Corey Stewart didn’t leave us in suspense long….

MoonHowler

That’s one thing you can count on.  Corey didn’t leave us in suspense for long.  Here’s what it was all about:

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Dear Subscriber,
I will appear on Fox & Friends this Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. to discuss exciting developments in our fight to curb illegal immigration in Virginia. I need your help. Please let me know if you have any stories of how illegal immigration has hurt your community by replying to this email.

I’m going on Fox & Friends on Thursday because I have exciting news for the Virginia Rule of Law Campaign. For the first time, a neutral third party has confirmed that states and localities can combat illegal immigration through law enforcement. I’ve included some highlights from the report for you below. It is important we start telling our local and state elected officials about this report. You can click here to read the report that was presented to the citizens of Prince William County.
 
Highlights from the Report:
  • Aggravated assault declined 46.7% as a result of the policy (while increasingly dramatically in neighboring counties, 75% in Loudoun, and 37.5% in Spotsylvania)
  • Hit-and-run accidents declined 41% as a result of the policy
  • Substantial numbers of illegal immigrants did leave the County
  • Prince William County is viewed by its residents, regardless of race or ethnicity, as inclusive and as a great place to live

That neutral third party he is speaking of is the  UVA Report that our supervisors willingly allowed to be attached to our legislative package.  We, the taxpayers of Prince William County,  paid almost $400,000 for that report, according to news sources,. 

I rest my case.  He was sure in an all-fired hurry to have that press conference  and to vote on that attachment to the legislative package.  How does it feel to have contributed almost $400,000  towards Corey’s Virginia Rule of Law Act? 

I hope everyone writes to John Stirrup, Maureen Caddigan, Mike May, John Jenkins and Wally Covington to thank them for giving it all away.  Expect county supplies, technology and personnel to  follow suit and be spent on this initiative.  He can now use his office and OUR resources to pursue his own personal goals. 

I am totally disgusted.   Corey couldn’t even give it 24 hours, could he?  Any time someone needs immediate need fulfillment like was exhibited yesterday by Corey, be suspicious.

You might also want to ask who Corey’s Faux News link is.  I guess he had to speed things along locally so he could make his date with destiny on Faux News Thursday morning. 

 

 

 

News & Messenger says Study: Prince William policy drove away illegal immigrants

MoonHowler

From News & Messenger:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. —

Since the Board of County Supervisors’ controversial illegal immigration resolution was passed, thousands of illegals have left Prince William.

However, crime, for the most part, has not changed significantly.

So says a two-year study conducted by the University of Virginia’s Center for Survey Research and presented to supervisors Tuesday.

Originally passed in October 2007 and revamped in April 2008, the resolution states: “Officers shall investigate the citizenship or immigration status of all persons who are arrested for a violation of a state law or county ordinance when such arrest results in a physical custodial arrest.”

Overall crime — with the exception of a near 30 percent drop in aggravated assault cases — has not changed significantly since the resolution was adopted. Partly because of the police department’s efforts to quell robberies before the resolution, violent crime has been trending downward in the county for the past decade.

The News & Messenger  further reports:

On the other hand, based on several statistical analyses, the study showed between 2,000 and 6,000 illegal immigrants left Prince William after the resolution’s approval.

From 2006 to 2009, the Hispanic population (which accounts for nearly three-fourths of all non-citizens in the county) increased 18.8 percent in Northern Virginia but just 3.6 percent in Prince William

I am fairly flummoxed by the report on the report, found in Insidenova.com. Then I read the Washington Post report and it took a similar stance:

The county’s police and elected officials requested the study to look at the implementation and effects of a policy – adopted in 2007 and modified in 2008 – that requires police officers to check the immigration status of all people arrested on suspicion of violating state or federal law.

The original policy directed officers to check the immigration status of people only if there was probable cause to believe that they were in the country illegally.

The study indicates that some changes in the Hispanic population can be attributed to the policy, but the researchers make it clear that the policy’s implementation coincided with the economic downturn, the mortgage crisis and the decline of the construction industry.

Because of those factors and others – for instance, the county’s having modified its policy to be less controversial and the county’s having a well-funded police department – the lessons of Prince William’s experience should be applied with “great caution” in other places and other times, said Thomas Guterbock, director of U-Va.’s Center for Survey Research.

Walking away, it looks like there was a great deal of angst and money spent.  Perhaps now I see why the great rush to vote on attaching the Prince William model to the legislative package to the state.  See bold above.  Lucy once again pulls the football out from under Charlie Brown.  Tsk Tsk.  They were warned.  Did Frank and Marty know something the others didn’t? 

Perhaps the best move would be to take our report, cut our losses, thank our lucky stars that cooler heads prevailed in 2008, hope our house values return, encourage businesses to come to the county, and move on.  Perhaps we shouldn’t advise others to do what we did here in Prince William.  But of course, it was all about an election.  And unless leopards have changed their spots, todays legislative action was all about an election also, we just aren’t sure which one. 

Just out of curiosity, does this now mean that Corey can work on his Virginia Rule of Law Campaign on company time using company employees?

 

Final UVA Report on Illegal Immigration Presented Tues. 11/16

MoonHowler

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Novemeber 16, the final  UVA Report on illegal immigration will be presented during the BOCS Meeting.   Dr. Guterbock of UVA will present the final report to the BOCS tomorrow afternoon. 

There are a few irregularies.  The report was not available at the time the agenda was published on the county website.  If one clicks on view, there is just the title sheet and no report.  As much as UVA  has been paid to do this report, not having at least a draft available is simply unacceptable. 

To add to the irregularities, a recess as been added to the order of business and a press conference  has been scheduled following the formal presentation by Dr. Guterbock.  Whoever heard of interrupting a Supervisors meeting for a press conference?  Perhaps Corey is afraid that the Chief is going to schedule one also and steal his thunder.  We feel certain Corey wants to put his own spin on things, especially if the UVA report says something he doesn’t like.  In Prince William County, the spin does not necessarily stop here. 

Why would a press conference be scheduled in the middle of a meeting?  Why was no draft available to preview?  Tune in tomorrow afternoon.  This ought to be quite a show.  Does Corey’s entire rule of law campaign hang on this report? 

CORRECTION:  The supervisors had a copy of the report delivered to their house on Saturday afternoon.  This is getting more mysterious.  Why was a copy NOT posted on the agenda?

Final Report

Evaluation Presentation

 

Fake I.C.E. Agent Gets 10 Years

MoonHowler

Robert Fred Mejia will probably be going to jail for about 10 years.  Someone else will be driving his Ferarri.  Mejiea  tooled all over Montgomery County while trying to impress others.  According to the Washington Post:

Stretching over at least two years, Mejia would slip into the disguise of federal immigration agent “Jimmy Rico.” He wore combat boots, a thigh holster, and a shirt and hat bearing the letters ICE, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He used a different car, one that looked like a police cruiser.

And for the right price – generally thousands of dollars – he and his conspirators offered citizenship and legalization papers to at least 90 people who thought they were getting the real thing.

Old “Jimmy” Rico seemed to forget his roots.  Judge Weinstein reminded him of what he had done to his own people.  This scumbag will be put on hold for 10 years and he will have time to think about his misdeeds.  A fake ICE agent indeed!  Actually I have heard several people laughingly suggest they get T-shirts made up that say I.C.E.  Perhaps these jokesters might want to reconsider that dumb idea.

 

Back in the News Again…Gary Condit

MoonHowler

AOL News:

Chandra Levy was a young California woman working as an intern in Washington.  She became a missing person in 2001.  Unfortunately for one congressman–Gary Condit, it became public knowledge that the 2 were having an affair.  Condit was married which complicated things. 

Condit was in the hot seat and a suspect in Chandra’s disappearance.  It appeared that he was almost rescued by 9/11.  The focus went off him.  More than a year after she went missing, her remains were discovered in Rock Creek Parkway.  The Levy family of Modesto, California hired their own investigators when DC investigations proved to  be inept. 

In 2009, Ingmar Guandique, a 29-year-old Salvadoran immigrant was charged with her murder.  Guandoque was apparently linked to her murder after he and other gang members ran on at the mouth.  Ingmar Guandique was in prison for other crimes when arrested for the murder of Chandra Levy.  Condit will testify at the trial. 

Condit was trounced in the primary that fall and is no longer a congressman. Had the Levy family not kept the pressure on, he might still be.  Condit is writing a book.  It will be interesting to see what he has done with himself. 

More on the story at the Washington Post.  There is a very heart-rending video from the Levys as well as a time line.  Meanwhile, the Levys go on each day without their daughter. 

Earlier coverage  of Chandra Levy by this blog.

 

McCain Flip Flops on Immigrant Kids and Gays

MoonHowler

John McCain has flip-flopped more than a fish recently. Gone is the moderate Republican. McCain has probably learned his lesson after being challenged by far right contender Hayworth. McCain has now jumped on the Tea Party express and has voted against the Dream Act and the repeal of DADT. 2 years ago he supported both of these initiatives. Not only did McCain flip flop on DADT, he led the charge. What’s more defense than gays in the military?

The Dream Act would have been a boon to the military also. According to Salon.com:

For the fifth time in a decade, the Dream Act died in the Senate. It’s one of those rare policy ideas that would benefit both the military and the budget — and it’s one that Tea Party-type deficit-hawk/hawk-hawks should have rallied behind. It was even a boon for states’ rights. Yet, it became the latest victim of xenophobia and partisan politics.

The Dream Act (short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) was designed to solve one of the most heart-wrenching injustices in our immigration system. Some 2.1 million undocumented immigrants were brought to the United States, through no fault of their own, as children. And despite having spent their entire lives here, their parents’ illegal status prevents them from obtaining legal residency. The Dream Act would give these children a chance to “earn” their green cards, allowing them to apply for temporary legal status; then, if they maintain “good moral character” (at a minimum, keep a clean criminal record), graduate from high school, and either complete two years of college or military service, they’d obtain permanent residence.

Right now, there are stories aplenty of children who discover the cruel fact that they are deportable when they apply for their driver’s license. Or of high school valedictorians who are snatched off planes and threatened with deportation because their parents never sorted out their paperwork.

Right now, these children, who are Americans in all ways except having papers, cannot serve in the military without legal residency paperwork. To reject the Dream Act is just foolish. We need good American residents. We need people who work hard and want to serve their country. Passing the Dream Act would be win/win.

McCain flip-flopped on this issue. First he was for it before he was against it. Shame on him. Do campaign promises not count if you don’t win?

Pew Research Center: U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade

MoonHowler

According to the the Pew Reseach Center undocumented immigration is down since mid-decade. (see above)

The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8% in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S. — to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007, according to the estimates. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.1

The Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis also finds that the most marked decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants has been among those who come from Latin American countries other than Mexico. From 2007 to 2009, the size of this group from the Caribbean, Central America and South America decreased 22%.

By contrast, the Mexican unauthorized population (which accounts for about 60% of all unauthorized immigrants) peaked in 2007 at 7 million and has since leveled off. The number of unauthorized immigrants from the rest of the world did not change.

Even though the size of the Mexican unauthorized population living in the United States has not changed significantly since 2007, the inflows from that country have fallen off sharply in recent years

.

What is the cause? Better border enforcement? The economy? Random?

Entire Pew Report

Deport Those Convicted of Drunk Driving?

MoonHowler

Senate Judicary ranking Republican  Lamar Smith (R- Texas) wants the Department of Homeland Security to start tracking the illegal immigrants who are convicted of drunk driving.   He then wants to  deport every last one of them, according to the Washington Times. 

 

Current law doesn’t require DUI suspects to be detained, thanks to a 2004 Supreme Court interpretation, but Mr. Smith said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can detain illegal immigrants in such cases anyway, and he wants that to become the policy.

“Doing so will prevent these aliens from again getting behind the wheel of a car and killing or maiming innocent Americans,” he said in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times. “Sadly, such a new policy would come too late for Sister Mosier. However, many other lives can be saved.”

Matt Chandler, a spokesman for Ms. Napolitano, said Homeland Security would not respond to Mr. Smith through the press, though he said the department is conducting a review into why Mr. Montano was not detained in 2008.

 

Read More

Greta Van Susteren: John Morton Discloses New I.C.E. Rules

MoonHowler

Last night, Greta Van Susteren interviewed the chief I.C.E. director, John Morton:

 

 

It’s all about money and limited resources. All of I.C.E. funding comes from Congress. If you want them to do more, write to your congressman and throw more money their way. Morton says they will do what they can with the resources available. He is trying to make the money work more sensibly. Nothing much has worked in the past, you have to admit.

According to the Washington Times:

New guidance telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to focus on apprehending terrorists and criminals has many of ICE’s rank-and-file agents wondering who then is responsible for tracking down and detaining the millions of other illegal border-crossers and fugitive aliens now in the country.

The new guidelines are outlined in a June 29 memo from Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads the agency, to all ICE employees regarding the apprehension, detention and removal of illegal immigrants, noting that the agency “only has resources to remove approximately 400,000 aliens per year, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal-alien population in the United States.”

Mr. Morton said ICE needed to focus wisely on the limited resources Congress had provided the agency and would “prioritize the apprehension and removal of aliens who only pose a threat to national security and/or public safety, such as criminals and terrorists.”

Read More

I.C.E. Ices Corey Stewart

MoonHowler

News on the street is Corey Stewart made Obama blink.  Well, is that so?  How funny.  Actually, I think what really happened is, I.C.E. made Stewart look befuddled and confused.  Or perhaps they just caught him lying, again, like he does about the crime statistics.

According to the Washington Post in the political blog:

According to Stewart, ICE officials also said they will increase detention center space in Virginia to hold illegal immigrants until deportation.

But ICE spokesman Richard Rocha denied that ICE will turn over any names or personal information to Stewart.

“ICE told Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart the agency would provide available statistics, for instance about the crimes and custody status of individuals referred to ICE by 287(g) trained officers,” Rocha said. “We anticipate that research to take a few weeks. To clarify, ICE will not be providing personally identifiable information — like names or addresses — to Stewart or others. Under DHS’s Privacy Policy, the Privacy Act, which protects against the release of certain personal information, extends to aliens as well as U.S. citizens.”

Stewart said he was disappointed to hear Rocha’s response. “They are backing down.”

Huh?  Who is backing down?  It sounds to me like Corey is backing down and I.C.E. is sticking to its guns. 

We will be watching to see who is the blinker and who is the blinkee.  Place your bets now.

Part 1: Police, Feds: Warning Signs Regarding Implementation of the Immigration Resolution

MoonHowler

Part 1. What did the BOCS know?
Part 2 will show that Corey accuses others of ‘having blood on their hands’ when he knew very good and well the situation with I.C.E. Judging from the dates, he also needs to admit that this issue did not start or end with the present administration.

This video was from a BOCS meeting Spring , 2008. It shows the problems inherent in the MOA between ICE and the county. Let’s revisit some of the issues. It seems that many people have forgotten what really happened.

Both Charlie Deane and Jail Superintendent Pete Meletis give their points of view.

Chief Deane updated the BOCS on the status of the Immigration Resolution. Superintendent Meletis warned the BOCS of the problems the ADC was encountering with ICE. ICE was not picking up the ICE detainees after they had served their time in PWC. PWC was attempting to have every illegal alien picked up. ICE rep Mark McGraw told the BOCS that their numbers were overwhelming. He felt that PWC was getting away from the original understanding which was to remove the worst of the worst from the county.

Reminder to his critics: Here you will see Chief Deane salute the job he was given to do. What has changed?

At some point, even the most die hard anti-immigration person has to admit that they cannot deport illegal immigrants themselves. They must rely on ICE and a federal deportation judge. A locality can enact all the draconian laws they want…it doesn’t make ICE get there any faster.

ICE to Release Illegal Immigrant Names

MoonHowler

From the Manassas News & Messenger:

Prince William County, Va. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will release to Prince William authorites the identities and final disposition of every convicted criminal illegal immigrant apprehended in the county and turned over to ICE, said Chairman Corey A. Stewart on Saturday.

Stewart indicated that this reversed three years of “stiff-armed” responses by ICE to the same question. “They’ve also said they will increase detention center space in Virginia to hold illegal aliens until deportation. It won’t solve the problem, but it will help alleviate the problem.”

Read More

I.C.E. Director John Morton and Assistant Director Phyllis Coven get Union Vote of No-Confidence

MoonHowler

I.C.E. Director John Morton and Assistant Director Phyllis Coven got a vote of No-Confidence from the 259 I.C.E union members.  There are approximately 7000 I.C.E agents in the United States. 

Who is John Morton exactly?  According to the Washington Post:

Morton, 43, is a boyish-looking former career federal prosecutor who took over ICE last year in May. Described by colleagues as earnest and apolitical, he said he is seeking a middle ground on the debate, enforcing immigration laws while calling for comprehensive reform in Congress and viewing legal immigration as “a good thing for our country.”

“You develop a thick skin in a job like this,” said Morton, who admits to reading many of the brickbats that come his way but says they don’t consume him. “I’d imagine that for some other senior leaders in government, the day when someone calls for their resignation would be the day they’d remember throughout their career. That’s just part of the territory here.”

Sure enough, Morton and his agency evoke strong opinions from all sides. Crystal Williams, executive director of the pro-immigrant American Immigration Lawyers Association, faults him for overaggressive deportations and moving too slowly on promises to reform the immigrant detention system.

Read More

Secure Our Borders Money is on the Way

MoonHowler

Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — The Senate agreed Thursday to add $600 million to the effort to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the U.S. Mexican border.

The money would be used for such purposes as adding 1,500 new enforcement agents and deploying unmanned aerial drones to improve border surveillance.

The voice vote to pass the emergency spending came in the final hours before the Senate leaves for its monthlong summer break. Its sponsor, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said it would boost border spending 10 percent above 2010 levels.

President Barack Obama has urged Congress to come up with $600 million to reinforce border security, and, with Arizona’s attempt to crack down on undocumented immigrants bringing national focus to the issue, both Republicans and Democrats have endorsed more robust border security spending.

The main stumbling block has been how to pay for the increased spending. Republicans sought to use unspent funds from the economic stimulus act, an idea rejected by Democrats.

The Democratic plan passed Thursday would boost fees assessed on foreign-based personnel companies that take advantage of U.S. visa programs, such as the H-1B visa program for temporary skilled workers, to bring foreign workers, mainly from India, into the United States.

The House last week passed similar legislation with $701 million in emergency money for border security. It could take up the Senate bill when it interrupts its August recess next Tuesday for a one-day session to approve a Senate-passed jobs bill.

That explains what is going to stop the illegal immigrants. Now…what is going to stop the illegal drugs that are coming across the border? How about the illegal drug cartels who have no intention of becoming immigrants? I hope those ‘illegals’ are somehow part of the plan also.

Just so everyone knows that it will be impossible to completely secure the border. Unless we build a wall where we look like East Germany, there will always be leaks. The human spirit will always find a way….

Born in the U.S.A. –Dump the 14th!

MoonHowler

Jon Stewart takes a long look at America’s political issues with illegal immigrants.  He analyzes the dreaded ‘anchor babies’ and wonders how illegal immigrants could plan ahead 18 years as he takes a look at the 14th amendment to see what had been said about it in 1866, where citizens worried about the dreaded’ Hottentot.’  Lindsay Graham discusses the Drop and Leave policy of illegal immigrants.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Born in the U.S.A.
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

 

 Jon brought in Lou Dobbs as a voice of reason. 

Lou Dobbs who has spent much of his life discussing illegal immigration, weighed in on the topic and warned that the GOP was overstepping by proposing that the 14th amendment be repealed.  

Even Lou Dobbs isn’t on board with proposed constitutional amendment ending birthright citizenship, Watch him defend the 14th Amendment:

According to the Huffington Post:

The growing chorus of Senate Republicans urging repeal of the 14th Amendment as a means of denying citizenship to the children of immigrants received a rebuke Tuesday from, of all people, notorious immigration foe Lou Dobbs.

Appearing on Fox News, the former CNN host defended the constitutional amendment which provides birthright citizenship.

“The idea that anchor babies somehow require changing the 14th Amendment, I part ways with the Senators on that because I believe the 14th Amendment, particularly in its due process and equal protection clauses, is so important,” Dobbs said. “It lays the foundation for the entire Bill of Rights being applied to the states.”

That even Dobbs opposes the GOP push to repeal the 14th Amendment is a measure of just how radical the effort is. Some Republicans who signaled their support for the move as recently as Monday, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have already backtracked from their earlier support for broad review of the law.

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee wasn’t one of them. “The Constitution is not as clear as it first appears,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) told reporters Tuesday. “I continue to hear good Americans explain to me they think it makes no sense

Those men who drew up the 14 Amendment in 1866 had the following concerns:

The authors of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed citizenship to all people “born or naturalized in the United States” for a reason. They wished to directly repudiate the Dred Scott decision, which said that citizenship could be granted or denied by political caprice. They purposely chose an objective standard of citizenship — birth — that was not subject to politics. Reconstruction leaders established a firm, sound principle: To be an American citizen, you don’t have to please a majority, you just have to be born here

Political caprice?  When Lou Dobbs thinks ideas are over the top, they probably are. I am still stuck on the idea that others now why a couple has children. I am willing to bet it isn’t so the child can sponsor them 29 years down the road. That reasoning is just far too complex.

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