Minuteman National Blog

It seems the Mexican government is getting nervous.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico will fight proposals to fortify part of the U.S.-Mexico border with a high-tech wall, Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said on Thursday.

Concerned about the huge numbers of illegal immigrants streaming across the border, and worried it could be an entry point for terrorists, many members of the U.S. Congress are backing an idea to erect a Berlin Wall-style division along the border.

--snip--

"We will use all means necessary, and I am referring to things like international tribunals (and other) international action, to make it clear that this is not an act that would resolve the migration issue," Derbez said.

--snip--

"I guarantee the U.S. government that (a wall) will not stop migrants. What will happen is they will climb over it or burrow underneath," Derbez said. "The solution is an agreement to permit legal migration, secure and ordered."

More at the title link...

The AP reports on the state of confusion in Washington on how to deal with the public outcry about the border and illegal immigration. At least we have their attention:

From building a fence to keep them out to passing a law to help them stay, members of Congress have lots of ideas on how to respond to President Bush''s challenge to take on the problem of illegal immigrants. There''s a will to act but so far not much consensus.

The first stab at the problem could come in the next two weeks, when the House may vote on legislation to strengthen border security. That''s the easiest of the three legs of immigration reform. The others, enforcing workplace hiring rules and setting up a guest-worker program that might incorporate illegal immigrants, are far more divisive.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to bring up a border security bill in February, and use that as a starting point for broader reform. "We must boldly address the challenges of border security first," Frist, R-Tenn., said this week as Bush toured the Texas-Mexico border to stress the need for both tougher border controls and a guest-worker program.

Read the rest of the article at the title link.

Washington Times columnist John McCaslin writes in Inside the Beltway about a meeting this week between President Bush and Carmen Mercer:

"If somebody had taken a picture, it would have been worth a million dollars. He looked kind of stunned."

So Carmen Mercer, vice president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, described the reaction of President Bush after he finally learned her identity during a fundraising dinner this week in Phoenix -- but only after he smiled and posed with her for a photograph, shook her hand twice and autographed her name tag.

Suffice it to say, Mr. Bush and Mrs. Mercer, who owns a restaurant in Tombstone, Ariz., have not seen eye-to-eye when it comes to public help in addressing illegal-immigration problems that plague her state.

Mrs. Mercer helps direct more than 1,000 Minuteman volunteers who have patrolled the border separating Arizona and Mexico. In recent months, they have assisted federal authorities in the apprehension of thousands of illegal aliens who otherwise might have gained entry into the country.

In a telephone interview yesterday with Inside the Beltway, Mrs. Mercer said "it was quite exciting to see the president this close-up" at Monday night''s dinner benefiting Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican.

After a friend of Mrs. Mercer''s told the president who she was, Mr. Bush said: "I knew I liked her the minute I saw her."

More interesting stories from Inside the Beltway can be read at the title link.

U.S. News & World Report columnist John Leo weighs in on President Bush and the border/illegal immigration issues:

Last June, I managed to get lost in one of the rugged canyons of southeast Arizona near the Mexican border. While pondering the interesting question of whether I would be able to find my way out before nightfall (there are bears, cougars, and rattlers in there), I stumbled upon two campsites or staging areas apparently used by illegal immigrants. Each site was maybe 2,000 square feet. No people, but lots of backpacks, food tins, shirts, pants, underwear, water bottles, tampons, toilet paper, documents, and candy wrappers–about as much debris as you might expect in a similar patch in Times Square after a Mets World Series victory.

SNIP

A few weeks ago the Maricopa County (Phoenix) attorney''s office sponsored a conference on immigration, featuring panelists and speakers representing all sides, from the ACLU (politely welcomed ) to Minutemen (wildly applaud ed). It''s a sign of the times in Arizona that prosecutors now run their own conferences on illegals.

Andrew Thomas, the young county attorney and conference host, spoke bluntly at the main luncheon, dismissing the politically correct argument that illegals are victims of coyotes (human smugglers who bring them in).

"The grown adults who do this in violation of multiple laws are certainly not victims," he said. "We–the citizens of the United States who are being overrun by illegal immigration–we are the victims."

SNIP

The Mexican government is now a heavy player in the game of promoting more illegals. It produced a comic book telling illegals how to cross the border and how to evade border officials. President Bush needs to lean on his alleged friend Vicente Fox to take responsibility for the poor people of Mexico instead of dumping them over the border. Bush, beholden to businesses that hire illegals and donate heavily to the Republicans, has been unusually slow to appreciate the mounting opposition to the flood of illegals. In its November 7 issue, the New Republic said immigration is no longer just a border-state issue. "It''s the future of politics in the South," with Minutemen franchises appearing in Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia.

No more amnesties described as nonamnesties, please. Demonstrate first that we can cut the flow sharply. Then we can talk about guest-worker programs.

This one is worth the click on the title link to read in its entirety

Newsday columnist James Pinkerton writes about President Bush''s border speech this week:

Sept. 11 changed the naïve view that all foreigners are automatically positive additions to the commonweal. But only somewhat. Even after border control and homeland security became an obvious matter of life and death, Washington was little interested in safeguarding the frontier against unknown intruders.

So it was left to activist groups, including the Minutemen, to call attention to everyday acts of trespassing and property damage along the U.S.-Mexican border, as well as to the larger threat to American identity.

Eventually, Republicans in Congress, and Bush himself, have gotten the message, sort of. Earlier this week, the president was talking about a wall - part physical, part "virtual" - across the southern border. But Bush still clings to a "guest worker" provision, which puts a huge hole in that new wall. Why? Perhaps W. is trying to court Hispanic voters, perhaps he is appealing to business - perhaps he is simply stubborn.

But the political current is running against him. On Tuesday, reacting to Bush''s proposal on Fox News, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), the political spearhead of the grassroots rebellion against open borders, likened the White House plan to "putting lipstick on a pig" - trying to gussy up the same old open-borders policy. Bush''s proposal would be "amnesty," a human spigot, Tancredo snapped.

Indeed, twisting the rhetorical knife, Tancredo accused his fellow Republican of being "Clintonesque" on immigration - that being the ultimate insult in the GOP lexicon.

Here''s a prediction: Tancredo will win. A wall will get built - with none of Bush''s holes. It will be part physical barrier, part electronic surveillance, part get-serious law enforcement. And it will work, because while walls might not be politically correct, they are effective. Walls work to keep people and property secure, they work to keep nations secure.

The whole article is worth taking the time to click the title link.

The L.A. Times reports on the one-day trial of a woman accused of stealing a police officer''s flashlight last May at the Garden Grove anti-Minuteman melee:

Theresa Dang, 26, of Westminster is charged with stealing the $100 flashlight during a May 25 protest rally outside the Garden Grove Women''s Civic Club, where Gilchrist was speaking. She was charged with two counts of misdemeanor theft three weeks after the rally and three days after she and others asked the City Council at its meeting to investigate her allegations of abuse by police at the demonstration.

"Clearly, there is political vindictiveness involved," said B. Kwaku Duren, the lawyer for Theresa Dang.

Jurors began deliberating Dang''s fate Wednesday after a one-day trial.

SNIP

The flashlight has not been recovered.

After jurors started deliberating, Dang stood outside with a dozen supporters and worried about the jury makeup: four women, eight men, most middle-aged or older and predominantly white.

"They are not a jury of my peers," said Dang, who is Vietnamese American. "There are a lot of people out there who look upon protest as a nuisance or people being violent, and they accept whatever police say."

Dang was one of the nearly 300 people at the rally, which turned violent after one of the attendees forced his van through a crowd that decided to block the driveway.

Five protesters were arrested, three of them facing felony and misdemeanor charges related to the violence.

SNIP

Knight Ridder reports on the controversy about the Border Patrol agent uniforms being made in Mexico:

WASHINGTON - T.J. Bonner isn''t quite comfortable in his olive-green Border Patrol uniform, but his misgivings have nothing to do with the fit or appearance. He''s mad about the label: "Made in Mexico."

"It''s embarrassing to be protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and be wearing a uniform made in Mexico," says Bonner, a San Diego-based agent and president of the 6,500-member agents union, the National Border Patrol Council.

For more than a year, the men and women responsible for combating illegal immigration have been wearing uniforms manufactured south of the border. In addition to the symbolism, they say, the outsourcing to Mexico poses national security risks if some of the uniforms fall into the hands of criminals or potential terrorists.

Consequently, some members of Congress insist that it''s time to change labels.

More at the title link.

The AP reported last Friday on an attempt by a Marxist Mexican group to protest the Minutemen. It failed.....

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Shoppers in Tijuana ignored calls for a boycott of U.S. stores to protest American volunteer patrols on the California-Mexico border, and poured into San Diego to take advantage of Friday''s Thanksgiving weekend sales.

Motorists waited in marathon lines for up to three hours at the San Ysidro bridge to head northward on one of America''s busiest shopping days of the year.

The boycott was called by a Tijuana group calling itself the Zapatista Front.

The group objects to the so-called Minutemen project, in which volunteers from across America have converged on California and other border states to look out for migrants trying to sneak into the United States.

The Minutemen claim they are trying to uphold the law and are akin to a neighborhood watch scheme. However, some migrant advocate groups accuse them of being vigilantes who intimidate and attack undocumented workers.

The U.S. Border Patrol has said the Minutemen can get in their way by setting off sensors and make their job more difficult.

"We don''t cross the border or buy in the United States because of our disgust at the Minutemen and racism," said Zapatista Front member Carmen Valadez, who stood at the international bridge protesting with about 10 others.

Most Tijuana shoppers paid the demonstrators little attention.

More at the title link.

The Dallas Morning News reports on the latest from south of the border:

MEXICO CITY - The four men sit bruised, bloody and bound on the floor before a curtain of black garbage bags. Prodded by an unseen interrogator, they coolly describe how they enforce the rule of Mexico''s Gulf cartel: Enemies are kidnapped, tortured and shot in the head, their bodies burned to ashes.

Among those killed, the men say in a video sent to The Dallas Morning News, were a radio reporter who "didn''t want to work anymore" for their cartel and a chamber of commerce leader who called too loudly for federal help against the drug gangs. "Break him because he is causing controversy," was the order from his cartel boss, says one of the men.

After six minutes of such confessions, a 9 mm pistol held by a black-gloved hand enters the picture and fires a bullet into the head of one of the self-proclaimed killers.

Authorities on both sides of the border said the interrogation video appears genuine, offering a rare and extraordinary look into the Gulf cartel''s inner workings and its well-armed allies, known as the Zetas. They also said the crude home movie raises unsettling questions about the cartels'' possible reach into Mexico''s government, military and media - though a government spokesman said that impression could be misleading.

For instance, the suspected Zeta members said on the video that they are collaborating with some Mexican law-enforcement officials. Two of the captives say they are former soldiers, trying to recruit military colleagues, federal agents and others to work for the cartel.

Click the title link for the rest of this must read report.

And now a broadside from the editors of the Washington Times...

President Bush was in Arizona and Texas this week once again promoting his guest-worker program for illegal aliens -- or amnesty for short. The good news is that the president is no longer ignoring the millions of Americans who are primarily concerned with the nation''s broken borders and unenforced immigration laws. The test now is that the president''s tough rhetoric is matched with concrete details.

Unfortunately, we have yet to be convinced that the president''s position is more than what one Republican close to the White House described to Time magazine as a "rhetorical pound of flesh," designed to silence conservatives angry over this guest-worker nonsense.

--snip--

Toward that end, no border-security plan is credible if it does not include severe employer sanctions for businesses that hire illegals. Employers must be just as nervous about hiring illegals as illegals should be to work for them. The president must also come out strongly against welfare benefits for illegals, which currently dwarf anything they can hope to get from the Mexican government. It is unfair to ask Border Patrol agents to risk their own lives when Congress and the president refuse to do anything to curtail the rewards that lure illegals into the United States.

--snip--

Yet even if the will and money were there, we remain unconvinced that a "comprehensive" reform package that includes both border security and a guest-worker program, as the president proposes, is the appropriate course.

Two things are clear, however: The only guest-worker program we would not consider amnesty is one for those not already in the country; and a guest-worker bill without proper border-security provisions is a nonstarter.

A piece of advice to the folks on the Hill: Don''t get caught in bed with a live amnesty or a dead border security bill.

Full text at the link above.

The editorial staff at the Christian Science Monitor joins the fray...

Republicans in Congress who are up for reelection in 2006 are feeling the heat from their GOP base to crack down on illegal migration. Many of them want President Bush to assist them by beefing up border security. Try as he might, that''s not his first choice.

Up to now, border security has been a lesser immigration priority for a president who once said that those who enter the US illegally are simply trying to "provide for their families" and "put food on the table" - as if opening the border to any job seeker were merely a humanitarian matter. In these days of Al Qaeda-style terrorism, the humane act would be to have well-regulated borders and better law enforcement against the thousands of employers who hire undocumented workers.

Without first showing the border can be secured enough to drastically reduce illegal migration, the president''s other priorities such as a "guest worker" program should not be implemented.

--snip--

A GOP plan to pass a "comprehensive" immigration bill early next year should aim to secure the borders first before dealing with an increase in legal entries or providing any sort of back-door amnesty to the more than 10 million illegal immigrants in the US. Those businesses which now hire illegal workers and contribute heavily to the GOP should not be the GOP''s priority when it comes to security issues such as border controls. If employers need more American workers, all they need to do is raise wages and offer benefits. They might also rest easier by obeying hiring laws.

A nation that long tolerates such open lawlessness in both illegal entries and hiring can''t claim to be a beacon of virtue to the world. Nor is it safe against terrorism.

As usual, more amusement by clicking the link above.

PHXnews published a statement by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano on President Bush''s visit to her state this week:

Dear Friends,

Immigration reform has long been on the minds of Arizonans, but this week, the issue was in the national spotlight as well. On Monday, President Bush visited Tucson to speak about illegal immigration and border security. I’m pleased that the President decided to visit our state, and I hope his trip served as a reminder of just how serious the border situation has become in Arizona. Our state needs meaningful immigration reform. That reform needs to come at the federal level, and it needs to come now.

I am in favor of creating an effective guest worker program that gives priority to workers from the United States. Such policy would make a tremendous impact in Arizona. In recent months, I have been working with agricultural communities around the state and with Customs and Border Patrol to facilitate a smooth harvest season for the winter vegetables grown in southern Arizona. A national guest worker program would further improve this process, giving growers the documented workers they need and allowing guest workers to legally hold jobs in Arizona border communities.

Additionally, in order to regain true control of the United States/Mexico border, the federal government must increase its law-enforcement manpower and enhance its border security technology to prevent more undocumented immigrants from entering this country. There are millions of undocumented individuals already residing here, and the federal government must find realistic ways to address them as well.

I understand this issue is a complex one and the stakes are high, but it is the federal government’s Constitutional responsibility to find solutions. Arizonans deserve a safe border and a secure state. And they deserve to be repaid the hundreds of millions of dollars they’ve already spent to incarcerate undocumented individuals in state correctional facilities.

As the Arizona Congressional Delegation and I push for action on the national level, I will continue to take initiative and find innovative ways to combat crimes associated with illegal immigration.

As part of my Strong Border, Secure Arizona initiative, I have been working closely with Sonora, Mexico’s Governor, Eduardo Bours. Governor Bours and I have agreed to make Arizona/Sonora the safest region of border between the United States and Mexico. Our law enforcement agencies are already sharing intelligence and technology, and tomorrow I will join Governor Bours and other Mexican officials at the winter plenary session of the Arizona Mexico Commission and its sister organization in Mexico, Comision Sonora Arizona in San Carlos. There, I will receive updates on the progress of Arizona’s border security measures and make plans to strengthen our state’s partnership with Mexico.

Click the title link for the Governor''s complete statement.

The Washington Times reports on the conflicting views of how long it would take for the catch-and-release program to be ended. Yet one more reason to put troops on the border until the rest of the government can do the job.

An excerpt:

Ending the "catch-and-release" policy for non-Mexican illegal aliens will take at least a year, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has estimated.

But Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said he has heard estimates from Mr. Chertoff''s department that it will take as long as three years to end the policy, stressing why better enforcement must come before Congress acts on President Bush''s call for a guest-worker program.

Mr. Bush has spent the past two days in Arizona and Texas pushing for an end to the policy in which non-Mexican aliens are processed and then released into society on the usually false hope they will return voluntarily to be deported.

Mr. Chertoff, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, said it would take a year to end the program as the department boosts the number of detention beds to hold illegal aliens and tries to trim the time each illegal occupies a bed.

"This is an area where we can have an impact in one year in keeping away people coming from outside Mexico," he said in his Oct. 18 remarks.

Illegal aliens from Mexico regularly are returned to the border but OTMs, or "other than Mexican" aliens, have to be sent back to their home countries. That act requires going through a legal process in the United States and getting clearance from those governments, which can take weeks or months.

Only 25 percent of the 160,000 OTMs caught last year were deported, while the rest were released. The odds were so favorable that aliens from Brazil would seek border authorities and turn themselves in, knowing they were likely to be released immediately.

Dean Boyd, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said by expanding a program called "expedited removal" in September they already are moving aliens through the system faster, meaning the aliens occupy beds for a shorter period of time. He said the time has been cut from an average stay of 90 days to 32 days.

"Our goal ultimately is to further reduce the detention before they''re removed to 15 days," he said.

He said recent spending bills also have expanded bed space from about 18,500 in fiscal 2005 to more than 20,000 now.

Click the title link for the rest of the article.

The Washington Times reports on yet another failure of the bureaucracy to protect the nation:

Documents show that the Houston office of the federal agency charged with interior immigration enforcement has stopped investigating individual cases of "sham" marriages, which terrorists have used in the past to stay legally in the U.S.
"Due to our current goals, priorities and lack of resources, we will not be participating in conducting one-on-one marriage fraud investigations," Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Gus Meza wrote in an October 2004 e-mail obtained by The Washington Times, citing the direction of supervisory agents in Houston.

In another e-mail, an official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the bureau that grants visas, says ICE agents regularly decline to investigate 70 percent of fraud cases, including sham marriages, sent over by the fraud unit at USCIS.

Both federal agents and independent analysts say "sham marriages" are a common tool used by terrorists to remain in the United States, making them a national security issue.

A recent report for the Center for Immigration Studies by Janice L. Kephart, who was one of the staff members on the September 11 commission, found that of 20 terrorists she studied, 18 married U.S. citizens, 10 of whom entered "sham marriages."

Click the title link for the rest of the article.

Cinnamon Stillwell, columnist for SFGate, writes about the downward spiral of television shows that have alienated large segments of their audiences by pushing a liberal agenda.

Exhibit A is the recent Law & Order episode smearing the Minutemen:

Probably the worst offender is the "Law & Order" franchise on NBC. Pick any incarnation of the series and one is certain to find more preaching than entertainment. The original "Law & Order" has lost almost all of its initial "ripping stories from the headlines" grittiness and devolved into nothing more than a platform for liberal politics. The last couple of seasons were so biased that many conservative viewers simply chose to change the channel.

Watching the Detectives

For those who remained loyal, the final straw was the Nov. 16 episode, which centered on an anti-illegal immigration group called the Countrymen Border Watch of America. Of course, the Countrymen were just a thinly veiled reference to the Minuteman Project, a civilian border patrol group that reports illegal alien activity to the authorities.

In fact, initial advertisements for the show used the Minuteman title, but producers reportedly decided to change the name of the group for the episode after receiving a barrage of complaints. It made little difference, for the episode was nothing more than an exercise in slander.

The Countrymen were portrayed as a sinister group of white men who turn out to be xenophobic racists, with one member a murderer. This is in direct contrast to the real Minutemen, whose rules forbid racism or bigotry and specify the use of legal, non-violent tactics.

Nonetheless, the Countrymen''s fanaticism was hammered home throughout the program. At one point, while questioning the ex-wife of one of the group''s members, a detective asked if her ex-husband''s "zealotry contributed to your divorce." Very subtle, indeed.

The episode was based on an event that took place in 2003, when 17 illegal aliens were left to die in a trailer at a south Texas truck stop. But in a bizarre twist of logic, the show turned the human smuggler who left the people in the back of his truck into a victim after he''s murdered by one of the Countrymen.

When a prosecutor described the Countrymen''s actions as "a campaign of terrorism against human smugglers," whatever credibility might have remained of the episode went out the window.

SNIP

The Washington Examiner published an op-ed by New Republic reporter Eve Fairbanks today. She''s not happy about Jim Gilchrist''s foray into the political domain of the establishment:

At first glance, Jim Gilchrist seems like your typical, easily dismissed small-party candidate. Running for the Orange County, Calif. House seat vacated by new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Chris Cox, Gilchrist is a retired certified public accountant and the founder of the Minuteman Project, the organization that sends vigilante volunteers to patrol U.S. borders. He is campaigning on a single issue — illegal immigration — and is being sponsored by the American Independent Party, the party that was originally spawned to support George Wallace in his 1968 segregationist presidential bid.

He has compared himself to “that lone Chinese patriot in Tiananmen Square, standing before an oncoming Chinese army tank.” He recently refused to take part in a candidates’ debate because the League of Women Voters was one of its hosts.

Sounds like a throwaway 1 percent of the vote, that breed of lovable and under-qualified eccentric who adds humor to political races across the country by running obsessively on some bizarre platform involving Scientology or a harder line on feral cats. But Gilchrist, in the first round of voting in October, received 15 percent of the vote — nearly twice as much as the leading Democrat — a showing that has forced the election into a Dec. 6 runoff.

SNIP

Our current system of dealing with immigration is deeply flawed. But the warm welcome we have always prided ourselves on extending toward newcomers who wish to partake in the American project deserves a better steward than Jim Gilchrist. To stave off a European outcome, won’t somebody — some liberals, especially — step up and give the Gilchrist voters, most of whom are not fundamentally racist but have been spooked by rhetoric, a better option?

Fairbanks'' main point seems to be that Gilchrist isn''t a member of the establishment--and that alarms her.

It may be odd, but I''m posting the end note of this article first:

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy, a columnist for The Washington Times and lead author of "War Footing: Ten Steps America Must Take to Prevail in the War for the Free World" (Naval Institute Press, 2005) from which this article was adapted.

You will want to click on the title above for the full article. Simple principles, simple solutions -- without the rhetoric. A sample:

(1) The purpose of U.S. immigration policy is to benefit the citizens of the United States.

(2) Since immigration policy can profoundly shape a country, it should be set deliberately, not by accident or acquiescence, with careful consideration to ensure it does not adversely affect American citizens and communities'' quality of life.

(3) Immigration policy should be based on and adhere to the rule of law. Immigration laws must be enforced consistently and uniformly throughout the United States.

(4) Noncitizens enter the United States as guests and must obey the rules governing their entry. The U.S. government must track the entry, stay and departure of all visa-holders to ensure they comply fully with the terms of their visas or to remove them if they fail to do so.

(5) The U.S. borders must be physically secured as soon as possible. An effective barrier to the illegal entry of both aliens and contraband is vital to U.S. security.

(6) Those responsible for facilitating illegal immigration shall be sought, arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law and shall forfeit profits from such activity. This applies to smugglers and traffickers of people, as well as those involved in producing, procuring, distributing or using fraudulent or counterfeit documents.

(7) U.S. employers shall be given a simple and streamlined process to determine employees'' legal eligibility to work. Employers who obey the law shall be protected both from liability and from unfair competition by those who violate immigration law. The violators shall be subject to fines and taxes in excess of what they would have paid to employ U.S. citizens and legal residents for the same work.

(8) Those who enter or remain in the United States in violation of the law shall be detained and removed expeditiously. Illegal aliens shall not accrue any benefit, including U.S. citizenship, as a result of their illegal entry or presence in the United States.

(9) No federal, state or local entity shall reward violators of immigration laws by granting public benefits or services or by issuing or accepting any form of identification or by providing any other assistance that facilitates unlawful presence or employment in this country. All federal and all law-enforcement agencies shall cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities and report to such authorities any information they receive that an individual may have violated immigration laws.

(10) Illegal aliens now in the United States may be afforded a one-time opportunity to leave without penalty and seek permission to re-enter legally if they qualify under existing law. Those who do not take advantage of this opportunity will be removed and permanently barred from returning.

Now to track down a copy of the book itself...

From Associated Press via the San Diego Union-Tribune...

MEXICO CITY – President Vicente Fox expressed renewed hope Tuesday that Mexico will secure an immigration accord with the United States before he leaves office next year.

"There are initiatives in (the U.S.) Congress that provide solutions to the problem of migration, so we''ll keep on having an optimistic, positive ... attitude," said Fox, who met with foreign correspondents in Mexico City.

-- snip --

Fox said the two neighboring nations need to work out the details of how many Mexicans would be allowed to work legally in the United States and in what sectors of the U.S. economy.

Dream on, El Moocho Grande.

The rest of the story can be accessed by clicking the headline.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PRESIDENT BUSH ACKNOWLEDGES CRISIS ON THE BORDER

(TOMBSTONE, AZ) November 28, 2005 – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) issued the following statement regarding President Bush’s speech today on the issues of border security and illegal immigration:

“The Minutemen welcome President Bush’s acknowledgement of the crisis on our nation’s borders and in the interior. We call on him to match that recognition with bold actions that go further than his proposals announced today.

“The threat to America’s national security posed by our porous borders needs to be addressed immediately. The President promised that he would not wait on events to protect this country. We urge him to fulfill that pledge by placing troops on the border immediately and to keep them there until the Border Patrol is sufficiently staffed, funded and equipped by Congress and the President to relieve the troops.

“The President made some interesting proposals today. He spoke with conviction about the need to address the problems facing our country. However, the President and government officials of all parties need to understand that the Minutemen will not be appeased by half-measures and tough sounding rhetoric. We are not going away, in fact our movement is growing. We will maintain our civil defense presence until the borders are secured.

“To borrow a phrase, ‘as the government stands up, the Minutemen will stand down.’”

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 28, 2005

Fact Sheet: Securing America Through Immigration Reform

Today''s Presidential Action:

Today, President Bush Outlined The Strategy To Enhance America''s Homeland Security Through Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Addressing the Customs and Border Protection agents stationed in southern Arizona, the President discussed the strategy to secure the border, prevent illegal crossings, and strengthen enforcement of immigration laws. The President also proposed to take pressure off the border by creating a Temporary Worker Program that meets the economy''s demands while rejecting amnesty for those who break America''s laws.

Securing The Border Is Essential To Securing The Homeland. Since he took office, the President has increased funding for border security by 60 percent. Border agents have apprehended and sent home more than 4.5 million people coming into the country illegally including about 350,000 with criminal records. The U.S. border must be open to trade and tourism and closed to criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists.

The President Will Work With Congress To Pass And Sign Into Law Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Comprehensive immigration reform is a top priority for the Administration. Already, Congress is making great strides and has a chance to move forward on a strategy to enforce immigration laws, secure America, and uphold the Nation''s deepest values. The President will continue working with Congress so that he can sign a comprehensive immigration reform bill into law in 2006.

The President''s Strategy For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Begins With Securing The Border. To secure the border, the President is pursuing a three-part plan.

First, The U.S. Will Return Every Illegal Entrant Caught Crossing The Southwest Border With No Exceptions. More than 85 percent of apprehended illegal immigrants are from Mexico, and most are immediately escorted back across the border within 24 hours. To prevent them from trying to cross again, the Federal government is using interior repatriation whereby Mexican illegal entrants are returned to their hometowns, making it more difficult for them to attempt another crossing. This approach is showing great promise. In a West Arizona desert pilot program, nearly 35,000 illegal immigrants were returned to Mexico through interior repatriation, and only about 8 percent turned up trying to cross the border in that sector again. The Administration is working to expand interior repatriation to ensure that when those who violate the country''s immigration laws are sent home, they stay home.

The Administration Is Ending The Practice Of "Catch And Release." Because detention facilities lack bed space, most non-Mexican illegal immigrants apprehended are released and directed to return for a court appearance. However, 75 percent fail to show. Last year, only 30,000 of the 160,000 non-Mexicans caught coming across our Southwest border were sent home. Addressing this problem, the President has signed legislation increasing the number of beds in detention facilities by more than 10 percent over the next year. The Federal government is also using "expedited removal" to detain, place into streamlined judicial proceedings, and deport non-Mexican illegal immigrants in an average of 32 days almost three times faster than the usual procedure. Last year, more than 20,000 non-Mexicans caught crossing the border between Laredo and Tucson were deported using expedited removal. The use of expedited removal is now being expanded across the entire Southwest border. When illegal immigrants know they will be caught and sent home, they will be less likely to cross illegally in the first place.

The Administration Is Taking Further Steps To Accelerate The Removal Process. The U.S. is pressing foreign governments to take back their citizens more promptly, while streamlining bureaucracy and increasing the number of flights carrying illegal immigrants home. Testing these steps, "Operation Texas Hold ''Em" along the Rio Grande Valley of the Texas Border recently resulted in Brazilian illegal immigration dropping by 90 percent in the Rio Grande Valley and by 50 percent across the entire border. These efforts are helping change a policy of "catch and release" to a policy of "catch and return."

Second, The Administration Will Work With Congress To Reform Immigration Laws. The President is seeking to eliminate senseless rules that require the government to release illegal immigrants if their home countries do not take them back in a set period of time. Among those the government has been forced to release are murderers, rapists, child molesters, and other violent criminals. The President is also working with Congress to address the cycle of endless litigation that clogs immigration courts, rewards illegal behavior, and delays justice for immigrants with legitimate claims. Lawsuits and red tape must not stand in the way of protecting the American people.

Third, The Federal Government Will Act To Stop People From Illegally Crossing The Border In The First Place. The Administration is increasing manpower, technology, and infrastructure at the Nation''s borders, and integrating these resources in innovative ways.

Increasing Manpower. Since 2001, 1,900 Border Patrol agents have been added, and the President has signed legislation allowing the addition of another 1,000 agents in the year ahead. When the hiring is completed, the Border Patrol will have been enlarged by about 3,000 agents from about 9,500 when the President took office to about 12,500 next year. This is an increase of more than 30 percent.

Deploying New Technology. The Administration is giving Border Patrol agents the tools to expand their reach and effectiveness including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and infrared cameras. In Tucson, agents using UAVs to patrol the border have improved their interception of illegal immigrants and drugs on the border. Legislation signed by the President is providing $139 million to further upgrade technology and bring a more unified, systematic approach to border enforcement.

Constructing Physical Barriers To Entry. The President has signed legislation providing $70 million to install and improve protective infrastructure across the border. In rural areas, the government is constructing new patrol roads to give agents better access to the border and new vehicle barriers to keep illegal immigrants from driving across. In urban areas, the government is expanding fencing to shut down human smuggling corridors. The Administration recently authorized the completion of a 14-mile barrier near San Diego. Once held up by litigation, this project is vital to helping border agents do their jobs and make those who live near the border more secure.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Requires Improved Enforcement Of Immigration Laws Within The United States. Catching and deporting illegal immigrants along the border is only part of protecting the American people. Our immigration laws must be enforced throughout America.

The Federal Government Is Improving Worksite Enforcement. The President has signed legislation that more than doubles the resources dedicated to worksite enforcement. The government is placing a special focus on enforcement at critical infrastructure. This year, Operation Rollback the largest worksite enforcement case in American history resulted in the arrest of hundreds of illegal immigrants, criminal convictions against a dozen employers, and a multi-million dollar payment from one of America''s largest businesses. Worksite enforcement is critical to the success of immigration reform.

To Help Businesses Comply With Immigration Laws, The Government Is Addressing Document Fraud. Even the most diligent employers find it difficult to spot forged employment documents and verify workers'' legal status. So the Administration is expanding the Basic Pilot program enabling businesses to screen the employment eligibility of new hires against Federal records. Since 2001, this program has expanded from only six states to now being available nationwide. The Administration will work with Congress to continue to improve employment verification.

The President Has Committed The Resources Necessary To Enforce Immigration Laws. Since 2001, the Administration has increased funding for interior enforcement by 44 percent; increased the number of immigration and customs investigators by 14 percent; and new funding will allow for an additional 400 immigration enforcement agents and 250 criminal investigators. These skilled officers are getting results. In Arizona alone, 2,300 people have been prosecuted for smuggling drugs, guns, and illegal immigrants across the border. Operation Community Shield has resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,400 illegal immigrant gang members including hundreds of members of violent gangs like "MS-13." Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), agents have apprehended nearly 27,000 illegal immigrant fugitives.

As Part Of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, The President Has Proposed The Creation Of A New Temporary Worker Program. To match foreign workers with American employers for jobs that no American is willing to take, temporary workers will be able to register for legal status for a fixed time period and then be required to return home. This plan meets the needs of a growing economy, allows honest workers to provide for their families while respecting the law, and relieves pressure on the border. By reducing the flow of illegal immigrants, law enforcement can focus on those who mean this country harm. To improve worksite enforcement, the plan creates tamper-proof I.D. cards for every legal temporary worker.

A Temporary Worker Program Would Not Provide Amnesty. The program does not create an automatic path to citizenship or provide amnesty. The President opposes amnesty because rewarding those who break the law would encourage more illegal entrants and increase pressure on the border. A Temporary Worker Program, by contrast, would promote legal immigration and decrease pressure on the border. The President supports increasing the annual number of green cards, but for the sake of justice and security, the President will not sign an immigration bill that includes amnesty.

By Reforming Immigration Laws, The United States Will Preserve The Promise Of America. Immigrants play a vital role in strengthening American democracy. This is a land in which foreigners who respect the laws are welcomed as contributors to American culture not feared as threats. The United States has been strengthened by generations of immigrants who became Americans through patience, hard work, and assimilation. Like generations of immigrants that have come before them, every new citizen has an obligation to learn this Nation''s customs and values. At the same time, America will fulfill its obligation to give each citizen a chance to realize the American dream. By enforcing immigration laws, the Federal government is protecting the promise of a tolerant, welcoming America and preserving opportunity for all.

# # #

Time magazine reports on President Bush''s efforts to get out in front of the border/illegals issues:

But now he''s repackaging his views. As recently as January 2004, Bush used his first policy announcement of that re-election year to unveil a guest-worker program that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain legal status for at least six years if they have a job and their employer vouches for them. The plan incensed conservatives. Talk-radio hosts and bloggers fanned resentment over "Press 1 for English" phone menus and borders porous to drugs and terrorists. In June, two months after a citizens'' group called the Minuteman Project began vigilante patrols of the Mexican border, Bush told lawmakers he had not understood how important border security was to his base.

That''s why Bush is calling this week for a series of border-security measures that will make his guest-worker plan look like an afterthought in his immigration policy. Bush will call for the hiring of more border guards and the use of more technology like unmanned aircraft and ground sensors to better police the borders. He will also push for increased holding facilities for illegal immigrants who are picked up. Roughly 100,000 a year benefit from a de facto "catch and release" policy, since there aren''t enough beds for them.

SNIP

In the end, though, it''s unlikely that Bush will ever consummate his flirtation with the anti-immigrant right. It''s too big a departure from his history, and too many Big Business G.O.P. donors need their cheap labor. "Bush decided to give these guys"--the immigration hard-liners--"their rhetorical pound of flesh," says a Republican official close to the White House. "In return, he wants a comprehensive bill, which is what he has always wanted. He''s just going to lead with a lot of noise about border security."

Reuters reports on President Bush''s trip to Arizona today:

President George W. Bush on Monday tackles the thorny problem of illegal immigration on the Mexico border with his own Republican Party split over whether undocumented workers already in the United States should be allowed to stay.

Fueled by fears of terrorists slipping into the country, escalating violence and drug smuggling, Americans have become increasingly worried about illegal immigration. More than three-quarters think the government is not doing enough to control the borders, according to a CBS News poll last month.

In Tucson, Arizona, on Monday and El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Bush will focus on border security, portraying his temporary worker program -- which some Republicans say rewards lawbreakers -- as a way to relieve pressure on enforcement by bringing illegal immigrants "out of the shadows."

SNIP

The problem reached such epic proportions in the summer that Arizona and New Mexico declared states of emergency, saying tens of thousands of illegals were endangering border security. That allowed the governors to use millions of federal dollars to shore up their borders.

Angry residents have formed armed teams called Minutemen to watch over the border and a movement has sprung up among conservatives to wall off its entire length with a high-tech fence. More than two dozen members of the U.S. Congress have signed on to the idea.

Time magazine has an article on Operation Spotlight in this week''s issue. The article is more an opinion piece than news story, but it''s not labeled as such.

An excerpt:

The campaign, Operation Spotlight, is a new--and some fear dangerous--tactic by the self-named Minutemen, the anti- illegal-immigrant group that in April began standing watch on the Arizona-Mexico border to intercept people crossing into the U.S. The group has caught few border jumpers but generated lots of attention for its cause and is now turning its focus in from the border, staging Operation Spotlight protests not only in Phoenix but also in the California cities of Laguna Beach, Lake Forest and San Bernardino as well as Herndon, Va. There are plans for demonstrations at day-labor centers in Alabama, New York and Tennessee.

"We will be expanding these protests," says Jim Gilchrist, 56, a retired accountant who is a founder of the Minutemen. He is running for Congress in California, waging a single-issue campaign against illegal immigration. "We are even getting inquiries from countries like France and England."

With President George W. Bush''s scheduled visit to the Southwest raising anew the issue of the porous border and with Congress planning to take up several bills in December to address the problem, the Minutemen''s timing, at least, is deft. But vigilantism is a risky business, particularly when it carries an odor of race baiting. The more the tension builds, say the Minutemen''s critics, the greater the risk that violence, avoided in Phoenix, could break out. "The Minutemen are getting stronger precisely because Bush and Congress are addressing immigration," says Tamar Jacoby, an immigration expert at the Manhattan Institute in New York City. The question is, Can Washington reach a solution before somebody throws a punch--or worse?

The reporter fails to note that there already has been violence--BY OPPONENTS OF THE MINUTEMEN, not by us.

This reporter is so far behind the curve even when he''s reporting on current events. He plays all the smear cards played last April and since discredited by other reporters. Read the whole article and see for yourself.

Newsbusters compliments MSNBC on their broadcast last night of "Crossing the Line? The Battle at America''s Borders"

The special report featured California Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leader Tim Donnelly as he geared up for the Secure Our Borders operation last October.

An excerpt:

Why write about a news program on a public issue where the MSM got it right? Well, consider how we paper train a puppy. We scold the puppy when it misses the paper. But we praise the puppy when it does go on the paper. Consider this as praise for the puppy, MSNBC.

The program used two men to present most of the story. One was Tim Donnelly, founder of the Minuteman of California, to watch the borders for illegal immigration. The other was Enrique Marones, the leader of the Border Angels, which opposed the efforts of the Minutemen to close the borders to the “hard-working Mexicans who are just looking for a better life.” The Angels put out food and water for illegals on the US side of the border.

The Los Angeles Times reports on Operation Spotlight (via Newsday.)

An excerpt:

The Minuteman Project, controversial for its border patrols, is trying something new: looking to fight illegal immigration in the nation''s interior by targeting employers. The group is organizing in communities including Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Indianapolis and Charlotte, N.C., monitoring and reporting businesses that hire suspected undocumented workers.

The self-appointed border security group is finding willing recruits. Since the Arizona-based Minuteman Project began in April, more than 20 chapters have sprung up across the country, said Chris Simcox, the group''s national president. He said the organization had "well over 100 requests" from people interested in starting their own chapters.

"We''re struggling to keep up with the demand," Simcox said. "It''s our aim, by next November, the ''06 elections, to have Minuteman interior chapters in every congressional district in the country."