Posts with the tag 'border security'
In spite of what you might have heard from the left, under President Bush’s leadership, we have vastly improved our ability to track terrorists and keep America safe:
In the six-and-a-half years that the U.S. government has been fingerprinting insurgents, detainees and ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa, hundreds have turned out to share an unexpected background, FBI and military officials said. They have criminal arrest records in the United States.
There was the suspected militant fleeing Somalia who had been arrested on a drug charge in New Jersey. And the man stopped at a checkpoint in Tikrit who claimed to be a dirt farmer but had 11 felony charges in the United States, including assault with a deadly weapon.
The records suggest that potential enemies abroad know a great deal about the United States because many of them have lived here, officials said. The matches also reflect the power of sharing data across agencies and even countries, data that links an identity to a distinguishing human characteristic such as a fingerprint.
“I found the number stunning,” said Frances Fragos Townsend, a security consultant and former assistant to the president for homeland security. “It suggested to me that this was going to give us far greater insight into the relationships between individuals fighting against U.S. forces in the theater and potential U.S. cells or support networks here in the United States.”
The fingerprinting of detainees overseas began as ad-hoc FBI and U.S. military efforts shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It has since grown into a government-wide push to build the world’s largest database of known or suspected terrorist fingerprints. The effort is being boosted by a presidential directive signed June 5, which gave the U.S. attorney general and other cabinet officials 90 days to come up with a plan to expand the use of biometrics by, among other things, recommending categories of people to be screened beyond “known or suspected” terrorists.
Fingerprints are being beamed in via satellite from places as far-flung as the jungles of Zamboanga in the southern Philippines; Bogota, Colombia; Iraq; and Afghanistan. Other allies, such as Sweden, have contributed prints. The database can be queried by U.S. government agencies and by other countries through Interpol, the international police agency.
Couple points:
1. The “dirt farmer” in Tikrit who turned out to be wanted in the US: all through this post-liberation battle in Iraq we’ve heard endlessly from the left that those fighting us are just Iraqis who want us out…and how do they know this? Because it was reported in the news…as if a western MSMer who spends most of his time in the Green Zone can tell the difference between an Arab from Tikrit and an Arab from Damascus. Certainly, plenty of Iraqis - for a while - joined the fight against us and the Iraqi government, but the vital leaven in the enemy forces, the thing which kept the fight hot, was the foreigners who came in with money, expertise (its not like Saddam actually trained his people to defend themselves, ya know?) and the will to fight. One wonders how many “Iraqis” in the news voicing opposition to the US were really Iraqis…
2. The fact that many of these people have turned out to be wanted in the US for various crimes gives one pause about claims of innocent people winding up in Gitmo - once again, how would an MSMer really be able to find out that the “innocent detainee” he’s interviewing is really someone innocent? Obviously, if someone is wanted in the US but is out and about in, say Somalia, then he’s already tangled with the law and got out of it by one means or another. Unless one wants to subscribe to the theory that our soldiers and intelligence agents are stupid thugs, one must give the benefit of the doubt to our side and discount media stories about allegedly innocent detainees. Not that an innocent person cannot have been picked up, but that the chances of a completely innocent person winding up in Gitmo are very small and would be the exception proving the rule.
3. What a good idea, huh? Everyone who is detained by us is fingerprinted and we gather forensic data from terrorist attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and slowly build up a picture of who is doing what to whom. Over time this would give us a very good picture of what we’re up against (in terms of numbers, skills, effectiveness, etc) and allow us to subvert the terrorist groups from the outside and derail their efforts through misdirection.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama and his Democrats are saying that we have to get out of Iraq - at least, they’re saying it “pre-refinement”; we’ll probably see a changed tune soon, however - because Iraq has distracted us from the “real” war on terrorism…thing is, under President Bush we’ve managed to win in Iraq, win in Afghanistan, kill or capture many thousands of terrorists, build up a data base on global terrorism, de-fang Libya, end Pakistan’s “Nukes R Us” market, secure a growing alliance with India, Eritrea, Djibouti, Georgia and Poland, watch as France, Germany and other European States figure out that we’re doing the right thing in the War on Terrorism, increase the size of our military, re-equip our forces with the most modern weapons and materiel available, beef up our intelligence agencies, start to secure the border…and this is just the stuff we know about; there’s probably a lot which is still classified and we might not find out about for 50 years. Not a bad job for the man the left considers to be an evil idiot.
HAT TIP: NRO’s The Corner
Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, border security, Defeaticrats, intelligence, Iraq, John McCain
July 7th, 2008
One thing we can be sure of, President McCain will be unafraid to touch the live wires in defense of what he believes:
QUESTIONER: Senator, you have been a leader on immigration reform in the Senate but unfortunately Congress has failed to make progress on this very critical issue. As the next President of the Unites States of America will comprehensive immigration reform, and not just enforcement, be one of your top policy priorities in you’re first 100 days in office?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: It will be my top priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And my friends, thank you for the question, and let me just review for you again, we tried. I reached across the aisle to Senator Ted Kennedy, and by the way I know that he’s in your prayers, and we worked in bipartisan fashion. And we were defeated. And by the way, it wasn’t very popular, let’s have some straight talk, with some in my party, and so I did that and worked together so we could carry out a federal responsibility. We have to secure our borders, that’s the message. But we also must proceed with a temporary worker program that is verifiable and truly temporary, we must also understand that there are 12 million people who are here and they are here illegally and they are God’s children, they are God’s children and they will be treated in a humane fashion based on the principle obviously that someone who comes here {illegally} cannot have priority over someone who comes here {legally}. Could I mention to you, last Fourth of July I was in Baghdad, I was invited by General Petraeus to attend a ceremony where 688 brave young Americans decide to reenlist and stay and fight for America. There was also a group of people, 166 of them, that decided that they wanted to accelerate their path to citizenship. They were not citizens of this country but they chose to serve in harm’s way in defense of freedom in the military of the Unites States, I was deeply moves by this, that’s what America is all about.
QUESTIONER: Thank you Senator
SEN. MCCAIN: Immigration reform will be my top priority because we have the obligation to address a federal issue from a federal stand point. I will reach across the aisle once again and work in a bipartisan fashion. We will resolve the immigration issue in American and we will secure our borders.
I do believe that McCain learned his lesson and that any immigration reform will have as its knife edge secure borders - fortunately for McCain, a lot of the heavy lifting on border security is already being done, so by the time he is up there making his immigration reform proposals he should be able to point to a very large improvement in border security as the predicate for guest worker programs, etc.
Additionally, as long time readers know, I was one of the three or four people who actually backed the McCain immigraiton reform but McCain is right - these are God’s children and we must treat them well, even though they have broken our laws in coming across the border. In my view, at any rate, its not like we’re the innocent victims here - all sorts of Americans gave positive encouragement to illegal immigration by not inquiring too deeply into those who were doing the gardening, the maid work, the sheet rock installation, etc, etc, etc. I will never, ever advocate a program which rounds these people up as if they were common criminals - strengthened border security and greater enforcement of employment laws against hiring illegals will greatly attrit the number of illegals in country. For those which remain, we’ll have a pool of mostly long-term residents who have integrated into the society of the United States, and I want them to have the opportunity to become legal residents. I believe that I’m 100% with McCain on this, and I’ll defend it against all comers.
Tags: border fence, border security, guest worker program, illegal immigration, John McCain
June 28th, 2008
A potential powder keg in the immigration debate, and the fall election - from Michelle Malkin:
Law-abiding citizens of all colors are uniting against the targeting of innocent black residents of Los Angeles by illegal alien gangs. The parents of murdered high school student Jamiel Shaw met with L.A. public officials yesterday, urging them to rescind the city’s notorious Special Order 40–one of the nation’s oldest illegal alien sanctuary laws. Enough is enough:
The parents of Jamiel Shaw Jr., a high school football star who was gunned down by a reputed gang member just blocks from his home, urged Los Angeles city leaders today to go after criminals who are in the country illegally.
Pedro Espinoza, 19, allegedly shot and killed the 17-year-old Los Angeles High School student on March 2 in the 2100 block of Fifth Avenue, not far from the Shaw family’s Arlington Heights home. According to police, the shooting occurred one day after Espinoza was released from county jail, where he was serving time for assault with a deadly weapon.
U.S. immigration officials believe Espinoza, a member of the 18th Street gang, may have been in the country illegally.
“We have a problem with the system. My son was murdered by someone that was here illegally. No matter how you look at it, that’s what happened,” Jamiel Shaw Sr. told reporters before entering the Los Angeles City Council chamber.
Authorities do not know why Espinoza was not detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement upon his release from the county jail.
This is just the sort of cut-and-dried, issue which can drive an issue into the fall campaign. All it takes from this point is for people to start asking pointed questions about this to the three candidates - and while McCain has his weaknesses in the immigration debate, he’s rock solid compared to Obama and Hillary, who are both deathly afraid of declaring themselves firmly on the issue. Democrats want very much to use immigration as a means of securing Hispanic votes in the fall - but they want to do it on the sly, off the main public radar using scare tactics in the Hispanic community (you know, McCain will send you back to Mexico, so vote Democrat!)…the last thing the Democrats want is to take a position on whether or not local law enforcement should check the immigration status of people detained for crimes.
This could change a huge amount of the election dynamic - so, lets just watch and see what happens.
Tags: border security, criminal aliens
April 10th, 2008
It is one of the largest minefields between John McCain and an energised GOP base. When McCain and President Bush were pushing the comprehensive immigration reform back in 2007, I think that I was nearly alone in my support for the bill - and even little, old me caught it hot and heavy from fellow conservatives who insisted that securing the border take top priority over reform of immigraiton and the implementation of any sort of guest-worker program. As was once said, a generally held opinion - whether well- or ill-founded, cannot be lightly set aside. Regardless of how I view the merits of the “secure first” position, the plain fact of the matter is that the position will not be overcome - certainly not by a GOPer who hopes to gain/retain office. John McCain, I believe, has also learned this valuable lesson:
As president, I will secure the border. I will restore the trust Americans should have in the basic competency of their government. A secure border is an essential element of our national security. Tight border security includes not just the entry and exit of people, but also the effective screening of cargo at our ports and other points of entry.
Badly burned in 2007 - to the point where it nearly destroyed his Presidential campaign before it even got off the ground - I believe we can take this McCain promise to the bank: a President McCain will secure the border prior to any attempt at other parts of immigration reform. But McCain - wisely, in my view - doesn’t just leave it there:
Recognize the importance of assimilation of our immigrant population, which includes learning English, American history and civics, and respecting the values of a democratic society.
In my view, what really disturbs the majority of Americans about immigration is not the immigrants, themselves, but the growing perception that we are importing a body of alien people who either will not or cannot assimilate into the broader American society. When those pro-immigration demonstrators were seen on national TV carrying Mexican flags rather than American flags, I think that is what really did it - the expection is that if you come here, you’ll do your best to become an American; that you’ll speak English, know about our country and respect our flag. Nothing wrong with the Mexican flag - fly it with pride, if you have Mexican blood…but make certain Old Glory holds the place of honor next to it. Senator McCain seems to understand this sentiment in the broad majority of the American population, and we can - I believe - count on him to advance programs which will turn immigrants into Americans.
Tags: border security, immigration reform, John McCain
February 24th, 2008
No, I’m not kidding:
Clinton and her busload of traveling press moved from there to the popular local Mexican restaurant Lindo Michoacan, where a “roundtable” that was actually square passed a microphone around to tell her people’s concerns about the mortgage crisis and foreclosures. She took notes and munched on tortilla chips.
In broken English, one woman told Clinton how she wasn’t making money as a broker anymore.
“I have no income at all,” she said. “So how will I survive?”
Choking up with emotion, the woman said, “In my neighborhood, there are brand-new homes, but the value is nothing. I’m glad you are here so I can tell you, because you’re going to be the president, I know.”
A man shouted through an opening in the wall that his wife was illegal.
“No woman is illegal,” Clinton said, to cheers.
Pretty straightforward - if you’re a woman, then you’re not illegal…doesn’t matter if you just crossed the border yesterday, I guess. Unless, of course, Hillary was just trolling for votes - while Hillary is expressing doubts about caucuses, what I understand about the Democratic caucus out here in Nevada is that IDs won’t be checked…so, come one, come all…even if you’re illegal and especially if you’re a female illegal, ’cause Hillary has just given you a dispensation from the laws of the United States of America.
And some do wonder why I approach November with great serenity…
(As an aside - for the poor broker who can’t make money these days: cry me a river. Did you lower your brokerage fees when the price of homes in Las Vegas was skyrocketing? Bet you loved that time - well, now its a buyer’s market, and you’ll just have to tough it out. I’m taking it in the shorts on home equity, myself - but, on the flip side, it is helping first time home buyers who can finally afford a home now that the prices have come down to Earth.)
Tags: border security, Nevada Caucuses
January 12th, 2008
All it took was a bit of enforcing the laws:
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Mexican illegal immigrant Lindi sat down with her husband Marco Antonio in the weeks before Christmas to decide when to go back to Mexico.
She has spent three years working as a hairdresser in and around Phoenix, but now she figures it is time to go back to her hometown of Aguascalientes in central Mexico.
“The situation has got so tough that there don’t seem to be many options left for us,” Lindi, who asked for her last name not to be used, told Reuters.
The couple are among a growing number of illegal immigrants across the United States who are starting to pack their bags and move on as a crackdown on undocumented immigrants widens and the U.S. economy slows, turning a traditional Christmas trek home into a one-way trip.
In the past year, U.S. immigration police have stepped up workplace sweeps across the country and teamed up with a growing number of local forces to train officers to enforce immigration laws.
There is also, as noted later in the article, the economic factor - with our housing bust, there is just not as much demand for Mexican labor in American construction. Two years ago, large numbers of Mexican nationals - likely heavily illegal - were spread across the Las Vegas valley as new developments sprung up over night. Now, things are different; builders are delaying projects. For a while, I saw the illegals hanging out on street corners looking for day work - but they are becoming scarcer. Still, even with the economic factor, I believe that it is mostly the enforcement aspect which is driving this wave of self-deportation.
Employers are likely a lot more wary of employing illegals; illegals, themselves, are probably feeling under the gun - as noted in the article - and are taking off for home rather than risking arrest, deportation and a much harder time coming back in at some later date. As we conservatives were saying for years, if we’d just enforce the laws we’ve got on the books, the problem would largely be solved.
Tags: border security, illegal immigration, self-deportation
December 26th, 2007
Interesting news article which also makes this What Media Bias? Part 109. Here’s the headline:
Brazilians Giving Up Their American Dream
Poor, little Brazilians…America just ain’t what it used to be, huh? I guess all these Brazilians will now turn in their green cards and go home? Wrong - they aren’t Brazilians seeking the American dream, but illegal aliens from Brazil seeking the American dream:
No one can say how many are leaving. But in the last half year, the reverse migration has become unmistakable among Brazilians in the United States, a population estimated at 1.1 million by Brazil’s government — four to five times the official census figures.
To explain an often wrenching decision to pull up stakes, homeward-bound Brazilians point to a rising fear of deportation and a slumping American economy (Ed. Note; only in the NY Times would the sixth year of a boom economy be “slumping”). Many cite the expiration of driver’s licenses that can no longer be renewed under tougher rules, coupled with the steep drop in the value of the dollar against the currency of Brazil, where the economy has improved…
…There are regional variations, but the pattern is consistent. In South Florida, the expiration of a driver’s license is often a turning point for families already caught short by the slump in housing construction, said Sister Judi Clemens, a pastoral assistant with Our Lady Aparecida Mission, which serves five different Brazilian communities in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. She noted that until seven years ago, Brazilians with tourist visas could get Florida licenses valid for eight years, but they are all expiring now and cannot be renewed…
…“I’m scared,” said Francine Melo, the owner of the travel agency in Newark where Mr. Borges bought three one-way tickets for $1,708. “I make my living through these people.”
Another of her last-time customers, Norma dos Santos, a former house cleaner, said she felt she had no choice. Seven years after overstaying her visa, she said, she does not drive to work or pick up her children at school for fear that a traffic stop could put her in immigration detention.
“It’s just getting harder and harder to stay here without documents,” she said.
Tighten the borders, crack down on employers, deny basic documents like drivers licenses…most of the illegals will eventually go home under such a regime. The Brazilians are, in my view, just the tip of a reverse immigration ice berg…and the only thing which can stop this from happening is the election of a Democrat to the Presidency next year.
Tags: border security, Brazil
December 6th, 2007
