Moonhowlings

According to the New York Times article – ‘The Road to Dystopia‘

This is a country that runs on routine amnesties. Where would the courts be without plea bargains, or state budgets without periodic tax forgiveness? Are illegal immigrants the one class of undesirables for whom common sense, proportionality, discernment, good judgment and compassion are unthinkable?

It is frightening to think that this country’s answer could be an emphatic yes.

Here you go we have routinely done amnesty. I’m not saying that it is right. And it probably does encourage more illegal immigration. But where is our (USA) culpability in this situation? Don’t we bear any responsibility for its creation? What I see happening is a country willing to blame someone else and not own up to their part of the problem.

I could NOT believe what I was reading this morning in the Washington Post, how low can we sink as a society?  Chilren, born in the U.S., will now have to prove the status of their parents.  Yes folks, not THEIR status, but their parents.  What have we come to in Virginia that children will be denied an education, not based on their merit, but based on their parents status?  What I would like to know is do all children get this requirement letter, or just the ones that have hispanic surmanes?  It isn’t that they are denied admission mind you, I guess technically they can still attend, but just have no way to pay for their education.  I am outraged, just outraged!  I am looking into who we should contact, the Govenor’s office was not helpful at all this morning.  I will follow this trail and when I find out more, will be sure to share.

“When Nelson Lopez applied to Virginia colleges this year, it never occurred to him that he might not be considered a state resident. After all, he has lived in the state since he was a baby, holds a voter registration card and will graduate this spring from an Alexandria high school.

Then last month, he got an e-mail from the University of Virginia: If he wanted to be considered an in-state student, he had to prove that his parents are in this country legally.

Lopez, 18, was born here — he’s a U.S. citizen. But his parents are illegal immigrants. ”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/13/AR2008031303674.html?hpid=topnews

The agenda for today’s Board Meeting can be found here – http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/currentagenda.pdf

From news reports that I have read they have until next Tuesday to decide on a maximum capped rate for tax assessments.  They weren’t able to agree last meeting after 4 votes.  We’ll see what transpires today.

Caught the end of it, just enough to hear Steinbeck suggest that Prince William is the ‘intolerance capital’ of the U.S., followed by Letiecq’s claim that if we address the employer part of the immigration problem then it all be fixed.  Sure, let’s implement a law that’s 20 years old that nobody has enforced.  Let’s guess what we can expect in respect to homeowners and businesses.  Businesses will have issues leading to more problems in the housing market which spreads to the greater economy.  Stop messing with our economic markets.  We should accept responsibility for not enforcing the laws for 20 years.  Where’s our responsibility in this?  Concentrate on border security and a plan to handle people that overstay their visas by   instituting comprehensive immigration reform that will address all aspects of the problem; if we keep piece mealing this we are causing ourselves economic harm.  I mean really, is HSM now suggesting to destroy the local employment market just as they did to the local housing market?  For what end?  My best guess, is that we are looking at either President McCain, President Clinton or President Obama; all of these candidates seem to suggest a path to legalization.  So just spare us any further economic damage, please!

I have found an interesting thesis that I wanted to share.  I do not necessarily subscribe to the theory of keeping illegal immigrants “illegal”, but this theory does pose some food for thought from an economic standpoint.  I will post the summary and the link so that everyone has an opportunity to read it in its entirety. 

“Immigration reform is one of the most divisive issues confronting U.S. policymakers. The rise in the number of illegal immigrants in the United States over the past ten years—from five to twelve million—has led to concerns about the effects of illegal immigration on wages and public finances, as well as the potential security threats posed by unauthorized entry into the country. In the past year alone, the governors of New Mexico and Arizona have declared a “state of emergency” over illegal immigration, and President Bush signed into law the Secure Fence Act, which authorizes the spending of $1.2 billion for the construction of a seven-hundred-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In this Council Special Report, Professor Gordon H. Hanson of the University of California, San Diego approaches immigration through the lens of economics. The results are surprising. By focusing on the economic costs and benefits of legal and illegal immigration, Professor Hanson concludes that stemming illegal immigration would likely lead to a net drain on the U.S. economy—a finding that calls into question many of the proposals to increase funding for border protection. Moreover, Hanson argues that guest worker programs now being considered by Congress fail to account for the economic incentives that drive illegal immigration, which benefits both the undocumented workers who desire to work and live in the United States and employers who want flexible, low-cost labor. Hanson makes the case that unless policymakers design a system of legal immigration that reflects the economic advantages of illegal labor, such programs will not significantly reduce illegal immigration. He concludes with guidelines crucial to any such redesign of U.S. laws and policy. In short, Professor Hanson has written a report that will challenge much of the wisdom (conventional and otherwise) on the economics behind a critical and controversial issue.”

http://www.cfr.org/publication/12969 

The process server is now trying to hunt me down, so I have to lie low, as soon as the coast is clear I’ll be back.  In the meantime, talk amoungst yourselves..

Again, this is a public safety measure without which witnesses to crimes will be reluctant to come forward.  Victims of crimes too will not report crimes in order to avoid any scrutiny into their status or conceivably their family members.  In addition to putting the general public at risk, we are also putting our first responders at risk.  Look no further than the recent case of the firefighter that was killed in the line of duty in Prince William.  From my understanding, one of the problems was the residents of the home didn’t report to the fire department that all occupants of the house were OUT.  Now imagine people hiding instead of wanting to talk to the authorities, this puts first responders, law enforcement and the general public at risk.  SB441 is imperative to continued trust and safety.  Hopefully, this one will get passed.  Otherwise, an ‘I told you so’ will be in order sometime in the not too distant future.

Update: SB441 defeated by a vote of 46 to 52.  Looks like I won’t relish saying  ’I told you so’.

Something you probably would never see, except here.  My recommendation is to read the letter below and then read Pr. William Religious Leaders Say Crackdown Is Divisive. 

The following is the letter written to our elected officials from concerned religious leaders concerning immigration :

A New Beginning: An Open Letter from Concerned Religious Leaders: January 2008

Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park are blessed with an abundance of gifted people, beautiful land, and resources that add value and significance to our common life.  We have achieved much in the development of our communities and have a rich history of creating places of potential and possibility, as we have worked together for our common good.

For the last year, local municipalities have responded to community concerns over immigration by engaging in a public conversation that, unfortunately, is dividing our community and creating an unwelcoming spirit for many seeking to make this area their new home.  The debate continues to focus on broad fears and assumptions concerning the complex issue of immigration and is made even more complex by less tangible aspects such as racial differences, community identity, and unrealistic assumptions pertaining to the reach of current immigration laws.

As people of faith we find in scripture overarching values that guide and direct the way we form our communities and live within our civil societies.  The prophet Micah speaks of a time when ‘the Lord shall be established as the highest of mountains… and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come’ (Micah 4:1-2)  And what will the Lord require, ‘but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’  (Micah 6:8).  Such a time of promise is affirmed in the Holiness Code of Israel and found in Leviticus.  ‘When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall no oppress the alien.  The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God’ (Leviticus 19:33-34)  Concern for the neighbor is affirmed in Islam, ‘seek for mankind that of which you are desirious for yourself, that you may be a believer; treat well as a neighbor the one who lives near you’ (Sunnah).  Jesus affirms the concern for the neighbor, the Holiness Code, and the Shema, ‘to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) by teaching, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And the second is like it; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets’ (Matthew 22:37-40)

As religious leaders from Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, we call upon our public servants and elected officials to work constructively to address the challenges of and complexities of immigration.  We urge our civic leaders to find new, creative ways to answer public concern with legislation that undergirds the moral fabric of our community, seeking to uphold the dignity and rights of all people while finding proactive solutions to local problems.  Such solutions might include education the public on current immigration law, housing statutes, and existing laws governing access to medical facilities and education, as well as discerning the specific needs and perspectives of the different constituent bodies.  In seeking such solutions, we willingly offer our time, energy, and ideas, so sthat the current discussion might move toward greater understanding and respect within our community.

Therefore, we members of the faith community of Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, invite our civic leaders to work collaboratively with the community to embrace our county’s diversity, maintain an equitable rule of law, and provide tangible solutions to local issues so that our shared sense of community might be restored.

When was it decided to call the ‘Immigration Resolution’ the ‘Rule of Law’ Resolution?  Obviously, this is a not so subtle attempt in their latest efforts to influence public opinion by attempting to control the words of war. Let us not not succumb to these deceptive tactics  We will continue to refer to it by its original name - the Immigration Resolution.  The spin masters can try to morph it into something else but we won’t be that gullible.

That bvbl.net claims that other people are becoming ‘unhinged’ is quite amuzing.  Guess the old adage – Takes one to know one is applicable here.

Summary
Enforcement of immigration laws; agreement with United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.  States that it is the responsibility of the Governor to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow designated state and local law-enforcement officers to perform certain federal immigration law functions in the Commonwealth. Such an agreement is often referred to as an agreement under the federal 287(g) program.

Update:  HB 623, Delegate Jackson Miller’s bill to require the Governor to enter into a statewide MOU with ICE, was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Courts Committee last night by a vote of 9-6.

According to ‘a quick admin note’ on the notorious BVBL website, they’re not able to post all of our ‘little pearls of wisdom’ because they are running up the electric bill.  So, how about I pick up the tab? That way nobody has to worry about those pesky bits and bytes and buying hard drives and computers and such as it all sounds so complicated.

Hooray, now we can have a conversation where the only comments excluded are those which are truly obscene.  Otherwise, the lines of communication will remain open!   Americans believe in our First Amendment Right to FREE SPEECH and we do not take kindly to being forceably silenced!  So for all of those those who have been disenfranchised, abused, ignored, or otherwise mistreated; please accept my invitation to join in the conversation.

Hopefully this clears things up for a few folks.