posted 05-20-2004 03:13 PM            

May 20, 2004 — The U.S. House on Wednesday passed an amendment to a defense bill that would place soldiers along the nation’s borders.

The amendment, submitted by U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., is part of the National Defense Authorization Act designed to bolster national security by providing more aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems and personnel.

The bill — House Resolution 4200 — will be negotiated in House and Senate committees to determine further details, including whether soldiers would be placed at both the northern and southern borders.

U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, opposes the amendment, calling it an “insult” to border communities.

“We already have personnel to take care our borders,” Ortiz said, referring to Border Patrol agents.

“Soldiers are trained to kill. They’re trained to kill the enemy.”

In 1997, two armed civilians were shot by troops stationed near the Texas-Mexico border.

One of them — 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr. — was killed near his home in Redford by a Marine who claimed Hernandez had threatened him with a rifle. Later that year, Cesario Vasquez, 30, was wounded when he stumbled upon a U.S. Army Special Forces unit hidden in the brush near Brownsville during a low-profile military operation.

Violent episodes such as these would become more common if soldiers were placed along the U.S.-Mexico border, said U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, chairman for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Once again Republicans are attempting to use the men and women of our armed services to promote an anti-immigrant agenda,” Rodriguez said. “We all agree that we need to find ways to secure our borders, but immigrants from Mexico and Canada are not our enemy.

“Our troops are already over-extended serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are continuously hearing reports that they need more resources and more manpower to fulfill their duties.”

Goode’s amendment, originally introduced on Jan. 1, 2003, was passed by the House but failed to garner support in the Senate.

He resubmitted the amendment in March, and the House passed it Wednesday 231-189.

Immigrant rights advocates hope the Senate once again opposes the amendment.

“I think (placing troops along the border) jeopardizes the safety and human rights of the civilians,” said Nathan Selzer, director of the Valley Movement for Human Rights, an immigrant rights group in Harlingen. “Once again, some lawmakers are using the mentality of war and making the migrant the enemy of the United States.”

With fears of terrorism on the rise, the Federation for American Immigration Reform supports the amendment to the defense bill.

“If Congress can’t muster the political will to protect public from those who wish to do us harm, they might as well pack their bags and head home,” said FAIR spokesman David Ray.

anegrete@link.freedom.com

Posted by: Gilbert Zarate on May 20, 04 | 12:09 am | Profile

posted 05-25-2004 11:10 PM            

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Immigration Invasion -
View From A Border
Patrol Officer
Commentary
By Frosty Wooldridge
Washington Dispatch.com
5-25-4

After 30 years in the Border Patrol as a special agent and highly decorated veteran, John W. Slagle wrote an expose' ripping the pants off Tom Ridge's Homeland Security charade. Slagle exposes Congress' complete assistance of illegal immigration. Finally, he uncovers President Bush's unending support for this massive invasion that will, in the end, prove more catastrophic to this nation than dozens of 9/11's.

Interviewing John W. Slagle at his home in the Arizona desert brings to mind what an interview with Harry S. Truman might have been like. The buck stops here! Slagle, a certified second degree black belt instructor in Japanese sword fighting, is not the kind of man that plays a casual game of chess. He's a warrior. He's defended America in the Navy and as a border patrol officer for most of his life.

After watching the accelerating illegal alien invasion for three decades, he wrote, Illegal Entries as an expose' of America's failed immigration policy. You won't be disappointed as it reads like a James Bond novel. But I this case, Slagle illustrates how the United States loses its national sovereignty via the past five presidents and Congress. What defines this invasion? Power and money at the highest levels! It involves corporations and politicians representing illegal aliens more than American citizens. It exposes reasons for the downright violation of the rule of law by our own lawmakers.

America's downfall, Slagle writes, began with the surreptitious passing by Teddy Kennedy and LBJ's 1965 Immigration Reform Act. This little known document was not voted on or asked for by American citizens. It opened the floodgates to one million immigrants annually. Previously, only 178,000 annually were allowed. At first, they arrived without fanfare. But today, 60 million immigrants later and rising like a dangerous tidal wave; they crash upon our shores without pause. Where we were once a stable population, we are now the fastest growing country behind China and India.

Once the corporations realized huge profits from cheap labor immigrants, they busted unions and lowered wages. A few elites profited while the rest of us paid the bills. Soon, illegals trickled into America. Now, they 'pour' in at one million annually. The total of 2.3 million people yearly has become an endless human monsoon. "Due to the fact that illegals work for far less money that US citizens, greedy employers hired illegals for maximum profits," Slagle said. "Taxes did not have to be paid, nor employee benefits."

Legal immigrant costs alone to American taxpayers exceed $68 billion annually. But American citizens started paying benefits for illegals such as aid to dependent children, billions for schooling, medical services, free lunch programs, assisted housing and higher insurance rates. Along the way, illegals drove cars without insurance or licenses. With them came crime, diseases and prisons. Legal and illegal immigrants fill an astounding 29% of state and federal prisons at a taxpayer cost of $1 billion annually.

"Illegal immigration and the ruthless nature of alien smugglers who transport human cargo by vehicles is a serious concern," Slagle said. "Smugglers will pack a pick-up three deep. Aliens, stacked like cordwood, are covered with tarps as smugglers proceed to staging areas." Where do they obtain the vehicles? In 2003, Phoenix became the car-jacking capital of the world with 57,600 stolen SUV's and pick-ups. And who among you thinks a head of lettuce or handpicked strawberry was cheap?

What does a 'coyote' make? "A smuggler easily makes $5,000.00 a week tax free," Slagle said.

At first in the 70s, the flow included 8,000 arrests of illegals per month in one sector of Arizona with an estimated 16,000 'got aways', but they were all cheap labors and prospective voters. How safe are Americans from this invasion? "The sale of false documents are available worldwide," Slagle said. "A criminal can look like an ordinary citizen in the blink of an eye."

In contrast, in 2004, Border Patrol apprehensions reached 96,521 in January which was up from 86,925 in January, 2003. More sobering is the fact that agents catch only one in five aliens.

"For a price, anyone can be smuggled into the USA by human traffickers whether cheap labor, wanted criminals or terrorist cells," Slagle said.

In 1979, Daryl Gates, in Los Angeles, created the perfect cover for illegal aliens with his 'Special Order 40'. It gave illegal aliens immunity from police arrest. Unfortunately, that 'sanctuary order' also provided cover for the 20,000 member 18th Street Gang in LA as well as the MS-13 Salvadoran gangs that now operate in 28 American cities. Worse, Governor Baldacci of Maine signed the first statewide sanctuary law into being this year.

What we're seeing is our Congress and national leadership dismantling our laws by not enforcing them. Lawlessness becomes the norm, just like Third World corruption. Illegal aliens now have more rights and privileges than Americans. If you are an illegal alien, you can drive a car without a driver's license or insurance. You may obtain medical care without paying. You may work without paying taxes. Your children enjoy free education at the expense of taxpaying Americans.

As Slagle chronicles in his book, Illegal Entries, the United States suffers a hemorrhaging of its sovereignty, rule of law, single language and cohesiveness as the onslaught of this immigration juggernaut sweeps like a deadly plague across this country.

Next: Part II-Incredible Money and Drugs Being Imported and Exported

Frosty Wooldridge, is a teacher and author who has bicycled 100,000 miles on six continents to see overpopulation up close and ugly. Next book: 'IMMIGRATION'S UNARMED INVASION-DEADLY CONSEQUENCES' coming in June.

© Copyright 2004 The Washington Dispatch