Is $600 Million Enough to Do The Job?

Is $600 Million Enough to Do The Job?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary John Morton visited Arizona recently. His visit was not viewed by many as anything other than a lame attempt to make people think the President cares about security on the border along Mexico.

"The administration blew past their promised Aug. 1 deadline to send 524 National Guard troops to Arizona, and now they are trying to appear concerned by sending the ICE director, who recently received a vote of 'no confidence' by ICE's union," Arizona Sheriffs Paul Babeu of Pinal County and Larry Dever of Cochise County said in a tersely worded statement.

The President cares alright, but what he cares about MORE is securing the Latino vote in the 2012 election and their votes for Democrats in this year's election.

Sending John Morton to Arizona did nothing to soften the people and impress Republicans. All it does is irritate them and make them more convinced that the visit has an agenda. It's just PR coverage for the President and the ICE Department.

Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly asked Morton about his visit to Arizona, suggesting the President is just trying to appear concerned by sending the ICE director for a visit. Morton, who recently received a vote of 'no confidence' by ICE's union," denied that was the reason for the visit. He said he does care about the problems Arizona is having with illegal immigration and crime and that he has visited there before.

"Last week, the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 7,000 ICE agents and employees, issued a statement saying the union had unanimously passed a "vote of no confidence" for Mr. Morton. The statement said ICE had "abandoned" its core mission of protecting the public to support a political agenda favoring amnesty.

The 259-0 vote said that instead of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and providing for public safety, ICE had directed its attention "to campaigning for programs and policies related to amnesty and the creation of a special detention system for foreign nationals that exceeds the care and services provided to most U.S. citizens similarly incarcerated."

The statement said the integrity of the agency "as well as the public safety" would be "better provided for in the absence of Director Morton" and Phyllis Coven, assistant director of the agency's office of detention policy and planning.

ICE called the statement "creative collective-bargaining tactics," but pledged to continue to work with the union "to address substantive issues in the interests of making our communities safer." It also said the agency is removing record numbers of criminal aliens, up 35 percent from a year ago." ... NewsMax.com

We are grateful for the $600 million recently passed by Congress, but it makes one wonder if it is really another tactic used to get some of the Republican Representatives to side with Democrats on passing the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that they want so much.

Excuse me, but is it not enough to try buying Latino votes with Comprehensive Immigration Reform (basically giving them amnesty) without trying to buy Republican votes as well by passing the bipartisan bill for $600 million? This is exactly what they are doing with the $250 checks they're sending out to all Senior citizens--many of whom say they plan to send back their checks and telling the government to apply it to the deficit.

Lets' break down the $600 million that pays for more unmanned surveillance drones and about 1,500 more agents along the U.S.-Mexico border. Is it really an attempt to help border states or is it nothing more than another tactic to appease voters? I suppose time will tell.

The President has already allotted 524 troops to Arizona, 250 to Texas, 224 to California, 72 to New Mexico, and 130 to a national liaison office but has that happened yet? You remember that in July, President Obama said he was sending 1,200 National Guard troops to the border states by August 1st, 2010. Their role is suppose to detect border crossers and smugglers, and to assist in criminal investigations.

The full deployments have not taken place to date, August 14th 2010. Jack Harrison, U.S. National Guard Bureau spokesman, recently said that troops "will not be doing direct law enforcement" in prohibiting drugs or in capturing illegal immigrants.

Contrast President Obama's 1,200 troops to the 6,000 National Guard troops sent to the border in May 2006 by President Bush.

"Ralph Basham, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner at the time, said the troops directly supported the Border Patrol through surveillance, intelligence gathering, entry identification, engineering and other duties. He said that while the soldiers were not involved directly in law enforcement, their presence led to the apprehension of 2,296 illegal immigrants and the seizure of 64 vehicles, 14,496 pounds of marijuana and 220 pound of cocaine." . . . NewsMax.com

On Monday, the Obama administration said Mr. Morton, who heads ICE, would travel to the Arizona border along with Arizona Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry Goddard, the state's current attorney general.

The visit coincides with the passage on Tuesday by the House of a bipartisan bill for $600 million to pay for more unmanned surveillance drones and about 1,500 more agents along the U.S.-Mexico border. The House passed the bill by an unrecorded voice vote. The Senate passed an identical bill last week by unanimous consent, although it must act again, for technical reasons, before sending it to the president for his signature. . . . NewsMax.com

This is how the money from the bill breaks down for border states.

• $176 million for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents for a strike force for critical areas,
• $89 million for 500 ICE personnel,
• $32 million for unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones,
• $196 million for the Justice Department to bolster its forces along the border
  
  
  • includes: U.S. marshals, and agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Suddenly, this past month, Congress has become concerned about immigration. Wondering why? Could it be that people have become enraged by all the illegals coming into the United States, using up State and Federal resources, causing huge problems that states have to pay for out of their own budget, and the obvious security risk that it presents to our nation?

States cannot print money to cover their expenses like the Federal Government can and so they are taking it upon themselves to solve their own immigration problem without government cooperation.

Ya think perhaps illegal immigration has become a thorn in the sides of Democrat Majority in Congress? I've read that Representatives have been receiving an average of 145 recorded e-mails, letters or calls on the subject throughout the month of July.

I am sure that Arizona, Missouri, and 20 other states that are following the example of these two states, have caused great concern for this administration. Good for all of you people in these states and for you who wrote to Congress. I am proud of you for taking a stand on what is right in spite of the government trying to ignore us. Obviously, we have made a difference.

Also, it's interesting how Morton's visit just happens to be planned following a lawsuit by the Justice Department against Arizona's SB1070, a law that their state passed on coming down hard on illegal immigration.

Arizona challenged President Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor. That must not have set well with them and likely prompted Morton's visit to their state. This just goes to prove that we can fight Washington when we come together as a group.

There is strength in numbers when fighting for a common goal. It is this same spirit that created the government we have now because the American settlers told England' that enough is enough! They changed history because they said "WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE"! We are starting to do the same. That excites me, and it makes me proud to be an American today!