US lawmakers clash over criminal illegal immigrants
US politicians Wednesday clashed over how many undocumented migrants who have may committed crimes are free in the United States pending deportation -- a key figure for gauging the success of immigration policies.
Republican House leaders in early November asked the Obama administration to hand over the names and details of about 300,000 illegal immigrants freed since 2008 and who may have committed crimes.
Republican Elton Gallegly stressed there was a need to determine how dangerous a person is before they are set free.
But an official with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said he was not aware of any figures.
"I'm not familiar with the figure you released, 300,000 criminal aliens back on the streets. I can tell you we've removed more criminal illegals last year than ever before. We're working at almost full capacity in terms of removals," ICE official Gary Mead told the hearing.
"It would be extremely rare for us to knowingly let a serious criminal offender walk loose in the community," he stressed.
The federal government recently said it would review pending deportation cases to prioritize those who are deemed dangerous.
An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. And immigration is a major issue ahead of the presidential elections in November 2012.
Republicans, who generally take a tougher tack on enforcing penalties for illegal immigrants, have slammed the ICE's current policy priorities.
Mead said President Barack Obama's administration has deported record numbers of undocumented people, about 400,000 last year.
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California Dream Act: 3 times more costly than previously projected
New research suggests that the recently passed California Dream Act may actually cost taxpayers more than originally estimated. Due in part to continually rising tuition costs, the revised estimated figure stands at $65 million per year, starting in 2013. This is more than 3 times the initial estimate.
Consequently, the amount of funds available to legal California residents applying for student aid will be impacted. There will be less funding available which will be more widely distributed. The end result is less funding available for legal California residents per individual.
Critics have long asserted that in light of current economic conditions, passage of the Dream Act was and is a misguided option, unfair to legal residents, and representative of thinking based on unrealistic evaluations of current financial and economical trends. Many feel that financial aid to illegal citizens should only be considered in a scenario where a surplus of funding exists, not when state and federal budgets are in a state of extreme deficit.
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Those who support a referendum on the Dream Act should contact their local state representatives before January 6th. At least 505,000 signatures are needed in order to put the measure on the November, 2012 ballot. The referendum, sponsored by State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of Hesperia, primarily deals with the second part of the Dream Act. This is the provision that allows for undocumented citizens to apply for taxpayer funded state aid. "This is a really, really bad idea," Donnelly said. “At a time when we're broke, when we have two million people unemployed, when state colleges are underfunded and overbooked, we're creating a brand new entitlement." Donnelly also believes the Dream act will create further incentive for increased illegal immigration.
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Background
Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.
Why is "La Raza" the one Spanish term that is NEVER translated in the American mass media? Because translating it would make it a lot less respectable. It means "THE RACE" -- The mixed Hispanic "race" of Mexico. Racism is fine South of the Rio Grande only, apparently.
The "line" of this blog is that immigration should be SELECTIVE. That means that:
1). A national government should be in control of it. The U.S. and U.K. governments are not but the Australian government has shown that the government of a prosperous Western country can be. Up until its loss of office in 2007, the conservative Howard government had all but eliminated illegal immigration. The present Leftist government has however restarted the flow of illegals by repealing many of the Howard government regulations.
2). Selectivity should be based on "the content of a man's character, not on the color of his skin", as MLK said. To expand that a little: Immigrants should only be accepted if they as individuals seem likely to make a positive net contribution to the country. Many "refugees" would fail that test: Muslims and Africans particularly. Educational level should usually be a pretty fair proxy for the individual's likely value to the receiving country. There will, of course, be exceptions but it is nonetheless unlikely that a person who has not successfully completed High School will make a net positive contribution to a modern Western society.
3). Immigrants should be neither barred NOR ACCEPTED solely because they are of some particular ethnic origin. Blacks are vastly more likely to be criminal than are whites or Chinese, for instance, but some whites and some Chinese are criminal. It is the criminality that should matter, not the race.
4). The above ideas are not particularly blue-sky. They roughly describe the policies of the country where I live -- Australia. I am critical of Australian policy only insofar as the "refugee" category for admission is concerned. All governments have tended to admit as refugees many undesirables. It seems to me that more should be required of them before refugees are admitted -- for instance a higher level of education or a business background.
5). Perhaps the most amusing assertion in the immigration debate is that high-income countries like the USA and Britain NEED illegal immigrants to do low-paid menial work. "Who will pick our crops?" (etc.) is the cry. How odd it is then that Australians get all the normal services of a modern economy WITHOUT illegal immigrants! Yes: Before the pandemic, you usually COULD buy a lettuce in Australia for a dollar or thereabouts. And Australia IS a major exporter of primary products.
6). I am a libertarian conservative so I reject the "open door" policy favoured by many libertarians and many Leftists. Both those groups tend to have a love of simplistic generalizations that fail to deal with the complexity of the real world. It seems to me that if a person has the right to say whom he/she will have living with him/her in his/her own house, so a nation has the right to admit to living among them only those individuals whom they choose.
I can be reached on jonjayray@hotmail.com -- or leave a comment on any post. Abusive comments will be deleted.
AB 131 is against the CA Education Code and is therefore, Illegal:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stopcaliforniadreamact.com/66010.htm
Here's the full article on how it is going to cost $65 Million and WILL HURT Legal California Residents getting financial aid:
http://www.dailycal.org/2011/11/30/dream-act-could-cost-more-than-previously-estimated-according-to-report/
With the heavy recruitment of out-of-state and Foreign Nationals who can pay nearly twice the in-state tuition rate to refund our defunct education system (and who don't qualify for State aid but still "pay into the system"), Legal Californian Residents and Legal Immigrants will be “priced out” and “placed out” of THEIR American Dream, THEIR higher education.
And here’s how AB 131 does not help anyone:
http://www.600words.com/2011/10/ca-dream-act-misleads-all-including-its-beneficiaries.html
AB 131 is against the CA Education Code and is therefore, Illegal:
http://www.stopcaliforniadreamact.com/66010.htm
Here’s what will happen when AB 131 Illegal Alien Students get a free CA higher education at the expense of (mostly) Middle Class Legal CA Residents and Legal Immigrants and cannot be legally employed: They go back to their “home country”, even though “USA is the only home I know.”:
http://unioncity.patch.com/articles/acting-on-a-dream-a-look-into-the-life-of-an-undocumented-student-8bbc3666
Join StopAB131.com to find out where to sign repeal petitions and how to help.