Religious Leaders Host Press Conference Opposing Anti Immigrant Legislation in the U.S. Senate

Interfaith Statement IN SUPPORT of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The more I read about Immigration Reform, the more I am convinced of the solution.

"each day in our congregations, service programs, health-care facilities, and schools we witness the human consequences of an outmoded system."

Yes, I have no doubt they have witnessed the outcome of entering the US of A illegally, without papers, without the legal right to be here. Which leads too...

"the suffering of immigrant families who have lost loved ones to death in the desert or immigrants themselves who have experienced exploitation in the workplace or abuse at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers and others."

What everyone must comprehend about life is this: Consequences arise from within our choices.

Travel without the legal right and legal papers to travel and yes, you WILL be exploited, you WILL suffer abuse at the hands of smugglers (and employers) and possible death in the deserts. After all - you ARE traveling illegally, thereby placing yourself amongst those who will exploit, abuse and potentially kill you. For you are moving on the wrong side of the law.

IF the effort being expended by individuals and groups were redirected towards the source of the problem rather than at the results of the problem, immigration reform would be a far less volatile issue.

Fix the problems at home - don't run away from them, leaving the problems to those you left behind. For example - Mexico. Canada borders the United States - but Canadians (from my observations) appear to live a much better overall life than do Mexico's citizens. Why? Both border the US, both have NAFTA. What's wrong with Mexico that Mexicans do not want to fix?

Why is it easier to cross the border illegally than to gather together in Mexico, discuss the problems and decide upon a path and solution which will fix those problems? Corruption? Bad politicians? What? If the millions who have crossed into the US illegally and sent billions of dollars back to Mexico have not gone home to 'fix the problem', who are we to care?

I'm not being heartless here, I'm just pointing out those who have left do not want to go home. They send their money home in place of their returning home. If there are millions here illegally, and those millions were to go home and demand, then work for change - maybe, just maybe Mexicans and others of all nationalities would do the same - work for change.

Then maybe they'd find a whole lot of people from around the world would want to come live in their nation. What do you think?

"We call upon our elected officials to enact legislation that includes the following:

• An opportunity for hard-working immigrants who are already contributing to this country to come out of the shadows, regularize their status upon satisfaction of reasonable criteria and, over time, pursue an option to become lawful permanent residents and eventually United States citizens;
• Reforms in our family-based immigration system to significantly reduce waiting times for separated families who currently wait many years to be reunited;
• The creation of legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to migrate to the U.S. to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner with their rights fully protected; and
• Border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the authorities to carry out the critical task of identifying and preventing entry of terrorists and dangerous criminals, as well as pursuing the legitimate task of implementing American immigration policy."

I disagree with allowing individuals to "come out of the shadows, regularize their status upon satisfaction of reasonable criteria and, over time, pursue an option to become lawful permanent residents and eventually United States citizens."

Ask the millions who came here legally - was it easy? Heck no it isn't easy! NOTHING worth having, nothing worth achieving is ever easy! Immigration reform should NOT reward lawbreakers by granting them blanket amnesty. Document them, get all their particulars, then return them to their home nation or to any other nation of their choosing. Let us see how many nations on earth will accept them without the proper documentation.

Jokingly, a thought scenario:

"US Air Force Starlifters flew over Paris, France today, delivering the first of many injections of new citizens by parachute. Air Force officials declared the operation a success.

Said Maj. General Bo Schmidt, "I must admit I was against it at first - because of the paradrop - but once we developed the proper delivery system, and we could be sure of a 99.9% survival rate, well... I got 50 more Starlifters booked solid by folks who always wanted to live in Paris and that's just since this morning!"

Parisians were at first dismayed but then became excited over the influx of new cultural influences. One Parisian spokesperson said, "Well, they will have to learn French - we're very strict about our language. But otherwise, we welcome our new citizens with open fingers."

This was the quote - later review of the quote indicates the Parisian spokesperson meant to say, "open arms".

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US Immigration Reform - A Fresh Idea

Lots of chatter out there regarding upcoming US Immigration Reform (USIR). Here's my two cents.

I suggest any type of USIR must have a new, mandatory requirement and here it is:

Every individual or organization initiating the process to bring foreign workers into the USA (and its possessions) MUST post the position, the position's KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) requirements, as well as additional employment-related datum on the US Federal Foreign Worker Request database."

Of course, the USFFWR does not currently exist - but the framework does exist. Its called USAJOBS. The structure of the existing software would easily adapt to become this new job database, USFFWR.

American citizens (taxpayers) would visit the new USFFWR jobsite for many reasons. First and foremost are the available jobs. Not only could US citizens apply for these jobs, but US citizens would know, without a doubt, what employment opportunities were going to foreign nationals and who was hiring them.

There could be no objection by individuals/organizations requesting foreign workers - after all, if its an immigration law, they must comply - right? In reality, it would serve those seeking to hire foreign workers if they could find US citizens (AND Legal Permanent Residents or LPR) skilled and available.

The mandatory time a position would need to be posted open/available would be a minimum of 30 days - but 45 days might be a better minimum. Meaning, XX days must pass before the submitting organization could proceed with hiring a foreign worker.

Applications submitted to these open positions would be tracked to determine if the posting organization followed through. It could be a simple matter of matching applicant KSA to the opening's KSA requirements. If 500 applicants applied but none were hired - that would be a red flag and an investigation would be required.

If a posted opening was not filled by a US Citizen (or LPR) within XX days, its status would change from "open/available" to "paperwork pending". At that point, the US Gov't paperwork process would begin, a process which would ultimately result in allowing foreign workers into the US to fill the position.

And no funny stuff here either - each opening would require its own, separate posting. For example: Corporation XYZ has a need for 30 employees for short-term agricultural work at $9.00 an hour. Corporation XYZ must post 30 openings to the USFFWR database.

The use of a USFFWR database would enhance the US Govt's efforts in processing requests for foreign workers. Every US Citizen would have the ability to apply for the positions and would know what individuals/corporations within the US were seeking foreign workers.

IMHO such a database is needed - and should be mandatory to any US Immigration Reform being drafted. Think about it - and post your comments.

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USAID - Possible Violations of US FTO Laws?

"Since 1993,Palestinians have received more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance via USAID projects - more than from any other donor country."

Wow - that's a whole lot of US dollars going into a region filled with people who see the USA as The Great Infidel, practically Satan incarnate. My fellow US taxpayers - what have we reaped from this huge committment of cash into the PA (Palestinian Authority but also think of it as the Palestinian Adventure)?

"Since September 2000, the beginning of the current Intifada, the Palestinian economy has deteriorated sharply. Real GDP per capita has fallen by almost 40% and unemployment has almost tripled, reaching 29% in mid-2004. Nearly 26% of the unemployed come from the public sector." ref

The more money we tossed into the great PA, the worse things got?

Say it ain't so, boss - say it ain't so! Aren't large sums of money supposed to fix nearly any problem? Some may think so - and will work very hard to convince you its true - but it ain't true folks, sorry - it just ain't true.

Growing Bean Counters leads to Backing Loans

What's one of USAID's achievements, one it personally ranks as a 'mentionable' result in its expenditure of these funds, in its efforts to "Expand Private Sector Enterprise"?

"Published first ever Arabic language edition of international standards on auditing and ethics for CPAs. More than 50% of the Palestinian accountants now use international
standards, compared to 10% when USAID initiated its Accounting and Auditing program." ref

WOW - more than 50% of Palestinian accountants NOW know how to book their USAID dollars (and Eurodollars) into their General Ledger! Why this is a superb success story - isn't it? Fully more than 50% (which could be 50.001%) now know how to book their assets, liabilities, equity and... But why is accounting to international standards important?

"The West Bank and Gaza received its first ever US government non-sovereign country risk assessment, which should enable USAID to develop a loan guarantee program to benefit the private sector." ref

Aha! Now USAID is hoping to develop a LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM to BENEFIT the PALESTINIAN PRIVATE SECTOR! Now that's quite an achievement, don't you agree? It isn't enough to give $1.7 BILLION dollars of US tax dollars since 1993; NOW we're preparing to create a program whereby we (or more accurately, the goverment of) the US of A will GUARANTEE loans to the 'Palestinian' Private Sector!

Isn't it the purpose (and possibly the role) of The World Bank to guarantee loans to the Palestinian Private Sector? Sounds like it to me:

"Our mission is to help developing countries and their people reach the goals by working with our partners to alleviate poverty. To do that we concentrate on building the climate for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, so that economies will grow, and by investing in and empowering poor people to participate in development. ref

As a citizen of the US, how do you feel about $1.7 BILLION dollars of YOUR tax money (since 1993 - and unadjusted for inflation afaik) POURING into the coffers of the PA?

Fellow US citizens - wouldn't those dollars be better spent INSIDE the US of A, as seed money for US taxpayers in need of loans to start businesses, buy homes, perhaps even to reduce the burdeon of Medicare? Or perhaps - dare I suggest - for Homeland Defense, maybe guarding the US BORDERS?

But wait - just like a bad movie - there's more! Argh!

USAID - Possible Violation of US Law by Funding Terrorist Organizations?

By now I'm sure you are aware that Hamas (ranked number 12 in the Current List of Designated Foreign Terroist Organizations by the US State Department) heads up the new 'Palestinian' goverment with 74 seats. But did you know:

"It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization)." ref

Hmm.

Read the Fact Sheet linked to by the above reference, then read it again. You may possibly find yourself asking the following question: "How does USAID slip by; how do they get around US law and statutes?"

Let's read through the legalese (following emphasis mine) from the reference page to see if there is a loophole:

"The term 'material support or resources' is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1)as any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself) and transportation, except medicine or religious materials." ref

My - that is a very broad sword of legalese, isn't it? Yup - it sure is - and as it should be; we ARE talking about FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organizations) here. But what is important to us I marked up in bold.

By the simplest of readings, it is quite possible USAID is in violations of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1). I don't see any exceptions there, do you? Let's read on - to further clarify the legal issue at hand!

"18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(2) provides that for these purposes the term 'training' means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge."ref

"Instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill" - you mean teaching them how to be accountants, using International Standards, so they can become astute at moving their money around and 'cooking' their books? But just so we're all clear about this:

"18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(3) further provides that for these purposes the term 'expert advice or assistance' means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge." ref

My, my... If we dug into everything USAID has done/taught/provided for Palestinians would we find their actions violated these laws/statutes/definitions? Surely there is a Senator, Representative or Subcomittee who can dig into this - right?

My Humble Opinion: The flow of ALL money FROM ANY US government agency OR ANY agency outside the US government which receives US government dollars in ANY method or manner TO ANY Palestinian destination must STOP - and stop NOW. The process violates US law.

My Second Humble Opinion: Investigative actions by agencies outside the control and domain of USAID or any involved government parties MUST determine if agents (employees/representatives/staff/etc) of, or within USAID violated US law/statutes KNOWINGLY.

Folks - this really needs to see the light of day. Why?

"PALESTINIAN gunmen attacked offices with ties to the US and Britain in protest today over an Israeli raid at a West Bank prison." And "...We don't want to see any Americans here," one of the (Palestinian) gunmen shouted when Palestinian police arrived... ref

No Americans here - just American Dollars.

And finally - there is this...

"Researchers to Report That Arab Population Figures in West Bank and Gaza Are Dramatically Overestimated as House International Relations Subcommittee Reconsiders US Aid to Palestinian Authority" ref

Whoo-hoo! It keeps getting better, doesn't it? Why would the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (is it coincidental they chose CBS as part of their moniker?) overestimate their population numbers?

"US tax dollars and other international humanitarian aid have been based on inflated population numbers which have been accepted without question by government and aid agencies. The researchers pointed out that money has been spent to help Palestinians who were double-counted, never born, or not present in the West Bank and Gaza." ref

Apparently - the Palestinians already know how to account better than those handing out the money.

What a great return on our $1.7 BILLION DOLLAR investment.

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