Homeland Security in a nutshell- Janet Napolitano: Ain't she great?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

CNSNews.com - Napolitano:

When this woman was Governor, she begged Bush for help.

Politics changes everything. There's a video at the link, also.

CNSNews.com

Napolitano: ‘You’re Never Going to Totally Seal That Border’

Monday, June 28, 2010

By Adam Cassandra

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Monday, May 17, 2010. (CNSNews.com photo/Penny Starr)

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, whose agency is charged with securing America’s borders, told an audience in Washington, D.C., in reference to the U.S.-Mexico border, “You’re never going to totally seal that border.â€

Napolitano spoke and answered questions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on “Securing the Border: A Smarter Law Enforcement Approach,†on Wednesday.

When asked if she could give a timeline on when the border would be secured, Napolitano said, “The plain fact of the matter is the border is as secure now as it has ever been, but we know we can always do more. And that will always be the case.

“It’s a big border,†she said. “It’s 1,960 miles across that Southwest border. It’s some of the roughest, toughest geographical terrain in the world across that border. And so, the notion that you’re going to seal that border somehow is something that anybody who’s been involved in the actual doing of law enforcement--the front office work or the front line work of the law enforcement--would say, ‘You’re never going to totally seal that border.’â€

Napolitano was also asked if she thought that Republicans withholding support for comprehensive immigration reform until the border is secured was political posturing.

“The notion that you’re gonna’ somehow seal the border, and only at that point will you discuss immigration reform, that is not an answer to the problem,†she said.

At a town hall meeting recently, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl told a group of constituents that in a closed-door meeting with President Barack Obama, the president told him, “The problem is … if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform.â€

“In other words,†Kyl said, “they're holding it hostage. They don’t wanna’ secure the border unless and until it is combined with comprehensive immigration reform.â€

The White House responded to Kyl’s claim with Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer both saying that Kyl “knows†President Obama never made such remarks.

“The president didn’t say that and Senator Kyl knows it,†Pfeiffer said in a statement to Politico. “There are more resources dedicated toward border security today than ever before but, as the president has made clear, truly securing the border will require a comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system.â€

“The president didn't say that,†Burton said during last Monday’s White House press briefing. “Senator Kyl knows that the president didn't say that. But what everybody knows – because the president has made it perfectly clear – is that what we need to do is everything that we can to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. And that includes not just securing the border, but doing a lot of other things.â€

Kyl’s spokesman Ryan Patmintra responded to the White House saying, “There were two people in that meeting, and Dan Pfieffer was not one of them. Senator Kyl stands by his remarks, and the White House spokesman’s pushback that you must have comprehensive immigration reform to secure the border only confirms Senator Kyl’s account.â€

[Guest jackdm3]

If you "secure" your border, and I tunnel under, it's not secure.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

At least tunneling is more work. They eventually earn their food stamps.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Hmmm...

Are Napolitano and Kagan genetic clones?

Enquiring minds wand to know...

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That's even better than comparing Janet Reno to Janet Napolitano, and

looking at either makes me think of Medusa.

[Guest drv2fst]

hmmm, she said the border is 1960 miles. Let's see. Put a Claymore every tenth of a mile. That makes the border secure with less than 20,000 Claymores. Let's quadruple that and have 4 rows offset from each other. 80,000 Claymores. We have those in storage somewhere don't we?

[mikegideon]

Hmmm...

Are Napolitano and Kagan genetic clones?

Enquiring minds wand to know...

I think BHO is trying to avoid the BJ in the Oval Office trap. I also think it's working

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That would work. I bet either one of them could handle a beer summit, though,

don't you?

[mikegideon]

That would work. I bet either one of them could handle a beer summit, though,

don't you?

I think they would probably hold their own in a bar fight too

[Guest SUNTZU]

Hmmm...

Are Napolitano and Kagan genetic clones?

Enquiring minds wand to know...

[Guest Lester Weevils]

By golly yer right! Such an appearance would be a perfect disguise for reptilian aliens among us. We just need the special glasses!

[Guest HvyMtl]

Ironically, I think she is being realistic. The border has never been secured, not by Republicans, and not by Democrats. Neither want to spend the $$$ on it.

Personally, after 9/11, I find it to be fool hardy at best not to have sealed borders... However, logistics show it is cost prohibitive.

If you fence it, they will climb over. If you land mine it, they will tunnel under. Etc, etc.

The cheapest way to prevent the most people from coming across? Identify the Coyotes (those who aid in the crossing) and shoot them on site on our side of the border. However, do this, and Mexico and the UN will go bat ...

So you have to prevent the reason they come over. Next easiest way, ruin the job market for illegals.

E-Verify is an effective system. Mandate all employees info go through the Federal E-Verify system. Any business not checking the E-Verify system gets heavily fined ($100k per violation.) The E-Verify system should block 80-95% of illegals from getting a job. Block welfare rolls by requiring citizenship. Remove the Anchor Babies loophole. And Voila! Mass exodus.

Another easy way of preventing illegals: Severely limit money transfers across the borders. Make it cost prohibitive to do so. Any who attempt to take large sums of $ across the border must pay a costly fee. This could make the Mexican Government fail, a big downside.

Sadly, NOTHING WILL GET DONE. As the Republicans LOVE the cheap labor, and the Democrats WANT the future votes...

Edited June 30, 2010 by HvyMtl

[Guest 6.8 AR]

So all you're saying is enforce existing law, a law which

republicans support. Be careful how you characterize

who wants what. You might be surprised how wrong you

are. Some of the crap about republicans wanting cheap labor is just propaganda. That's not a blanket statement

about all republicans. Choose your own poison. Dig

up all the quotes and especially where Bush said it.Fine!

He wasn't the only republican. That is also not on any

republican platform.

E-verify is a great thing and should be used. Tell that to

the messiah instead of wasting your time on trying to

convince everyone that republcans are at fault. Both

parties are complicit in our mess, right now, but you

won't fix but one at a time. Well neither, if you don't try.

It is ironic that she is being realistic and is the party in

power that has refused to come to the aid of a state

directly requesting assistance in a dire situation, and

especially since she was governor and while governor

asked for the same assistance. you might think she

put aside the political gaming.

[Guest clownsdd]

+10 hvy

[Guest HvyMtl]

"As the Republicans LOVE the cheap labor, and the Democrats WANT the future votes..." Where does this statement single out, Republicans? Does it not point fingers at both parties?

Point is the fellows who blocked the responsibilities for the Business Sector when Reagan passed the first amnesty for illegals were mostly Republicans.

E-Verify is a good system. Free to any business who wants to use it. Effective tool. And yes, BOTH parties have not asked for any company to be required to use it. Not even on the Stimulus $$$, which was supposed to create jobs for legal citizens...

So, my point was: NEITHER PARTY HAS THE INTESTINAL FORTITUDE TO PREVENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. And, BOTH PARTIES HAVE HAD AMPLE CHANCES TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND HAVE NOT "BOTHERED."

Even though the possible solutions I put out there are viable, neither party dares act, for fear of the political backlash...

[Guest SUNTZU]

Illegal Immigrants Sue Sheriff's Department in Tennessee - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

From 2007...

The federal government could take a page or two out of the playbook of elected officials in Maury County, Tennessee, when it comes to dealing with illegal immigrants. The Maury County Sheriff's Department has taken over 90 suspected illegal immigrants into custody in the past four months. Most recently they assisted agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they detained six suspected illegal immigrants after a local construction contractor reported they used false documents to obtain employment with his company. This is the first multiple arrest of suspected illegal aliens in Maury County since the Sheriff's Department was sued in federal court in July for violating the Constitutional rights of suspected illegal aliens.

The lawsuit, filed July 5th by Nashville Immigration Attorney Elliott Ozment, arose from several incidents in May, June and July in which deputies allegedly violated 14 illegal immigrant's Constitutional rights. Sean Lewis, a Nashville Immigration Attorney told the Columbia Daily Herald, "Those rights include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution." Also named in the original lawsuit were several agents from ICE, as well as Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. The charges against three ICE administrators and Chertoff were dismissed in September.

The resident in charge of ICE operations in Maury County, Special Agent Jonathon A. Hendrix, in a sworn affidavit said that he "did not participate in any raid, stop, search, seizure, interrogation, detainment or arrest that was illegal." "Nor did I conspire to do so with anyone else," Hendrix says in the affidavit.

ICE agents and the Sheriff's Department began working together in May after a 14-year-old boy was caught with a handgun at Whitthorne Middle School. They were looking for a man named "Enrique" who allegedly gave the gun to the boy.

Testimony from the boy's mother led to the arrest of 24 other people who were believed to be in the country illegally.

They teamed up again on June 5 to search for a convicted drug dealer, Juan Martinez. They found him at a job site with another man who volunteered that he was in this country illegally. Also on June 5, Captain Nathan Johns of the Maury County Sheriff's Department stopped a speeding vehicle that was driven by a teenager who admitted having no ID. Johns and ICE agents took the 17-year-old boy to his residence where they made contact with several people who voluntarily admitted to being in America illegally.

Sheriff Deputies and ICE teamed up again on July 3 to search for a man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. Upon asking for and being given permission to search several homes in the same trailer park, agents once again found numerous people who admitted they were in the U.S. illegally. Those individuals were arrested and many of them are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. All but five of the original 14 plaintiffs have been deported. The remaining five are still in the country awaiting immigration hearings.

The question many Maury County residents are asking is what Constitutional rights are people who are in the U.S. illegally entitled to. The answer is that no one is quite sure. That can only be answered by the courts.

What does appear to be certain is that it will be costly to defend the Sheriff's Department against the lawsuit. Maury County Commissioners however have passed a resolution to support the Sheriff 100 percent and Maury County Mayor Jim Bailey encourages officers to continue enforcing immigration laws.

Positive public opinion and support from the County Commission should be all that are necessary for officials to continue to arrest, detain and deport illegal aliens from Maury County, Tennessee.

Report: Illegal Immigration Costs $300M Per Year - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A new report puts a price tag on how much illegal immigrants cost Tennessee taxpayers.

It is close to $300 million every year, according to the study conducted the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a nonprofit research group.

It contradicts a report by the state comptroller's office released in August that indicated undocumented immigrants boosted the economy and did not take jobs from any Tennessee workers.

Jack Martin's team of researchers at FAIR investigated the cost of illegal immigration in Tennessee.

"The largest category of expenses to the taxpayers is for the education of the children of illegal immigrants," Martin said.

The cost is $255 million each year for education from kindergarten through the twelfth grade and ESL programs. Martin estimates an additional $30 million is spent on healthcare and incarceration, bringing the total to $285 million.

How does this report differ from the state comptroller's report?

"One of the main differences the comptroller's report was also trying to calculate the value of goods and services provided by the illegal immigrants," Martin said. "And that doesn't really make any sense unless you're working on the assumption that those jobs wouldn't be done by Americans if the illegal immigrants were not taking those jobs."

Martin doesn't believe the immigrants are doing jobs Americans workers would not do.

"There's no job in the United States being done only by illegal aliens, so you know there are Americans working alongside illegal aliens," he said.

NewsChannel 5 assembled a small sampling of Nashville's Hispanic community to respond to the report.

"It's a growth," said Luis Sepulveda. "We have to have extra help to develop it. When they come here, whether illegal or not, makes no difference. They are extra labor that we need."

If Tennesseans are spending million to educate illegal immigrants is that really a bad thing?

"I will never consider investing on education as something that is detrimental to our growth and development," said Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"Everything has a negative and we can all say, well that person shouldn't have this, but we can also look at the positives," said Rachel Hernandez. "I think that sometimes with immigrants we're forgetting their part."

A Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman said it's hard to estimate just how many children of illegal immigrants are actually in the state school system. Federal law prohibits school officials from asking about a student's immigration status.

Several lawmakers such as state Rep. Debra Maggart are calling for the state comptroller to deliver another report about illegal immigration.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Suntzu - thanks for reminding. They need to remove the Federal blocking of the State asking student immigration status. This needs to be repealed. Anyone know of the source of the law on this block?

[mikegideon]

deputies allegedly violated 14 illegal immigrant's Constitutional rights.

WTF? What rights? I'm really getting sick of this

[Guest HvyMtl]

Ok. All people within the borders of the U.S. have Constitutional Rights, even if they are criminals, illegal alien criminals, or terrorists. (and finally, if they are gun owners... ) This said, no, I do not believe those deputies violated their rights. Much to the chagrin of my Con Law Professor, I presently do not recall the section of the Constitution to look at.

The Constitution is the law of the land.

[mikegideon]

Yep. The whole thing just makes me crabby. Listened to Obama's speech on the subject a little while ago. Need to see how it get transformed thru the media. I may even listen to Beck so i can hear his link to Nazi Germany :-)

[Guest HvyMtl]

LOL, yeah I do not understand Beck's incessant need to label people Nazi. But, that is a completely different topic.

Sadly, this concept of secure borders has been politicized since the 1980's, may be longer. Again, sadly, the only way a secure border may happen is with a terrorist attack across the border in question.

Oh yeah, I forgot Pancho Villa already did that. Nevermind.

[Guest manofsteel]

my personal feelings on the border is this if you stack enough dead body's up they will stop climbing over them. only Americans should be protected by our rights. how many frickin Mexicans died in ww1,ww2, or nam or are bury ed on foreign soil due to fighting to help anyone? ZERO i think they all should be sent home with no regard to why there here and if they are cough here again shot on site. if anyone comes to this country the right way their welcome if not they are an invader and should be treated as a threat to all.

[mikegideon]

my personal feelings on the border is this if you stack enough dead body's up they will stop climbing over them. only Americans should be protected by our rights. how many frickin Mexicans died in ww1,ww2, or nam or are bury ed on foreign soil due to fighting to help anyone? ZERO i think they all should be sent home with no regard to why there here and if they are cough here again shot on site. if anyone comes to this country the right way their welcome if not they are an invader and should be treated as a threat to all.

Problem is, while we weren't looking, we managed to acquire 11 Million illegal aliens, and not just from Mexico. That's whole lotta folks to track down and stick on a bus. Who is gonna do it?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

LOL, yeah I do not understand Beck's incessant need to label people Nazi. But, that is a completely different topic.

Sadly, this concept of secure borders has been politicized since the 1980's, may be longer. Again, sadly, the only way a secure border may happen is with a terrorist attack across the border in question.

Oh yeah, I forgot Pancho Villa already did that. Nevermind.

His incessant need just happens to be an accurate description. You can find a better

understanding about facism and Nazi ideology in "Liberal Facism" by Jonah Golberg.

He deals with Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin very well. He shows the similarities between

their ideologies and methods.

Be careful what you wish for. We are already close enough to having a terrorist

attack. The level of violence is bad enough, already.

Beck can defend his actions and substance of his show quite well. It's one thing to

disagree with him and another to dislike him. It's also very easy to find information

that backs up what he has on his show. If you wish to prove him wrong, why don't

you just do that instead of the cheeky attitude about him. I don't watch him every

day, but I also don't waste time with the newspapers and people like Katie Couric,

either. At least his show has relevance, compared to the MSM, sometimes including

even the rest of FOX.

We allow the politicians to do what they do because we trust them too much and

don't hold their feet to the fire. If we did hold them to the fence and made them

use tools like the one you mentioned earlier, E-verify, it would change things.

[mikegideon]

I didn't dislike Beck until he fell off the deep end. I don't care how much chalk he goes through, the Nazis ain't coming. The system won't allow it. A lot of folks think Glen is crazy. Me, I think he's selling snake oil... lots of it.