Index for posts concerning Mexican Border

It’s the kill the Republican Party Bill by Darth B'strad
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A Solution *for* Mexicans in America (and the American job market) by Bieren Skidels
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It’s the kill the Republican Party Bill

Posted on May 26th, 2007 by Darth B'strad.
Categories: Political, Immigration, Mexican Border, Ethics, Crime, Law, Terrorism, Philosophy, Republicans, Democrats.

The new bill that the Senate is considering is one big massive monstrosity that is sure to kill the Republican party if it is not changed. I’m talking about the new immigration bill that he Dems tried to ramrod it through the senate in a day. “Here’s a 326 page bill chalk full of leaglise. Now have a vote on it by the end of the day!” Luckily, enough Republicans had enough sense to delay it until at lest the end of the week after the memorial day week. So there will actually be a debate on it. But on the the bill itself, this thing is a mess! But nobody has done a better job of reviewing this bill than Hugh Hewitt. In an 8 part post Hugh goes through all of the fine print, point by point. I’ll just give you the highlights of that post but to have a full understanding of it you really should go read it. Here are the important parts of the bill:

First part:

Except for those illegal aliens qualifying under Section 601(h), no illegal aliens can obtain new status until the Secretary of Homeland Security sends the president and Congress a letter saying all triggers have been met
The proposed bill goes on to detail the triggers which include the hiring of Border Patrol agents until 18,000 are on staff, the construction of at least 200 miles of vehicular barriers and 360 miles of fencing, the end of “catch and return,” the establishment and use of new enforcement tools designed to keep illegals from working, and the processing of applications of aliens for Z status.
The unreasonability of the schedule for debate on this bill is exemplified by the citation to Section 601(h), which begins on page 260 of the draft bill. Thus to even begin to review the draft bill you have to know how to read such a provision and be able to print off the bill or how to work the unwieldy online draft at NationalReview.com.

Section 601h:

Section 601(h)(2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) lay out additional provisions concerning this huge –indeed almost certainly 90% plus?– portion of the illegals currently in the country that are not subject to the “triggers,” and even notes in subparagraph (5) that if an illegal is arrested or detained prior to filing his or her application for Z permit status, “the Secretary shall provide the alien with a reasonable opportunity to file an application under this section after such regulations are promulgated.” Unless the computer spits out a no within 2 days of submitting the application, the illegal gets probationary Z status –before even one more mile of fence is built or a workplace verification system is constructed.

Title I:

*the proposed build-up in Border Patrol agents (Sec. 502),
*much discussion of biometric data,
*an odd amendment to the existing law that appears to allow catch and release to continue but only after the posting of a $5,000 bond (Sec. 113(4)),
*a section promising to study “border security on certain federal land” which invites the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service into the action –an ominous development for anyone wanting construction of the border fence to proceed quickly and free of the Section 7 consultation provisions of the Endangered Species Act,
*a long provision on the creation of a National Strategy for Border Security in Section 127 which leaves us wondering why not develop the strategy first and implement regularization later (answer: no one will care what the strategy is later),
*another study in Section 128 on the Border Patrol’s training and capacity (Section 128),
*instructions to train Customs and BP agents in fraud detection, a grant program of $50 million annually for law enforcement agencies in communities impacted by illegal immigration (but with no requirement that the grantee agencies cooperate fully with federal authorities),
*another study –Section 133’s “Port of Entry Infrastructure Assessment Study”, another plan, Section 134’s National Land Border Security Plan, a “demonstration project”
*Section 135’s “Port of Entry Technology Demonstration Program,”
*an instruction to the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct or acquire 20 new detention facilities in Section 137,
*and to top it all off in classic D.C. style, a new commission, the 17 voting member “United States-Mexico Border Enforcement Review Commission, with four appointees each from the governors of California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, the purpose of which is to study the overall enforcement strategies, program, and policies of Federal agencies along the U.S.-Mexican border” and to “make recommendations” about those policies.

Title II:

By far the most interesting aspect of Title II is “Sec. 216: STREAMLINED PROCESSING OF BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR IMMIGRATION BENEFITS”
[…]

1)IN GENERAL –The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General shall establish an interagency task force to resolve cases in which an application or petition for an immigration benefit conferred under this Act has been delayed due too an outstanding background check investigation for more than 2 years after the date on which such application was initially filed.”
The section also authorizes the FBI to receive “such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2008 to 2012 for enhancements to existing systems for conducting background and security checks necessary to support immigration security and orderly processing of applications,” but does not begin to quantify what those sums are, or how the FBI –in a time of real terror threats such as the Fort Dix Six– is supposed to staff up for the deluge.
The section also wants a report six months after the convening of the task force which will provide (A) a description of the background and security program; (B) a statistical breakdown of the background and security check delays associated with different types of immigration applications; (C) a statistical breakdown of the background and security check delays by applicant country of origin and (D) the steps that the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking to expedite background and security checks that have been pending for more than 180 days.

Title III:

Section 302(e) (p. 116 of the draft released Friday night at just before midnight) spells out that each instance of hiring or continuing to employ an unauthorized alien will cost the employer $5,000. Employers previously fined for doing so fork over $25K per illegal alien, and three-strikers get hit for $75K each.
There are also record keeping violations of $1,000 per violation, which will send a shudder down the backs of honest employers who work hard to jeep the illegal aliens out of their workforce but who recognize in paperwork compliance penalties the ultimate blackjack for an out-of-temper bureaucrat.
Criminal penalties are available under 302(f) (p. 122) for employers engaging in a “pattern or practice of knowing violations.”
The ruse of using contractors to avoid the law is supposedly banished under Section 302(a)(3):
For purposes of this section, an employer who uses a contract, subcontract, or exchange to obtain the labor of an alien in the United States knowing that the alien is an unauthorized alien (as defined in subsection (b)(1) with respect to performing such labor shall be considered to have hired the alien for employment in the United States in violation of paragraph (1)(A).

Title IV:

Section 218A ADMISSION OF Y NONIMMIGRANTS provides in subparagraph (d)(5)(C) that the applicant must (i)certify by signature that he or she “has read and understands all the questions and statements on the application form, (ii)certify under penalty of perjury that all statements are true and correct, and (iii) agree to the release of any information in the application for law enforcement purposes.
So we have the assurance of every future Y Visa worker being literate and bound by their oath not to have perjured themselves.
There is also, in subparagraph (m) “EVIDENCE OF NONIMMIGRANT STATUS” the assurance that each “y nonimmigrant shall be issued documentary evidence of nonimmigrant status, which…(3)may be accepted during the period of its validity by an employer as evidence of employment authorization and identity under section 274A(b)(1)(B).” The Y Visa thus seems to allow the holder to change jobs once inside the U.S., which is contrary to my understanding –which could be wrong as the bill is 630 pages– that Y Visa holders were coming into the U.S. to perform a specific job.

Title V:

Title V “IMMIGRATION BENEFITS” is beyond the comprehension of a nonspecialist. What is clear is that the law is reshuffling the deck of get-out-of-jail-free cards, and the total number of visas it authorizes over the next few years –above and beyond the Y Nonimmigrant Visas and the Z Visas for illegals already in the country– is impossible for a layman to calculate.
But it is certainly a very high number.
Now that doesn’t necessarily mean it is a bad policy. On pages 240 to 241is an interesting grid of the point system that drives the “Merit-based Immigrant” visas, and which, for examples greatly prefers M.D.s and MBA’s over high school diploma holders (20 points for the former, 6 points for the latter.) High grades on English proficiency tests also provide a huge pop to the merit application, which will certainly increase the demand for ESL teachers in certain parts of the world.

Title VI:

Among the many surprises in Title VI “NONIMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES PERVIOUSLY IN UNLAWFUL STATUS” is the stipulation in Section 601(f) “Eligibility Requirements,” is subparagraph (7):

interview: An applicant for Z nonimmigrant status must appear to be interviewed.

Let’s use the low number of 12 million potential Zs, and assume that an average of 3 Zs will appear for each interview, which means the feds need to schedule, conduct and write-up 4 million interviews. Is it fair to allocate, say, 2 hours per interview set-up, completion and follow up? So we need 8 million federal manhours.

Good question by hugh, who’s going to do all that? but finally title VII:

Title VII is short, a sort of encore of common sense and humbug. The common sense is the recognition in Sec. 701 that aliens currently serving in the military don’t have to get fingerprinted again. But the rest is pretty much humbug. There’s a declaration of English as “the common language of the United States,” followed by the announcment that this status does not “diminish or expand any existing rights under the laws of the United States relative to the services or materials provided by the Government of the United States in any language other than English.” In other words, a no-effect bit of theater.
There’s a provision of illegal aliens over the age of 75 and some additional funding for the “Office of Citizenship and Integration,” followed by the high point of absurdity in the draft law, the establishment of the “Citizenship and Integration Councils” which looks very much like a Saturday Night Live skit. Money is to be made available “to states and municipalities for effective integration of immigrants into American society through the creation of New Americans Integrations (sic) Councils.

In it’s current form this bill is a massive monstrosity that will eventually kill the Republican party and will revolutionize the country in a much worse way. The reason I say that is because as soon as Bush puts his signature on this bill 12 million (and that is a conservative number) Illegal aliens are now legal. This is because of that temporary status while they are waiting for the interview process that allow them to have a job legally and that is before they build a fence. Now I know you’ll say “they’ll have to pay 5000 bucks to be legal.” Well I know as soon as Bush puts his name on it we will start hearing from the dems “your taking the food out of the mouths of starving babies.” And because we are such a compassionate society they will probably wave that 5000 bucks letting them get their “Z visa” for free. And most likely the republicans will go along with it because they have a lack of courage right now and they don’t want to look like they are taking the food out of the mouths of starving babies. So again it is going to be me and all of you out there that are going to have to pay for all this. But not only that but once someone obtains a “Z visa” then they can bring in their families. So in effect this is a massive import democrats bill. Now I know that there are some Republicans out their that think that these are hard working people and they will become republican voters when they become citizens. Well your right on the hard working part (for the vast majority) but republican voters:NO! Why would they vote for republicans when the Dems are going to give them all the benefits and start making outlandish promises to them. The whole point of this bill for the Dems is to create a new disenfranchised underclass that will vote for the Democrats because they are giving them all the goodies. And if you try to out Democrat the democrats then you will lose your base because we did not send you there to do that. And if that ends up destroying the culture of the United States, well, to hell with that the Dems are already “multicultural” and “world citizens” so they won’t care. Not only will this kill the Republican party but it will also kill the country as we know it and allow the Dems to greatly expand the welfare state so that the Dems can remake the country in their image. And there are way to many Republicans in congress that are too stupid to figure this out. One such republican is John MiCain. Now let me say right now that John MiCain is a great American and a war hero but he is a bad senator and an even worse republican. McCain was in with Kennedy on this bill trying to ramrod it through and when Cornyn called him on it McCain dropped the F-bomb. This from washingtonpost.com:

Things got really heated when Cornyn accused McCain of being too busy campaigning for president to take part in the negotiations, which have gone on for months behind closed doors. “Wait a second here,” Cornyn said to McCain. “I’ve been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You’re out of line.”

McCain, a former Navy pilot, then used language more accustomed to sailors (not to mention the current vice president, who made news a few years back after a verbal encounter with Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont).

“[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room,” shouted McCain at Cornyn. McCain helped craft a bill in 2006 that passed the Senate but couldn’t be compromised with a House bill that was much tougher on illegal immigrants.

McCain is in full melt down mode here and I think that he knows that his campaign is done so he is going to make us stupid conservatives pay for not recognizing his brilliance here. However this is not just an issue on illegal aliens this is a national security issue as well. This is form the Center for Immigration Studies:

Of the 94 foreign-born terrorists who operated in the United States, the study found that about two-thirds (59) committed immigration fraud prior to or in conjunction with taking part in terrorist activity.

Of the 59 terrorists who violated the law, many committed multiple immigration violations — 79 instances in all.

In 47 instances, immigration benefits sought or acquired prior to 9/11 enabled the terrorists to stay in the United States after 9/11 and continue their terrorist activities. In at least two instances, terrorists were still able to acquire immigration benefits after 9/11.

Temporary visas were a common means of entering; 18 terrorists had student visas and another four had applications approved to study in the United States. At least 17 terrorists used a visitor visa — either tourist (B2) or business (B1).

There were 11 instances of passport fraud and 10 instances of visa fraud; in total 34 individuals were charged with making false statements to an immigration official.

In at least 13 instances, terrorists overstayed their temporary visas.

In 17 instances, terrorists claimed to lack proper travel documents and applied for asylum, often at a port of entry.

Fraud was used not only to gain entry into the United States, but also to remain, or “embed,” in the country.

Seven terrorists were indicted for acquiring or using various forms of fake identification, including driver’s licenses, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and immigration arrival records.

Once in the United States, 16 of 23 terrorists became legal permanent residents, often by marrying an American. There were at least nine sham marriages.

In total, 20 of 21 foreign terrorists became naturalized U.S. citizens.

So despite what I had said earlier I am willing to accept the regularization of 12 million Illegal aliens. I am not too worried about Speedy Gonzales from Mexico that came here to build houses but Ahmed the Jihadist from Saudi Arabia who came here to kill Americans. All I want is comprehensive border security. I want a Fence built and not just some of it, all 700 miles. I also want vehicle barriers in the flat desert that you can drive through as well as sensors and UAV’s to spot Illegals. We are already on our way to accomplishing this but we need much more of this. Simply put we need to secure the border! Now I know the objections I am going to hear here: “We can’t do that we don’t have the money!” Well when you consider how much money we waste on bridges to nowhere, failing school programs that produce higher dropout rates, and handouts to framers that don’t work, why can’t we find the money to do this? We find a way to fund every other stupid and outlandish project that the Dems can come up with and even republicans too. “They’ll just bring a ladder!” Such a plan is made very difficult when you have the double walled set up and of course the whole point of the wall is to discourage some and slow down others so that the border patrol has enough time to nab them. “It just won’t work.” Why can’t it? This is the United States of America. We defeated Hitler, we brought down communism, We put a man on the moon but we can’t secure our border? As time goes by this is going to become increasingly more and more important to do because there are Jihadist that are on their way here to kill us and the border is a vulnerability. We have to secure the border now. It’s long over due. Now I also think that the 5000 buck penalty hitting businesses that hire illegal aliens is a good Idea the only problem is if the illegals show fake SSN’s and other fake documentation. Kinda makes it a little worthless unless you have a national ID. Now I know that some of you have big concerns about a national ID because “now the government Knows how I am.” Well if you pay taxes and have a SSN the government already knows you. All I am suggesting is a simple tamper proof card that identifies you as an American citizen with a picture and you DOB and SSN. All you would need it for is to get a job and to vote. Now the Z visas and Y visas will have a different ID to allow them to get a job. If you do that then business will have no excuse and then it will be easier to find the ones braking the laws. I would also like to know who is going to do all of those 12 million interviews. It’s a massive undertaking! However Hugh was suggesting that we have ex-military veterans do it because they have good judgment of people. I think that is a good idea. Any ex-military veterans that are bored in their retirement would be a good choice to conduct the interviews to obtain the z visas. they’ll be able to sniff out the bad apples because they had to do it on a daily bases when they were in the military. Also I say NO probationary visas should be issued until all of the border security is built. We do not want to flood the system before security is ready. Again, build the fence! This bill needs to accelerate the process and have all 700 miles done in six years and also have all of the money appropriated to it as well as the increased border patrol and sensors and UAV’s. If this bill can do that then I will happily accept the regularization of 12 million illegal aliens. Until then this is a bad bill!

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A Solution *for* Mexicans in America (and the American job market)

Posted on November 19th, 2006 by Bieren Skidels.
Categories: Political, Immigration, Mexican Border.

the U.S. totally needs the “Mexicans” for the economy and many types of jobs (not to mention for their amazing Mexican food!).
In the words of my Dad (who grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley) “I don’t believe that a single orange grove picker in the last 50 years in California was a white American”…. generally, not a single orange, cotton, almond, peach, grape, wheat, etc… in California would be harvested were it not for Mexican workers in that valley.

There’s a few things you should know about the San Joaquin Valley:

a. My dad, and his dad, and his dad lived on farms there most of their lives.

b. I grew up visiting farms there… riding on tractors, picking fruit, etc…

c. Historian Kevin Starr has referred to the San Joaquin Valley as “the most productive unnatural environment on Earth.” By some estimates, fully 25% of the United States’ agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) comes from California, and the vast majority of that is in the San Joaquin Valley.

d. The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the United States–per-capita income is far below the national average. Most of the valley’s economic output comes from agriculture and from petroleum extraction and refining.

e. here’s a picture of the San Joaquin Valley