NO FREE SANCTUARY

From the Federation for American Immigration Reform, (FAIR), to me, to you.

Hope Phil Gordon reads this.

Barbara Hollingsworth:

There's no such thing as a free sanctuary

By: Barbara Hollingsworth Local Opinion EditorApril 13, 2010

Virginia's Prince William County was vilified three years ago for being the first jurisdiction in the region to assist federal immigration officials in identifying and detaining illegal immigrants accused of crimes so they could be deported.

Since then, public pressure forced most of the other counties surrounding Washington to quietly follow suit. Not Montgomery County. Instead, it's defiantly sweeping off its "Welcome" mat and inviting illegal immigrants to "come on in."

But the county's acclaimed sanctuary policy doesn't come cheap. An estimated $243 million is spent annually on low-income housing, medical care, public education, and other human services for the county's illegal immigrant population, including the cost of maintaining foreign-born criminals in its correctional facilities.

Unlike neighboring Frederick and Prince George's counties, Montgomery still refuses to send the names of all arrestees to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless they are charged with a violent crime such as murder, rape or armed robbery.

Otherwise, "ICE will NOT be contacted, regardless of the individual's legal status and/or gang affiliation," county spokesman Patrick Lacefield emphatically told the Washington Examiner's Hayley Petersen.

Since the Maryland State's Attorney's Office estimates that there are 40 active gangs operating in Montgomery County alone, that means that hundreds of gang members know they will not be deported -- even if they are busted for selling drugs, stealing cars or other serious offenses.

Between 2000 and 2008, Maryland's foreign-born population grew 34.6 percent, while the native-born population increased just 3.3 percent, according to a new study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Costs (about $790 per household) are concentrated in places like Montgomery County with high illegal immigrant populations.

Of course, not all the county's 3,300 or so inmates are here illegally, but since Montgomery refuses to participate in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program, there's no way of knowing exactly how many currently in the system lack legal presence.

County taxpayers are billed $157 a day (or $57,305 per year) for each inmate regardless. By contrast, the county spends $82 per day on each public school student.

There's a reason incarceration costs so much. A list of Montgomery County employees obtained by the Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act shows that the 541 employees in the county's Department of Corrections are paid handsomely, making an average of $80,000.

The annual salary of Corrections Director Arthur Wallenstein, who denied a previous Examiner request for statistics on the number of illegal inmates in custody, is $210,621, and 21 of his top managers each make more than $100,000 per year.

Other salaries range from an intake processing aide's $35,691 per year plus $10,802 in overtime, to the $98,513 plus $1,916 in overtime paid to a corrections specialist V.

Correctional Officer III Cpl. Paul Miller wracked up an unimaginable amount of overtime pay ($62,048) that was almost as much as his annual base salary ($70,758). The 1,202 hours of OT Miller reported (at $51.62 an hour) represent more than half of the 2,000 hours in a year's worth of typical 40-hour workweeks with two weeks off for vacation.

Miller's fellow Correctional Officer III Cpl. Roger Castell logged in even more OT (1,249 hours), adding $55,241 to his base salary of $61,660.

In fact, 366 correctional employees -- more than half of Wallenstein's entire staff -- reported working more than 100 hours of overtime last year, beefing up their paychecks and future retirement accounts while depleting the county's coffers.

With a budget gap of $779 million, an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent, and credit rating agencies threatening to downgrade its bond offerings, Montgomery can no longer afford to feed and house criminals who don't even belong in the United States.

Montgomery County is indeed a sanctuary. But not for taxpayers.

Barbara F. Hollingsworth is the Washington Examiner's local opinion editor.

SCHECTER Makes HALL of SHAME

By Bob Haran;
American Conservative Republican and
Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran.

Joel David Schecter, AKA, J.D. "DUKE" Schecter, of Tucson, seems to want to be what he is not, an American war hero. Schecter also wants to be a member of the Arizona Senate from LD 27. The DUKE has a problem however, he is trying to become an Arizona Senator by stealing the valor or the respected symbols of valor, of those who earned those symbols with their blood and many times with their life.

A group dedicated to exposing military fakes, "The P.O.W. Network," has added Schecter to its Hall of Shame because he claimed to have earned a Silver Star and five Purple Heart medals as a combat Marine Sergeant in Vietnam.

Military records obtained by the Arizona Daily Star under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that Schecter did serve as a Marine in Vietnam as a helicopter electrician, however, he never earned a Silver Star or any Purple Hearts and that he was discharged from active duty as a Lance Corporal, not a Sergeant.

For those unfamiliar with the military, ever decoration, badge, stripe, button and the uniform itself, worn by our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airman and Coast Guardsmen has been earned. Over a million Americans have died in the service of our country wearing those uniforms and only a small number of those have had their service recognized with decorations such as the Silver Star. In fact, those that have earned the right to wear such decorations, including those awarded with the Medal of Honor, will tell you that they wear their medals in recognition of those who went unrecognized for their bravery. The wearing of unearned military decorations therefore is one of the lowest and dishonorable things an individual could possibly do.

Bogus claims to American military awards for heroism are so serious, it is a federal offense under the Stolen Valor Act of 2007.

According to the Arizona Daily Star report, http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_60ceca5f-c1bf-559c-b11a-12f101c12cfc.html, Michael Davis, a retired Marine Corps First Sergeant from Oklahoma, reported Schecter to the Phoenix office of the FBI. Hopefully, the DUKE, will be wearing some addition medals in the near future, around his wrists.


The American Conservative Republican prays that Mr. Schecter is never elected to any public office, having the title "The Honorable" before his name would be obscene. ACR would also recommend that the Arizona Legislature pass an Arizona version of the Stolen Valor Act out of respect for those who are now and those who have in the past, Gave Their All.

For God and country,

Bob Haran

How I wish we had kept to Jefferson's principles

How I wish we had kept to Jefferson's principles

From Helain Chersonsky


Obviously, Thomas Jefferson was a man ahead of his time.

HOW DID JEFFERSON KNOW?

Quotes from Jefferson.

Especially: Read the last quote from 1802.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

I WISH WE COULD GET THIS OUT TO EVERYONE!!!

Randy Pullen on The Price of Border Insecurity

The Price of Border Insecurity

By Randy Pullen;

The murder of rancher Robert Krenz this last week on his ranch in southern Arizona, by a suspected Mexican drug dealer or human trafficker (Coyote) tracked back to the nearby Mexican border, was a tragedy in the making for 10 years. Many of us who have been directly involved with attempting to bring illegal immigration under control along the southern border feared this day would come.

Mr. Krentz and his family are well known along the border as hard-working, God-fearing Americans with hearts of gold. Their property has constantly felt the pressure of tens of thousands of illegal aliens crossing in their migration north. Yet they had continued to act as good Samaritans, helping those who were in distress with food and water.

The pro-illegal immigration crowd would have us believe Mr. Krentz’s murder is merely the result of increased border violence. They refuse to see any connection to the tens of millions of illegal aliens who have crossed our southern border in the recent past. But for those who live along the border, and for those who have taken the time to visit, the truth is plainly obvious: Our southern border has been under attack for years. The fact that we have avoided such a tragedy until now is shear luck.

As the Chairman of Prop 200 in Arizona, the citizens’ initiative requiring proof of citizenship to vote and to receive welfare benefits, I have been on the frontlines of Arizona’s and America’s immigration debate, and this is not the first time I’ve seen the open-borders, pro-Amnesty special interests attempt to deflect attention from the debate at hand. I, myself, and many others have been subjected to personal attacks and racial slurs in our efforts to enforce the rule of law along our border as well as in our state, and such tactics are not likely to end soon.

Prop 200 easily passed on Election Day in 2004, with a majority of Arizona’s Latinos voting yes. They believed then, as they do now, in the rule of law, and understand as we all do – Democrats, Independents and Republicans – that an unsecured, open border and millions of illegals entering our country each year is a formula for disaster. Latinos and legal immigrants support our conservative values on this issue. It is their leadership who are out of touch with America.

What makes the Krentz murder so incredibly tragic is that it was avoidable. Securing our borders is a federal problem that was, and is, solvable. Unfortunately, the will to act in Congress and at the White House is simply not there. The best illustration of our federal government’s commitment to inaction on border security, despite the risks it poses for American citizens, comes from President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, who would remark during her days as governor of Arizona, “Show me a 50-foot fence and I will show you a 51-foot ladder.”

But my response to such ill-conceived logic remains the same today as it was back in 2004: “Show me a guy carrying a 51-foot ladder and I will show you one lonely, tired hombre.”

Now, after the fact as far as Mr. Krenz is concerned, we are beginning to hear calls from congressional leaders to put troops on our southern border. It is my hope these calls will not fall again on deaf ears in Congress and at the White House, nor be used merely as election-year tools of political gamesmanship. When our National Guard has been sent to the border previously, they were deprived of a clear mission, actual authority to enforce the law, and the ammunition needed for their success.

In the past two years, drug and gang violence has soared along America’s southern border. Let us honor the memory of Mr. Krentz by doing all we can to assure this tragedy is never repeated.

(Randy Pullen is the Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party)

George Will on Ending Birthright Citizenship

By George Will;

WASHINGTON -- A simple reform would drain some scalding steam from immigration arguments that may soon again be at a roiling boil. It would bring the interpretation of the 14th Amendment into conformity with what the authors of its text intended, and with common sense, thereby removing an incentive for illegal immigration.

To end the practice of "birthright citizenship," all that is required is to correct the misinterpretation of that amendment's first sentence: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." From these words has flowed the practice of conferring citizenship on children born here to illegal immigrants.


A parent from a poor country, writes professor Lino Graglia of the University of Texas law school, "can hardly do more for a child than make him or her an American citizen, entitled to all the advantages of the American welfare state." Therefore, "It is difficult to imagine a more irrational and self-defeating legal system than one which makes unauthorized entry into this country a criminal offense and simultaneously provides perhaps the greatest possible inducement to illegal entry."

Writing in the Texas Review of Law and Politics, Graglia says this irrationality is rooted in a misunderstanding of the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." What was this intended or understood to mean by those who wrote it in 1866 and ratified it in 1868? The authors and ratifiers could not have intended birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants because in 1868 there were and never had been any illegal immigrants because no law ever had restricted immigration.

If those who wrote and ratified the 14th Amendment had imagined laws restricting immigration -- and had anticipated huge waves of illegal immigration -- is it reasonable to presume they would have wanted to provide the reward of citizenship to the children of the violators of those laws? Surely not.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 begins with language from which the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause is derived: "All persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States." (Emphasis added.) The explicit exclusion of Indians from birthright citizenship was not repeated in the 14th Amendment because it was considered unnecessary. Although Indians were at least partially subject to U.S. jurisdiction, they owed allegiance to their tribes, not the United States. This reasoning -- divided allegiance -- applies equally to exclude the children of resident aliens, legal as well as illegal, from birthright citizenship. Indeed, today's regulations issued by the departments of Homeland Security and Justice stipulate:

"A person born in the United States to a foreign diplomatic officer accredited to the United States, as a matter of international law, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. That person is not a United States citizen under the 14th Amendment."

Sen. Lyman Trumbull of Illinois was, Graglia writes, one of two "principal authors of the citizenship clauses in 1866 act and the 14th Amendment." He said that "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States" meant subject to its "complete" jurisdiction, meaning "not owing allegiance to anybody else." Hence children whose Indian parents had tribal allegiances were excluded from birthright citizenship.

Appropriately, in 1884 the Supreme Court held that children born to Indian parents were not born "subject to" U.S. jurisdiction because, among other reasons, the person so born could not change his status by his "own will without the action or assent of the United States." And "no one can become a citizen of a nation without its consent." Graglia says this decision "seemed to establish" that U.S. citizenship is "a consensual relation, requiring the consent of the United States." So: "This would clearly settle the question of birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens. There cannot be a more total or forceful denial of consent to a person's citizenship than to make the source of that person's presence in the nation illegal."

Congress has heard testimony estimating that more than two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles public hospitals, and more than half of all births in that city, and nearly 10 percent of all births in the nation in recent years, have been to illegal immigrant mothers. Graglia seems to establish that there is no constitutional impediment to Congress ending the granting of birthright citizenship to persons whose presence here is "not only without the government's consent but in violation of its law."

FORGING NEW CHAINS FOR AMERICANS

FORGING NEW CHAINS FOR AMERICANS　

By Helaine Chersonsky;

The current administration is forging chains of taxation and future misery to be wrapped around the neck of each and every man, woman and child, so that we will be burdened for over a hundred years with fees and taxes and regulations. We will never again be able to raise our heads for pride in our country; we will never be able to again sing, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free atLast.”

What freedom we had prior to today has turned to dust in our mouths and we are choked with the bile of lies, hypocrisy and corruption.Our nation’s flag should be lowered to half mast as we salute ourEmbattled nation. We have sold our precious freedom for a mess of bitter pottage. Let those who still revere freedom gird their loins, callupon the true Founder of our Freedom and do what we must in the service of true freedom.We will not forget those Congress people and others who have forged these new chains for the American people. We will repay you in kind and in like manner.

Congressional Caucus to Focus on Illegal Workers

From Federation for American Immigration Reform

New Congressional Caucus to Focus on Illegal Workers, Unemployed Americans


Three true immigration reformers in the U.S. House of Representatives have announced the formation of a new caucus to focus on the nexus between illegal immigration and unemployment in America. Headed by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Sue Myrick (R-NC), and Gary Miller (R-CA), the Reclaim American Jobs Caucus consists of 40 Members from both sides of the aisle who will work to highlight the link between illegal immigration and record unemployment in the United States.

As the official unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent and the underemployed rate around 25 percent, these members hope to take concrete steps to get American citizens and legal immigrants back to work by advocating immigration enforcement policies to free up jobs currently held by illegal aliens.

Click here to see Reps. Smith, Myrick, and Miller introduce their new Caucus. Click here to read Rep. Smith's press release on the new caucus.