On the Senate Immigration Bill
The Senate passed as slightly decent (which is the best we could probably hope for under the current leadership) immigration reform bill today, but you wouldn’t know it based on the rabid ranting of conservatives and newsmen alike. The one thing I’ve heard in every description of the bill is that it provides “amnesty” for illegal immigrants. Well, if this is “amnesty”, then we’re all screwed :
Those in the country unlawfully for five years or more would be permitted to remain, continue working and eventually apply for citizenship. They would be required to pay at least $3,250 in fines and fees, settle any back taxes and learn English.Illegal immigrants in the country for more than two years but less than five would be required to travel to a point of entry before re-entering the United States legally and beginning a lengthy process of seeking citizenship. They would be subject to the same fines, fees and other requirements as the longer-term immigrants.
An immigrant in the country illegally for less than two years would be required to leave with no guarantee of return.
Paying fines, back taxes, taking a background check (that wasn’t mentioned in the above article, but I’ve read elsewhere), being forced to learn English, and the possibility of becoming a citizen. How is that amnesty??? The very fact that there’s a fine involved means that this proposal is not amnesty. If it’s not harsh enough for the conservatives who want white people to have more babies, then that’s one thing, but calling this bill amnesty is clearly a lie.
The Senate bill also increases penalties against employers, but I still consider them a token gesture at best :
The Senate voted Tuesday to fine employers who hire illegal immigrants up to $20,000 for each unauthorized worker, putting teeth in a broad immigration bill before sending it to a final vote later this week.Employers would have to check Social Security numbers and the immigration status of all new hires within 18 months after money is provided to the Homeland Security Department to expand the electronic system for screening workers.
“This is probably the single most important thing we can do in terms of reducing the inflow of undocumented workers, making sure we can enforce, in a systematic way, rules governing who gets hired,” said Sen. Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois.
The amendment passed 58-40. Ohio Republican Mike DeWine voted for the amendment while Ohio Republican George V. Voinovich voted against it. Opponents said the verification system would take years to implement and complained that workers deemed illegal could still hold onto jobs until their appeals are exhausted.
First of all, a fine of $20K sounds good, but it’s an arbitrary number. If nothing else, the fine should have some relation to the amount of money that employers are saving by hiring illegal workers. I don’t know how feasable that would be, since you’d have to determine how much a given job would be paying in a job market with wages that aren’t being driven down by illegal workers, but I’d be willing to bet the total savings would still be above $20K. Background checks and social security number tracking would be even better, but it’s a moot point anyways.
The problem isn’t that there aren’t enough laws, but that the people in charge of enforcing the law don’t give a shit about immigration. If you care about immigration, you need to elect a government that shares your priorities. Based on the outcry and the last six years of government inaction, the American people are clearly ready for a change. The only question is what kind of change are we gonna get? The blind rage from the immigrant-bashing Lou Dobbs wing or a more thoughtful approach that recognizes that welcoming immigrants into our country doesn’t have to happen at the expense of border security or working class values.
So, this bill is far from perfect. It’s got that xenophobic and uncessessary “English as the national language” crap as well as a guest worker program (which I’ve complained about here before as “separate but equal” labor), but there’s a silver lining here. From what I’ve read, the House and Senate versions of “immigration reform” (aka. Panderfest ‘06) are so radically different that, if we’re lucky, this thing will probably get stuck in gridlock until after November. Seriously guys, do you really want the people who screwed up Iraq and New Orleans to bring their bold and decisive leadership to the border?
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Obama is an idiot and a Lieberman butt kisser, the new rising star of democrats is a falling star but don’t make a wish on him because it won’t come true.
This legislation is such immense malarkey as the illegal immigrants are still going to be getting screwed by places like Wal-Mart which when you consider the proposed building of a wall on the border will be changing their name to Wall-Mart.
This is probably going to get worse not better according to Dr. Naison a professor of history.
Dr. Naison is Professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham University. He is the author of Communists in Harlem During the Great Depression, White Boy: A Memoir, co-editor of The Tenant Movement in New York City, and over 100 articles on African American politics, social movements and American culture and sports. Dr. Naison is the Principal Investigator of the Bronx African American History Project.
As someone who has spent his adult life studying American labor history, I watch the unfolding of the current immigration debate with growing trepidation. As conservative demands for sealing of borders clash with the newly awakened immigrant community’s demands for amnesty and liberalized migration rules, I can’t help but think of a time after World War I when a nation panicked by the growing visibility and assertiveness of Southern and Eastern European immigrants passed the tightest immigration laws in the nation’s history.
I found the above informative link at an excellent new blog website by Les AuCoin
I think the thing to firmly keep in mind here is that big business controls congress and big business hires the illegal workers thus nothing substantial will change until big business is tossed out on its collective ass through meaningful election reform as in voter owned elections where no contributions are allowed from any company big or small or special interest groups or private citizens period. The monies to run elections should all come from money set aside in a special fund paid for by tax dollars thus removing the corrupting influence of entities like the oil companies.
The damage is already done, the rift has been created with another wedge issue, and congress does not have to pass any legislation as the mission is accomplished. They can put it off till November and they can put it off till 2050 it matters not because all that was required was the hysteria it has already generated.
Happy mid-term elections.
Comment by rob payne — May 26, 2006 @ 12:40 am
Republi-cons are ruining this country with their pro-slavery agenda. The big boys invest billions in emerging markets because they admire their free labor mindset. If they can get away with it in America somehow, they will. Hey, what if we allow a lot of slave wage workers to “sneak” into our country and drive the wages down? Let’s try it for a few years and see if we can get away with it. We’ll make up some crap about a war in Afganistan or Iraq if it’s easier to spell and nobody will ever notice! I bet the idea for snake oil came from these guys.
Comment by patrick — May 26, 2006 @ 7:08 am
Hmmm. I wonder what happens when these people cannot pay the back taxes and fines? Will they be thrown in jail or simply deported?
Comment by Kryten Syxx — May 26, 2006 @ 11:25 am
Crow eaten here:
I eat my words about Obama, today he was one of 15 democrats who voted against Hayden’s appointment. Maybe Obama is not so bad after all.
Comment by rob payne — May 26, 2006 @ 4:17 pm
AMERICA IS SHRINKING What we mistakenly call “The Illegal Alien Problem” is something far more serious. We are facing the most dangerous threat in the history of The United States, including Pearl Harbor and The Cuban Missile Crisis:
America is at war, a war that if lost would result in Mexico, Central America and
The United States eventually, blending into one big, unlivable 3rd world country.
…….will affect the lives of you and your friends and family’s future more than anything else (the gasoline crisis, crime in the streets, drugs, the war, etc) ever has and ever will. We, in the South West, are already being conquered and banished. You might not yet feel it, but believe us, it’s coming to your neighborhood
The historical goal and standard procedure of war is to Invade-Conquer-Annex-Banish-Rule.
1. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution was brutally suppressed by Soviet troops. About 50,000 Hungarian were
Killed, and nearly a quarter million left the country as refugees. Russia also conquered Czechoslovakia,
East Germany and Poland.
2. In1910 Japan formally annexes Korea.
3. Julius Caesar, the final dictator of the Republic of Rome, conquered lands as far as the eye could see.
4. Mexico is wageing war against The United States and The United States doesn’t even know it.
We feel that if there is no shooting there is no war. But this is a new day and a new kind of war. Since beginning around 1970 a mantra has been heard in the South Western United States over and over and over:
“The United States stole this land from mexico. And we are going to take
it back one house at a time, one street at a time, one block at a time.”
The mantra continues. The land grab continues. Cities in Arizona, Texas, California, New Mexico and Oklahoma have, for all practical purposes, already fallen. More will fall if we allow the politicians and the special interest groups to continue doing business as usual. Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
HEY GRINGO, PACK YOUR BAGS AND GET OUT
By Investigative Reporter
John Taft
April 25, 2006
NewsWithViews.com
“You (gringos) have spilled enough of our blood, now it’s your turn to bleed, you [expletive] sub-human beasts.” So said an editorial in the University of California Irvine’s Hispanic LaVoz Mestiza. Professor Gutierrez, employed by the University of Texas, founder of La Raza said, “We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him.” Now that isn’t very neighborly. A Chicano organization called MEChA wants to take over much of the US Southwest, an area they call Aztlan. Their motto: For the race everything. For those outside the race, nothing. Other similar groups include: The La Raza Unida Party, Brown Berets de Aztlan, OLA (Organization for the Liberation of Aztlan), and the Nation of Aztlan. These are radical organizations that can be found in many American high schools and most colleges. They hate America and love its enemies. They are brimming over with race hatred, anti-Semitism, and a history of communist leanings and communist support. They have an irrational anger aimed at their stupid benefactors. Recent mass marches have emboldened these people who do pose a real threat to this nation. Many are illegals and profess their allegiance not to the United States where they live, but to the authoritarian corrupt state of Mexico.
Why are these Chicano groups willing to use violence, kill the gringo, and steal his home and land? Here is what Lou Dobbs has to say: “There are some Mexican citizens and some Mexican -Americans who want to see California, New Mexico and other parts of the southwestern United States given over to Mexico. Judging by the recent filling of streets with anti US Mexican flag wavers. A revolution is taking place while the spectators watch
Mexico is not exporting its poor people army to America to immigrate into The United States.
They are coming, by the thousands. to occupy The United States. There are far more illegals than
the amnesty advocates want the American public to believe, closer to 22 million than 12 million.
Help spread the alarm. Where is Paul Revere when we need him, need him to ride and spread the alarm that the enemy is within, and very powerful: President Bush, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton; liberal Democrats hustling for Latino votes, conservative Republicans panhandling for campaign contributions, the Catholic Church needing new members, businesses that put business before all else, and an assortment of other very, very strange bedfellows. Fight back! We must out lobby the lobbyists! Telephone calls. Letters. E-mail.
The President has chosen to ignore the overwhelming majority of Americans. And members of the Senate
and the Congress have, as usual, put securing their plumb jobs before what’s best for the country. Due to the unprecedented danger that America is facing, this attitude borders on treasonous. If we allow them to let Mexico to continue to swallow up The United States, this could truly become AMERICAS LAST STAND.
AMERICAS LAST STAND
4714 Rodeo Lane #3
Los Angeles, CA. 90016
winsmos@yahoo.com
We are vets at the Brentwood California VA .Most from Viet Nam era. Most are in programs at least 3 days a week. Some live on campus, some don’t. All are on somewhat heavy medication for mental and emotional stability. Average income $840.00 non service connected, $2,400.00 service connected. We would like to see a million of this warnings sent out. Ten million wouldn’t hurt. Back to reality—we can afford to send out about 15 thousand. Cost of mailer: (copying, folding, mailing list, postage, paper, envelopes) 58 cents each, $ 58.00 uper hundred, $5,800.00 per ten thousand. Contributions are desperately needed, but contributions and distributing this alert is not enough. YOU must act! YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU And you means You! We are hoping that you can get your employer, your co-workers, your family and friends involved. But most of all, we hope that YOU get involved. You must. It’s critical. Mail or email your friends and contacts. Display on your web sight, with or without our solicitation information ; Donate money for mailing, any amount.
Hispanic radio stations: the POWER behind the illegal alien offensive*
Mecha: The architects behind the illegal alien offensive. MEChA is an acronym for “Movimiento Estudiantíl Chicano de Aztlán”–Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan. MEChA Calls for the Liberation of Aztlan. AZTLAN refers to the 7 U.S. southwestern states which MEChA claims were stolen from Mexico
.
The Enemy Within
MEChA has declared war on the United States, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. So far it has done this with impunity with the help of treacherous senators, congressmen, university officials, along with the enemies of this nation. MEChA is bold and aggressive using this nation’s economy, welfare programs, and its educational system. While filling their bellies and needs at the expense of the American taxpayer, they’re plotting the overthrow of this republic in broad daylight. Their plan EL PLAN DE AZTLÁN is available for all to read. It’s full of race hated, threats, and the use of their youth to commit revolutionary acts of violence against this nation and its people.
MEChA is appealing to all Hispanics to join their so- called revolution. The illegal aliens and lack of national border control are issues that are developing into a life or death struggle determining whether this republic shall endure as we have know it for the past 230 years. This is a threat with a potential that rivals Iran and radical Islam and it’s in our communities and cities across the nation. Our national leaders are turning their backs to this threat while smiling and looking for Hispanic votes. The illegal aliens are the grunts for an army of gorilla fighters MEChA and other Chicano groups would like to create. Amnesty will make no difference to them, for the beat of their drums will continue. With amnesty, millions more of Mexico’s poor and hungry will attempt to enter the US for a free ride on the backs of US taxpayers.
There are large numbers of Hispanics who are not integrating into this society. They are not learning English as shown by the number of Spanish radio stations, businesses that tell you to push one for Spanish or two for English, and bilingual schools. Whole communities, like Maywood, California, in Los Angeles are nearly 100 percent Hispanic. And their allegiance to a corrupt Mexico, though hard to understand, is obvious. This was demonstrated visually when Hispanics legal and illegals filled American streets with protestors wanting open boarders, and amnesty for illegals, while waving Mexican flags. There was a backlash to the Mexican flag waving, so now they wave American flags thinking to fool the watchers, thus making them hypocrites and deceivers.
One could reasonably ask why MEChA doesn’t make Mexico an economic powerhouse. The answer is easy; they are having so much success in the US, and they want to steal, like thieves in the night, the wealth of someone else’s hard work. The goose that lays the golden egg is in danger.
There is nothing cheap about illegals. California taxpayers paid an extra $9 billion in taxes to support illegals according to a 2004 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington, D.C. organization that endorses stricter immigration policies. Contributing to this expense are education at around $8 thousand per illegal child or those born to illegal parents, medical care, and prison costs. A similar study in 2004 by the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. claimed that illegal aliens cost the federal government $10 billion more than is collected in taxes from them. That includes $2.2 billion for medical care for uninsured illegal aliens. Another $1.9 billion goes to food assistance programs like food stamps and school lunch programs. Illegal immigrant children cost taxpayers $1.4 billion in aid to schools to help pay their costs. The states’ taxpayers carry the major part of the cost to care for the millions of illegals in this country. When schools ask for more money, ask how many illegals are in the classroom and if the citizenship of the parents and child was checked. The costs mentioned are disputed by others who claim the costs of illegals aliens is much higher.
Will You be Residing in Atzlan?
Professor Gutierrez’s dream of taking over the US Southwest (Atzlan) comes to pass, and you are his described devil having “Pale skin and blue eyes,” it appears he would like to have you eliminated or six feet under Atzlan. Mexico lost the war with the US in 1848, but in 2006 it’s winning the war of gaining what the illegals call Atzlan. (California and the Southwestern United States) The Mexicans also expect to gain control of some of the Midwestern states. Their plans are no secret, and they are changing the face of a nation with a massive silent invasion without a shot being fired. The facts show that this is being done with the implicit cooperation of President George Bush, who is touring Mexico and having two days of talks with President Vicente Fox. Is President Bush there at this time for instructions?
“California is going to be a Mexican state, we are going to control all the institutions. If people don’t like it they should leave.” Mario Obledo: 1998 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and former head of Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund MALDEF “In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal ‘gringo’ invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny.” from El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan (The Spiritual Plan oif Atzlan) one of MEChA’s founding documents. “Comprehensive policies…will require a fundamental shift …anchored in a new international imperative, the right of individuals to stay where they are.” -The Trilateral Commission “California is going to be a Hispanic state. Anyone who doesn’t like it should leave. Every constitutional office in California is going to be held by Hispanics in the next 20 years.” People who don’t like such demographic changes “should go back to Europe.” -Mario Obledo, founder, Mexican American Legal Defense Fund & former California Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Gov. Jerry Brown “I have proudly affirmed that the Mexican nation extends beyond the territory enclosed by its borders and that Mexican migrants are an important - a very important - part of this.” - Ernesto Zedillo, Former Mexican President ” The American Southwest seems to be slowly returning to the jurisdiction of Mexico without firing a single shot.” - Excelsior, Mexico’s national newspaper ” I have proudly affirmed that the Mexican nation extends beyond the territory enclosed by its borders and that Mexican migrants are an important - a very important - part of this.” - Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, Chicago, 1997 “In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal ‘gringo’ invasion of our territories, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land of Aztlan from whence came our forefathers, reclaiming the land of their birth and consecrating the determination of our people of the sun, declare that the call of our blood is our power, our responsibility, and our inevitable destiny.” - from El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan (The Spiritual Plan oif Atzlan) one of MEChA’s founding documents “On behalf of the Latino community, the term ‘illegal immigrant’ serves to dehumanize the person, makes them less than human. Similar to the way the n-word was used to dehumanize African-Americans.” -Illegal immigrant activist Jerry Gonzalez
ERIC KULLBERG Time is running out to turn the tide against illegal aliens coming into the United States. If the illegals are not stopped, this country will eventually be reduced to the status of a third world county and be an enclave of Mexico and Latin America with all its vices. If the 11 million illegal aliens are granted a John McCain (R-Az) amnesty pill, millions more will be ready to cross the border for jobs and the hope they too will be given amnesty. The reader can view the waffling Republicans who are ready to allow this scenario to happen by granting amnesty to illegals. The following site, Human Events, will allow the reader to tell the Senate Republicans who don’t want to follow their oaths of office what the reader thinks. Then see who the Ten Worst Border-Security Congressmen are. Maybe your Senator or Congressman could be one of these infamous Constitution thrashers.
“We Have Got to Kill Him” Professor Jose Angel Gutierrez
Poor border security has its effects which will eventually change the face of this nation and sooner than many think. The illegal aliens, students, and adults protesting stricter border laws are under the influence of radicals who wish to destroy the type of government the founding fathers gave this nation. Here is what a University of Texas professor and founder of the LaRaza political party has to say about his dream for the future of America and its Caucasian citizens. “We have an aging white America … They are dying …We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is if the worst comes to the worst, we have got to kill him.” Jose Angel Gutierrez. The professor uses the disparaging term “gringo,” used by Latin Americans for Americans and Englishmen. He wants to eliminate the gringo, and that appears to include murder to accomplish his ends. Gutierrez has attempted to explain away his use of “Gringo” and “kill” in the above statement. By reading his other statements it’s quite obvious that what he said he meant.
Amnesty for Illegals Equals Importing Poverty
In conclusion, why do Senators John McCain, Arlen Specter, and the many other amnesty granting senators have such contempt for the US Constitution? Why are they unwilling to enforce existing border protection laws? Why have they done this over the years? Why are they willing to give amnesty to 11 million illegal aliens when it will cost all Americans additional taxes to pay for their children’s schooling and reduce the national standard of living? Depending in which state you live, it generally costs $7-15 thousand dollars for a child’s tuition in public school. Multiply the cost to educate each child by an estimated 2 to 4 children in an illegal family. Include health care, and this amounts to a possible deficit of $40,000 for one illegal given amnesty. An illegal given amnesty may earn $20,000 annually. On an income of $20,000 the illegal granted amnesty will pay little in federal income tax. This is merely a case of giving amnesty to illegals and creating poverty for the nation. The illegals have a high birth rate which will continue, compounding the problem. This is all known to our liberal senators.
.
Comment by Americas Last Stand — May 26, 2006 @ 6:29 pm
Skillful cut and pastes ALaS, but (what) do you think?
Comment by me — May 26, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
yawn
Comment by rob payne — May 26, 2006 @ 7:53 pm
Wow. Who invited the tinfoil hat convention over here?
Comment by Michael — May 26, 2006 @ 8:35 pm
Well, while it’s no amnesty, I find the bill reasonable, except for the “learn English” part and also, I would make it so any Illegals living in America for less than 5 years go to the point of reentry and not limit to those living for less than 5 but more than 2.
Oh, and that fine for the employers? I’d raise it to $50,000.
Comment by Charles Brubaker — May 26, 2006 @ 8:50 pm
What matters it if the fine were one hundred thousand dollars if none of this is enforced as in now the case? One question might be if they have not enforced existing laws in the past what makes anyone believe they would enforce it in the future? And if there is no enforcement what is this legislation accomplishing? If you look at the hysterical post by America’s Last Stand above I think it is quite evident what this whole issue is about. It is a divisive issue meant by the republican congress to stir up racist sentiment in their base in order to retain their stranglehold on congress. And by the tone of ALS’s post above it seems to be working out quite well.
Comment by rob payne — May 26, 2006 @ 11:09 pm
Amnesty is when Ken Lay gets pardoned.
Comment by Becky — May 27, 2006 @ 7:32 am
Becky,
Ken Lay only got convicted for stock fraud but he walks on the 9 billion he soaked California and Texas for. Amnesty for Ken Lay would be Amnesty indeed, with a vengeance.
Comment by rob payne — May 27, 2006 @ 11:42 pm
The House Bill AND The Senate Bill must match for a law to be created to be signed in by the President. They are 180 degrees apart at this time. This is just playtime for Congress to avoid issues more pressing in nature. (war, spying, BUDGET, DEFICIT) Happy diversions.
Comment by Mike Meyer — May 28, 2006 @ 9:01 am
Good point Mike. We would not want to look at what is really important it might make us look bad, much better to manufacture phony issues.
Comment by rob payne — May 28, 2006 @ 4:00 pm
Off course it’s amnesty!
They’re breaking the law, and the ones who have broken it the longest get the best deal! No jail. No deportation.
They…broke…the…law.
So did the employers.
All deserve punishment.
Comment by jojo — May 30, 2006 @ 6:48 am
Off course it’s amnesty!
They’re breaking the law, and the ones who have broken it the longest get the best deal! No jail. No deportation.
They…broke…the…law.
So did the employers.
All deserve punishment.
Comment by jojo — May 30, 2006 @ 6:49 am
“SATAN, n.
One of the Creator’s lamentable mistakes, repented in sashcloth and axes. Being instated as an archangel, Satan made himself multifariously objectionable and was finally expelled from Heaven. Halfway in his descent he paused, bent his head in thought a moment and at last went back. “There is one favor that I should like to ask,” said he.
“Name it.”
“Man, I understand, is about to be created. He will need laws.”
“What, wretch! you his appointed adversary, charged from the dawn of eternity with hatred of his soul — you ask for the right to make his laws?”
“Pardon; what I have to ask is that he be permitted to make them himself.”
It was so ordered. ”
Ambrose Bierce
“Since taking office in 2001, President Bush has issued signing statements on more than 750 new laws, declaring that he has the power to set aside the laws when they conflict with his legal interpretation of the Constitution.
March 9: Justice Department officials must give reports to Congress by certain dates on how the FBI is using the USA Patriot Act to search homes and secretly seize papers.
Bush’s signing statement: The president can order Justice Department officials to withhold any information from Congress if he decides it could impair national security or executive branch operations.
Dec. 30, 2005: US interrogators cannot torture prisoners or otherwise subject them to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
Bush’s signing statement: The president, as commander in chief, can waive the torture ban if he decides that harsh interrogation techniques will assist in preventing terrorist attacks.
Dec. 30: When requested, scientific information ”prepared by government researchers and scientists shall be transmitted [to Congress] uncensored and without delay.”
Bush’s signing statement: The president can tell researchers to withhold any information from Congress if he decides its disclosure could impair foreign relations, national security, or the workings of the executive branch.
Aug. 8: The Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its contractors may not fire or otherwise punish an employee whistle-blower who tells Congress about possible wrongdoing.
Bush’s signing statement: The president or his appointees will determine whether employees of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can give information to Congress.
Dec. 23, 2004: Forbids US troops in Colombia from participating in any combat against rebels, except in cases of self-defense. Caps the number of US troops allowed in Colombia at 800.
Bush’s signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law ”as advisory in nature.
Aug. 5: The military cannot add to its files any illegally gathered intelligence, including information obtained about Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches.
Bush’s signing statement: Only the president, as commander in chief, can tell the military whether or not it can use any specific piece of intelligence.
Nov. 6, 2003: US officials in Iraq cannot prevent an inspector general for the Coalition Provisional Authority from carrying out any investigation. The inspector general must tell Congress if officials refuse to cooperate with his inquiries.
Bush’s signing statement: The inspector general ‘’shall refrain” from investigating anything involving sensitive plans, intelligence, national security, or anything already being investigated by the Pentagon. The inspector cannot tell Congress anything if the president decides that disclosing the information would impair foreign relations, national security, or executive branch operations.
Boston Globe
“Seriously guys, do you really want the people who screwed up Iraq and New Orleans to bring their bold and decisive leadership to the border?”
Greg
“Ummmmmmmmm….no.”
Rich
Comment by Richard — May 30, 2006 @ 8:53 pm
The great joy of incompetence IS incompetence. The border is managed as incompetently as possible (maybe room for worse) at this time. This issue is just to occupy our idle moments and doleful lives. It works as is and has for forty years, little if any thing will change.
Comment by Mike Meyer — June 1, 2006 @ 9:22 am
jojo has a good point. Deport the employers!
Comment by Joe — June 6, 2006 @ 1:58 pm