Monday, January 23, 2006

House Passes Stricter Immigration Reform

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, by a vote of 239-182. The bill now goes to the Senate. The Senate is drafting its own bill & it remains to be seen if the provisions in House bill will stand.

Key provisions of the House bill include:

1. Making it a criminal felony to remain illegally(unlawful presence)in the U.S. Illegals would now face jail time as well as being barred from future legal status & re-entry into the U.S.
2. Anyone or any organization who aids an illegal “to reside in or remain” in the United States knowingly or with “reckless disregard” as to the individual’s legal status would be liable for criminal penalties.
3. Expedited removal of illegals apprehended within 100 miles of the border & within 14 days of crossing, rather than appearing before an immigration judge.
4. An additional 700 miles of multi-layer fencing along the border.
5. State and local law enforcement are authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. State and local governments which refuse to participate would be subject to the loss of federal funding.
6. Document fraud would be considered an aggravated felony, as well as increased penalties for crimes of violence by illegals.
7. The visa lottery program, which allows 50,000 immigrants each year from countries around the world to permanently reside in the United States, is eliminated.
8. Creates a new electronic employment verification system modeled on the Basic Pilot Program. The pilot program was voluntary & few business used it. The new program is mandatory.


Unfortunately, the rescinding of birthright citizenship was removed from the bill. This is a key tool to dissuade illegals from giving birth after 5 minutes into the U.S. & having it become a U.S. citizen automatically.

Nevertheless, the bill is far & away a big step in finally doing something about the massive illegal invasion of our country & the negative impact that invasion has caused. It will also help in the fight against terrorists entering the country. But there is still a long way to go. It is unclear if any of the bill's provisions will survive a compromise from the Senate. The Senate is wimpish stopping illegal immigration.

Naturally, Mexico & other Latino countries are livid, especially with the border fence. The same old racist blah blah is coming from them, as it is from organizations & people who support illegal immigration.

The House bill should have included a provision for a supply of crying towels for these hand-wringers.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

In-State Tuition Bill Defeated In Mass.

Massachusetts House members last night decisively defeated a controversial bill to extend in-state tuition rates at public colleges to illegal aliens. The defeat was a surprise to advocates for in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens, since they expected the bill to pass easily. However, advocates against the bill organized a strong phone call, letter writing & e-mail campaign to legislators. Apparently, the effort succeeded, as the bill was roundly defeated.

Representative Marie Parente, a Milford Democrat, who voted against the bill said, "You're going to educate people to take our own technical jobs, the ones our students need?" She said immigrants who are here illegally should not be given advantages over residents who struggle as she did when she was a child. Parente was a foster child and attended college later in life because she could not afford to go right out of high school.

The bill would have granted in-state tuition rates for illegals who completed high school in Massachusetts & had been here 3 years (illegally). The student would also have to sign a paper stating that he/she would seek U.S. citiizenship (wink, wink).

We applaud the Massachusetts legislators in defeating this bill. There are already too many states which allow in-state tuition rates for illegals. In effect, illegals who break our laws in the first place by coming into the country illegally are further rewarded over our own natural born citizens. This is crazy.

An American student who lives in a state next to a state that provides in-state tuition for illegals, must pay the out-of-state tuition rate - usual double the in-state rate. But an illegal, who has no allegiance to this country, who broke this country's laws in the first place, is given the much cheaper rate.

Why do some legislators & illegal alien advocates put more concern & effort into the illegals amongst us then to their own citizens? They show compassion & concern for the illegals. That's nice, but it is misdirected. The compassion & concern should be toward Americans who cannot afford college.

Providing in-state tuition is really contrary to Federal law. There is such a thing called an F-1 student visa. A student in another country who wishes to go to an American college must first apply for an F-1 visa. It is a long process. The college the student wishes to attend must prove that he/she has been accepted into it. The student must pay the full cost of tuition. If approved, the student is allowed into the USA to attend the college. Upon completion of studies, the student must return to his/her country.

The illegal student in this country has in effect cheated the process, cut in front of the line. No need for lengthy F-1 visa processing - just illegally cross the border, then continue the cheating by going around the F-1 visa requirements. The illegal by definition is a cheater - not waitng his/her turn to enter the country, by-passing the F-1 requirements, phony drivers license, phony social security cards, phony this, phony that, not paying taxes. It's time to drop the hammer on them, not coddle them as their advocates want to do.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Theodore Roosevelt on Immigrants & Assimilation

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

President Theodore Roosevelt 1919

Sunday, January 01, 2006

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The start of a new year. Everyone gets another chance. Do it right this time. Best Wishes.