More name-calling open-borders nonsense in the Washington Post. And it is too bad, because without the playground-style name-calling, Sebastian Mallaby might just have contributed something of value to the debate on immigration legislation.

Border security does not come cheap: We could save money on unmanned aerial drones and use it to help high-school dropouts with a more generous earned-income tax credit. And although the concern for high-school dropouts is welcome, it must be weighed against the aspirations of migrants. Is it right to push native workers' pay up by 2 percent if that means depriving poor Mexicans of a chance to triple their incomes?

Of course it isn't, and given that the total economic effect of immigration on U.S. households is a wash, the big ramp-up in enforcement spending beloved by immigration hawks is an egregious waste of money. But no politician is going to say that. Candidates with a good record on immigration -- Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, John McCain -- are trying to avoid the issue. And the demagogues and nativists are allowed to spout unchallenged nonsense.

Because, of course, opponents of liberal policy preferences aren't just wrong -- they must be declared to be EVIL!

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This just chaps my behind -- immigration authorities making it easier for kids who don't live in the United States to cross the border to steal a free public education from American taxpayers.

For the past two years, Rachel Ortiz's commute to her El Paso school has begun each morning in Mexico.

As the sun rises over that side of the Rio Grande, the first-grader follows her father from their cinder-block home through the streets of Ciudad Juarez.

Aaron Ortiz holds his 6-year-old's pink backpack and later her hand. At the border they funnel onto the pedestrian bridge alongside dozens of other children with backpacks holding parents' hands. Then they are on the other side, saying goodbye at the gates of Vilas Elementary, where breakfast is served free and special classes are offered for English-language learners.

At that school, Rachel has made friends with American students. She writes reports on butterflies and decides she wants to be a doctor — for dogs — when she grows up. And when the school bell rings at the end of the day, her father is waiting outside, ready to walk her back home to Mexico.

No wonder there are 12-20 million illegal aliens in this country, along with millions of anchor babies. Our own government aids and abets them -- and expects us to pay for it.

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Parole them, then deport them.

Nevada’s Pardons Board on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 46 illegal aliens in the Nevada prison system, clearing the way for the Parole Board to release them.

But they won’t be let go. Instead, they’ll be released to federal immigration authorities who will deport them.

Supreme Court Justice Jim Hardesty suggested releasing many of the illegals, who may constitute more than 10 percent of the prison population, as a way to reduce overcrowding. He said there are 1,065 illegal aliens in the Nevada prison system, many are being held for nonviolent crimes.

David Smith, of the Parole Board, said 35 illegals have been turned over to federal authorities. But the group dealt with Wednesday wasn’t eligible for release because they hadn’t served their minimum sentences yet. Only the Pardons Board, which consists of the seven Supreme Court justices, the attorney general and the governor, has the power to make them eligible for parole early.

Hardesty said another 40 or so will become eligible for parole and deportation before June. Altogether, he said, the parole board should be able to turn over a total of 121 illegals by June 15.

But he said that’s just the first phase of the plan. He said another 186 inmates will be considered at the Pardons Board on May 29. He said the inmates on that list are also good candidates for deportation since their crimes are nonviolent. Once the Pardons Board commutes their sentences, the parole board can release them for deportation as well.

In the future, he said, the board hopes to develop a system that routinely hands over
illegals to the federal government for deportation.

And the great thing about it is that if they do return, they are parole violators who can be quickly and easily incarcerated if caught.

Round ‘e up! Ship ‘em back! Rawhide!

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Parole them, then deport them.

NevadaÂ’s Pardons Board on Wednesday commuted the sentences of 46 illegal aliens in the Nevada prison system, clearing the way for the Parole Board to release them.

But they wonÂ’t be let go. Instead, theyÂ’ll be released to federal immigration authorities who will deport them.

Supreme Court Justice Jim Hardesty suggested releasing many of the illegals, who may constitute more than 10 percent of the prison population, as a way to reduce overcrowding. He said there are 1,065 illegal aliens in the Nevada prison system, many are being held for nonviolent crimes.

David Smith, of the Parole Board, said 35 illegals have been turned over to federal authorities. But the group dealt with Wednesday wasnÂ’t eligible for release because they hadnÂ’t served their minimum sentences yet. Only the Pardons Board, which consists of the seven Supreme Court justices, the attorney general and the governor, has the power to make them eligible for parole early.

Hardesty said another 40 or so will become eligible for parole and deportation before June. Altogether, he said, the parole board should be able to turn over a total of 121 illegals by June 15.

But he said thatÂ’s just the first phase of the plan. He said another 186 inmates will be considered at the Pardons Board on May 29. He said the inmates on that list are also good candidates for deportation since their crimes are nonviolent. Once the Pardons Board commutes their sentences, the parole board can release them for deportation as well.

In the future, he said, the board hopes to develop a system that routinely hands over
illegals to the federal government for deportation.

And the great thing about it is that if they do return, they are parole violators who can be quickly and easily incarcerated if caught.

Round ‘e up! Ship ‘em back! Rawhide!

Posted by: Greg at 11:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, if they are going to resist federal attempts to enforce federal law on immigration (which, liberals constantly remind us, is a federal responsibility), then they certainly should not benefit from federal funds under other federal laws.

Oakland city officials today announced two new resolutions condemning recent federal immigration raids and formalizing the city's intention not to cooperate with the U.S. government effort to deport undocumented residents.

The resolutions, one by Mayor Ron Dellums and the other by Council President Ignacio De La Fuente, both condemn the recent raids, which included one on Friday at an East Oakland manufacturer.

Both resolutions are also an effort to update Oakland's 1986 "City of Refuge" ordinance which only applies to refugees fleeing political violence in Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and South Africa, De La Fuente said. His proposed ordinance would give refuge to any undocumented immigrant regardless of national origin.

The council president, Dellums, Police Chief Wayne Tucker, City Councilwomen Jean Quan and Jane Brunner, and other city officials appeared at a City Hall news conference to support both resolutions.

The measure by De La Fuente and co-sponsors Quan and Brunner would direct city departments and staff not to cooperate with any federal immigration investigation, detention, or arrest procedures. They will introduce the measure Thursday to the City Council Rules Committee, De La Fuente said.

"The City of Refuge declaration is just as relevant today as it was 21 years ago, if not more, as our federal immigration policies are still in need of comprehensive reform," said De La Fuente, a native of Mexico and one of the Bay Area's more prominent immigrant elected officials.

City of Refuge? Let’s call it what it is – City of Lawlessness. And let’s take it a step further – these actions are reminiscent of the actions of South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis of the 1830s – and no more legitimate.

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They are your people – you take care of them.

Mexico's new secretary of health visited San Francisco on Monday to learn about the health needs of the millions of Mexican immigrants living in California and to further collaborate with state officials to meet those needs.

"We can build a new model for attention to the health needs of Mexican workers here," said Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, appointed by Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon.

The former hospital chief and medical school director from the state of Guanajuato said he plans to meet every six months with U.S. health officials and Mexican immigrant communities to create a basic health care plan to cover Mexicans in the United States and eventually extend to them a system of universal health care that is being developed by the Calderon administration.

Cordova, who came here from a meeting on border issues in Tijuana, spoke with reporters at the Mexican consulate and then met with Bay Area groups that provide health care to Mexican immigrants. He planned to end his one-day trip to the Bay Area, his first official visit to this country, by hosting a dinner at Tommy Toy's restaurant with officials of the University of California, the governor's office, and the state and federal health departments.

Now if you would only be as proactive about stopping them from crossing the border illegally as you are about trying to get them medical care in this countryÂ…

Posted by: Greg at 09:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If the New York Times is encouraged, then I'm discouraged.

The good news is that in this yearÂ’s debate, triggers and touchback have become potential areas of compromise. It remains true that maliciously devised triggers can be too onerous, but as The Wall Street Journal reported, Democrats are now saying that they are open to well-written trigger provisions, since that could give a bill broader support among Republicans. Reassuring Americans that border security is improving is reasonable, as long as achieving the benchmarks is not the sole and ultimate aim. Republican leaders, to their credit, have backed away from the narrow, enforcement-only approach that disgraced their efforts last year.

Triggers and touchback have already been conceded by the supporters of comprehensive reform; a bill in the House, the Strive Act, sponsored by Representatives Jeff Flake and Luis Gutierrez, would require immigrants to leave the country and return within a six-year span. ItÂ’s not ideal, but if a touchback provision is manageable and reassures people that illegal immigrants are indeed going to the back of the line, then it will be defensible.

The possible breaking of the stalemate was only part of the good news in recent days. The other part came in the form of research showing Americans way ahead of the hard right on immigration reform. The USA Today/Gallup poll found that 78 percent favored earned citizenship.

The problem is, though, that the triggers teh Times supports are too easy to meet -- and the touchback provision too soft. And there still remains no real enforcement provision. And of course 78% of Americans -- including me -- support the notion of earned citizenship. The thing is that a great many of us reject the notion that we should be regarding those who have already shown a propensity to violate our nation's law with a preferential spot in the line, which any "comprehensive" immigration bill will do.

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To read this article, not the lawbreaking parents who came to this country illegally and gave birth to American citizen children.

As the government's crackdown on illegal immigrant workers has intensified in recent months, so have the consequences for a large subgroup of U.S. citizens: American-born children of illegal immigrants.

Numbering at least 3.1 million, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center, such children range from teenagers steeped in iTunes and MySpace to toddlers just learning their ABCs.

Until recently, their parents' illegal status had limited impact on these children's lives, because, although every year hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are detained attempting to cross the U.S. border, once they make it in, they are rarely caught.

But the increase in raids against companies employing illegal workers is beginning to change that.

In December, immigration agents descended on six meat-processing plants belonging to Swift & Co. and arrested 1,297 illegal workers. At one plant, in Worthington, Minn., the workers had at least 360 U.S.-born children and probably many more, according to a local pastor who raised money for them.

Similarly, of 361 workers arrested during a raid of the Michael Bianco Inc. manufacturing plant in New Bedford, Mass., last month, about 90 were the sole caregivers for one or more children in the United States, according to federal and state authorities.

On Thursday, a chubby-cheeked fifth-grader named Jessica Guncay joined the ranks of such children when immigration agents raided a Dixie Printing and Packaging Corp. plant in Baltimore, where her parents were working under false Social Security numbers.

During an interview in her home in Pikesville the next day, Jessica, 10, said that although she had known her Ecuadoran parents were in the country illegally, she never imagined they would be arrested.

"I feel sick inside," she mumbled, staring at her white sneakers.

Sorry, folks, but what makes this American citizen sick inside is the fact that the prss has more sympathy for the immigration criminals and their families than they do for the enforcement of the laws of the United States. The reality is that none of these folks should EVER be allowed to enter this country legally, as they have already shown flawed moral character by coming here and staying here in violation of our nation's immigration laws. And while it is sad -- even tragic-- that their law-breaking has a negative effect upon the lives of their children, let's place the blame right where it belongs -- upon the parents, not the government.

I've said it in the past, and I repeat it again -- if we cannot modify the Fourteenth Amendment to deny citizenship to the children of illegal aliens, then we need to pass a law terminating the parental rights of illegal alien parents and place the children for adoption. That will solve the anchor-baby problem once and for all.

Posted by: Greg at 10:31 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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