Senators Introduce Counterpart to SAVE House Bill

Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have offered a companion bill to H.R. 4088, the SAVE act. That measure, offered by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), proposes to combat illegal immigration by increasing the number of Border Patrol and ICE agents. It also would require employers to use the E-Verify program, which enables them to check with the federal government to determine the legal status of employees.

The Pryor/Landrieu bill is S. 2368. Republican Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has offered S. 2366, which is also a companion bill to the SAVE Act.

Comment: The SAVE act, with needed provisions for immigration law enforcement, appears to be gaining strength. The House version, H.R. 4088, has significant bipartisan support, with a total of 112 co-sponsors, 67 Republicans and 45 Democrats.

Take action — Ask your Senators to support the companion bills to the SAVE Act (S. 2368 / S. 2366) today!

Alien and Drug Smugglers Assault U.S. Lawmen

"Assaults against Border Patrol agents," reported The Washington Times, "have more than doubled during the past two years, many by Mexican-based alien and drug gangs more inclined than ever to use violence as a means of ensuring success in the smuggling of people and contraband."

The Times article quoted, Shawan Moran, a 10-year veteran of the Border Patrol and Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council Local 1913 in San Diego. Said Moran, "They've got weapons, high-tech radios, computers, cell phones, Global Positioning Systems, spotters and can react faster than we are able to. And they have no hesitancy to attack agents on the line, with anything from assault rifles and improvised Molotov cocktails to rocks, concrete slabs and bottles."

In a report earlier this year, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the violence "an unprecedented surge" and noted that state and local law enforcement officers are targets as well as the Border Patrol.

Many Border Patrol officers complain, despite recent hirings of new officers, that they still lack adequate manpower on the border. Asked Moran, "Where are all these new agents they say they're hiring?" Answering his own question with sarcasm, Moran said many are going to headquarters units where they may be "assigned the task of telling the public what a good job we're doing."

Comment: Illegal immigration supporters say that our Mexican border should not be "militarized." But when smugglers are acting against our law enforcement as a virtual military force, military deployment is an appropriate response. The stationing of National Guard units on the Arizona/Mexico border recently proved effective-though that deployment has been scaled back. New guard deployments, along with regular troops, should be considered as long as we have an undermanned and increasingly outgunned Border Patrol. Source: The Washington Times 11/15/07

Amnesty Legislation Must Be Delayed, Say Supporters

Advocates of amnesty for illegal aliens in the House and Senate agree that passage of an amnesty has little chance of passage, at least until the end of the Bush Administration, said an article in Newsday. The reason, noted an article in Newsday, is the series of recent reverses suffered by advocates of amnesty and other benefits for illegal aliens.

As the article observed, "President Bush was excoriated by elements of the Republican base for pushing a comprehensive immigration reform package that failed. Sen. John McCain's candidacy for president suffered a setback after he championed a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. And Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton felt the fury surrounding the issue when she briefly stood behind [New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens]." Source: Newsday 11/15/07