"Troops On The Border: Reality vs. Spin"

The Question

The Question

Eternal
U.S. Representative Charlie Norwood said:
Troops on the Border: Reality versus Spin
By U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood

Earlier this year Arizona Governor Janet Napalitano announced a "state of emergency" for the Arizona border due to the flood of illegal immigration, and ordered her National Guard to the border with Mexico.

The "deployment" consisted of about 170 Guardsmen, who were assigned to help inspect cargo shipments coming through legal entry points, which does nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigration one whit. But even if they had been assigned to real border patrol duty, that's less that one soldier for every 2 miles of Arizona's border with Mexico.

The "deployment" was simply a public relations stunt to persuade the public that a governor who has supported defacto open borders and illegal immigrant rights her entire political career is suddenly tough on illegal immigration.

This Monday night, President Bush is expected to deliver a speech on immigration reform, and multiple media leaks indicate it may include a plan to use troops on the border with Mexico.

That proposal has already been actively lobbied for by multiple members of Congress, and garners somewhere between 60 and 90 percent approval in public opinion polls - a real crowd pleaser.

But will the proposal be real, or just spin?

The truth will lie in the proposed numbers, and whether the plan is for a short-term demonstration project or a long-term strategy for truly securing our southern border.

A real plan has already been proposed, with full details and research data included in last year's Immigration Reform Caucus special report, "Results and Implications of the Minutemen Project."

Under that plan, the southern border can be virtually closed except at legal points of entry within a one-month period - at the longest. The flood of illegal immigration that has plagued America since the last amnesty plan in 1986 will be over.

It will initially take 36,000 troops. At the start, they should be National Guard personnel drawn nationally. There isn't enough National Guard in the border states alone to do the job without hindering combat readiness, so the forces will need to be pulled from other states as well under current National Guard Bureau assistance regulations.

36,000 troops will provide an average of three two-man teams per border mile for the entire 1,951-mile border with Mexico, working eight-hour shifts. Once in place on the ground, the deployment will need to be increased to 48,000 troops, to provide necessary manpower for time-off, sick leave, and long-term support services.

From the day the first National Guard boot hits the desert sand, we will need to expend all efforts to replace them as soon as possible through use of every other available resource. Our Guard is stressed to the max with missions in Iraq and Afghanistan; they can't be left on duty in the desert long-term. The first goal should be to return every initial deployed Guardsman back home in 90 days.

Immediate replacements should be called up from our Civil Air Patrol, State Defense Forces, and Coast Guard Auxiliary. We should also consider initiating a permanent, volunteer U.S. Border Patrol Auxiliary, with the same support functions as the Civil Air Patrol to the U.S. Air Force, or the Coast Guard Auxiliary to the Coast Guard proper.

As these personnel come online, the corresponding number of National Guard troops can be discharged. The President will need to make a bully pulpit call to rejuvenate our State Defense Forces, the reserve to the National Guard, for this mission. We have unfortunately allowed these state-level military reserves to drop from WWII levels of 175,000 troops to just 15,000 today, so this in fact would be a big help in America's overall homeland security, not just in securing our borders.

These military auxiliary forces should in turn be replaced as rapidly as possible by federal troops returning from overseas duty, with an estimated 70,000 on the way now as a result of BRAC. Seems we've had no problems securing half the borders of the world, we just can't find a way to secure our own.

Within a year, we should have replaced all our initially-deployed National Guard and military auxiliary forces, and have the border under fulltime federal control with an estimated 50,000 DOD troops in the field in addition to our current Border Patrol.

America's nightmare on the border would be over, permanently, starting within a week of an Executive Order by the President, with no new laws required.

If President Bush signed that order Monday night, our border would be secure for the first time in decades by Memorial Day at the latest. Mr. Fox and La Raza wouldn't like it - but the American people sure would.

Estimated costs are around $2.5 billion per year - a bargain, compared to what our immigration disaster is already costing American taxpayers.

Once the border is secure, we can began installing the new infrastructure and technology that will allow us to permanently secure the nation - fencing, lighting, sensors, roads, cameras, ultra-light aerial observation vehicles.

We will have the time to train and deploy as many new Border Patrol agents as necessary for permanent security with the new infrastructure in place.

That shouldn't take the two years the Border Patrol is currently taking. There's no reason we can't have a 90-day Border Patrol boot camp like we do for our U.S. Marines. True, we might not be able to get them fluent in Spanish in 90 days, but I don't recall us requiring our Marines be fluent in Arabic before sending them off to Iraq.

Some estimate the permanent expanded number of Border Patrol agents needed with the infrastructure and technology in place at 25,000. But the beauty of having the border secure up front is that we can take our time in determining that number, and get it right. The same luxury applies to our infrastructure decisions.

We can probably expect those improvements to take 2-5 years to get in place. During that timeframe, troop levels can be gradually reduced as new infrastructure is completed and new Border Patrol officers are placed in the field. Within 5 years, we will have a rebuilt, properly manned, and rejuvenated Border Patrol with the tools they need to get the job done.

That's the formula for using American troops to successfully, immediately, and permanently secure our border.

With that kind of action, the President would have House Members sitting up and paying attention to any suggestion on improving our legal guest worker programs, and in dealing with illegals aliens already in the country.

But there's another troop formula, ala Janet Napalitano, designed to win public opinion points without really changing anything, to hoodwink the House into going along with the Senate's grotesque amnesty plan, and to leave the southern border open to new waves of illegal aliens in order to drive down American wages for employers and Wall Street.

That formula calls for a few thousand National Guard to be deployed to the border on a short-term temporary basis, with a generic mission to "assist the Border Patrol". It would call for new technology and infrastructure, with no commitment to time certain or specifics. It would call for an increased Border Patrol, to the tune of maybe 1500 a year, with two years of training before being allowed to enter the field.

And that formula would allow waves of millions of new illegal immigrants, lured by promises of amnesty from the President and the Senate, to continue swarming across our southern border in record numbers for years to come.

We will all be waiting Monday night to discover which plan the President has in mind for America.
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I think we can all guess which it will be already.
 
Border troops would be temporary, US tells Mexico

"The president made clear that the United States considers Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border, but support of border patrol capabilities on a temporary basis by National Guard personnel," White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said, describing a telephone conversation between Bush and his Mexican counterpart.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060514/us_nm/usa_immigration_dc_3

Because the USA is seriously considering invading Mexico. Right.
 
I think Georgie Boy has a far different idea of what "friend" means than I do.

I don't mind my friends coming to my place to hang out, if they ask me. But I'd have a pretty big problem with my friends coming over to my place, taking my art down off the walls and tacking their favorite posters up, and taking any of my shit they took a fancy too, and I'd especially have a problem with my friends if they brought weapons and/or drugs into my house while they did any of the above. I wouldn't be particularly happy if my friends and my landlord got together and tried to lay a guilt trip on me for having a problem with those things, either.
 
WHR Commentary

Translation, from Bush to Vincente Fox: Hey, Vincente: it's just temporary between the time the immigration bill is brought before the House and the November elections. After that, it'll be business as usual. You don't fix the economic and social problems that cause your people to flee, and we won't do any thing to really stop illegal aliens from pouring over our borders!
 
A letter to President Bush:

Dear Mr. President,

I’d like to ask for your attention, just for a few moments. I do realize that you’re a very busy man, perhaps more so even than previous Commanders In Chief, but I hope that you can find a few moments to read and consider my message.

This evening, you addressed the nation regarding illegal immigration – and while I don’t think the steps you’ve taken will be as effective as the American people deserve or prefer, I understand that there are political pressures at work which can have a limiting effect on your options. I do want to address one point, if I may, very briefly. From the transcript of your address:

Second, to secure our border, we must create a temporary worker program. The reality is that there are many people on the other side of our border who will do anything to come to America to work and build a better life. They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat, or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country. This creates enormous pressure on our border that walls and patrols alone will not stop. To secure the border effectively, we must reduce the numbers of people trying to sneak across.

Mr. President, a guest worker program simply will not have the effect the American people desire. As you’ve no doubt become aware in what must have been numerous briefings on the issue, a guest worker program would, in operation, be interchangeable with an amnesty. Mr. President, that was tried in 1986 and, as findings from the INS reveal, did not reduce illegal immigration one iota. In fact, it had the opposite effect, actually increasing illegal immigration by approximately 60%.

In your address, you also stated that Mexico is our friend. Mr. President, it is past time to reevaluate that perception. An analogy: If your friend encourages his children to enter your home illegally, to occupy it illegally, and to take food from your pantry on the grounds that it’s food you’re not eating, what sort of friend is he? If some of his children bring weapons into your home and use them to intimidate or assault your own children, and if others bring drugs that destroy your children’s lives, what sort of friend can he possibly be?

But that is precisely the sort of friend Mexico is to the United States. Mexican politicians campaign their voters on American soil. Mexico’s foreign secretary is known for stating that Mexico “will not tolerate, will not permit, and will not allow” effective enforcement of the U.S. southern border in the form of a security wall. Mr. President, when did American border enforcement come under the purview of the Mexican government? U.S. Border Patrol personnel and American civilians have been threatened, harassed, sometimes fired upon by Mexican citizens and occasionally what at least appear to be Mexican military forces. Such forces have, on hundreds of occasions, come armed into this country and patrolled within our borders, on numerous occasions causing outgunned and outnumbered Border Patrol personnel to flee the area. These are not the actions of a friend, Mr. President.

I thank you for your time, sir, and wish you the best in your representation of the American people.

Sincerely,

Daniel xxxxxxx
 
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. I've asked for a few minutes of your time to discuss a matter of national importance -- the reform of America's immigration system.

The issue of immigration stirs intense emotions, and in recent weeks, Americans have seen those emotions on display. On the streets of major cities, crowds have rallied in support of those in our country illegally. At our southern border, others have organized to stop illegal immigrants from coming in. Across the country, Americans are trying to reconcile these contrasting images. And in Washington, the debate over immigration reform has reached a time of decision. Tonight, I will make it clear where I stand, and where I want to lead our country on this vital issue.

President George W. Bush delivers an Address to the Nation from the Oval Office, Monday night, May 15, 2006. White House photo by Eric Draper We must begin by recognizing the problems with our immigration system. For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed.

Once here, illegal immigrants live in the shadows of our society. Many use forged documents to get jobs, and that makes it difficult for employers to verify that the workers they hire are legal. Illegal immigration puts pressure on public schools and hospitals, it strains state and local budgets, and brings crime to our communities. These are real problems. Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives. They are a part of American life, but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law.

We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws. We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways. These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration, and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly, and fair. So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives.

First, the United States must secure its borders. This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security. Our objective is straightforward: The border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut to illegal immigrants, as well as criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists.

I was a governor of a state that has a 1,200-mile border with Mexico. So I know how difficult it is to enforce the border, and how important it is. Since I became President, we've increased funding for border security by 66 percent, and expanded the Border Patrol from about 9,000 to 12,000 agents. The men and women of our Border Patrol are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances, and over the past five years, they have apprehended and sent home about six million people entering America illegally.

Despite this progress, we do not yet have full control of the border, and I am determined to change that. Tonight I'm calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border. By the end of 2008, we'll increase the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000. When these new agents are deployed, we'll have more than doubled the size of the Border Patrol during my presidency.

At the same time, we're launching the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history. We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors, and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. We'll employ motion sensors, infrared cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings. America has the best technology in the world, and we will ensure that the Border Patrol has the technology they need to do their job and secure our border.

Training thousands of new Border Patrol agents and bringing the most advanced technology to the border will take time. Yet the need to secure our border is urgent. So I'm announcing several immediate steps to strengthen border enforcement during this period of transition:

One way to help during this transition is to use the National Guard. So, in coordination with governors, up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border. The Border Patrol will remain in the lead. The Guard will assist the Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training. Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities -- that duty will be done by the Border Patrol. This initial commitment of Guard members would last for a period of one year. After that, the number of Guard forces will be reduced as new Border Patrol agents and new technologies come online. It is important for Americans to know that we have enough Guard forces to win the war on terror, to respond to natural disasters, and to help secure our border.

The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend. We will continue to work cooperatively to improve security on both sides of the border, to confront common problems like drug trafficking and crime, and to reduce illegal immigration.

Another way to help during this period of transition is through state and local law enforcement in our border communities. So we'll increase federal funding for state and local authorities assisting the Border Patrol on targeted enforcement missions. We will give state and local authorities the specialized training they need to help federal officers apprehend and detain illegal immigrants. State and local law enforcement officials are an important part of our border security and they need to be a part of our strategy to secure our borders.

The steps I've outlined will improve our ability to catch people entering our country illegally. At the same time, we must ensure that every illegal immigrant we catch crossing our southern border is returned home. More than 85 percent of the illegal immigrants we catch crossing the southern border are Mexicans, and most are sent back home within 24 hours. But when we catch illegal immigrants from other country [sic] it is not as easy to send them home. For many years, the government did not have enough space in our detention facilities to hold them while the legal process unfolded. So most were released back into our society and asked to return for a court date. When the date arrived, the vast majority did not show up. This practice, called "catch and release," is unacceptable, and we will end it.

We're taking several important steps to meet this goal. We've expanded the number of beds in our detention facilities, and we will continue to add more. We've expedited the legal process to cut the average deportation time. And we're making it clear to foreign governments that they must accept back their citizens who violate our immigration laws. As a result of these actions, we've ended "catch and release" for illegal immigrants from some countries. And I will ask Congress for additional funding and legal authority, so we can end "catch and release" at the southern border once and for all. When people know that they'll be caught and sent home if they enter our country illegally, they will be less likely to try to sneak in.

Second, to secure our border, we must create a temporary worker program. The reality is that there are many people on the other side of our border who will do anything to come to America to work and build a better life. They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat, or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country. This creates enormous pressure on our border that walls and patrols alone will not stop. To secure the border effectively, we must reduce the numbers of people trying to sneak across.

Therefore, I support a temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time. This program would match willing foreign workers with willing American employers for jobs Americans are not doing. Every worker who applies for the program would be required to pass criminal background checks. And temporary workers must return to their home country at the conclusion of their stay.

A temporary worker program would meet the needs of our economy, and it would give honest immigrants a way to provide for their families while respecting the law. A temporary worker program would reduce the appeal of human smugglers, and make it less likely that people would risk their lives to cross the border. It would ease the financial burden on state and local governments, by replacing illegal workers with lawful taxpayers. And above all, a temporary worker program would add to our security by making certain we know who is in our country and why they are here.

Third, we need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire. It is against the law to hire someone who is in this country illegally. Yet businesses often cannot verify the legal status of their employees because of the widespread problem of document fraud. Therefore, comprehensive immigration reform must include a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility. A key part of that system should be a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it. And by making it harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country, we would discourage people from crossing the border illegally in the first place.

Fourth, we must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are here already. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it. Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here lawfully, and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration.

Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant, and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree. It is neither wise, nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border. There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation. That middle ground recognizes there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently, and someone who has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record.

I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law, to pay their taxes, to learn English, and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship, but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law. What I've just described is not amnesty, it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society, and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.

Fifth, we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one nation out of many peoples. The success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans. Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, an appreciation of our history, respect for the flag we fly, and an ability to speak and write the English language. English is also the key to unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from picking crops to opening a grocery, from cleaning offices to running offices, from a life of low-paying jobs to a diploma, a career, and a home of their own. When immigrants assimilate and advance in our society, they realize their dreams, they renew our spirit, and they add to the unity of America.

Tonight, I want to speak directly to members of the House and the Senate: An immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed together, or none of them will be solved at all. The House has passed an immigration bill. The Senate should act by the end of this month so we can work out the differences between the two bills, and Congress can pass a comprehensive bill for me to sign into law.

America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue, and as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on anyone's fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say.

I know many of you listening tonight have a parent or a grandparent who came here from another country with dreams of a better life. You know what freedom meant to them, and you know that America is a more hopeful country because of their hard work and sacrifice. As President, I've had the opportunity to meet people of many backgrounds, and hear what America means to them. On a visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Laura and I met a wounded Marine named Guadalupe Denogean. Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean came to the United States from Mexico when he was a boy. He spent his summers picking crops with his family, and then he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps as soon as he was able. During the liberation of Iraq, Master Gunnery Sergeant Denogean was seriously injured. And when asked if he had any requests, he made two: a promotion for the corporal who helped rescue him, and the chance to become an American citizen. And when this brave Marine raised his right hand, and swore an oath to become a citizen of the country he had defended for more than 26 years, I was honored to stand at his side.

We will always be proud to welcome people like Guadalupe Denogean as fellow Americans. Our new immigrants are just what they've always been -- people willing to risk everything for the dream of freedom. And America remains what she has always been: the great hope on the horizon, an open door to the future, a blessed and promised land. We honor the heritage of all who come here, no matter where they come from, because we trust in our country's genius for making us all Americans -- one nation under God.

Thank you, and good night.
 
President George W. Bush delivers an Address to the Nation from the Oval Office, Monday night, May 15, 2006. White House photo by Eric Draper We must begin by recognizing the problems with our immigration system. For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed.
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Wow!?!?!?!? You mean the intelligence dossier finally reached your desk?

What happened to Iraq? All of a sudden, there's an immigration problem?!

Fancy that!

Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives.
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Source?

They are a part of American life, but they are beyond the reach and protection of American law.
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As much a part as barnacles are to a ship, yes.

We're a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws.
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You mean, the United States isn't in anarchy? Ok, jotting down....

We're also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways.
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Half-truth #124.


These are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. We will fix the problems created by illegal immigration,
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Invade Mexico, fix their shithole, get the fuck out.

OR

Kick the Mexicans out of the United States, and force them to fix their shithole.
and we will deliver a system that is secure, orderly, and fair. So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives.

First, the United States must secure its borders. This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security. Our objective is straightforward: The border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut to illegal immigrants, as well as criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists.

I was a governor of a state that has a 1,200-mile border with Mexico. So I know how difficult it is to enforce the border, and how important it is. Since I became President, we've increased funding for border security by 66 percent, and expanded the Border Patrol from about 9,000 to 12,000 agents. The men and women of our Border Patrol are doing a fine job in difficult circumstances, and over the past five years, they have apprehended and sent home about six million people entering America illegally.
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LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!! What about 'battle fatigue' ? I though immigration wasn't an issue!


This is hilarious! Perfect getaway strategy after the most colossal fuck-ups in US history.

If this bullshit, stinking to high heaven, wasn't any more contrived, the average citizen/LGBDM hydra might actually wake up from his or her slumber!
 
Mexico Threatens Suits Over Guard Patrols

Mexico said Tuesday that it would file lawsuits in U.S. courts if National Guard troops on the border become directly involved in detaining migrants.
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"If there is a real wave of rights abuses, if we see the National Guard starting to directly participate in detaining people ... we would immediately start filing lawsuits through our consulates," Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told a Mexico City radio station. He did not offer further details.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-sa/2006/may/16/051605885.html



"This is definitely not a militarization," said Aguilar, who also dismissed as "absolutely false" rumors that Mexico would send its own troops to the border in response.
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:scared:
 
Now why would Mexico file lawsuits to try to stop our NG from preventing illegal immigration? What I'm reading here is:

"You can put extra people on the border, but we don't want them directly enforcing your sovereignty, or we'll sue!"

Yeah, that really sounds like a country who's "working with us" on the issue.

And by all appearances, at least, Mexico has been sending its troops to and across the border for quite some time now.
 
I'm telling you, Station a battalion of snipers every so often along the border. When a Mexican tries to cross, Boom headshot.

As the bodies begin to stack, they will start to understand that we're fucking serious and to back off.
 
That won't happen. What I do see happening is an escalation of violence against Border Patrol and National Guard by Mexicans in military uniforms, using military vehicles and weapons, (which Mexico will continue to insist, with a gigantic collective shit-eating grin, aren't Mexican military personnel) which will be resoundingly ignored by Bush and Congress and which the media will paint as "accidents" for as long as they can possibly get away with it.
 
An illegal alien who can legally sue

VICTOR MANUEL CABALLERO says he only wanted a decent job when he sneaked across the border from Mexico five years ago. Thanks to a ruling last week by the state Supreme Court, he has achieved a special American status even though he still lives here illegally:

He can collect damages for being hurt in an auto accident.
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http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr...lRUV5eTY5MzcwODMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5

To put it another way: Victor Caballero may not have the legal right to actually live in New Jersey, but New Jersey says he has the legal right to receive generous benefits for being here.

Go figure.
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