Illegal Immigration

[Haggis@wk]

Yes...it is "Shovel Ready"...in fact the illegals are constantly digging tunnels underneath the fence to gain access to the US.

Dang! Another job that "Americans won't do"!!

[Shapley]

Darn straight! You'd think with all our technology and engineering know-how, we'd have built ten tunnels to Mexico for everyone they built to the U.S., but it isn't so...

[dai bread]

How far underground would you have to put your fence to stop them? Some distance, I would think. Still, some sheet piling might do the job.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

The most recent tunnel from Mexico was reinforced concrete, about 6' wide, by 6' high, by a half-mile long: it started inside a warehouse in Tijuana and ended in a warehouse in San Ysidro.

Those are some pretty high-tech shovels.

[Haggis@wk]

During an interview of Janet Napolitano on CNN this weekend, she blithely asserts that illegal immigration is not a criminal offense. No, really:

KING: A lot of Democrats in Congress want to you investigate [Joe Arpaio]. They think he is over the line. He says he is just enforcing the law and the problem is the federal government.
NAPOLITANO: Well, you know, Sheriff Joe, he is being very political in that statement, because he knows that there aren’t enough law enforcement officers, courtrooms or jail cells in the world to do what he is saying.

What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are exploiting human misery.
And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well.

That makes perfect sense, except for a troubling entry in the actual penal code,

8 USC Sec. 1325

(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts

Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

But of course Napolitano knows that illegal immigration is a crime. She and the administration she serves don’t want to enforce that law; they want to pretend it doesn’t exist.

The DHS seems a lot more concerned about the danger of American combat veterans returning home than they do illegal aliens crossing the borders, which speaks volumes about the political bent of the Obama administration.

I suspect another "amnesty" confrontation between the American people and the American government is coming, again, this summer

[Shapley]

If illegal immigration isn't a crime, shouldn't we call it something else?

[jamiebk]

If illegal immigration isn't a crime, shouldn't we call it something else?

They already do....They are now "undocumented Immigrants" I guess the "Illegal Alien" moniker upset too many of them.

[Shapley]

True, some use that term, but Janet Napolitano uses the upsetting term:

What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are exploiting human misery.
And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well.[/url]

There it is: Illegal labour, illegal workers. Illegal. But it's 'civil', in her book. She needs a different book.

I was curious as to how the distinction is drawn, so I looked it up:

What is the difference between a civil offense and a crime?

A civil offense is an infraction of a law that is not a crime. This may be something like a routine traffic offense such as speeding. The only penalty for a civil offense is a fine. A crime is a violation of the law that is punishable by a fine or a jail sentence. A Class Three or Class Four misdemeanor in Virginia is only punishable by a fine. These may be violations of noise ordinances or other offenses not involving injuries to other persons or their property. A Class One misdemeanor is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. A Class Two misdemeanors are punishable by 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Felonies are punishable by one or more years in prison and fines of up to $100,000.

But, as Haggis points out, entering the country other than by proscribed means is a crime, not a civil offense. I would expect the head of Homeland Security to know that.

[Haggis@wk]

Immigrant Unemployment at Record High

I'm afraid this is going to lead to another "protected class" of (illegal) Americans

[Haggis@wk]

Temporary Protected Status is for illegals who can't be deported because of emergency conditions — a hurricane destroyed their country's airport or a volcano buried their island in ash.

I’d seen immigrant groups demand the president use Temporary Protected Status to unilaterally give permanent amnesty to illegal aliens, granting them work authorization and Social Security numbers but I'd never seen any group demand TPS for all illegals, though, until I saw this, which lists the many ways the president could amnesty some or all illegal aliens on his own authority.

Obama has already used the EPA to circumvent Congress on coal-fired power plant when he knew he couldn’t get a favorable bill through.

As it becomes increasingly clear that no amnesty will be forthcoming from Congress this year, expect a rising chorus of demands from both the Left and the rope-selling Right that the president again circumvent the Congress and use his popularity to "fix" the immigration problem this way.

[dai bread]

"...the rope-selling Right" ????

[Shapley]

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress Is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

Certain people are angry that The US might protect its own borders, might make it harder
to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely.
Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests.

Let's say I break into your house.
Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave.
But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors. I've Done all the things you don't Like to do.
I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters:
You are Required to let me stay in your house.
You are Required to add me to your family's insurance plan.
You are Required to Educate my kids.
You are Required to Provide other benefits to me & to my family.
(my husband will do all of your yard work because he is also hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my RIGHT to be there.

It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. I'm a hard-working and honest, person, except for well, you know, I did break into your house.
And what a deal it is for me!!!
I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of cold, uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and bigoted behavior.

Oh yeah, I DEMAND that you learn MY LANGUAGE!!! So you can communicate with me.

Why can't people see how ridiculous this is?!

Only in America.

Origin unknown

[Haggis@wk]

"...the rope-selling Right" ????

Sorry Dai, didn't see this earlier. "rope selling" goes back to a quote by Lenin, "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."

Many Conservatives (me among them) feel that our self proclaimed leaders are so afraid of Obama's popularity that they won't disagree with him in public.

[piqaboo]

A certain generally very liberal teacher I know made the following proposal:
Children born in this country of illegally immigrated parents will be granted citizenship upon successful completion of one of two things:
high school (diploma)
boot camp

[BigJon@Work]

I like it Piq. The cost of becoming a citizen, if you are an illegal, should be high.

[Haggis@wk]

Your Tired, Your Poor, et al.


* America's first case of [url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091227/ap_on_he_me/as_med_when_drugs_stop_working_killer_tb;_ylt=Aij95N59GGPMf06D92Macm2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFkaTE2bjRjBHBvcwMxNDkEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9oZWFsdGgEc2xrA2ZpcnN0Y2FzZW9maA—]"extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis[/url]" (XXDR TB) has surfaced — "a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English." A TB doctor warns against crimethink: "It's not a foreign problem, you can't keep these TB patients out." Actually, this guy could very easily have been kept out. And this: "His treatment cost Florida taxpayers an estimated $500,000." And finally: "The last time doctors saw him, he was walking out of the sanitarium into south Florida's soupy heat." Think he went home once his visa expired? Me neither.

(apparently the link is too long for BB.com's software, you need to copy and paste it in)

* A "university" in California was selling student visas to enable people to come to the U.S. The school's founder has been arrested but, for some reason, the "students" aren't being prosecuted, though ICE assures us they'll be deported. Yeah, and I'll respect you in the morning.

* Under a new one-year pilot program, temporary workers leaving from two points in Arizona will now have to register their departure to make sure they don't overstay and become illegal aliens. Oh, you thought they had to do that already? Ha ha ha ha!

[Haggis@wk]

America's most famous illegal alien, Obama's Aunt Zeituni, testified today in Boston at her second-bite-of-the-apple asylum hearing. (Her first frivolous asylum request was rejected and she was ordered to leave in 2004 — an order she ignored.) Oh, and remember she's living on the taxpayers' dime in a public housing project. As our friend Michael Graham writes today:
She’s got a millionaire in the family right now, one who also happens to live in public housing, by the way. He’s got room, too. Worst case scenario, Joe Biden can bunk with Bo.
That is, until she's ordered deported — again. This time, maybe the Secret Service can give her a lift to the airport.

[piqaboo]

1)_ why did she get a second hearing? Clearly they know where she is, so why not bundle her on a plane?

2) why am I not hearing more about this on the radio? This should be raising hackles on supporters of both sides of the aisle.

[jamiebk]

We have 20,000,000 of these people in the US and we're worried about this one? A waste of time.

[piqaboo]

Its not her thats the worry. Its that she's the President's illegal alien.
It speaks volumes about his concern (or lack thereof) for upholding the law of the land when it impinges upon his own concerns.

We basted Carter because of Billy's tacky lifestyle choices. We basted Bush cause his college-attending daughters got a bit out of line.
We should let Obama go because his aunt is not only in the country illegally in the first place, but has stayed here in defiance of a direct & lawful order to leave?