Floridians for Immigration Enforcement
Floridians for Immigration Enforcement Fellow Blogers much of this blog has been C/P, I know many disagree with that, but this issue is too important to be concerned how it got here, the content of the blog is the issue that matters. This blog has been posted; not so much for my fellow blogers, as it is for all that read the blogs on this site who do not participate. It is my intention to keep this blog out front for some time, to give as many readers the opportunity to read the information, and get involved in the political process, as to afford all who concur the opportunity to make a difference in a way that will stabilize the safety, security, and economics of the State of Florida, and our nation. As I get further information on the topic I will post new information on HR 4088, If you agree as I on how ilegal immagration effects our economy please register on Numbers USA and help fight ilegal immagration. We need your help! From: Roy Beck, President, Numbers USA Date: Sunday 4MAY08 11:30 p.m. EDT One more Congressman signed SAVE petition -- only 31 to go to victory in U.S. House
DEAR FRIENDS, Send your congratulations to all of our Numbers USA faxer/phoners in Idaho: After all the phone calls and faxes in last week's surge effort, the hold-out Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) has signed the Discharge Petition to force a House floor vote on the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088). (Look at the petition list as well as details about the Save Act.) The freshman was one of only a few Republicans who still had not signed. The states of Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming and Delaware (with small delegations) now have no Representative who has NOT signed the Discharge Petition. Congrats to all of you from those states.
It will take 218 signatures to go around Speaker of the House Pelosi (D-Calif.) who thus far has refused to allow a vote unless an amnesty is attached to the bill. The fact that we are up to 187 signatures is really quite phenomenal. Now, it is mop up time in which we have to fight for every new petition signer.
CONGRESSMEN SAY THEY AREN'T GETTING ENOUGH PRESSURE FROM VOTERS
There are well more than 31 U.S. Representatives who tell our NumbersUSA lobbyists that they would vote for SAVE if it comes to the floor -- but they won't sign the Discharge Petition that would force the vote.
The main reasons these Members of the House aren't signing the petition? Some Democratic Representatives indicate they really want to sign the petition but they are nervous about how the House's Democratic leadership would respond to their going against the leadership's opposition to passing SAVE and taking jobs away from illegal workers. These Members are asking for a lot more pressure from their constituents so they can tell Speaker Pelosi that they had no choice but sign the petition.
Quite a number of other Democrats say they likely will vote for SAVE if forced to vote but oppose the idea of going around Speaker Pelosi. They say they have no interest in signing the Discharge Petition because they are hearing from so few of their constituents that they want the petition signed.
Some of the remaining Republican Representatives not on the petition are getting much pressure from business lobbyists NOT to sign. They say the only way they would defy the business lobbyists by signing the petition is if they hear from a lot more constituents than they've been hearing from.
We will be sending most of you very specific instructions on what we desperately need you to do in your part of the country to keep the pressure on passing SAVE (led by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.).
But for Monday, please do this: 1. Take any actions shown on your Action Buffet corkboard. 2. Look on the list of Discharge Petition signatures to see if your own U.S. Representative is shown there. If not, phone his/her office and make a quick case for signing the petition.
If your Representative has signed but another Representative in your part of the state has not, consider phoning his/her office.
CONGRESSIONAL SWITCHBOARD: 202-224-3121
We cannot let up now. As you can see in the New York Times article below, I commented on last week's pro-amnesty marchers as pushing for amnesty to reward illegal aliens so they can STAY, while most Americans want more enforcement that causes illegal aliens to LEAVE.
That is what the SAVE Act would do. That is the reason why Speaker Pelosi and her fellow House leaders do not want to risk a vote on it.
But large numbers of her Democratic Members would like to vote if they just get enough pressure from voters back home. Let's give it to them.
THANKS FOR STARTING OFF THE WEEK WITH A PUSH FOR THE SAVE ACT, Flordia Sheriff Interested In Deporting Jailed Illegal AliensPosted by: The Watchdog in Uncategorized Bradenton
MANATEE — County Commissioner Donna Hayes has asked Sheriff Brad Steube to look into a program that would identify illegal immigrants booked at the county jail and detain them for possible deportation.
The so-called 287(g) program, run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, trains local law enforcement officers on how to question and detain an arrestee believed to be living illegally in the United States for possible deportation.
Steube has pursued the program for more than a year and might soon get his wish.
More than 90 agencies nationwide are seeking funding for the program, according to ICE, and 47 agencies are already participating in the program that has trained nearly 700 officers. Hayes asked the sheriff to evaluate the program, saying it would act as a way to save money during a trying economic time for the county. “ With the very extreme budget cuts we’re facing this year, I know we need to be looking at everything that will balance the budget this year,” said Hayes, who is vying for reelection against challengers Benwayne Morrison and Bob Henderson, both of Myakka. “Any measure like this that helps is certainly beneficial to everyone.”
Hayes said Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter has saved $9 million through the program. In about 19,000 surveys sent to Republican voters in her district, Hayes said the concept was overwhelmingly supported.
“Residents still feel that they should not be subsidizing immigrants,” she said. “It doesn’t make good sense to keep immigrant alien offenders in our jails.”
But opponents say the idea the program saves money is a tactic to use illegal immigrants as scapegoats. Budget figures that show savings are “politically motivated,” said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
“It’s clear that given the issues Floridians face in this economy that it’s almost irresponsible to divert public safety resources to criminalize the workers that make such a contribution to the economy,” she said.
Rodriguez said the program fosters racial profiling, focusing on non-violent immigrants instead of violence.
“If these policemen are going to be detaining and imprisoning the workers of Florida’s principal industries, then they’re not going to be addressing the issues they should be addressing that are the real threats,” she said.
Steube said his office should receive word from ICE officials on his request within 30 days. If so,10 deputies would be trained
NEW YORK TIMES
May 2, 2008 Crowds Are Smaller at Protests by Immigrants By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
LOS ANGELES — Thousands of immigrants and their supporters marched in several cities on Thursday to demand civil rights at a time when crackdowns against illegal immigrants are rising.
The May Day demonstrations were significantly smaller than in previous years, and gone were calls for a nationwide boycott of businesses and work, as protest leaders had urged last year. The Spanish-language D.J.’s who had heavily promoted previous marches stuck largely to their regular programming. And disagreements among advocates over the best approach to winning legal status for illegal immigrants had diminished organizing firepower, with many groups turning their attention to voter registration and citizenship drives.
In many cities, including New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, crowds were a small fraction of those in previous years, with few people outside protest areas even aware that marches were under way.
Some supporters said they had lost a rallying cry in the stalled effort in Congress to revamp immigration law. At the same time, with the government stepping up border and immigration enforcement, a cloud of fear has settled over immigrants who were worried that the rallies would lead to more sweeps.
Milwaukee had one of the more robust turnouts, with thousands of people gathering, as they did last year. Protesters called on the presidential candidates, each of whom has supported Congressional efforts to allow a way for certain illegal immigrants to gain legal status, to make immigration issues a priority. “We want a commitment from the three presidential candidates to pass humane immigration reform in the first 100 days in office,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, director of Voces de la Frontera, the main organization behind the Milwaukee march.
In Los Angeles, where riot police officers beat and shoved demonstrators and journalists last year, some marchers were concerned about trouble, though across the nation the marches were largely peaceful.
“Today the police didn’t bring their batons,” Jorge Reyes called out in Spanish from a truck in downtown Los Angeles. “Today they came in peace to help us legalize the 12 million immigrants in this country.” Messages on T-shirts and signs and protest leaders with bullhorns demanded an end to immigration raids that have led to an increasing number of deportations. The United States deported 280,000 people last year, a 44 percent increase over the previous year.
Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, who has called on the Department of Homeland Security to halt most workplace raids, joined business and labor leaders on Wednesday to announce the results of a study that found the raids harmful to the economy. The study said 50 percent or more of workers in some local industries were in the country illegally, and it projected great harm to the region if businesses closed or moved because of the immigration sweeps. Supporters of tighter controls on immigration said the rallies had done little but energize their backers. Leaders of NumbersUSA, one of the larger groups advocating a clampdown on illegal immigration, urged its members to call members of Congress and use the rallies to help make their case.
“The marchers say suspend the rule of law and reward illegality,” said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, which says its membership has swelled to more than 600,000 from 112,000 three years ago. “Our callers say what your constituents really want is enforcement,” Mr. Beck added. “We want to take away the jobs magnet and basically create an inhospitable environment for immigration law breakers so more and more will decide to go home or not come.”
Counterdemonstrators appeared at some rallies, including in Boston, where the police had to separate demonstrators who became embroiled in profanity-laced exchanges.
Though meager, the crowds were often festive and melded a variety of causes. A rally in Union Square Park in Manhattan drew several hundred people invoking socialism, police violence and Sept. 11 conspiracy theories, in addition to immigrant rights. -------------------------------------------------------------------- This may be a good time for you to make sure that you've let us know all of the areas you are interested in. In order to further customize the type of alerts you receive click here http://www.numbersusa.com/survey?action=longlistAs a NumbersUSA subscriber, you will receive occasional emails about immigration-related opportunities.
If you want to increase or reduce the frequency of these emails, click here and choose from Total Activism, Moderate Activism, or Limited Activism at the bottom of your registration form: http://www.numbersusa.com/user NumbersUSA - relies upon individuals like you to reach its goal of an environmentally sustainable and economically just America. Numbers USA1601 N. Kent StreetSuite 1100
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Submitted by freespeech on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 10:30pm.
The Real Cost Of Immigration By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, April 04, 2008 4:20 PM PT Immigration: As some experts tell Congress to fight a possible recession with more immigrants, a respected economist warns that immigration's costs are grossly underestimated — because the government won't study them. Read More: Immigration Set for release Tuesday is a report published by Social Contract magazine, "The Fiscal Impact of Immigration: An Analysis of the Costs to 15 Federal Departments and Agencies." The 70-page study was conducted by Manhattan Institute adjunct fellow Edwin S. Rubenstein. As senior economist at W.R. Grace & Co. in the 1980s, he directed in-depth studies of government waste for the Grace Commission that sparked much popular outrage against Washington's spendthrift habits. Rubenstein found that each immigrant costs taxpayers more than $9,000, while every immigrant household of four costs $36,000 in taxes. That's far more than the $3,408 in 2007 dollars the National Research Council's 1997 "New Americans" study of federal, state and local government expenditures found immigrants to cost. "The federal government has never produced a comprehensive study of this issue," Rubenstein noted. "Executive agencies are not required to do Fiscal Impact Statements for new immigration policies. Even the immigration reform legislation sent to Congress last year contained not one word on its potential budgetary consequences." So Rubenstein looked across the government at departments and agencies that include Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Interior, Justice, Labor, HHS, HUD, Transportation, Treasury and the State Department, as well as Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. His purpose was "to increase awareness — within the government and among citizens — of the myriad ways by which immigration increases the cost of government and how government policies increase immigration." Looking at education alone, Rubenstein found that about "3.8 million public school students — 7.9% of total K to 12 enrollment — are enrolled in classes for English language learners," according to Department of Education statistics. These classes are significantly more expensive than mainstream English classes. Personnel costs include specialized teachers who supplement instruction provided by the mainstream English teacher and professional development to strengthen the skills of teachers working with English language learners. Rand Corp. researchers discovered back in 1981 that added costs for language assistance instruction ranged from $100 to $500 per pupil. Added to that are program administration costs, staff development and functions such as student identification and assessment. Rand found that "the total additional per pupil costs for language assistance instruction was estimated to be in the range of . . . $460 to $1,600 in 2007 dollars," according to Rubenstein's extrapolations, making "the total cost of providing English Language Learning instruction to the 3.8 million students enrolled in those programs . . . about $3.9 billion ($1,030 times 3.8 million)." With more than 140 languages spoken in, for instance, Connecticut's schools, bilingual education requirements for immigrants are on track to becoming a crippling unfunded mandate imposed on states and school districts. Turning to the Department of Justice, the study found criminal aliens to be "an increasing burden on U.S. prison systems." In 1980, federal and state facilities held fewer than 9,000 criminal aliens, Rubenstein said. But at the end of 2004, about 267,000 noncitizens were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities. Of all prisoners in federal prisons, 27% are criminal aliens, he found, with a total cost of $1.5 billion. But that may be low-balling it. "A shortage of available prison capacity has forced federal authorities to release criminal aliens prematurely. Nationally an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes still walk the streets," he said. On top of that are the private costs criminal aliens impose on their victims. Analyzing the rap sheets of 55,000 incarcerated illegal aliens in 2003, the Government Accountability Office found that the average criminal alien was arrested for 13 prior offenses, 12% of which were cases of murder, robbery, assault and sexually related crimes; only 21% were immigration offenses, the rest being felonies. "The economic burden they impose on victims, including loss of income and property, uncompensated hospital bills, and emotional pain and suffering, has been estimated at $1.6 million per property and assault crime offender," Rubenstein found. Washington has been paralyzed for many years on immigration policies because advocates of restricted immigration are routinely accused of nativism and racism. Rubenstein's groundbreaking study, of which the facts above offer only a taste, suggests that Washington doesn't want to take a good look at the issue because the facts will spur the public to demand action to stop the hemorrhage of taxpayer money out-of-control immigration is causing.
Submitted by freespeech on Thu, 05/08/2008 - 1:54pm.
Majority of Americans oppose "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" Amnest
May 8, 2008 by William Gheen We painfully watch as a few designer polls, that falsely claim a majority of Americans support "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" or a "path to citizenship" for illegal aliens currently in the US, get a great deal of press in the print media. The large volume of polls that contradict this claim get little coverage in the media. But now the proof is truly in, and I hope many will join with me in daring Congress to take up "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" in 2008. Come on Congress, make my day! The reason this unpopular legislation failed last year and the reason Congress is reluctant to take the issue up during an election year is they know the truth is a majority of American reject changing the current laws to allow illegal aliens to stay in the US. If the propaganda coming out of the mouths of open borders fanatics like Rep. Joe Baca, (D-CA) or Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) were true, then members of Congress would be rushing to bring the legislation to the floor and eager to campaign on it in the 2008 elections. The fact that members of Congress do not want to address the legislation or campaign on it is proof that a majority of Americans reject the legislation. Furthermore, if a majority of Americans really favored "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" amnesty, then why have 35 states passed immigration enforcement only legislation over the first few months in 2008? Why would Michigan, Oregon, and Maine cut off licenses to illegal aliens? While a small group of states have passed a very small volume of bills to assist illegal aliens, the trend is clear that 95% of the legislation is designed to detect and arrest illegal aliens, push them out of jobs, and stop them from driving or receiving taxpayer benefits! According to today's article by Patricia Zapor titled 'States take up immigration bills; Congress stays on sidelines' state legislators have considered more than 1,100 bills already in 2008 and the vast majority are for enforcement and lacking the benefits described in the DC bills calling for reform. This is because most of our state legislators know what the public wants and are responding with enforcement bills. So we can see that the massive trend towards enforcement only laws passed by states during an election year, combined with Congress trying to pretend the bills don't exist are proof that the public mandate rejects "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" In closing, I want to point out that we have hundreds of polls showing that nearly 80% of Americans want the borders secured, local police enforcing immigration laws, no licenses for illegal aliens, no taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens, and businesses that hire illegal aliens to be punished. The "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" bills supported by Baca, Gutierrez, McCain, Kennedy, Graham, Martinez, Clinton, Obama etc. would override all of the existing laws, which are supported by the public in these polls. It is insanity to believe the fake assertion that 80% of Americans oppose licenses for illegal aliens, but would support a bill in Washington that would give them all licenses. Are we to believe that 80% of Americans want local police to enforce immigration laws, but not on the 12-20 million illegal aliens in the US after Comprehensive Immigration Reform passed? By what stretch of the imagination should anyone believe that 80% of Americans do not want taxpayer benefits going to illegal aliens but it would be OK to give them taxpayer benefits after they paid a small fine and signed up for a new ID under Comprehensive Immigration Reform? The truth is that the overwhelming evidence proves that a super majority of Americans oppose Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Guest Worker Program, Temporary Worker Program, Path to Citizenship, etc... That is why the supporters of amnesty have to keep changing the name! A majority of Americans support the enforcement of our existing immigration laws only, which results in illegal aliens returning home on their own or with government assistance. Any lawmaker, candidate, reporter, activist, or organization that supports the current lack of enforcement of the existing laws, or supports the overthrow of these laws by passage of new legislation, which a majority of Americans oppose, is a traitor to the American republic and an enemy of the citizens of the United States. "We The People of the United States" will hold each of you accountable for the lost American jobs, tax monies, and lives suffered because of your agenda. We will hold you accountable for attempting to overthrow our Republic for which our flag stands, destroying the self governance of our citizenry, and subjugating the American majority by depriving us of the power to decide policy in our own nation at the behest of Global corporations. ALIPAC Activists are encouraged to distrubute this article far and wide. Please join NUMBERS USA @http://www.numbersusa.com and fight for your rights Vast majority of states passing immigration enforcement bills! TO DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE WITH OUR ONLINE ACTIVISTS PLEASE VISIT...
Submitted by freespeech on Thu, 05/08/2008 - 2:12pm.
A few population facts, out of California.Bear in mind, this is only one state. If this doesn’t open your eyes, nothing will…….This is also one article that REALLY needs to be sent to as many people that you can. The peoples voices, that are citizens of the U.S will be heard, if enough of us speak up!!. Also Governor Schwarzenegger can be instrumental in solving this problem in HIS state, BUT he’s too worried about re-election to do what’s right. This is more proof that “ILLEGALS” do indeed VOTE……….Papa MikeFrom the L. A. Times1. 42% of all workers in L.A. County (L.A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This is because they are predominantly illegal immigrants working without a green card. 1. 96% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are from illegal aliens. 2. 78% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.4. Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans, who were on Medicare whose births were paid for by taxpayers. 3. Nearly 40% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally. 4. Over 350,000 illegal alien Los Angeles County are living in garages. 5. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border. 6. Nearly 70% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal aliens.9. 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish-speaking. 7. In L.A. County 5.1 million people speak English, 4.3 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L.A. County).(All 10 of the facts listed above are from LosAngeles Times).Less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 37% are on welfare.Over 73% of the United States’ annual population growth (and over 90% of California, Florida, and New York) results from immigration.34% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens. We are a bunch of fools for letting this continue. When will our Government take responsibility and STOP this? People are talking about ...Here are the recent blog postings with the most comments. |
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Better SAVE Than Sorry
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, April 09, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Immigration: Why would nearly 50 Democrats not allow legislation they co-sponsored to get to the House floor for a vote? Because their boss, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, doesn't want meaningful immigration reform that protects our borders.
Read More: Immigration
It's a tad unnatural for House Republicans to be pushing a so-called discharge petition to force a vote on a piece of Democratic legislation. But such is the case with the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act, or SAVE, authored by freshman Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina.
Among the bill's key provisions are the addition of 8,000 border patrol agents the next four years and 1,200 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to strengthen interior enforcement and support local law enforcement officers.
Another provision ensures that agents have "high-quality body armor that is appropriate for the climate and risks faced by the agent."
The SAVE Act also provides for the acquirement along the border of advanced technologies, including aerial surveillance systems and infrared technology. It would add 13 more federal judges to hear cases against those who are arrested for breaking into the U.S., including drug traffickers and the wily coyotes paid to transport illegal aliens into this country.
While adding sticks, the act cuts down the number of carrots attracting illegal aliens — illegal employment — by expanding the E-verify program to provide employers with the tools to confirm that prospective employees are legally here. E-verify is a Web-based system to cross-reference Social Security numbers and other pertinent information. Some 56,000 employers already use the system.
The system screens all applicants, so racial profiling is not an issue. As we've noted, in states where local authorities have ramped up enforcement, illegal immigration has declined dramatically, and many of those already here have left under a process some have called self-deportation. The risks soon exceed the benefits.
While the V stands for verification and the E stands for enforcement, the A does not stand for amnesty. This might explain the opposition of the House Democratic leadership.
It deals strictly with sealing the borders first, creating a safe and secure system under which issues such as guest workers and paths to citizenship can be dealt with. The theory is: First, stop the bleeding.
It could be that some of these co-sponsors are not serious, that they want to go before the voters saying they're in favor of protecting our borders knowing the legislation might never see the light of day. Then they can say it's not their fault it's bottled up in committee. Few voters know or care that a discharge petition is a procedure that moves a bill out of committee
The bill has 147 co-sponsors from more than half the states, including 49 Democrats, but Speaker Pelosi is leading the fight to prevent a floor vote. It takes 218 signatures on a discharge petition to force a floor vote, and so far 185 have signed the one on SAVE. Interestingly, only 10 of the original Democratic co-sponsors have done so.
An outraged Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner said in support of the discharge petition:
"In just the past year, this (Democratic) majority voted to cut funding for the border fence, opened the door to illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded services without showing proof of citizenship and overturned a successful GOP proposal to prevent taxpayer-funded federal benefits from being awarded to illegal immigrants."
If 33 of the original Democratic co-sponsors of the SAVE Act who have not signed the discharge petition were to do so, the bill would proceed to the floor where serious debate on a major issue could begin. But that would require Democrats' going on record in an election year and doing more than blowing smoke on border security.