Immigration - Illegal And Otherwise

I am not anti-immigration.  To use the cliche - we are a country built by immigrants.  I am, however, against giving immigrants who are here illegally or are not yet citizens rights enjoyed by our citizens.

I am especially against amnesty for all.  We've tried that and still they come. The problem is there are the good and the bad.  Why in heavens name should we give amnesty to those who break our laws?  They've already broken at least one by coming in illegally.  Why give them a pass therefore compounding it?

The same applies to the so called dreamers. I have no problem that if they've registered they be given an opportunity to stay but if they want citizenship they must go home and get in line with those doing things by the law.

Most of the focus is on our border with Mexico and those crossing there but be sure there are many coming across our northern border too.  They just don't happen to be Mexican or Hispanic. Does the southern border scrutiny make us racist?  No. It is merely the area the media focuses on and the sheer numbers who have crossed in that area.

It's not an easy issue to solve because our lawmakers have let it get way out of hand by not making sure the laws on the books are enforced. The issue of merit, the ability to contribute is paramount.  We cannot take adequate care of our own under privileged and until we are able to do so we should not be welcoming those who do no more than add to those numbers.

Who does it hurt? Every single one of us because a vast amount of tax payers dollars go to care for them.  Feed them, house them, take care of their medical needs and educate them. And in too many cases incarcerate them which adds to our already overcrowded prison systems.

Consider the estimated number of DACA people is around 800,000. They are not all pure of heart.  The law of averages will dictate a certain number of them will be criminal. That is reason enough not to give them carte blanch amnesty.

Congress needs to first agree on the requirements for residency before moving on any type of amnesty.  It has gotten out of hand in places who claim to be sanctuary cities or states.  A friend in California is leaving the state because of it.  The last straw was when they passed a law that prohibited her from telling her house cleaning service that she did not want an illegal in her home.

She had no way of knowing how well the service vetted their employees - or if they were even required to do so. That is, I'm sorry, letting the inmates run the asylum.

Will Congress do it right?  I'm betting no. They're too busy with their puffery. It makes me angry, yes angry, that we citizens are becoming the disenfranchised and without our government putting us first we have little chance of changing it.

Immigration - More Questions than Answers

Well, Obama did one thing last night.  He created the expected fire storm. What struck me about his dictates is how oblivious they are to what will be both expected and unexpected consequences.

Just a few things that struck me in particular.  How everything is slanted toward Hispanics.  They are not the only illegals we have to contend with. what about our northern borders and coasts?

How are they going to verify just how long someone has been here illegally?  Take their word for it?  Do they really expect these people are going to come out from the shadows to fess up and pay a fine?  Especially if their "legalization" is for such a limited amount of time? And knowing that the next President can rescind the order?

Forgetting that the Congress couldn't get their act together over whether a comprehensive or piece meal bills should be passed, we have Harry Reid to thank that some piece meal legislation was ignored by the Senate.  No debate.  No compromise. Stamp your foot.  Dictate.

Also ignored is a pot full of needs that businesses wanted to have addressed. While this may sound nice to the Hispanics and those beating their breasts for anything that would pass, it is choke full of ambiguities, undeliverable promises and problems that if handled as it should have been would have been avoided.

We should all know that massive comprehensive legislation is doomed to failure.  All we have to do is look at Obamacare.  Even more of concern, however, are those in power who think they know best and act with self given impunity.

Obama has done nothing to mend the rift in the country nor the government.  What he has done is lessen his standing even further with  those of us worried about our democracy not to mention world leaders. Except for those who applaud his dictatorial  methods.  Those would be the ones who act in the same manner.  We call them enemies.  I don't know what he calls them.

The Kids Always Went Home

Watching the immigration mess going full bore brought to mind a lot of things that have involved children from other nations.  The first thing that comes to mind is the Disney song It's a Small World After All that speaks to all we have in common. Hopes, dreams, all the warm fuzzy stuff.

We've had exchange student programs where a student from another country lives with a local family to learn not only academics but what life in American and Americans themselves are all about.  We've had situations where children from war torn countries have come for a summer as a respite or have come for medical help they can't get in their own country. But always, the youngsters have returned home.

Now we're being inundated with children from and crime ridden countries who are told they'll not have to return.  But it's a horrible picture, really.  Not full of hope and dreams but survival. Survival of a journey conducted by criminals wrought with criminal activity including rape.  I'd like to see documentation of the conditions endured during the journey from central America through Mexico where their entry is supposedly criminal from the get go.

Then we're told they'll be dispersed to live with relatives already here.  Really?  Why aren't they required to prove their identity and pick up their relatives in person?  Could it be they are also in this country illegally? If at all.  Remember we're talking about tens of thousands of children here!

It makes me think there may be some legitimacy to the idea our President is systematically trying to destroy our country. He's doing a pretty good job of it.  No one holds us in esteem any more.  Our economy is still shaky at best.  He won't secure our defined borders.  He pits segments of the population against one another.  You read the headlines and they're filled with hate.  Really.  Hate.

There has long been a hue and cry about how we should not be the world's policemen.  Those who feel that way have gotten their wish and look at the results.  Now we're becoming the world's baby sitter.  Sure it's starting in a regionalized manner, but that's easily changed.  People from other countries can simply come through Central America.  It's thought, if not verified, that it is already happening.

In a perverse way of thinking, if this continues we'll slowly slide into a true third world country.  The president wants billions to fix a problem that is becoming a drain on the very economy that is to finance it.

We're not opening our doors to the best and the brightest.  We're opening it to the defenseless, sick and uneducated and are expected to care for them.

The Statue of Liberty welcomes immigrants to our shores with this ~ “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It was for people who dreamed of a better life willing to come legally, willing to work for that life.  It wasn't meant for thugs to dump kids who know no better into a strange land and life without any survival skills what-so-ever.

What is the government thinking with their pussy footing around the issue?  What possibly good end can come from the current situation? It's a travesty of monumental proportions!

The Militia Is Coming, The Militia Is Coming!

That's all we need! News has it a call has gone out for militia, both unarmed and armed, to gather along the border to help private land owners protect their property in something called Operation Save Our Borders.  Terrific!

Remember how well it went when militia turned out to help to  help Cliven Bundy in his fight over Federal grazing rights in Nevada?  It came within a hair's breadth of turning violent.

I really feel for the border towns who are the first line of defense in this skirmish against illegals.  They're literally out manned by sheer numbers not to mention problems involving crime and disease. It has gotten to the point where the government has sent buses to pick them up as they cross because Border Patrol vehicles can no longer manage the overload.

Interior towns where the government is trying to board them are also feeling the onslaught.  Now understand, no one wants any more harm to befall the kids than what they've already been through, but when it gets to the point of affecting our towns, their budgets and their citizens it's time to take swift and decisive action.

I have two suggestions.  Congress is dragging its feet on immigration reform.  The one thing they would appear to agree on is we must have a secure border.  Pass legislation so stating, send it to the Senate and let Harry Reid sit on it if he will, but pass it. Make it simple and doable within a specified time frame.  It won't solve the immediate problem but at least no one can then accuse the Republican House of doing nothing.

Suggestion number two is another Dogwalk solution.  It's so simple, it's legal and imminently doable.  Since the buses are already at the border, load them up by country of origin, bus them to Washington D.C. and let them out on the Embassy grounds of their respective countries.  Let them figure out how to clothe them, feed them, cure their ills ~ and send them home.

Immigration

Obama is on the verge of stealing the march on the Republicans on immigration.  The argument has been whether it should be one immense overhaul or done in increments.

We know the administration's track record on immense overhauls isn't very good.  We also know that the administration has quit enforcing laws already on the books which is partially responsible for the influx of children on our southern border. In other words a problem of Obama's own making.

You have to admit the President can be crafty.  In a fit of pique which is pretty normal for him, he's warned Congress he's going to make changes by executive order.  Take people posted inland and move them to the border to spiff up enforcement. Why he hasn't done this a long time ago begs to be questioned.

No matter.  He's saying he's going to do it now.  He might actually get away with it and emerge the hero if he doesn't overstep as he is wont to do.

So where are the Republicans?  They haven't passed one bill on immigration reform.  Boehner won't bring one to the floor.  Shades of Harry Reid in the Senate.  If he's worried about the Tea Party he can move on now.  The primaries are over.  But nary a word.  Of course between now and the election the House won't be in session long enough to do much of anything for which we can be grateful.

The don't have to do much though.  Pass one bill, say strengthening the southern border as Obama intends.  Send it to the Senate and see what happens.  Then they've at least done something.

Now that the primaries are over and the Tea Party threat has subsided to a degree, it would be nice to see the Republicans begin to form a cohesive unit.  The President is going to do what he wants  regardless, but they would do a lot to convince me they are worth fighting for if they gave me an option. On a whole slew of issues, not just immigration, but so far I have nothing but a blank slate.

As of now they're no more than empty suits earning substantial salaries with cushy benefits for doing little more than cowering behind empty rhetoric. They are nearly as impotent on domestic issues as Obama is on foreign ones.  That's no compliment for either side.

Immigration Reform - "If I Only Had A Brain!"

The fight over immigration reform rages.  The Senate wants comprehensive reform - to tackle the issue in one fell swoop.  The House wants to take it in increments.  The latter makes more sense to me.  At least there is a fighting chance we'll know who sticks the pork where.

One of the biggest fights is whether we should make those illegals legal including a path to citizenship first or secure the border.  I'd suggest neither.  My idea which would never be implemented would be that no one who entered the country illegally shall ever have the privilege of being a citizen.  Legal yes, citizen - no.  That's the price. Actions have consequences.  But that's hardly the end of it. There are those, fully one third of the estimated 11 million illegals, who came here legally.

Having said that it seems to me no one is looking at the issue from the right perspective. First of all, no one should be looking at immigration reform as a way to get votes.  That's about as self serving as you can get and a large part of what's wrong with  the country today.  The law makers are self serving.  They don't care about the immigrants, only the way they may vote. They've made that abundantly clear.

It comes to light in one of those now famous audits that come about too infrequently that the Department of Homeland Security has lost track of 1 million people it knows entered the country.  They have no idea where they are now.  Still here?  Have they returned home?  This is ridiculous.  All the special visas in the world that allow people to enter the country legally aren't worth squat when it's so easy to over stay knowing the likelihood of getting caught is slim to none! We have nothing in place to track them.  Until that glaring gap in the system is closed what's the point of everything else?

Those who cross illegally will remain a problem until guest worker programs are put in place but so far Homeland Security has done nothing other than push back deadlines for even coming up with a plan as to how to do it.  We're supposed to feel good because the figure is down to 1million from 1.6 million two years ago?  One million is a lot of people!

It seems no one is utilizing brain power here all for the sake of votes.  I would think the money used for the purchase of 40 million rounds of hollow point ammo per year might have bought some brain power but then that's a pretty tall order in of itself.  They'd need to do brain replacements or enhancements not only for Homeland Security officials but for all of Congress as well! The Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow could have done better.

The Hypocrisy Of Immigration Reform

Does Congress really wonder why the voters have such a low opinion of them?  Just look at the Immigration Bill. It's at 1200 pages and counting.

Remember Obamacare? The legislation no one read in it's entirety before voting on it?  Remember the special exemptions that were made to get crucial votes?  Fortunately many were backtracked, but never-the-less, the offers were made and initially accepted.  Forcing many into legislation they didn't want any part of while those lucky enough to have a Senator who resisted were exempted.  Bah!

You'd think there would be a few in leadership who understand that these comprehensive bills just don't work.  Better no bill than a bad one, especially when the President threatens to veto anything but the bad one.

This is a bill being formulated for a host of wrong reasons.  It shouldn't be about getting the Hispanic vote nor  cheap labor.  It should be about fixing the incredible holes in our current system along with ways to attract the most able of people who wish to come to this country.

The way it's being presented by the media is that it's a fight with the illegal migrant workers trying to sneak into the country. So build more fence, hire more border patrol and incorporate more electronic devices and drones.  At the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security.  Rubio says he would take this out.  He hasn't.  And Madam Secretary thinks the border is already secure.

You'd think the idea that people come into this country perfectly legally and over stay their visas never occurred to them.  What kind of system has one way tracking? Well, ours does. Do these people give a whit about becoming citizens?  Probably not. The bigger question then would be what do they want?   And where have they gone.

 And that employers that don't use e-verify can be punished.  What's the point of having it if employers who don't abide by it go scott free?

Perhaps the most irritating of all is the hypocrisy of some of the "bipartisan" gang of eight who have added pork to favor their constituents,  Big names.  Lindsey Graham, R-SC, more visas for the meat industry in his state.  Marco Rubio, R-FL, of all people, added additional visas for cruise ship workers in his state.  Not to leave out the Democrats there is Chuck Schummer, D-NY, adding visas for Irish workers.  Irish workers??  Because NY has a lot of them?  Please!

Then too, others that have jumped on the pork mobile include Harry Reid, D-NV, we all know him, allowing the Secretary of the Treasury to  flood the travel industry with up to $100 million to promote travel in certain areas of the country with no cut off date.  You don't suppose that includes Las Vegas and Reno do you?

And to woo Alaska's Murkowski, D,  the bill has deemed seafood processing jobs to be shortage occupations allowing for low skilled cheap labor to be brought in.  Alaska will be the only state to have this privilege.

I won't even get into idiocy like genius visas that allow the likes of Piers Morgan entry.

Every time I see a glimmer of hope, these bone heads slip right back into their wayward mode.  They see nothing on the outside.  They hear nothing they don't want to hear. And they speak with forked tongues.  It's absolutely pathetic.

A V8 Moment On Illegal Aliens

I had a V8 moment this morning.  You know the commercial where someone whacks someone else on the head because they didn't have a V8?  That kind of moment.

When discussion turns to immigration and illegals most of the talk revolves around securing the borders and a path to citizenship. An article about a different approach that appeared in The Wall Street Journal  this morning got met to thinking. Are we really on the right track with this path to citizenship business.

The article suggest patterning reform after NAFTA, where goods from the United States, Canada and Mexico cross all borders with impunity.  Why not allow workers to do the same?

It's a good point.  Back when Reagan gave mass amnesty to 3 million illegals only 17% or 510,000 actually sought citizenship.  That means 2.5 million chose otherwise.  Today they estimate 11 million illegals are in the country and no one can agree what to do about it.

We have, in this country, a bad habit of making assumptions that don't necessarily pan out.  Like how  every country in the world wants a United States style democracy.  They don't.  The Middle East is a prime example.

Why then should we assume that every person who would like to come to this country to work wants to be a citizen? If there was a program that allowed them to cross borders freely with proper identification it would eliminate the need for them to criminalize themselves.  It would free up the border patrol from having to hunt them down and free up Janet's beds.  It would give the businesses that depend on migrant workers the work force they need without criminalizing themselves and would give Obama more of that revenue he so covets through their taxes.

If at some point if they want to apply for citizenship they go through the same procedure as every one else.  This isn't rocket science.  It's common sense!

Of course not all those who cross our borders are not so pure of heart, but dealing with them would be a whole lot easier. Those who want to remain citizens of their home country would be free to do so and if  they are seasonal workers they might be more likely to leave their families at home if they know they can rejoin them.

The EU operates in a similar manner and has found it far more workable than anticipated.  Low wage workers will no more take jobs from Americans then they do now.  Face it, we're lazy.  We won't do the grunt work. Yet the wages are more than they can earn in their home countries and offers them a legal opportunity to raise the standard of living of their families.  It could be win win.

I'll leave it to our erstwhile politicians to work out the details.  If they opt not to we should all whack them on the head and tell them to get that V8.  They'll be able to think more clearly than with three martinis in their systems.  Olives excepted.