Steve King is right about the KIDS Act

Tom Tancredo

Steve King has provoked the wrath of both the Democratic and Republican establishments over his statements about a proposed GOP bill that hasn’t even been formally introduced yet, the “KIDS Act.” The firestorm over King’s comments illustrates why honest talk about the consequences of another amnesty bill is so rare.

Like the DREAM Act, which Congress voted down on many occasions, the KIDS Act purports to only help the most sympathetic illegal immigrants, those whose parents brought them here as children. What critics do not want discussed is that such bills also grant amnesty to millions of others not so easily characterized as model citizens-in-waiting.

Proponents of these bills always trot out a few young illegal aliens who came to America as infants and later became high school valedictorians. That is supposed to suggest that most of, if not all, of the millions of illegal aliens who would be awarded the amnesty are just like those most sympathetic cases.

Representative King poked a hole in that pretty pink balloon, and for that, he is being attacked.

King stated that while “some of them are valedictorians — and their parents brought them in. It wasn’t their fault. It’s true in some cases, but they aren’t all valedictorians. They weren’t all brought in by their parents. For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds — and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Those people would be legalized with the same act.”

As expected, the perpetually offended Democrats immediately expressed their outrage over King’s remarks. Obama’s press secretary called them “extremely unfortunate”, and, always eager to help Republicans win more votes, noted “They certainly don’t help any efforts by Republicans to improve their standing among Hispanic Americans.”

The GOP House Leadership, which is pushing this misguided bill, also attacked King. Eric Cantor said the comments were “inexcusable” and John Boehner said he used “hateful language.”

U.S. News and World Report characterized King as saying that “most immigrants were drug smugglers,” which is not the case. King was referring solely to young illegal aliens not all “immigrants.” Nor did King suggest most illegal aliens are drug smugglers. King said that far more entered the country as drug smugglers than ever became valedictorians, which is demonstrably true.

Since illegal aliens are by definition “undocumented” and neither the Obama administration nor anyone else is doing a statistical profile on their border-crossings, we have no way of knowing if King’s drug-smuggler to valedictorian ratio is correct. However, he did not make the claim out of thin air.

It has been common knowledge for a decade that both people smuggling and drug smuggling are controlled by the same Mexican drug cartels. The cartels’ use of thousands of teenagers and young adults to carry loads of marijuana across the border is well known and well documented. Illegals seeking to cross the southwest border are routinely required to carry drugs across the border as a partial payment of the $1500 price for the crossing.

Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle has pointed to an article by Lourdes Medrano entitled, “Along key stretch of US-Mexico border, more kids running drugs,” published just last week in the Christian Science Monitor. Medrano reports that “In 2012, 244 minors faced drug-smuggling charges in the Tucson sector.”

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'Disney World can keep better track of its visitors than Britain'

Immigration policy attacked after report reveals figures rely on counting just 12 people a day

Britain is less able to keep track of its visitors than Disney World, it was claimed last night, as a scathing report exposed the failings of official immigration statistics.

Crucial estimates of arrivals from overseas rely on random interviews carried out with just 12 people passing through ports and airports each day – and even they may be lying, MPs said.

Ministers were warned they should not base their controversial immigration target – to limit population growth to the tens of thousands every year – on such shaky figures.

The Public Administration Select Committee urged the Home Office to combine its visa figures with forthcoming electronic data on visitors to build up a far more accurate picture of foreigner numbers.

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: ‘Most people would be astonished to learn that there is no attempt to count people as they enter or leave the UK.

‘They are amazed when they are told that the Government merely estimates that there are half-a-million immigrants coming into the UK each year.’

Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster City Council, said: ‘When I gave evidence to this committee  I said Disney World has better technology to keep track of its visitors than we do. I’m pleased this report accepts the current system is a blunt instrument which is patently not up to the job.’

The Coalition vowed to cut net migration – the number of new arrivals each year minus those who leave the country – from more than 150,000 a year to the ‘tens of thousands’ by granting fewer visas to foreign students and making it harder for families to settle here.

But today’s report reveals that the policy and the figures are not based on methodically counting everyone who arrives in the country or leaves it. Instead, officials rely on a sample of just under 5,000 migrants interviewed each year as they travel through UK air and sea ports, in what is known as the International Passenger Survey.

The risk of error in this  poll is so great that annual net migration could be 35,000 higher or lower than is estimated.

Some advisers believe that, as a result, the Government should aim to reduce net migration to 50,000 rather than 100,000 in order to achieve its goal.

But the committee warned: ‘The Government should not base its target level of net migration on such an uncertain statistic as doing so could lead to inappropriate immigration policy.’

The passenger survey also relies on immigrants telling the truth about where they have come from and where they plan to settle.

A new system called e-Borders will record more detail on the identity of passengers travelling through British ports. But it will not be integrated into immigration statistics until 2018.

The Home Office counts the number of visas issued and asylum applications granted or received – but not people leaving unless they have broken the rules. The committee urged Ministers to integrate visa figures with port data ‘as rapidly as possible’.

Last night a Home Office spokesman said: ‘We disagree with the report’s conclusions. Government reforms on immigration are working and the statistics show that migration is at its lowest level for a decade.

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