secure the border
"Secure the border": Page 2
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Sharron Angle is weak on amnesty: won't come out strong against anti-American DREAM Act - 09/18/10
Harry Reid recently announced he'd offer the anti-American DREAM Act amnesty as an amendment to the Defense bill. Now, four days later, the most his opponent Sharron Angle has done in opposition is to appear on Fox News and oppose that anti-American amnesty from procedural grounds.
Not only that, but she seems to be adopting an immigration stance that's weaker than her previous comments. She appears to now be taking a "secure the border first" posture which begs the question of what exactly she'd support after the borders are secured. If she won't oppose a smaller anti-American amnesty now,...
Could Obama declare an immigration amnesty by executive order? - 07/30/10
[See the updates too]
Sharron Angle goes after Reid on issues outside his control, won't press hard on immigration - 07/23/10
The video at peekURL.com/vc2rep7 is a new campaign ad from Sharron Angle in which she says: "Harry Reid says he does more for Nevada... He's done more for unemployment... He's done more for the foreclosure rate...
Chris Christie supports immigration "reform" (aka amnesty) - 06/30/10
The latest GOP/conservative savior is New Jersey governor Chris Christie, despite the fact that what he supports would increase spending and reduce the GOP's power. In a recent interview [1], he implied opposition to the new immigration law in Arizona and came out in support of comprehensive immigration reform, aka amnesty. The latter would lead to millions new Democrats joining the voter rolls and would lead to even more illegal immigration and even more spending. From [1]:
On the hot-button topic of immigration reform, he said he has long declined to “demagogue” the issue as a former U.S....
Partnership for a New American Economy: Murdoch, Bloomberg, CEOs, mayors, (Fox News?) to push amnesty - 06/24/10
Don't trust what you see on Fox News. Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, big-city mayors, Hewlett Packard, Boeing, and Disney have formed a new group called "Partnership for a New American Economy" to push comprehensive immigration reform, aka amnesty (link):
The group says it intends to make its point to policymakers by "publishing studies, conducting polls, convening forums and sponsoring public education campaigns."
...The group's main immigration goals are to secure the borders, develop an easy system for employers to verify work eligibility, hold companies accountable for breaking the...
Kyl: Obama says he won't secure the border without comprehensive immigration reform (UPDATE: backtracks?) - 06/20/10
[See the second update]
The attached video (around 3:40, available at peekURL.com/v6robbv ) has Senator Jon Kyl making this shocking claim about a private meeting he had with Barack Obama:
"Here's what the president said. The problem is, he said, if we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform. In other words, they’re holding it hostage. They don’t want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with comprehensive immigration reform.
There isn't much reason for Kyl not to be telling the truth, and his claim matches the actions...
Claim: under 50,000 troops and $3 billion a year would secure the border (Rep. John Carter) - 06/19/10
Rep. John Carter of Texas offers a long article about secure the border (for real) here. Bottom line:
Taking all the data into consideration, a deployment of somewhere between 25-to-50,000 troops would secure our 2,000 mile southern border immediately. Cost estimates range around $3 billion per year, a small fraction of the current $78 billion taxpayer cost of illegal immigration, even after counting tax payments by illegal workers.
These manpower numbers are well within the range of similar current deployments. 28,000 U.S. troops are helping guard South Korea’s 151-mile border with North...
Mickey Kaus on immigration: not as bad as most Democratic Party leaders - 06/01/10
Mickey Kaus is challenging fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer in the California Senate primary; he realizes the futility of that effort and he's just doing it to raise certain issues including immigration.
Obama wants $500 million to send National Guard to secure the border (prelude to amnesty) - 05/25/10
Barack Obama wants Congress to allocate $500 million in order to send up to 1200 National Guard troops to the border. Per an unnamed administration official (link):
"[The troops will] provide intelligence; surveillance and reconnaissance support; intelligence analysis; immediate support to counternarcotics enforcement; and training capacity until Customs and Border Patrol can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border... [the funding will be used to] enhance technology at the border, share information and support with state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and...
Millions unemployed, Harry Reid wants several million new legal workers to compete against Americans (fairly) - 05/11/10
Harry Reid offers "Our immigration system is broken, and only bipartisan work will fix it" (link). If you've already read a few editorials in support of comprehensive immigration reform, everything he says will be very familiar, right down to his use of trite talking points like system is broken, secure the border, immigration line, and the (more rare) immigration wage floor.
However, American workers - especially voters in Nevada - might want to take a closer look at this paragraph:
Fixing our broken immigration system is also important to strengthen America’s economy. We need to protect...
John McCain backs (but not endorses) Arizona's tough new immigration bill (from Russell Pearce); border security plan - 04/19/10
[See the UPDATE:; McCain backed away from endorsing it.]
Per this, John McCain has endorsed a new bill in Arizona that would, among other things allow police to arrest suspected illegal aliens who couldn't provide evidence of legal presence. Per him:
"I think it’s a very important step forward... I can fully understand why the legislature would want to act."
Needless to say, this isn't in line with his previous positions; Arizona state senator Russell Pearce is the sponsor of the bill in question, and he's usually directly opposite the more "pro-business" GOP types on this issue.
Also:
McCain...
Amy Chance of SacBee misleads about "amnesty" (Steve Poizner's anti-Meg Whitman ad) - 04/10/10
Sacramento Bee Political Editor Amy Chance offers "Ad Watch: Poizner launches largely misleading attack on Whitman" [1]. Referring to a recent anti-Meg Whitman ad from Steve Poizner which claims that Whitman "supports Obama's amnesty for illegal aliens", Chance writes:
"Amnesty" is a hot-button term that exaggerates Whitman's views on illegal immigration. She said in October she supports a policy "where people stand at the back of the line, they pay a fine, they do some things that would ultimately allow a path to legalization." Now she says she was referring to creating a guest worker...
RNC's Michael Steele supports amnesty at meeting with far-left, Mexico-linked groups - 04/01/10
Two days ago I posted a notice that Michael Steele of the RNC was going to meet with extremist and Mexico-linked illegal immigration supporters and urged others to contact him suggesting that he handle the meeting in the correct way [1]. Not surprisingly, Steele handled the meeting in the completely incorrect way (link):
According to a news release put out by the activists [2], he said he would try and recruit Republican support for comprehensive immigration legislation.
The RNC says he made no such commitment. The immigration activist who led the meeting said he did, but then [Steele]...
Sarah Palin goes bogus: "It all comes down to securing the border" - 03/26/10
Sarah Palin has some good qualities, but also bad qualities. And, some of the many latter involves her knowing nothing about immigration, Palin supporting McCain's position on immigration during the campaign, and her just today supporting McCain's worthless posturing on immigration.
Whatever else, Steve Poizner is better than Meg Whitman on immigration (California Republican governor candidates) - 03/11/10
Back in October, California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman visited the border and spouted a series of "business-friendly" immigration talking points; it was like if you could find a Tamar Jacoby talking doll on eBay, but without the latter's self-awareness. Then, last month she gave in to the far-left and turned her back on a supporter who'd inartfully complained about being called a racist. So, if you care about the issues we cover here, she's not an option (unless she wins the primary and, say, her Democratic opponent is Nativo Lopez).
Whitman is competing with California insurance...
"Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles": pro-amnesty, pro-guest worker fantasy from Robert George - 02/22/10
Robert George of Princeton University, former George W Bush official Alfonso Aguilar, and Alejandro Chafuen (see this) are the founders of the "Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles" (latino-partnership.org), an outgrowth of George's American Principles Project. See this for a recent WSJ article involving their efforts to promote comprehensive immigration reform, aka amnesty.
They say that their group "promotes conservative values and ideals within the Latino community and works to integrate Latinos into fuller and more active participation and leadership in the conservative movement...
SOTU 2010: Barack Obama State of the Union open thread - 01/27/10
Some light coverage of Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union will commence shortly. However, feel free to leave comments about the speech in comments. A few largely worthless excerpts are here; expect the rest to be along those lines.
He'll apparently be concentrating on healthcare and jobs. For the first, see our past coverage in Obama healthcare. For the second, note that the number of jobs supposedly "saved or created" under the stimulus plan is dwarfed by the number of work permits issued to foreign citizens in the same time period. And, not only has the Obama administration added...
BRIDGE House Resolution calls for no amnesty, border security, mandatory eVerify - 01/21/10
Earlier today, Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduced H. Res. 1026, called the "Bipartisan Reform of Immigration through Defining Good Enforcement" or BRIDGE Resolution. It seeks to (press release here, no bill text yet):
* make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, and hold employees accountable as well;
* provide sufficient border infrastructure and manpower to secure and control our borders; and,
* reject amnesty and any legal status which pardons those here in violation of our laws
The red flag there is the last: no one wants "amnesty". What many political leaders want is comprehensive...
Martha Coakley immigration position: ignored status as DA; supports massive immigration - 01/16/10
The audio at verumserum.com/?p=11595 has a radio interview with Martha Coakley about immigration. She doesn't appear to be a raving loose/open borders loon, but her position is bad, she admits that she wasn't fully doing her job, and part of her position is quite "business-friendly". See [1] for a discussion of the not-fully-correct video and the headline at the page, but the more important thing is her position:
How weak is Scott Brown on immigration? (Massachusetts senate race; Ted Kennedy seat) - 01/02/10
Former Cosmopolitan centerfold Scott Brown is trying to become the new Senator from Massachusetts to replace Ted Kennedy. He doesn't appear to be in the Tom Tancredo mold when it comes to immigration, but there isn't enough information to tell whether he's just a little weak or whether he's very weak and would support some form of comprehensive immigration reform. He's the GOP establishment favorite, even if the national GOP - in a rare show of sanity - isn't throwing their full weight behind him due to his slim chances of victory. While he's gotten some tea parties support, they have their...
Marco Rubio supports attrition, seems to actually oppose amnesty (but: probably still supports massive immigration) - 11/17/09
Speaking earlier today, Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio supported attrition (enforcing our immigration laws in order to encourage illegal aliens to leave on their own) and made statements that seemed to indicate that he opposes amnesty (aka comprehe
Janet Napolitano falsely says she needs immigration "reform" to do her job; says border more secure; sounds like Chertoff - 11/13/09
Speaking at the Center for American Progress earlier today (prepared remarks: www.dhs.gov/ynews/speeches/sp_1258123461050.shtm NYT article: link full video: americanprogress.org/events/2009/11/Napolitano.html), Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano said that she needs comprehensive immigration reform (downsides at the link) to do her job and that such "reform" (aka amnesty) is more attainable due both to supposed increased border security and due to fewer people trying to cross because of the economic downturn. In her speech, she sounded almost exactly like Michael...
Meg Whitman spouts amnesty talking points (California governor candidate) - 10/29/09
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is apparently like a talking doll you might find on that site, except in this case she says pro-business, pro-massive/illegal immigration talking points. Speaking at the border (link):
[She said] it is “simply not practical” to deport the estimated 12.5 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. (note: see deportations false choice)
The candidate, 53, said the solution is to find a mechanism that allows them to live here legally. "Can we get a fair program where people stand at the back of the line (note: see immigration line), they pay a...
Schumer, Senate Democrats discuss their immigration plans, including a national ID card - 06/24/09
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post discusses a press conference Senate Democrats held earlier today to discuss their plans for comprehensive immigration reform (link). As previously discussed, Charles Schumer supports a national ID:
"I'm sure the civil libertarians will object to some kind of biometric card -- although . . . there'll be all kinds of protections -- but we're going to have to do it. It's the only way," Schumer said. "The American people will never accept immigration reform unless they truly believe their government is committed to ending future illegal immigration."
It's quite...
Obama at Hispanic Prayer Breakfast: same old immigration speech (+sounds like McCain) - 06/19/09
Earlier today, Barack Obama spoke at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast [1]. Others in attendance included Cecilia Munoz, Ed Rendell, and Janet Napolitano; the event was organized by Rev.
Harry Reid says there are enough Senate votes for immigration "reform"; offers deportation false choice - 06/15/09
Maria Pena of EFE - the Spanish news agency behind a 2006 smear - offers "Senate Leader Says Immigration Reform Possible This Year" [1]:
He added that although (comprehensive immigration reform) does not have the backing of all Democrats, the bill will overcome the obstacles that stymied the failed 2007 reform.
The majority leader said he has "no doubt" he could find as many as a dozen Republicans who support the measure to make up for defections in Democratic ranks.
"We can't deport 11 million undocumented people, we can't do it physically and financially, as some would want," Reid said. "...
Marco Rubio: illegal immigration amnesty supporter, or not? - 05/13/09
Marco Rubio is the Republican former Speaker of the Florida Assembly who - together with fellow Republican Charlie Crist - will be running for Senate; Rubio is running as a conservative against the more RINO Crist. Rubio's immigration stance isn't entirely clear; some have claimed that he helped block some anti-illegal immigration bills in Florida.
Obama immigration budget: does a McCain: border security, then amnesty; fulfills promise to Mexican government; worried about *southbound* flows - 05/06/09
Remember how when John McCain used the cheap, misleading tactic of talking about how he wanted to "secure the border first" and then use that to push for amnesty, and Obama supporters lied and said he didn't support comprehensive immigration reform anymore? Well, now Barack Obama wants to secure the border first and then use that to push for amnesty. Somehow it's different this time.
From "Obama budget puts security first at the border/He'll ask Congress to help curb the flow of arms to Mexico before seeking any immigration reform" (by Anna Gorman and Peter Nicholas of the Los Angeles Times;...
McCain won't support union-driven immigration "reform" push; other uncertainties - 04/19/09
Change to Win and the AFL CIO recently joined forces to promote comprehensive immigration reform. Now. per this, John McCain says:
"The current plan being developed by the administration and organized labor calls for immigration reform that does not adequately address either securing the border or a legal temporary worker program and is a plan I cannot support... We need to act on the pressing issue of border security now, and then seek comprehensive immigration legislation that includes a temporary worker program... Any legislation that does not address these two key components is not real...
Josh Marshall /TPMTV misleads about Michelle Bachmann - 03/24/09
It's apparently open season on Michelle Bachmann [1], so TPM TV - run by Josh Marshall [2] - offers the attached misleading video entitled "The Bachmann Effect". Leaving the other two segments aside, the middle segment takes her comments out of context and shows how little Marshall/TPM understand about immigration issues.
Obama asked stock question about immigration, gives stock, uneconomic reply (smears e-Verify; Orange County) - 03/18/09
Earlier today, Barack Obama held a townhall in Orange County, CA and the full transcript, including the audience questions and his answers, is here. Maybe some time before the decade's over someone will get around to actually taking my advice and asking him a tough question, but that didn't happen in this case.
As soon as I found out about the event, I posted here and at FreeRepublic urging people to go get tickets in an attempt to have someone ask him this question, without luck. Whether the questioners were hand-picked or not (and, since one of them was a union official, all or some of...
Michael Steele: doublespeak on immigration "reform" and amnesty - 01/30/09
Michael Steele is the new chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). On tonight's PBS NewsHour, David Brooks said he'll probably avoid "anti-immigrant" talk, and we know what that means: Brooks thinks Steele will support illegal activity. While Steele's exact positions remain to be seen, consider the June 14, 2007 article "Secure the border first" (link). "Securing the border" is generally a dodge, see the link. And, although he was opposed to 2007's comprehensive immigration reform bill, the "first" leaves an opening for some form of amnesty after the border is supposedly secured....
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand immigration stance: tough or just for show? - 01/23/09
The new Senator from New York is Kirsten Gillibrand, and it appears that she might be at least slightly strong on immigration matters. However, just how "flexible" she'll be remains to be seen.
Bush smears illegal immigration opponents (12/18/2008 edition) - 12/20/08
On December 18, beloved and can't-leave-too-soon president George W Bush spoke at the American Enterprise Institute convocation and said [1] the following (via this):
...And I'm a little concerned about the tone of the immigration debate, labeling our party as "anti"-people. It's one thing to say they want the border enforced, and I understand that. But if a group of people think that a political party is against them, it doesn't matter what else you stand for. And the tone, in my judgment, at times got to be "anti." At one point in our history we had too many Jewish people and too many...
Great: Sarah Palin immigration stance magically same as McCain's - 10/22/08
Sarah Palin was recently interviewed by Jorge Ramos of Univision [1], and she repeatedly asked him why he - a citizen of Mexico who has no interest in becoming a U.S. citizen - keeps interfering in our internal politics. She repeatedly asked him why he was allowed to take up valuable time during a CNN debate where he wasn't even identified as a foreign citizen.
Unfortunately, I'm kidding.
Bob Barr still trying to fool people on immigration - 07/16/08
Bob Barr has released a slightly more detailed immigration plan: bobbarr2008.com/issues/border-security-immigration, which I'll henceforth refer to as the Farcical Boob Bait For Bubba Plan That Has No Chance Of Ever Happening ("FBBFBPTHNCOEH").
Under the FBBFBPTHNCOEH, Barr would push through at least two Constitutional amendments: one to block illegal aliens from receiving K-12 education, and the other to end birthright citizenship. More generally, he wants to end non-emergency benefits to illegal aliens. He wants to end foreign language ballots and make English "the national language for...
A challenge for Drew Carey/Reason Magazine (and other open borders hacks) - 05/29/08
Washed-up TV comic Drew Carey is now working on a joint venture with the pseudo-libertarians at Reason Magazine [1]. In various video segments he presents the "libertarian" view of things, and the latest is called "The Cost of Securing Our Southern Border" (reason.tv/video/show/434.html). Like everyone else, I didn't bother to watch it, but I feel safe in asserting that there are many things he forgot to mention.
John McCain back to supporting "comprehensive immigration reform", "guest" workers, H-1B visas - 05/22/08
Some people have tried to say that John McCain turned his back on "comprehensive immigration reform", i.e., a massive amnesty for illegal aliens. In a Silicon Valley speech today, McCain clarified the matter (link):
After several of the business leaders complained about the difficulty in obtaining temporary H1B visas for scientists and engineers, something the Senate immigration bill was supposed to address, Mr. McCain expressed regret the measure did not pass, calling it a personal "failure," as well as one by the federal government.
...Mr. McCain asked others on the panels for...
Barack Obama immigration editorial misleads - 04/15/08
But, you already knew that. Barack Obama offers an editorial entitled "Enforce tighter border, employer verifications" (link):
While I understand the passions -- and legitimate differences -- on both sides of this difficult issue, we must restore civility and reason to the conversation.
Translation: "my opponents are gun-toting anti-immigrant racists". And, "as irrational as it seems, what I propose is the rational approach."
First, we must reinforce our borders to deter the more than 2,000 immigrants who cross them illegally each day. Most of these aspiring laborers risk death in the desert...
Bob Barr for President 2008: muddled thinking? - 04/05/08
Former Republican representative from Georgia Bob Barr has joined the Libertarian Party and thrown his hat into the ring for president of the U.S. He's certainly the most mainstream, most sane person to run Libertarian for a long time, if not forever. He "occupies the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy at the American Conservative Union, and as a Board Member of the National Rifle Association", but he's also been affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
And, his position on immigration (bobbarr2008.com/issues) shows some possibly muddled thinking. The...