A news report that appeared in the Washington Times on Monday, focuses on how the immigration issue is now sweeping the United States.
Ever since the attacks of September 11, 2001 I became determined to provide my unique perspectives on the various aspects of the immigration crisis that confronts our nation and, in fact, contributed greatly to the ability of the terrorists to enter our country and embed themselves within communities around our nation, hiding in plain sight as they prepared to launch that horrific series of attacks that killed an estimated 3,000 innocent victims and wrought so much destruction on our nation and, as we now know, on our way of life.
As I have often noted, immigration is not a single issue but is, rather, a major factor (if not the major factor) of nearly every serious challenge that confronts our nation today.
Time and again the news media publish polls about a host of issues including what problems are considered to be the most serious to the citizens (especially the voters) of our nation.
The polls ask about the economy, they ask about healthcare, they ask about the “War on Terror” they ask about education and they ask about crime. Incredibly, they generally ask about immigration as a separate issue. My perspective is that immigration- failures to secure our nation’s borders and failures to create an immigration system that has real integrity that protects our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence in our country would be harmful and also honors those millions of lawful immigrants who legally entered our country and in securing their thin slice of the “American Dream” built our nation into the model for the entire world, is the single most important challenge that confronts our nation today!
The point is that you cannot wage a successful “War on Terror” with porous borders and with unknown millions- indeed, tens of millions of illegal aliens who are present in our country from virtually every other country on our planet living, often under assumed identities, in cities and town across our nation with no way of readily determining their true identities.
You cannot breath life into our nation’s economy with a national unemployment rate of 9.6%. In fact this rate is not at all accurate. It fails to include those who have given up looking for work. It does not address the issue of those Americans who are “under-employed.” That statistic is also a national average which fails to note the often higher levels of unemployment to be found in cities and towns across our nation. Foreign workers often take the jobs that Americans very much would do for living wages and lawful working conditions. Furthermore, foreign workers- whether they are legally or illegally present and working in our country all have the same goal, that of sending as much of their earnings back to their families in their home countries. While this is an understandable goal- it does serious harm to our nation’s economy. It is our nation’s economy that has to be the focus of our nation’s political leaders, as the saying goes, “Charity begins at home!”
Each year more than 20 billion dollars is wired from the United States of America to Mexico. Still more money is moved in other ways and many other countries also find that billions of dollars in wages are exported from the foreign workers who are working in our country to their families back home. I have seen estimates that place the level of this exportation of American “green backs” is well in excess of 100 billion dollars each and every year.
This is money that is not earned by United States citizens. This is money that is not earned by lawful immigrants (resident aliens). This is consequently money that is not spent or invested in the United States. This is money that is utterly and completely lost to the economy of our nation.
Yet the administration has mortgaged the future of our children and our grandchildren to purportedly pump money into the economy of our nation to stimulate job creation and investment to ultimately grow our nation’s economy. Yet the administration is doing nothing the stop the human tsunami of illegal aliens into our country. This makes as much sense as attempting to take a bath during a severe drought and leaving the drain in the bathtub open. No matter how much precious water you pour into the tub, there is never enough water to take a bath!
The administration and the “leaders” in Congress such as Senator Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Harry Reid and the other “usual suspects” have come out in favor of creating a “pathway to United States citizenship” for unknown tens of millions of illegal aliens whose true names and other important information is unknown and unknowable. This would represent a huge threat to national security and the safety of communities across this vast nation. These politicians may be hell-bent on creating this insane program and finally, the voices of the American citizens are being heard. Their voices are being heard in Washington. Their voices are being heard in state capitols and their voices are being heard in city halls across the United States.
These are not just the voices of political “Conservatives” but are the voices of all Americans across the broad political spectrum, who have (finally) come to understand how those who have been elected to represent them and their fellow Americans are betraying them.
Arizona became the “lightning rod” for the immigration issue- not because Arizona decided to enact its new immigration law SB 1070, I law I am proud to have been provided with an opportunity to help defend, but because the administration clearly over-reached when the United States Department of Justice did the most unbelievable thing imaginable- it sued the Governor of the State of Arizona, Jan Brewer and her state’s legislature for actually deciding to do the job the federal government would not do- enforce the immigration laws that the federal government was not only failing to enforce but making it clear that so-called “Sanctuary Cities” cities that blocked city agencies from cooperating with immigration law enforcement were doing the right thing!
Here is my declaration I provided to the law firm retained by Governor Brewer:
You could say that “Sanctuary Cities” have become redundant because under the current administration, our nation has in essence, become a “Sanctuary Nation!”
Let me stop and make a couple of important points.
The immigration crisis our nation confronts was not the sole creation of this administration and was not just the result of the policies of the Democrat Party. Both parties bear responsibility for the disastrous situation our nation now finds itself in.
President Jimmy Carter mandated that INS employees stop using the term “Illegal Alien” to describe aliens who were illegally present in our country. He began the journey into “Newspeak” that sought to eradicate the word “alien” from the vernacular where immigration is concerned. (As I have often noted, the term alien, as described by the Immigration and Nationality Act, is simply “Any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.” There is no insult to be found in that definition- only clarity- the sort of clarity that would make it impossible for open borders advocates to win an debate about the need for secure borders and the creation of an immigration system that has real integrity.)
Carter also order that INS special agents not arrest illegal aliens without getting clearance from upper management during the Census. Carter apparently came up with the idea that by making certain that all illegal aliens were counted, large cities that were presumably likely to vote for Democrat candidates, would gain seats in the House of Representatives. This became a new way of gerrymandering!
President Reagan gave us the Amnesty of 1986- a program that promised to be a “one time” program that would bring from 1 million to 1.5 million illegal aliens out of the “shadows.” When the bureaucratic dust settled, some 4 million aliens were granted lawful status.
President Clinton failed to learn the lessons the terrorist attacks of 1993- first the attack in January of that year at CIA Headquarters that killed two CIA officers and wounded 3 others- perpetrated by a citizen of Pakistan, Kansi, who had been granted political asylum by committing fraud on his application. The second attack took place the very next month at the World Trade Center that killed 6 innocent victims and left hundred if not thousands injured and nearly brought down one of the 110 story tall towers. Damage to the once icnomic complex was estimated at 500 million dollars.
Under Clinton’s “leadership” nothing was done to tighten up the process by which visas are processed or applications for immigration benefits were adjudicated.
In fact, under the Clinton administration an ill-conceived program known as “CUSA”- Citizenship USA was implemented. Under the auspices of this program more than one million aliens were naturalized even though the GAO ultimately determined that tens of thousands of those who were naturalized under this program were ineligible and that a significant number of these should probably have been deported (removed) from the United States rather than have the most precious honor bestowed upon them- United States citizenship.
On March 11, 2002 a private contractor sent letters of approval to two of the terrorists who carried out the attacks of 9/11. Precisely 6 months after that attack and virtually everyone in the world knew that these two individuals were dead and had been terrorists- this contractor- acting on behalf of the inept and incompetent INS provided them with authorization to attend flight school in the United States!
Here is the link to the C-SPAN video of the Congressional hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, at which I testified on March 19, 2002 as you watch this video I want you to consider how much has not changed in the more than 8 years since the attacks of September 11, 2001:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/165862
Topic for the hearing:
“INS’S MARCH 2002 NOTIFICATION OF APPROVAL OF CHANGE OF STATUS FOR PILOT TRAINING FOR TERRORIST HIJACKERS MOHAMMED ATTA AND MARWAN AL-SHEHHI”
Here is the link to the transcript of the hearing in its entirety
http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju78298.000/hju78298_0f.htm
It was George W. Bush who was, as you recall, the president when the attacks of September 11, 2001 were carried out against our nation.
However, he did nothing to secure our nation’s borders and it was during his administration that efforts were made to create a “guest worker amnesty” for millions of illegal aliens whose true identities and other factors were unknown and unknowable. It was also under his administration that the Congress attempted to ram “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” down our throats.
I testified before a number of hearings on the issue of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Link to Congressional hearing on “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” in July 2006 (my comments back then are every bit as relevant today): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4127670560538123883&ei=FlKLSq-4LYLrlQentKnDCw&q=michael+cutle&hl=en&client=firefox-a
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The point is that now, even as violence in Mexico has escalated to the point where the country that shares our southern border runs the real risk of becoming a “failed state” the federal government still refuses to secure that border and refuses to have an adequate number of law enforcement personnel at ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to enforce the immigration laws from within the interior of the United States.
While it has been estimated by the government that some 4.5 million illegal aliens present in our country did not run our nation’s border but, in fact, were admitted via the inspections process and then, in one way or another, violated the terms of their admission by remaining in our country after their authorized period of admission expired, by seeking unauthorized employment, by failing to attend schools they were supposed to attend, or by otherwise failing to meet the requirements of the terms of their admission into our country, only 272 ICE special agents are seeking to locate and arrest those millions of illegal aliens. It is important to know that I believe that the numbers of such violators is probably higher than the number the government claims are present in our country. It is important to know that while the 9/11 Commission strongly recommended that a program known as “US-VISIT” be implemented to track the arrival and departure of nonimmigrant aliens into our country and make use of biometrics- this program has never been fully implemented and now the government is apparently planning to eliminate the bio-metric component! I would urge to to give this some real thought- along with the fact that the 19 terrorists who attacked our nation on September 11, 2001 were all admitted with visas and that they had all committed visa fraud- they lied on their applications. They all lied to the inspectors at ports of entry when they were admitted and a number of them were actually encountered by local law enforcement authorities and permitted to go on their way. Mohammed Atta being the most notable.
Yet Hillary Clinton has now issued a report to the United Nation’s, ignoring the issue of national sovereignty along the way, boasting that by suing the state of Arizona in an effort to prevent law enforcement officers from that state from enforcing immigration laws, that the United States is seeking to protect ‘Human Rights!”
She is apparently oblivious to the fact that an average of one kidnapping and/or home invasion is being committed each and every day in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. She is oblivious to the other ways in which the state of Arizona is suffering because of the continuing failures of the government of the United States to protect its citizens and live up to its obligations relating to national security.
Clearly an increasing number of American voters are no longer oblivious. Clearly the governors of more than 20 states are no longer oblivious and, interestingly, not all of those governors who are looking to enact laws that are similar to Arizona’s immigration law SB 1070 are Republicans!
The tide would appear to be turning!
The administration and our elected representatives must take to heart, the statements made by the union leaders who represent the employes of Immigration and Custom Enforcement who gave the “leadership” of that beleaguered agency a “No confidence” vote recently and do whatever is necessary to address these massive deficiencies as quickly and effectively as possible. The security of our nation and the safety of our citizens must, without equivocation take priority over any political goals or agenda.
It is unacceptable that the citizens of this nation be alienated by their own government especially where border security and the enforcement and administration of our nation’s immigration laws are concerned!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!
November 2nd cannot come fast enough!
We the People, throughout this nation must seek opportunities to make it clear to our political “representatives” that we understand their game plan and won’t tolerate it!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels and members of al-Qaeda!
We the People can add to the consternation of those politicians who are failing to live up to their oaths of office by contacting them and making it abundantly clear that election day is coming and they should think of election day as their personal “Day of Reckoning!”
Our government must live up to its obligation of protecting its own citizens and, indeed, all who are present in our country from the criminals and terrorists who would threaten our lives and the survival of our nation and our way of life. In the end, the government is actually those who are elected to act as our “leaders.” Those who fail to truly lead and look out for those they are supposed to represent, need to be sent packing this coming Election Day!
If our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!
We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.
My goal is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
Any politician who refuses to work to secure our borders and create an immigration system that has integrity is either corrupt or too dumb to keep his (her) job. Any politician, irrespective of party affiliation who favors Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the outrageous betrayal that this would represent given the national security implications that this program would have, should be shown the door at the next election!
If you find yourself to be in agreement with what I had to say, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
In just two months, each and every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection. More than one third of the members of the United States Senate will have to face their constituents. They need to be reminded that they work for us, We the People!
However, the practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.
The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!
The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.I implore you to get involved!
If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
Please check out my website: http://michaelcutler.net/
Click on the links below to RePatriot Radio and listen to the internet radio show I host on Friday evenings from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time:
“Bordering on Insanity!” Listen Live! website or www.libertyandfreedomradio.net
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