Showing posts with label Dream Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dream Act. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

An Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Top Five Best Places to Live In America

Well America, Just What You Have Been Waiting for!

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An Illegal Alien’s Guide to the Top Five Best Places to Live In America

When “relocating” to the United States, it’s best to avoid states that have selfishly put the interests of their legal residents ahead of yours with laws that hinder your access to jobs and benefits. But many attractive destinations remain, endorsed by millions of illegal aliens already living in each.

1. California

California’s state motto “Eureka” (I have found it!) aptly applies here. The state's population includes 3.2 million illegal aliens -- almost 24% of all illegal aliens in America -- have chosen the Golden State as their preferred domicile.

Despite its $26 billion budget deficit, the state spends $21.5 billion dollars annually subsidizing illegal alien health care, education, welfare, other state benefits and criminal justice. Every California native-born household chips in $2438 each year to help.

Unless you commit a violent felony, the state leaves you alone. Los Angeles Special Order 40 – a sanctuary policy that sets the tone statewide - prevents local officers from inquiring about your immigration status.

Many “visitors” head straight for Central Valley, which depends on a combination of immigration and irrigation to produce almost 8 percent of America’s total agricultural output. You’ll be in good company because more than half of the farm workers in California have no work authorization.

Of course don’t forget in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Take advantage of the Dream Act in a place that can only be described as the Dream State for Illegal Aliens.

2. Montgomery County, Maryland

If jobs are what attract you, then this upscale community close to our nation's capital offers the mother of all magnets.

The first step to getting a job is to visit a Casa De Maryland (CASA) Welcome Center. Their employment specialists help you find a job and don’t give a hoot about your legal status. They will even help you acquire an IRS-issued taxpayer identification number because, of course, you’re here illegally and not eligible for a real Social Security number. This powerful organization is truly the illegal alien Welcome Wagon with $16 million in assets, $4.9M of it acquired in 2010 from government contracts!

Don’t worry about Secure Communities because the County recently opposed its implementation. And for college-bound illegal aliens, take advantage of in-state-tuition now that the state passed the Maryland Dream Act.

3. Washington State

There’s nothing like a valid driver’s license in your hip pocket to help you navigate the U.S. at will.

Most states require you to present your Social Security Number (SSN) to get one. Washington has made an exception. If you don’t already have a fake SSN – or aren’t “borrowing” one from a U.S. citizen – simply sign a form and bring a utility bill along to prove you’re living in the Evergreen State.

Don’t have a utility bill? Washington accepts Mexican MatrĂ­cula Consular ID cards as proof of identification. The state is not concerned with FBI and Department of Justice warnings that the cards are not reliable forms of ID and pose “major criminal and potential terrorist threats.”

Don’t even have a consular card? That’s even easier than getting a driver’s license. Visit the Mexican Consulate in Seattle and bring a birth certificate (they’re not concerned about whose it is) and proof of address.

Is this a great state or what?

4. Chicago - All of Illinois too!

The Beatles may have had you and Chicago -- the whole state even -- in mind when they sang "I get by with a little help from my friends.” Local politicians will entice you, excuse you, and if you don’t mind terribly, use you.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is a good friend of illegal aliens and a stalwart supporter of the DREAM Act.

U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez is your other friend. He’s on record saying, “I have only one loyalty, and that’s to the immigrant community.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is also on your team. He recently told the federal government that Illinois will not participate in Secure Communities.

What does remain is Chicago’s sanctuary city policy. You won’t be asked any questions if you keep out of trouble but should you get jailed, no one will check your immigration status even when you’re in custody.

Finally, Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emmanuel understands your needs; he used to be President Obama’s Chief of Staff. He’ll do what he can locally to continue the president’s agenda of dismantling of immigration enforcement.

Of course you’ll be expected to vote for all these folks once they figure out a way to make you legal but you'll get used to it, quid-pro-quo voting is a Chicago-style tradition.

5. New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is what its name implies – a haven for illegal aliens. You won’t need to fuss with legal documents like driver’s licenses, social security card, Green Card, visa or passport; there is a card just for you. In 2007, this town became the first in the country to offer ID cards to residents, “regardless of age or immigration status."

The most useful aspect of having one of these cards is that it allows you to open a bank account and deposit money from the job you’re working -- without legal authorization.

Interestingly, the New Haven ID card has embedded holograms so that no one can ever steal your identity. Yale’s hometown has thought of everything right down to making sure no one in town ever has a phony illegal alien ID card.

Final Tip

Given that the citizens of these destinations keep voting for politicians who enact policies that welcome illegal immigration, we’re certain they’ll be pleased by your arrival.

Bob Dane is Communications Director for FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Kristen Williamson is Communications Assistant for FAIR.

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A Country that does not value its sovereignty and secure its borders, soon will not be a Country!!

RELATED STORIES
Dems Push Ahead With DREAM Act, as ICE Offers New Guidelines for Illegal Immigrant Cases
Ex-DC journalist says he's an illegal immigrant
Illegal immigrant youth 'come out' in reform push

Source: http://tinyurl.com/429aqzg

Sunday, May 22, 2011

20 MILLION illegals (including criminals) Getting American citizenship… If We Don’t Stand Up!

 20 MILLION illegals (including criminals) Getting American citizenship!

Are you prepared for Obama to grant over 20 MILLION illegals (including dangerous criminals) American citizenship? You better be -- or you better be prepared to ACT NOW to stop it. Because TODAY, Obama is holding meetings that could determine if each and every illegal alien will be granted amnesty!

Right now, Washington is buzzing with the rumors that Obama is planning to circumvent Congress enacting stroke-of-the-pen AMNESTY for ALL illegal aliens in the United States via Executive Orders and Administrative Directives! Obama will once more defy the majority of Americans and DICTATE his narcissistic brand of tyrannical "democratic socialism" that I like to call OBAMALISM -- doing the exact opposite of what the people demand. This is an overt violation of the Constitution!

I urge you today to fill out the electronic AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM -- right away!

Please, do it now. This is extremely urgent.

Your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM will DEMAND that Congress stop Barack Obama from sneaking his amnesty plans past Congress.

Obama WILL issue his plan via "Executive Orders" to bypass Congress! You see, despite what he claims, Obama hates being "transparent." He loves to weasel his fanatical ideas right past everybody -- before people like you and me have the chance to stop him.

BUT NOT THIS TIME! THIS IS OUR CHANCE AND WE WILL STOP HIM! We will not let Obama get away with putting our safety in jeopardy while he turns a blind eye to the real problems in our country.

So far, Congress has blocked Obama's freedom crushing plans. But, by abusing the "Executive Order" loop-hole, he can get away with giving illegal aliens a free pass into our country without even going to the Congress first.

That is -- unless the Congress stops him dead in his tracks!

And without your help now, along with the help of thousands of other vigilant and informed citizen voters, Congress won't act to defend the integrity of American citizenship. Contrary to what they might believe, the truth is this: Congress works for us. And we won't rest until they're WORKING HARD to stop Obama's assault on our Constitution.

Your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM will urge Congress to:

1. EXPOSE Obama's planned use of his Executive powers to give Amnesty to over 20 million illegals.

2. PUBLICLY DENOUNCE Obama's back door immigration plans that threaten our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our institutions of ordered liberty.

3. LEAD A BATTLE in Congress to void each and every pro-illegal immigration Executive Order and Directive that Barack Obama issues.

At this very moment, the White House staffs, along with radical pro-immigration groups, are working overtime on scores of Amnesty proposals that Obama could enact by Executive Order -- at any minute!

According to a well-placed Homeland Security Administrator (who obviously prefers to remain anonymous), "The plan is to incrementally remove all obstacles for immigration reform without a public debate." The confidential source said, "Amnesty is a 100% done deal already."

Obama and the Democrats have already put the Amnesty wheels in motion as orders are out to scuttle ICE raids of companies hiring illegal workers, removing key elements of 287G policies that give local law enforcement the ability to arrest illegal aliens. And that's not all. The liberals have already set the stage for the intake processing of the illegal alien population in order to grant mass AMNESTY TO MILLIONS OF NEW ILLEGAL "CITIZENS" IN TIME FOR THE 2012 GENERAL ELECTION.

Obama has directed the Department of Homeland Security to enact an AMNESTY program. U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has circulated a shocking Memorandum defining the details of the DHS plan to circumvent Congressional Authorization.

In summary it says, "In the absence of Comprehensive Immigration Reform [AKA AMNESTY], USCIS can extend benefits and/or protections to... applicants who entered the United States without inspection... and would allow thousands [likely millions] to become lawful residents... individual applicants deemed inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act having entered without inspection [AKA ILLEGALLY]... the USCIS could grant 'parole-in-place' [AKA AMNESTY]."

The message is clear: unless you and I compel Congress to act TODAY, Amnesty for illegals will soon be Executive Ordered by Barack Obama.

But, Congress can pull the plug on Obama's ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL scheme and stop him.

So again, please sign your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM today.

You MUST tell Congress to be FORCEFUL in furiously rejecting this strategy by the Obama and his rogue Administration. Congress MUST do everything within their power to stop the President from ignoring the laws of the land. And they MUST hold him accountable to Americans -- not illegals.

Obama is testing the waters right now. But you only have to ask yourself one question. Is this President, and is this government capable of doing something so profoundly in violation of the spirit and letter of the U.S. Constitution?

The answer is a resounding YES! Obama will do anything to bypass the Senate, just like he did when he had Pelosi and Reid cut DEALS to railroad OBAMACARE through bypassing a final Senate vote.

Executive Orders have been abused in the past to create laws, even though law-making is CONSTITUTIONALLY reserved through the power of the people's representatives: Congress.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it grant this power to the president under Executive Orders. Executive Orders are a favorite tactic of presidents who care little for the Constitution, and willfully abuse and exploit their power over the American people.

Believe me, Obama fits that profile, and has and will use an Executive Order to deliberately and purposefully abuse and exploit his power.

FDR used an unconstitutional Executive Order during World War II to put Japanese Americans into detention camps! Don't let Obama abuse an administrative instrument to destroy this country today!

Help us mobilize common sense, patriotic Americans against this travesty! The Obama Administration's plan for mass Amnesty MUST BE STOPPED!!

I urge you today to fill out the electronic AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM -- right away!

Thanks to Americans like you, who care about the safety and future of our country, there is mounting pressure to stop Obama. But it will take the lead of an emboldened Senate to turn up the pressure. THEY MUST HEAR LOUDLY FROM PATRIOTS LIKE YOU!

Please do not assume that the deceitful Obama Administration and their radical allies in the media will report any of what you are reading right now. They want to keep Americans ignorant and in the dark -- while they work behind the scenes to give over 20 million illegals, including dangerous and violent criminals, American citizenships.

Unless Congress steps in, the White House will ruthlessly advance their plan to hand out American citizenships to everyone who breaks the law and crosses our borders illegally.

And unless you and I act today, Barack Obama with the stroke of his presidential pen, could get away with opening our borders to a GREATER tidal wave of illegal aliens than we are already struggling to contain.

You and I can stop Obama's treacherous and dangerous Amnesty scheme by signing your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM.

We must DEMAND Congress fight tooth and nail to stop Obama's Executive Order game plan. Then we must create a grassroots uprising of Americans willing to back our stand.

That's why I'm counting on you to sign your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM...

...And if you can afford it, please generously give a contribution of $20, $30, $50, $100 or more to Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project to get this word out to your fellow Americans!

In fact, my staff has estimated it could take a minimum of 1 to 2 MILLION Injunctions to have a real impact on Capitol Hill.

And, at roughly 36 cents apiece, it will cost us more than $355,000 to distribute and deliver this minimum amount.

What's more, we will need funds above and beyond this amount to help make our case on radio, TV, in newspapers and on the Internet.

But the threat is very real, and we MUST ACT.

So please sign your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM today!

But remember, your AMNESTY INJUNCTION FORM alone will be invaluable. ACT NOW!

Sincerely Yours For America,

Carmen Mercer
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project

P.S. Please, remember what is at stake -- the security, the safety, the sovereignty, the prosperity -- very possibly the very survival of not just Americans along our increasingly embattled border, but America herself.

For more information go to www.MinutemanHQ.com

To donate by check, please send to:
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project
P.O. Box 1310
Herndon, VA 20172

Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Project is a project of the Declaration Alliance -- a public policy and issues advocacy organization that aggressively addresses the intensifying assaults that the American Republic continues to endure -- at home, and abroad.
Declaration Alliance is a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit, tax exempt organization

Obama’s Latest Stealth Amnesty

by Ben Johnson =  Floyd Reports  - Archive from Aug 2010, the plan has not changed… it just evolves

Although a large majority of Americans support enforcing immigration law, the Obama administration has undertaken a series of steps to impose amnesty upon the country by fiat. Administration officials are largely ignoring the law, forbidding local officers from keeping their communities safe, and preparing a federally imposed plan of amnesty without a single representative voting on it – all to secure a loyal Democratic voting bloc.

Part of Barack Obama’s plan to “fundamentally transform” the American electorate is to admit as many illegal aliens as possible, and then grant them amnesty. Since Arizona passed S.B. 1070 to enforce federal immigration law against the president’s targeted demographic, the Obama administration has sued the state and legally harassed Sheriff Joe Arpaio for “racially profiling” illegal aliens on the Mexican border. The bill requires the illegals be stopped for some other violation, such as a traffic violation.

Not surprisingly, a new draft memo has appeared instructing all law enforcement – including any “state, local, or tribal officer” – that no one “should not issue detainers against an alien charged only with a traffic-related misdemeanor.” These stops often net one or more illegal immigrants. Now, the policeman can only arrest a suspect if he commits some other crime – like, perhaps, killing him. That’s what happened to Deputy Frank Fabiano Jr. of Kenosha County, Wisconsin, during a routine traffic stop in 2007. His murderer, Ezeiquel Lopez-Quintero, was an illegal with four prior arrests. The federal statute would gut the popular Arizona law and any similar bill passed by another state.

If such cases make it to court, Obama simply drops them. The Department of Homeland Security made headlines just today when word leaked the agency was systematically dismissing “thousands” of deportation cases pending against illegal immigrants nationwide – 2,500 in Houston alone. Last week, John Morton wrote a memo that could let off as many as 17,000 illegals who are related to American citizens.

Also today, DHS gave the word that Secretary Janet Napolitano is likely to ignore a congressionally mandated program to assure legal immigrants do not overstay their visas by fingerprinting them as they leave. Some 40-45 percent of all illegal immigrants – that is, 6-10 million people – have entered the country this way.

These stealth amnesty measures for traffic violators and visa-holders should ring an eerie echo for all Americans. Six of the 9/11 hijackers overstayed their visas, and two were stopped for a non-violent traffic arrest.

Although some of the hijackers arrived on student visas, the Obama administration has also exempted all otherwise-law abiding illegals of college age. The New York Times reported that the government has stopped deporting young illegals earlier this month – an exemption thatapplies to 726,000 people. Why? Tuscon’s KGUN-TV reports the case of Marlen Moreno, a woman brought to America illegally as a young girl who was about to be deported. Instead, Napolitano allowed her to stay an extra year:

The reason: If passed, she would be eligible for the DREAM act.

The DREAM Act allows illegals who complete two years of college or receive an honorable discharge to receive amnesty. Although the bill has not passed, and admitting thousands of poorly educated young people into underfunded colleges would have disastrous effects on higher education, Obama is keeping these illegals on hand in case the Democratic majority rams it through during a lame duck session.

Amnesty may come even if Congress does nothing. In June, the Center for Immigration Studiesobtained a memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that threatened to imposeamnesty by fiat. It discussed “meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action” by “issuing new guidance and regulations, exercising discretion with regard to parole-in-place, deferred action” and “process improvements.” Although Obama administration officials insist the memo was merely a “draft” that somehow got put together – a creative, amnesty-granting snafu – former Bush administration officials who were part of behind-the-scenes talks vouch that the fascist plan is on the table.

It is no wonder the ICE union passed a vote of no confidence against John Morton, who is in charge of (non-)enforcement. Obama appointed Harold Hurtt head of ICE’s “state and local coordination” office, although Hurtt is an advocate of sanctuary cities and an opponent of local immigration enforcement.

Obama is stalling immigration’s enforcement and prevention machinery in hopes of legalizing the alien population and turning them into loyal Democratic voters.

Although 68 percent of Americans support building a border fence, the federal government has built only half of the 700-mile fence authorized in 2006 – at least, only half is an actual fence. An additional 300 miles of “fence” stop automobiles but not humans. Some of the fence is“wildlife friendly” – allowing animals and humans to cross. One such stretch borders the farm of Robert Krentz, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien in March.

Some of his defenders point to the fact that fines on employers are up – a welcome development – tripling to $3 million. However, Fox News found “arrests and deportations of illegals taken into custody at work sites plummeted by more than 80 percent from the last year of the Bush administration.” Coincidentally, this strategy raises much-needed funds for Obama’s Big Government schemes while leaving illegal immigrants free to wait for amnesty.

Despite media reports of record-breaking enforcement, experts find deportations have fallen for the first time since 2002.

Pretenses of “cracking down on the border” are Obama’s way of quelling unrest so he can pass “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” President George W. Bush did the same thing the last two years of his presidency. In fact, the Secure Communities program responsible for the majority of Obama’s deportations this year began in 2007 under Bush.

ICE is ignoring the will of the people because 67 percent of Hispanics voted for Barack Obama in 2008. So did 79 percent of Hispanic youth – the beneficiaries of the DREAM Act. If they were citizens, their sheer numbers would swallow up many bastions of traditional conservatism, and their voting patterns would ensure a left-wing majority for decades to come. No wonder the Center for Immigration Studies is hosting a conference asking, “Can Conservatism Survive Mass Immigration?”

The better question is, Can America survive Obama?

Monday, December 20, 2010

Update: A procedural note about H.R. 5281 and the DREAM Act

by Michelle Malkin on Monday, December 20, 2010 at 9:57am

There is a bit of confusion on the Internet that needs to be cleared up about the Democrats’ plans for the DREAM Act.

A number of readers have pointed to a weekend post at FreeRepublic.com warning that the DREAM Act is “hidden” in another bill, H.R. 5281.

Senate staff explained to me today that DREAM was passed as an amendment to HR 5281 in the House and it was sent over as a “message,” which gave it privileged status so the Senate didn’t have to vote on a motion to proceed (simply a cloture vote). My Senate staff source added that it essentially gave the Democrats an avenue to bypass a procedural hurdle in the Senate, but since the Senate failed to proceed to the 3rd amendment (the DREAM Act), it is dead and HR 5281 does not include it.

All that said, as you know from my longtime coverage of the open-borders lobby, they never give up.

I’ve been using this Bush 43-era graphic of the night of the living shamnesty with good reason for years:

So while the Senate cloture vote on Saturday killed the stand-alone DREAM Act yet again, no doubt it will be back in some form or another. As I pointed out over the weekend, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell’s troubling remark that the illegal alien student bailout “should be dealt with next year” opens the door for a Republican version of the bill that forced retiree Utah Sen. Bob Bennetttelegraphed last week.

Remember: There are soft-on-illegal-immigration radicals in both parties. Whatever election-year lip service they might pay to border enforcement, none can be trusted to do the right thing without your constant bucking up.

Vigilance.

***

Be sure to send a special message of thanks to GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions for his stalwart opposition and leadership in stopping another down payment on amnesty.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

A Morning of Victories… and Success

DREAM Act Dies in Senate

AP The weeks of rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins and the thousands of phone calls placed to Senate offices didn't pay off for immigration activists.The decade-old DREAM

Act once again failed to break a filibuster in the Senate on Saturday morning, effectively killing the bill this year and shutting the door on what perhaps was the last chance for pro-immigration reform legislation until at least the 2012 election.

Senate Democrats came up five votes short of the 60 needed to advance the House-passed bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for up to illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years. The 55-41 vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats — perhaps fearful of their 2012 election outlook — also voted against the DREAM Act.

This latest vote really didn't have a chance in the current political climate, which has moved decidedly against liberalizing immigration laws in recent years.

The DREAM Act’s defeat was a resounding victory for conservatives who have denounced the bill as a mass amnesty plan, and a blow for top Senate Democrats and the Obama administration who enlisted a half dozen cabinet secretaries to lobby undecided lawmakers and embark on a media blitz, highlighting that the bill would send more people to college, boost military recruitment and help the economy.

“This bill is a law that at its fundamental core is a reward for illegal activity,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on the floor an hour before the vote. “It’s the third time we’ve tried to schedule a vote on it during this lame-duck session. It’s the fifth version of this legislation that has been introduced in the past five months.”

In the final minutes before the vote, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin pleaded with his colleagues from the floor to vote for the DREAM Act — or as he described it, an act of "political courage."

“Many of you have told me that you’re lying awake at night, tossing and turning over this vote, because you know how hard it’s going to be politically, that some people will use it against you,” Durbin said. “But I might say, if you can summon the courage to vote for the DREAM Act today, you will join ranks with senators before you, who came to the floor of these United States and made history with their courage. Who stood up and said the cause of justice is worth the political risk.”

After years of Congress failing to deal with the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants, Hispanic leaders and immigration activists expressed frustration at the vote, vowing to target senators who cast no votes in 2012 and future elections.

For the lawmakers who voted against the bill, “it will be a defining vote in their career,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrant advocacy group which has been fighting for the DREAM Act.

“They’re standing at the schoolhouse door, saying no to the best and the brightest of the Latino immigrant community,” he said, “and they will have a lot of explaining to do if they run for reelection or aspire to higher office.”

Democrats in recent days had brought forth immigrants who might benefit from the legislation to tell their personal stories, but the odds were stacked against the DREAM Act going into the vote on Saturday.


Julieta Garibay, an activist with the United We Dream Network, emigrated from Mexico City when she was 12. Now 30, Garibay said she is bilingual and received a master’s degree in nursing yet hasn’t been able to find a good job because of her undocumented status.

“It’s very disappointing. You work so hard for your degree, and then you just need to put it on hold. It’s no longer a matter of politics. These are lives, and this is my future,” said Garibay, who recently traveled to the Capitol from her home in Austin, Texas. “We’re going to remember who voted against us and we’re going to hold them accountable. It’s been enough talk, it’s been enough promises and compromises.”

The version of the DREAM Act considered by the Senate on Saturday was more narrowly tailored in an effort to appeal to moderate Democrats and Republicans. Those eligible for conditional legal status must have come to the U.S. before the age of 16, be under the age of 30, have lived in the country for five consecutive years, pass a criminal background test and have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Under the bill, children who were brought to the country illegally who go to college or sign up for the military for two years could receive permanent residency after 10 years.

But Sessions and other critics maligned the bill for weeks, saying it would offer amnesty to up to two million illegal immigrants and add billions of dollars to the federal deficit in the long term. They also complained that there were loopholes. For example, the bill doesn’t require beneficiaries to graduate from college and allows those who have committed up to two misdemeanor crimes to be eligible.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, first introduced in 2001 by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), initially received bipartisan support. But Republicans have mostly abandoned the legislation in recent years as the conservative wing of the party gained greater influence.

The Senate in September tried to pass the measure as part of a broader defense policy bill, but the effort was filibustered by Republicans. The Democratic-controlled House breathed new life into the legislation last week when it passed a standalone bill 216-198, but few expected the bill to attract a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.

Beginning next month, as the GOP grabs control of the House and more seats in the Senate, pro-immigrant measures will have even a more difficult time advancing.

But Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said this year’s fight for the DREAM Act have rallied conservative religious leaders, labor groups and mainstream celebrities behind a single cause.

In recent days, actress Jessica Alba, comedian Margaret Cho and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz have spoken in favor of the DREAM Act.

“While legislative votes did not move, it’s clear the country is moving in the direction of immigration reform,” Noorani said.

“This vote is the World Cup of immigration votes for the immigrant community,” he said, “and I think it’s going to be very clear for Latinos, Asians and other immigrant voters who voted for the DREAM Act and against the DREAM act, and the community will make a decision along those lines in 2012.”

Source:  Politico

In a 55-41 vote, the Senate voted down the House version of the DREAM Act (H.R.5281). Sixty Senators were required to end debate on this bill, and in the end, amnesty supporters came up five short. Thanks to all of FAIR’s members, activists and supporters who over the past days and weeks contacted their Senators and urged them to oppose this bad legislation and bad public policy. There is no doubt that grassroots activism was the key to this win!

Notably, several Senators switched their votes since the last time the Senate voted on the DREAM Act in 2007 (S.2205). Senators Murkowski, Landrieu, Conrad, Dorgan, and McCaskill all voted no in 2007, but voted yes today. Others, such as Senators Brownback, Nelson (NE), Collins, and Snowe voted yes in 2007, but voted no today. Four Senators did not vote.

To see how your Senators voted, click here. FAIR will report more on this weekend’s vote in Monday’s Legislative Update. FAIR

“Others say this vote is proof that the political wind has changed directions and that the American people are ready to stand-up, not only in this arena but against the entire Progressive Global Agenda!”

AFTER NATIONAL OUTCRY, FED REVERSES ANTI-CHRISTIAN BANK DECISION IN OK

The Federal Reserve has reversed its decision that originally forced a small Oklahoma bank to remove from its premises and website Bible verses, crosses, and Christmas buttons. The reversal occurred after national outcry and a letter from two Oklahoma lawmakers who charged that the decision may be unconstitutional.

Feds Reverse Anti-Christian… Anti-Freedom Ruling

Video:  Feds Change Bank Ruling

(See our previous coverage of this story here and here.)

Sen Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) sent a joint letter to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday afternoon saying they have “seldom encountered a more alarming case of heavy-handed interpretation and enforcement of Federal regulations,” and charging the decision may be in violation of “fundamental Constitutional protections.”

The letter ended by demanding a response. That response came Friday afternoon, when the Federal Reserve’s second in command  contacted Payne County Bank president Lynn Kindler in Perkins, OK and told him he could once again display his Christian artifacts and Bible verses.

“The Federal Reserve restored everything on a permanent basis,” he told KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City. “It’s over. We can put everything back up the way it was and keep it there.”

Originally the Fed told the bank its Christian symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. The clause prohibits “… the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication… [that] express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion.” Fed examiners interpreted that to mean the bank’s overtly Christian messages could offend people of other faiths.

“This is an all out assault on the faith, values, and rights of the bank, its employees and the people of Perkins they serve,” Sen. Inhofe said in response. “It is absolutely ridiculous for the regulation to be interpreted this way, and it unduly discriminates against a persons faith in Christ and their Constitutionally protected freedom to publicaly express that faith.”

Rep. Lucas agreed: “The recent actions taken by the Federal Reserve at Payne County Bank are of great concern to me. I do not agree with its interpretation of Regulation B in this circumstance and believe that it infringes upon fundamental Constitutional rights afforded to all Americans.”

And whether or not the Fed agreed too, it acquiesced. That pleases Perkins citizens.

“I think that’s good,” local resident Bill Erwin told KOCO. “I don’t think they should have had to take it down,” added Carrie Kinsey.

 

AMELIA EARHART MYSTERY SOLVED? OKLA. LAB TESTING BONES FOUND ON PACIFIC ISLAND

After three small human bone fragments and other long-abandoned articles  were found on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific by a group dedicated to finding Amelia Earhart’s historic aircraft, speculation began to circulate Thursday as to whether the mystery surrounding the infamous disappearance of the world’s most famous female pilot may finally be laid to rest. The Associated Press reports that those tiny bones are now being studied in hopes of extracting DNA:

Earhart“There’s no guarantee,” said Ric Gillespie, director of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery in Delaware. “You only have to say you have a bone that may be human and may be linked to Earhart and people get excited. But it is true that if they can get DNA, and if they can match it to Amelia Earhart’s DNA, that’s pretty good.”

Lab officials said test results could take weeks or months.

The remains turned up in May and June at what seemed to be an abandoned campsite near where native work crews found skeletal remains in 1940. The pieces appear to be from a cervical bone, a neck bone and a finger.

But Gillespie offered a word of caution: The fragments could be from a turtle. They were found near a hollowed-out turtle shell that might have been used to collect rainwater, but there were no other turtle parts nearby.

“This site tells the story of how someone or some people attempted to live as castaways,” Gillespie said Friday in an interview. Bird and fish carcasses nearby suggested they were prepared and eaten by Westerners.

“These fish weren’t eaten like Pacific Islanders” eat fish, he said. …

Millions of dollars have been spent to figure out what happened to Earhart, who was legally declared dead by a California court in early 1939. Theories have included the official version — that her twin-engine Electra ran out of gas and crashed at sea — as well as the absurd, such as abduction by aliens, and Earhart living in New Jersey under an alias.

Amelia Earhart Found

Video: Amelia Earhart Mystery Solved?

The island lays on the course Earhart planned to follow from Lae, New Guinea, to Howland Island where she and navigator Fred Noonan had planned to refuel.  “It looks like she could have landed successfully on the reef surrounding the island,” Gillespie says.  Gillespie and others who have studied Earhart’s historic aviation career and last-known facts of her life believe she and Noonan may have survived on the island and lived for some time on scant food and rainwater.

In the last seven decades, the island has produced suggestive evidence, including human bones and sextant found just three years after Earhart vanished.  Those remains, however, were lost before the advent of DNA technology could identify them.

As Gillespie and other wait with bated breath, the University of Oklahoma’s Molecular Anthropology Laboratory will try and extract DNA from the bone fragments to compare to genetic material donated by an Earhart family member.

This is a sad victory… but finally gives her family closure!

TSA Greets Passengers With Employee Christmas Choirs

Maybe it‘s a marketing ploy to change the TSA's recent image, or maybe it's genuine Christmas cheer. Whatever it is, the TSA's decision to use all-employee Christmas choirs at two airports to cheer up travelers is turning heads.

 

Video:  TSA Greets Passengers With Employee Christmas Choirs

USA Today reports:

The LAX TSA Choir, a group of 17 singers and musicians, all of them officers of the Transportation Security Administration, have been surprising passengers with performances of holiday music and other tunes in the midst of one of the nation’s busiest airports.

“Wow, it’s crazy,” said Miriam Kositchek of Santa Monica, Calif., who was clutching her ticket and passport for a flight to London when the LAX TSA Choir broke into song at the Bradley International Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday afternoon.

“In this climate, where travel is so scrutinized and security is so tight, it’s nice,” she said. “It adds some lightheartedness to travel.”

Airports around the country have scheduled musical performances during this time of heavy holiday travel to try to brighten the experience for harried travelers. The choir here is one of just two — the other is at the airport in Austin — made up entirely of TSA workers, said TSA spokesman Greg Soule in Washington.

“The solution the American people want is their freedom back and to stop the invasive strip searches and full body scans that don’t work!  But the victory herein is that the TSA and Homeland Security know that they American people are watching them… and that it is only a matter of time until we must change to what works… profiling and sniffing dogs!  Reserving the strip searches and full body scans for those who fail the smell and interview tests… not grandma, baby Suzy et al!!”

Wilmington Ohio, An Example of Hope

Harry Reid is pictured. | AP Photo

Harry Reid Pulls Back From Yearlong Omnibus, Aims for Short-Term Funding Resolution

Feds buy space on Google to promote ‘ObamaCare’  -  Giving up their fight against that moniker as Judge Hints He May Rule Against ObamaCare in latest case up for consideration after last week’s ruling declaring the individual mandate unconstitutional and in violation of the Commerce Clause.

Keep praying and standing up!

The winds are definitely changing…!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Immigration: DHS confirms cheaper to deport every illegal alien than allowing them to stay and other DHS updates

Immigration Plain and Simple:  DHS confirms cheaper to deport every illegal alien than allowing them to stay

But instead… This is the Plan:

Video:  Dream Act Amnesty Christmas

CNN -- FREE AMNESTY, BENEFITS TO ALL ILLEGALS - OPEN BORDERS – NAU  -  VIDEO

Call today and keep up the Pressure to stop the Dream Act!

Please Call you Senators NOW!!!

Senators from your State.  *   U.S. Government on TwitterUnited States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121

December 8th, 2010 3:09 am ET

Surprised Janet?  -  Photo: Getty Images

clip_image002[1]

On December 3, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Nelson Peacock, responding to request from several U.S. Senators, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), wrote: “Our conservative estimate suggests that ICE would require a budget of more than $135 billion to apprehend, detain and remove the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population.”

In July 2010, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released the results of a study which examined the costs of illegal immigration at the federal, state and local levels. The study found that U.S. state and local governments shell out $84.2 billion annually in various services (law enforcement, schools, social services, etc.), with California taxpayers alone, spending $21 billion on illegal aliens every year.

The same study found that $29 billion is spent every year in federal funds on illegal aliens.

So, while it would cost a one-time fee of about $135 billion to deport every single illegal alien in the country, it is actually a bargain considering the fact that it already costs us $113 billion annually to keep them here.

In other words, the mass deportation would pay for itself in a little over a year.

Incidentally, in 2007, the DHS estimated the cost of deporting all illegal aliens to be approximately $94 billion.

More on the Department of Homeland Security and Big Sis Napolitano

Justice Breyer says Framers would support ‘gun control’

“Founding Fathers Would Have Allowed Restrictions on Guns,” the Fox News headline announces.It’s reporting on claims made by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the dissenters in both the Heller and McDonald cases, as he hawked his new book “Making Democracy Work” on Fox News Sunday.James Madison didn’t really mean it when he included the Second Amendment, Breyer would have us believe.  He just included it, presumably with his fingers crossed, as an appeasement gesture so the Constitution would be ratified.And Breyer “think[s] more of...

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TSA and Janet Napolitano greet shoppers at Wal-Mart

It seems that George Orwell's book "Nineteen Eighty-Four" about Big Brother watching us was more than just literature. It contained a prophesy which we are seeing today, at Wal-Mart of all places. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has been appearing in videos at the checkout counters of Wal-Mart, telling shoppers "If You See Something, Say Something", a campaign that the DHS launched in Washington, D.C. earlier in the week. National Public Radio did a feature story on Saturday, December 11, which included an interview with Ms....

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Hey Napolitano and Walmart: Alex Jones calls FBI to report suspicious activity

In what can only be labeled 'Characteristically Alex', Jones called the FBI yesterday, September 9, 2010, to report suspicious activity at the Pentagon. He did this in the middle of his radio program. And this was not a case of drunk-dialing!Coming soon to Walmart stores across America is a new monitor, located at each check-out lane, with a repeating video featuring Janet Napolitano asking you to rat out your neighbor if you even think you see some suspicious activity. See Walmart teams up with DHS, Janet Napolitano urges shoppers to spy on each other.Watch the video in the left...

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DHS confirms cheaper to deport every illegal alien than allowing them to stay

On December 3, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Nelson Peacock, responding to request from several U.S. Senators, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), wrote: “Our conservative estimate suggests that ICE would require a budget of more than $135 billion to apprehend, detain and remove the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population.” In July 2010, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released the results of a study which examined the costs of illegal immigration at the federal, state and local levels. The study...

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Walmart teams up with DHS, Janet Napolitano urges shoppers to spy on each other

Today on Alex Jones' website, InfoWars.com, Paul Joseph Watson, the editor and writer for InfoWars discusses the Department of Homeland Security's newest invasive tactic in their battle to gain complete control of the Sheeple of the United States of America. Coming soon to a Walmart near you! Monitors at every check-out lane, blasting Janet Napolitano's message - “Does your neighbor look suspicious? Turn them in to US!For those of you familiar with George Orwells “1984” you've seen this coming and Alex says you can stop holding your breath. 1984 is here....

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Big sis 'Napolitano' wants your attention at Walmart

Government intrusion into our lives is at an all time high.  A few days ago, it was reported that the Fed’s are tracking law abiding citizens in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations, all done without a court order.  But that’s just the beginning!Now, as if the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t have enough on its plate over the issues caused by the Full Body Scans and the groping pat-downs; you may now be greeted by DHS Secretary, Janet Napolitano on a video screen in your favorite Walmart store!Yesterday, Napolitano announced...

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Woman creates DIY TSA-like scanner

Follow me on TwitterWant to scan friends and neighbors in all their naked glory? Well, Jeri Ellsworth decided the TSA was having too much fun with its own backscatter scanners and decided to come up with something similar.Ellsworth hasn't detailed instructions on a written page, which might be better, but gives enough information in the video attached to make some sense of it all. According to Hack a Day, here's what she did:She has managed to cobble together her own centimeter wave scanner using a hacked set of Feed Horns (like from a satellite dish) to create the image....

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Underwear makes political statement to TSA

Two businessmen have come up with a way to make both a profit, and a political statement to the Transportation Security Administration at airport security screenings. Tim Geoghegan and Matthew Ryan founded Cargo Collective which sells 4th Amendment clothes, underwear and socks printed with a metallic ink that emblazons your constitutional rights to privacy during full body scans. The novel approach to protest comes at a time when public outrage over the scanners, which many find so intrusive that they have opted out or acted up at airports around the country, deciding on a pat down instead....

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Michael Santo  -  Tech Buzz Examiner

DHS: Mall of America Homeland Security Suspicious Activity Reports Intel Data Practices

From the intel hub


One question a person had was - so your men would not have to share information with police officers assigned within the mall
Mall of America Homeland Security Suspicious Activity Reports Intel Data Practices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGohmkjwnM&feature=player_embedded

Doug Reynolds from Mall of America describes the foundation of parallel federal Suspicious Activity Report / Information Sharing Environment new intelligence / Homeland Security program rolled out just now.

Added in slides from MNjac Fusion Center (Minnesota Joint Analysis Center) about the new Suspicious Activity Report corporatist/federal behemoth intel system. MnJac said that things like photography (i.e. non crimes) wouldn’t get federal reports, but everything at MOA sure seems federalized now!

More videos including FBI raid peace activists from SF 2725 workgroup on my channel.
http://tc.indymedia.org
http://hongpong.com

MOA video contributed by Indymedia volunteers Mall of America, MOA, Doug Reynolds, Mall Cop, mallcop, Bloomington, SF 2725 Workgroup, Police, police intelligence, DHS, homeland security, Suspicious Activity Reports, fusion center, MNJAC workgroup files including mnjac slidez - http://www.bca.state.mn.us/SF2725.htm

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Ten Things You Need To Know About S.3827, The DREAM Act Share

Fox:  Reid Angers GOP by Filing Four Versions of the Dream Act Without Hearing

Common Sense Look at Immigration

Dream On

By Senator Jeff Sessions  -  Thursday, November 18 2010

1. The DREAM Act Is NOT Limited to Children, And It Will Be Funded On the Backs Of Hard Working, Law-Abiding Americans
Proponents of the DREAM Act frequently claim the bill offers relief only to illegal alien “kids.” Incredibly, previous versions of the DREAM Act had no age limit at all, so illegal aliens of any age who satisfied the Act’s requirements—not just children—could obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. In response to this criticism, S.3827 includes a requirement that aliens be under the age of 35 on the date of enactment to be eligible for LPR status. Even with this cap, many aliens would be at least 41 years old before obtaining full LPR status under the Act—hardly the “kids” the Act’s advocates keep talking about.
The DREAM Act requires that DHS/USCIS process all DREAM Act applications (applications that would require complex, multi-step adjudication) without being able to increase fees to handle processing. This mandate would require either additional Congressional appropriations, or for USCIS, a primarily fee-funded agency, to raise fees on other types of immigration benefit applications. This would unfairly spread the cost of administering the DREAM Act legalization program among applicants and petitioners who have abided by U.S. laws and force taxpayers to pay for amnesty. Taxpayers would also be on the hook for all Federal benefits the DREAM Act seeks to offer illegal aliens, including student loans and grants.

2. The DREAM Act PROVIDES SAFE HARBOR FOR ANY ALIEN, Including Criminals, From Being Removed or Deported If They Simply Submit An Application
Although DREAM Act proponents claim it will benefit only those who meet certain age, presence, and educational requirements, amazingly the Act protects ANY alien who simply submits an application for status no matter how frivolous. The bill forbids the Secretary of Homeland Security from removing “any alien who has a pending application for conditional status” under the DREAM Act—regardless of age or criminal record—providing a safe harbor for all illegal aliens. This loophole will open the floodgates for applications that could stay pending for many years or be litigated as a delay tactic to prevent the illegal aliens’ removal from the United States. The provision will further erode any chances of ending the rampant illegality and fraud in the existing system.

3. Certain Criminal Aliens Will Be Eligible For Amnesty Under The DREAM Act
Certain categories of criminal aliens will be eligible for the DREAM Act amnesty, including alien gang members and aliens with misdemeanor convictions, even DUIs. The DREAM Act allows illegal aliens guilty of the following offenses to be eligible for amnesty: alien absconders (aliens who failed to attend their removal proceedings), aliens who have engaged in voter fraud or unlawfully voted, aliens who have falsely claimed U.S. citizenship, aliens who have abused their student visas, and aliens who have committed marriage fraud. Additionally, illegal aliens who pose a public health risk, aliens who have been permanently barred from obtaining U.S. citizenship, and aliens who are likely to become a public charge are also eligible.

4. Estimates Suggest That At Least 2.1 Million Illegal Aliens Will Be Eligible For the DREAM Act Amnesty. In Reality, We Have No Idea How Many Illegal Aliens Will Apply
Section 4(d) of the DREAM Act waives all numerical limitations on green cards, and prohibits any numerical limitation on the number of aliens eligible for amnesty under its provisions. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that the DREAM Act will make approximately 2.1 million illegal aliens eligible for amnesty. It is highly likely that the number of illegal aliens receiving amnesty under the DREAM Act will be much higher than the estimated 2.1 million due to fraud and our inherent inability to accurately estimate the illegal alien population. Clearly, the message sent by the DREAM Act will be that if any young person can enter the country illegally, within 5 years, they will be placed on a path to citizenship.

5. Illegal Aliens Will Get In-State Tuition Benefits
The DREAM Act will allow illegal aliens to qualify for in-state tuition, even when it is not being offered to U.S. citizens and legally present aliens living just across state lines. Section 3 of the DREAM Act repeals Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) which prohibits giving education benefits to an unlawfully present individual unless that same benefit is offered to all U.S. citizens.

6. The DREAM Act Does Not Require That An Illegal Alien Finish Any Type of Degree (Vocational, Two-Year, or Bachelor’s Degree) As A Condition of Amnesty
DREAM Act supporters would have you believe that the bill is intended to benefit illegal immigrants who have graduated from high school and are on their way to earning college degrees. However, the bill is careful to ensure that illegal alien high school drop-outs will also be put on a pathway to citizenship – they simply have to get a GED and be admitted to “an institution of higher education,” defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Under the Higher Education Act, an “institution of higher education” includes institutions that provide 2-year programs (community colleges) and any “school that provides not less than a 1-year program of training to prepare students for gainful employment” (a vocational school). Within 8 years of the initial grant of status, the alien must prove only that they finished 2 years of a bachelor’s degree program, not that they completed any program or earned any degree.
If the alien is unable to complete 2 years of college but can demonstrate that their removal would result in hardship to themselves or their U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, child, or parent, the education requirement can be waived altogether.

7. The DREAM Act does not require that an illegal alien serve in the military as a condition for amnesty, and There is ALREADY A Legal Process In Place For Illegal Aliens to Obtain U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service
DREAM Act supporters would have you believe that illegal aliens who don’t go to college will earn their citizenship through service in the U.S. Armed Forces. However, the bill does not require aliens to join the U.S. Armed Forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard); instead it requires enlistment in the “uniformed services.” This means that aliens need only go to work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or Public Health Service for 2 years to get U.S. citizenship. If the alien is unable to complete 2 years in the “uniformed services,” and can demonstrate that their removal would result in hardship to themselves or their U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, child, or parent, the military service requirement can be waived altogether. Such claims will likely engender much litigation and place a huge burden on DHS.
Furthermore, under current law (10 USC § 504), the Secretary of Defense can authorize the enlistment of illegal aliens. Once enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces, under 8 USC § 1440, these illegal aliens can become naturalized citizens through expedited processing, often obtaining U.S. citizenship in six months.

8. Despite Their Current Illegal Status, DREAM Act Aliens Will Be Given All The Rights That Legal Immigrants Receive—Including The Legal Right To Sponsor Their Parents and Extended Family Members For Immigration
Under current federal law, U.S. citizens have the right to immigrate their “immediate relatives” to the U.S. without regard to numerical caps. Similarly, lawful permanent residents can immigrate their spouses and children to the U.S. as long as they retain their status. This means illegal aliens who receive amnesty under the DREAM Act will have the right to immigrate their family members—including the parents who sent for or brought them to the U.S. illegally in the first place—in unlimited numbers as soon as they become U.S. citizens (6 to 8 years after enactment) and are 21 years of age.
Additionally, amnestied aliens who become U.S. citizens will be able to petition for their adult siblings living abroad to immigrate to the U.S., further incentivizing chain migration and potentially illegal entry into the United States (for those who don’t want to wait for the petition process overseas). When an adult brother or sister receives a green card, the family (spouse and children) of the adult sibling receive green cards as well.

9. Current Illegal Aliens Will Get Federal Student Loans, Federal Work Study Programs, and Other Forms of Federal Financial Aid
Section 10 of the DREAM Act allows illegal aliens amnestied under the bill’s provisions to qualify for federal student assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) in the form of federal student loans (Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans), federal work-study programs, and other federal education services such as tutoring and counseling.

10. DHS Is Prohibited From Using the Information Provided By Illegal Aliens Whose DREAM Act Amnesty Applications Are Denied To Initiate Their Removal Proceedings or Investigate or Prosecute Fraud in the Application Process
When an illegal alien’s DREAM Act amnesty application is denied, the bill states that the alien will revert to their “previous immigration status,” which is likely illegal or deportable. The bill, however, prohibits using any of the information contained in the amnesty application (name, address, length of illegal presence that the alien admits to, etc) to initiate a removal proceeding or investigate or prosecute fraud in the application process. Thus, it will be extremely hard for DHS to remove aliens who they now know are illegally present in the U.S., because illegal aliens will be able to claim that the legal action is a product of the amnesty application, and DHS will have the nearly impossible task of proving a negative.

The Honorable Jeff Sessions is a Republican U.S. Senator from Alabama

Contact your Senator and Tell Them to VOTE “NO” on the Dream Act

Here are some sources for contact information: Senators from your State.  *   U.S. Government on TwitterUnited States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121

End the Lame Duck Sessions

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

DREAM On

The amnesty-for-illegals crowd has found some sympathetic poster children.

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have pledged a vote as early as this week on the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), a bill that would legalize illegal aliens who arrived here before the age of 16 and who comply with certain educational or military-service requirements.

The core principle behind this amnesty proposal is that it is aimed at those who have grown up here and are, psychologically and emotionally, Americans. In the words of America’s Voice, a hard-left open-borders group, the beneficiaries of the measure are “patriotic young Americans in all but paperwork.”

There’s no doubt that this is the most sympathetic group of illegal immigrants. That is precisely why DREAM has been dangled as bait for the more general amnesty proposals described as “comprehensive immigration reform,” with amnesty advocates brandishing the situation of these young people as justification for a broader amnesty. (Though no one seems to have stopped to ask: If such a comprehensive bill would provide amnesty for all illegals, then why would we need DREAM?)

Nonetheless, now that the amnesty crowd has belatedly decided to move ahead on DREAM as a standalone measure, many in the public and Congress are open to the idea of addressing the situation of such young people. But the DREAM Act, in every one of its iterations over the years, has four fatal flaws.

1. The act is billed as legalizing those brought as infants or toddlers, and yet it covers people brought here up to age 16. The examples used by advocates are nearly always people who were brought here very young. The student-body president at Fresno State University, Pedro Ramirez — who was “coincidentally” revealed to be an illegal alien just as the DREAM Act lame-duck effort got under way — came here at age three. Harvard student Eric Balderas was brought here at age four. Yves Gomes was brought here at 14 months, Juan Gomez at two years, Marie Gonzalez at five, Dan-el Padilla at four, and so on.

So why set the age cutoff at 16? If the point is to provide amnesty to those whose identity was formed here, then you’d need a much lower age cutoff. I have a 15-year-old, and if I took him to live illegally in Mexico (and living illegally is a lot harder to do there than here), he would always remain, psychologically, an American, because his identity is already formed. The Roman Catholic Church and English common law set the age of reason at seven. That, combined with a requirement of at least ten years’ continuous residence here, seems like a much more defensible place to draw the line. Unless, of course, you’re just using those who came as young children to bootstrap a larger amnesty.

2. Next, all amnesties have at least three harmful consequences, and the DREAM Act ignores all three. The first of these is massive fraud. Perhaps one-fourth of those legalized under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act received amnesty fraudulently, including Mahmud Abouhalima, a leader of the first World Trade Center attack. The fraud in that first big amnesty program was so pervasive as to be almost comical, with people claiming work histories here that included picking watermelons from trees and digging cherries out of the ground.

And yet what does the DREAM Act say about fraud? As Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) points out in “Ten Things You Need To Know about S-3827, the DREAM Act,” the measure “prohibits using any of the information contained in the amnesty application (name, address, length of illegal presence that the alien admits to, etc.) to initiate a removal proceeding or investigate or prosecute fraud in the application process.” This is like playing a slot machine without having to put any money in — any illegal alien can apply, and if he wins, great, but if he loses, he can’t be prosecuted even if he lied through his teeth about everything. No amnesty proposal can be taken seriously unless applicants are made to understand, right up front, that any lies, no matter how trivial, will result in arrest and imprisonment.

3. Another problem with DREAM, which all amnesties share, is that it will attract new illegal immigration. Prospective illegal immigrants, considering their options, are more likely to opt to come if they see that their predecessors eventually hit the jackpot. In 1986, we had an estimated 5 million illegals, 3 million of whom were legalized. We now have more than twice as many as before the last amnesty, and they’ve been promised repeatedly that if they hold out a little longer they’ll be able to stay legally. Any new amnesty, even if only for those brought here as children, will attract further illegal immigration.

There’s really no way to prevent this, but to minimize it, you need stringent enforcement measures. This was the logic of the 1986 law and the recent “comprehensive immigration reform” proposals. The critique of such “grand bargains” has been that the illegals get their amnesty but the promised enforcement never materializes — and that critique remains valid. But if the sponsors of DREAM were serious about addressing the plight of people brought here as infants and toddlers, they would include muscular enforcement measures as proof of their bona fides. These would include mandatory use of E-Verify for all new hires, explicit authorization of state and local governments to enforce civil immigration law, and full implementation of an exit-tracking system for all foreign visitors, for starters. And the legal status of all the amnesty beneficiaries would remain provisional until the enforcement measures were up and running and passed judicial muster. Even these might not be sufficient to turn back a new wave of illegal immigration sparked by the amnesty, but the lack of such measures speaks volumes about the real intentions of the DREAM Act’s sponsors.

4. Finally, all amnesties reward illegal immigrants — in this case, both those brought here as children and the adults who subjected them to this limbo. Any serious proposal to legalize young people brought here as infants or toddlers would need to prevent the possibility that their parents and other adults responsible for bringing them here illegally would ever receive any benefit from the amnesty, namely, future sponsorship as legal immigrants. This could be done in two ways: Either the amnesty recipients would not be put on a “path to citizenship” at all, but instead be given a time-limited work visa, indefinitely renewable so long as they stay out of trouble. This would mean they could not petition for any relatives to immigrate in the future. Alternatively, the amnesty beneficiaries could receive green cards and eventual citizenship, but we would abolish all the legal-immigration categories for family members other than spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens. Either way, the adults who knew what they were doing would never be rewarded.

A DREAM Act 2.0 that addressed these problems — that prosecuted fraud, implemented enforcement, prevented downstream legal immigration, and focused much more narrowly on those who came very young — would possibly be something that even I, were I a congressman, might be able to vote for. But the lack of these elements is clear proof that the amnesty crowd isn’t interested in fixing the specific problem of a sympathetic but small group of people; rather, these young people are simply poster children who have been used for years to try to justify a general amnesty for all illegal aliens. And when the DREAM Act fails, as it will, Pedro Ramirez and his fellows will need to ask the pro-amnesty politicians and lobbying groups why they were sacrificed on the altar of “comprehensive immigration reform.”

— Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, an NRO contributor, and author of The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal and How Obama Is Transforming America Through Immigration.

Common Sense Look at Immigration by the Numbers

Lame Duck Alert: DREAM Act – Stealth Amnesty – Would Allow Illegals With Criminal Records to Gain Residency

Dems Want to Hand $44 Billion to Illegals Through Dream Act  - Common Sense Look at Immigration by the Numbers – Stop the Dream Act!

California Supreme Court:  Illegals Qualify for In-State College Tuition in Our Bankrupt Progressive State

Mexico’s Immigration Law:  Perhaps Time to Try It Here at Home