illegal immigration

Use your words

Letters from the four corners of the country reflect the utter frustration with our current administration and the hope for new leadership.

A letter to the editor, an op-ed or commentary are very effective ways to communicate your opinions to others in your local area, perhaps even sparking their interest.  Your elected officials do read them, as well.

OFIR encourages everyone to send a letter to your local paper, newsletter or post it on a blog. 

Below are letters from across the country.  To see more and to help get you started visit the OFIR letters section of our website.

Remember - be brief, be specific, don't rant - to optimize your chances of publication.  If your letter is published, let OFIR know and we will post it on our website.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Immigration has limits

There has always been some immigration to the United States, but it has varied greatly based on the country's needs. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an immigration boom paralleled rapid industrial growth. Afterward, immigration was restricted for about 40 years. In 1965, Congress instituted a system that wasn't as favorable to Europeans, which brought another immigration boom.

There have always been pauses to allow immigrants to assimilate, but with the ever-accelerating rate of new immigrants, the country is becoming balkanized. Although Donald Trump could have been more artful in his statements, a pause in immigration from countries spawning terrorism should be seriously debated without ad hominem attacks driven by political correctness.

|Fran Steffler, Philadelphia

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20151213_Letters__Islamic_State__Trump__and_extremism.html

----------------------------

Statesman Journal
A GANNETT COMPANY

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Law allows president to restrict anyone’s entrance to U.S.

December 12, 2015

I read with interest and concern the comments of our legislators and some law academics concerning the possible illegalities of Donald Trump’s suggestion of halting Islamic immigrants.

That they all think that the president cannot make such a sweeping proclamation shows that they don’t know existing law.

The thing that Trump suggests is not only already law; it already has been used. By a Democrat!

The law is 8 United States Code (USC) 1182, suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by president.

It was enacted in 1952, passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed into law by a Democratic -president (Truman).

In 1952 there was no immigration happening. All immigration (except asylum/refugees) was shut down from 1924 to 1965.

Why was 8 USC 1182 needed? Rampant illegal immigration (as we see happening today).

Michael Wilson

Salem

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/12/13/law-allows-president-restrict-anyones-entrance-us/77240548/

-------------------------------------------------------

Statesman Journal
A GANNETT COMPANY

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Immigration and Nationality Act protects legal citizens

9:43 p.m. PST December 12, 2015

As outrageous as you may consider Donald Trump’s comments regarding restrictions on Muslim immigration, there are historic precedents.

From 1924 into 1965, all legal immigration was greatly reduced or totally suspended based upon national-origin criteria. This was done to allow for full assimilation of the large influx of immigrants following World War I.

In 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act (the McCarran-Walter Act) basically gave the president the authority, by presidential proclamation, to suspend entry of any class of alien for any period.

In November 1979, President Carter used this I.N.A. to deport some 15,000 Iranians.

All of the above, and much more, was based on the idea of providing protection and security for the legal citizens of this country — the No. 1 role of our government.

Dan Heibel

Salem

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/12/13/immigration-nationality-act-protects-legal-citizens/77240546/

-----------------------------------------
The Fresno Bee

December 12, 2015

Why I love Donald Trump

Many people do not understand the massive attraction of Donald Trump.

This includes the liberal Fresno Bee editors. I really enjoy watching the media turn themselves inside out protesting every word out of Trump’s mouth.

The “silent majority” is angry! We love that he says what we think and he does not care about other politicians or the media. We are tired of working 30-40 years, obeying laws, paying taxes, always doing the right thing only to be told we are stupid, vulgar and uneducated.

We are forced to financially support illegal aliens (welfare) and accept their crimes. Now the public is told not to profile terrorists.

My father joined the Marines when he was 16 and fought at Guadalcanal. Too bad so many of our World War II vets are gone. They would be the first ones sitting on their porches with rifles doing their own type of profiling.

Linda Keys, Tulare

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article49137825.html

------------------------------------------------

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Union Leader

December 12. 2015 4:44PM

Tom Gibney: Shaheen defends Sanctuary Cities

By TOM GIBNEY

Greenland

Once again Jeanne Shaheen voted as she was instructed to do by the Democrat leadership. She voted to block legislation that would have withheld federal funding for sanctuary cities. Remember Kate Steinle was murdered by an illegal alien in one of these sanctuary cities – San Francisco.

The legislation she voted to block was the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act.

She voted against protecting Americans. She voted against protecting New Hampshire citizens. She voted against enforcing the law. Enough said.

http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20151212/opinion04/151219734

-----------------------------------------

THE TAMPA TRIBUNE

Letters to the editor:

Published: December 12, 2015

Bad for U.S. workers

Rather than help the economy, President Obama’s immigration policy will end up hurting American workers. His executive action provides “work authorizations” to help millions of undocumented immigrants find jobs here. Employers don’t have to offer Obamacare to these immigrants since only “lawful residents” are eligible. When businesses have the choice of hiring these immigrants versus U.S. workers, to whom they must offer health insurance, which option will they take? The cheaper one, of course. The costs work out that the employer saves about $3,300 for every immigrant they hire over a U.S. worker. I hope one of these days Congress will decide to scrap Obamacare and develop a new plan in which we can see our old doctor, costs won’t skyrocket and the U.S. worker won’t be hurt.

Andrew W. Schultz
Tampa

http://www.tbo.com/list/news-opinion-letters/letters-to-the-editor-not-anxious-but-mad-20151212/

------------------------------------------------

SANTA MARIA TIMES

Immigration

[December 11, 2015] Updated 16 hrs ago

Immigration and fairness

ISIS can ask if you are a Muslim or Christian, and if the answer is Christian, off with your head.

By the same token, if we ask the incoming illegal immigrant what their belief is, we practically would have our head chopped off.

What is wrong with wanting to protect America and keep a certain element out? You cannot continue to turn a blind eye to what is so evident.

If you want to become a U.S. citizen, do it the legal way — wait your turn, get vetted then become a true American and adapt to the American way. Isn't that the reason you wanted to come here?

Ellis Island was the gateway for my parents to come to this great country in the early 1900s. Because of their great love of their adopted country, I carry on their love of our country.

Protect what is great. God bless America.

Anita Dwyer

Lompoc

http://santamariatimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/immigration-prescription-drugs-rape-crimes/article_ff403b92-d70b-58fe-ba9e-b915210bbfee.html

-----------------------------------------------------


The Florida Times Union
jacksonville.com

Fri, Dec 11, 2015 @ 2:37 pm | updated Fri, Dec 11, 2015 @ 3:45 pm

TRUMP’S COMMENTS

Giving people hope

Donald Trump may say things that are over the top sometimes, but it’s because he’s desperate to save our country.

I have always thought that illegal immigration and professional politicians would be the ruination of this country.

And it looks like it’s happening.

We have been on a downward trend for a lot of years, and not one of our leaders has tried to stop it.

Our standards get lower and lower.

There’s a difference between immigrants coming into our country on a quota, following the immigration process and wanting to be Americans, and hordes of people randomly coming in without us knowing anything about them — and some of them wanting to kill us.

Is it right to give them welfare, homes, education and medical care all at our expense when we have veterans here who are homeless and needing care and children who are homeless and hungry?

Isn’t charity supposed to begin at home?

Our politicians only do what’s good for themselves, not for the country or the people. Trump is giving us hope.

He is trying hard to save us.

Bravo, Donald!

Patricia White, Jacksonville Beach

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters-readers/2015-12-11/story/saturdays-letters-dont-let-gun-banning-crowd-take-away-our

---------------------------------        

Quad-City Times

Immigrants, refugees 'exploit’ host

December 11, 2015

As we debate allowing refugees from the Middle East into our country, don’t forget the self-inflicted humanitarian crisis at our porous southern border. With the Obama administration distributing flyers telling illegal immigrants that their status will not be checked when they apply for food stamps, we can expect this program, already fraud-riddled and out of control, to put an even bigger dent in our wallets.

As to the Middle East, we invested many lives and billions of dollars trying to bring democracy and free enterprise to that area. They rejected it, only to invade the democracies demanding the lifestyle benefits for which the host countries have worked so hard.

One is struck also by the number of military-age men among the migrants who are unwilling to stay and fight for their country. Apparently, they expect us to do that for them, too.

But the ultimate threat to us is our burgeoning population, fueled by both legal (more than 1 million annually) and illegal (who knows?) immigration. To provide jobs and housing for all, we exploit limited natural resources as if they were endless, mindlessly paving over acre after acre of the world’s best farm land. For the implications of all this, see www.npg.org, Negative Population Growth Inc.

John Dixell

Rock Island

http://qctimes.com/news/opinion/mailbag/immigrants-refugees-exploit-host/article_4f179256-73e6-5521-af44-fa13857e1658.html

----------------------------------------

OregonLive.com

What about Jimmy Carter and Iranians? (Letters to the Editor)

Letters to the editor By Letters to the editor The Oregonian
on December 10, 2015 at 5:47 PM, updated December 10, 2015 at 7:50 PM

Trump and Muslims: Judging from the reaction of the uber-tolerant, Donald Trump may be on to something here.

It is amazing how imbedded political correctness has become in our culture. What was once the religion of the elites has now become widespread. Mr Trump's candor is like a breath of fresh air.

To those "enlightened" souls who can't stand him, perhaps a history lesson is due. Why did Abraham Lincoln suspend the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War? Because, in words that are often attributed to Lincoln, the Constitution is not a suicide pact. Saving the union was a higher priority. During World War II, Japanese citizens were sent to internment camps by liberal hero Franklin Roosevelt. More recently, 15,000 Iranian students were deported President Jimmy Carter.

I will hazard a broader interpretation of Donald Trump's remarks: We need to get control of our borders now. We need to deal with homegrown terrorism now. This way we can avoid taking the extreme actions of past presidents.

Scott Holland

Tigard

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/12/donald_trump_and_muslims_what.html#incart_river_index

-------------------------------------------

OregonLive.com

Donald Trump and Muslims? (Letters to the Editor)

Letters to the editor By Letters to the editor The Oregonian
on December 10, 2015 at 5:47 PM, updated December 10, 2015 at 7:50 PM

Trump and Muslims: I fail to understand how all the political factions, including the media, can call Donald Trump all kinds of names for his stand on allowing aliens into the United States when it is already the law of the land and was used by Jimmy Carter to keep Iranians out of the country. (Carter did even more. He made all Iranian students already here check in, and he deported a lot of them.)

Title 8 of the U.S. Code (subsection 1182 — Inadmissible Aliens), written in 1952, passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress and signed by a Democratic president, reads as follows:

"Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by President: Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."

I wonder if Obama knows he has this power, especially when he seems so eager to create powers for himself. What is he waiting for? We have a terrorist crisis that is far worse than the hostage crisis was in 1979.

Keith Miller

Beaverton

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/12/donald_trump_and_muslims_what.html#incart_river_index
  Read more about Use your words

State AG files brief backing Obama immigration appeal

OLYMPIA — The state Attorney’s General Office has authored a friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting President Obama’s stalled immigration actions.

The brief comes after two lower courts this year upheld a legal challenge by Texas and other states questioning whether the president can make changes to the immigration system by executive authority.

Obama’s actions would protect from deportation an estimated 5 million people living in the United States illegally. If implemented, about 105,000 people in Washington could transition into the legal workforce, according to the brief.

“Each day that these reforms are delayed harms people who want nothing more than to come out of the shadows and live and work legally to support their families,” state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “This affects our friends, families, neighbors, and our state as a whole.”

Joining Washington on the brief were the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report. Joseph O'Sullivan: 360-236-8268 or josullivan@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @OlympiaJoe
  Read more about State AG files brief backing Obama immigration appeal

Just two weeks left to take advantage of your Oregon year end tax credit

Alert date: 
December 16, 2015
Alert body: 

December is half over and we are now in the last two weeks where you can take advantage of Oregon state's political tax credit for donations to the OFIR Political Action Committee.

We encourage you to send a contribution to OFIR PAC before year's end. Please don't forget - write your check today or go to the OFIR website and contribute to the OFIR PAC. If you don't use your political tax credit before December 31 - the state will use the money for its own purposes. You have a choice and we hope you will choose the OFIR PAC.

If you are unfamiliar with the Oregon Political Tax credit, let me explain. Oregon residents can make a contribution to one Oregon Political Action Committee per year. Through Oregon's political tax credit, married couples filing joint Oregon Income Tax Returns receive a dollar for dollar credit of up to $100 - (it's $50 for singles and married couples filing separately) - for contributions to a Political Action Committee like OFIR PAC. This is your opportunity to divert a portion of your tax obligation to OFIR PAC and not to the State's coffers.

This is not a tax deduction but a credit. If you owe money on a joint tax return, you would owe $100 less as a married couple filing jointly. Of course, you may contribute in excess of the deductible amount, and we encourage you to do so, but you may deduct only the allowable limit.

Please write your check to OFIR PAC, or visit the OFIR website and donate online at http://www.oregonir.org/donate-ofir. If you click the DONATE button on this email and fill out the form, your contribution will automatically be credited to the OFIR PAC.

Checks can be mailed to OFIR PAC, PO Box 7354, Salem OR 97303.

Checks must be made to OFIR PAC - checks made out simply to OFIR are not eligible for the state income tax credit and, under IRS rules, are not tax-deductible, but we would still welcome your contribution to OFIR!

All OFIR officers and Board members are volunteers serving without pay and we have no paid employees other than a part-time bookkeeper. As one of the most active immigration organizations in the country, we must have funds for necessary expenses such as email and website services, printing and postage, annual fees to Oregon SOS and DOJ, meeting room expenses, reimbursement for gasoline and other miscellaneous expenses incurred for travel within the state.
 
Mounting initiatives involves large expenditures for printing, postage, websites, fees to lawyers and accountants, and more, yet we have much to gain from successful initiatives. Our winning Protect Oregon Driver Licenses campaign has been a template for other successful ventures across the country. OFIR has attracted the attention and interest of many state activist groups as well as national immigration organizations.
 
We are currently facing extremely dangerous threats related to immigration here in Oregon and across the country. A healthy, robust budget is a basic requirement for continued efforts to establish sensible immigration policies that serve the public interest and well being.

As you may remember, a matching grant offer is now in effect; whatever you give will be matched dollar for dollar, by a generous donor, up to $15,000.

I can truly say OFIR couldn't have accomplished what we have without the help, support and cooperation of each and every one of you. I wish I could personally thank each of you.

If you have not yet contributed to OFIR and the work we are doing - please consider doing so before the end of the year so that you can take advantage of the Oregon Tax Credit. We need all hands on deck at this time. Please, give generously but only what you can afford!

Remember to make your check out to OFIR PAC!  Thank you!

Debating immigration in sound bites

 
The GOP presidential candidates’ debate in Milwaukee highlighted the difficulty in dealing with sensitive immigration issues in sound bites. The moderators phrased questions aiming at getting ‘yes” or “no” responses. But, only someone who does not understand the issue would be comfortable with a sound bite response.
 
One of the most heated exchanges in that debate occurred over the question whether the candidate, if elected president – would deport the 11-12 million illegal aliens. The thrust of the questioning was to provoke a split between those who would support some legalization program, i.e., amnesty, for the illegal alien population and those who refuse to accept another general amnesty like that enacted in 1986.
 
Attempting to provoke a “yes” or “no” response plays into the hands of the supporters of amnesty because it allows them to characterize their opponent as cold-hearted and unrealistic. Those who rejected amnesty were derided as unrealistic as well as uncaring by establishment candidates who apparently believe they can win more Latino votes by embracing some form of amnesty.
 
This debate format makes it difficult for a candidate to take a nuanced position that demonstrates that he or she understands the human impact of deportation and has weighed the negative impact of deportation on the aliens as well as their families which may include U.S.-born children against the negative impact that illegal immigration has on the U.S. public.
 
A more nuanced discussion is one that amnesty supporters try to avoid because they do not want to concede that there are negative impacts on society in general and individual Americans from illegal immigration.
 
So, how could a presidential candidate answer the amnesty “yes” or “no” question?
 
“Our immigration law is designed to protect Americans from unwanted immigration, and if we continue to accept illegal immigration through amnesties like the one in 1986, we will perpetuate the harm to Americans that has come from the job competition, crowding of schools, criminality and demands on scarce social service resources that should be available for our neediest citizens.”
 
Q. “So you support rounding them up and sending them home?
 
A. “When our law enforcement officers at all levels find persons in the country illegally they should get those aliens into deportation proceedings. And efforts to deny competition for jobs from illegal workers need to be made more effective so that future illegal immigration is discouraged and current illegal residents realize that their future lies in returning to their home country.”
 
Q. “So you support breaking up families by deporting the parents of U.S. citizen kids?
 
A. “The ‘mixed-status’ families issue is a false dilemma. It is based on a misreading of the 14th Amendment. The children born to illegal aliens in the U.S. should not have ever been considered U.S. citizens. In any case, they have the parents’ nationality and can accompany the parents when they leave voluntarily or are deported.

United Way helps fill financial needs for Latino school health program

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories about United Way-funded agencies and the people they serve. United Way of Lane County is in the midst of its annual fall fundraising campaign.

University of Oregon freshman Karla Mercado, 18, leaned back in a couch at North Eugene High School.

“Financially, it has always been a struggle,” she said. “Because of this program, I had one less worry growing up.”

Mercado is speaking about the Soy Sano/I Am Healthy program, a service at the health centers at North Eugene and Churchill high schools. The Eugene School District program has provided everything from medical checkups and immunizations to dental and vision help, mostly free of charge to Mercado, who grew up in Eugene and attended North Eugene .

Motivated in part by her experience at the clinic, Mercado now is taking classes at the University of Oregon to pursue a career in education. And she’s paying for her education in part by working at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, the nonprofit human services organization.

Soy Sano targets a special population in Lane County: Latino youth who lack U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status — and therefore cannot get government-funded health insurance. It also serves other young people who do not have or do not qualify for public health insurance.

Mercado knows what it’s like to lack health insurance. She previously was an illegal immigrant; her status is now legal under a federal temporary permit program, and she is officially allowed to work.

The Soy Sano/I Am Healthy program began in 2010, paid for by a two-year pilot grant from the Oregon Legislature. With the backing of several local groups, the agency managed to keep its doors open even after the original grant funding ended in 2012.

Help is on the way

The funding is part of a broader, ongoing push by lawmakers to provide more help to illegal immigrants, especially youth who were brought into the United States illegally by their also-illegal parents.

In 2013, the Legislature approved a bill allowing some young illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition rates — as opposed to the much-higher out-of-state rates — at Oregon’s public universities.

In 2014, lawmakers approved giving Oregon drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants, although voters statewide overwhelmingly overturned that change in November 2014. In this year’s legislative session, lawmakers opened some state-funded college scholarships to illegal immigrants.

In its first year of operation, Soy Sano/I Am Healthy helped provide comprehensive health services to 1,250 low-income children in Lane County who were born outside the United States, are in the country illegally and do not qualify for public health insurance, according to Eugene School-Based Health Center data.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy estimates there are 17,600 illegal immigrant children statewide.

Soy Sano has found that during the past couple of years, because of the expansion of the publicly funded Oregon Health Plan under the federal Affordable Care Act, fewer legal residents need the program’s help. But many hundreds of illegal immigrant children continue to lack insurance.

The program served 710 young clients in the 12 months ending in June.

Covering the children

The Affordable Care Act has not had much effect on health services for illegal immigrants because, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy, federally funded insurance programs such as the Oregon Health Plan do not cover illegal immigrants, except in medical emergencies.

That leaves the families of illegal immigrants with the option of buying private health insurance, which is not subsidized and often expensive. Oregon is unlike Washington state, New York and Illinois, all of which provide government-­funded health insurance to illegal immigrant children within their states.

With the help of United Way of Lane County, other funding sources and community-donated resources, Soy Sano has reached its fifth year of operation, surviving even in a financially unstable climate.

“For many of these students, it’s very difficult,” said Beto Montes, the program’s bicultural outreach worker. “You come in from another country not knowing the language, the culture or the school system.”

Montes, 34 and bilingual, initially came into the United States from Mexico legally in 1990, when he was 9. He began attending the Eugene School District in fourth grade, and he received citizenship six years later because of his residency.

Montes attended the UO. He is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling at Northwest Christian University in Eugene.

Montes said his priority is providing a bridge between Latino parents and children and the school district. Two students Montes work with, 18-year-olds Luis and Romero, are prime examples.

The Register-Guard is withholding their last names to protect their privacy. They lack legal immigration status. Both came to the United States with their parents from Mexico as illegal immigrants.

“I haven’t been able to find any other health sources,” said Luis in Spanish, his words translated into English by Montes. Luis, who has younger siblings in Eugene schools, said Soy Sano has been a big help in his transition to living Eugene.

Romero agreed, noting he’s been able to use the program for basic health checkups.

Under the radar

UO student Mercado said she’s been inspired by the program.

“Even if I go somewhere else, I want to be a health activist,” she said.

Mercado originally was an illegal immigrant. But she received a renewable 2-year work visa through the federal Deferred Action Through Childhood Arrivals program, which is open to illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States before turning 16, who are 30 or younger and have lived within the country for the past five years, and who are attending school or serving in the military.

The health-care challenges facing illegal-immigrant children often go unnoticed in the broader community, said Maxine Proskurowski, the school district’s health service program manager.

“The community doesn’t see a need because these kids don’t show up at (health care providers),” said Proskurowski, noting that many illegal immigrant families don’t go to local health providers because they lack the money or insurance to cover the care.

When the Soy Sano program initially started, it received $40,920 from the Legislature in each of its first two years. That helped pay for nurse time; two part-time bilingual, bicultural outreach workers; and a portion of the coordinator’s salary.

The program was coordinated through the Community Health Centers of Lane County, the Eugene School District’s School-Based Health Centers, and Glenwood-based Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon.

Opening the doors

After grant funds ran out, United Way, the Eugene Education Fund, the Springfield-based PacificSource Foundation and several community outreach services stepped in to make up the difference.

Oregon Health Authority, the state’s health care department, also increased funding to the health centers. And the state office of Mental Health and Addictions awarded a grant to Lane County Behavioral Health to help cover the districts’ uninsured students.

Since 2013, United Way has provided $12,500 a year to the Eugene School District’s school-based health centers, and it promised an additional $10,000 directly to the Soy Sano program through January 2017.

“United Way has really opened the doors for us to get outside funding,” Proskurowski said. The strict application requirements and competitive process that United Way uses to choose grant recipients often encourages other grant and donor services to then financially support or donate resources to Soy Sano.

United Way “have been champions for us,” she said.

Adding dental care

Soy Sano’s clients now receive dental services through the Assistance League’s Children Dental Center at Churchill High as well as the Lane Community College Dental Hygiene Program.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” said Sharon Hagen, a dental hygiene instructor for LCC. The college receives $7,000 yearly from United Way to help cover dental checkups, mainly for illegal immigrants, and the college donates the rest of its dental services time.

Hagen said in the last school year, the program recorded 87 dental cleanings for Eugene School District students with Latino surnames. “The children in greatest need are the Hispanic children,” Hagen said.

Funding always has been touch and go.

In 2012, the Eugene district’s health centers fell behind in eligibility for state funding due in part to a lack of compliance with several new state health care mandates for record-keeping and reporting. The centers ultimately lost both state funding and funding from the school district, which had covered 80 percent of the centers’ operating costs.

Two of the centers closed, but local money has provided enough to keep the two remaining centers open. Proskurowski said the continuance of special programs such as Soy Sano hinges on school-based centers remaining open.

“The reality is, if we don’t get funding by June, the days are numbered for these (centers),” Proskurowski said.
  Read more about United Way helps fill financial needs for Latino school health program

How low will they go? SPLC accuses black woman of being white nationalist

US Inc. hosted the 39th annual Writer's Workshop conference in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago.  As President of Oregonians for Immigration Reform, I've attended the conference for the past several years and was honored to be one of the speakers at the 2014 conference.

I have found the event to be a well attended, balanced look at all aspects of immigration and the issues surrounding both unfettered illegal immigration and excessive legal immigration.  The wide array of expert speakers allows conference participants a broad perspective.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has a reputation - a bad reputation - and the following article is simply the latest episode in the SPLC’s long history of launching false smear attacks against political opponents.  In their haste to sully the reputation of the event and those who attended, the SPLC has now stooped so low as to accuse a black woman of being a white nationalist.  Read Inger Eberhart's response to the SPLC's attack.

 

As a black American, I am outraged at the lengths the hate-mongering left goes to smear advocates for sanity and control regarding immigration.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the 2015 Writer’s Workshop conference sponsored by U.S. Inc. in Washington D.C. – and I plan on going again next year. Little did I know that my attendance at this year’s Workshop would give the pro-illegal alien Southern Poverty Law Center and its open border allies an opportunity to make fools of themselves yet again.

Here’s what unfolded. The conference audience consisted mostly of academics, writers, bloggers, and activists like myself from across the country who believe that our immigration laws should be enforced and that Americans of all races and backgrounds should not lose their jobs to cheaper illegal or imported foreign workers. Really radical ideas, right?

So, naturally, the SPLC hates the Writer’s Workshop and everything it stands for. While there, I snapped a photo of one of the speakers, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and posted it on my Twitter feed. It seems that an SPLC ally named 'Imagine 2050' monitors my Twitter feed.

They took my picture without my permission, used it in a ridiculous smear piece and apparently passed it on to the SPLC.

The educational event obviously gave the SPLC a terrible case of the vapors. They proved it by demonstrating their hate for the Kansas Secretary of State for his outstanding legal work on behalf of enforcing our immigration laws. Someone named Heidi Bierich wrote a blog denouncing Secretary Kobach for speaking at a conference of “white nationalists.” White nationalists is one of those labels the SPLC uses in addition to “racists”, “nativists”, and “xenophobes” to demonize any group or individual who upholds our immigration laws.

That was amusing, to this African-American woman who, along with other black Americans, and Latino and Asian Americans found ourselves attending a “white nationalist conference” if you were to believe the Imagine 2050 and the SPLC.

Mind you this was a conference at which two Latinos made presentations and another Latino told the heartbreaking story of his brother’s murder at the hands of a twice-deported illegal alien.

Memo to Imagine 2050 and the SPLC: I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the years immediately following the civil rights era. I would spot a real white nationalist a lot faster than you ever could.

This entire smear campaign would be amusing if it wasn’t so sick.

The SPLC apparently assumes the revealing expose from their hometown newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser has been forgotten. This proud Southerner has not forgotten:

“Outside the Southern Poverty Law Center, a stunning civil rights memorial honors those who died to give blacks more opportunities. Inside, no blacks have held top management positions in the center’s 23-year history, and some former employees say blacks are treated like second-class citizens.

“I would definitely say there was not a single black employee with whom I spoke who was happy to be working there,” said Christine Lee, a black graduate of Harvard Law School who interned at the Law Center in 1989.

Only one black has ever been among the top five wage-earners at the center, and he was one of only two black staff attorneys in the center’s history. Both said they left unhappy.

The Law Center’s ambitious new project, Teaching Tolerance, which is designed to promote racial and cultural justice throughout America’s schools, is produced by an eight-member all-white staff according to the Law Center.”

Stay tuned, it gets better. The shameless character assassins at IMAGINE2050 also used a picture from the U.S. Inc. writers conference of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach pictured with a Latina American, Ms. Maria Espinoza and at least two other Hispanics.

Ms. Espinoza is the founder of The Remembrance Project (@StolenLivesQlt) whose mission is to remember and honor the thousands of law abiding Americans of all descriptions who have been raped, brutalized and murdered at the hands of illegal alien criminals, to try and bring some comfort and support to the families devastated by their loss, and to raise public awareness of the human cost of our government’s failure to protect us.

Americans like Ms. Espinoza give away the lies from the SPLC and IMAGINE 2050 narrative. The truth is those organizations never shed a tear for the victims of illegal alien criminals and their families. They could care less that millions of unskilled, low income minority Americans are being displaced in jobs by unscrupulous employers who hire and exploit illegal aliens.

So if you subscribe to the SPLC and IMAGINE 2050 because you think they are fighting for minority Americans, you’ve been scammed, duped and used. They lie about anyone who doesn’t fall in line and with their anti-American ideology. Just as they lied about me, Ms. Espinoza, U.S. Inc. and everyone who attended the educational event in Washington.

The good news is that there are groups like the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society (where I am a proud member of the board of advisors), U.S. Inc, NumbersUSA and others that are there to educate and arm you with the knowledge to challenge the SPLC’s ugly lies.

Inger Eberhart
@Hunter7Taylor
MBA, MA (2015)
Advisory Board member: The Dustin Inman Society
Writer: The Social Contract Press, Californians for Population Stabilization Read more about How low will they go? SPLC accuses black woman of being white nationalist

OFIR President returns from Washington DC conference

OFIR President Cynthia Kendoll has just returned from the Writer's Workshop conference held in Arlington, VA. 

A plethora of experts laid out sound, compelling arguments about why and how we need to regain control of our borders, ramp up interior enforcement and actually enforce our immigration laws.  Topics included:

Job competition and falling wages

The human cost of illegal alien crime

The disregard for the rule of law and our own government is the worst offender

Importing refugees, the impending threat to National security and who is paying for it all

The environmental strain with an increasing population

What borders?  Are we enforcing our own laws?

The status of lawsuits regarding immigration and Executive Amnesty etc.

And, much, much more...

All of the speakers were very interesting, knowledgeable and passionate about their topic, but most compelling of all were the gut wrenching stories of two men - one lost a son, the other lost his brother.  Both were ruthlessly murdered by illegal aliens. 

Maria Espinoza, who leads the charge of The Remembrance Project organized a press conference at the National Press Club as she geared up for the National Remembrance Day, which was Nov. 1.

At the conference, Cynthia was one of several leaders invited to host a round-table discussion.  The two initiatives OFIR is working to advance in Oregon were the topic of discussion.  Both initiatives, making English the Official language in the State of Oregon and requiring employers with 5 or more employees to use E-Verify are currently working their way through the legal challenge process. 

When it becomes available, OFIR will post a link to the streaming video of all of the presentations.  To view past Writer's Workshop video's click here.  Last year (2014), Cynthia addressed the conference and told about the Measure 88 campaign. Read more about OFIR President returns from Washington DC conference

OFIR's Pizza and Politics event packs the house

Three special guest speakers and yummy pizza drew a packed house for OFIR's Pizza and Politics meeting Saturday, October 10th.

Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier, Representative Mike Nearman (an OFIR Board member) and Representative Greg Baretto spoke on a number of immigration related topics.  Visit the OFIR photo gallery.

  Read more about OFIR's Pizza and Politics event packs the house

It's time for PIZZA and POLITICS - OFIR meeting, Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2:00pm

Alert date: 
September 29, 2015
Alert body: 

Please join us Saturday, October 10 at 2:00pm at the Best Western Mill Creek Inn in Salem, OR and get caught up with what's happening locally and across the country in immigration politics all while enjoying some delicious pizza.

Donald Trump, like him or not, has blown the lid off the immigration conversation and in so doing has forced candidates to address the immigration issue head on....finally!

Because of Trump's campaign trail comments and his surge in the polls because of those comments, OFIR and immigration organizations and activists across the country are in a phenomenal position to make real headway in stemming the flow of illegal aliens into our country.

At the meeting, special guest Oregon Republican Chairman Bill Currier will be there to explain how the ORP plans to actively face down the immigration issues we struggle with here in Oregon.

Representative Mike Nearman and Representative Greg Baretto will be joining us to explain what's happening in the Oregon Legislature.

OFIR has been busy working to advance 2 initiatives. We will be talking about our progress on both of them and how you can help.

OFIR and our fantastic members and friends must be ready with renewed energy and resources to take advantage of the opportunities before us and to tackle the important challenges we will be facing in this coming election year.

Please consider bringing along a contribution to OFIR and take advantage of our $15,000 matching grant?


 

Letters from across the country reveal the frustration of the voting public about illegal immigration

Across the country, citizens are expressing their outrage at elected officials for their lack of action in securing our borders, protecting our jobs and enforcing our immigration laws.

It's critical that we keep the conversation going and demand action to protect our country and our citizens.  Please plan to attend Town Hall meetings in your area, write to your elected officials and submit letters to the editor or call a radio talk show and insist that elected officials be held accountable for policies that allow innocent American citizens to be raped, hit by drunk drivers and even murdered by illegal aliens that are not supposed to be in our country at all.

You're not alone in your anger and frustration.  But, too many have been too silent for so long that it is going to take all of us to keep the conversation going and the pressure on during this election cycle.  HOLD ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE for their actions that perpetuate the problems we are having.

Below is a compilation of letters from across the country.  Be inspired to write a letter of your own and submit it to a local newspaper.

----------------------------------------------------

New Haven Register
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter to the Editor: Murphy wrong on supporting refugees

Posted: 09/20/15, 2:54 PM EDT |

I don’t normally agree with most of what Norm Pattis has to say in his weekly column, but last week’s was on the money. Why do politicians think it’s our responsibility to take in and support people who aren’t happy in their own country when we don’t even take care of our own? And our own illustrious Sen. Chris Murphy said we need to accept 50,000 “refugees” from Syria! He’s very generous with our tax dollars, which I am sure will increase to absorb the cost. Add that to the 11.3 million illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America that they’re trying to give a free pass to already. Where does it end? Maybe Murphy and his compadres should bring them to their houses and support them. We don’t want them! Everyone’s ancestors came here from other countries but they came the right way — legally. This smells exactly like the Jimmy Carter Cuban Boatlift when Castro emptied his prisons and asylums and sent them here ... and we all know how that turned out! Send everyone who is here illegally back to where they came from and tell them to apply to come back the right way. There is a process — make them use it.

— Mike Pearson North Branford

http://www.nhregister.com/opinion/20150920/letter-to-the-editor-murphy-wrong-on-supporting-refugees

The Berkshire Eagle
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter: America's compassion will be its downfall

The Berkshire Eagle

Posted: 09/19/2015 12:17:34 PM EDT | Updated:  about 5 hours ago

American's Compassion Will Be Its Downfall

To the editor:

Tony Smith's Sept. 5 letter "Past immigrants earned their status" is so right, especially about the U.S. becoming the planet's homeless shelter. Our country's compassion is used and abused. We help one family, they bring in 10 families, and suck our country dry.

If we as Americans don't stand up for our country and stop this merry-go-round the country will be town down! It's time to do something. Breaking our laws and being illegal is wrong. What would any other country do to an American citizen who breaks their laws? Death, torture, jail? I know one thing for sure — it wouldn't be a free life.

K. Withers Lee

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/letters/ci_28842383/letter-americas-compassion-will-be-its-downfall

The Press-Enterprise

Opinion

LETTERS:

PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Published: Sept. 18, 2015 Updated: 4:27 p.m.

End Anti-Americanism

Re: “Deport illegal aliens, with no exceptions” [Letters, Sept. 7]: I concur wholeheartedly with the widespread opinions expressed by legal citizens everywhere that the time has now come to rid this country of all illegal immigrants who don’t belong here.

The sooner the better.

I’ve heard enough about the wonders of multi-culturism and bilingualism to give me a permanent stomach ache.

What ever happened to English only? Why do we have to put up “dial 1 for English”? Those who foist these anti-American rules on the rest of us need to be escorted out of the country, along with all illegal aliens.

Harry Miller

Hemet

http://www.pe.com/articles/job-780853-illegal-conscience.html

The Florida Times Union
jacksonville.com

Home/Opinion

Monday's Letters:

By Letters from readers Fri, Sep 18, 2015 @ 3:22 pm

NATIONAL SECURITY

Some good, some bad

On the one hand, it appears our nation is doing a good job in stopping terror attacks based on the lack of incidents that actually occur.

Most of the reports that I read name the FBI as the organization that is most active and effective.

But the Department of Homeland Security is largely a hugely expensive joke. It is a politically correct organization where the airport screeners fail to detect a very large percentage of the test cases presented them.

Both the immigration and the border patrol segments of Homeland Security are not fulfilling their missions. But that’s likely through no fault of their own.

The timid leaders we have elected — and the even more timid bureaucrats that they appoint — have effectively neutered our personnel on the front lines.

With a budget of $38 billion, we still haven’t been able to secure the U.S. border.

Why doesn’t someone on the U.S. side demonstrate an “act of love” for this nation by sealing our borders?

It’s time we put out the word to all our southern neighbors that the U.S. will stop those who cross the border illegally.

And that we will use deadly force to ensure the safety and sanctity of this country.

Heaven knows how many bad actors have simply walked into our country because of purchased politicians who value their campaign donors more than personal integrity.

Alec Lawson, captain, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Jacksonville

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters-readers/2015-09-18/story/mondays-letters-we-shouldnt-feel-obligated-take-syrian

Mail Tribune

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the Editor, Sept. 18

Posted Sep. 18, 2015 at 12:01 AM

End birthright citizenship

Maybe the most laughable canard bleated out by the open borders crowd is, “To eliminate birthright citizenship you’d have to change the Constitution.” But the statement has no basis in reality.

Birthright citizenship can be eliminated by Congress. The clause the border bleaters cling to is: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States … . But in 1868, when the amendment was adopted, there was no restriction on immigration. It didn’t cover Native Americans until 1924, so citizenship has obviously already been changed legislatively.

Then there are the pesky words, “… subject to the jurisdiction thereof …” Senator Lyman Trumbull, an architect of the amendment, said that meant “not owing allegiance to anybody else.” So it certainly wouldn’t apply to Mexican migrants, who wave Mexican flags on California streets all the time. But the final nail in the open borders folks’ coffin is Section 5, which states: "The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

The U.S. and Canada are the only major modern countries in the world who still grant birthright citizenship. It’s way past time to change that.

Robert Bennett

Grants Pass

http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20150918/OPINION/150919610

TribLIVE | Opinion/The Review

From whom they flee

Letter to the Editor
Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, 8:55 p.m.
Updated 17 minutes ago

The refugee crisis in Europe and the U.S. exposes the lack of common sense in the Western world.

Moral leaders are quick to criticize European and U.S. governments for not doing enough for refugees coming to their countries. But where is the moral outrage against the corrupt, warmongering and dysfunctional leaders in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America who have created this crisis?

Why is the U.S. criticized for not wanting illegal immigrants while Mexican and other Latin American leaders are not criticized for creating circumstances causing their citizens to flee? Perhaps it's safer to criticize good guys than bad guys.

This situation has the same moral equivalence as members of a dysfunctional family living next door, demanding to move into your house to be fed and clothed at your expense, and creating turmoil in your household. Who would stand for this?

Wouldn't it be less expensive and more humane to militarily engage the bad guys in charge of refugee-producing countries than to allow the turmoil that massive world migration will bring to stable countries? It will take decades to recover from the disruption and upheaval from migration.

Allowing unchecked immigration is insane and ensures the crisis will continue indefinitely. It's a shame that we don't have world leaders with the courage to solve this problem!

Dave Majernik

Plum

The writer is vice chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Committee.

http://triblive.com/opinion/letters/9055630-74/countries-guys-leaders#axzz3m2br8NNu

Ledger-Enquirer

Letters to the Editor

September 17, 2015

Lawbreakers by any name

I read Wilkinson's column in the paper and I agree that our immigration policy is flawed. However, he described the Mexican bad guy as "an undocumented immigrant," and I disagree with that. Such a description of Mexican citizens unlawfully present in our country may now be politically correct, but in my opinion it is incorrect.

Thousands of Mexicans willfully break our laws every day and surreptitiously cross our southern border, and they should only be referred to as "illegal aliens." Regardless of why Mexicans sneak into our country, their sneaking should not be tolerated by our governments (local, state and national), and when someone is found to be here illegally, they should be considered a criminal and treated accordingly. I know that many illegals come here to become American citizens, but I believe most want to keep their allegiance to Mexico and only desire the economic benefits of our rich country. It doesn't matter if they're behaving themselves while they're here. They're here illegally.

We can't immediately fine and deport all the illegal aliens, but if we withhold from them all of our social benefits, including educational and medical (except in special cases), they'll soon deport themselves.

We should also jail every businessman who profits from the low wages he pays to an illegal. My grandfather legally came from Germany to have a better life here, and he found it for himself and his posterity. All Mexicans should be required to do the same. If our present politicians won't fix our immigration problems, then we need to cast our votes in the next election for the folks who will.

Carl "Bud" Paepcke

Columbus

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article35606901.html

BUCKS COUNTY
Courier Times

Opinion | Bucks County | Letters to the Editor

Enforce the immigration laws

Posted: Thursday, September 17, 2015 12:15 am

Everyone who doesn't like what Donald Trump says about immigration are the same people who have ignored the problem for decades.

We have laws that allow people from foreign countries to attain citizenship legally. Occasionally there is news about new citizens. I actually attended one of these naturalization ceremonies in 1973 when my wife became a U.S. citizen. These people did what the law required. Just because we are so close to Mexico and South America it has become a problem with the politicians ignoring the people crossing the border and living here illegally. Businesses are to blame also for employing illegals for cheap wages.

Every politician from both parties is afraid to do anything about the problem because it will offend the Hispanic population. How ridiculous that is to let laws continue to be ignored. Obeying political correctness so we don't offend any minority is an epidemic in this country. We need someone who will actually do something about this problem, which is beyond critical as this point.

No other candidate is willing to address the problem and offer a solution. Amnesty for the illegals would cause a backlash of gigantic proportions and is a slap in the face of the people who obeyed the law and became U. S. citizens.

Both political parties created this problem and the Democrats won't do anything because the illegals are part of their government-dependency base. Likewise, Republican business owners would lose the cheap labor they provide. There are also the criminals who are shipping in illegal drugs and killing people. We have more than enough of our home grown criminals and don't need any more here illegally.

We definitely need a political outsider to lead this country after the eight years of damage done by the incompetency of the present administration. There are three Republicans who are not career politicians running for President. Hopefully we will chose right this time so this country can be great again and not the Third World country we are headed for.

Ron Bolvin

Middletown

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/opinion/letters/enforce-the-immigration-laws/article_f745eee8-1089-5828-ada9-cda451badf35.html

ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER

Opinion

Letters: A simple immigration policy

Sept. 16, 2015

Updated 12:00 a.m.

By ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Our country was founded by legal immigrants and could be destroyed by illegal immigrants.

According to a study conducted by the Federation of America Immigration Reform, the cost of harboring illegal immigrants in the United States is a staggering $113 billion a year – an average of $1,117 for every household in America – and it is growing rapidly. Supporting illegal immigrants has caused our country to become almost insolvent.

I have read many of the expensive strategies proposed by our presidential candidates to keep illegal immigrants out of this country. However, they will only put us in more debt, and are not assured to be very effective.

We all know that illegal immigrants come to this country to improve their way of life. They all seek benefits without payments, better living conditions and employment. All the benefits that they receive are too numerous to mention. I have an inexpensive solution to solve the problem of illegal immigrants entering this country: Discontinue all illegal immigrant benefits.

Any landlord that rents an apartment to an illegal immigrant will be severely punished financially. Any tenant that allows illegal immigrants to move into their residence will be severely punished financially. Any employer that hires an illegal immigrant will be severely punished financially.

This will take away most of the incentives for immigrants to enter this country illegally and is not expensive to implement. I don’t know why none of the presidential candidates have mentioned this as opposed to building a wall and providing man power to service the wall which will be very expensive and not assured to keep illegal immigrants out of this country. It appears so simple. Am I missing something?

Paul Rubenstein

Mission Viejo

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/illegal-682798-immigrants-country.html

Minnesota Daily

Opinion » Letters to the Editor

Comment on “We need to tell modern immigrants’ stories”

By Dave Francis, Daily reader September 16, 2015

All of the presidential candidates have little to say about the illegal immigrant problem. They are all close-mouthed and probably scared of their own shadows. 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is completely different from the pack. He is not hindered in saying anything true — and that is exactly what people want to hear. Rhetoric is finally old hat, and the majority of the population is not listening to it anymore. They want change!

Trump’s greatest benefit to average Americans is that no one can buy his loyalty. … We want a true outsider who is not looking for a handout to fill campaign or personal bank accounts. 

I believe Trump will bring back all the jobs to our country again — jobs for every genuine new American and jobs for people who have given up and can hardly put food on the table. … No matter who you are, as long as you’re here in the United States legally, then you will be eligible for a job. …

It’s about time employers were held more accountable for hiring illegal workers. … Every American of any race, color or religion should be first for any job. …

Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, testified before the House Oversight Committee a few weeks ago. He said that the agency only controls approximately 40 percent of the border between the United States and Mexico. … Before that committee, border patrol agents testified about the brutal conditions facing them. …

Why are so many of our tax dollars spent to defend foreign countries? American citizens should be able to travel highways in southern Arizona without fearing for their lives. 

http://www.mndaily.com/opinion/letters-editor/2015/09/16/comment-%E2%80%9Cwe-need-tell-modern-immigrants%E2%80%99-stories%E2%80%9D

M Michigan
LIVE

Letter: Government should penalizes those who hire illegal immigrants

By MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot opinion
on September 16, 2015 at 9:55 AM, updated September 16, 2015 at 9:59 AM

With all the supposedly intelligent politicians in Washington, I am amazed at all the talk about building a wall at the border between the United States and Mexico.

One need only look at the map and recognize that the Gulf of Mexico provides and easy way to go around the end of any wall, fence, ditch, etc.

Our government needs to arrest and penalize any American or American business which hires an illegal immigrant.

They should charge the culprit and then send the illegal person back to Mexico or any other home country.

It can't solve the problem overnight, but it should be an ongoing procedure. This is a country of laws which attempts to safeguard its citizens. I fought in WWII for just that purpose.

William W. Harper / Jackson

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/jackson/index.ssf/2015/09/letter_government_should_penal.html

Capital Gazette

Letters: Immigration

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Immigration

A nation is defined by borders, culture, language. Without borders, our nation is vulnerable to the influx of illegal immigrants, who will bring drugs, cause crimes and cause deaths by autos, destroying the identity of our country.

Our nation is in the process of this transition. Our Judeo-Christian culture is under attack from without and from within. Illegal immigrants are coming to America, setting up their own enclaves, refusing to blend in with the American mosaic.

Years ago, immigrants would come to our country and would become part of our communities. This is not so today.

For years, English was the preferred language in our country — not so today. I have seen notes from providers that can be in five languages. Is this the modern-day Tower of Babel? If we are not willing to fight for the values that made America great, we will become a Third World nation — our demise is imminent.

WILL HUBBAR

Glen Burnie

http://www.capitalgazette.com/opinion/letters/ph-ac-ce-letters-0915-20150915-story.html

The Jamestown Sun

Letters

Trump may be right about children of undocumented immigrants

By Roland Riemers from Grand Forks Today at [September 14, 2015] 6:32 a.m.

Donald Trump has stated that babies of illegal immigrants should not be considered citizens. I believe he is right.

The current legal standard is based on the 1898 case of U.S. v. Wong. Wong was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents who were legally residents there but not U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court ruled Wong was a born U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment.

This ruling is often used as the basis for claiming anyone born here is now a citizen. But that is not what the ruling says. Under the 14th Amendment, parents have to be subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., and Wong’s parents met that requirement easily. But not so with modern “anchor babies” whose parents are not legal residents of the U.S.

So, how do we fix this? Congress is free to define wording to give effect to the constitutional provision, “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,” and has attempted to do so with the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009 and 2011, but neither bill was even discussed in Congress.

While I am not a Trump supporter, it does appear that once again Trump may be proven right while the majority are again proven wrong.

(Riemers is chairman of the North Dakota Libertarian Party.)

http://www.jamestownsun.com/letters/3838436-trump-may-be-right-about-children-undocumented-immigrants

STATESVILLE
Record & Landmark

Opinion

LETTER: Amnesty is wrong for illegal immigrants

Posted: Monday, September 14, 2015 3:03 pm

In response to “Another View” in Monday’s Statesville R&L, the “Balancing opportunity and border control," did anyone question why people are fleeing their own country to come here? Might the reason be they did not want to follow their country’s laws? Could it be they did not like being told what to do in their own country? And with that kind of attitude, not liking their own country’s laws, why would American citizens not expect them to follow the laws of United States? And that is the problem, is it not?

The article says, “Trump’s solution might sound simple, but it isn’t, and he undoubtedly knows it. So why does he say it? He says it because it resonates with a large segment of the American public.” And I believe the paper’s statement is correct. But it gets complicated when the care of their children becomes a weapon of choice by those that do not want to fight for or follow our laws. Some say the children are our future, and it takes a village to raise a child!

OK, if those children are our future, what are we teaching them when exceptions to our laws are being made? Aren’t the illegal parents, who are now responsible for their American kids, being held responsible? It becomes simple if illegal aliens become legal, through existing laws, for their American children's sake. See? Simple! Amnesty becomes a get-out-of-jail card for illegal aliens and a bad example of becoming a law-abiding American citizen.

Troy D. Reed

Mooresville

http://www.statesville.com/opinion/letter-amnesty-is-wrong-for-illegal-immigrants/article_911c3d20-5b12-11e5-898c-ef6d26b3c28d.html

The Gazette

G LETTERS:

By: Letters
Published: September 14, 2015

Immigration's environmental cost

In the discussion of immigration, the environmental cost is seldom addressed. Every year we add 1 million legal immigrants to our population. In less than five years, that is like adding another "Colorado." The impact of a million initial immigrants is misleading as they reproduce and eventually become 2 million. The number of illegal aliens in the United States is guessed at11 million. That is as great as the population of Washington and Oregon.

Our population is 320 million. The Census Bureau estimates at current immigration rates we will have 399 million by 2050. Its high estimate is 458 million. Compare these increases to just 323,000,000 with zero immigration.

So what is the environmental cost of immigration? The loss of wildlife habitat, agricultural land and open space is especially great. Every hour of every day we lose 50 acres of farm and ranch lands to development. Between 1982 and 2010, we lost 24 million acres of agricultural land to urban sprawl, highways and malls to accommodate our growing population. Increased demands for water is a serious problem difficult to solve. Pollution, carbon footprint and energy demands increase with population increases.

Few in power care about the environmental cost of immigration. The Republicans want cheap labor and associated campaign contributions. The Democrats want the votes from Third World immigrants. Environmental groups are no longer opposed to immigration for the same reason.

If we don't reduce immigration the environmental cost will be huge. We need to end the anchor baby hedge, stop 'chain immigration', secure our southern border, crack down on expired visas, and reduce legal immigration to no more than 100,000. Unless the average American rises up against our policy of massive immigration, I see no hope for the long-term quality of our environment.

Robert Hooper

Montrose

http://gazette.com/letters-intersection-needs-caution-light-questioning-proposed-student-housing/article/1559277

The Tennessean

A GANNETT COMPANY

Letters to the editor, Sept. 15: Donald Trump

11:10 p.m. CDT September 13, 2015

Readers sound off on Donald Trump's presidential run.

Trump seeks greatness

The authors of the Tennessee Voices article bashing Donald Trump on immigration were not truthful in their representation of Trump’s stance on the subject. The first sentence in the article states that “Trump and his anti-immigrant rhetoric” should be rejected by Nashvillians.

I would agree with authors Dorn, Breen and Turner if this were a true statement, but it is not.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that he loves immigrants from all countries, but immigrants to this country should obey the laws of the United States. The fact is that illegal immigrants are in this country because they broke the law.

Left-wing politicians and liberals state that we are a country of laws, but they want to pick and choose the laws they wish to enforce.

If the immigration laws that are now in place had been enforced, and our sovereign borders were secure, we would not have the massive influx of illegal immigrants, which is unfair to all citizens, especially those that played by the rules and immigrated to the United States legally.

Trump is sending a message that is resonating all across this land and it is time to “Make America Great Again."

Tom Wirth

Brentwood 37027

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/readers/2015/09/14/letters-editor-sept-donald-trump/72237472/


 


  Read more about Letters from across the country reveal the frustration of the voting public about illegal immigration

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - illegal immigration