Minuteman National Blog

Congressman Tom Tancredo catches another lame attempt by the Open Borders Lobby.

The Department of Homeland Security did not vet a controversial immigration proposal as claimed by the U.S. senator who drafted the law and instead backs an effort by a GOP congressman who wants it repealed.

A representative from the office of Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., told WND he spoke this week with DHS officials who said that, contrary to assertions by Sen. Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah, no one in the department reviewed his proposal to protect religious groups from a federal law forbidding them from knowingly transporting, concealing, harboring or shielding an illegal immigrant, before it was signed into law earlier this month.

Last week, Bennett said his proposal – which was tacked on as an amendment to an agriculture appropriations bill – had been vetted by DHS, as well as the House and Senate judiciary committees.
But Will Adams, a spokesman in Tancredo''s office, said not only did DHS officials deny reviewing Bennett''s provision, "they found out about it only when it was inserted in the conference report, and even then by a member of the minority (Democratic) staff."

-- snip --

[Tancredo] also pointed out in his letter that current U.S. law only penalizes organizations that knowingly "harbor" illegal aliens.

"The only reason any organization would need a change in the law similar to the one you authored is if that group desired to aid or abet persons they know are in the United States illegally," he said.

Gotta love it when a plan falls apart. The rest of the article can be found by clicking the title above.

This is one of the ugliest problems on our southern border. Quite a few of you reading this blog have met the author of this article, Jerry Seper of the Washington Times. He has spent a lot of time covering the Minutemen and the situation on the border. His articles are always well researched and well written.

Those with delicate sensitivities may not want to read further.

JACUMBA, Calif. -- Among the thousands of women who will illegally cross into the United States this year from Mexico, some will be raped by the same men who demanded $1,500 to $2,000 for safe passage -- their underpants often hung on a border fence as a trophy.

"I thought the wailings we heard at night were the coyotes barking at the moon," said Tim Donnelly, who headed the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps border vigil here. "I didn''t know until later that those sounds were the cries of women being raped in the Mexican desert, some less than a hundred yards away from the border.

"There was absolutely nothing anyone could do about it," said Mr. Donnelly, grimacing as he turned away to hide his emotions. "It''s something you never forget."

The women, according to U.S. law-enforcement authorities, have no realistic recourse, because they are foreigners seeking to enter the United States illegally. Separated from other illegals just south of the border, the smugglers take them into the desert where they are raped or sodomized.

U.S. authorities said some Mexican border police have taken part in the violence, often targeting migrants headed to the United States from Central and South America.

Much more of the story can be found by clicking the headline.

Finally -- an article in the mainstream media that mirrors our experiences with the Minuteman Project and the continuing Minuteman Civil Homeland Defense operations.

They contend that illegal immigrants drive down wages, avoid paying taxes and benefit from education and health care services that should go only to Americans.

They insist the Mexican border should be closed, that they''re tired of the problems caused by illegal immigration.

The complaints are familiar, but those complaining are not.

A new wave of Americans are calling for stricter restrictions on immigration: Latino Americans.

The article shows a number of viewpoints, but there are an increasing number like these:

"It''s illegal, and that word, ''illegal,'' says it all," said Clara Nibot, president of the Bergen County Hispanic Republican Organization.

Nibot came here as a legal immigrant from Cuba. It bothers her that a portion of the property taxes she pays for her Bergenfield home are being spent on the public education of illegals, who she said bring "gangs, criminals, corruption and many people who are failures in their own country." Some Latin American countries purposely dump their "bad elements" on the United States, she said.

"They don''t contribute to the system, and the rest of us have to carry their load," Nibot said.

-- snip --

Miguel Cruz, 32, of Newark, was 9 years old when his mother brought him legally from Peru. He recently attended a United Patriots meeting in Bogota, where he vowed to get more involved in efforts to stop illegal immigration.

Cruz said he has to be tactful when he talks to other Latinos about illegal immigration: Once they know where he stands, he said, they avoid debating him.

"We are poles apart," he said. "They don''t want to talk about the problem, because often they are part of it."

When people remind him that he is also an immigrant, Cruz replies: "I''m a grateful person and I acknowledge that this country has given me everything. I don''t owe anything to Peru and Peru doesn''t owe me anything. I was raised and educated here. I''m an American with Peruvian roots."

Click on the title for the full article. It''s good reading.