who came here to become Americans. But the situation is entirely different today, when group separatism, resentment and polarization are being promoted by both the education system and politicians.

Thomas Sowell is a syndicated columnist who writes on political issues.

Obama Administration's DREAM Decree – Compassion or Child Abuse?

By Ronald W. Mortensen, June 21, 2012

The Obama administration has taken a large step in doing what many of America's religious, political, and business elite have demanded for years by providing amnesty and work authorizations to over one million adult illegal aliens. At the same time, the administration has callously sacrificed countless numbers of American children who are the victims of illegal alien-driven identity theft and other job-related felonies.

The fact that amnesty was provided by extra-legal means is of no consequence to the elites. After all, they routinely twist and ignore laws as they work to achieve their goals of more church members, more political power, and more economic riches.

It should come as no surprise that the elites who oversaw the decline of religion in the United States, who took America down the road toward bankruptcy, and who routinely employ illegal aliens all support this amnesty program.

These religious, political, and business elites turn their backs on American citizens and their children because they won't join their corrupted churches, won't support their corrupt political activities, and won't work as virtual indentured servants while their taxes go to bail out corrupt businesses.

Rather than standing up for the millions of American children who have been the victims of illegal alien-driven, job-related identity theft over the years, the elite knowingly and deliberately sacrifice these kids for their own selfish interests while portraying themselves as compassionate, caring people.

In fact, in the eyes of the elites these American kids have forfeited their right to a bright future and to protection under the law. After all, they are spoiled, they are lazy, they are independent, and they unrealistically expect to live at least as well as their struggling middle-class parents.

"Provide us with what we want", the elites tell illegal aliens, "and we will allow you to steal the identities of American children without threat of arrest, deportation, or incarceration and we will guarantee that your children will eventually get ahead of American children in both education and jobs."

"Come to our churches, convert to our religions, support the growth of government, help us undermine the rule of law, provide us with a new base of voters, and help us avoid hiring high-cost American citizens and we will take care of you and your families."

And, of course, illegal aliens are virtually never arrested, much less convicted of the job-related felonies they routinely commit because the elites have maintained their part of the silent bargain.

Now, the Obama administration, cheered on by the corrupt elites, will set up an amnesty program that allows illegal aliens who have committed serious job-related felonies ranging from Social Security fraud to identity theft under state laws to get legal status and work permits.

The administration will ensure that the job-related crimes committed by illegal aliens will never be revealed and that they will never be prosecuted for them. And they will guarantee that the American kids who are victims of these crimes will never learn who victimized them.

The administration will also ensure that the elites who aided and abetted illegal aliens in their job-related criminal activities or who themselves violated U.S. immigration, employment, and payroll tax laws by hiring illegal aliens will be given amnesty as well.

While the elites are busy getting what they want, the parents of the American children whose futures are systematically being destroyed are busy trying to make a living in the economy that the elites have handed them. Many don't have time to protect their children from this elite-driven child abuse and they have all too often bought into the elites' phony, but very compelling, compassion arguments.

Only as their kids graduate from high school do parents realize that their children are now competing for college admissions and jobs with some of the same illegal aliens who stole their children's identities and that many illegal aliens have an advantage over their innocent, American children because of diversity and affirmative action programs.

Only as American kids apply for jobs and fail background checks do they realize that the jobs they have earned and need go to the very illegal aliens who have destroyed their credit, left them with unpaid tax liabilities for wages earned on their Social Security numbers, and saddled them with arrest records that are linked to their Social Security numbers.

And only as Americans who have been victimized by illegal aliens marry and try to build a future for their families do they realize the full extent of the damage that the illegal aliens and their elite allies have done to them as they are denied the opportunity to make a decent living and to build a better life for themselves and their children.

So while American children fight to recover their lives, the illegal aliens who victimized them are living the American dream built on the misery of their victims with the full support of America's religious, business, and political elites.

Americans who have bought into the elites' one-sided compassion argument will realize too late that they have been complicit in the destruction of their innocent children's futures and of their children's American dreams.

What will their response be when their children ask, "Why?"

End Handouts for Illegals

By David Vitter May 30, 2012 .

The federal government is handing out $4.2 billion a year to illegal aliens.

This isn’t some service benefit that illegal aliens are receiving, like taxpayer-subsidized health care or education. And it’s not a tax deduction or a non-refundable tax credit, which would require recipients to actually pay taxes in order to receive the benefit. It’s a refundable tax credit, a taxpayer-funded check from the federal government. And the government requires no proof that the recipient is actually eligible under the law, which illegal aliens are not.

Abuse of this tax benefit is one of the most ridiculous examples of fraud adding to our federal deficit today. Equally harmful, it is acting as a powerful incentive for more illegal aliens to come to America.
While illegal aliens don’t qualify for legitimate Social Security numbers, the IRS allows them to apply for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). The overwhelming majority of returns with ITINs are filed by illegal aliens. This is how they fraudulently apply for and receive these checks.

This tax credit was designed to help working families offset the costs of raising children. But illegal aliens — who don’t possess valid Social Security numbers because they are not authorized to work in this country — are able to receive these tax credits by simply providing an ITIN and claiming to have children. So, American taxpayers are writing checks to illegal aliens — $1,000 per child, $4.2 billion per year total.

An investigative reporter in Indianapolis recently uncovered cases in which illegal aliens were claiming the child tax credit for nieces and nephews who did not even live in the United States. Some received more than $10,000 from the federal government.

One admitted that his address was used by four other illegal aliens who don’t even live there. They claimed 20 children were living in one mobile home and received returns, including the additional child tax credit, totaling $29,608. But only one child actually lives at the residence; the other 19 live in Mexico and have never even visited the United States.

The Obama administration’s own Department of Treasury, through its inspector general for tax administration, has repeatedly warned about these abuses and said that “millions of people are seeking this tax credit who, we believe, are not entitled to it.”

Tragically, the IRS is doing nothing to fight this blatant fraud. While I believe they could and should, their complete inaction has prompted me to introduce a clear solution in Congress — the Child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act. It would require every individual applying for the child tax credit to provide a valid Social Security number, exactly as everyone must do to receive the earned-income tax credit.

Just last week, Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) and I took to the Senate floor to ask our Senate colleagues to pass this commonsense bill by unanimous consent. Unfortunately, none other than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) blocked our effort.

The American people have the innate common sense and fairness to see that this abuse must end.

The question is: Will the U.S. Senate muster those same virtues and do the right thing?

— Senator David Vitter (R., La.) is the founder and chairman of the Senate Border Security and Enforcement First Immigration Caucus.

If We Took the Constitution Seriously, Obama Would Be Impeached

American Thinker By Michael Filozof

If the citizens of this Republic still took the Constitution seriously, Obama would be impeached for his decision to unilaterally grant amnesty to certain illegal aliens.

Article 1, Sec. 8 of the Constitution, which enumerates the power of Congress, states that "Congress shall have the Power To... establish an [sic] uniform Rule of Naturalization." Congress has passed numerous laws pertaining to immigration and naturalization, including laws requiring the deportation of illegal aliens.

The role of the President, according to Article II, Sec. 3, is to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Obama's refusal to execute Congress's immigration laws (or, for that matter, Congress's Defense of Marriage Act) is an impeachable offense. Article II, Sec. 4 states that the President "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for... Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." The deliberate failure to enforce valid immigration law and allow hordes of foreigners to live and work in the U.S. is, arguably, "treason," and doing so in an election year to appease Hispanic voters could certainly be considered "bribery."

In theory, Obama could exercise his power in Article II, Sec 2. to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States" and offer a blanket pardon for all violators of immigration law. He's not doing that, because he'd certainly lose in November if he did. (However we should be concerned that if he does lose in November, he'll do it anyway on his last day in office).

The upshot of Obama's policy not only to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to live and work in the U.S. during a time of 8 to 10% unemployment, but even worse, since the vast number of illegal aliens we're talking about are Hispanics eligible for affirmative-action preferences, to actually get preferential treatment over native-born Americans.

Remember Obama's speech in Berlin in 2008? Well, now you know what "citizen of the world" means: instituting an illegal and unconstitutional policy that favors Third Worlders, and disadvantages people actually born as U.S. citizens.

Of course, he'll get away with it... if you think the gutless Republicans in the House actually represent the interests of their native born constituents and will introduce articles of impeachment, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you....

Public wants to enforce U.S. sovereignity

May 07, 2012 - Mark Krikorian is Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies

The Supreme Court is almost certainly going to uphold the most controversial portion of Arizona’s 2010 immigration law, S.B. 1070 — the requirement that local police check the immigration status of people stopped for other offenses if there’s reason to believe they are illegal immigrants. The U.S. Justice Department’s case is based on the contention that Congress has prohibited states from assisting federal authorities in enforcing immigration law in this way — a claim that is transparently false and that even the pro-Obama members of the court were not buying during last month’s oral arguments.

But just because something is constitutional — i.e., not in conflict with our nation’s basic law — doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good policy, and that’s the more important debate. Arizona is only one of many states — including Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, and Utah — to pass laws designed to help enforce federal immigration laws. The premise of all these laws is “attrition through enforcement” or “self-deportation” — getting illegal immigrants to leave on their own by making it impractical for them to continue living here by, for instance, ensuring that they can’t get jobs, can’t get driver’s licenses, and can’t go through the day without their illegal presence being noticed. The goal is to reduce the illegal population over time as an alternative to amnesty, on the one hand, or unworkable mass roundups, on the other.

And a policy of attrition works. An earlier Arizona law required that all employers in the state use the federal government’s online immigration-screening system, called E-Verify, when hiring someone. This makes it harder for an illegal alien to lie to his employer by using a fake or stolen identity.

Research has shown that the state’s illegal population declined by nearly 100,000 as a result of the law, some people leaving for other U.S. states and some returning to Mexico (where local officials complained of the burden they placed on public services!).

Nationally, the illegal population declined by perhaps one million from 2007 to 2009 — and while the economy was a big part of that, the decline started before the recession, with the collapse of President George W. Bush’s amnesty push in Congress and the uptick in enforcement that followed.

CITIZENS COUNCIL ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

PRESS RELEASE JUNE 15, 2012

Contact: cciiwc@mindspring.com
P. O. Box 824, Santa Clara, Ut. 84765

This morning June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security stated it intends to ignore the United States Constitution, bypass Congressional authority, and administratively implement “The Dream Act”. 

The statement came via a Department policy memo, signed by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, followed by a television appearance explaining the policy memo specifications. According to the statement effective immediately, the Obama Administration will stop deporting illegal aliens who meet certain specific qualifications, grant illegal aliens “deferred action” and authorization to work by providing them with a “Work Permit”. 

Deferred action status is just one of at least 4 different provisions DHS grants when it decides within its own discretion, not to remove an illegal alien. This new policy is effective immediately and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will create an application process that will be implemented within 60 days.  It is estimated that nearly 1 million illegal aliens will receive a reprieve and not fear deportation via this new policy.

The specific qualifications are: The illegal alien is under the age of 30 and entered the U. S. before the age of 16. The illegal alien has been in the U. S. for 5 years. The illegal alien has graduated from a U. S. High School or received a GED. The illegal alien has no criminal history. The illegal alien can serve in the U. S. military or receive a "Work Permit" which is good for 2 years and has unlimited renewal 2 year terms. Today's declaration advances "The Dream Act" policies.

This is nothing but a stealth amnesty for a million or more young illegal aliens, and who knows where it will lead. .  

The Citizens Council on Illegal Immigration encourages all of our supporters, activists, and friends to respectfully voice their objection to the Obama Administration’s new policy. They must hear our voices, read our messages requesting them to respond to the wishes and concerns of every American citizen who demand government follow its own laws and abide by the provisions of the United States Constitution and its separation of powers.

Please call the White House, the DHS, and your members of Congress and tell them:

• You believe in the rule of law; it is the foundation of our sovereign nation.
• You demand an immigration system that conforms to our immigration laws.
• The U. S. Congress, not the Executive Branch, has sole authority to establish immigration laws; it is the responsibility of the Executive Branch to enforce them.
• You object to rewarding illegal immigration through “deferred action” or any other executive maneuver.
• Declare misplaced compassion for lawlessness only creates more lawlessness.
• Explain this policy memo is an act of shameless political pandering just five months before the presidential election.

Numbers to call:

Department of Homeland Security

Operator number – 202-282-8000

Comment line – 202-282-8495

White House

Comment line – 202-456-1111

Capitol switchboard – 202-224-3121

Utah Delegation

Senator Mike Lee – 202-224-5444, local 628-5514

Senator Orrin Hatch – 202-224-525l, local 634-1795 

Representative Jim Matheson – 202-225-3011, local 627-0880

Representative Rob Bishop – 202-225-0453, local 801-532-3244

Representative Jason Chaffetz – 202-225-7751, local 801-851-2500

Press 1 For English: Is America Destined To Become A Multilingual Nation?

Endoftheamericandream.com  (Part II of II)

The federal government certainly has not been helping matters.  Illegal aliens are much less likely to integrate into society, and the federal government continues to do very little to stop the flow of illegal aliens coming into this country.

Meanwhile, legal immigrants (those that would be more likely to integrate successfully) have to go through paperwork hell in order to do things correctly. Our entire immigration system is totally upside down.

Much of this article has focused on Spanish so far, but that is far from the only language that is becoming a major issue. For example, those immigrating from the Middle East are also often not very eager to integrate into our culture.

Thanks to the federal government, very large numbers of Muslims have been immigrating into the United States, and as a result Islam is now the fastest growing major religion in America.

Many communities in America have actually altered their school calendars to accommodate Islamic holidays, and Arabic is commonly spoken in many areas of the United States today.

Someday members of your family may be taught Arabic in school.  Don't think that it can't happen.  As the New York Post recently reported, one public elementary school in New York will now require students to study Arabic....

An upper Manhattan public elementary school will be the first in the city to require that students study Arabic, officials said yesterday. Beginning next semester, all 200 second- through fifth-graders at PS 368 in Hamilton Heights will be taught the language twice a week for 45 minutes — putting it on equal footing with science and music courses.

So will we soon hear "press 3 for Arabic" when we call a customer service line?

America is rapidly changing.

Barack Obama issued a memorandum which authorized the admission of up to 80,000 additional immigrants during fiscal year 2011.  Most of the additional "refugees" were from areas that were highly Islamic.

As their numbers grow, will they be willing to learn our language and our culture?

Most Americans do not realize this, but there is even a requirement that ballots in other languages be available on a nationwide basis. So you don't need to know English in order to be able to vote. Unfortunately, those alternate ballots cost a lot of money to print up.

According to one estimate providing bilingual and multilingual voting ballots nationwide costs close to 5 million dollars. But it isn't just ballots that are the issue.

Executive Order 13166, which was signed by Bill Clinton when he was president, essentially requires that all federal agencies ensure that individuals with limited English proficiency have "meaningful access" to all services that they provide.

That means that millions upon millions of dollars is spent printing up forms and documents in other languages.

A recent CNS News article discussed one example of this....

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the government is working on including more questions about the health concerns of the LGBT community. The National Health Survey questions will be in multiple languages to “drill down on what are the specific health needs around the LGBT community.”

So is the federal government going to print up the National Health Survey in all 325 languages that are spoken in American homes? If not, why not? Don't all language groups deserve equal treatment under the law?

Hopefully you are getting an idea of how bizarre all of this can potentially become. The truth is that if we could focus on just one language that might help our education system. Today, 47 percent of all people living in the city of Detroit are functionally illiterate.  Getting the people of Detroit to be able to use one language correctly would be a major step in the right direction.

And if we allow other languages to become dominant in the United States it is only going to be a matter of time before that creates very deep political divisions in this country.

Theodore Roosevelt once made the following statement....

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism…. The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities."

Press 1 For English: Is America Destined To Become A Multilingual Nation?

Endoftheamericandream.com  (Part I of II)

The quickest way to divide people is to have them speak different languages.  America has always been a nation of immigrants, but one of the things that has always united us as a nation has been the English language.  In the past, it was always understood that if you wanted to thrive in the "land of opportunity" that you had better learn English and learn it well.  Unfortunately, times have changed. 

Today, many radical activist groups are actually referring to the English language as a "tool of oppression" and are demanding that special accommodations be made for those that do not wish to learn the English language.  But what languages are we supposed to accommodate?  Overall, there are 325 different languages spoken at home in the United States today.  So which of those languages should receive special treatment?  How far are we really going to take all of this? 

Someday, instead of your telephone telling you to "press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish", it may tell you to "press 323 for Italian, 324 for Arabic or 325 for English".  Yes, that is kind of a ridiculous example, but we really should examine where all of this is headed.  Is America destined to become a multilingual nation where we all struggle to understand one another?

This debate can become very heated.  The first thing that both sides should acknowledge is that everyone deserves to be loved and respected no matter where they are from and no matter what the color of their skin is.  If someone speaks English that does not make that person better than someone who speaks Spanish and vice versa.  Every single person on this planet is extremely valuable no matter where they come from and no matter what language they speak.

And the reality of the matter is that tens of millions of Americans speak Spanish as their primary language today.  All of us have noticed many of the changes that have occurred as a result. If you use an ATM in America today, you will likely have the option to conduct your business in the Spanish language. If you call a customer service hotline, you can "press 1 for English" or "para español oprima dos".

In many areas of California, Texas and Florida some employers have made being bilingual a mandatory requirement for many jobs.  If you apply for those jobs and you do not speak both English and Spanish you can just forget it. Down in Miami, there are large areas of the city where Spanish is actually the primary language.  It is almost like going to a foreign country.

Big retailers in many parts of the country have also hopped on the bandwagon.  The following is a photo sent to me by a reader of the interior of a Home Depot store....There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to be helpful to your customers, but are we eventually going to get to the point where almost everything in America is done in two or more languages?

Increasingly, radical activist groups are deciding that it is not right to expect that immigrants will attempt to assimilate into our culture.  Instead, they are demanding that all of us must be willing to make special accommodations for them.

This whole "political correctness" thing has totally gotten out of control.

According to Marta Jimenez, a lawyer for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, "the historical use of English in the United States" has been used as "a tool of oppression". A tool of oppression? Really?

One of the biggest areas where we are seeing this kind of activism is in the education system.  In some areas of America today, Hispanic students are taught most of their subjects in Spanish.  This makes it very difficult for them to successfully integrate with the larger society.

The consequences of not insisting that public school students become proficient in English have been very dramatic at times.  The following example comes from an article by Mauro Mujica....

In May, about 20 percent of the students at Miami Senior High School, where 88 percent of the students speak English as a second language, failed the annual Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) exam, which is required for graduation. The poor results prompted protests and demands for the test to be given in Spanish as well as English. Over 200 students and teachers gathered outside the school waving signs and chanting "No FCAT." A state senator from Miami introduced a bill that would allow the FCAT to be given in Spanish.

Unfortunately, these issues are not going to go away any time soon.  Today, approximately 20 percent of the entire population of the state of California is considered to have limited English proficiency. (Part II Follows)

Illegal Immigration

I listened to a political “expert” comment recently on the difficulty the Republican Party would face in the presidential election because of the position being taken by a candidate on illegal aliens.

His position was that it was politically damaging for a candidate to want to enforce the law spelling out the ground rules for non-Americans to enter this country legally.

My forefathers and millions of others patiently waited months and years to obtain the right to enter this country legally. They worked to feed, clothe, educate and provide medical care to us, their offspring.

It galls me to listen to politicians who want to welcome these illegal aliens with open arms, feed, clothe, educate and make them immediate citizens — just in time for the presidential elections.

Politically, this is understandable.

In all of this political maneuvering, it is grossly insulting to the millions of legal residents, many of whom are the parents or grandparents of those so eager to win a political battle that they will attempt to circumvent the law for political power.

It’s disgusting,

Charles J. Faraci, Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City Star May 15, 2012

Is this a nation of laws?

By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff  May 21. 2012

Lord help us if we don’t learn from the case of Hugo Diaz. But it appears many will not.

The Columbia County illegal-alien building contractor got 15 months in federal prison last Tuesday for harboring illegal aliens himself. Diaz had managed to ensconce himself here illegally in a very nice multimillion-dollar house and build up a substantial contracting business on the back of other illegal immigrants – using the cheap labor to leverage an unfair business advantage over legal contractors who abide by our laws.

Yet, Diaz had considerable local support in the courtroom – otherwise sensible business people who somehow thought this guy was getting a raw deal.

To heck with the rest of Columbia County and their silly rules! What in the world are these people thinking? That it’s a victimless crime? Someone innocently pursuing the American dream? Hardly.

This guy was a predator scamming the system and cheating those who follow the rules.
Moreover, get this: Of 23 illegal aliens the Diaz family harbored, 21 of them managed to get arrested in Columbia County – for such things as driving under the influence; 21 out of 23! What are the odds of that?

Those who supported this kind of lawbreaking – openly, in one of our federal courts – ought to be eternally ashamed. And those who enabled Diaz ought to be arrested themselves. Let’s hope Diaz provided prosecutors with the information necessary.

“There is no way he could’ve pulled off what he pulled off without some enabling going on,” one knowledgeable source told us.

How did he get business licenses, building permits, bank accounts, new vehicles and more? How can an illegal alien just set up shop on a golf course in the middle of a community without aid and comfort?

This isn’t being anti-immigration; it’s anti-crime. Not all immigration is created equal. Don’t skip over the word “illegal” when it applies, because there’s a world of difference between the two. Ask anyone who’s been naturalized.

Nor is it humane to encourage law-breaking. This country’s unforgivable indecision on whether it wants to recognize – i.e., secure – its own border is causing this mess. We’re sending a message to people who are naturally disinclined to following rules that there may not be any here. When we wake up and occasionally decide otherwise, it’s a shock to some folks.

Let’s decide, one way or another, whether we’ve got a nation of laws here or not. In this case, for once, we got it right.

The Dream Act in Different Words

The STARS Act Is First installment of Comprehensive Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- If passed, the Studying Towards Adjusted Residency Status (STARS) Act, introduced yesterday by Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.), would be only the first in a series of amnesties for illegal aliens, charges the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR has consistently maintained that enacting any type of amnesty legislation will encourage rampant illegal immigration and create mounting pressure for additional amnesties.

The STARS Act, the latest version of the DREAM Act, grants amnesty to illegal aliens if they meet certain residency requirements and graduate from college. But just like previous versions of the DREAM Act, the STARS Act is part of the relentless effort to gain amnesty for the entire illegal alien population. Amnesty advocates understand that broad legalization schemes are unpopular with the American public and that their goals will have to be achieved incrementally. And through the passage of the STARS Act, Congress would not only grant amnesty to illegal aliens who meet the requirements of the bill, but would also secure the admission of millions of family members - either living in the U.S. illegally or living outside the U.S. - through chain migration.

"The American people have categorically rejected the notion of granting amnesty to people who violate our immigration laws. Americans know that doing so is both unfair and irresponsible," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.

"Once Congress rewards illegal aliens for bringing minor children to the United States illegally, more aliens will enter the country illegally with their children - or worse yet, send them on their own. Thus, passage of the STARS Act would not be the end of the amnesty process, but the beginning of a process for amnesty advocates to achieve the comprehensive amnesty they have sought piece by piece," Stein warned.

In a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Rivera justified his STARS Act legislation by asserting, "Many young immigrants have found themselves stuck in limbo due to our failure to address immigration reform."

"That assertion is patently false and offensive to the American public," Stein responded. "Illegal alien parents who brought their children here illegally are at fault, not the American public, nor our policies. Our immigration laws need to be enforced, not reformed in a way that accommodates and rewards the lawbreaking."

"The problem of mass illegal immigration cannot be dealt with by rewarding people who break our laws with amnesty, either piecemeal or comprehensively. The only effective approach is a wholesale reform of our immigration system, one that discourages people from coming or remaining in the U.S. illegally by removing all incentives or rewards for breaking the law. The STARS Act is yet another reward for illegal behavior that will create a new incentive for more people to break our laws," concluded Stein.

About FAIR Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 250,000 members nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced. www.fairus.org.

Summer 2012 Guide to the Immigration Issue

May 30, 2012 By FAIR Media Team

Ok, so maybe it’s not exactly a cheap novel to enjoy under the beach umbrella on a sandy shore, but it is a short – and hopefully helpful – primer of the hot issues and updated stats for those following the immigration policy debate this summer.
Two issues presently dominate the debate; state action soon culminating in a Supreme Court decision on Arizona’s SB-1070 and the use (and abuse) of immigration policy by both parties in an election year to influence special interest voters.
The Election

• The Obama Administration continues extending backdoor amnesty to thousands of deportable aliens, while Congress sits on its hands, despite the overt usurpation of Congressional authority.
• Former Governor Mitt Romney is wavering on immigration enforcement policy he articulated throughout the primary. Additionally, he has failed to address if and how he might reverse the backdoor amnesty policies underway should he become President.
• In the battle for the Hispanic vote, both parties consider more concessions for illegal and legal immigrants. Republican Senator Marco Rubio is drafting a GOP DREAM Act hoping to capture Romney’s support while Democrats continue to push amnesty legislation.

The States

• The Supreme Court decision on Arizona’s SB 1070 enforcement law is expected in late June. The battle for immigration enforcement continues at the state level. Recent efforts to weaken Alabama’s state law failed and other states continue to explore E-Verify and enforcement legislation.
• The Obama administration is aggressively shutting down state and local enforcement efforts, whether it’s by suing states over new laws or defunding local enforcement programs like 287(g) or weakening Secure Communities.

Congress

• Senator Marco Rubio wants GOP to support amnesty and increase legal immigration. Rubio appears to have either self-appointed himself the election year “immigration issue broker” or been assigned the task by the GOP. He is shopping around a GOP version of the DREAM Act but, thus far, has refused to disclose the details of the plan.
• Republicans and Democrats push visa reforms and additions to unnecessarily increase legal immigration. Rather than tackle the underlying issues with our immigration system or acknowledge that the U.S. already admits over 1 million legal permanent residents a year, leaders in both parties advocate for more visas and looser requirements.
• Nationwide E-Verify bill is stalled in the
  House Ways
  and Means Committee. Along with requiring E-Verify, the bill could pre-empt state enforcement laws.

Number of Illegal Aliens

• 12 million (FAIR, 2010)
• 11.2 million (Pew Hispanic Center, 2010)
• 10.8 million (DHS. FY 2010)

Number of Jobs Presently Held by Illegal Aliens

• 7 million (2010)

National Unemployment Rate

• 8.1% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2012)
• Over 22 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have given up actively looking for work. (BLS, April 2012)

Unskilled Immigrant Admissions

• Nearly 1 million (Department of Homeland Security, FY 2011)

Annual National Cost of Illegal Immigration

• $113 billion
• The bulk of the costs – $84 billion – are absorbed by state and local governments

Pending Enforcement Legislation

• Several attempts to close loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive the Additional Child Tax Credit. The latest House version was added to the House passed budget. Two bills have been introduced in the Senate.
• The House adopted an amendment to the FY 2013 spending bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS), that defunds the Obama Administration’s lawsuits against several states that seek to strike down their immigration enforcement laws.
• The House adopted another amendment to the CJS appropriations bill that strips certain federal funding from sanctuary cities.

Pending Amnesty Legislation

• DREAM Act – Versions introduced in both House and Senate (H.R. 1842, S. 952) in 2011. Introduced in every session since 2001 and often lumped into other amnesty bills. Last failed in Senate in December 2010.
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform (S. 1258) – mass amnesty, introduced nearly every session. No vote on it yet during this session.
• Adjusted Residency for Military Service (ARMS) Act (H.R. 3823) – Introduced by Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) in January. It is essentially only the military component of the DREAM act. Forthcoming?: GOP DREAM Act from Senator Marco Rubio.

States to Watch

• Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Utah – the Supreme Court decision in Arizona SB 1070 will affect active DOJ lawsuits against these states.
• California – considering tax plan and guest worker program for illegal aliens.
• Illinois, Massachusetts, New York – Governors of these states refuse to cooperate with Secure Communities. DHS is set for full compliance in 2013. Will these states hold out?
• Mississippi – the House passed an immigration enforcement bill in March, will they take it up again next session?
• New Mexico – the battle over driver’s licenses for illegal aliens continues. If they repeal, Washington will be the only state that gives driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.
• Oregon – Governor supports allowing illegal aliens to use Matricula Consular ID in place of driver’s license.

In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens

• Total of 13 states have passed in-state tuition for illegal aliens
• Maryland passed in-state tuition for illegal aliens in 2011, however activists led a successful petition drive and the law will be put to referendum in November 2012.
• Wisconsin repealed in-state tuition for illegal aliens in 2011.

Miles of Fence Constructed

• 649 miles out of the 1,954 mile-long southern border is secured by fence
• 299 miles of vehicle barriers
• 350 miles of pedestrian fencing

Deportations Stats 2010

• Criminal removals        168,532
• Voluntary                        88,112
• Total                              387,242

Deportation Stats 2011

• Criminal removals        216,698
• Voluntary                       77,829
• Total                             396,906

Deportation Stats 2012 YTD

• ICE has removed 127,044 criminal illegal immigrants this fiscal year.
• Deportations are lagging behind last year’s rate by approximately 12,000, or 9%. (According to ICE comments to Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2012)

Mexican Border Violence

• 47,515 killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006.
• 49 beheaded bodies recently found on highway in northern state of Nuevo Leon.
• Obama Administration rolls back National Guard, shifts to drone surveillance.