OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm

I believe Harry Reid has made immigration reform a priority this year. I recently read an article that looks promising--despite my many differences with Reid, so far his plans for immigration reform seem to be pretty reasonable, as the details the media picked up include BOTH a fair path to citizenship AND increased border security and clampdowns on businesses with illegal hiring practices. I share your hope that something actually gets done and fast...and that it does turn out to be a bipartisan effort that ends up with a fair and balanced result that is fair both to the poor, hardworking folks who wish to come here AND to those who are already American citizens and voters.

CHEERS amx.

Illegal immigration laws MUST be enforced!

We don't need immigration reform - WE NEED TO ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW!! For over 3 decades we have been ignoring the immigration laws enacted by Congress and now The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi says it is unAmerican to enforce our immigration laws. Isn't that inciting insurrection and the breaking of our immigration laws? Isn't this illegal? It's this a violation of the oath Speaker Pelosi took to uphold the Constitution and our laws? Speaker Pelosi should resign or be impeached. IT IS UNAMERICAN NOT TO ENFORCE OUR LAWS AND IT IS ILLEGAL!!

I wish I could trust Harry Reid, that he is actually working on a bipartisan immigration reform that includes mandatory citizenship and securing our borders. Not one piece of legislation in 2009 has actually been bipartisan and this is due to Pelosi & Reid not including Republicans in the legislation process, shutting them out in closed door meetings, stopping debates, demanding cloture & vote before adequate time to actually read the bills they are voting on. Pelosi & Reid have been wheedling their power over the Republicans in Congress with absolute "NO" bipartisan effort what-so-ever. Obama, Pelosi & Reid want AMNESTY to exploit illegal immigrants for their votes and that's the bottom line. IT'S ALL ABOUT VOTES NOT THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND THIS IS WHY OBAMA WANTS ACORN, WHO IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE F.B.I. FOR MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD IN 14 STATES, TO COUNT ILLEGALS IN THE 2010 CENSUS. IF ACORN IS ALLOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2010 CENSUS, THE 2010 CENSUS WILL BE CONTAMINATED AND DEFRAUDED IN THE FAVOR OF THE DEMO PARTY. THIS IS DISCRIMINATION AND IT'S ILLEGAL!!!!!

They need to enforce the existing immigration laws. And they need to change the preferences on immigration from third world countries who have nothing in common with our culture or religion back to european countries that do.

@ Sallietoo,

This is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue. There are Republicans in the congress and senate who want to reform immigration and give these people a path way to citizenship. By the same token I can assure you that the business owners and corporate people who employ undocumented labor overwhelmingly vote Republican. This does not make it right, but it's simply not a single party issue.

Your comment is exactly the effect conservative and liberal media extremists cause. You want to see this as an "us versus them" issue when there are people from both political parities and many different ethnicities who are on either side of the issue. You mention that Democrats are not bi-partisan, but fail to recognize that Republicans themselves acted in the exact same way when Bush was in power and Republicans controlled the House and Senate. Also, I am not sure how much Republicans are willing to vote with Democrats when they continue to vote "no" on every piece of legislation submitted to them.

But again, when you start pointing the finger at other people you fail to recognize the real issue.

This is not about "us versus them."

I understand the frustration that many feel (on all sides) and that the first impulse is to say: "well they're here illegally, let's just 'round them up and send them back'..." But it's a lot more complicated than that; and if you're not willing to entertain the idea of multifaceted solutions you will not be content with the outcome because no single side will triumph over the other completely.

But Juan what is there to consider? Well, Sallieto for starters as you mentioned there have been 3 decades of neglect by our government on the issue of illegal immigration. This means that for 3 decades these people have been living in the US, working, having kids and carrying on their daily activities. If their children were born here, per US Constitution they are American Citizens. If their parents are picked up by border patrol their children are not obligated to leave. This has torn hundreds (maybe thousands no one knows) of families apart because parents will leave their children here with relatives knowing that they have a better future here than in their country of origin.

Many young adults/teenagers who were brought here illegally as children do not know of any other life outside the US. They do not identify with their "country of origin," many do not even speak another language besides English. For all intents and purposes they walk, talk and act like "Americans." It would be like telling your 21 year old daughter that everything she grew up knowing about America was a lie, and that she was not American, she is in fact Chinese and would be deported to "her country" even though that culture is completely foreign to her and she does not speak a word of Mandarin.

Too much time has gone by; many of these people have already Americanized; specially the ones brought here as children.

But Juan they don't even pay taxes aren't they a drain on society? Not entirely accurate. Our very own US of A gives undocumented immigrants a tax ID number called an ITIN. This is a number that allows undocumented immigrants to pay Federal, State, Local and Social Security tax. The catch is that they can not collect any of the services they pay into. The US government collects billions of unclaimed revenue from the taxes of undocumented immigrants (ask your congressman or senator).

But Juan why would an undocumented do this freely? Well, let's put things in perspective; regardless of what extremists say, undocumented immigrants want the same thing "undocumented immigrants" who landed at Ellis Island wanted; to provide a better future for their families and be part of the American dream. They are not here to rob, steal, pillage and rape like loud-mouth extremists tell us. Besides, when the time comes to find a pathway to citizenship this is the only way they can prove their length of stay here and show to the immigrations judge they did their best to lead honest respectable lives while in the US.

What about the burden hospitals have to bear? This is true. Hospitals are required to provide Emergency care to any one who needs it. It's a humanitarian principle. Hospitals are not required to provide Preventive care. The problem is that undocumented immigrants who can not afford to get preventive care (check ups) self prescribe themselves at home. If the illness happens to worsen and turn into an Emergency then they will go to the hospital. The irony here is that it would be much cheaper for the hospital to provide preventive care to undocumented than to treat them once an illness festers into an emergency.

What about their children and schools? I don't see why anyone would have a problem with teaching children. This is the best way to teach them US history, English and the civics of being an American. Besides, the question begs, would we rather have them on the streets or in school? Children are easily Americanized because by nature they have a steep learning curve. Like I mentioned earlier, children of immigrants are a lot more Americanized than most people think. They think of themselves as Americans. I know people who have been turned down to serve in the military because they do not have a valid social. They want to be Americans.

Sallietoo & Bellevuedan; I know this is a sensitive issue. Mass deportation would not work though. Yes there are some bad apples, yes there are some with criminal records; why not send those back and keep the ones who have demonstrated to pay taxes and stay out of trouble? Why not create a criteria that allows the ones who have live here over a certain time to remain here but sends the ones who have little time here back to their countries?

We can not continue to acknowledge knee-jerk reaction attitudes promoted by extremist media outlets. They do not benefit anyone because the problem no longer has one simple solution. Too much time has elapsed for that to be the case.

True Juan, both Democrats and Republicans have exploited the minorities and illegals for their VOTES. Now Juan you are probably going to say that illegals cannot vote. That's right illegals are not suppose to legally vote in U.S. elections. But they do thanks to ACORN who is under federal investigation by the F.B.I. for massive voter fraud in 14 states during the 2008 State & Federal elections for ACORN's purely partisan involvement that favors only Democrat candidates. I wonder how many legal votes Obama actually received in the 2008 Presidential Election??? It's simple mathematics Juan. Approximately 27% of the nations population represents Hispanic & Latinos. It is estimated there are 12-20 million illegals in the U.S. Whichever party wins these votes will have the majority. The losers will be the natural born citizens of the U.S. and legal immigrants that obeyed the immigration laws to become American citizens if illegals are given a free pass to Amnesty. WE SHOULD NEVER NEVER REWARD THOSE THAT BREAK OUR LAWS IF WE DO WE ARE PROMOTING LAWLESSNESS. I might add Juan, some illegals ARE here to rob, steal, pillage and rape because they are criminals. It is estimated that 1,806 and 2,510 people in the U.S. are murdered annually by illegal aliens or 11-15 percent of all murders in the U.S. In one study of a sample 55,000 illegal immigrants serving prison sentences in the U.S., it was discovered that they are responsible for over 400,000 arrests and over 700,000 felony crimes.

According to Heather McDonald of the Manhattan Institute, 95 percent of all outstanding warrants for homicide (which total 1,200 to 1,500) are for illegal aliens. Up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants (17,000) are for illegal aliens. It is estimated that 13 people are killed in the U.S. everyday by illegal alien uninsured drunk drivers. Our young women like Chandra Levy and police officers like 11 year veteran sheriff's deputy Sean Pierce are victims murdered by illegals everyday in this nation. Approximately 21% of our prison's population are illegal aliens at the expense of the taxpayers. Illegals are steeling American jobs at a time when Americans need them the most. Business in American cities like Aspen knowingly break laws by hiring illegals numbering 6,000 in the Roaring Fork Valley. Over 80 percent of their schools house children of illegal aliens - paid for by Colorado taxpayers at an added $564.1 million annually across the state. Could this be why Colorado is facing a 604 million dollar budget deficit for 2009. Illegal aliens cost Americans far more than they contribute. Juan, you stated that some illegals pay Federal, State, Local and Social Security tax but can not collect any of the services they pay into. This is a completely false statement as illegals are afforded free medical, welfare, unemployment, social security, education all at the taxpayers expense. Illegals in sanctuary cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles etc...are afforded the same rights as American Citizens and California is going broke paying for services to illegals. So you see Juan where ignoring our immigration laws have gotten us. We simply can't afford to ignore our immigration laws any long and those that have knowingly broken our laws cannot be given a free pass to Amnesty. Our government has caused this problem and our government has to solve it but Amnesty is NOT the solution Americans want.

@Sallietoo.

I'm sorry you have such ingrained partisan viewpoints. Attempting to resolve social issues strictly through partisan lenses rarely yields any positive (or fair) results; nor does it gain any meaningful traction.

Are you familiar with the concept of "lying through statistics?" Media extremists (on both sides) use this tactic a lot to justify some times jaded points of views. For example: I could have a 'tit for tat' debate with you on how White Supremacist groups are local terrorists who are more detrimental to the US than undocumented immigrants who come here to work and lead productive lives -and I could back it up with "data" too. But this would be missing the point.

The point is that we have a civic responsibility to analyze the problem beyond the usual demagogues, stereotypes and over generalizations that are shoved down our through on a daily basis.

If you are so infatuated with conspiracy theories about electoral fraud perhaps you should begin a new comment thread; this one is about Immigration Reform.

Here's a suggestion for your new thread; perhaps you should start with the 2000 Presidential election between Bush and Gore. There, thousands of black Floridian voters were illegally disenfranchised effectively giving the election to George Bush... or are you only interested in electoral fraud when it affects the Republican party?

I hope someday you will be able to see past partisan politics and decide issues based on merits and not on whether they benefit one party or the other.

Good luck.

Juan, shifting the blame and looking in the rear view mirror is not going to work, I'm on to that Demo strategy, doesn't work. THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH!! AS FAR AS IMMIGRATION GOES THIS COUNTRY IS A DISASTER AS WELL AS CALIFORNIA BECAUSE OUR GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO SECURE AND CLOSE OUR BORDERS AND ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. WHY DIDN'T THE GOVERNMENT NOT CLOSE OUR BORDERS? FOR VOTES!! THE HISPANICS, LATINOS & ILLEGALS AS WELL AS THE OTHER MINORITIES ARE BEING EXPLOITED FOR THEIR VOTES! SOME OF THE REPUBLICANS & MOST OF THE DEMOS IN CONGRESS (FOR SURE OVER 70 THAT BELONG TO THE DSA) DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU OR ME FOR THAT MATTER, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES & THEIR IDEOLOGY BASED POLICIES. THE STIMULUS BILL, OMNIBUS BILL & BUDGET BILL ALLOCATED MILLIONS & BILLIONS TO THEMSELVES, THE MAJORITY DEMO CONGRESS, THEIR LOBBYIST & CAMPAIGN DONORS I.E. GE, AIG, FANNY MAE & FREDDY MAC, ACORN, WALL STREET, BANK OF AMERICAN AND OTHER BANKS. EVERY SINGLE CORPORATION THAT RECEIVED BAIL OUT $$$ WAS A BIG OBAMA/DEMO CAMPAIGN DONOR. CHRYSLER CORPORATION DONATED TO THE REPUBLICANS AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. I AM NOT PARTISAN, I AM SICK OF THE 2 PARTY FIGHT. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED THEY ARE ALL SELFISH,IMMATURE ADULTS THAT SHOULD BE ACTING RESPONSIBLY AND ACTUALLY REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND NOT THEIR ON SELF INTERESTS. THE WAY I SEE IT THE ONLY WAY TO CLEAN OUT THE HORRIBLY CORRUPTED CONGRESS IS TO RE ELECT NO ONE IN 2010 & 2012 AND ENFORCE OUR OWN TERM LIMITS (because you know Congress won't vote for it) 3 TERMS AND YOUR OUT!! THIS WILL GREATLY REDUCE CORRUPTION IN CONGRESS, END THE LOBBYIST'S LEGISLATION POWER, AND FORCE CONGRESS TO LISTEN & REPRESENT WE THE PEOPLE. THE WAY CONGRESS IS SUPPOSE TO GOVERN IN THE 1ST PLACE. WE THE PEOPLE SHOULD ALL REGISTER WITH THE INDEPENDENT TO SCARE THE C.R.A.P. OUT OF THEM AND END THIS 2 PARTY DEBACLE. BOTTOM LINE JUAN, AMERICANS NEED TO VOTE FOR THE PERSON NOT THE PARTY AND WE WERE ALL DECEIVED BY OBAMA BECAUSE THIS WAS NOT THE CHANGE AMERICANS WANTED. AMERICANS DO NOT WANT NOR DESIRE A SOCIALIST REPUBLIC. ANY AMERICANS THAT DO, SHOULD MOVE TO A SOCIALIST COUNTRY LIKE VENEZUELA, CUBA, IRAN, CHINA, N. KOREA. SEE A TREND HERE JUAN? THE SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST DICTATOR RAN COUNTRIES ARE NOT OUR ALLIES NOR OUR FRIENDS SO WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD AMERICANS WANT AN OLIGARCHY GOVERNMENT?? Another thing, the lying statistics you mentions, THOSE STATISTICS WERE BASED ON THE MURDER, RAPE & PILLAGE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS - CHILDREN, WOMEN, MEN, PEOPLE LIKE ME AND YOU - NOT STATISTICS!! THOSE AMERICAN CITIZENS HAD NAMES & FAMILIES THAT LOVES THEM AND THEY WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF OUR BORDERS WERE SECURED AND CRIMINAL ILLEGALS NOR TERRORIST WERE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER, WALK OR DRIVE OVER OUR BORDERS. NO AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS WHO HAVE VIOLATED OUR IMMIGRATIONS LAWS. ALL ILLEGALS NEED TO BE REGISTERED AND GO THROUGH THE CITIZENSHIP PROCESS IF THEY WANT TO LIVE IN AMERICAN. ALL CRIMINAL ILLEGALS SHOULD BE DEPORTED TO THE NEAREST MEXICAN JAIL NOT AMERICAN PRISONS BURDENING THE TAXPAYERS TO PAY FOR THEIR ROOM & BOARD. ILLEGALS DO NOT HAVE AMERICAN CITIZEN RIGHTS UNTIL THEY BECOME AMERICAN CITIZENS. THIS WAY ILLEGALS WILL ACTUALLY HAVE INCENTIVE TO BECOME AMERICAN CITIZENS AND LEARN ENGLISH - THE 1st LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE KIDS KNOW HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH BECAUSE WE TAUGHT THEM IN OUR SCHOOLS.

FUTHERMORE, ACORN'S MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD IS NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY. IF IT WAS THEY WOULD NOT BE UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION BY THE F.B.I. FOR VOTER FRAUD IN 2008 IN 14 STATES. ACORN'S VOTER FRAUD IS A FACT JUAN NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY:

State Year Details

AR 1998 A contractor with ACORN-affiliated Project Vote was arrested for falsifying about 400 voter registration cards.

CO 2005 Two ex-ACORN employees were convicted in Denver of perjury for submitting false voter registrations.

CO 2004 An ACORN employee admitted to forging signatures and registering three of her friends to vote 40 times.

CT 2008 The New York Post reported that ACORN submitted a voter registration card for a 7-year-old Bridgeport girl. Another 8,000 cards from the same city will be scrutinized for possible fraud.

FL 2008 Election officials in Brevard County have given prosecutors more than 23 suspect registrations from ACORN. The state's Division of Elections is also investigating complaints in Orange and Broward Counties.

FL 2004 A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesman said ACORN was “singled out” among suspected voter registration groups for a 2004 wage initiative because it was “the common thread” in the agency’s fraud investigations.

IN 2008 Election officials in Indiana have thrown out more than 4,000 ACORN-submitted voter registrations after finding they had identical handwriting and included the names of many deceased Indianans, and even the name of a fast food restaurant.

MI 2008 Clerks in Detroit found a "sizeable number of duplicate and fraudulent [voter] applications" from the Michigan branch of ACORN. Those applications have been turned over to the U.S. Attorney's office for investigation.

MI 2004 The Detroit Free Press reported that “overzealous or unscrupulous campaign workers in several Michigan counties are under investigation for voter-registration fraud, suspected of attempting to register nonexistent people or forging applications for already-registered voters.” ACORN-affiliate Project Vote was one of two groups suspected of turning in the documents.

MO 2008 Nearly 400 ACORN-submitted registrations in Kansas City have been rejected due to duplication or fake information.

MO 2007 Four ACORN employees were indicted in Kansas City for charges including identity theft and filing false registrations during the 2006 election.

MO 2006 Eight ACORN employees in St. Louis were indicted on federal election fraud charges. Each of the eight faces up to five years in prison for forging signatures and submitting false information.

MO 2003 Of 5,379 voter registration cards ACORN submitted in St. Louis, only 2,013 of those appeared to be valid. At least 1,000 are believed to be attempts to register voters illegally.

MN 2004 During a traffic stop, police found more than 300 voter registration cards in the trunk of a former ACORN employee, who had violated a legal requirements that registration cards be submitted to the Secretary of State within 10 days of being filled out and signed.

NC 2008 County elections officials have sent suspicious voter registration applications to the state Board of Elections. Many of the applications had similar or identical names, but with different addresses or dates of birth.

NC 2004 North Carolina officials investigated ACORN for submitting fake voter registration cards.

NM 2008 Prosecutors are investigating more than 1,100 ACORN-submitted voter registration cards after a county clerk found them to be fraudulent. Many of the cards included duplicate names and slightly altered personal information.

NM 2005 Four ACORN employees submitted as many as 3,000 potentially fraudulent signatures on the group’s Albuquerque ballot initiative. A local sheriff added: “It’s safe to say the forgery was widespread.”

NM 2004 An ACORN employee registered a 13-year-old boy to vote. Citing this and other examples, New Mexico State Representative Joe Thompson stated that ACORN was “manufacturing voters” throughout New Mexico.

NV 2009 Nevada authorities indicted ACORN on 26 counts of voter registration fraud and 13 counts of illegally compensating canvassers. ACORN provided a bonus compensation program called “Blackjack” or “21+” for any canvasser who registered more than 20 voters per shift, which is illegal under Nevada law.

NV 2008 Nevada state authorities raided ACORN's Las Vegas headquarters as part of a task force investigation of election fraud. Fraudulent registrations included players from the Dallas Cowboys.

OH 2008 ACORN activists gave Ohio residents cash and cigarettes in exchange for filling out voter registration card, according to the New York Post. Some voters claim to have registered dozens of times, and one man says he signed up on 72 cards.

OH 2007 A man in Reynoldsburg was indicted on two felony counts of illegal voting and false registration, after being registered by ACORN to vote in two separate counties.

OH 2004 A grand jury indicted a Columbus ACORN worker for submitting a false signature and false voter registration form. In Franklin County, two ACORN workers submitted what the director of the board of election supervisors called “blatantly false” forms. In Cuyahoga County, ACORN and its affiliate Project Vote submitted registration cards that had the highest rate of errors for any voter registration group.

PA 2009 Seven ACORN workers in the Pittsburgh area were indicted for submitting falsified voter registration forms. Six of the seven were also indicted for registering voters under an illegal quota system.

PA 2008 State election officials have thrown out 57,435 voter registrations, the majority of which were submitted by ACORN. The registrations were thrown out after officials found "clearly fraudulent" signatures, vacant lots listed as addresses, and other signs of fraud.

PA 2008 An ACORN employee in West Reading, PA, was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison for identity theft and tampering with records. A second ACORN worker pleaded not guilty to the same charges and is free on $10,000 bail.

PA 2004 Reading’s Director of Elections received calls from numerous individuals complaining that ACORN employees deliberately put inaccurate information on their voter registration forms. The Berks County director of elections said voter fraud was “absolutely out of hand,” and added: “Not only do we have unintentional duplication of voter registration but we have blatant duplicate voter registrations.” The Berks County deputy director of elections added that ACORN was under investigation by the Department of Justice.

TX 2008 In Harris County, nearly 10,000 ACORN-submitted registrations were found to be invalid, including many with clearly fraudulent addresses or other personal information.

TX 2008 ACORN turned in the voter registration form of David Young, who told reporters “The signature is not my signature. It’s not even close.” His social security number and date of birth were also incorrect.

VA 2005 In 2005, the Virginia State Board of Elections admonished Project Vote and ACORN for turning in a significant number of faulty voter registrations. An audit revealed that 83% of sampled registrations that were rejected for carrying false or questionable information were submitted by Project Vote. Many of these registrations carried social security numbers that exist for other people, listed non-existent or commercial addresses, or were for convicted felons in violation of state and federal election law.

In a letter to ACORN, the State Board of Elections reported that 56% of the voter registration applications ACORN turned in were ineligible. Further, a full 35% were not submitted in a timely manner, as required by law. The State Board of Elections also commented on what appeared to be evidence of intentional voter fraud. "Additionally,” they wrote, “information appears to have been altered on some applications where information given by the applicant in one color ink has been scratched through and re-entered in another color ink. Any alteration of a voter registration application is a Class 5 Felony in accordance with § 24.2-1009 of the Code of Virginia."

WA 2007 Three ACORN employees pleaded guilty, and four more were charged, in the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington state history. More than 2,000 fraudulent voter registration cards were submitted by the group during a voter registration drive.

WI 2008 At least 33,000 ACORN-submitted registrations in Milwaukee have been called into question after it was found that the organizations had been using felons as registration workers, in violation of state election rules. Two people involved in the ongoing Wisconsin voter fraud investigation have been charged with felonies.

WI 2004 The district attorney’s office investigated seven voter registration applications Project Vote employees filed in the names of people who said the group never contacted them. Former Project Vote employee Robert Marquise Blakely told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he had not met with any of the people whose voter registration applications he signed, “an apparent violation of state law,” according to the paper.

THE QUESTIONS THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED TO BE ASKING ABOUT ACORN IS - WHY IS ACORN RECEIVING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO PARTICIPATE IN PURELY PARTISAN VOTING & ELECTION ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS COUNT ILLEGALS IN THE 2010 CENSUS???????????

WHY HAS ACORN GOTTEN AWAY WITH VOTING FRAUD INDICTMENTS AND CONVICTIONS SINCE 1998 WITHOUT LOSING THEIR RIGHTS TO VOTE AND PARTICIPATE IN OUR FREE ELECTIONS. VOTING FRAUD IS A FELONY AND FELONS DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN OUR FREE ELECTIONS UNLESS YOU ARE ACORN.

THIS DOES NOT EVEN ADDRESS ACORN'S COMPLICITY IN THE CRIMINAL SUB PRIME/NINJA MORTGAGE DEBACLE THAT CAUSED THE MELT DOWN CRISIS IN OUR ECONOMY. ACORN SHOULD BE INDICTED ALONG WITH CONGRESSMEN FRANK, DOBBS, WALTERS, MEEKS, DAVIS, RANGLE, PRESIDENT OBAMA as well as others that legislated and fought to keep mortgages deregulated as well as pad their pockets with Fanny Mae & Freedy Mac, Bank of American, Citigroup kickbacks/campaign donations from the horrific interest & fees charged to poor, minorities and those Americans with less than perfect credit for predatory mortgage loans who millions and millions eventually lost the homes in foreclosure. Once again the poor, minorities and those with less than perfect credit were exploited by CONGRESSMAN FRANK, DOBBS, WALTERS, MEEKS, DAVIS, RANGLE ect. as well as SENATOR OBAMA, Fanny Mae & Freddy Mac, Bank of American, Citigroup and other predatory mortgage brokers & lenders because of deregulation of the mortgage industry in Congress. So Juan who are the real culprits??

@ Sallietoo;

You are a product of extremist propaganda. you are obviously pushing an ultra-conservative political agenda. This is what I meant when I said that if we take a totalitarian approach to any complicated issue (including immigration) no one will be satisfied with the outcome because one side will never fully triumph over the other.

In your case though, you obviously have a personal and political vendetta against Democrats and anyone who has any affiliation to them. I could point out the many fallacies, misconceptions, stereotypes, incongruence and heavy bias your post has but I actually have another life besides blogging.

Besides, I don't think you are interested in finding the best possible solution to the issue; rather you are here to push a political agenda.

So let's agree to disagree. I wish you the best. But remember that as long as you continue to see things purposely jaded, your arguments will gain little traction. But hey, don't take it from me, after all only 86% of the votes in this blog are in my favor...

I'm not pushing anything Juan, I'm pissed off our government will not secure nor close our border after 911, not even at the threat of a possible pandemic (which turned out to be another false crisis but the government didn't know that did they? Hey maybe they did.), not even when we don't have enough jobs for American Citizens more or less illegal aliens. My only agenda is NO AMNISTY!!! Breaking, not following, or ignoring our immigration laws is ILLEGAL and we should NOT reward ANYONE for breaking our laws. THE ONLY ANSWER TO IMMIGRATION REFORM IS ENFORCE OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS. If we don't enforce our laws enacted by Congress, what is the sense in make laws at all or making any new laws i.e. immigration reform. THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM WITH IMMIGRATION IN THIS NATION IF OUR IMMIGRATION LAWS WERE ENFORCE IN THE 1ST PLACE. ALL ILLEGALS AND ILLEGAL SYMPATHIZERS SHOULD STOP THEIR WHINING AND BLAMING AND START BECOMING AMERICAN CITIZENS OR GET OUT OF THE U.S.A. THE U.S.A. IS A COUNTRY OF CITIZENS NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS. BOTTOM LINE, IF YOU WANT TO LIVE IN THE U.S.A., BECOME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. PROBLEM SOLVED, THE END

Federation for American Immigration Reform

Earlier Today, House Appropriators Rejected E-Verify Amendments; Reps. Price,

Obey, and Wasserman-Schultz Spoke Against These Provisions

Earlier this morning, the House Appropriations Committee met to write

the annual Homeland Security spending bill and the annual bill that

funds Congress for the coming year. At the "mark-up," the

Committee rejected two E-Verify related amendments to the Homeland

Security bill and another related to the Legislative Branch spending

bill. E-Verify is an electronically operated system that ensures

American jobs go to American workers by allowing employers to quickly

check the work authorization status of their new hires.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) -- a true immigration reformer --

offered an amendment to the Homeland Security bill to extend

E-Verify. While that bill already contains a short, two-year

reauthorization of E-Verify, Congressman Calvert knows the true value

of the program and sought a longer extension of E-Verify. After

Calvert spoke in support of his amendment, Appropriations Homeland

Security Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. David Price (D-NC), spoke against the

amendment. Rep. Price urged the entire Committee to vote

against the amendment. Then, the Committee Chairman, Rep. David

Obey (D-WI), spoke against the amendment, as well. Obey argued

that the Homeland Security spending bill shouldn't contain an E-Verify

authorization at all!

Immediately following the rejection of the Calvert Amendment, another

true immigration reformer -- Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA)

-- offered an amendment to the Homeland Security bill to require

companies who contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use

E-Verify. This common sense amendment would have ensured that contractors who

do business with DHS -- the same agency

tasked with enforcing our immigration laws -- do not hire illegal

aliens. Congressman Price AGAIN spoke in opposition to the

Kingston amendment, erroneously claiming that E-Verify is inaccurate

and that the program would be unable to handle the expansion to DHS

contractors. Even though Congressman Kingston pointed out that

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano stated last month that the program

could indeed handle a large-scale expansion, and that the program has

an incredible accuracy rate of 99.6%, the House Appropriations

Committee still rejected the amendment!

Later in the morning, Congressman Kingston attempted to attach a

similar E-Verify amendment to the Legislative Branch spending

bill. This provision would have required contractors who do

business with the U.S. Congress to use E-Verify. This time,

Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee Chairwoman Debbie

Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) urged the Committee to reject the Kingston

Amendment.

In speaking out against these amendments, Reps. Price, Obey, and

Wasserman-Schultz effectively urged their colleagues to not only put

the E-Verify program in jeopardy, but also ensure that illegal aliens

can continue to work on federal contracts with DHS and the U.S.

Congress!

We need you to call the following Members of Congress who spoke

against E-Verify TODAY:

Rep. David Price: (202) 225-1784

Rep. David Obey: (202) 225-3365

Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: (202) 225-7931

Tell these Members that they need to get their facts straight.

Tell them:

* 14.5 million Americans are out of work and millions more are

underemployed.

* Americans, not illegal aliens, should be hired for any available

jobs.

* E-Verify is highly effective, and it works to protect American

jobs!!!

* Congress needs to start standing up for American workers, and

not special interests!!

Also, please call Rep. Calvert and Rep. Kingston, and thank them for

standing up on behalf of American Workers!

Rep. Ken Calvert: (202) 225-1986

Rep. Jack Kingston: (202) 225-5831

At this point I am only advocating that congress address this issue; once they do, then we can voice our personal opinions.

......LOL. And on this site, no less.

Wrong order of events.