Another Tea Party Summer?

Congress is taking another crack at passing immigration reform, but it’s 2007 all over again. It doesn’t matter how it’s packaged or how much data there is that proves that it’s to our economic benefit to pass a comprehensive immigration bill because the right wing of the GOP considers anything less than 100% attrition as amnesty. The right-wing does not want to address the 11 million undocumented people residing in our country other than to say “citizenship …never” and “let’s just secure the border.” There is language in the bill that calls for 90% of the southern border crossing being secured but there are people here  illegally from countries other than Mexico.

It’s pretty funny watching Senator Rubio trying to satisfy both sides of the issue while trying to maintain his credibility. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee thinks that he has found the answer. He upped the ransom that he will pay to get a few more Republican votes. His amendment will now include 700 miles of additional fencing, and he doubles the amount of the border patrol from 21,000 to 42,000. Remember we’re still in sequester mode but now he wants to hire more federal workers and spend millions more to extend the fence, even though the illegal border crossings are at net zero. All these sweeteners are just to pass a bill in the senate which doesn’t stand a chance in the other body unless Speaker Boehner relies on 100%  yes votes from the Democrats once again.

The Democrats are signing on to just about everything that appeases Republicans because they think they will outsmart their opponents in the long run. Even Michelle Bachmann understands the Democrats’ strategy. If the Senate passes a bipartisan comprehensive bill that has 70 votes in the affirmative, it will put the speaker on even more shaky grounds than he is in now. If by some miracle, the GOP controlled house passes their version of an immigration bill, it then has to go before a committee, so both versions can be merged. Will speaker Boehner stick with the Tea Party and destroy any chance of the GOP ever winning a national election or will he go to Nancy Pelosi ( hat in hand) and ask her for all the Democrats votes when he can only produce 20 or so? John Boehner can kiss his speakership good-bye if he does the latter.

The Republican base’s pep rally issues are front and center awaiting the 2014 mid-term elections. Yesterday, the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, Louie Gohmert, Steve King, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Michelle Bachmann held an all day rally on the White House lawn. I will never understand why people who have so much distain for government, run for office. Their complaints ranged from Benghazi, abortion, the IRS, Obamacare, illegal immigration reform, President Obama and government in general. Ted Cruz called for abolishing the IRS; Rand called for the same, but he also said that he would never send foreign aid to countries that persecuted Christians. Rand Paul is testing the presidential waters for his eventual 2016 run. The crowd images I saw I saw had about as many anti-Rubio signs and there were anti-Obama signs. The call was for small government for the safety net and more government for abortion, NSA and border enforcement. The Libertarian Republicans still have to convince their non- libertarian members that they have to be scared of big brother snooping. It shouldn’t be that hard, they’ll try to use the IRS and Obamacare as examples of big brother can’t be trusted to do anything right.

We are seeing record abortions bills passed in GOP controlled states and in the House of Representatives, but it’s not because there is an increasing amount of abortions, it is for political reasons. The states that are passing the unconstitutional bills don’t care about the costs; both politically and monetary because they want this issue front and center. The Pro-lifers want a Supreme Court challenge where they think having five conservative judges gives them an excellent chance of overturning Roe v Wade. In the meantime, GOP lawmakers are the beneficiaries of the Pro-lifers money and votes.

I’m finally at the point where it’s pretty obvious where the lines are drawn on the gun, Obamacare and immigration issue. The pro- gun people watch the evening news, read their paper and listen to their radio and come to the right conclusion that our country is getting more violent. They don’t trust law enforcement to be at the precise time and place to protect them. They want as much firepower and ammunition as they think is necessary to protect themselves in any situation.

A lot of people don’t have the slightest idea of what it takes to insure 31million more people, because they never spent the time and effort it takes to learn how the Affordable Care Act will affect them. Those who have company paid insurance or those on Medicare and VA will not see much difference. A lot of people fear that the government will take away benefits that their company gives them and redistribute them to the uninsured. There will never be convinced that we pay for the overuse of the emergency rooms with increase premiums rates. I could go on and on but that’s for another blog.

The immigration bill opposition is pretty easy to understand . We live in south Texas, so a lot of people here think that it’s a Mexican issue. If that’s a case, then it’s about food stamps, welfare, more crime and the overburdened of our hospitals and schools. Those people will tune you out if you present facts that contradict what they already presume to know. Citizenship, hell no; that just legally puts them on the public dole. Some people still believe Americans will pick those crops, and they can say they will pay higher prices to make it happen because they know they never will. The more browning of America is the underlying issue. If you need more proof, you won’t have to look no further than our redistricting maps. I have yet to hear a reasonable answer as what to do with the 11 million people who either came to this country illegally or overstayed their visas.

I believe that you have to be blunt because sugarcoating an issue just prolongs the solution. There’s a lot to “tell me what you really think.” Think about it; that’s why we have all the back and forth about a legal document being translated into Spanish.

Am I the only who is curious about the tease of two homes being raided yesterday? I didn’t see a follow up on the evening news or in my morning newspaper.

The Illegal Immigration Issue is Back

A week ago, a bipartisan delegation of senators rolled out their version of a comprehensive immigration reform package that is very similar to the one that was rejected in 2007.  This new plan is just the skeleton framework of the one which will eventually pass. The real sausage making will take place in the House of Representatives.

The GOP sent out their Hispanic representative Cuban –American ,Marco Rubio but their other Cuban –American,Ted Cruz said “I appreciate the good work that senators in both parties have put into trying to fix our broken immigration system. There are some good elements in this proposal, especially increasing the resources and manpower to secure our border and also improving and streamlining legal immigration. However, I have deep concerns with the proposed path to citizenship. To allow those who came here illegally to be placed on such a path is both inconsistent with rule of law and profoundly unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who waited years, if not decades, to come to America legally” which is quite honestly the position that derailed the last proposal? Texas’s other senator, John Cornyn, agreed with Cruz because he’s up for reelection in 2014, so until then he will echo whatever the junior senator has to say.

This Senate version excludes the LGBT community of a pathway to citizenship.  The plan also calls for border security first, and I’m ashamed to say that the Democrats signed off on that.  The 2007 immigration plan had more security first... front and center and this administration has surpassed the metrics of that plan.  I can understand why the GOP wants it in the plan, but Democrats need to point out that net migration into this country has dipped to zero.  President Obama is setting deportation records.  For example, in 2010, his administration deported 392,000 people and last year they surpassed that by deporting  410,000 people.  A record $18 billion(more than any other Federal law enforcement) was spent on border security.  We now have about 21,000 border agents, 5000 ICE agents and 207  immigration judges, but it was our weak economy that made the southern border manageable.  It's not about higher electrified fences, more drones, or more restrictive policies.

Now is the optimal time to discuss comprehensive immigration reform.It's a known fact that we have an aging population, and our birth rate is dropping and so is those of our immigrants.

I heard a republican say that instead of giving  immigrants in the high- tech field citizenship;  we should be training our own in those jobs.  The concept is not a bad one, but it's a little late on saying what we should've done and besides, we should practice what we preach.  Why weren't the republicans asking for more money for high tech job-training programs?  They do control the purse strings.

It's understandable since 58% of those that come into this country illegally come from Mexico, that most of the conversation would be centered on them.  That being the case, those who are advising the GOP -have to do more than tell them not to use the words, illegal, amnesty, alien and anchor baby when discussing illegal immigration because the advisers are being disingenuous.  Those derogatory terms have been passed down for generations and are ingrained into the hearts of those people who use them.  Skirting the issue for political gain never works unless you think Americans are stupid and can't see through that.  Marco Rubio can suger-coat the word amnesty all he wants and Chuck Shumer can say that they will pay a fine,learn English and all that but it's forgiveness because we don't have a will,plan or the resources to deport 11 million undocumented people.

You only need to read the latest copy of the National Review to see what I'm talking about.  The National Review article was right when it stated that, politically, it's not a good move for republicans.  It's a myth that Hispanics tend to be more conservative, but the harsh rhetoric will keep the wavering moderates away. The GOP needs to read the latest Tina Dupuy (which is in today's Advocate)article where she explains the difference between a person of Mexican descent and one of Cuban descent.  There is a world of difference and the first being, Mexico is at at our doorstep and the culture has been part of this country for a very long time.

The Senate version had a laughable clause on border security.  A commission of border governors such as Brewer and Perry would let us know when the metrics on border security were met.  Governor Brewer has a lot of brand-new  detention centers, so her bar would be extremely high.  Governor Perry wants to run for governor again( although polls indicate he shouldn’t)so expect him to take the self- deportation route.  Again, I don't know why the democrats signed off on this, unless they just wanted to keep the ball rolling.

One thing is certain,this battle won't be like the 2007 one, where everyone caved in to the extreme right because this time the Dreamers will be on the front line using 21st Century methods to keep pressure on Democrats and Republicans .

Our own Echo Chamber

The online chatter, network punditry, and arguments between ourselves have become a giant echo chamber where new ideas cannot penetrate.

I really don't know why, but periodically I will take a peek at our newly improved Facebook format, our online forum has taken because old habits are hard to break. It's still the antiquated “you’re a racist, and I'm not" type of dialogue that takes place every day.

I’m my own echo chamber, repeating my ideals thinking that maybe one day we will get beyond the viewpoints that have not worked in the past.

One of the favorite subjects is illegal immigration, where someone will submit a blog just to do a little race- baiting, knowing that he won't have to wait long before someone bites. The whole discussion will be between individuals who don't know (nor do they want to) a thing about the economics' of illegal immigration, and that's what it's all about.

The discussion will start with a poster calling the immigrants criminals or the preferred illegal aliens because it sounds more demeaning. The posters will step up on their pedestal and tell the world of how their ancestors who all came here it legally; of course, they can't prove that because illegal immigration didn't just start a few years ago. They probably don't know that the first offense for crossing into this country illegally is a misdemeanor and then they're usually processed and sent back to their country of origin, where they will not have to wear that label “illegal alien" again. The topic then has a life of its own, where unverified opinions will be the prevailing method they will use. The open borders crowd will first try to play the sympathy card, which will quickly be rejected, so there is no other options but to engage in ad hominem attacks.

As I was riding of my bicycle this morning, I kept wondering if there was a solution to this problem had that has divided us for so many years. I compare the people that keep coming to our country illegally to cigarette smokers (although cigarettes are legal products) because they both know the consequences of bad choices, and we cannot force them into submission... We taxed the tobacco consumer and made it harder for them to support their habit in public places, so why wouldn't that tactic work for illegal immigration?

We call the people who break our immigration laws criminals, but we don't do the same for the businesses who hire them. It costs a lot of money to raid an establishment that's known to hire the illegal immigrants because there’s court costs’, processing, over time for surveillance and then the transporting fees. Why not make these raids revenue neutral for the Feds? We could charge the indicted companies the entire amount of what it takes from day one until the time we release the immigrants, on top of the normal penalties. The full amount would include the costs for medical, education, and back taxes. We know that jail time would only mean that they would just transfer ownership, but astronomical fines would bankrupt them.

That sounds relatively easy and the "no amnesty crowd" would go along with this but those companies have lobbyists. Do you really think they're going to let the politicians take a stand against the companies? In this case, I will compare the drug addict to the American consumer who cannot go cold turkey. We want and demand cheap products; especially in this economy. For each additional raid ICE makes, the more, the consumer will pay at the register. My conspiratorial mind tells me that we won't hold too many raids because we need cheap labor, if our country is going to maintain the 1.5%, growth or expand it to 4% growth. I agree with Ron Paul when he said that if we were at 4 to 5% unemployment; we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Yes, we can make this issue tolerable, but it won't be until after the American voter gets tired of the Hatfield and McCoy answers. The ideal time would be tomorrow because the southern border is manageable right now. The answer is still and always will be a comprehensive reform package where each side has to do the unthinkable; compromise. We can't allow 11 million undocumented people living among us. Attrition will never work, so the answer is that most of the 11 million will likely stay, but they shouldn't be at the head of the line for citizenship. It will be a long drawn-out process with documentation being the priority. There are those who compare our immigration policies with other countries, saying that we are the most lenient, but that's not the issue. The other countries kept their immigration under control, but we did not, either for greed, necessity, or incompetence. We need to update our inept computer system, so we can carry out the E- verify a system without fear that the system would cost a U.S. worker their job. Those wanting voter ID laws should accept the concept of a tamper proof national ID card.

It all starts at the voting booth, so if you like the status quo then vote for those wanting to amend the 14th amendment, implement voter id laws but not a national ID. Card, and those who are advocating attrition only, open borders, or English only causes.

Can we ever move beyond our nine dots?

I sometimes get blog writer's block but not this morning because there's a wealth of material to discuss and most of it comes from our hometown newspaper, but I found some articles in today's Houston chronicle that will carry me over to next week.

I like to read the Houston Chronicle's letter- to- the- editor section because they normally select some good viewpoints. Today was no different; I read a letter from a gun owner who stated these liberals didn't understand why gun owners want their AR 15s. I really must renew my liberal newsletter because I didn't know it was a concern. Anyway, he went onto say that he needs the AR 15 for home protection and to do his part; if ever our country were to be invaded. I'll forget the latter, but it scares me that a neighbor with an AR 15 is going to start shooting if he hears a strange noise coming from his backyard. How much firepower do you need for a burglar? All I need is my cell phone. I showered got dressed and went to church and prayed that I don't have any neighbors with that mindset.

I see where the cream of the crop, Vic Ad Facebook posters, are still recycling the five-year-old talking points" I don't mind immigration...legal immigration" and " What is it about "illegal'" that people don't understand! On the other side, there's “they come here for a better life." It’s the familiar battle between nativists,activists, racists, bleeding hearts, and advocates for open borders, but mostly it's low information posters engaging in "word salad" discussions. I'm kind of glad I left Vic Ad because that's hours I didn't waste .These people are not interested in facts just the fight.

The issue is worth discussing because there is still a lot to learn. I didn’t know that the Guatemalan survivors were having communication problems because they don't speak Spanish; they speak Quiche. The drug cartels of Mexico are spilling over to countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Hondurans and Costa Rica. The Mexican government is chasing the cartels in that direction. The Guatemalans were running away from corruption in their country, $5.00 a day factory job, extortion and no hope for the future in sight. If it wasn't for the large numbers and politics, many of these people would be eligible for political asylum. The United States cannot afford to take in the mass exodus, but that doesn't mean that we have to be so hateful in our rhetoric. My wife and I will ride out to Berclair later this afternoon to express our sympathy for the dead.

I've always said that we need comprehensive immigration reform, and I think this would be an ideal time because we have a zero net gain on unlawful border crossings. It's easy to read about 23 illegal immigrants here and 15 over there and 3 or 4 more each day and thinking that it's worse than it ever was. About half of the 535 members of Congress don't have an appetite to take up the issue because they are waiting for attrition to work. Our slow economy did what a fence couldn't. A lot of us saw the GOP presidential debates. Did you see any workable solutions come out of them? All they were a doubling down of enforcement policies that don't do anything for the 11 million illegal immigrants who are here. Mitt Romney's self-deportation is a joke. I think a lot of Republicans were glad President Obama took the action he did (modified, not official Dream Act) because they couldn't present their constituents that plan because it would be considered amnesty. I don't have any verifiable facts, but I suspect we need every one of those 11 million illegal immigrants just to stay at our 1.5% growth rate. I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of Labor knows that.

Leonard Pitts wrote an interesting article about a televised information forum where issues like these would be discussed minus the same irreverent side issues such as, free health care, food stamps. I'll be watching because I like to know how all the pieces fit together. I want to know if our government turns a blind eye sometimes and what we can do to make our businesses obey our labor laws. Perhaps we need a better way to inform the poor immigrants in Guatemala and Honduras of all the hazards of that long journey. You would be surprised how the word of a "human trafficker” supersedes the word of others who have been through the ordeal, to these desperate people. This morning's Advocate editorial expressed the need to crack down on human trafficking, so I commend them for trying to move us beyond our nine dots.

As always, I didn’t have anyone in mind and those familiar with my posts know that, because I too have recycled my talking points..:-)

Take the Right Steps in Solving Our Illegal Immigration Problem

I will give you fair warning, if you are easily offended, stop reading this blog now. This blog is not intended to target BigJ but more to relieve my frustration because people continue to be led astray by unrealistic proposals in handling our very serious problem of illegal immigration. The only reason I'm using BigJ’s proposals is because he continues to post the same 13 points without any updates or thorough research. I read his proposals five years ago; they were wrong then and more wrong today. For example, the president is already using a systematic way of going after criminal element first and is now finding ways of keeping families together with his new deportation, methods. It’s a more humane approach that invites cooperation from our southern neighbors. I think the proper thing to do is explain how BigJ’s approach would be better since this president’s plan seem to working better than his predecessor and that’s without the cooperation from congress.

I will start with saying any proposal that doesn't immediately deal with the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States today will not go anywhere. Right now it's a battle of semantics; green card or amnesty. The plan should not call for an amendment to the constitution because that will delay any solution by six years or more because it will take ratification by all the states. Before that, it will take a 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress and a signature by the president. BigJ's idea of the deporting United States citizens under the age of 16 is a violation of the 14th amendment. That's the reason the only way that we can resolve a problem is with a comprehensive  immigration reform plan. It can only be done by people who know the consequences of their proposals; that's supposed to be Congress. My brother-in-law (lawyer) said the bold print “All persons born or naturalized in the United States” clause of the 14th amendment is almost impossible to overture.

A lot of BigJ's proposals are in place now, but he never tackles the problem of Visa over- stays or the economics' of building a temporary fence and taking it down. Never does he mention the outdated Social Security database which keeps us from implementing E-verify. I have no idea what 1800 land grants have to do with illegal immigration because that's a civil case or one that has to be settled by the State Dept of both countries.Besides,that’s already been settled;it’s called “to the victor goes the spoils.”

Proposals such as limiting immigration from the Middle East is insulting and will make dealing with those countries much more difficult. It's the same way with trying to end NAFTA and imposing high tariffs on our southern trading partners because their citizens are violating our immigration laws. Especially when they are enticed by United States companies. These are feel good solutions but are not very pragmatic. His other solution is to entice people from other countries to fight our wars with a promise of citizenship. What happens when that soldier dies? That sounds like a way to get someone else to fight our wars because I guess they are expendable. You see what I mean when I said if you are easily offended? That goes along with wanting people to pick the fruit (at very low wages) during the day and then go back home at night to their country of origin to have their babies. I read a book (What's Matter with Kansas) that described the origins of our out-of hand illegal immigration problems. The author used the meat-packing plants outside Chicago to illustrate his point. He said that they collectively decided to move out of an area loaded with investigative reporters and environmental lawyers to a more hospitable business friendly (wink* wink*) state like Kansas.They agreed to look the other way as the plants were allowed to pollute and use deplorable labor practices, since they were using illegal immigrants. When the immigrants were no longer able to work they were dumped and forced on the surrounding communities. The companies then ran campaigns screaming about the ills of illegal immigrants to take the attention off them. It worked by greasing the palms of city and state officials.

Then you have people like Getsmart, who will exaggerate the problems we're having and support it with one-sided hypotheticals. The other 20% are like jasonbourne who want to send the military to the borders armed to the teeth and conduct a war of cracking heads. That illegal action would not improve relations with our southern trading partners. He doesn’t care just as long as he gets self-satisfaction. These people represent the radio talk show audience that kept us from signing the first comprehensive immigration reform bill by President Bush. What they don't know is that their hateful rhetoric alienates American Hispanics, and they make their views known at the polls. Everyone should know by now that attrition will not work. The demographics are changing, so, unless they come to the table with a more reasonable humane plan; they will get a solution not to their liking.

If I'm going to criticize all the proposals; I'm obligated to give my opinion. I've already mentioned winning the battle of semantics in dealing with the 11 million undocumented people residing in this country. That's a security issue. This isn't just about Mexico because we have to implement E-verify, tamper proof identification cards and documents. We have to come up with some incentives for people to come forward and get processed because having 11 million undocumented people is unacceptable. A majority of those who did not cross an ocean to get here are not interested in citizenship, but they don't want to get in the back of a 10 year line just to get a green card. Those people should pay a penalty for breaking our immigration laws, get processed, and if accepted, be put on a probationary status for some period of time,fined and not be granted automatic citizenship at anytime.

The Democrats and Republicans are using “secure the border first" as an excuse for not tackling comprehension immigration reform because it might anger their constituents. All they have to do is update our Social Security database put the tamper-proof documents in place and that will take away the excuses American companies have for hiring illegal immigrants. We then have to accept the realization that the cost of goods, we buy will go up and there will be fewer people paying into Social Security and Medicare to support those who are on the system. I've read stories of orchard farmers creating web sites trying to recruit American workers to work in their fields, but they rarely get takers. I've always said that I wish I was a lawyer representing these people because I would encourage them to leave our country voluntarily because I know I would have a great bargaining chip, when it came time to renegotiate.

Yes we should make every effort to seal the borders, stop the abuse of our welfare system (Federal laws prohibits welfare to non-citizens) acknowledge the burden on our schools and hospitals but that's not all there is to it. We can send all the task forces we have but unless we do something about our excessive appetite for illegal drugs ,we are just wasting time and money and perhaps lives.

I know a lot of you are not controversial or that discussing this issue makes you uncomfortable, so I don't expect a lot of comments but views contrary to mine will not make me angry. This is another one of those issues that remain out there because we can't come to grip with what's fair or tackle the complexities that prevent us from finding an actual solution.

BigJ, feel free to come in here and tell and show me where I am totally wrong because I know I don’t have all the answers. I have studied this issue for a very long time and I was around when illegal immigration was not a problem and more or less accepted by the locals. It was common for fellow coworkers to hire and recommend illegal immigrants but the situation is much different today. I also disagree that liberals and conservatives can’t fix this problem because a compromise will have to made. One last thing, I know that a solution won’t come from us; it has to come from Washington.