Illegal Immigration I
The Comprehensive Plan to Nowhere
(05/16/2006): Thank you President Bush, for finally enumerating
ALL the issues surrounding our illegal immigration population.
Perhaps the day will come when you and your administration
actually present to the American public - real choices. To state
that the problem will take years to solve, yet claim we need to
provide a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants,
before securing our borders, is a false choice. To state that we
cannot secure our border is more defeatism and shows a lack of
leadership and a lack of confidence in the American people.
I am also pleased to hear that you believe that we need to hold
employers of illegal immigrants accountable. Mr. President, have
you Googled 'social security verification'? There are dozens of
services available for businesses to use to verify a social
security number including a free service provided by our own
Social Security Administration. Why must we wait for a bio-metric card that
does not yet exist? So, Mr. President, in your own words, since
there are many easy ways to verify a social security number, there
is no reason to delay enforcing our current laws against
employing illegal immigrants.
Finally Mr. President, the American public would like to receive
the same concern, courtesy and benefits afforded to legal
citizens as to illegal immigrants. While I sympathize with the
problems that characterize over half of the world's population,
you cannot expect the American public to give up our well being
and standard of living on behalf of helping the rest of the
world. It is predicted that if the current Senate bill actually
becomes law, that the population of the United States would grow
by over 100 million people during the next 20 years. If this
happens, there will no longer be a United States of America.
We have already been down the road of comprehensive reform
(1986) and we have found that the road leads to nowhere.
The Great American... , er Mexican Boycott... , er Bust
(05/01/2005) With a 0.5% capitalization, what did they expect? 'Nuff
said!
I Saw the Oddest Thing on CNN
(04/23/2006): CNN ran a documentary on Illegal Immigration,
fairly depicted all sides of the conflict. I was struck by the
unabashed lack of fear some of our new found friends from across
the border had being filmed driving cars around our streets
without valid drivers licenses. In one case, an arrest was
documented, with the point of emphasis on the new found fear of
police the illegal alien had gained. She complained bitterly
about the fact that her hands hurt after being cuffed, even
though no visible signs of bruising were apparent. Welcome to
America!
And thank you CNN, for allowing us to again observe how folks
whom ignore our laws by crossing our borders illegally, continue
to ignore our laws after they arrive.
The Gangs of New York
(04/23/2006): For those of you that have seen this movie, you
know that the movie depicts the great wave of Irish Immigrants
into this county, culminating in the New York City riots of
1869. The riots were prompted by the conscription act which
allowed for the first American draft. Our American government
was depicted offering immediate U.S. citizenship to the Irish,
as they stepped off of the boats. Many were then handed guns as
they joined the army and were shipped south to fight in the
American Civil War. New Irish born U.S. citizens were loaded
onto boats as fast as the returning caskets could be unloaded.
What a novel concept! Perhaps we should allow history to repeat
itself by setting up checkpoints across our southern border and
offer up immediate citizenship to all emigrants willing to join
the Army and the war on terrorism in Iraq. My guess is that the
flow of illegal immigrants into this country from our southern
border would dry up rather quickly!
Lying, the New American Virtue
(04/10/2006): I want to encourage the proponents of
illegal immigration, to continue their march forward. The
increased
opportunity the American public has to hear alternate points of
view, allows the American public to more quickly realize,
illegal immigrant proponents
have no real argument for their cause, and are acting in their
own selfish self interests.
I have struggled to listen to the proponents, but I have
listened. They just don't get it. Sure, their constituents
would be better off in this country. When you ask, 'Will America
be better off?', and attempt to have a meaningful dialogue on
the issues, dialogue ends, and claims of racism and false
claims of accomplishment begin.
It is clear that no proponent of illegal immigration has any
clue as to how unchecked emigration into our country benefits
our country. It is also clear that the demonstrations are
allowing all Americans to come to a better understanding of this
simple truth.
I find my sympathy diminishing day by day, as I discover that
illegal immigrants and their proponents believe that lying is an
acceptable American virtue.
An
American Victory!
 (04/07/2006): The Senate defeated by a vote of 60 to 38, motions
made by the minority party to cut off debate in the Senate,
thereby presenting the great American middle class a victory
over those whom are attempting to turn the great privilege of
United States Citizenship into an entitlement for up to 30
million illegal immigrants. This defeat will allow debate to
continue.
I continue to be bitterly disappointed with the performances of
my two California Senators, Feinstein & Boxer. Their insistence
that our farms be protected from the 21st century, while the
remainder of Californians are not, is outrageous.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a Quorum
(04/06/2006): Having invested many, many hours watching my new
friend C-SPAN, on the debate over Illegal Immigration
& Border Security, I can unequivocally state, the most often
heard phrase used to close a speech is, 'Mr. President, I
suggest the absence of a Quorum.'
Yesterday, the Senate spent the majority of their floor time
debating whether to debate amendments. The minority side believed
they had the right to block further debate on the proposed
measure, in part as revenge for past grievances, but mainly
because they believed they had a bill which converted our
immigration policy from the notion of a privilege, to a notion
of an entitlement in the form of blanket amnesty.
Immigration is not an entitlement and I remain extremely
disappointed in those organizations that continue to prey on our
piety in their efforts, in particular, the Catholic Church.
So it is, rather than allow the legal citizens of the United
States, to observe how the greatest deliberative body in the
world, would come to a consensus on what is widely agreed to be
one of the most important issues we face, the Senate retreated
to the back rooms to cut a deal, apparently afraid of the
verdict the American electorate might pass, in the form of
votes come this fall, should debate be heard.
Nevada Senator Harry Reid argues 95% of illegal immigrants
are criminals!
(04/04/2006): The Senate's second day of (the second week) debate on Illegal
Immigration & Border Security ended on a contentious note as a
group of liberal democrats tried to bar the Senate from voting
on the first of 100 amendments to the Judiciary Committee's
Chairman's Mark, now on the Senate floor. The Honorable
United States Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and the Honorable
United States Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced an
amendment last Thursday that would prohibit illegal immigrants
whom had been convicted of a felony, or three misdemeanors, or
any illegal immigrant defying a court ordered deportation from
participating in the proposed 10 step, 11 year program of
amnesty contained in the Chairman's Mark legislation.
The amendment is strongly supported by the Chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, the Honorable
United States Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
Repeated attempts asking for unanimous consent to vote the
amendment up or down were rejected by the Minority Leader
Senator from Nevada.
Senator Reid objected to the amendment stating that if the
amendment was passed, that 95% of all the illegal immigrants
envisioned on a path to citizenship, would be prohibited from
doing so. Senator Reid's claim remained, despite the assurances
from several Judiciary Committee Senators, that the amendment
was exactly as presented and in fact, whose language was
identical to that passed in the 1986 Amnesty bill.
That is either a statement on the math competence of Senator
Reid, or a failure in leadership, admitting that you believed
95% of the illegal immigrants that you purport to represent,
would be eliminated from a path to U.S. Citizenship because they
had been convicted of a felony, 3 misdemeanors, or were facing a
court ordered deportation!
I find the liberal democratic view for humanity in critical
conflict. Senator Reid seems desperate to obtain 100,000 illegal
immigrants to build some 50,000 new hotel rooms in Sin City.
Senator Feinstein of California, is focused on obtaining over
400,000 additional illegal immigrants per year to pick fruit and
vegetables on California's farmlands. It seems that even illegal
immigrants will not work on California's farms for long, so we
need a fresh crop of new recruits every year.
Senators Kennedy and Kerry have stood up on the Senate floor
arguing that a bill creating a surf class society of slavery
called earned-citizenship, is a humane alternative to having
illegal immigrants living in the shadows. Senator Kennedy argues
that previous enforcement efforts have been a dismal failure,
then proceeds to defend the Amnesty program's tough stance on
border enforcement by offering up more money for more of the
same. And the good Senator is having a great deal of trouble
understanding the phrase 'getting in front of the line', which
does not refer at all to the green card lineup, but to the fact
that the illegals are already here. In fact, many illegal aliens
are already in front of me, a U.S. citizen, for free health
coverage.
I would like to congratulate Senator Specter. His superb
leadership actually produced a bill from the Judiciary Committee
to debate, under intense pressure. It is a good start to a very
welcome debate on the illegal immigration and border security
issues. I would also like to remind the Honorable Senator, that
it is in the best interest of many American Citizens, including
myself, that Senators not obfuscate our English language in the
debate. Your constituents deserve a workable solution that does
not demean or jeopardize current U.S. Citizens.
While I find the proposed 10 step program interesting, it may
not be in line with what the American people want, or even, what
the illegal immigrants want. Several of the steps seem
unworkable or meaningless.
For example, the requirement that an employer advertise jobs
prior to recruiting an immigrant. Senator Feinstein has already
reported failure on this front. Advertising a bad job doesn't
change the fact, it just increases the cost of the job.
Requiring an illegal immigrant to pay all back taxes is also
problematic. To expect records of illegal earnings is
unrealistic. How do you enforce this?
More important, is the notion that the promise of citizenship
will bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows. It is clear
that a majority of illegal Mexicans believe they have every
right to cross our borders, despite our laws, and once here, it
is clear that many believe they can claim our land as their own,
a part of Mexico.
It is also clear, that many Americans object to the imposition
of integrating with third world citizens. Kings Beach,
California is an example. As more illegals move in, more
Americans move out.
I clearly support the work of Senators Kyl and Cornyn and they
are to be congratulated and commended for their hard work that
has resulted in a realistic approach to our crisis. It is clear
that any workable approach must include strong employer
sanctions to 'degauss the magnet', the illusion of a shortage of
unskilled labor.
Second, it is vitally important that we work to increase the
standard of living for our neighbors to the south. It is clear
that the Mexican government is unable or unwilling to work for
the betterment of its people. It is also clear that the Mexican
government is actively involved in exporting their poor and
uneducated to the United States. Statements by Mexican Officials
and demonstrations organized by Mexican support organizations
cannot hide this fact from American Citizens.
Senators Kyl and Cornyn have proposed to implement 'circular
emigration', a concept whereby foreign nationals are organized
to dynamically address all the skilled or unskilled work
requirements that we have, in exchange for training the
participating nationals to export skills back to their own
countries.
I am at a loss, as to why anyone professing to the betterment of
all of humanity, would oppose this concept. It prevents the
breakup of families, it prevents disturbance to the mix of our
social fabric, and it is consistent with fundamental economic
notions of comparative advantage. I would rather teach a country
how to use its advantage of low cost labor to compete against
us, than to try to import that low cost labor into a workforce
of high priced labor to compete globally.
If your burden wasn't so large, I would also like to add that we
proceed on a path that eliminates the need for large masses of
unskilled labor pools. I wrote to my senator, Senator Feinstien,
that I believe we should promote the mechanization of our farms,
to turn those jobs that illegal immigrants won't perform for
long, into jobs that Americans will do. I suspect, with all due
respect to Senator Feinstien and her colleges, that had they
shown as much concern for the outsourcing of American high tech
jobs, as she is to the illegal immigrant cause for farmers, that
more Americans would be having more babies, myself included.
Which leads us to contemplate, more intricate root causes. In
this case, many Americans are starting to notice, the so called
unintended consequences of the deference to capitalistic
idiosyncrasies, and their impact on democracy. There is no more
recent, nor more dramatic example, than that of the Dubai ports
deal.
Recent Congressional testimony has confirmed, that American
capital had exited the port management business due to the slow
return on capital. Ports require business plans with long term
deployment on capital. Labor is similar. Thus, capital, an
American comparative advantage, exited a critical component of
our infra-structure. Capital is also deserting labor, another
critical American comparative advantage.
Labor a Capital Advantage?
The Honorable
United States Senator Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota, presented on
Monday, the net results of income distribution in the United
States over the last 20 years. His charts recorded over 150%
gain for the top 1% of Americans, greater than a 50% gain for
Americans in the top 20%, and less than 10% gain for ALL
Americans in the bottom 80% of our economy.
May I thank the President for my time on the floor. Since my
time is expired, let me quickly conclude that I believe capital
has under estimated the true value of an 'advanced' labor force
and if capital is unwilling to concede to American democratic
values, the result will render more than a few spreadsheets
meaningless. |
