I fail to see how anyone can object to this program.

PHOENIX — The police in this city at the center of the immigration debate will soon ask all people arrested whether they are in the United States legally and will in certain cases report the information to the federal authorities, Mayor Phil Gordon announced on Friday.

People stopped for civil traffic violations like speeding will not be questioned, nor will crime victims or witnesses.

All those arrested on criminal charges like drunken driving and murder will be asked by officers whether they are in the United States legally.

The police may decide to recommend checking by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The change includes having the police notify the immigration agency about people who are detained but not arrested who officers have “reasonable basis” to believe are illegal immigrants.

This seems like a commonsense solution to me. In asking the question of those reasonably believed to be involved in criminal activity, the police will be targeting folks based upon conduct and not ethnicity. Furthermore, those involved in criminal activity are, the last time I checked, considered undesirable by the overwhelming majority of Americans, except for the open borders extremists among us.

Posted by: Greg at 05:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Once we get rid of the current crop of border jumpers and figure out how to avoid turning this into an anchor baby creation program, this proposal might not be too bad.

Mexican president Felipe Calderon called for a return to the bracero programme of the 1950s as a way to address issues of immigration and illegal workers between the US and Mexico. Calderon made the statements in an address to the California legislature, where he said that immigration "carries off the best among us" and vowed to create economic conditions that would allow Mexicans to find well-paid work at home.

"While my government is committed to protecting the rights of all Mexicans, including those living beyond our borders, we are taking great efforts to ensure that in the future no Mexican needs to leave our country to find job opportunities elsewhere," he said.

Calderon reminded legislators that Mexico is the top destination for California exports, and he recalled the bracero programme from the 1940s-60s as a system that met both countries' needs.

"We need to make migration legal, safe and organized," said Calderon, who met with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And I think Calderon hit on one point – Mexico needs to clean up its act politically and economically so that border jumping ends. After all, the current immigration situation is indicative of the reality that, at this point in time, MEXICO SUCKS! I know that is a harsh statement to make, but the reality is that the country is currently a kleptocracy in which the common people are oppressed by corrupt government officials on the one hand and criminal gangs on the other -- to the degree that the two are not one and the same.

And let me say it again – I am not opposed to Mexicans coming to work, or even live permanently, in the United States. I object to their doing those things in violation of our nation's laws and sovereignty.

Posted by: Greg at 11:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Pass a law to make it exonomically difficult for those in this country illegally to stay in your state, and many of them leave.

And where are they going? In many cases, back home.

Property managers report that families have uprooted overnight, with little or no notice. Carlos Flores Vizcarra, the Mexican consul general in Phoenix, said while he could not tie the phenomenon to a single factor, the consulate had experienced an “unusual” five-fold increase in parents applying for Mexican birth certificates for their children and other documents that often are a prelude to moving.

Hasta la vista, baby! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Lawbreakers are not welcome here.

But if you go get in line with the honest people seeking legal admittance to this country, you'll be welcomed back with open arms.

Posted by: Greg at 11:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Not only are Mexicans crossing our border illegally, but now some of their kidnapping gangs are targeting Americans for kidnapping when they cross the border.

Organized, well-financed and violent Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting a growing number of U.S. citizens visiting communities popular with San Diegans and other California residents.

Last year, at least 26 San Diego County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach or Ensenada, local FBI agents overseeing the cases said yesterday. In 2006, at least 11 county residents had been kidnapped in the three communities.

“Some of the 26 were recovered, some were hurt and some were killed,” said agent Alex Horan, who directs the FBI's violent-crime squad in San Diego.

“It's not a pleasant experience. Victims have reported beatings, torture and there have been rapes. . . . Handcuffs and hoods over the head are common,” he said.

Now that is 26 from the San Diego area -- that we know about. There may be more, and certainly are more in other areas along the border. How much longer until these gangs start operating on the US side of the border, bringing one more Mexican social problem into the United States.

Posted by: Greg at 11:27 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Just one of those reminders about how far we have gone in accommodating illegal aliens in this country – at the expense of every American citizen, including those of Hispanic descent.

As I’ve mentioned, over half of my students are Hispanic of one variety or another. As a result, I have Hispanic students who are in the country illegally, legal resident aliens, naturalized citizens, and US citizens by birth – even some who are third and fourth generation or more. And it is those latter students, American by birth, who have gotten the not so subtle signal that they really don’t count when it comes to programs for Hispanic students.

Yesterday my 10th grade students got their score sheets from the PSAT test they took this fall. The next administration of the test will be this coming fall, and could qualify them as National Merit Semi-Finalists, and also for the National Hispanic Recognition Program run by the College Board.

One of my students did exceptionally well on the PSAT, showing the potential to qualify for one or both of these programs if she continues to work hard and makes sure she participates in the test preparation programs that we offer at our school. This young lady is a very special girl – intelligent, poised, athletic, and well-spoken, as well as very motivated. In other words, she is everything that I or any other teacher could ask for. I took her aside for a moment to offer some praise and to urge her to take advantage of the programs our school offers to prepare students for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests. In the course of this, I mentioned the NHRP.

The response I got to the latter suggestion shocked me.

“Oh, no, mister, they won’t take me. I’ve got papers.”

I really didnÂ’t think I heard her correctly, so I asked her to repeat herself.

“I was born here, so they won’t take me.”

Now I was able to fix her misconception by showing her the qualifications for the program on my computer, and assured her that US-born students of Latin American heritage qualified for the program.

But in the back of my mind I was really disturbed, and became even more disturbed as I realized that this perceptive young lady had picked up on an essential truth about our schizophrenic policy regarding illegal aliens.

We throw benefits at illegal aliens, especially illegal alien students. We make special exceptions for them and run special programs for them in our schools. Most people take those programs for granted, and to raise a question about their legitimacy is to risk being labeled a racist.

But this girl, an American of Hispanic ancestry, was not so politically correct as to avoid the truth. She implicitly named the problem – too often the benefits of special problems accrue not to those who follow our laws, but instead to the lawbreakers. And that, my friends, is simply wrong. It is time that we put American citizens and legal aliens first.

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Posted by: Greg at 09:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Stricter laws in Oklahoma and Arizona regarding border jumping immigration criminals are pushing such folks into Texas, where such laws have not been passed.

We need to make passing such laws a priority.

Illegal immigrants are flowing into Texas across its long borders. But they aren't just swimming across the Rio Grande from Mexico or making dangerous treks through the rugged desert.

Instead, a new rush of illegal immigrants are driving down Interstate 35 from Oklahoma or heading east to Texas from Arizona to flee tough new anti-illegal immigrant laws in those and other states.

Though few numbers are available because illegal residents are difficult to track, community activists say immigrants have arrived in Houston and Dallas in recent months, and they expect hundreds more families to relocate to the Bayou City soon.

''They're really tightening the screws," said Mario Ortiz, an undocumented Mexican worker who came to Houston after leaving Phoenix last year. ''There have been a lot coming — it could be 100 a day."

The growing exodus is the result of dozens of new state and local laws aimed at curbing illegal immigration. The two toughest measures are in Oklahoma and Arizona.

The Oklahoma statute, which took effect in November, makes it a crime to transport, harbor or hire illegal immigrants. Effective Jan. 1, the Arizona law suspends the business license of employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. On a second offense, the license is revoked.

Texas has a choice. We can welcome lawbreakers and assume the extra tax burden that they impose on every citizen and legal immigrant in the state. Or we can impose similar laws here, encouraging many of these invaders to self-deport. Texas can be a part of the firewall against those who break our nation's laws, or we can be their preferred point of entry and place of residence. I know which position most Texans take, and demand that our legislators follow the will of the people during the next legislative session.

Posted by: Greg at 04:39 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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