Immigration

Many of you know my passion for the illegal immigration issue that we have in United States. It affects all of us, but the crumbling California budget is evidence that California is in big trouble. What does that have to do with illegal immigration, you ask? Well, that is the focus of this blog.

The Center for Immigration Studies reported that it is estimated in the five year span between 2000 and 2005, 680,000 people came to the US illegally each year. This amounts to 3.7 million illegal immigrants in the US just between those years. That's half of the entire immigrant population in those five years. This was the highest percentage in eight decades. They estimate the total amount of illegal aliens in the U.S. to be between 9.6 and 9.8 million. This only accounts, of course, for those that actually answered the questions on the census. The report said that if the trend continued, the immigrant population within a decade, would surpass 14.7 percent which was reached in 1910 and continues to be the highest percentage to date. California's illegal population alone is estimated to be two-and-a-half million.

How does that affect you? Well, let me tell you some other statistics that The Center for Immigration Studies found.

-"Of adult immigrants, 31% have not completed high school, three-and-a-half times the rate of natives."

-"The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 29%, compared to 18% for native households."

-"Immigrants and their children account for almost one in four persons living in poverty." 63% of California's illegal immigrants and their U.S. born children live in or near poverty, and we are paying for it, as you will see later in the blog.

-"One-third of immigrants lack health insurance -- two-and-one half times the rate for natives."

-"Immigration accounts for virtually all of the national increase in public school enrollment over the last two decades." And we wonder why our schools are over-crowded and have no money. Not to mention the time it takes to bring non-English speaking children up to speed.

The study went on to say that "it is well established that illegal aliens do respond to government surveys such as the decennial census..." So, in responding to the census and other surveys put out by the government, this is what they found.

Post-1990 immigrants along with their 700,000 U.S. born children accounted for 73 percent of the growth of those without health insurance. The report then went on to say, "It is reasonable to say that the nation's health insurance crisis is, to a large extent, being driven by its immigration policy." In addition, because they do not have health insurance, they use medicaid. Even illegal immigrants can use medicaid if they have U.S. born children. They also use other parts of government funded programs, one is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). If you qualify for this program, you pay no federal income tax and receive cash assistance from the government. Think about this for a moment -- This is someone in the U.S. who has broken a law and they are receiving cash assistance!!! Whoever said crime doesn't pay didn't immigrate illegally to the U.S.

The report has tables with percentages of the immigrant population compared with the native population broken down by state for Education level and Welfare use. The percentage of immigrants without a High School degree in California is 38.9% compared to the natives at 6.6%. Immigrants in or near poverty is near 50% compared to 25% of natives. This is important when you consider the welfare use in California. 35% of immigrants use at least one major welfare program and 50% are either uninsured or on Medicaid, compared to 26% of natives. This does raise questions, "Use of welfare programs by immigrants does raise the question of why we have an immigration policy that admits so many individuals who are not self-sufficient." Australia requires that you have 1 million dollars in savings and in a certain age group (younger) in order to live there permanently. What a concept!

In California the percentage of illegal immigrants on a Welfare program is 45% and those without insurance coverage is one million eight hundred thirty-six thousand.

It is asinine for us to continue to ignore this problem. California is suffering to a large extent because the federal and state governments have their heads in the sand. Neither Governor Schwarzenegger nor the state Congress have spoken about illegal immigration playing a part of California's deficit, not once. There has been no news stories or anything. The state Congress just wants to raise taxes on those of us who have paid into the system since we began working, and for some of us, that's a long time!

We must not be silent any longer. I'll leave you to ponder a quote from one of America's greatest founding fathers, Thomas Paine in his book Common Sense written in 1776.

"As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise we use them (the next generation) meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of our duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix our station a few years farther into life; that eminence (great achievements) will present a prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from our sight."


Center for Immigration Studies

Homeland Security Secretary, Napolitano, Has it Under Control

It's good to know that our government is on top of things after 911. I mean, Janet Napolitano, said in response to the underwear bomber on Christmas, "What we are focused on is making sure that the air environment remains safe, that people are confident when they travel. And one thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. Everybody played an important role here." Doesn't that make you more confident; to know the system worked?

WAIT!! Didn't I just blog about this kid boarding an international flight without a passport! And, who exactly is she referring to when she said, "Everybody played an important role.."? Is she referring to the lawyer they have not yet interviewed regarding the wealthy man seen with the bomber shortly before he boarded? Is she referring to the Dutch filmmaker who put out the fire WITH HIS HANDS or the people who subdued the kid? I'm sorry, I thought we were supposed to stop them from getting on the plane in the first place. It sure raises my confidence in flying. Wow, what has she been smoking!? I think she and Obama should be counting their lucky stars that the whole attempt failed, or we could have, at the very least, a plane full of dead people and the eyes of the entire nation upon them.

To be fair, our Homeland Security Secretary has changed her mind and decided that the system did fail. Therefore, we were warned that stiffer security measures would be in effect at airports across the country and to expect airport security delays. So, my husband and I took that into consideration when we left on Dec. 26th for the San Jose airport for my son's flight back to school. Imagine my dismay to find out, 45 minutes before his plane was to leave the San Jose airport, that he had left his wallet with his driver's license at our cabin 2 hours away. He had no photo id, nothing with his name printed on it, zip.

What happened, you ask? Well, we told the ticket agent that he had no id. He said, no worries, we had two college kids yesterday with the same problem. Just check in with his flight number, and he'll just have extra security questions to answer.

Okay...that's it? No strip search? So, 10 minutes later, our son walks onto a plane with no photo id. Sound familiar? I guess it is done all the time.

Well, I'm sure Janet Napolitano's response was probably due to the Christmas festivities and the spiked eggnog. What was Obama's response? I'm so glad you asked! Associated Press reported on Dec. 28th that "Obama's first briefing with national security and homeland security advisers lasted LESS THAN 15 minutes. His motorcade was rolling toward the gym minutes afterward." That gives me confidence. We need our President to keep up his workouts. Besides, it was Christmas after all. The Associated Press reported that Monday, however, was a different matter, he made sure to address the American people regarding this serious matter AFTER his workout and tennis game with his wife. Of course, he went golfing immediately after his address. I'm sure happy someone is taking this seriously! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091228/ap_on_re_us/us_airliner_attack

Underwear Bomber Boards Plane with NO Passport

How is it, after 911, that anyone is able to board an international flight without a passport? Epecially planes coming into the U.S. It is unthinkable! According to an eyewitness, that is exactly what happened on flight 254. Apparently, the story is that a Chicago lawyer was waiting with his wife to board flight 254. He saw two people go to the flight counter, a very nicely dressed man with an American accent who looked Indian or Pakistani and a young poorly dressed black kid. It intrigued the lawyer that these two unlikely people were together. The nicely dressed man said that the black man needed to board the plane, but didn't have a passport. The desk clerk said, he couldn't without a passport. Then, the wealthy man said that the kid was from Sudan and it happens all the time. So the ticket agent tells him to go see the manager down the hallway. So, they went down the hallway. Amazingly, the kid ends up on the plane and then on fire, and finally in handcuffs!

The only governmental agency that has interviewed this lawyer is the FBI. The question that the lawyer wants answered is why hasn't the wealthy guy been identified? They have a video of him at the counter. I would think that he's the one we really want, not this kid from Sudan.

What do you think? Read the full interview at the link below.


Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Glenn Beck: On board with Flight 253