Bush Plans Primetime Speech on Immigration

[Martin]

lol.. Bush's approval rating is rock bottom at 31%. He is trying to do anything possible to raise it.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060512/..._immigration_2

Bush to Speak About Immigration on Monday

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 37 minutes ago


President Bush plans to address the nation Monday night on the immigration debate, trying to build momentum for legislation that could provide millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become American citizens.

The White House said it was seeking time from television networks for the president's remarks.

"This is crunch time," Tony Snow, the new White House press secretary said Friday at his first off-camera, or informal, briefing.
On Thursday, Senate leaders reached a deal to revive a broad immigration bill that had appeared doomed just several weeks ago.

Key to the agreement is who will be negotiating a compromise with the House, which last December passed an enforcement-only bill that would subject the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to felony charges as well as deportation.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the Senate will send 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats to negotiate with the House, with seven of the Republicans and five Democrats coming from the Judiciary Committee. The remaining seven Republicans will be chosen by Frist and remaining seven Democrats chosen by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Congress wimpin' out on illegal immigration...

Feds Have Dropped Ball on Illegal Immigration, Say Local Governments
March 01, 2007 - After the small town of Hazleton, Pa., experienced a stabbing, a drug bust and a few absentee landlords with as many as nine residents living in a single unit, Mayor Louis Barletta said he lay awake one night and thought, "I've lost my city."

The common thread running through many of the problems facing the once-sleepy town of about 23,000 residents is that the offenses involved illegal immigrants. Before 2000, Barletta recalled, the town averaged one murder every seven years. After an influx of illegal immigrants, there have been three murders in the last 18 months.

The problems prompted the mayor to enact new policies, including an ordinance to punish businesses hiring illegal workers, punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, and declare English the town's official language. Hazleton's policies inspired Starletta Hairston, a former council member in Beaufort County, S.C., who saw similar problems in her community. She pushed for the enactment of county policies in 2005 to deny licenses to businesses that employ illegal aliens and to deny business licenses to illegal immigrants.

"When the federal government drops the ball on enforcing immigration laws, it's up to the local governments to protect the taxpayers," Hairston said. Barletta and Hairston were joined Wednesday by Virginia State Del. Jackson H. Miller at a forum sponsored by the government watchdog group, Judicial Watch, which is examining what local governments can do about illegal immigration.

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See also:

Arizona Governor Pushes Congress on Immigration Reform
February 28, 2007 - Urging Congress to take immediate action on illegal immigration, Democratic Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano warned Tuesday that the situation will only get worse if ignored.

"Our current immigration system is broken," Napolitano said at a function in Washington, D.C. "Congress and the president must act, and they must act this year to fix this broken system." There are an estimated 11 to 12 million undocumented aliens living in the United States. Arizona is the busiest illegal entry point in the nation, with about 4,000 people crossing the border illegally each day, she said.

"We've heard too much about border security and not [seen] enough action," the governor said. "Congress cannot think that by authorizing money for a [border] wall that they have done something. They have done nothing." "Congress needs to understand this situation is not going to get any better by inaction. This situation has not improved. In fact, it is getting worse," Napolitano warned.

"The federal government refuses to foot the bill, or to deal in any effective way with the scope of this issue," she said. "In the face of that refusal, states have had to act." Napolitano said Arizona has spent over $300 million in dealing with illegal immigration but has not been reimbursed by the federal government. "By their inaction they have imposed an illegal immigration 'tax' on Arizona taxpayers and on the taxpayers from every other border state," she said.

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[waltky]

A fine example of judicial activism...

Illegal Presence in US Not Necessarily a Crime, Court Says
August 21, 2007 - If you can get past the border guards and into the United States, you're no longer violating the law, according to a Kansas Court of Appeals decision.

The ruling comes after an illegal immigrant, Nicholas Martinez, was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine and endangering a child. Court documents say Martinez was caught in an undercover sting by detectives in Barton County, Kansas (about 120 miles northwest of Wichita), using his young son to help sell cocaine. Under Kansas law, the charges (and plea bargain) would have landed Martinez on probation. But the judge in the case said the defendant couldn't be put on probation because of his immigration status.

"Mr. Martinez is illegally in the country and is in violation of the probation rules right from the start if I place him on probation," court documents quoted Judge Hannelore Kitts as saying. "He has to comply with all the conditions of the probation and he can't do that because he's in violation of the law not to violate any federal or state laws." The judge then rejected the plea agreement's sentencing recommendation and ordered Martinez to spend a year in jail.

"I don't want to speak for her, but the judge obviously believed there was an inconsistency in placing him on probation when one of the first things he would have been told was to obey the law," said Barton County Attorney Douglas Matthews. But on appeal, a three-judge panel threw out the sentence, based on an apparent contradiction in U.S. law. While it is illegal to enter the country without the proper documents and permissions, it is not necessarily illegal to be in the country.

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[waltky]

Judge rules: Learn English or go to jail...

Judge sentences Hispanic men to learn English
Thurs., March. 27, 2008 - The three will have to pass test in a year — or serve two years if they fail

A judge known for creative sentencing has ordered three Spanish-speaking men to learn English or go to jail. The men, who faced prison for criminal conspiracy to commit robbery, can remain on parole if they learn to read and write English, earn their GEDs and get full-time jobs, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said.

The men, Luis Reyes, Ricardo Dominguez and Rafael Guzman-Mateo, plus a fourth defendant, Kelvin Reyes-Rosario, all needed translators when they pleaded guilty Tuesday. "Do you think we are going to supply you with a translator all of your life?" the judge asked them. The four, ranging in age from 17 to 22, were in a group that police said accosted two men on a street in May. The two said they were asked if they had marijuana, told to empty their pockets, struck on the head, threatened with a gun and told to stay off the block.

Attorneys for the men said they were studying the legality of the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal. One of the attorneys, Ferris Webby, suggested that the ruling was good for his client, Guzman-Mateo. "My client is happy," Webby said. "I think it's going to help him."

More Judge rules: Learn English or go to jail - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com

[waltky]

Granny says he shoulda said somethin' `bout all dem illegals comin' up here when there ain't no jobs...

Job market: No bottom until '09
July 2, 2008: The unemployment rate is forecast to fall in Thursday's jobs report. But signs still point to more job losses in the months ahead.

Economists are forecasting that the unemployment rate retreated slightly in June after May's big spike. But few believe that is a sign that the battered labor market is at or even near the bottom. When the Labor Department releases its June employment report Thursday, economists expect the unemployment rate to fall to 5.4% from 5.5% last month. But job losses are also expected to continue. Economists are predicting that employers cut 60,000 positions from U.S. payrolls in June, up from the 49,000 job loss reported in May.

This would be the sixth consecutive month of job losses. One reason for the expected decline in unemployment at the same time that overall job losses are increasing is that the unemployment reading jumped in May due to a large number of teenagers looking for summer jobs. Many of those teens likely gave up job search efforts in June, which will reduce the number of people counted as unemployed. It's also worth pointing out that even if the unemployment rate dips to 5.4%, that's still up from 5% in April.

And some economists even think the unemployment rate increased in June, due to the flooding in much of the Midwest. Rich Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research, said he believes unemployment could inch up to 5.6% in the month. But putting aside the monthly blips in the unemployment rate, there is no denying that the job market is weak. Several economists see more job losses ahead as employers pull back on hiring plans due to soft demand for their products.

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[waltky]

Work begins on $57 million border fence in San Diego...

Work begins on $57 million border fence
August 16, 2008 -- Fence will be far more expensive than other fences U.S. government is building; Lion's share will pay for filling canyon with nearly 1.9 million tons of dirt; Environmental groups say the dirt shift threatens Tijuana River estuary; Smuggler's Gulch once overrun with illegal immigrants before crackdown

Scrapers and bulldozers began Friday filling a deep canyon to make way for a border fence in the southwestern corner of the United States after 12 years of planning, environmental reviews and legal challenges. The 3½-mile stretch extends from a state park on an oceanfront cliff through a canyon known as Smuggler's Gulch. The gorge was overrun by illegal immigrants until U.S. authorities launched a crackdown in the 1990s that pushed traffic to the remote mountains and deserts of California and Arizona.

At a cost of about $16 million a mile, the fence will be far more expensive than fences the U.S. government is building elsewhere along the nation's 1,952-mile border with Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the average cost along the entire border is $2 million to $3 million a mile. The stretch near San Diego will cost about $57 million under a contract awarded to Kiewit Corp. of Omaha, Nebraska, said James Swanson, a Border Patrol special operations supervisor.

The lion's share will pay for filling Smuggler's Gulch with nearly 1.9 million tons of dirt and for building a concrete culvert to handle rainfall flowing downhill from Tijuana, Mexico, Swanson said. The border is marked by a decaying fence made of surplus Navy landing mats. Border Patrol agents swarm the area in jeeps and pickups as they wait for migrants in Tijuana to dash about 2 miles through trees to the closest patch of stores and homes. It is a far cry from the early 1990s, when large groups blitzed across the border and easily overwhelmed the Border Patrol.

More Work begins on $57 million border fence in San Diego - CNN.com

[waltky]

Fence to cost more than we were told...

Bush's Border Fence to Cost Extra $400M
WASHINGTON September 9, 2008 - Bush's Border Fence To Cost Extra $400 Million To Finish

The Bush administration needs an extra $400 million to complete its fence along the country's southwestern border, and government investigators say that may not even be enough to finish construction by the end of this year. To complete the 670-mile fence — already half built — the administration has asked Congress to approve the use of $400 million set aside for other programs, mostly surveillance technology projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, Jayson Ahern, the deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told The Associated Press Tuesday. Higher costs of fuel, steel and labor have led to the $400 million shortfall, Ahern said.

"If we run out of money, unfortunately the construction will have to stop," Ahern said. He said it is not known exactly how much extra it will cost to build each mile of the fence, because the costs differ due to varying terrain and environmental issues. Ahern is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday about the fence's funding shortfalls. At the same hearing, Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, will also tell lawmakers that the administration risks not meeting its deadline to complete the fence by the end of the year because of staffing shortages and complications with acquiring the land necessary to build the fence.

The concept of a border fence took on new life after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which revived the heated immigration debate. Intelligence officials have said the gaps along the southwestern border could provide opportunities for terrorists to enter the country. Critics have said the fence presents an inconsistent message about a country founded by immigrants and priding itself on opportunity. The fence is not intended to stop illegal immigration altogether, but rather make it more difficult for people to enter the country illegally, administration officials say.

More ABC News: Bush's Border Fence to Cost Extra $400 Million

[waltky]

Nobody wuvs ya when yer down...

Illegal immigration drops with economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- October 2, 2008: An estimated 11.9M illegal immigrants live in the United States; 500,000 lower than a year ago.

Illegal immigration, which has sparked political and social turmoil in communities across the nation, is on the wane, according to an independent report released Thursday. The number of illegal immigrants entering the United States has slowed significantly the past few years, falling below the number of those entering the country legally, according to the report by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington think tank. The report estimates there were 11.9 million illegal immigrants in the United States as of March. That would be a decline of 500,000 from the center's estimate a year ago. However, the change was not statistically significant because of the large margins of error. The Pew study does not address why the decrease occurred, but other researchers cite the nation's struggling economy and stepped up enforcement of immigration laws.

"The decline in job prospects in construction, service and other low-skilled jobs are communicated through extended networks of would-be movers from Mexico and Latin America," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, another Washington think tank. "It also may propel more return migration." Census data released last month showed that overall immigration slowed dramatically in 2007, though the Census Bureau does not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are notoriously difficult to count. Many researchers, including the federal government, estimate there are about 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. That's a big increase from the start of the decade, when the Pew Hispanic Center estimated there were about 8.5 million.

From 2000 to 2004, about 800,000 illegal immigrants a year entered the United States, the Pew report estimates. Since then, the average has dropped to about 500,000 a year. A decade ago, the number of newly arrived illegal immigrants began to outnumber those legally entering the country, said the report, written by the Pew Hispanic Center's senior demographer, Jeffrey Passel, and senior writer, D'Vera Cohn. "The reverse now appears to be true," the report said. Illegal immigrants make up about 30% of all immigrants, according to the report. About four in five come from Latin America, with most coming from Mexico.

Congress has passed several measures designed to increase border enforcement, and the Bush administration has stepped up raids on businesses. Some local communities have also passed ordinances to address the issue. Congress, however, has failed to pass a comprehensive package addressing illegal immigration, despite several attempts. Illegal immigration has not been a big issue in this year's presidential election in part because both of the major parties' nominees, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, support comprehensive immigration packages that include increased enforcement and an eventual path to citizenship for many illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigration slipping according to a report - Oct. 2, 2008

[waltky]

Court lookin' at local immigrant ordinances...

US appeals court weighs local Pa. law on illegals
Thu Oct 30, `08 – Lawyers for a small eastern Pennsylvania city asked a federal appeals court Thursday to uphold a local law that would keep illegal immigrants from working or renting apartments there, in a case with national implications.

Cities and municipalities across the country have adopted laws similar to the City of Hazleton's 2006 ordinance. However, a federal judge later called the Hazleton law unconstitutional, and its provisions are not being enforced. On Thursday, a lawyer for the former coal town argued that the ordinance would not conflict with federal immigration policy set by Congress. But an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer argued that municipalities should not be allowed to set varying standards and restrictions for illegal immigrants.

Congress, in crafting U.S. immigration law, aims to strike a balance between the rights of immigrants, foreign policy concerns, national security and other competing interests, ACLU lawyer Omar C. Jadwat told the three-judge panel. "That's going to be impossible if Hazleton and other cities strike their own balance," Jadwat said. The city's Illegal Immigration Relief Act would impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs. It would also require tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit is the first to hear an appeal of a local law involving illegal immigrants, but the 9th U.S. Circuit has upheld a statewide Arizona law that relates to employment issues. If the 3rd Circuit decides that Hazleton's work- and housing-related ordinance is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court may want to review the competing opinions.

Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta, who has gained a national following while championing the law, is running for Congress. He argues that as much as 10 percent of the city's 33,000 residents are illegal immigrants. Some have relocated from New York and Philadelphia, lured by the lower cost of living. The mayor says they are a drain on city and school budgets. The three-judge panel did not indicate when it might rule. Whichever side loses is likely to appeal. Hazleton is 79 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Source

[waltky]

Guess they don't know when they ain't welcome...

500K Illegal Immigrants Defying Deportation Orders
Friday, November 14, 2008 - Zeituni Onyango came to the United States seeking asylum from her native Kenya but was turned down and ordered to leave the country in 2004.

Four years later, she is still here. And her nephew is about to become president of the United States. Onyango's family connection to Barack Obama has thrown a spotlight on a phenomenon many Americans might find startling: An estimated half-million immigrants are living in the United States in defiance of deportation orders.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up efforts to catch fugitive aliens, as they are known, and now has about 100 "fugitive operations teams" around the country. In the past year, the teams have made 34,000 arrests, more than double the number two years ago. But there are still 560,000 such immigrants in the U.S. Fugitive aliens include people who, like Obama's aunt, sought asylum in the United States but were rejected and ordered to leave the country. Others were caught entering or living in this country illegally, and failed to show at their deportation hearings.

Often, illegal immigrants who have been issued deportation notices are given a certain amount of time to get out of the country on their own. They are not forcibly put aboard a plane; these deportations essentially operate on the honor system. Generally, if these immigrants stay out of trouble - if they don't get pulled over by police or swept up in a workplace raid, for example - they are in little danger of being thrown out of the country. That galls many immigration reform advocates, who say the practice breeds disrespect for the law and emboldens immigrants to sneak in and stay.

More CNSNews.com - 500K Illegal Immigrants Defying Deportation Orders