Dear Members5 posts ***************************************************** 1. Alamo Rising - 10-10-10 Rally at the Alamo !! This rally is finally starting to come together. Here's the latest. Mark your calendars. More big name speakers to be added. There are some cheap flights to San Antonio at www.cheaptickets.com. Host hotel www.emilymorganhotel.com reserved under Texas Sons of Liberty and Voice of the People USA. Festivities begin at 3pm, rally from 6-9pm with fireworks etc. National press release goes out on Monday confirming speakers. We will have a major military and bike presence, colorguards, fly overs, and bands! Gonna be fun my friend! ******************************************************* 2. [FYI -- Mark Krikorian] Contact: Jon Feere, jdf@cis.org, (202) 466-8185 WASHINGTON (August 31, 2010) – Every year, 300,000 to 400,000 children are born to illegal immigrants in the United States, each one of them automatically a U.S. citizen despite the illegal status of their parents. This practice of automatic, or birthright, citizenship is not the result of any specific legislation, regulation, executive order, or judicial ruling, and yet has become de facto law of the land. This has recently become an issue of political controversy, but has been debated for many years. Legislation aimed at narrowing the scope of birthright citizenship has been introduced in every Congress for many years, and the latest iteration has attracted nearly 100 sponsors in the current Congress. Likewise, some leading legal scholars and jurists have long questioned whether such a permissive citizenship policy is constitutionally mandated. The international trend is clearly away from universal birthright citizenship. Those countries that have ended the practice in recent years include the United Kingdom (1983), Australia (1986), India (1987), Malta (1989), Ireland (2005), New Zealand (2006), and the Dominican Republic (2010). The overwhelming majority of the world's countries do not offer automatic citizenship to everyone born within their borders. In a new report, 'Birthright Citizenship in the United States: A Global Comparison,' the Center for Immigration Studies' legal policy analyst Jon Feere reviews the history of the issue in American law and presents the most up-to-date research on birthright citizenship policies throughout the world. The global findings are the result of direct communication with foreign government officials and analysis of foreign law. The report concludes that Congress should promote a serious discussion about whether the United States should automatically confer the benefits and burdens of U.S. citizenship on the children of aliens whose presence is temporary or illegal. Among the findings:
and this on birthright....... 3. Posted: 30 Aug 2010 11:02 PM PDT  More than any other nation, America beckons those who seek opportunity and a better future for themselves and their families. Immigration strengthens our social capital, deepens our national patriotism, and expands our general economy. Naturalization—the idea of a foreigner becoming an equal citizen as if by nature—follows directly from America's political principles. Individuals have a natural right to emigrate from their homeland, but they may only immigrate to this country with the consent of the American people as expressed through U.S. laws. With that consent, a person of any ethnic heritage or racial background can become, in every sense, an American citizen. What about those who are born here? After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment (overturning, in part, Dred Scott v. Sandford, which said that no black could be a U.S. citizen) clarified the conditions of citizenship: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside." Many today assume the second half of the citizenship clause ("subject to the jurisdiction thereof") merely refers to the day-to-day laws to which we are all subject. But the original understanding referred to political allegiance. Being subject to U.S. jurisdiction meant, as then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lyman Trumbull stated, "not owing allegiance to anybody else [but] subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States." The author of the provision, Sen. Jacob Merritt Howard of Michigan, pointed out that the jurisdiction language "will not, of course, include foreigners." *************************************** 4. At Least 8 Killed in Cancun Bar AttackPublished August 31, 2010 At least eight people were killed Tuesday when a group of men tossed Molotov cocktails into a bar in the tourist friendly Mexican town of Cancun, officials said. Authorities said six to eight men entered the Castillo de Mar bar and threw homemade bombs, killing six women and two men who were inside. Investigators said they do not know of a motive for the attack, but the bar was reportedly the victim of two extortion attempts, allegedly by the Zetas drug cartel. "The death of eight people is confirmed. Six on site -- including four women -- and two others in hospital, also women," prosecutor Francisco Alor Quezada, from the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, told AFP. Local media reports said the attack happened at around 1a.m. local time Tuesday. It set off a fire which destroyed the bar, which is in a residential area not frequented by tourists, officials said. The names of the victims were not released, but they were believed to be locals and not tourists, Quintana Roo state attorney general's office spokesman Felix Canul told Fox News. The brutal Zetas, first set up by former paramilitaries in the 1990s, have grown in force since splitting off from the powerful Gulf gang, whom they are now fighting for control of drug trafficking routes. The group also is suspected in last week's massacre of 72 migrants in northeast Mexico and many kidnapping, killing and extortion cases. Cancun has seen sporadic attacks and gruesome discoveries of bodies in wells and graves as violence has escalated since President Felipe Calderon deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to take on organized crime gangs in 2006. More than 28,000 have died in drug-related violence nationwide since then, according to official figures. Newscore contributed to this report. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/31/killed-cancun-bar-attack/
*************************************** 5. Obama Administration Must Enforce America's Immigration LawsPublished on August 26, 2010 by Matt Mayer Americans can be forgiven for growing cynical of government when the rhetoric of politicians fails to match their actions. In the heated debate on illegal immigration, those in favor of granting amnesty—including the Obama Administration—have tried to convince Americans to support this plan by claiming that their actions to secure the border, strengthen interior enforcement, and tighten visa policy are tough. As evidenced by recent actions, however, such claims are largely baseless and wrapped in nuances. Instead of constantly seeking ways to evade, skirt, and ignore the immigration laws that are on the books, the Obama Administration needs to simply execute the laws—as is its constitutional duty—while looking to solve the immigration problem in a way that discourages more illegal immigration, maintains security, and promotes the economy. A Parade of Horribles First, the Obama Administration fundamentally changed the contours of the Section 287(g) program that empowered state and local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law. Though only a "revision," the new policy placed unnecessary new financial and administrative burdens on states and localities. It further limited the ability of state and local law enforcement to check the immigration status of those arrested to individuals arrested for "serious offenses." Next, the Obama Administration failed to develop any coherent border security policy, even as it moved away from the gains made in the last few years of the Bush Administration. After the White House dismantled the SBInet program and ceased any new physical fence work, the void left the border as porous as ever. A move to put 1,200 National Guard troops at the border was more politics than substance, as Guard troops are severely limited in their ability to assist the Border Patrol beyond administrative and maintenance duties. While this decision may have made sense in previous years where the simple lack of Border Patrol manpower hindered its ability to secure the border, a robust recruitment program by the Bush Administration has left the Border Patrol much better staffed. Then, the President himself sat in silence as Mexican President Felipe Caldron lectured to Americans from the Rose Garden, chastising them for their lack of interest in subsidizing the Mexican economy through remittances or absorbing its poorest citizens. Never mind that Calderon's own failed policies have failed to create economic opportunities for his people at home, let alone stem the horrific violence now spilling over into the U.S. Still worse, the Obama Administration abandoned worksite enforcement policies that resulted in record levels of arrests, deportations, and penalties against scofflaw employers and replaced it with a "soft" audit process that allows illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. In some cases, the Administration is releasing illegal immigrants apprehended with temporary work permits. To the surprise of no one, the Administration then sued the state of Arizona to stop it from enforcing its own laws dealing with illegal immigrants within its jurisdiction. Regardless of whether Arizona eventually prevails (which it likely will), the lawsuit itself will certainly chill action by other states, especially during such austere times when paying large legal bills is an unattractive option. Finally, over the last month, reports indicate that an internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memorandum blatantly advised the leadership at USCIS—and, presumably, Secretary Janet Napolitano—to simply ignore the law. According to reports, the memo advised officials not to issue "Notice to Appear" letters to those illegal immigrants who did not have another avenue to use to delay their deportation. In conjunction with that memo, it was uncovered that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun to review and dismiss cases of non-criminal illegal immigrants, which will allow those illegal immigrants to remain in America. The Obama Administration has repeatedly advertised its intention to enforce immigration laws only against criminal aliens. This failure to enforce the letter and spirit of the law must end. America Is a Nation of Laws The unbiased and even enforcement of the law is one of the fundamental aspects of this country. If politicians or interest groups do not like the laws that are on the books, then they should use the legislative process to amend the laws with majority support in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Simply because they lack majority support does not give them the authority to just ignore the laws they deem unwise. The Obama Administration is sending an unequivocal message to the American people: The White House knows best which laws should be enforced and which ones should be ignored. Equally problematic, the Administration is sending a clear signal to the millions of illegal immigrants here—and to the millions more still in their home countries—that coming to America illegally carries no penalty. To those illegal immigrants inside the U.S., it indicates that if they only wait long enough, there will be another amnesty—ensuring that these individuals remain in the U.S. and do not return to their home countries as required by law. Such a message will only encourage more illegal immigration, especially when the economy rebounds. Not only do these actions by the Administration infuriate Americans and promote illegal immigration, but such a course impacts the morale and effectiveness of ICE personnel, whose work is being undermined by such lack of enforcement actions. We can discern little else from the recent vote by ICE personnel that they lack confidence in ICE head John Morton. These brave men and women are being placed in conditions fraught with confusion, inconsistency, and danger. They and the nation deserve better. Talk versus Walk This latest action directly conflicts with what the Obama Administration itself stated in the February 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). In the section "Enforcing and Administering Our Immigration Laws," the QHSR notes, "Immigration policy must deter immigration violations, help eliminate the conditions that foster illegal immigration, and improve system efficiency, fairness, and integrity." More directly, Goal 3.2 reads: "Prevent Unlawful Immigration: Reduce conditions that encourage foreign nationals to illegally enter and remain in the United States, while identifying and removing those who violate our laws." One must ask: How do any of the changes listed above—including the lack of enforcing laws via failing to send "Notice to Appear" letters and issuing dismissals to illegal immigrants—adhere to Goal 3.2 and "improve system efficiency, fairness, and integrity"? Arguably, the very nature of ensuring uniform administration of justice requires adhering to the law and not creating an environment conducive to inconsistent applications of the law. One can easily imagine two similarly situated illegal immigrants being treated differently due to ambiguities created by Obama Administration obfuscation. Such a result does severe damage to the fairness and integrity of America's legal system. In order to demonstrate that it is enforcing the rule of law, the Obama Administration clings to a single piece of data: the number of deportations that occurred in fiscal year 2009. An examination of that figure, however, shows that the 2009 "success" is largely due to efforts made under the Bush Administration to enforce the laws. Specifically, the large numbers of arrests made in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 by the Bush Administration made the Obama Administration's 2009 deportation numbers possible. After all, the Obama Administration's deportation numbers are largely comprised of illegal immigrants who were arrested between 2005 and 2008 and, having completed their sentences, were deported in 2009. As the number of the Bush legacy deportees declines, so will the Obama Administration's deportation figures. In fact, the 2010 figure is substantially lower and unlikely to increase much in the last few weeks of the fiscal year. Enforce the Laws Congress, as the lawmaking body under the U.S. Constitution, should hold the Obama Administration accountable for failing to execute the laws that the legislature has passed. It must enact meaningful immigration reforms that do not make the program worse, such as an amnesty that would only incentivize further illegal immigration. Such reforms would include:
Failure to enact these reforms will only weaken Congress while providing Americans with even more reason to look at Washington as a city that is fundamentally at odds with the citizenry. The First Step: Enforcement To truly solve the illegal immigration problem, the U.S. government must take a critical first step: unequivocally enforcing existing laws. Matt Mayer is a Visiting Fellow at The Heritage Foundation and President of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions in Columbus, Ohio. He has served as a senior official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is the author of Homeland Security and Federalism: Protecting America from Outside the Beltway. Ruthie Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform State Chapter for FIRE Coalition "Restore Order - Secure Our Border" "The Ruthie Report" 8 pm CST every Thursday via Conservative Alliance Media Network at |
__._,_.___
MARKETPLACE
.
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment