Bush Signs Bill for Fence on U.S.-Mexico Border

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

"We have a responsibility to enforce our laws," he said. "We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious ."

Gaaahhhhhhhh! Seriously? After six years of public English-butchering fom the president, nobody bothered to check the speech for egregious grammatical errors?

Perhaps DUE TO it--"if we can't fix his grammatical butchery, just ignore it; it'll go away by 2008 (due to Bush jr. no longer being president)"

amen to that!

Daniel

:energetic:

[John & Annie 0]

I have to add my 2 cents.

Having run a company that used a large latino workforce I have a bit of expirience in this issue.

We looked high and low for people, we offered good money and the chance for advancement, we could find no one. According to the current employment laws we are only able to copy the hire's imformation onto the I9 and certify that we have copied correctly. Occasionally we get a notice that the information is inccorrect, the only course of action is to go to the now employee and ask them to represent the information and confirm the previously submitted info. At that point we could discharge the employee.

There are currenly no other means of checking one's empoyment validity.

We would of paid to sponsor people, but there is a limited number of visa's.

Therfore I support increasing the number of Work visa's and then creating a better enforcement program. The laws are already on books, they just need to be enforced.

I agree with the fence, but until the only way to get work is to do it legally, there will always be a way around the fence.

Its kinda like gun control, the only people that use "illegal" guns are the criminals, who would use them anyway. So why no just go after the criminals in the first place.

[eric&gen 0]

Congress needs to get off its duff and fence the whole damn border, not just a small piece of it.

Make the fence electrified and enough voltage to zap the chit out of them too and the wall high enough so the suckers cant climb over it.

never happen... too many lawsuits

Mexico cant sue the USA we should be filing lawsuits aginst them for all the grief they been causing us for over the years.

[Heracles 417]

And a country that does not control its own destiny is not a country at all...or soon won't be! And by that I mean the People. Not a select few individuals with selfish self interest. That is the difference between democracy and oligarchy. Which do you prefer?

I tell you what, that is the absolute truth....

[Marc and Olga 0]

"We have a responsibility to enforce our laws," he said. "We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious ."

Gaaahhhhhhhh! Seriously? After six years of public English-butchering fom the president, nobody bothered to check the speech for egregious grammatical errors?

Perhaps he is seeing pink elephants.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yes, I did mean white elephant.

I suppose it's too much to ask that an error is treated as an error?

[mawilson 2,133]

"Unfortunately the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said at a signing ceremony.

...said Bush, and authorised yet another incomplete solution.

700 mile fence when the border is 2000 miles long?

[Marc and Olga 0]

"Unfortunately the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said at a signing ceremony.

...said Bush, and authorised yet another incomplete solution.

700 mile fence when the border is 2000 miles long?

Yes the "fear" that if they fence the entire border, it will succeed! (Yes, speculation)

To only fence about 1/3 or the border, it allows the Mexican Nationals to continue to walk acrosse through the other 1400 miles thus giving those opposed to the fence an absolute rebuttal! (See, we told you it wouldn't work!)

Now taking bets!

[I'm Gone 60]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/...95020-9107r.htm

No force border enforcement

Someone ought to tell the Bush administration that prisons are for criminals, not law-enforcement personnel trying to do their jobs. On Thursday, a federal judge in Texas sentenced two former Border Patrol agents to 11 and 12 years in prison because they shot at a drug smuggler who was evading arrest.

In February 2005, Border Patrol agent Jose Alonso Compean got in a scuffle with smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who was driving a van that carried 743 pounds of marijuana. Agent Compean and fellow Agent Ignacio Ramos shot at Mr. Aldrete-Davila -- they say they thought he had a gun, which Mr. Aldrete-Davila denies. Agent Ramos shot the smuggler in the butt, but because Mr. Aldrete-Davila kept running -- across the border -- they said they thought they did not hit him. The agents picked up their shells and failed to report the shooting. For that violation of agency policy, Agents Ramos and Compean deserved an administrative review and some sort of job-related punishment.

Instead, due to a case of blind and bloodthirsty federal prosecutorial overkill, Agents Ramos and Compean were sentenced to 11 years and 12 years, respectively. Oh, and the smuggler was granted immunity for the 743 pounds of pot and is suing the federal government for $5 million. Crime pays, while going after criminals can land you hard time in prison.

On the government's side, I should mention: A jury found the two agents guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, obstructing justice, lying about the incident and willfully violating the Fourth Amendment right of Mr. Aldrete-Davila -- who was in the United States illegally, not to be mention smuggling drugs -- to be free from illegal seizure. Now three jurors have signed statements saying they were pressured into a guilty verdict, for whatever -- read, not much at this late date -- that is worth.

U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton released a statement last month that explained he prosecuted the two agents because, before the scuffle: "In fear of what the agents would do to him next, [the smuggler] ran away from the agents, who then fired at least 15 rounds at him, although they had seen his open hands and knew that he was not holding a weapon and had no reason to think he had a weapon, hitting him once and causing serious bodily injury."

As everyone knows, drug smugglers would never carry a concealed weapon and prosecutors should take a drug-ring lieutenant's word over that of Border Patrol agents with clean records -- because the smuggler would tell the truth even if he had a $5 million incentive to lie. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

I should note the feds had offered the agents one year in a plea bargain, the El Paso Times reported, but the agents preferred to go to trial. "They were innocent, why should they take it?" noted T.J. Bonner, president of the agents' union, the National Border Patrol Council. "They trust in the system of justice, and it let them down."

If these agents were gun-happy rogue enforcers, or if they were running a criminal operation, Mr. Sutton would be right to want to put them behind bars. But these are good guys with no other marks against them. Agent Ramos was nominated for Border Patrol Agent of the year in 2005 -- before the drug smuggler got his deal.

Crooked Border Patrol agents face less time than Agents Ramos and Compean for running criminal operations. In July, Agent Oscar Antonio Ortiz received a five-year sentence in San Diego for smuggling 100 illegal immigrants into America -- sometimes in a Border Patrol truck. In that case, the judge increased his sentence beyond the three years recommended by the feds. Last week, the Texas federal judge issued a lighter sentence than the 20 years recommended by the U.S. Probation Office, although federal mandatory minimums forced her to sentence Ramos and Compean to more than 10 years.

The House Judiciary Committee has promised to hold hearings on this case after the November elections. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, has asked for the Senate to hold hearings, as well.

Note to the Bush Justice Department: Prison is for criminals. Plus: If you want to save the taxpayers' money, just issue a memo that tells Border Patrol agents not to arrest smugglers. That would be cheaper than putting away Agents Ramos and Compean for years in prisons filled with the type of guys they used to put away.

President Bush does not have to wait for congressional hearings. In order to spare the agents and their families from further anguish and legal bills, Mr. Bush should commute the agents' sentences now. If ever an act of compassionate conservatism was needed, this is it.

[Sheriff Uling 3]

Congress needs to get off its duff and fence the whole damn border, not just a small piece of it.

I am with you, and actually we need nothing short of the Great Wall of China in addition to increasing the border patrol. No offence to other members, but illegal immigration from Mexico is out of hand.

[Peikko 1,575]

I wonder who will be contracted to build the wall? Aren't a huge portion of construction jobs undertaken by immigrants?

[Joel Halfwassen 0]

I wonder who will be contracted to build the wall? Aren't a huge portion of construction jobs undertaken by immigrants?

I was thinking the same thing. The joke here in Phoenix is that the wall to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants will be BUILT with illegal Mexican immigrants!

Joel

[AnaAndDaniel 0]

I wonder who will be contracted to build the wall? Aren't a huge portion of construction jobs undertaken by immigrants?

I was thinking the same thing. The joke here in Phoenix is that the wall to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants will be BUILT with illegal Mexican immigrants!

Joel

anyways, it will get graffitied in no time too. P)

Daniel

:energetic:

[peejay 327]

I wonder who will be contracted to build the wall? Aren't a huge portion of construction jobs undertaken by immigrants?

I was thinking the same thing. The joke here in Phoenix is that the wall to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants will be BUILT with illegal Mexican immigrants!

Joel

anyways, it will get graffitied in no time too. P)

Daniel

:energetic:

So...what is the love affair that Mexicans have with spray paint? I see it all over Houston. Mexican neighborhoods are tagged thoroughly with grafitti.

I don't get it. It looks like sh!t.

[almaty 19]

I wonder who will be contracted to build the wall? Aren't a huge portion of construction jobs undertaken by immigrants?

I was thinking the same thing. The joke here in Phoenix is that the wall to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants will be BUILT with illegal Mexican immigrants!

Joel

anyways, it will get graffitied in no time too. P)

Daniel

:energetic:

So...what is the love affair that Mexicans have with spray paint? I see it all over Houston. Mexican neighborhoods are tagged thoroughly with grafitti.

I don't get it. It looks like sh!t.

hey peejay...art