Wouldn't it be grand if the Obama administration cared more about policing our borders than about policing our refrigerators? How about fixing our deportation system instead of fixing our junk-food diets? First Lady Michelle Obama argued this week that obesity is a "national security" issue. But her husband allows far greater threats to go unabated. The FBI's arrests of two Boston-area men tied to the Times Square bombing attempt -- both held on immigration violations -- underscore the continuing homeland security lapses. FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents say two men of Pakistani descent were taken into custody during a series of New England-, New York- and New Jersey-based raids on Thursday. Federal officials believe the individuals may have provided cash to Times Square bomb plotter Faisal Shahzad. One was here on an expired visa. The other was on the loose while an immigration court adjudicated his deportation and removal order. He had reportedly been ordered deported in 2002, yet managed to embed himself in American society for more than seven years. But for the ability to detain potential illegal aliens on "administrative" charges, the men most likely would have remained free. (How convenient that the White House can choose to enforce immigration laws in the interest of public safety and then threaten to sue Arizona for stepping in and doing the same when the feds refuse to enforce those laws consistently.) Failure to crack down on visa overstayers and failure to stop the deportation revolving door are two key security vulnerabilities that lawmakers vowed to address after 9/11. There are currently more than 2 million illegal alien visa overstayers in the country, along with an estimated 500,000 illegal alien absconders who have ignored orders from immigration judges to leave the country. Voluntary departure policies -- granting illegal aliens the privilege of deporting themselves on an honor system -- have allowed countless law-breakers to remain in the country. There are federal laws mandating up to 20 years in jail for those who re-enter the U.S. illegally after being deported, but the provisions are enforced sporadically. The endless immigration litigation system lets known deportation fugitives stay in the country pending endless appeals (just ask President Obama's illegal alien absconder aunt Zeituni Onyango, whose 2002 asylum request was rejected and yet who remains here in taxpayer-subsidized public housing while awaiting the outcome of a second immigration hearing). Just two months ago, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner reported on lingering obstacles to enforcement and deportation of visa overstayers and absconders, including insufficient detention capacity; limitations of its immigration database; and insufficient staffing. "While most visitors leave by the time their visas expire, many thousands remain in the United States illegally," Skinner testified before Congress. "Overstays perpetuate the illegal immigration problem by using the visa process to break the law to remain in the United States. Moreover, some overstays represent a very real national security risk to the nation." Indeed, they do. The Nationwide Visa Overstayers Club includes dozens of jihadists, including 9/11 hijackers Mohammed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Hani Hanjour, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Satam al-Suqami; 1997 New York subway bomber Lafi Khalil; 1993 World Trade Center bombers Mahmud and Mohammed Abouhalima, Mohammed Salameh and Eyad Ismoil; and 1993 New York landmark bombing and conspirator Fadil Abdelgani. Before 9/11, no comprehensive foreign visitor entry-exit tracking system existed. Open-borders lobbyists, the travel industry, civil rights absolutists and ethnic grievance groups have lobbied hard ever since to stall full implementation of coordinated databases. The rallying cries of the May Day illegal alien marches this month implored President Obama to "Stop the raids!" and "Stop the deportations!" While their underlings launch select counterterrorism and immigration raids to track down the global network of "lone wolves," Attorney General Eric Holder and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano have been all too happy to threaten punitive measures against local and state officials who understand that reckless immigration enforcement moratoriums carry grave domestic security consequences. Last time I checked, the government's fundamental duty "to provide for the common defense" did not include the qualifier "when it's politically expedient." Or "as long as special-interest feelings are not hurt." Or "only after catastrophic security breaches force us to do so." Which version of the U.S. Constitution is Team Obama reading? http://townhall.com/columnists/Mich...ed_deportation_system_strikes_again?page=full
Granny says, "How `bout educatin' our own students?... Hillary Clinton: 'I'm Trying to Increase the Number of Visas for Iranian Students October 27, 2011 - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told BBC Persia Wednesday that the State Department plans to set up a "virtual embassy" in Tehran by the end of the year to answer questions about how Iranians can study or travel in the United States.
Granny says dey prob'ly hidin' inna bushes gettin' ready to pounce on somebody... DHS Cant Locate 266 Illegal Overstays that Pose National Security Risks May 28, 2013 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot find 266 potentially dangerous immigrants who have overstayed their visas, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
When you blame this on Obama you totally miss the point. It's actually improved significantly since Obama took office, it's not a party thing. It's a budget thing, when you call for more action to deport the millions who overstayed their visas, you are calling for spending billions and billions more, so unless you are identifying the source of this revenue that you want to spend, example : "Why not add a new tax rate for people who have more than a million in income and use the money to..." then you're just whining about your guy losing the election, you aren't serious about the problem.
goober wrote: so unless you are identifying the source of this revenue that you want to spend... Granny says... ... "Dat money dat's payin' down the deficit... ... after it's paid off."
There already is a path to citizenship, and always has been. It requires new citizens to be a benefit to the United States of America. Maybe obama and pals should do their sworn duty and enforce the laws of the United States of America. How bout they do some of that?
Nobody keepin' track of temporary visitors to the U.S.... Temporary Visitors to U.S. At All-Time High, Nobodys Keeping Track of Them September 4, 2013 Visas for temporary visitors entering the United States have increased 61 percent since 1992, according to data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But the federal government has no way to make sure they leave when their visas expire. See also: Americans turn in passports as new tax law hits September 5, 2013: The number of Americans choosing to give up their citizenship has spiked dramatically this year as the government works to implement a new disclosure law aimed at stamping out tax evasion.
