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"Likely illegal immigrants found working at defense contractor"

From this:

Federal authorities have taken 41 suspected illegal immigrants into custody after they were found working at a Department of Defense contractor at the Port of Brownsville.

Luisa Aquino, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said today that the Wednesday raid came after an investigation found AMFELS Inc.'s subcontractors were hiring undocumented workers. She said AMFELS was not part of the investigation and had alerted federal officials to false Social Security numbers...

"These companies [apparently the subcontractors mentioned below --LW] were hiring undocumented aliens and providing them with fraudulent documents to have access to very secure areas that are critical to our infrastructure and national security," Aquino said...

Wednesday, Gilbert Elizondo, AMFELS' vice president for human resources, told The Brownsville Herald the company has 40 to 50 contractors who hire their own workers. He said AMFELS has about 1,000 employees and "they have to meet the legal requirements to work here"...

Previous coverage of illegal aliens in highly secure military facilities starts here.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 10:32 PM | Comments (2)

" Muslim freed by US issues terror threats"

OK, enough debate coverage.

From this:

Danish authorities said yesterday they might have to return a recently-released Guantanamo Bay prisoner to US custody after he said cabinet ministers were fair targets and vowed to travel to fight Russian forces in Chechnya...

Mr Abderahmane said the Danish prime minister and defence minister were targets...

"I urge the government to pack him off back to the Americans," said Pia Kjaersgaard, the leader of the Danish People's Party, the minority government's coalition partner.

Earlier she described Mr Abderahmane's statements as "high treason" and called for his imprisonment...

Posted to Terrorism at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

9/30 Debate thread

Bush decided to go to the U.N. all by himself?

"[long list deleted...] Does that make you feel safer, America?"

Bush doesn't know how we're going to pay for homeland security...

Bush is modernizing our border protection... [false]

Bush: We have to stay on the offense [and neglect the defense]...

Kerry: Bush isn't doing everything he could to keep America safe [tax cut more important, etc.]

Kerry: brings up GHWB's book... discusses not guarding things in Iraq after the first phase other than the oil ministry...

Didn't they prep Kerry on answering the "I voted for it before I voted against it" thing? Geez...

Bush: "I've seen on the TV screens how hard it is [in Iraq]"

Rip van Winkle: "This guy is president of the United States?"

"love [Missy Johnson] as much as I can..." WTF?

Bush: "[Kerry's] plan [for Iraq] won't work." Bush before: "Kerry's plan is the same as our plan."

Kerry a few times now: Bush didn't think through the after-invasion...

So far, at least four Vietnam references from Kerry, albeit two or three obliquely...

Bush: "There's a hundred thousand troops trained" I'm pretty sure that's false

Bush: "They attacked us" While there's the possibility that Iraq attacked us via WTC1 or even 2, I don't think so...

Bush: "We use diplomacy every chance we get" It just doesn't work for Bush...

Kerry nails Bush on the "they attacked us" line, and discusses Tora Bora again...

Kerry says Bush has greatly weakened America's credibility...

Bush didn't understand what everyone else understood when Kerry defined the "global test"...

Bush is diverging into the International Criminal Court... [America asks: why didn't he want to join?]

[I hope the BushBots stocked up on Kool-Aid. Take big swigs during Bush's long pauses.]

Let's not discuss their daughters. Who gives a fsck? Get to the frigging point both of you...

Kerry brings up "character", but says he's not going to discuss it...

Kerry: I know exactly what we needed to do in Iraq, and my position has been consistent... we didn't need to rush to war w/o a plan to win the peace

Kerry: most serious threat is nuclear proliferation. Uh oh, gotta add the terrorism in there. He just did, kinda. Now he's attacking Bush securing less loose nukes after 9/11 than before...

Oops! Kerry shouldn't have talked about shutting down any U.S. nuclear programs...

Bush says he's increased funding for nuclear proliferation...

Bush is supporting Kerry's naming of nukes as #1 threat, so everything's OK on that score...

No one's going to understand the difference between bilateral and six-way talks with NoK...

Bush himself said Putin's actions were wrong? Actually, I thought it was Colin Powell. Perhaps he did so privately...

He can't even pronounce Vluh DEE muhr. They must laugh at him behind his back over there...

Kerry bringing up his foreign policy experience vis-a-vis Russia...

Kerry should have kept talking about Russia, not switching to NoK...

Oops... Lehrer fed Bush a laugh line at the end, and Bush took advantage of it. That's a bad thing to happen, making Kerry's response now look shrill... Kerry should have followed with a light joke of his own...

There is no doubt that both Bush and Kerry love this country, of that I have no doubt...

Kerry look America in the eye...

Bush says the military will remain volunteer...

Bush inserts a Biblical quote, I assume...

-------

Summary: If you trust Bush, and you appreciate all of his platitudes that weren't backed up by hardly any facts and figures, vote for Bush.

If you want a wonk, vote for Kerry, who seems to have dispelled many of the myths about his commitment to protecting America.

Clear win to Kerry.

Unfortunately, only about five minutes was devoted to homeland security. As I've continually pointed out, Kerry could score huge points talking about things like possibly allowing terrorists to infiltrate the U.S. via our porous borders. Perhaps during the domestic or townhall debate someone will bring that up, and to that we'll have two minutes of sputtering from Bush.

Misrepresenting the "global test" looks to be the major BushBot talking point. Look, he was saying we need to make sure that we look good to the world about the things we do, something that I and many other greater pundits on all sides have said. Expect this to be used to call Kerry a "globalist." They're both globalists, it's just that the globalism of Bush is barely covered in the press.

UPDATE: The AP transcript is here. It'd be nice if someone would provide one with HTML links to each question and answer.

UPDATE 2: I discuss "global test" here in an easy-to-understand fashion.

Posted to Politics at 05:17 PM | Comments (3)

Sheriff Lee Baca says sales tax hike still needed

I haven't been following this story, but, from "Baca says Measure A still needed":

Sheriff Lee Baca said Wednesday he was surprised to learn that Los Angeles County government suddenly found a $309 million surplus, but he still urged voters to pass Measure A, a sales tax increase on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Baca, at a news conference with Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and Mayor James Hahn, said most of the surplus cannot be spent for ongoing costs of hiring more deputies.

If approved by two-thirds of voters countywide, Measure A would raise $560 million a year for law enforcement, anti-terrorism and other public safety needs. Officials have promised to use the money to hire 5,000 more officers...

Posted to Los_Angeles at 02:12 PM | Comments (1)

'I can't ... I'm Mormon' T-shirts too hot

BYU newspaper yanks ad as some perceive desire to sin

T-shirts proclaiming the message "I cant ... I'm Mormon" are apparently too hot for Brigham Young University, as the college newspaper has yanked all advertisements.

According to the Deseret Morning News, the paper halted the ad campaign after complaints from students, professors and administrators who felt the slogan implied a desire to engage in "objectionable" behavior...

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)

Organizations Supporting Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

For reference, here's a list of such organizations from FAIR.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:10 PM | Comments (1)

"New ID Cards Help Immigrants Keep Their Money Safe"

The following is an alleged news report from Austin TX's KXAN:

The Mexican consulate has announced a program which puts a face, literally, on thousands of Mexican immigrants.

Authorities say something as simple as an identification card will save money and lives.

It's an important day for immigrants. Many of them live and work in the shadows, with no formal identification card and no place to put their money.

"People carry their money, their savings, in their pockets because they were unable to open bank accounts," said Javier Alejo Lopez, Consul General of Mexico...

[... several heart-warming paragraphs deleted ...]

"Before Wells Fargo came, they were using unconventional ways of sending money back to Mexico, and it was high risk," said Henry Moreno with the Austin Police Department. "The people are not carrying around a lot of money now."

...The additional banking service is possible because of an agreement between Wells Fargo and the Banorte Financial Group in Mexico.

Even though Wells Fargo will accept the matricula card as identification, Governor Rick Perry continues to oppose the use of the cards as legal ID in Texas. He says Mexico still lacks a formal birth registry system to keep track of its citizens.

Like I said, the preceding is alleged to be a news report.

Now, go read "Consular IDs help illegals evade immigration law" or Their Money or Your Safety for the real story.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 12:04 PM | Comments (2)

"Consular IDs help illegals evade immigration law"

The WashTimes reports on the GAO telling us something we already knew:

Foreign nationals illegally in the United States are using identification cards issued by the governments of Mexico and Guatemala to avoid apprehension and deportation, a government report said.

According to the Government Accountability Office, weaknesses in U.S. government policy regarding the issuance of the cards, also known as matricular consular cards, failed to prevent their delivery to and use by illegal aliens...

As pointed out Their Money or Your Safety, the consuls who distribute these cards freely admit they aren't concerned about the recipient's immigration status. That post also discusses how the Bush administration worked to allow banks to accept those cards.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

Boston Globe: The silence about immigrants

From an editorial by Tufts University's Lawrence E. Harrison:

...We have to find ways to legitimize immigration policy as an issue of high national interest and open debate. We must insist that the candidates develop clear positions on what to do about immigration policy. Do they support open borders? If not, what criteria would they use in establishing limits? What specific levels of immigration would they endorse? Should visas be issued on the basis of skills or family connections?

The rest of the editorial has several population-related data points and discusses the left-right coalition that opposes the great majority of Americans' wishes.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:01 PM | Comments (1)

Q. Why is there Kool-Aid sprayed all over my monitor?

A. Because Blogs For Bush has been nominated for 'Best Republican Party Coverage' by the Washington Post in their 2004 Best Blogs -- Politics and Elections Readers' Choice Awards!!

Perusing that site occasionally, I'm forced to ask, "is this a satire?" While it's apparently a group site, they all seem to speak with one unswerving messianic voice preaching the coming dominion of a second Bush term. While there are no people who call themselves "Kerryacs," and even the most ardent Deaniac would occasionally question some of Dean's policies, the bloggers at that site seem to be a bit "committed" to their candidate.

Even worse is the apparently related site PardonMyEnglish. As you scroll through the entries, the smiling visage of the George Bush wallpaper constantly drags your eyes away. My gawd.

Posted to Bloggage at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Complaint filed about L.A. County seal

From a press release reprinted here:

Dr. John C. Eastman, director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, will be filing a civil complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court this afternoon challenging the removal of the cross from the Los Angeles County Seal. The civil suit, styled David Horowitz et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., alleges that the County's decision to remove the cross is an illegal waste of taxpayer funds and violates the "No Preference" Clause of the California Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution...

Also named in the complaint as defendants are Los Angeles County Supervisors Yvonne Burke, Gloria Molina, and Zev Yaroslovsky, who voted to remove the cross from the County Seal...

UPDATE: The press release is here.

UPDATE 2: The AP report has a little additional background, but most of its information is already in the press release.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)

Ridge: no sign of terrorists trying to cross border

From the AP:

NOGALES, Ariz. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says he's seen no sign of terrorist efforts to cross the U-S-Mexico border.
Speaking in Nogales, Arizona, yesterday, Ridge said the United States is not going to start militarizing the border.

Ridge says nothing from intelligence reports has suggested that terrorists have tried to cross the border...

Now, go read up on all that chatter about terrorists coming over the border and decide whether Ridge is telling the truth or not...

The longer version of the AP report is titled "South African Woman Pleads Guilty In Altered Passport Case". It concentrates on the matter discussed here and includes Ridge's comments. It contains this priceless quote from Ridge:

"We have a long tradition with our friends to the north and south. We're very fortunate that we've never had to assign military to our borders, and we're not going to start that now"

Ridge's remarks are unhistorical both specifically and in the general context. Surely, no one could forget Texas, or the Alamo (except Bush that is), or the Mexican-American war, or Pancho Villa? Specifically, see the PDF linked to from here. On Page 2 we find the following discussion of events just before the U.S. entered World War I:

German agents also sought to generate ill-will towards the United States among Mexicans and Mexicans resident in the United States. [9] As part of this effort, Germany encouraged Pancho Villa’s actions against the United States. [10] There were other raids and acts of sabotage into the United States from Mexico both before and after Villa’s spectacular night raid on Columbus for which no direct evidence of German involvement exists [11]— however, on at least one of those sabotage raids, American authorities took prisoners that included a Japanese saboteur and Mexican soldiers apparently operating under orders from the Carranza government. [12]

In the short-term, these border skirmishes did what the German government had hoped. The Army assigned half the mobile armed forces in the continental U.S. to guard the South Texas border. [13] A total of 184,000 soldiers, in Regular Army and National Guard [14] units from every state but Nevada, were moved to the border to prevent further intrusions, consuming equipment and ammunition. [15]

Did Ridge not know this, or did he just choose to forget it?

That PDF also discusses the "Plan of San Diego", an early 1900s attempt by some Mexican officers at cleansing the Southwestern U.S. of "Anglos."

Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:37 AM | Comments (7)

Bill O'Reilly asks some semi-tough questions

Bill O'Reilly interviewed President Bush, and the first part of the interview was broadcast on Monday. I didn't see it, but a transcript is here. I couldn't find an official transcript, but since that agrees with the quote printed in Bush: Militarizing Border Won't Stop Illegal Deluge I'm going to assume it's largely accurate.

O'Reilly brings up the recent Time Magazine cover story Who Left the Door Open? where it's revealed that up to three million illegal aliens will cross our borders this year.

Many of O'Reilly's viewers will have read that Time Magazine cover story, and many are also readers of the Washington Times and World Net Daily, two sources that frequently provide clear-headed discussion of immigration matters.

Many of O'Reilly's viewers will be aware that workplace enforcement is a tried-and-true method to stop illegal immigration, and that there's been almost no workplace enforcement for the last several years. For instance, in 2002 just 13 companies were fined for immigration violations in the whole U.S., and in the first five months of this year just one company was fined.

With that in mind, O'Reilly allows Bush to give the impression that the only real way to prevent illegal immigration is at the border. That's certainly a necessary part of stopping illegal immigration, but so is workplace enforcement and stopping incentives such as the acceptance of Mexican ID cards. *

While O'Reilly does raise the topic of illegal immigration, he didn't ask the tough questions that would have brought all the facts of this matter into sharp focus. For that, we'll have to wait for the debates or a better interviewer. Or, we might be waiting for a long time.

In the interview, Bush attempts to excuse illegal immigration, falling back on platitudes and compassion and sounding uncomfortably like an AILA advocate: "Now look. People are comin' 'cause they wanna work ya' know. Family values don't stop at the border... If you can make fifty cents in the interior of Mexico and five dollars in the interior of the United States, you're comin' for the five bucks and, therefore ... and so long as moms and dads feel the necessity to feed their children, they're gonna come and try to make a livin'."

Bush goes on to state that he won't be placing the military on the border and he discusses free trade and his egregiously bad "guest worker" plan. For more on that plan, see Analysis: Bush temp worker plan open-ended and Bush "guest worker" program to be "open to any type of employee". From the first link, we learn that the only wage-related restriction on the plan would be the minimum wage, and from the second we learn that the program would be open to "nurses, teachers, high-tech workers" and others. Combining those two facts results in the disastrous scenario I outlined in my third comment here. Maybe one of these days someone somewhere will ask Bush about that plan or about our lack of workplace enforcement, but apparently O'Reilly won't be that person.

UPDATE: I listened to the section of the O'Reilly interview that deals with immigration and border control, and the transcript at the first link is almost exactly correct except for two insignificant changes that almost don't bear noting but just for completeness:

"cause they wanna work ya� know. Family values"
->
"cause they wanna work... ya� know, family values"

and
"five dollars in the interior"
->
"five bucks in the interior"

---
This was previously cross-posted at redstate.org/story/2004/9/28/115557/290

* Link was originally to redstate.org/story/2004/9/19/225351/640

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:02 AM | Comments (4)

"Out of our way, gringos!"

Here's a quote from the leader of a small Hispanic extremist group:

"Go back to Boston! Go back to Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims! Get out! We are the future! You are old and tired. Go on. We have beaten you. Leave like beaten rats. You old white people. It is your duty to die. . . . Through love of having children, we are going to take over."

With that quote in mind, read the L.A. Times (guest?) opinion piece "Pouty White People".

It discusses how "Anglos" were once optimistic about California's future, but they're now mostly pessimistic. The author supposes this might be because:

a majority of Anglos clearly believe that their best days in the state are behind them... The newcomers [new immigrants] have punctured the idea of California as a middle-class utopia... Whites don't easily identify with the aspirations of these emergent groups... the Anglo myth that dreams should be achieved without struggle is gone.

The piece ends with:

...Like individuals, bodies politic must have a modicum of faith in the future if they intend to plan constructively for one.

California's crumbling infrastructure can be rebuilt, and its broken education system can be repaired. But that's not going to happen until we re-create the social contract that built postwar California. That contract must be founded on a shared vision of the future. If Anglo California is not willing to provide one, then at the very least it should make way for those who do.

While there's certainly a story here, this piece's treatment of it is marred by its not-so-subtle racism and its similarity in spirit to the first quote.

Please send a polite letter to Readers.Rep@latimes.com

Posted to Immigration2004 at 02:12 PM | Comments (7)

"Woman with altered passport pleads guilty"

From this:

A South African woman whose arrest raised fears of terrorists crossing into Texas from Mexico pleaded guilty today to illegal entry, lying to a federal agent and using an altered passport...

Despite the alarm expressed by several officials, the U.S. Attorney's Office found no reason to handle the case as anything other than an immigration matter.

Prosecutors have not made public any connection between Ahmed and any terrorist organization...

Officials searched her baggage and discovered wet, muddy pants, $6,300 in U.S. currency and 550 British pounds. An Emirates Airline itinerary dated July 8 showed travel from Johannesburg to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, then to London. A second itinerary showed travel from London to Mexico City on British Airways.

Previous coverage starts here.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 01:40 PM | Comments (1)

"Conferring Legitimacy, This Card Draws a Crowd"

In "Conferring Legitimacy, This Card Draws a Crowd", the L.A. Times discusses a visit of a friendly Mexican consul to south Orange County to pass out ID cards that the FBI considers a security threat.

It has the standard bits, ending with a heartwarming vignette about one of the new ID cards ("Matricula Consular" cards).

It even contains yet one more reason to boycott CitiBank:

...while waiting for their cards, hundreds listened as Citibank employees gave out banking information. Calculators, mugs and fans with the Mexican flag were given out too.

"Even if you don't open it today, open a bank account," Lorena Maae, Citibank's assistant vice president for community relations in O.C., told one group in Spanish...

However, the L.A. Times must be feeling the heat because they devote no less than three paragraphs to sobering information. That's a full three paragraphs out of 21 total, a whopping 14%:

Sunday's event came just days after a measure that would have prohibited banks from accepting the matricula consular failed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The matricula consular stirs the ire of illegal-immigration opponents who see the card, and the Mexican government's promotion of it, as a well-orchestrated campaign to bestow quasi-legal status to those who have entered the country illegally.

Although more than 1 million people in California carry the cards, which resemble driver's licenses and display the bearer's U.S. address, the FBI does not consider them a reliable form of identification...

They actually called them a security threat, but I congratulate the L.A. Times on their baby steps to somewhat accurate coverage.

For much more on this issue, including excerpts from newspapers that didn't even include that 14% dissenting content, see "Their Money or Your Safety".

Posted to Immigration_consul at 09:21 AM | Comments (2)

"Mexican official seeks open border"

In June, I posted a similar article about Mexico's new "border czar." He repeated his dream recently:

"I would like to see a border similar to the one that Europe has right now ... where they have common, very common objectives," [Arturo Gonzalez Cruz, a Tijuana businessman named in April by President Vicente Fox as the Mexican Foreign Ministry's institutional liaison for northern border affairs] recently told reporters in Tijuana. "They have a common economy. They have policies that transcend their borders where they work with them to get it."

...[Vicente] Fox has said he favors open borders across North America and has proposed removing all immigration barriers between Mexico, the United States and Canada, allowing the three nations' citizens to live and work in the country of their choosing.

At a rally in California after his surprise 2000 election, Mr. Fox said his government would "use all our persuasion and all our talent to bring together the U.S., Canadian and Mexican governments so that in five or ten years, the border is totally open to the free movement of workers."

In January, shortly after President Bush proposed a temporary guest-worker program for illegal aliens living and working in the United States, Mr. Fox said a North American "bloc" of countries could be the leading and most competitive group of nations in the world "by working together and, through that, be able to keep increasing the quality and the level of life of our citizens..."

Will there be a vote? Or, will this grand plan just be imposed?

Posted to Immigration2004 at 09:09 AM | Comments (7)

"Daniel Weintraub: Governor should lead debate on immigrants"

CalInsider offers a must read opinion piece. He gets just about everything right, which is close enough.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

Do you know the way to [cheat] San Jose?

Duh duh duh duh duh d'duh:

As one of the broadest probes of wrongdoing in the history of San Jose government begins, ethical and legal scholars are questioning if the independent investigator assigned by the city to conduct the inquiry is fit to do so -- especially if it means looking into the actions of City Attorney Rick Doyle...

..."The investigator should not have any ties at all to the principals being investigated. That's Ethics 101," said Bill Allison, spokesman for the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., which tracks government ethics issues. "You would think San Jose would want to avoid at least the appearance of a conflict."

Earlier stanzas start here, duh duh duh d'duh.

Posted to California at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

Small-market possible PIIPP spotted

A possible PIIPP ("pro-illegal immigration puff piece") has been spotted in the Lincoln (NE) JournalStar. Here's the first paragraph of "Dozens rally to support proposed immigration law":

Oscar Rios Pohirieth dreads the conversation he's had again and again with some of Lincoln's Hispanic high school students.

Yes, it starts like other PIIPPs. However, apparently Oscar is not an illegal alien, and he's not the subject/victim of the story, he's just an external agent designed to introduce the story.

Nevertheless, I'm tentatively naming this a PIIPP-at-least-in-spirit.

The rest of the advocacy piece/article goes on to advocate for the explicitly anti-American DREAM Act:

[With the DREAM Act, Orrin Hatch] and his colleagues are literally taking opportunities and tuition assistance away from the children of citizens and giving them to illegal aliens... Supporters of this bill are unabashedly placing the interests of illegal aliens above American families who have paid taxes and played by the rules..."

While the advocacy piece/article does contain a quote from FAIR (also the source for the above quote), just two paragraphs out of 23 are devoted to any sort of dissenting voice. And, the advocacy piece/article doesn't mention that FAIR is currently helping the suit in Kansas that opposes that state's version of the DREAM Act. The remaining 21 paragraphs advocate for the DREAM Act.

Please send polite emails to:
mhansen@journalstar.com and feedback@journalstar.com

Posted to Immigration_piipps at 10:39 PM | Comments (2)

"DHS has a different view of reality"

The WashTimes editorial "Undermining border security" first discusses their report "Illegals detained at border released onto U.S. streets". If you haven't yet read that, you should.

The editorial ends with this:

But DHS has a different view of reality. In its responses to Mr. Grassley's questions, Homeland Security said it was "not practical" to detain all non-criminal non-Mexicans during immigration proceedings...

Unfortunately, much of the discussion of immigration in recent days was hijacked by groups like the National Council of La Raza, the AFL-CIO and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which staged a series of demonstrations and media events on Capitol Hill and across the country to lobby for "immigrant rights." A central goal of these groups is defeating the Clear Law Enforcement for Alien Removal, or CLEAR Act, which would strengthen the authority of the nation's 600,000 state and local police officers to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law. CLEAR is a critical law enforcement tool. It should be taken up and passed by Congress next year.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 10:24 PM | Comments (2)

The Arizona Republic has a lesson for you

The Arizona Republic - which has just about publicly announced its biases against Proposition 200 - has yet another fisk-worthy article: "Calif.'s lesson: Reforms don't stop illegal immigration."

Rather than provide a full-on fisking, here's the summary. The first few paragraphs of the article match the headline. It looks like they're about to discuss "reforms" that didn't work, specifically California's Prop. 187.

However, after the first few paragraphs, the article starts meandering as they realize that only a couple minor provisions of Prop. 187 were ever enacted, and they may have never been enforced. So, I guess "reforms" that aren't enacted or aren't enforced don't work. Thanks, I already knew that.

Continuing: ...probably takes a hate crimes statistic out of context... includes a quote from MALDEF... FAIR is "anti-immigration", etc. etc.

Oh, did I mention that the major, fundamental reforms of Prop. 187 were never enacted, and thus those reforms can't be said to have failed?

Another thing worth mentioning is that one of the writers of this advocacy piece/article is Elvia Diaz. She was reportedly at the press conference where it was announced that Grant Woods - spokesman for the anti-200 forces - had been fined for hiring an illegal alien nanny. To the best of my knowledge, that fact has not yet appeared in the Arizona Republic.

Please send a polite email to these folks suggesting they do a better job:
Ward.Bushee@arizonarepublic.com
Randy.Lovely@arizonarepublic.com
jleach@azcentral.com
llevitt@azcentral.com
jeff.dozbaba@arizonarepublic.com

Posted to Immigration2004 at 10:13 PM | Comments (1)

Nina Bernstein: Old Skool NYT

Nina Bernstein, the NYT's immigration reporter, is truly "Old Skool" NYT. As in: "Meteor to hit Earth; Women, Minorities Hardest Hit."

Her latest piece is "New York Considers One-Year Driving Permits for Immigrants".

From the piece, we learn the following "facts":

- "an immigrant without legal status" is a cute euphemism for the legally-accurate term "illegal alien"...

- there is no difference between "noncitizens" and "illegal aliens"... (of course, a noncitizen might be a legal immigrant or a visitor, but, hey, who cares about accuracy?)

- the associations of Republican-oriented advocacy groups is important; that of left-leaning groups is not. They're apparently "normal"...

- presenting sob stories is a great way to drive your point home...

- "Since 9/11, many states have struggled with conflicts between efforts to tighten requirements for licenses, which increasingly serve as a national form of identification, and efforts to protect the driving privileges of longtime immigrant workers, despite their illegal status." Of course, some people are opposed to illegal immigration and incentives for it, but, hey, they don't count...

- any discussion of terrorism (aside from the oblique reference to "9/11" above) would simply cloud the advocacy piece... er, article...

And, last but hardly least, she discusses how someone fraudulently obtained another state's license:

...many New York drivers facing license suspension for lack of a Social Security number are already obtaining licenses fraudulently in states with lesser requirements.

One such driver, Jose, who would give only his first name for fear of deportation, described the method in a telephone interview. About three months ago, he said, he rented a post office box in Michigan, drove to Detroit and, claiming to have moved to the state, turned in his New York license for a Michigan one.

In the same situation, a reporter who wanted to present an unbiased report would have done at least two things. First, they would have identified "Jose" as an illegal alien.

Second, and much more important, they would have asked "If Jose can do this, can't a terrorist do the same thing?"

Please send a polite email to public@nytimes.com suggesting they find a reporter who can do a better job.

Posted to Immigration_piipps at 09:37 PM | Comments (1)

"Swiss reject citizenship reform"

BBC: Swiss voters have rejected plans to relax the country's strict naturalisation laws...

The government had said it wanted to make procedures easier, saying too many people were left out of the country's system of direct democracy...

Early polls indicate that the majority of voters were against a plan to give citizenship to Swiss-born children of immigrants.

A second poll on granting citizenship to foreigners raised and schooled in the country was also rejected.

Posted to Immigration_euro at 09:12 PM | Comments (1)

More lame attempts to diss Samuel P. Huntington

From the Boston Globe's "In Mexico visit, enmity greets Harvard scholar":

Ever since the release earlier this year of his book "Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity," (excerpt online here)which argues that Mexican immigrants pose a threat to American culture, Samuel P. Huntington has been the US academic Mexicans love to hate...

The Mexican press seized on remarks he made Tuesday during a panel discussion at a three-day business conference in the [Mexican state of Veracruz], depicting him as alarmist and anti-immigrant. "Illegals: terrorist threat: Huntington" ran a frontpage headline in El Universal, the country's largest daily. Cronica, another Mexico City daily, led its culture section with a quote attributed to Huntington: "Mexicans could transport weapons of mass destruction."

...The governor of Hidalgo State, Manuel Angel Nunez Soto, called Huntington a racist, while challenging the facts behind the Harvard scholar's thesis that Mexican immigrants receive more than they give back to the United States. And Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez, a political columnist who participated in a panel discussion with Huntington, described him as "the Stephen King of political scientists," in reference to the dire predictions of his recent books...

Huntington was more concerned by the way he said the Mexican press had misquoted him to suggest he was singling out Mexicans as posing a terrorist threat. Instead, he said, he was noting the potential of a terrorist attack perpetrated by people sneaking into the United States through the porous southern border with Mexico...

..."I think Huntington makes us see our own stupidity, like the prohibition against McDonald's in Oaxaca," [Silva-Herzog] said, referring to a recent campaign to block the American fast-food chain from opening a new branch in one of Mexico's most historic cities. Silva-Herzog challenged Huntington to propose solutions to the alleged threat posed by the higher birthrate of Hispanic immigrants, as well as other perceived problems. Huntington cites figures showing Hispanic women have an average of three children, compared with 1.8 for non-Hispanic whites and 2.1 for blacks. "What does he recommend? That they sterilize the Mexicans? That they prohibit Spanish from being spoken on the street?" said Silva-Herzog.

Previous lame attempts to diss Huntington start here.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:32 PM | Comments (3)

Left and Right, working together against the rest of us. Part 2

The article MVD bust labeled 'gift' for Prop. 200", as one might expect from the source, tries to make the most of a poor choice of words by a Prop. 200 supporter. The more important statements in the article come from the spokesperson for the anti-Prop. 200 forces, former AZ attorney general Grant Woods:

...Woods said the entire Arizona congressional delegation, the governor, mayors and business groups with diverging ideological interests all oppose Proposition 200.

"Can you think of anything else that all of these people agree upon? I can't," Woods said...

..."We can't get our own people to vote in elections, much less get someone else to come here and vote," Woods said, before making a joke about recent conservative triumphs in recent legislative primaries.

"By the way, if they are voting, they're voting very conservatively," he added.

Ka-ching! And, remember, we've got the loosest slots in Laughlin!

Hey, and thanks for pointing out where the problem is: it's the people against the elites.

This post has more links about Prop. 200, including the news that Grant Woods was fined for hiring an illegal alien nanny.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:55 AM | Comments (1)

"Report: California a leading port for forced labor"

From this:

More than 10,000 foreign-born people are working under slave-like conditions in the United States, and California is a major port of entry for them, a new report said Thursday.

The study by the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley and the non-profit Free the Slaves said that about half those brought into the country for forced labor end up in the sex business, many as prostitutes... [followed by domestic servants...]

"Forced labor persists in these sectors because of low wages, lack of regulation and monitoring of working conditions, and a high demand for cheap labor," said the report...

The report drew its analysis from published accounts of criminal cases brought against captors, interviews with service providers and eight case studies...

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:38 AM | Comments (1)

AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano gets asked a tough question

As previously posted, 26 Arizona DMV workers were caught in a driver's license scam

The report Scam spotlights smuggler savvy discusses those arrests, and ends with this bit that would be funny if it wasn't so scary:

...The arrests Thursday mark only the latest in a history of problems at the agency and questions about the ease of getting a state driver's license - problems that Gov. Janet Napolitano has known about for years. As recently as last year, investigators from the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office, reported they got genuine driver licenses from Arizona and six other states using fake identification. That report to Congress did not surprise Napolitano.

"I know that getting a false ID is not difficult in Arizona," the governor said at the time.

"I suspect you can ask almost any 16-year-old, and they would tell you how to get a false ID. The question is what was done here and what can we do to tighten up as much as possible to make sure that, particularly when we're issuing a driver's license, we know to whom we're issuing it."

Napolitano, speaking to reporters when the new arrests were announced Thursday, said changes in the way the agency operates were made in the wake of that report.

But the governor had no answer when asked how, with those changes, this kind of fraud still could occur at several MVD offices.

"Well, I hope we're not sitting here tomorrow with that situation," she said. "But in point of fact, the plan that we are implementing today is much broader and deeper than anything that has, to my knowledge, been attempted with MVD before."

Gubernatorial aide George Cunningham said many of those details were still being worked out.

Insert the hand gesture of your choice here.

Last year, this fine American vetoed a bill that would have required voters to show identification when voting: Bill on voter ID is vetoed. Those who couldn't show ID would have their ballots set aside while their ID was verified, so, as long they were verified their vote would not have been lost.

It sounds reasonable, but Janet and the Race Industry played their cards:

...Napolitano told the audience [in front of whom she was demagoguing her veto] that combating voter fraud "was not the real reason that bill was passed, and you know that I'm right about that."

Napolitano later told reporters when asked that she did not know what the bill was designed to do. "This bill is not designed to prevent voter fraud, I'll tell you that,"

Earlier, Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, told the audience that the bill's "sole intent is aimed solely at the Latino community" and the right to vote.

"I don't begin to understand why showing an ID would keep people from voting," said Rep. Linda Gray, R-Phoenix. "Every other place you have to show an ID - you go to the doctor, you sign up for videos."

Thankfully, Napolitano might soon have met her match. Proposition 200 would require ID when registering to vote, and that proposition has very widespread support. Needless to say, Napolitano opposes it, along with other fine Americans.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

"Advocates: Illegal immigrant drivers need documentation"

From the Palm Springs Desert Sun's License veto questioned:

Sonia Dinorah Davila and Juana Raya are having a hard time understanding why Gov. Arnold Schwarz-enegger vetoed a bill that would have made undocumented immigrants in the state eligible for driver’s licenses.

"It’s not fair," said Davila, a legal assistant at Coachella Valley Immigration Service and Assistance Inc. in Palm Springs...

Say what now? Their reporter went to a commercial company that makes its money off immigration matters and got some quotes (all apparently spoken in Spanish) from the workers and clientele? What would you expect them to say, that Arnold was right? If you want to read - yet again - the brain-dead, disingenuous talking points in favor of DLs for IAs, have at it.

Posted to Immigration_dls at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)

Will they be boycotting public services as well?

From the AP's "Hispanics threaten state boycott over license bill veto":

Angered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto this week of a bill to allow illegal immigrants to drive legally in California, Hispanic leaders and pro-immigrant groups are organizing protests and a national boycott of the state in their campaign to win the licenses...

"If this is the posture the governor wants to take, then our community is going to be forced to kick it up a notch," said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana, based in Southern California...

Mike Wilzoch, San Diego director of the Service Employees International Union, which has 30,000 workers statewide, said his organization likely would begin protests after the November election...

The National Council of La Raza said Friday it would consider canceling its planned 2008 convention in San Diego if a boycott proceeds...

[Gil "One Bill Gil"] Cedillo, who plans to introduce a new version of the bill in December, said those opposed to Schwarzenegger's veto should take action...

As this is an AP report, they provide the party line that driver's licenses for illegal aliens is all about "public safety." And, they fail to mention that Nativo Lopez was recalled from the Santa Ana School Board. There are more links than anyone can read about him here.

Especially note this link from the WSJ:

[Lt. Gov. Cruz] Bustamante campaigned for Mr. Lopez even though the entire Santa Ana City Council, which has a Latino majority, supported his recall. Beatriz Salas, who immigrated from Mexico 20 years ago, says she was appalled when she and other parents attended a meeting with Mr. Lopez in 1999, where he admitted that his goal was to make Spanish the primary language in California.

If you want to suggest the AP does a better job, send a polite note to: feedback@ap.org

Posted to Immigration2004 at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

Understanding Boxer

In the article "Boxer says U.S. less secure, ties Jones to Bush policies", Sen. Boxer tells us:

"The direction we're going in is not the right direction, is not the good direction, either in foreign policy or domestic policy... Bill Jones likes this direction and wants to join with Bush and (Vice President Dick) Cheney and be their partner and work with them... If you agree with Bush and Cheney, then you need a Republican in that seat... If people want an anti-choice senator, a pro-gun senator and a friend of Dick Cheney, yes, vote for Bill Jones."

...Boxer also called for tighter security at the nation's borders and suggested that Bush had gone "really off course" in the effort to protect the country from terrorism.

"It's important to stop illegal immigration at the border," she said. "We're not doing a good job of protecting our borders."

It sounds good, but her record is mixed, to say the least.

She gets a C grade on immigration matters here (Her recent actions merit a C+).

Of particular note, she hasn't done much for immigration recently except for co-sponsoring the horrible AgJobs bill (plugged here). AgJobs is described in "Immigration lawyer industry funding Tancredo's opponent". Despite the title, there's only a teaser about that funding, most of that article is about AgJobs. See also Guest Worker Residency Bill Is Taking Root in the Senate and "Miami Herald "endorses indentured servitude".

Posted to Immigration2004 at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)

That's a bit odd

From this:

[Lt. Col. Asad Khan, 44, of Avon, Conn.,] who commanded 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in Afghanistan was removed from command Friday, a military spokesman said... No other details were released. No specific reason for the action was given...

From just nine days ago:

While hunting insurgents in Afghanistan, members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit benefited from someone with a personal understanding of the people and the land.

Lt. Col. Asad Khan, a Pakistani-born Marine officer, commands a reinforced version of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. Called a battalion landing team, it's the 22nd MEU's ground combat element.

In 1972, Khan's parents emigrated from Pakistan through Afghanistan, and he has since returned to the area as a Marine Corps foreign area officer...

(Despite the category in which this post has been placed, his removal might have nothing to do with terrorism or supporting jihad, etc. He might have gotten a bit too "close" to the natives. Or, it could be entirely innocent or entirely unrelated to what he did in Afghanistan.)

Posted to Terrorism at 03:12 PM | Comments (4)

"Saudis eliminate al-Qaida at home, fund abroad"

From WND:

"Saudi Arabia is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of terrorism, and they have captured or killed many first-tier leaders of the al-Qaida organization in Saudi Arabia," the White House said in a Sept. 11 statement. "Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and joined the war on terror, the American people are safer."

...But U.S. officials said Saudi Arabia has failed to stop financing to al-Qaida. Despite U.S. appeals, Saudi charities continue to relay funds to al-Qaida abroad, particularly in financing Arab operatives in Africa and Chechnya...

Posted to TheSaudis at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

"Ignored In Open-Borders Debate: Rising Cost Of Second Underclass"

Heather MacDonald offers "Ignored In Open-Borders Debate: Rising Cost Of Second Underclass". This appears to be a condensed version of her previous article "The Immigrant Gang Plague".

See also "The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave" and "Hillbangers".

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:29 AM | Comments (3)

Guess the candidate

Dana Milbank in the WaPo writes about a certain candidate's web site. Can you guess which candidate he's referring to?

On the [CANDIDATE'S] campaign's Spanish-language Web site, prominent display is given to a translation of [THE CANDIDATE'S] Jan. 7 speech proposing an immigration plan involving "guest workers." But the speech was mysteriously missing from the [CANDIDATE'S] campaign's English-language Web site, which includes almost every speech [THE CANDIDATE] gives.

...[and,] on the Spanish-language site the Mexican flag was displayed prominently in the main photograph.

A [CANDIDATE] campaign official said last week that missing immigration speech was "a complete oversight" -- and quickly posted the Jan. 7 speech on the English Web site. The Mexican flag remains on the Spanish-language site. A [CANDIDATE] spokeswoman also pointed out that [OPPOSING CANDIDATE'S] Spanish-language Web site has numerous Spanish sections -- such as Contribuya al DNC and Sea Voluntario that link to English-only pages.

The CANDIDATE in question is, of course, President Bush. One has to wonder about the mindset of people who think not pointing to English-only pages is a good thing.

As pointed out by Milbank, this discrepancy was first pointed out by ProjectUSA in the article "Divided USA, divided GOP, divided Bush-Cheney website".

Milbank quotes the following from ProjectUSA's article:

"[Bush is] dividing the nation's voters into two groups and appealing to one under the flag of some other nation."

UPDATE: A commentator says Dana is a he, not a she as I originally pronoun'ed above. Assuming that's correct, I changed "she" to "he."

Posted to Immigration2004 at 11:25 AM | Comments (3)

"Little to stop illegal aliens from voting"

The Washington Times has an overview of the possibility of illegal aliens voting, but they don't provide any evidence of how many illegal voters there might be. They also provide background information on how little verification is made of voters in Maryland and Virginia.

The article closes with a representative from the worldwide Voice of Stupidity organization:

Peter Rubin, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, said many groups are "interested in suppressing the votes of minorities and using illegal tactics as a way of scaring people from coming out to the polls."

"That has happened in many elections," he said. "These tactics are real, continue to be used, and are underreported. It should be of concern to everyone, especially now, when everyone's vote matters."

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:41 PM | Comments (1)

One of these really happened

Can you guess which of the following really happened?

BERKELEY — State Rep. Miroslav "Mike" Wise recently received one of the Soviet Union’s highest honors for civilians, in part for his work in trying to secure driver’s licenses for undocumented workers... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics gave Wise the AgitProp Award, awarded to people or organizations that impact the lives of Russian nationals living abroad...

HAMTRAMCK — State Rep. Ahmed "Mike" Wise recently received one of Saudi Arabia’s highest honors for civilians, in part for his work in trying to secure driver’s licenses for undocumented workers... The Republic of Saudi Arabia gave Wise the Jihad Award, awarded to people or organizations that impact the lives of Saudi nationals living abroad...

AUSTIN — State Rep. Miguel "Mike" Wise recently received one of Mexico’s highest honors for civilians, in part for his work in trying to secure driver’s licenses for undocumented workers... The Republic of Mexico gave Wise the Ohtli Award, awarded to people or organizations that impact the lives of Mexican nationals living abroad...

AUGUSTA — State Rep. Pierre "Pete" Wise recently received one of Quebec's highest honors for civilians, in part for his work in trying to secure driver’s licenses for undocumented workers... The Republic of Quebec gave Wise the La Separatisme Award, awarded to people or organizations that impact the lives of Quebec nationals living abroad...

The answer won't shock you: "Mexican government honors local politician":

..."It is a pleasure to present this incentive to a person who has devoted an important part of his legislative career to the betterment of the Mexican community that lives in this country," said Francisco Javier Alejo, consul general of Mexico in Austin...

At the end of the year, Wise will surrender his seat in the Legislature, having lost to Armando Martinez in the Democratic primary. Wise practices law in Weslaco.

He hopes to continue working to help undocumented immigrants get driver’s licenses, as well as pushing for the Legislature to recognize the Mexican-issued matricula consular identification card as a valid form of photo identification in business and government transactions, he said...

As can be expected, there's nothing in there about the impropriety of a politician receiving an award for working if not at the behest of then certainly in the interests of a foreign power.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)

Reaction to Arnold's veto from south of the border

From this:

A top foreign relations official on Thursday lambasted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of legislation that would have allowed undocumented migrants to obtain a driver's licenses in the state...

Juan Bosco Martí, general director for North American affairs with the Foreign Relations Secretariat (SRE) said in a press conference the Mexican government is very concerned by the action.

Bosco said the inability of undocumented workers to obtain a driver's license hurts all migrants in California, not just Mexicans.

"The Mexican government will continue to defend the interests of the Mexican community residing in California within the realm of the laws of the United States and California," he said...

Bosco said the Mexican government would continue to promote the use of consulate-issued I.D. cards to help give migrants in the United States a means of identification that they can use to obtain U.S. drivers' licenses, bank accounts and other services.

The SRE says the cards are accepted as valid identification in 33 U.S. states, 1,180 police departments and 178 banks, and that it has issued 2.2 million of them since March 2002.

See also "California legislators ask Mexican Senate to intervene [in driver's licenses for illegal aliens]"

For more on the Matricula Consular cards, see "Their money or your safety".

Posted to Immigration_dls at 12:01 PM | Comments (2)

"Driver's license bill belongs in the dumper."

From the Long Beach Press-Telegram's "Another proper veto":

There will be no driver's licenses for illegal immigrants anytime soon. And that is plenty soon enough...

The real debate isn't about driving, it's about an attempt to "legalize," as much as possible, the immigration status of people who are here illegally. A driver's license is the primary tool of identification in California, and it can be used for many purposes other than driving...

The San Jose Mercury News weighs in with Driver's license muddle. They also support differentiated driver's licenses, rather than making the correct choice of no licenses at all.

Posted to Immigration_dls at 11:53 AM | Comments (1)

26 Arizona DMV workers caught in driver's license scam

From this:

Federal and state agents Thursday charged 26 state workers with illegally issuing driver's licenses to human traffickers, undocumented immigrants and drug dealers, calling the actions a threat to national security.

Immediately, Gov. Janet Napolitano detailed a plan to prevent further fraud at the Motor Vehicle Division, but she said the measures likely will make getting a driver's license more complicated...

"All the undercovers [who conducted the sting] represented themselves as drug dealers or human traffickers, so the DMV employees' participation was to further criminal activity," Gray said.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said, "They've sold national security, in what I consider to be a very traitorous fashion, a despicable fashion, for 30 pieces of silver."

As an aside, Gov. Janet Napolitano - along with others - opposes Prop. 200, that would seek to prevent illegal aliens from voting and obtaining non-federally-mandated services.

This post discusses how the 9/11 hijackers obtained driver's licenses.

Posted to Immigration_dls at 11:42 AM | Comments (1)

Bbbbut, I'm for schools and education!

From WND:

A school district that participated in a terrorist-attack response drill apologized for using a scenario in which children were threated by a fictitious radical group that believes everyone should be homeschooled.

The made-up group, called Wackos Against Schools and Education, was invented by the local government emergency services director.

Ha ha, very funny.

See also Michelle Malkin's "Anti-homeschooling bigots strike again".

Posted to WackyHumor at 09:44 PM | Comments (1)

Arnold might need to find a new excuse

In "Maybe It's Time for Cedillo to Let Arnold Take the Wheel", the L.A. Times suggests that Gil "One Bill Gil" Cedillo stops trying to get the current version of his driver's licenses for illegal aliens bill passed. Instead, he should allow the mark Arnold wants that would distinguish the bearer as an illegal alien.

Being the L.A. Times, it includes this bit: "Give Schwarzenegger credit: He's not one of these demagogic nativists who considers a driver's license a "benefit" — a "reward" for border-sneaking — and therefore should be denied to anybody here illegally." Let's ignore that; it is the L.A. Times after all.

What's worrisome is this bit:

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) seems to see the larger picture.

"The way I look at it," he says, "is you can keep pushing the issue, but you've got to find common ground with the governor. Or it's just going be an exercise in civics.

"We're going to have to come back and have a serious discussion with him about 'the mark,' if that's the only way he's going to sign a bill. It's a tough pill for me to swallow, but at the end of the day, the need for the driver's license outweighs it.

"I look at it as a scarlet letter, to be honest with you. But we need for people to get to and from work."

Could those who push these bills live with the marks, and therefore call Arnold's bluff? Let's hope not.

Thankfully, SaveOurLicense might make all this moot by forbidding illegal aliens from ever getting a license in California. I see the bigger picture too, and it's closely related to our supposedly American representatives asking the Mexican Senate for help with this bill.

UPDATE: The DailyNews article "Nunez relents on licenses" seems to have much the same information as that above, with the expected addition that Nunez would prefer a mark that's visible only to "authorities."

Posted to Immigration_dls at 02:43 PM | Comments (1)

And all the ships in drydock

From the Hampton Roads Pilot Online article "Shipyards, military bases face security breaches":

A Mexican worker used forged documents to obtain work in Hampton Roads and was caught.

Normally, such an arrest wouldn’t warrant headlines. But when the illegal immigrant is cuffed on the deck of a Navy amphibious assault ship, the story takes on a more urgent meaning.

Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, at least 52 illegal workers have been arrested at Hampton Roads’ ports, shipyards and military installations, according to court records and news accounts. The number could be higher, because law enforcement agencies don’t keep count...

The article goes on to provide a summary of many of those cases, and it includes more information on what those who want to hire legal workers are up against.

See also "[Navy] Base security scrutinized over illegal-immigrant workers" and "Doing the high security jobs Americans won't do". In the first article, a contractor might have hired people who were not just illegal aliens, but were members of a Central American gang. The same gang featured in "Al-Qaida meets with Central American gang, lawmaker says."

Posted to Immigration_terror at 02:28 PM | Comments (1)

Two years?

Yes, two years.

Yes, yes, you heard that right. Two years.

Posted to Bloggage at 10:41 PM | Comments (1)

Arnold vetoes driver's licenses for illegal aliens bill

As expected: "Schwarzenegger vetoes driver's licenses for illegal immigrants." The text of his nice letter vetoing the bill is here.

Also as expected, State Senator Gil "One Bill Gil" Cedillo, perennial sponsor of these bills, says he will keep on trying.

Although there's been much coverage of Cedillo here, the most telling bit is his barely-noticed rationale for giving DLs to IAs: "they were here first." I attempted to parse that phrase here. That was, of course, soon replaced by him constantly repeating "it's for public safety, it's for public safety."

See also the attempts by some of his putatively American co-workers to seek help with this bill from the Mexican senate.

As for the report linked to above, note that this is written by Jim Wasserman of the AP. There seem to be two forms of this report: a short version and a long version. The long version is linked to above and here. The short version is here.

From the long version, we learn two surprising facts I had not heard of before.

1. California's "neighbors" include "Utah, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii." I guess I'm just old-fashioned, thinking as I do that "neighbor" implies contiguousness or not being separated by thousands of miles of water. (Perhaps the AP reporter is thinking forward to that bridge they're building or something.)

2. "Lawmakers passed the ban [on DLs for IAs] in 1993 as anti-immigrant sentiment swept the state, culminating in 1994's passage of Proposition 187, which aimed to deny public services to illegal immigrants."

#1 I don't mind so much. However, #2 is inaccurate and internally inconsistent. Send your emails to: info@ap.org

Posted to Immigration_dls at 10:33 PM | Comments (1)

"The Terminator vows to terminate licenses for immigrants"

This article in Kansas City's Dos Mundos offers a standard story on Gil Cedillo's "public safety" bill to give driver's licenses for "immigrants" (actually, illegal aliens).

What's interesting is the photo from an anti-Arnold protest. It features two masked protesters wearing... Che Guevara T-Shirts. Keep those protests coming!

Posted to Immigration_dls at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)

"Questionable Sources for Bush and Kerry Proposals for Undocumented Mexican Workers in US"

From a press release, presented for amusement purposes only.

In 1999 a US Senator was approached by a novelist for help with a US-Mexican immigration plan for the novel "Estados Unidos/United States" (pub. 11/03). In 2004 Bush, then Kerry, proposed plans duplicating the fictional amendment...

Posted to Immigration2004 at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

"Illegals detained at border released onto U.S. streets"

From this:

The government has no idea how many of the thousands of illegal aliens from terrorist-sponsoring states it has caught at the U.S. border and released back onto America's streets were terrorists or had ties to terror groups.

...more than 4,000 people from countries identified by the State Department as terrorism sponsors or national security concerns [Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, North Korea, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia] were apprehended since 2000 and that "an unknown number" were released back into the United States...

"The Department of Homeland Security's answers about border security and enforcement do not inspire confidence," [Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA)] said...

Mr. Grassley, who said the department did not provide any information to show "any serious or meaningful effort" to remedy the problems, said Homeland Security officials also maintained an "alarming" policy of releasing thousands of OTMs after their capture.

Posted to Immigration_terror at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)

"Just 30mm guns to protect 300lbs of weapons-grade plutonium on open seas"

This page has the details which are rather scary: [This ships that will transport the plutonium across the Atlantic] each boast three 30mm cannons capable of tackling attacking boats and aircraft. Armed officers from the UK Atomic Energy Constabulary are also on guard against boarders... Jane's Foreign Report concluded that even with their 30mm guns the freighters were "capable of repelling only a lightly armed attack".

30mm is just over an inch, and, while there might be other ships in the convoy, the Coast Guard will not be among them. Whether our Navy will be is not stated.

Posted to Terrorism at 12:52 AM | Comments (7)

When Multiculturalists seek to understand!

Let's start at the end and work towards the headline with this one:

"Most of the people on the team are there to get a positive experience and to play soccer," Bruun-Hanssen said. "Now Djerv has to present its view of the case, and then we have to evaluate possible sanctions against players and the club afterwards. But at the same time as it is important to send a clear message, we are also forced to try to aid Djerv as a club so that they can incorporate persons with multicultural background into the club in the most sensible way."

What ever could Norwegian (professional?) soccer "section leader" Roald Bruun-Hanssen be referring to?

From "Players threatened to decapitate and rape":

One player was knocked down, and several members of the audience were threatened with decapitation and rape when several of the players in the 7.division game flew of the handle...

Several of the Djerv 2 players acted aggressively towards both other players and the audience. According to the local paper Bergensavisen, one person was injured after being knocked to the ground by a Djerv player.

The sudden outburst of rage was also directed against several audience members, several received death threats and several were threatened with decapitation. Some of the women in the audience were threatened with rape...

"These are threats of aggravated violence and we don’t want anything like this on the soccer filed," Bruun-Hanssen said to TV 2 Nettavisen. "I haven’t either heard to anything like this before."

However, he does not want to condemn the entire team which mainly consist of immigrants.

[...quote above follows...]

See also the previous post: Sweden enjoying the wonders of massive immigration, "multiculturalism"

Posted to Immigration_euro at 12:34 AM | Comments (2)

Sweden enjoying the wonders of massive immigration, "multiculturalism"

I don't entirely trust this site or the translation, but here are some articles about how part or all of Sweden's third-largest city (Malmo) has apparently descended into a multiculturalist's paradise. For example, this one from the Afton Bladet (Swedish version here):

Malmø, Sweden. The police now publicly admit what many Scandinavians have known for a long time: They no longer control the situation in the nations's third largest city. It is effectively ruled by violent gangs of Muslim immigrants. Some of the Muslims have lived in the area of Rosengård, Malmø, for twenty years, and still don't know how to read or write Swedish. Ambulance personnel are attacked by stones or weapons, and refuse to help anybody in the area without police escort. The immigrants also spit at them when they come to help. Recently, an Albanian youth was stabbed by an Arab, and was left bleeding to death on the ground while the ambulance waited for the police to arrive. The police themselves hesitate to enter parts of their own city unless they have several patrols, and need to have guards to watch their cars, otherwise they will be vandalized. "Something drastic has to be done, or much more blood will be spilled" says one of the locals.

Other summaries are provided at the link. Note that these are summaries, not full and exact translations. In a later post, the translator responds to criticisms about him providing summaries rather than full translations. He says if anything he understated the matter.

While I tend to believe him, I'd also like to see word-for-word translations. I'd also like to see the justifications for this from the MultiCultiCult establishment.

Posted to Immigration_euro at 02:19 PM | Comments (3)

"Welcoming arms put squeeze on U.S."

From John O'Sullivan:

Last week Time magazine breached an important taboo in the establishment media. It published a powerful indictment of America's current immigration policy -- and in particular the U.S. government's scandalous tolerance of illegal immigration -- under the striking title: "Who Left the Door Open?"

...Given the potentially disastrous results of terrorists strolling through our porous borders, you might suppose that the Bush administration would be cracking down on border incursions. Far from it. Not only is the president proposing amnesty for illegal immigrants already here, he also wants to reform the law so that U.S. employers can import as many foreign workers quite legally -- by the simple tactic of offering jobs at wages no American will accept...

Furthermore, in an interview with the Washington Times, Asa Hutchinson of the Homeland Security Department wrung his hands and regretted that a compassionate administration could not possibly deport large numbers of illegal immigrants. In making that argument, he confirmed that the administration has essentially decided to keep the borders porous...

Posted to Immigration2004 at 02:04 PM | Comments (1)

What should Bill O'Reilly ask President Bush?

Bill O'Reilly will be interviewing Bush next week, and he wants to know what to ask. Send your "pithy" questions to Oreilly@foxnews.com.

I've only seen his show once or twice. But, I've seen "Internet rumors" that he's gone soft on immigration matters. In the past he's had exposes of extremists and the like, but apparently he's been drinking from the GOP Kool-Aid of late and supporting Bush's amnesty plan or similar. In the past he's supported some forms of guest worker programs. But, I haven't compiled his latest thoughts on the subject and since my Fernsehen only works locally, I don't watch his show.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:46 PM | Comments (2)

Bill Jones makes right noises, seeks support

From Senate candidate campaigns for reform of immigration system:

U.S. Senatorial candidate Bill Jones praised the role of immigrants in building California, but called for a reform of the state's and the nation's immigration system during a campaign stop here last week...

...He does not support giving illegal immigrants driver's licenses.

"This country has not spoken with a clear, precise message (on illegal immigration)," Jones said. "Amnesty by itself will only incentivize illegal immigration."

...In a recent poll taken by SurveyUSA, Boxer leads Jones by 48 to 42 percent. In an earlier Field poll, Boxer held a 17 percent lead over Jones.

Given Bush's "amnesty by any other name" amnesty plan, Jones could be supporting Bush's plan at the same time as he's opposing amnesty. Or, he might be against Bush's plan. Nevertheless, he appears to be somewhat on the right track and his poll numbers are certainly better than I would have expected.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:35 PM | Comments (0)

"Campaign cowardice"

From Lou Dobbs' Campaign cowardice:

The national media's focus on President Bush's National Guard service, or neglect of duty, and Senator Kerry's heroism, or opportunism, 35 years ago has been a boon to both candidates' efforts to avoid concrete discussion of the most important issues facing middle-class Americans...

...And while Bush maintains that our borders and ports are secure, Kerry maintains they are not. But both candidates, because of hypersensitivity to the important Hispanic vote, choose not to offer real and specific proposals to deal with what is nothing less than an invasion of our country by illegal aliens. In poll after poll, Americans by an overwhelming majority say they want illegal immigration ended. Study after study shows the crushing burden on our economy and taxpayers created by the influx of somewhere between 1 million and 3 million illegal aliens into the United States this year...

...One has to wonder why both candidates obviously fear dealing with the issues most critical to the nation they want to lead over the next four years. Timidity and disingenuousness in confronting these critical issues are hardly the character traits of the leader we should elect on November 2. One can only hope that character and the right stuff will emerge in either or both of our candidates in the weeks ahead. Let's hope so, for the sake of us all.

In expectation of Open Borders advocates starting another round of Dobbs bashing, here's the technorati and daypop searches. At post time, no other blogs are commenting.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

Arnold signs "pointed" legislation

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed needle-exchange legislation. While I would generally support this on public health rather than ideological grounds, the devil is in the details.

My casual read of the bill in question reveals there are no safeguards to ensure or at least encourage that those who get these needles are in fact already addicts and that the needles are only for their personal use. Because of that, expect a (brisker) black market for needles as non-addicts acquire needles to be sold to addicts who can't get enough.

The bill also makes it a crime to dispose of a needle at places like public playgrounds. Great idea. Now, we just need to station cops in sandboxes at public playgrounds throughout the state.

A better idea would have provided some form of deposit like soda cans. That would have encouraged addicts to dispose of their needles by bringing them into a pharmacy. Pharmacies (I'd imagine) already have bio-hazard boxes that could be used.

And, the other downside is this:

the signing marked a personal triumph for the termed-out Vasconcellos, who had steered two other versions of the measure through the Legislature only to have it rejected by Davis, who had agreed with opponents' concerns.

Any personal triumph for that fine legislator is in some ways a defeat for everyone else. In addition to authoring the racially-subtexted bill to give partial votes to teenies, he also said this: "Since [the U.S.] stole [the southwestern U.S.] from [Mexico], why do you say it’s unfair to steal [the southwestern U.S.] back from us?".

Posted to California at 12:25 PM | Comments (2)

Who is the FDIC? And, why are they working with a foreign government to subvert our laws?

The FDIC - "an independent agency of the federal government" - is working with the Mexican consulate in Chicago, banks, and community groups to give home loans to "immigrants." If they're legal immigrants, and thus American citizens (or on their way), why is a foreign government involved?

The article "NWI banks offer home loans to undocumented immigrants" explains why:

TCF Bank is the first bank to open the door to home loans for undocumented immigrants in Northwest Indiana; Fifth Third Bank plans to follow suit this month.

TCF and Fifth Third will be among the largest banks in the United States to offer the new loans. They join about 15 other banks in the Midwest to do so...

"[David Creel, TCF Bank vice president for marketing says] Most of these folks want to become U.S. citizens, so there is a good intent here... We believe everyone should have the opportunity to own a home. It's as simple as that."

Both banks are part of the New Alliance Task Force, a consortium of banks, financial institutions and the Mexican Consulate in Chicago. The consortium was formed in May 2003 to expand banking services to immigrants.

The consortium has concentrated on undocumented immigrants...

"[The Mexican consul says] This is a very important part of the culture of Mexican people to own a home... We want our community every day to become more and more of what the Midwest is about."

If these people were "immigrants" in the Ellis Island sense, isn't it counterproductive to get a foreign government involved? Shouldn't we be trying to ween these "immigrants" away from the government to which they have (presumably) dropped allegiance? And, why is our government helping defeat "Ellis Island-style" immigration?

An FDIC spokesman serves as a source in that article; in the Chicago Tribune article "Mortgage Plan Open to Illegal Immigrants; 35 Banks, FDIC Seek to Ease Loans" the same spokesman is quoted as saying: "A home might be the ultimate dream, as with any other family. The important thing is that they have access. There might be some criticism, but immigration issues are not our purview."

There's more in this shocking Economist article. It starts out with the word "nativists" and goes downhill from there.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 04:01 PM | Comments (1)

Then why did I have the bowl, Bart? Why did I have the bowl?

If voting by illegal aliens is not a problem, why are "immigrant advocates" so vehemently opposed to people having to show proof of citizenship when voting?

From "Critics blast Horn's bid to reduce fraud":

Californians would have to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when voting under a proposal San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn is pushing.

Horn, who said the requirements would help prevent voter fraud, will ask the Board of Supervisors tomorrow to sign a letter to the secretary of state endorsing his proposal and advocating a change in state law.

Civil rights advocates, the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego League of Women Voters say the proposed requirements are burdensome and would discourage people – especially minorities – from voting. The Legislature has rejected similar recommendations before, they said.

"We have not seen a rash of voter fraud taking place in California, certainly not in San Diego County, that I've been made aware of," said Jess Durfee, chairman of the county's Democratic Party...

From "Voting by noncitizens hard to find":

Concern that illegal immigrants vote regularly in Arizona has become an emotional hot button for proponents of Proposition 200, but election officials say there is little or no evidence that voting by noncitizens is a problem.

Those officials, including Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer, say they know of no cases in which a noncitizen was convicted and few if any instances in which anyone was prosecuted for voting illegally. Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez, in fact, says the illegal-immigrant voter is an urban legend...

Here's a tonier allusion than Milhouse: methinks they doth protest too much.

Posted to Immigration2004 at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

"Basayev Says He Was Behind Beslan"

Bearing in mind this is the Moscow Times relying on a Chechen website:

Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the Beslan hostage-taking and four other recent attacks and defiantly threatened to carry out more.

Basayev said in a statement posted on a rebel web site Friday that the attacks -- which include two plane bombings, a Moscow metro suicide blast and a Moscow bus stop explosion -- were part of a campaign to end the Chechen conflict, start the withdrawal of federal troops from Chechnya and force President Vladimir Putin to resign if he "doesn't want peace."

As previously posted, this page says:

"[The DHS has just granted asylum to someone who's] the foreign minister-in-exile of the secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and a former military adjutant to Chechnaya's generalissimo, Shamil Basayev."

Posted to Terrorism at 01:02 PM | Comments (1)

Ja, aber wo sind die Foto?

Von Oben ohne bei den Deckenleuchten: Der Berliner Elektromarkt Innova lockt mit entblößten Brüsten - und der Kunde schaut weg:

...Foto: Was für ein Empfang: Bei Innova am Alexanderplatz begrüßten gestern halb nackte Aushilfen die Kunden...

Pfhwoar! Aber, gibt's nicht das Foto! Gebe mich das Foto, du schweinhund!

There aren't any photos in "Blase Berliners shrug off store's topless sales staff" either. There's a photo in "Berliners are so blasé they shrug at store’s topless staff" but it's of two Bavarian gents. Ich mich fuehle let down by the world media.

Posted to WackyHumor at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)

Their money or your safety

[cross-posted at the-lonewacko-blog.redstate.org/story/2004/9/19/225351/640 and the Command Post]

From August 28's edition of the CPUSA's house organ People's Weekly World (cache used because site down):

U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) has introduced controversial legislation to sharply curtail the rights and daily activities of immigrants [sic; only illegal immigrants would be affected --LW]. The legislation would block undocumented workers in the U.S. from opening bank accounts and deny them any access to Social Security payments.

Culberson has cloaked this reactionary legislation, an amendment to a House appropriations bill, as a measure to enhance national security. Attempting to exploit the fears generated by the Bush administration rhetoric about terrorists, Culberson claims that Middle Eastern terrorists have disguised themselves by using Hispanic names and that his bill will help keep such terrorists out [see Congressman: Terrorists are infiltrating the U.S. via Mexico --LW].

Among other things, the amendment would make it much more difficult for immigrants [sic; illegal immigrants --LW] to use foreign IDs, such as the matricula consular issued by the Mexican government, to open bank accounts...

Those "Matricula Consular" cards ("MC") are only of use to illegal aliens. And, Culberson does have a point:

Last June, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Steve McCraw, assistant director of the FBI's Office of Intelligence, said that the bureau and the Justice Department have concluded that the card is not a reliable means of identification. McCraw warned that the "ability of foreign nationals to use the matricula consular to create a well-documented, but fictitious, identity in the United States provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely in the United States without triggering name-based watch lists that are disseminated to local police officers. It also allows them to board planes without revealing their true identity."

Given that, you might expect Culberson's legislation to have passed, but you'd be wrong. From House Backs Bush on Mexican ID Cards:

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to support a Bush administration plan to allow the use of Mexican identification cards to open U.S. bank accounts.

The House voted 222 to 177 remove language in an $89.9 billion bill funding the Transportation and Treasury Departments aimed at preventing the use of the cards. The House has yet to vote on the overall bill...

According to data from the Mexican foreign ministry, over 2.2 million of the cards have been issued since March 2002 and 178 financial institutions and 1,180 police departments in the United States accept them as proof of identity.

The Inter-American Development Bank and Treasury Department have backed the matricula as a way for Mexicans to open bank accounts and send billions of dollars in remittances back to their families in Mexico.

Before the vote, Treasury Secretary Snow said this:

"The Administration believes as a general matter that Americans are better protected if consumers of all nationalities are invited into the financial mainstream"

After the vote, Culberson had this to say:

"The Treasury rule is an embarrassment and a danger to national security, and so I will continue to work relentlessly to do away with this rule," Mr. Culberson said Wednesday.

In that last link, Nancy Pelosi weighs in with a quote in support of MC cards. In case you weren't confused already.

See also 222 House Members Put Interests of Banking Lobby Ahead of Homeland Security and the extensive backgrounder "IDs for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular' Advances Mexico's Immigration Agenda".

But, there's more. And, you might consider it even worse...

If you were an illegal alien living in, say, Sherwood Arkansas, would you need to travel to the Dallas TX Mexican consulate to pick up your MC card? Not if the consul comes to you. Recent news reports detail how Mexican consuls travel to various outposts in the U.S. exchanging an MC card for the $26 fee. And, most of the reporters who cover the consul coming to their town do so in either a gullible or a disingenuous manner.

In almost all of these reports the sales job given by the consuls is presented without comment. In most cases, nary a dissenting word is heard. And, in some cases local churches or banks are involved.

Some reports are provided below, along with contact information for the editors involved.

· Sherwood [AR] Voice
Arkansas needs Mexican consulate; new documentation
by Warren Watkins (editor)

(church is involved; gullible local leaders provide quotes; no dissenting voices)

includes this consul quote: "[I came to Arkansas to] continue the negotiations with the state and city authorities for making sure that we are going to inaugurate a Mexican consulate in the coming year in Little Rock... Governor Huckabee was a large part of this... He went to Mexico City and met with President Fox and proposed this... [when you get your MC we] don�t care if you are documented or undocumented... I like Arkansas... It is so green. It�s so clean, nice, with very warm, open people, and many friends of Mexico."

· Hilton Head SC's Island Packet
Mexican Consulate issues IDs
by Noah Haglund
Fitz McAden, executive editor fmcaden@islandpacket.com

(mentions that social security number is required for a driver's license in SC and NC, but no terrorism mention; includes FAIR quote)

includes this consul quote: "[The consul] also said he didn't like seeing illegal immigration because it hurt his national pride to see so many compatriots living far from home."

· That report generated the letter to the editor "ID cards a cash cow": "The consulate, as well as the matricula and the cash remittance sent by illegal alien laborers, are cash cows to the Mexican government... Our local governments should avoid being a party to this travesty and refrain from aiding and abetting illegal aliens who seek to arrive and remain illegally in the United States. That too is a federal crime."

· Naples [FL] Daily News
Mexican nationals flock to mobile consulate for passports, ID cards
by Tracy Miguel
editor: Phil Lewis pplewis@naplesnews.com

(event was co-sponsored by Bank of America; MC's "acknowledge [a person's] presence in the United States"; a church is involved; alludes to stricter DL procedures after 9/11; MCs "can be issued whether or not the holder is legally in the United States... The Mexican Consulate will provide the matricula and passport if the person who is requesting the document can prove that he or she is a Mexican national"; article ends with the phone number of the Mexican consulate for those who want more information)

· WKYT (via Paducah News working for AP?)
Mexican government helps immigrants acquire passports, identification cards
Contacts: rclark@paducahsun.com, Jim.Ogle@wkyt.com, info@ap.org

(no mention of terrorism risks, no quotes from consul; church involved; minister says: "These are illegal and legal people... This has nothing to do with immigration.")

· Racine, WI Journal Times
"Mexican Consulate helps locals with their papers"
by Julio Urdaneta
editor Randolph Brandt: rbrandt@journaltimes.com

(no downsides mentioned; includes this: Alberto Martin, North Shore Bank branch manager in Milwaukee [said] "This is our third venture with the Mexican Consulate. We have participated in activities like this before in Milwaukee and Green Bay and now in Racine... "I believe we are creating a union, a joint work with the Mexican consulate to help Mexicans to obtain matriculas consulares.")

Contact the North Shore Bank's president, Jim McKenna, at 1-800-236-4672 or through this complicated form.

If that's not enough, see Pressure on to support immigration measure. Althoug not directly related to MC cards, that article concerns how banks are forming together to oppose the Protect Arizona Now initiative.

And, for more information on Mexican consulates, search for maus here or consider this quote from 11/02:

[Mexico's foreign minister Jorge] Castaneda said Mexican officials will begin rallying unions, churches, universities and Mexican communities... "What's important is that American society sees a possible migratory agreement in a positive light," Castaneda said. "We are already giving instructions to our consulates [in the U.S.] that they begin propagating militant activities -- if you will -- in their communities."

Posted to Immigration2004 at 09:49 PM | Comments (3)

"My understanding is this isn't ID for illegals"

The titular quote is from none other than St. Clair (MI) County commissioner Pamela Wall, discussing Matricula Consular cards in the article "County to decide on Mexican ID card; Consul: Document should be accepted as legal identification".

Mexico's consul in Detroit wants the fine St. Clair county commissioners to accept those IDs.

You know, the ones mentioned in "IDs for Illegals: The 'Matricula Consular' Advances Mexico's Immigration Agenda" or "FBI Official Says Matricula Consular Card Is Security Threat".

Thankfully, someone there has some sense:

The cards have sparked controversy in various communities. Critics said the cards grant legal status to illegal aliens.

Commissioner Patricia Anger, R-Clyde Township, wants to make sure that's not the case.

"I would not want to make something available that would help illegals get services our residents need," she said.

Her email is panger@stclaircounty.org. Please send her the two links above as well as any other useful information.

Posted to Immigration_consul at 02:47 PM | Comments (1)

Evasion of our laws, threats to our sovereignty go mobile

From Lexington, KY's TV station WKYT comes "Mexican government helps immigrants acquire passports, identification cards":

MAYFIELD, Ky. -- The Mobile Mexican Consulate visited Mayfield over the weekend to help Mexican immigrants apply for passports...

"These are illegal and legal people," [a Baptist minister] said. "This has nothing to do with immigration..."

[A Mexican citizen visited] the center while she presented documents needed for a Mexican government-backed ID, or matricula.

[She] said being able to receive her matricula in Mayfield was "muy facil," or very easy...

The matricula cards are issued by the Mexican government to its nationals living in other countries. Kentucky is not yet one of the thirteen states that accept the cards as valid identification...

This article does have one small mention of "illegal," so at least it's a smal