SB 1070 Still A Winner

By Russell Pearce

Opponents of immigration enforcement are calling the temporary injunction against parts of Arizona's anti-illegal-immigration law a death blow to state enforcement. The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund called it a “warning to other states” that want to enact similar legislation.

As the author of the new law, SB 1070, I can honestly say that July 29, when the pared-down law went into effect, was a victory.

Many key provisions are still in effect. Local police have more power to enforce immigration laws. Sanctuary cities are outlawed. Illegal day laborers are likely to be arrested and the employers' trucks that pick them up impounded.

And I am confident the entire law will be upheld.

Already, illegal immigrants are taking notice. Even before the law went into effect, NPR and Reuters reported that undocumented immigrants, including entire families, were moving out of the state. The day after the ruling, CNN reported, “some of the estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants who went to Arizona are leaving the state.”

This is the strategy of SB 1070: attrition through enforcement. Arizona has made it clear through our policies that illegal immigrants are not welcome, and they are self-deporting from the state.

Judging from media portrayals, one would think this law is the only time that a state has taken up immigration legislation. But this is just the latest bill in Arizona’s string of attrition-through-enforcement legislation.

It began in 2004, when 56 percent of Arizona voters — including 47 percent of Latinos — voted for Proposition 200, which barred illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits. In 2006, voters approved four anti-illegal-immigration and pro-English ballot initiatives. The year after, then-Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the Legal Arizona Workers Act, requiring all employers to use E-Verify to ensure that they do not hire illegal immigrants.

The battles over these laws did not draw as much national attention as SB 1070, but Arizona still faced media campaigns, lawsuits and temporary injunctions. All the laws were eventually enacted.

Even the liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is to rule on SB 1070 in November, upheld the legal workers act.

Rather than serve as a warning to other states, our immigration law has inspired people across the country, who are fed up with the federal government's inaction, to follow our lead. Lawmakers in 20 states have now introduced similar legislation. Nine state attorneys general signed an amicus brief in support of Arizona.

The more opponents attack our immigration law, the longer it stays in the national spotlight. This looks likely to be a major issue in the midterm elections. It's almost a prerequisite that any gubernatorial candidate in a Republican primary support SB 1070. Even Democratic candidates, like Roy Barnes of Georgia, support the law.

Poll after poll shows that the majority of Americans support the Arizona law. The day after the injunction, a Rasmussen poll found that 59 percent of American voters wanted an Arizona-style law in their state, while only 32 percent did not.

Despite critics’ claims that SB 1070 interferes with federal law, it actually mirrors federal law, empowering local law enforcement to assist federal authorities. No one denies this. Instead, the court ruled that the law will “impermissibly burden federal resources and redirect federal agencies away from the priorities they have established.”

The “priorities” are not to arrest, detain, prosecute or remove illegal immigrants unless they have already committed serious crimes in addition to illegal presence.

These critics would rather wait for another American to become a victim of crime before they enforce our laws. The only thing that conflicts with federal immigration law is the Obama administration's intentional policy not to enforce it.

With the American people and the Constitution on our side, the temporary ruling of an activist judge will not keep Arizona from prevailing in our fight against illegal immigration.

Obama Cutting Criminal Aliens Lose

From Bay Buchanan,
Team America PAC

Dear Friend,

Barack Obama is putting illegal aliens ahead of Americans again!! First, he demands amnesty for millions of undocumented students with the DREAM Act and now he wants to gut the federal fund program that allows local law enforcement to keep illegal criminals behind bars until ICE picks them up.

Within his outrageously irresponsible $3.4 trillion dollar budget Obama has targeted The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program-a $400 million program to keep Americans safe! Every one of these dollars keeps proven criminals off our streets and Obama wants it eliminated!! Even the liberal Senator Diane Feinstein knows better-she wants it increased!

This is a program Obama supported when he was planning his presidential run-he knew it was what the voters would want him to do. But now that he has taken possession of the throne he wants to gut it!

I was talking to Mayor Lou Barletta the other day and he said after he passed those tough immigration regulations in Hazelton, PA and illegal population headed elsewhere crime in his city dropped forty percent. The same is true of Prince William County in Virginia. Once the tough illegal immigration policy was in place crime dropped 37 percent.

Obama's policy will force local enforcement agencies to put known illegal criminals back on the street! Crime will climb and once again Americans will pay dearly for the failed policies of Washington.

The president is requesting $27 billion for border security and $112 million to fund E-Verify. This is great news-but he opposes a border fence and has backed off workplace raids which had begun to be enormously effective. He just can't bring himself to enforce the law against those here illegally-even those behind bars!!

OBAMA Plans to Make Illegal Immigrants Legal

According to the New York Times, President Barack Obama plans to begin addressing America's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal.

Cecillia Munoz, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, said Obama will frame the new effort as "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system."

Over the summer Obama will convene working groups, including lawmakers from both parties and a range of immigration organizations, to begin discussing possible legislation.

During his campaign for the presidency last year, Obama pledged to Latino groups that comprehensive immigration legislation, including a plan to make legal status possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, would be a priority in his first year in office. Latino voters strongly turned out for Obama during the election.

In 2007, a groundswell of opposition to legal status for illegal immigrants, strongly supported by then President George W. Bush, defeated a bipartisan immigration bill.

Roy Beck, Executive Director of NumbersUSA, an organization that favors reduced immigration, said "It just doesn't seem rational that any political leader would say, let's give millions of foreign workers permanent access to U.S. jobs when we have millions of Americans looking for jobs." Obama would face an "explosion" if he proceeded this year, Beck said.

The president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, (FAIR), said it would be "politically disastrous," for Obama to begin an immigration initiative now.


ACR POSITION:


In the opinion of the American Conservative Republican, this further shows that Obama is a slick, lawyer and politician.

Obama out pandered McCain for the Latino vote and now must satisfy that part of his base without facing the backlash from the majority of the people, which Bush and Congress faced when they suggested making illegal immigrants legal in 2007.

Obviously, Obama's political team are reading the polls and know that the vast majority of Americans are opposed to amnesty.

Instead of following a best public policy path that would bring the illegal immigration problem under control, Obama, like Bush before him, is looking for a best political solution that will satisfy everyone. There is no political solution that will make everyone happy.

Granting an amnesty by another name will not solve the problem, it will only invite more illegal immigration, we know this from experience, therefore, amnesty, by any name, should be out of the question and off the table.

For those of us that put the good of our country before any political consideration, finding the solution to the illegal immigration problem is not that complicated.

Fix what caused the problem and you solve the problem.

Two things allowed illegal immigration to spin out of control, an unsecured border and the availability of jobs in American for those in our country illegally.

Politicians from both parties heard the people load and clear, "Secure the Border," and now there is a fence part way across the border and more resources committed to making our international border secure.

Building a fence along the border will only impede illegal entry into the United States however, we will never have a 100% secure border. As long as jobs are available to illegal aliens in the U.S., they will keep coming here illegally. Build a 15 foot fence and they will find a 16 foot ladder.

The key to solving the illegal immigration problem is to end the availability of jobs for undocumented, illegal aliens in the United States. No new law is necessary, it is already illegal to knowingly hire undocumented workers. The law against hiring illegal immigrants was not being enforced, the employers knew it and so did the people south of the border, therefore, greedy employers toke advantage of the low cost labor illegal immigrants provided to increase their profits which in turn caused a massive flood of humanity to cross our southern border illegally because the border was unsecured and jobs available for them in America, regardless of their legal status.

Mr. President, to bring the problem of illegal immigration under control, complete the fence and make our border as secure as possible, use the military if necessary, people have no right to violate our sovereignty as a nation, regardless of their motive.

Make E-verify permanent and mandatory. The only reason an employer would be opposed to E-Verify is because they know they hire undocumented workers. Honest employers have nothing to fear from E-Verify.

Enforce employer sanctions against hiring undocumented workers. The law is nothing but some ink on a paper if it is not enforced. It is the duty of the president to see that all the laws are faithfully executed, not just some.

Enforcing employer sanctions does not mean stop going after illegal workers. Just going after the illegal employer makes about as much sense just going after the illegal worker. They are both breaking our laws, enforce our laws.

It's that simple, secure the border and enforce all our immigration laws.

Bob Haran,

American Conservative Republican

Napolitano Supports E-Verify

From Numbers USA:
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano

Napolitano Supports Longer E-Verify Extension


Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today that she supports E-Verify and an extension beyond its current Sept. 30 expiration date. In an interview with the Gannett Washington Bureau, she extended her support for the program even though the Obama Administration hasn't taken a position on it.

"It’s all about who gets to work and making sure they’re legally present in our country. And to do that nationally E-verify becomes a key component," Napolitano said in the interview. "It certainly needs to be available, effective and as inexpensive as possible and that employer needs to use it as a tool."

As governor of Arizona, Napolitano signed a bill making it mandatory for all employers in the state to use E-Verify. NumbersUSA has a map detailing all the state laws requiring some form of mandatory E-Verify usage.

"Some of the arguments that are made about how it works or does not work don’t carry much water with me. I’ve already used it for several years. It works."

Last month's Omnibus Bill extended E-Verify beyond its March expiration date. An amendment from Sen. Jeff Sessions to extend E-Verify for five years was tabled during a floor vote.

Tancredo - Send In The Troops!

Simple Solution for Mexico Border Violence: Send in the Military, Tancredo Says

Friday, March 27, 2009

By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) – Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) said the solution to ending the violence along the U.S.-Mexico border would require only one order from the new commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama: send in the troops.

“You can absolutely secure the border with the military,” Tancredo said in a conference call on Thursday with reporters and Roy Beck, president of the immigrant reduction advocacy group, NumbersUSA.

Tancredo said he observed a two-week operation a few years ago along the Canadian border with Idaho where 100 U.S. Marines were stationed along the 100-mile stretch of rugged wilderness, along with the use of three unmanned aerial vehicles and three radar stations. The operation was a joint effort among the Marines, the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Forest Service.

“I assure you that for the two weeks that that was in operation, nothing came across that northern border that we did not see,” Tancredo said. “You can secure the border.”

But, he said, the Bush administration abandoned the idea of using the military to secure the nation’s borders, an idea Tancredo said is necessary now not only to stop the flow of drugs, humans, and weapons but for the safety and security of the American people – especially if the Mexican government fails and millions of people flee north to escape the violence.

The conference call was held to respond to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Mexico and her claim that the United States is culpable for the violence along the country’s border with Mexico. Clinton largely blamed high drug consumption by Americans and American weapons smuggled south to arm drug cartels as the culprits.

“I have no doubt that there are firearms that make their way into Mexico, but the extent to which that is happening is really a debatable point,” Tancredo said. “The huge caches of arms that have been found – the AK-47s and some of the grenade launchers – have not come from the United States.”

“We’ve asked Mexico for the serial numbers, and they’ve refused to give them to us because, in fact, they are not from the United States,” Tancredo said.

“This issue of ‘It’s our fault just as much as their fault’ is a lot of crap, to tell you the truth,” he said. “It’s just another way to go after guns by this administration and also to let Mexico save some face.”

Tancredo said that in addition to securing the border, Congress needs to mandate the E-Verify legislation that requires employers to confirm the legal status of potential employees.
E-Verify “has worked better than anything we’ve ever come up with, which is why the Democrats are a little leery about continuing it,” Tancredo said.

Rather than granting a five-year extension of the program, Congress okayed a five-month extension “with the hope of using it as a hook and get some sort of leverage to get Republicans to back off of their opposition – especially in the Senate – to any sort of amnesty.”

Using the military to secure the border and extending E-Verify for five years are what’s called for, Tancredo said, to solve not only the violence of the drug cartels but the flow of illegal aliens into the United States.

“We will be doing more for immigration reform with those two things,” he said. “If you simply concentrate on securing the border and continue E-Verify, we will have a much better situation with Mexico.”

Beck said he did not think the downturn in the U.S. economy would make the immigration issue of less importance to the American people. He said the contrary may be true as Americans come to understand that the millions of jobs held by illegal aliens in this country would otherwise be available to the estimated 12 million Americans who have lost their jobs in recent months.

E-Verify Re-Authorized, Temporarily

The U.S. Senate, as part of the massive federal stimulus package, has voted to extend funding for the voluntary E-Verify program until Sept. 30, according to the Republic Washington Bureau.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, attempted to amend the legislation to re-authorize E-Verify for five more years but his amendment was rejected by a vote of 50-47.

Sen. Sessions addressed the Senate on Monday about the importance of re-authorizing E-Verify. Sessions said that about 2,000 businesses a week are voluntarily signing up for E-Verify and over 112,000 are now using it.

E-Verify is an on-line system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration. Employers using E-Verify can easily check the work status of new employees on line by comparing information from their I-9 form against the DHS and social security databases. The system is free and voluntary and Sessions says it is "a central component of eliminating the jobs magnet that draws people into our country illegally."

"The main purpose of the stimulus package was to put Americans back to work. It is common sense, therefore, to include a simple requirement that the people hired to fill stimulus-related jobs be lawful American citizens or residents, " Sessions said.

The Center for Immigration Studies http://www.cis.org/ has estimated that of the 2.5 millions jobs projected to be created by the stimulus plan, 15 percent or 300,000, would be going to people illegally in the United States.

President Obama, has pushed back an executive order to require all federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify, that was supposed to take effect on February 20 to May 21.

Sen. Sessions said he will be introducing legislation soon to make E-Verify permanent and makes its use, "mandatory for contractors who get contracts with the U.S. Government, get money from the U.S. taxpayers." "At a minimum what employers should do is take the 2 minutes it takes to use E-Verify and determine whether a job applicant is legally authorized to work in the country, " Sessions said.

Who's Side Is Congress On ?

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has blasted Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for striping E-Verify from the stimulus package.

E-Verify is a federal employment eligibility system operated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Participating employers can check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee's I-9 form against Social Security and Homeland Security databases. The system is free to employers and is the best method available to determine employment eligibility.

The availability of jobs for illegal aliens is the magnet that caused the massive illegal immigration problem for America, therefore, ending the availability of jobs for illegal aliens would be a major factor in reducing illegal immigration to the United States.

On Thursday, Senator Sessions attempted to get E-Verify back into the stimulus package and cited studies from the Center for Immigration Studies and the Heritage Foundation that said that several hundred thousand jobs created by the package would go to illegal aliens without E-Verify.

Sessions pointed out that President Obama has already delayed mandatory use of the E-Verify system for federal contractors and that the program was set to expire on March 6 unless there is a reauthorization.

Senator Sessions had this to say about removing the E-Verify program to require that any contractor benefiting from the stimulus package hired only those lawfully allowed to work in United States;

"The purpose of the bill is to put Americans back to work. Is is common sense to include a simple requirement that the people hired to fill stimulus-created jobs be lawful American residents. The Democrats' actions are a clear signal that they want to use taxpayer money to employ people who are in this country illegally. It's ironic that the passage of the final version of the legislation, which will result in a massive expansion of government, could also result in the termination of one of the few government programs that have proven effective and useful."

On Friday the stimulus bill cleared congress without E-Verify protection for American citizens and legal residents and awaits the presidents signature to become law.

In a related development, the unemployment rate for the American worker continues to rise.