Border Issues
10/27/2011 | Border Issues
House Republicans Seeking Waiver of Environmental Laws That Hamper Border Patrol
Associated Press
Federal agents trying to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border say they're hampered by laws that keep them from driving vehicles on huge swaths of land because it falls under U.S. environmental protection, leaving it to wildlife — and illegal immigrants and smugglers who can walk through the territory undisturbed.
A growing number of lawmakers are saying such restrictions have turned wilderness areas into highways for criminals. In recent weeks, three congressional panels, including two in the GOP-controlled House and one in the Democratic-controlled Senate, have moved to give the Border Patrol unfettered access to all federally managed lands within 100 miles of the border with Mexico.
9/7/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Labor Dept. focused on illegals' 'rights'
OneNewsNow
The Tea Party Immigration Coalition is outraged that the Obama Labor Department is holding special "Labor Rights Workshops" for illegal aliens.
The Mexican Consulate in 50 U.S. cities, including Philadelphia and Seattle, held these workshops as part of National Labor Rights Week (August 29-September 5). During the free sessions, the U.S. Labor Department and other federal agencies counseled illegal aliens on such subjects as "immigrant workers rights" and how to obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which is usually issued by the IRS to people who are not authorized a Social Security number, i.e. illegal aliens.
"Illegal aliens may not work in the United States -- period. That's what the law says," points out John Stahl, chairman of the Tea Party Immigration Coalition. "As a matter of fact, the only right they have is to be deported."
He reports that these workshops were set up in response to agreements Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made with six Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
"We'd like to know under what authority the secretary of Labor signed an international agreement. Last I checked, the Senate of the United States must ratify treaties," Stahl notes.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin8/30/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
King: Congress will look into Obama's 'amnesty'
OneNewsNow
A leading border-enforcement advocate in Congress is calling for hearings into what is being referred to as President Barack Obama's "Executive Order amnesty."
On August 18 Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her department was creating an interagency working group charged with reviewing -- on a case-by-case basis -- the removal proceedings of all illegal aliens slated for deportation. The move has been seen by immigration enforcement advocates as a way for the Obama administration to ignore its congressional mandate to remove those people from the country.
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), vice-chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, admits he is "offended" by the administration's tactics.
"Congress writes the laws and the Executive Branch enforces them," King states. "For the president to have his subordinates declare and announce they're not going to enforce the law is de facto amnesty. It's essentially a de facto repealing of immigration laws; it's a lawless decision, and I am very offended by it -- and we must take action."
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin8/19/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Fewer Youths to Be Deported in New Policy
The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security or public safety.
The new policy is expected to help thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as young children, graduated from high school and want to go on to college or serve in the armed forces.
White House and immigration officials said they would exercise “prosecutorial discretion” to focus enforcement efforts on cases involving criminals and people who have flagrantly violated immigration laws.
Under the new policy, the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, can provide relief, on a case-by-case basis, to young people who are in the country illegally but pose no threat to national security or to the public safety.
The decision would, through administrative action, help many intended beneficiaries of legislation that has been stalled in Congress for a decade. The sponsor of the legislation, Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, has argued that “these young people should not be punished for their parents’ mistakes.”
The action would also bolster President Obama’s reputation with Latino voters as he heads into the 2012 election.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin8/1/2011 | Border Issues
AZ goes to people to 'take back our country'
OneNewsNow
An immigration expert and border enforcement advocate applauds the efforts of an Arizona state lawmaker who has devised an innovative way to increase border security.
Illegal immigration is not just an Arizona problem; it's an American problem. And that is why the state hopes others throughout the country will donate to the nation's security by sending money to erect a fence along the 370-mile border of Arizona and Mexico.
Lawmakers recently approved the project, and state Senator Steve Smith (R), who sponsored the legislation, hopes donors will help raise $50 million for the effort.
7/26/2011 | Border Issues, Governmental Control, Gun Control
Amid ‘Fast and Furious’ Scandal, Obama’s New Anti-Crime Strategy Includes Stemming Gun Flow to Mexico
CNS News
Even as the Obama administration still faces question about a botched gunrunning operation in which federal law enforcement officials knowingly allowed guns be transported Mexican drug cartels, a new White House report calls for cracking down on the “illicit flow from the United States of weapons and criminal proceeds” to criminal gangs.
The White House on Monday released the report titled “Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime,” referring to terrorist, drug trafficking and other criminal organizations operating across national borders.
The 38-page report lists 56 “priority actions,” including an executive order to seize the assets of transnational organized crime (TOC) networks as well as legislative proposals such as updating racketeering and money laundering laws.
“We must also stop the illicit flow from the United States of weapons and criminal proceeds that empower TOC networks,” says the report, which specifically addresses the flow of guns into Mexico.
Recommended Guests:
Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteChuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage FoundationSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyFrank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security PolicyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USACliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage FoundationGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkRyan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage FoundationJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle ForumTony Strickland, Taxpayer AdvocateLorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources ProjectCharl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"5/13/2011 | Border Issues
Mock a 'moat,' will you?
OneNewsNow
A member of Congress who is a leading advocate for border enforcement is calling President Barack Obama to task for mocking Republicans in a recent speech pushing amnesty for illegal aliens.
The president made the speech Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, before an audience that appeared sympathetic to his pro-amnesty agenda. Obama claimed the U.S.-Mexico border is more secure than ever, and he took a shot at Republicans who are pushing for stronger enforcement.
"Now they're going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol -- or they'll want a higher fence," he said. "Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they'll want alligators in the moat."
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) is vice-chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. He says the president was making fun of a fence array that has proven to be very effective in the border city where he was speaking.
5/10/2011 | Border Issues
Obama to Tout Amnesty in Speech Near Mexican City That Had More Casualties Than Afghanistan
CNS News
President Barack Obama’s commitment to providing legal status for illegal aliens is reflected in the time he has spent focusing on the country’s immigration laws in recent weeks, the White House said on Monday, one day before the president is set to deliver a national address on immigration in El Paso, Texas.
El Paso is across the border from Juarez, Mexico, a city where 3,111 civilians were murdered last year--more than in all of Afghanistan.
In recent weeks, Obama has met with current and former elected officials, business leaders and Hollywood celebrities – all of whom agree with his position on the matter – to promote comprehensive immigration reform.
Proponents call the proposal a “pathway to citizenship” for the roughly 12 million illegal aliens in the country, but critics call it “amnesty.”
4/18/2011 | Border Issues, Governmental Control
Fed policy trumps state amnesty law
OneNewsNow
A coalition of sheriffs dedicated to defending the border from the illegal alien intrusion says a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit is "judicially imposed amnesty."
The Ninth Circuit Panel recently voted 2-1 to uphold a lower court's decision to gut the law enforcement provisions of Arizona S.B. 1070 that were designed to help state and local law enforcement officers better enforce federal immigration laws. The constitutionality of those aspects was challenged by the Obama administration shortly after the state's governor signed the measure into law.
Sheriff Larry Dever"The court basically said that Obama administration policy trumps state law," reports Larry Dever, fourth-term sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona and honorary co-chair of the Southwest Border Sheriff's Project. "There is in the Constitution a superiority clause that says federal law can trump state law under certain conditions. But we're not talking about federal law here; we're talking about federal policy trumping state law."
Recommended Guests:
Chuck Colson, Prison FellowshipTom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteChuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage FoundationSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyFrank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security PolicyJames Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of CommerceRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USACliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage FoundationGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkRyan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage FoundationJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle ForumTony Strickland, Taxpayer AdvocateLorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project12/29/2010 | Border Issues
National Guard Lists Protecting U.S.-Mexico Border as No. 2 Top Mission in 2010
CNS News
The National Guard's No. 1 mission in 2010 was responding to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the No. 2 mission was providing support for the Department of Homeland Security in policing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the National Guard Bureau.
In explaining the top 10 missions of the year, Jon Anderson, a spokesman at the National Guard Bureau, said, “We just look at the things that we got the most reader interaction from, the things that were most interesting. Also, it was what our leadership was interested in, too -- the kind of efforts that they would have to put into it and the attention that we would need to give to it.”
12/17/2010 | Border Issues
Half of All Illegal Entries and Marijuana Smuggled Into U.S. in 2010 Came Through One Sector of AZ Border, Says Border Patrol
CNS News
Approximately “half of all illegal entries” into the United States and "half of all of the marijuana smuggled into the United States" in fiscal 2010 occurred in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which takes up only a part of the Arizona-Mexico border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin.
More than two-thirds of the Tucson Sector itself is under "effective control," according to CBP, which by definition means that the government can "reasonably ensure" that illegal entries are intercepted there.
11/5/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Conservative Republican Latina Wins N.M. Governor’s Office With Strict Stand on Illegal Immigration
CNS News
Republican Susana Martinez, who won New Mexico’s gubernatorial race by running as a conservative, vowed to boost security along the Southwest border during her campaign.
In a state that is more than 40 percent Hispanic, Martinez took 54 percent of the vote on Tuesday, beating her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, by eight points. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin.
Martinez will replace Democrat Governor Bill Richardson, who is nearing the end of his two-term limit. She will be the first female Hispanic governor in U.S. history.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin10/18/2010 | Border Issues
DHS Alerted AZ Sheriffs That Mexican Drug Cartel Was Sending Assassins Into Arizona Valley, Then Did No More Than Set Up Signs To Warn Travelers Away
CNS News
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned Arizona law enforcement officials in May that Mexican drug cartels were deploying assassins to kill bandits hijacking their drug loads in the Vekol Valley, 70 miles inside Arizona. Then the federal government set up signs in the region to warn American citizens away from this area of U.S. sovereign territory.
That local law enforcement would be left to confront agents of a foreign cartel coming across the international border of the United States to carry out a deadly drug war on U.S. soil is further evidence that the federal government is not doing its duty to secure the border, said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.
8/10/2010 | Border Issues
Border Security Measure Passes House
Wall Street Journal
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved a $600 million measure to boost border security on the U.S. southern border, a move Democrats hope is the first step toward a broader overhaul of the country's immigration laws.
The cost of the legislation is offset by a hefty increase in fees paid by primarily technology companies that hire highly skilled foreign workers under the H1B visa program.
Those firms with more than 50 workers and with more than 50% of those employees from abroad would see the current $320 fee per visa application jump to $2,000.
Backers of the fee increase argued that the fee increase would help create more U.S. jobs in competitive sectors like technology.
5/26/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Obama Should Visit U.S.-Mexico Border to See the Threat to Americans Firsthand, Republican Senators Say
CNS News
On the same day President Barack Obama announced he was ordering 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, two Republican senators from Arizona said it’s about time – and it’s too few troops.
“We have been calling on President Obama to deploy National Guard troops to the border since March 2009 and are pleased he has finally started to recognize the essential needs of our Southwest states,” Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl said in a statement.
Obama acted before Republicans could force a congressional vote on sending in the National Guard, the Associated Press reported.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin5/21/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Democrats Applaud As Mexico's Calderon Criticizes Arizona Immigration Law in Address to Congress
Associated Press
Mexican President Felipe Calderon took his opposition to a new Arizona immigration law to Congress Thursday, saying it "ignores a reality that cannot be erased by decree."
Calderon's comments on the Arizona law and his request that Congress do something about the availability of high-powered weapons along the border drew a standing ovation from Democrats, but criticism from several lawmakers who said he was interfering in U.S. internal matters.
The Mexican leader also told lawmakers reluctant to take up the immigration issue this year that comprehensive immigration reform is crucial to securing the two countries' common border.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin4/28/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Hoyer Says Arizona Immigration Enforcement Law ‘Inconsistent’ with Civil Liberties
CNS News
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that Arizona’s new immigration enforcement law was “inconsistent” with American legal traditions and civil liberties. Hoyer said that such active enforcement policies should not be included in upcoming federal immigration reform.
“I think that the law that was passed was a law that is very inconsistent with our past practices in America where we don’t go around asking people for I.D. cards,” Hoyer said at his weekly press briefing.
Hoyer said that he favored “comprehensive” reform of the nation’s immigration system, saying that such reform must include a secure border and comprehensive reform.
Recommended Guests:
David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAJoe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin4/28/2009 | Border Issues, Healthcare
World closer to swine flu pandemic
Reuters
A new virus has killed up to 149 people in Mexico and the World Health Organization moved closer on Monday to declaring it the first flu pandemic in 40 years as more people were infected in the United States and Europe. The WHO raised its pandemic alert level for the swine flu virus to phase 4, indicating a significantly increased risk of a pandemic, a global outbreak of a serious disease. ...Although the new flu strain has so far killed people only in Mexico, there were more than 40 confirmed cases in the United States, including 20 at a New York City school where eight cases were already identified. ...The swine flu is not caught from eating pig meat products, but several countries imposed import bans on pork from the United States. Stocks in companies such as airlines were also hit as investors worried about the impact on travel. Spain became the first country in Europe to confirm a case of swine flu when a man who returned from a trip to Mexico last week was found to have the virus. Texas health authorities confirmed a third case of swine flu at a school near the Mexican border and California said it now had 11 confirmed cases. The U.S. State Department and the European Union urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel Mexico and other areas affected by swine flu. ...Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the outbreak was now suspected of having killed 149 people and warned the number of cases would keep rising.
Recommended Guests:
Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare FreedomMarjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony ListColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA2/26/2009 | Border Issues, Gun Control
Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
ABC News
The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today. Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration. As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters. Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border. "I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S. Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.
8/6/2008 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration, Terrorism
US races to erect controversial steel fence on Mexican border
Breitbart.com
Just west of El Paso, near where Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in 1598, construction crews have completed a steel fence authorities say is a new model for border security. The five-meter (18-foot) tall fence has a mesh woven so tightly that feet and fingers cannot grab hold, but it still allows people to see through. Steel pylons are set close enough to stop a truck from bursting through, and two meters of reinforced concrete underground deters any tunneling. The structure is designed to push would-be illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out into the desert where they are more easily caught, said Border Patrol Agent Martin Hernandez. "Will it completely stop them from coming across? Of course not," Hernandez said. "Rest assured, there will eventually be holes in parts of the wall made by people trying to get in. But it buys us valuable time." The US Department of Homeland Security is racing to meet a December 31 deadline to raise 670 miles of steel fences and vehicle barriers along the 3,200 kilometer (2,000 mile) long southern border. About half has been completed, including this six kilometer (four mile) segment at New Mexico's Santa Teresa Port of Entry. But DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff faces a flurry of lawsuits by environmentalists and border communities that could stop construction cold. To meet his deadline, Chertoff is using sweeping authority Congress granted in 2005 to waive 36 federal laws protecting water, air quality, endangered animals, and native American sites.
Recommended Guests:
Zakariah Anani, Shoebat FoundationJoel Anderson, Assemblyman, California State AssemblyDavid Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCMajor Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyPaul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT PublicationsColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USAPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryJan Markell, President, Olive Tree MinistriesJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinKamal Saleem, Shoebat FoundationWalid Shoebat, President, Shoebat FoundationTimothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions