We MOVED the Blog

Dear Friends:

As we prepare for the coming battles over amnesty, states' rights to battle illegal immigration; and a real immigration reform bill dedicated to enforcement and eliminating all incentives for illegal immigration, we decided to move our blog to a better, more user- friendly platform  -- WordPress.  We also set up an account on Twitter so those of you who use social media can share information quickly with your friends via your desktop, laptop or smartphone.

In the weeks ahead, the action could happen quickly -- too fast for snail mail -- which is why we need to take advantage of all the social media available to spread the word quickly and keep you current.

Our victory over amnesty, when we win it, will be because of people like you who get the facts they need to take action.  Current subscribers to our current blog need to signup again at the new WordPress blog.  Go to our website http://www.usbc.org/ or click on any or all of the options below.

Thank you for your efforts in saving our country.

Edward I. Nelson
Chairman
U.S. Border Control

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 From a Florida ER doctor:

"I live and work in a state overrun with illegals. They make more money having kids than we earn working full-time. Today I had a 25-year old with 8 kids - that’s right 8; all illegal anchor babies and she had the nicest nails, cell phone, hand bag, clothing, etc. She makes about $1,500 monthly for each; you do the math. I used to say, “We are the dumbest nation on earth.” Now I must say and sadly admit: WE are the dumbest people on earth (that includes ME) for we elected the idiot ideologues who have passed the bills that allow this. 
Sorry, but we need a revolution. Vote them all out in 2010. "   

Attn: New Jersey IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS:

Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose has proposed legislation in Trenton to fight illegal immigration in New Jersey. This legislation needs our support!

Here's a list of the bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Assemblywoman McHose:
A183 - Prohibits employment of unauthorized aliens
A189 - "New Jersey Jobs Protection Act requires employment
A1366 - Employers can ask employees to speak English on the job
A2337 - Prohibits release of illegal immigrants from correctional facilities
A2340 - Proof of lawful presence required to obtain certain benefits
A292 - Excludes illegal aliens from workers' comp/ disability benefits
A303 - No contracts/grants/loans for companies hiring illegal aliens
ACR62 - Constitutional amendment concerning bail and illegal immigrants

Contact your assemblymen in Trenton and let them know that we want to see these bills pass.  Find your Assemblyman here: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/

courtesy: Gayle Kesselman, Co-Chair, New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control

NEW JERSEY CITIZENS FOR IMMIGRATION CONTROL

State legislators: Like what you see?  Contact Assemblywoman McHose and get copies of these bills for your state.

Must read letter from a disabled Vietnam Vet

My name is d'Lynn.  I'm a disabled Vietnam vet. I don't look too bad for a beat-up old fart, do I? And that's my ride. She's looking pretty good looking also, especially when you consider that she'll turn twenty this summer. That's right, it's a 1990 with a 1990 sidecar.

I can't ride a solo bike, ergo the sidecar rig. It's my sole means of transportation - rain or shine, snow or wind, and this summer also marks a milestone in both of our lives, as I will finally be able to pay her off.

Twenty years old?  What?  Why did it take so long? You weren't paying attention, were you? It's right at the beginning of this paragraph. I am a disabled vet, which means I receive a veterans administration disability pension, which also means "I'm broke!" Just one step ahead of being homeless every month, and that's not an idle statement or an "Oh, whoa is me" dire complaint. There’s a point to this, so hang in there a minute or two and read on.

There's a 25-year-old illegal immigrant woman living in Florida, with eight kids. Yes, eight "anchor babies" and she receives just shy of $1,500 per month per kid, plus medical, plus food stamps. Oh, wait. I've been informed that I shouldn't call them Food Stamps anymore.  That's not PC. It's all called “Social Assistance” now. You do the math on that yourself. I'd say that she was schooled early in how to make it in the system. Twenty-five years old, eight kids . . . . . yep, she started early.

You can whip out the calculator if you want, but this women who never has paid a dime in taxes of any kind, (and still doesn't – she's illegal,' remember?) is here in this country illegally. She hasn’t paid one one cent in medical for all the “anchor babies,” makes more in one month, legally, than I receive in over a year and a half in disability payments and I can't even get food stamps! Oops, I mean “Social Assistance.”

Technically I am eligible for “Social Assistance.” I was told it would be a walk through – a gimme – being disabled.  No problem, and in the very next breath I was also informed that under the law the amount I received in “Social Assistance” would be deducted from my disability pension.

Let's say I take a great photograph. It was just luck, a one of a kind accidental, in the right place at the right time shot. My local newspaper offers me fifty bucks to use the photo in a featured story. (I live in a small town and fifty bucks is all they could afford.) I have to report that fifty dollars to the VA as earned income, which will immediately be deducted from my next month’s disability check.

If I don't report it I’m in violation of federal law and technically they can stop my disability pension and prosecute me under a federal felony. Pretty cool, eh? For fifty bucks.

I see no point in dealing with two federal bureaucracies, so I don't bother. What's the point?

She's here illegally and with just one kid would make over twice what I receive per month. She has eight and she’s not a stand-out case.
She’s not alone. That's the way the system works. Millions of illegal immigrants know this, know how the system works and know how
to use it. (Haven't you seen the pamphlet? It's handed out all along our borders, "The Illegal Immigrants' Guide to Keeping America Just
The Way It Is.") and that's just the way it works.

Did you know that the federal government provides a “refugee” in this country with a monthly “stipend” of $1,890, plus $580 a month in “Social Assistance?” That’s $2,470 a month, tax-free. That's two and a half times what I’m allowed to receive as a disabled vet.

And just what did they do to earn this? All you have to do is show up on our collective doorstep, raise your right hand and swear that you're a refugee and, bingo, receive $30,000 a year, tax-free. That's more than someone making $15 an hour, and they have to pay taxes to boot!

Now, in defense of the Veterans Administration, they are doing what they can with what they've got. This is precious little compared to what they should have to get the job done. At least this country has a VA. It's the Senate that keeps passing laws, rules and guidelines, cutting their budget, denying requests for more staff and computer systems to handle the massive work flow. Their hands are tied by the very government that's supposed to give them what they need to get the job done, by the government you voted into office. Don't scream at the VA. I have. It's misguided anger.

The point to this “story?” Just why are you paying such high taxes to support this incredibly screwed-up government? Why? And I’m not proposing you stop paying your taxes. That's wrong. There are good programs and reasons to pay your taxes and support our government.

What am I proposing? It's quite simple. Vote.  The government, our government, is broken and we as the voters serve as the maintenance crew. We fix it . . . . . by voting.

If your state Senator has been in office more than two terms, vote 'em out at the next election. If your state representative has been in office more then two terms, vote 'em out of office. We put term limits on just about every publicly-elected official in the country except the House and Senate. Why? Believe me, they know this and love it! Ahhh - the power!

I don't care how much you believe your Senator or Representative is doing a good job. They're not!  Look at the government you have, that we have. How can you state they are doing what you want as the voter that put them there? How?  Vote them out of office. Do it.

Change the course of this country's history by what you are granted and guaranteed under the law. Vote! And if you have the guts, the anger, the outrage, start a petition in your state for a state-wide initiative to be placed on your next state ballot. Limiting the terms of office for your state senators and state representatives to your federal government to two terms.

The federal government will never pass such a law, but you can. You can get it done. You can force it. You can make it a law.  This is the first step in “getting it right.” Just vote. It's simple. It's easy, dammit!

This first step will send a very clear message. It’ll work. It’ill put “us” back in control of “them.” As it should be. As it was intended in the first place.

Are you an American? Born and raised? Then vote!

Side note: I sent this e-mail to a little over one hundred on my e-mail list. If you believe I’m wrong or misguided or you simply don't agree, that's fine. Go right ahead a delete this e-mail. No problem. Sorry to have bothered you. But if you think I just might have a worthwhile idea, something we can easily accomplish, something that could be a small part at getting this country back under “our” control, then please pass this along.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER

(editor's note: d'Lynn may be a disabled Vietnam Vet, but he is still on the front lines, fighting for the country he clearly loves)

Environmentalists! It's Time to Get Real

The Ranking Members of Natural Resources, Judiciary, Parks & Public lands and Homeland Security, have introduced legislation to allow the Border Patrol to enter public lands, which have become safe havens for drug smugglers, illegal aliens and, possibly, terrorists.  The bill, H.R.5016, specifically instructs the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to no longer "impede, prohibit, or restrict activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security on public lands."

What's this all about?  It's about the environmentailists and environmental organizations who are, once again, on the wrong side of an issue that has had devastating effects on America's national forests and wildlife refuges.  Illegal aliens have burnt down millions of acres of our national forests with their campfires.  They have dumped millions of metric tons of garbage along the smuggling routes, turning our pristine wilderness into a garbage can.  They have destroyed the population balance of our country ... and the environmental movement is not just silent about this ecological disaster, they are actively engaged in supporting the other side!

If you are an environmentalists or have friends who are, talk to them about what is happening and beg them to contact their environmental organization.  Tell them that if they really care about the enviroment, they have to get the organizations they support to get real on this issue.  They have to put their petty political biases aside and do the job they are tasked with - protecting the environment.  And that means joining with those who want to stop the surge of massive illegal immigraiton that is destroying our country and our environment.  Help them to recognize illegal immigration as the greatest of all environmental threats to America!

Congressional Black Congress Betraying Its Own People

Black unemployment has never been worse in America. Sixteen percent of black workers are unemployed, and among Black teens, a staggering 44.9 percent are out of work. Of course, part of this can be blamed on the fact that it has been a terrible time for all American workers.
African-American workers have been hit hard in states like Michigan where auto plant closings are taking a big toll on jobs. And marginable jobs, often filled by teenagers, are being eliminated as employers are forced to cut corners.

But there is a bigger, more ominous reason why Black American workers are feeling the hit more than the rest of the population. The reason is that those 30-40 million illegal aliens living in America are taking many of the jobs previously held by Black Americans – thanks, in a big way, to the efforts of the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus who, time and time again, have demonstrated that they are happy to take the side of the illegal alien against their own people!

Tens of millions of jobs are currently held by illegal aliens – jobs that ought to belong to American workers. But the Black Caucus has consistently opposed laws designed to prevent illegal aliens from stealing American jobs. There are at least a half dozen bills stuck in the Congress that would require employers to use Employment Eligibility Verification to ensure they were not hiring illegal aliens – but not one member of the CBC is a cosponsor of any of these bills.

Why not? Aren’t Democrats, especially Black Democrats, supposed to be the great friend of the American worker? So why aren’t they stepping up to save these jobs for Americans? Why are they putting the interests of illegal aliens ahead of their own people?

And why aren't Black Americans furious with this group of Congressmen who actually formed a Caucus designed specifically to address the concerns of African-Americans?

Right now, the CBC has come out in favor of an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. Last year, Rep. Yvette D. Clark, the whip of the CBC, supported Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez’ amnesty bill that was chock full of loopholes and rich with benefits for illegal aliens.

Instead of allying themselves with radicals in Congress who want to hand our country over to tens of millions of illegal aliens, the CBC should be joining with those who recognize that open borders and uncontrolled immigration will destroy our nation and ruin the lives of all Americans of every color.

African-Americans! It's time to wake up and join the figh to save our country -- before it's too late!

Black, white, yellow or brown, if you’d like to share your thought with the CBC, here is how to do it:

Congressional Black Caucus
2444 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Telephone: 202-226-9776
Fax: 202-225-9817
congressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov

And if you think this blog deserves a wider audience, please click buttons for Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social network. Thank you!

R.I.P. Rob Krentz

The body of Rancher Rob Krentz and his dog were found shot to death on his ranch. Krentz, who always was good-natured and willing to help people, had called in that he had found an illegal alien and was assisting him. That was the last that was heard from him before his body was discovered.

Rob Krentz was a lifelong rancher in Southeastern Arizona, 12 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border and 25 miles northeast of the city of Douglas.

He was the father of three children. The ranch has been in his family for three generations, more than 100 years - since 1907, and sits on about 35,000 acres with 1,000 head of cattle. Running a ranch is hard work and with the influx of illegal aliens increasing, Rob was at ground zero of the stampede that is destroying the fragile desert landscape.

The Krentz family has received numerous threats in the past by illegal aliens trespassing on their property. In 2002, the family was physically threatened when one of them stumbled upon a group of 39 illegal aliens.

They were told to get off the land and they made threats. The Border Patrol did catch the illegal aliens after they were called, but we all know that illegal aliens, if deported, come right back across.

In 1999, Krentz and his wife Susan did an interview with PBS when they came around asking about the issue of illegal immigrationand its impacts on the local ranchers. "We've been broken into," Susan Krentz told PBS:

"One time," Rob said "You know, we've personally been broke in once. And they took about $700 worth of stuff. And you know, if they come in and ask for water, I'll still give them water. I - you know, that's just my nature."

In 2003, Congressman Tom Tancredo mentioned the challenges of the border ranchers, and in particular highlighted the the Krentz family's plight.

"In the month of November, 2002, in the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol ... where the Krentz ranch is located, the Border Patrol apprehended 23,000 border crossers," Tancredo wrote. "many people would suggest that the [apprehension] ratio is just about maybe one in five, and that is a very conservative estimate. ... I think it is closer to one in ten".

That means in that sector alone for one month, 8 years ago, the most conservative estimate is that 115,000 illegal aliens crossed the border in that one chunk of land in the Tucson sector. All of the illegals are unknown. Tancredo notes that the Krentz's did mention to him that they called the Border Patrol. In one instance illegal aliens had butchered one of his calves.

In February [2002] ... a calf was butchered by illegal alien trespassers. Two men responsible were caught. They were tried. They were found guilty. They served a total of 51 days in jail. They were also ordered to pay $200 in restitution to the Krentz ranch. The Krentz ranch has not seen a cent of that money; and, of course, our best guess is they will not because these people have been released. They either came back into the population up here in the U.S.A. or returned to Mexico.

6 years after the PBS interview, in 2005, Krentz did an interview with KOLD as the number of illegal aliens exploded.
"We’re being over-run, and it’s costing us lots and lots of money," Krentz said. "We figured it up over the last five years and it’s cost us over $8 million," Krentz said. "Cattle don’t like people walking through, so they move. So, cattle weight loss, destruction of fences, breaking our pipelines, they break them in two and (the pipes) run for two or three days before we find it."

Krentz went on to say that when he was a boy he actually knew the few illegal aliens that came through looking for work, he said it's nothing like that now as hundreds of unknown illegals stream across his land.

Rob Krentz is just one of the many people who live and work along our southern border. A tough, hard working man who was trying to make a living and doing what he loved. Those who support illegal aliens will talk about "_human rights, but where were the "human rights" when it came to Rob Krentz? Where was the government) to protect our border and prevent this from happening, though they've been told time and time again? They didn't protect his property rights, nor his civil rights.

This country failed Robert Krentz, his family and all who work for him. As they have failed countless families all across this country. The number of deaths is estimated to be from 15-25 deaths caused by illegal aliens each day in this country.

It is not known yet whether Krentz was specifically targeted or whether it was just one of the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who come across our border every year who have actual criminal records, but in the end does it matter?
A hard working man was killed on his own land. And all for just trying to help out someone in need. And that is simply outrageous.

Rest in peace Robert Krentz, the country will surely miss a great and kind man like you.

Credit for this story goes to Dan "Digger" Amato. To continue to monitor this story, visit back here or click on www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/003355.html

HBO Shows Bias to Amnesty for Illegal Aliens

After a long day at work, I thought I would sit down in front of the boob tube to relax before going to sleep.

So I start running through the Guide and saw something called "The Senator's Bargain" on HBO. And since politics is my thing, I decided to take a look.

Outrageous! It was nothing less than an hour and a half political commercial on behalf of amnesty for illegal aliens, thinly disgusied as a documentary starring Ted Kennedy and other champions of immigration reform.

If there were ever any doubt that the extreme Left has begun its campaign to make amnesty for illegal aliens the next big push for the Obama Administration, this should be your wake-up call!

And speaking of calling, why not give a call to HBO and tell them to take that crap off the air or give equal time to immigration control groups like U.S. Border Control to document our side of the story.

New Big Push for Amnesty

Whether you are thrilled or furious about the passage of President Obama's Health Care legislation, you are probably aware and concerned about some of the deals the President had to make with Congressmen in order to buy the votes necessary to pass his bill.

The one that has us worried was his meeting, just days before the House vote, with Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat from Illinois. Apparently, Obama bought Guiterrez' vote by promising to put immigration "reform" on a fast track. And, unlike most of the empty promises politicians make, the promises made in exchange for a vote are never broken.

That means that in the weeks and months ahead, you and I can expect a lot of activity, which is why we have to get prepared now. If you have not already signed up to receive U.S. Border Control's Action Alerts that assist you in sending email letters to your Representative and Senators, you need to do it right now by clicking HERE.

Unlike other organizations who constantly fill people's email boxes with constant streams of useless information, we send out emails only when it is time to act and when your email to your Representative can truly make a difference. And if you decide you don't want to receive our alerts, there's a button at the bottom of every alert, that instantly and permanently removes your name from our files. We respect your privacy and would never dream of selling or renting your name. That's been our credo at U.S. Border Control for more than 22 years.

Here's what's going on right now: Amnesty is going to be the next big battle in Congress. But in this battle, the Republicans won't be united in their opposition for amnesty like they were for health care.

As you may recall, under President Bush, more than 50% of the Republicans were on the wrong side of the issue -- and we had to beat them up pretty badly before they found the courage to oppose their party's leadership and vote against amnesty.

Our job, yours and mine, is to expose what is in the new amnesty legislation; rally the Republicans against it; rally the blue dog Democrats (the good guys) against it; and get our friends and neighbors to join us in this effort.

If we can do this, we can stop amnesty once again. But if we fail, 30-40 million illegal aliens will get amnesty; become instant citizens; and climb on board President Obama's big new gravy train, complete with healthcare, welfare and all the trimmings -- that you and I will pay for the rest of our lives!

And if that happens, America really is sunk!

This letter is just a head's up for what is coming and a request that you forward this email to your friends, neighbors, relatives and whatever kind of social networks you may be on (Facebook, etc...) so they can add their voices to this effort to save our language, culture and American heritage for our children and their children. We owe it to them.

Working together, I know we can stop this push for amnesty. Thanks again for your support for our work.

Sincerely,
Edward I. Nelson
Chairman
U.S. Border Control

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Virtual Fence on Hold

A couple of weeks ago CBS's Anderson Cooper went downto the border to take a look at a huge smuggler's tunnel, complete with electric lights, telephones and even a crude elevator.

And last night, January 10th, CBS's lead story on 60 Minutes concerned the lack of progress on completing the so-called 'virtual fence', a billion dollar boondoggle that has been going through three Administrations, both Republican and Democrat.

CBS and the people they interviewed blamed the lack of progress on stupidity and a bumbling bureaucracy. And, to be sure, there's certainly plenty of that going around.

But there's a bigger, darker reason why this and all the other efforts to secure our borders have failed -- neither political party wants to close our borders.

The Republicans, despite all their bluster and baloney about patriotism, are keeping the borders open to provide their fat cat contributors with the cheap illegal alien labor they need to increase their profit margins.

And the Democrats, despite all the empty promises about protecting the jobs for American workers, are holding the door open for millions of illegal aliens because each one represents a new Democrat voter.

So the politicians from both parties are putting their own selfish interests ahead of the safety and welfare of the American people. And that, my friends, is the simple reason why our borders remain open to drugs, disease, uncontrolled immigration and terrorism.

Editor’s note: If you recognize the name of the candidate, don’t vote for him/her. It’s time to start over with a clean slate.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Winning the war on terrorism.

America cannot fight simultaneous land wars in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. It’s ridiculous! We don’t have the troops or the equipment to sustain a serious land war on two fronts, let alone three, four or five separate fronts on multiple continents. And the terrorists can increase the number of fronts at any time, merely by sending out suicide bombers to as many countries as they wish.

This is the wrong way to fight terrorism and we will continue to waste American lives in battlefields throughout the world as long as we are foolish enough to fight the terrorists on their terms.

The real threat of terrorism is not in Asia, Africa or the Middle East. It is on our own borders and at every port of entry into the United States. We don’t need to run all over the world looking for handfuls of terrorists to fight. We need only stop them at our own borders. Unfortunately, sealing our borders is just about the only thing our government has steadfastly refused to do.

If our leaders had done this after 9/11, as the American people expected them to do, there would be no threat of terrorism in the United States. But today, nine years later, our borders are still wide open and, undoubtedly, many terrorists have already slipped across our borders.

Many American are beginning to ask themselves why we allow our politicians to squander our military might, our wealth and the lives of our sons and daughters defending the borders of dozens of nations worldwide, even as they ignore the clear and present danger at our own borders.

The Congress believes it is grappling with the important issues of the day, like health care and the economy. But if they continue to ignore our immigration policies and securing our borders against drugs, disease, illegal migration and terrorism, things like jobs and health care won't mean a thing.

Napolitano Must Go!

How can you be an outspoken advocate of open borders, massive immigration and amnesty for criminal aliens AND be the head of Homeland Security? You can't be.

As Governor of Arizona, Napolitano refused to acknowledge the will of the citizens of her state who passed overwhelmingly two referenda that would end of all benefits for illegal aliens. In fact, she ordered her Attorney General to stonewall implementation and, instead, challenged the referenda in the courts.

As Governor, Janet Napolitano vowed to work closely with the National Governors Association to repeal the REAL ID law, passed by Congress in 2005 and considered an essential element to protecting the nation by the 9/11 Commission.

Her goal was to replace Real ID with a new program called Pass ID, which would cost half as much, be less stringent and come with federal grants, but those in Congress concerned with national security fought off efforts to pass what they call "Real ID-lite."

"Any attempt to implement PASS ID will harm national security," Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) wrote in a Dec. 14 letter to several colleagues.

U.S. Border Control agrees and calls for full and immediate implementation of the REAL ID law and the immediate replacement of Janet Napolitano who seems to be the wrong person to head up an agency dedicated to providing security to our nation.

Obama administration names US-Mexican 'border czar;' says it will crack down on drug cartels

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, announced this week that former Justice Department official Alan Bersin will lead the Obama administration’s efforts to crack down on drug-related violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Bersin, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego, already served as the "border czar" to then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno during the Clinton administration. He also served as California's education secretary and as superintendent of schools in San Diego.

The Obama administration also announced it was placing three Mexican drug gangs -- the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas and La Familia Michoacana -- onto a list of significant foreign narcotics traffickers targeted for special sanctions. The move allows the U.S. government to freeze any cartel assets in U.S. jurisdiction and bars Americans from dealing with funds linked to the groups and their operatives.

The two announcements preceeded Obama’s first trip to Latin American, with a stop in Mexico before the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

Napolitano said Bersin, who begins work immediately, will have the title of assistant secretary for international affairs and special representative for border affairs.

Wisconsin landscape company targeted following fatal crash caused by illegal alien driver

In late March, a landscaping truck driven by an illegal alien hit an SUV and caused three fatalities in Richfield, Wisconsin. Terra Tec Landscapes,, the company that employed the three illegals in the truck, has become the target of email accusations.

'You are responsible,' 'You should all be ashamed,' and ’You have blood on your hands' are messages the company has received since the crash. The accident report has been filed, and it officially blamed the driver of the landscaping truck. No citations have been issued yet, but the report said the truck was going 'too fast for conditions.'

The three brothers in the landscaping truck, all illegal aliens, are in the custody of federal immigration authorities and face possible deportation.

Ricardo Guerrero was driving and had a valid license. The attorney for Terra Tec Landscaping said the brothers had filled out all the required employment forms.

A law firm representing the family of one of those who died said, 'The company is responsible for screening employees correctly -- their training and experience, and their conduct on the road.’

Besides the three fatalities, four other passengers in the sport utility vehicle were seriously hurt.

Johnnie Sutton resigns as U.S. Attorney

U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of Austin, who served as the top federal prosecutor for 68 Central and West Texas counties during the Bush administration, has tendered his resignation. His last day at the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District will be April 19.

Sutton was nationally reviled for the prosecution of two Border Patrol agents who shot a fleeing drug smuggler in the buttocks in a 2005 encounter near El Paso. The prosecution and convictions of Jose Compean, sentenced to 11 years in prison, and Ignacio Ramos, sentenced to 12 years, was angrily derided by advocates of tighter immigration laws.

Bush commuted the two men's sentences in the very last hours of his presidency in January. Ramos and Compean are now free. Called before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2007, Sutton defended his prosecution of the two.

Sutton, 48, was a prosecutor for eight years in the Harris County district attorney's office before moving to Austin in 1995 as then-Gov. Bush's criminal justice policy director.He followed Bush to Washington, working on the president's transition team and serving in the Justice Department.

President Obama will select a new U.S. Attorney for the office.

Obama's La Raza hire floats trial balloon on amnesty campaign

This week showed why Barack Obama has Celcelia Muñoz on his staff. Muñoz had been a Senior Vice President at the National Council of La Raza, and is now White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

On Wednesday, Muñoz told the New York Times that the administration's illegal alien amnesty campaign would be underway in May. Some in the media called her statement a ‘trial balloon,’ remarks distributed specifically to observe the reaction of the audience.

Supporters of open borders, including the National Council of La Raza, hailed the statement, saying it showed that Obama ‘has made immigration reform one of his top priorities for this year.’ Those who support enforcement of immigration laws, however, were outraged that the administration would even float a ‘trial balloon’ on the issue while millions of American citizens are out of work.

The statement brought the issue of amnesty to the top of the mainstream media's agenda, but White House officials on Thursday played down views that the administration’s priorities are shifting. Said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro. “The economy comes first, that’s why we’re so deeply engaged in that now. We will start an immigration discussion later in the year.”

Pro-immigration groups had been put off by remarks Vice President Joe Biden made to Central American leaders last week that the US administration would need “some forbearance” in moving forward on comprehensive immigration reform at a time when many Americans were losing homes and jobs.

Says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, “The president is being put under a lot of pressure by some very demanding and, in our view, extremist constituents of his base.”

Charlotte, North Carolina now a key distribution point for Mexican heroin smuggling

The U.S. Justice Department says that Mexican drug traffickers have turned Charlotte into a key distribution point for "black tar" heroin in North Carolina. Heroin-related arrests have jumped.

John Emerson, assistant special agent in charge for the N.C. bureau of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said that "multiple" cells operate in Charlotte. At least three have been shut down in the past two years.

The cartels don't discriminate among customers. They sell their drugs to low-income users and uptown bankers, police and treatment officials say. And they're increasingly selling to young people - "teens in high schools," said Capt. Mike Adams of the city’s vice and narcotics unit.

Statewide, heroin seizures increased 77 percent last year, according to the DEA. Heroin abuse is surging. On average, each day last year the local drug treatment center had seven to eight new people seeking methadone treatment. Now they get 15 to 20.

‘Black tar’ heroin gets its name from its color and texture. One officer describes it as being like "a warm tootsie roll." And at $12.50 a dose, it's about half the price of other available forms.

Federal drug-enforcement officials said the increase in drug trafficking is a direct correlation with immigration. Charlotte has one of the country's fastest growing immigrant populations. An estimated 390,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina.

Recurring nightmare 'Dream Act' reintroduced in House and Senate

The 'Dream Act' would grant amnesty and a 'path to citizenship' to a broad range of illegal aliens who meet certain minimal educational requirements and broad definitions relating to student status. In truth, it's surely a recurring nightmare for students seeking to attend college as legal citizens, as the 'Dream Act' could find their slot at their dream college taken by an illegal alien.

Amnesty supporters in Congress again introduced the 'Dream Act' (also known as the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act). Authored by Democrat Senator Dick Durbin (S.729) and Democrat Congressman Howard Berman (H.R.1751), the Senate bill has 7 cosponsors, including Democrats Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy as well as Republican Senators Dick Lugar and Mel Martinez. The House bill has 9 co-sponsors, including Democrats House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, and Chair of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Zoe Lofgren.

The legislation would grant broad-based amnesty, and ultimately, citizenship, to illegal aliens who entered the country before a certain age if they can meet minimal educational standards; would changed federal law to allow states to subsidize college tuition for illegal aliens even when that subsidy is not available to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants attending a state college; and would render moot any lawsuits filed by U.S. citizens against a state or colleges when state law allowed colleges to grant in-state tuition without offering the same benefit to U.S. citizens not residing in the state.

Taking things even further, the San Mateo Community College District, on the San Francisco Peninsula has distributed a mass email announcing a scholarship for illegal alien students of "Chicano/ Latino descent" only.

"How can you give up when people aren't giving up on you?"

Ignacio Ramos managed to get through two years inprison in solitary confinement by remembering those who were supporting his case, including U.S. Border Control, and Jose Compean echoed his sentiments. Ramos credited the outside support with helping him win clemency and keeping his spirits up during his imprisonment.

"Members from Congress were speaking about us, people writing us constantly, it felt so good to know that people didn't give up on us and that people constantly believed in us," he said.

After spending two "hard, long, lonely" years in prison, the two said they were looking forward to spending time with their families and putting this chapter of their lives behind them.

"There are more important things than the people that have done this to us or what we have gone through and I am not going to sit here and dwell on that," Ramos said after beginning a ‘supervised release’ in late March.

"We are looking ahead. We're optimistic for a very good future and that's what's more important," Ramos said.

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from two former Border Patrol agents, but additional appeals are being planned through the lower courts. The high court refused to consider an appeal from the former agents, who were convicted in 2006 of shooting Osvaldo Aldrete Davila near El Paso on the Texas-Mexico border.

Obama's illegal alien aunt gets federal protection at immigration hearing

President Barack Obama's illegal alien aunt appealed a deportation order dressed in a wig of curly red and gold hair, sunglasses, and an ankle length coat of fake fur. She emerged after a brief, closed-door hearing in US Immigration Court in Boston and smiled broadly, having won 10 more months in the U.S.

"Praise God," Zeituni Onyango said softly, holding her head high.

At the initial appearance, said Department of Justice officials, the judge explained the deportation charges against her and detailed her rights. A second hearing was set for February 4, 2010 when she will be able to plead her request. A decision is generally made at the second hearing, said Justice officials.

The half-sister of Obama’s deceased Kenyan father, Onyango tried to avoid reporters, leaving the court through a back door. The hearing was closed to the public at the request of her lawyer, and she was escorted by Federal Protective Service officers.

She was ordered deported from the United States in 2004, but has been living in public housing in Boston since that time. Last December, following Obama's election victory, a court allowed her to have the case reopened. Obama says he never knew his aunt was living illegally in the United States.

The decision to provide federal officers as an escort and to take Onyango in and out of the court through special entrances reflected "some security concerns," said Justice officials. It was unclear who paid for her legal team. The government does not provide lawyers in immigration appeals.

Supreme Court to announce this week whether it will review Ramos, Compean convictions

David Botsford, attorney for former Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos, expects that the Supreme Court will announce this week whether it will review the prosecution and conviction of Ramos and Jose Compean. Together with Compean’s attorney, Botsford has asked the Supreme Court to wipe the convictions off the record.

The sentences of the two former agents were commuted by former President George W. Bush on his last day in office. The two were prosecuted for the nonfatal shooting of a Mexican drug smuggler after he abandoned a load of marijuana near the border.

The former agents were released from prison February 17 and confined to house arrest for 31 days. They were barred from speaking pubicly until their sentences ended March 20.

Several members of Congress had called on Bush over the years to either pardon the agents or commute their sentences. At one point, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton in Texas, whose office prosecuted the case, said in an interview that the 'punishment was high' but that Congress had mandated the sentences by requiring that 10 years be added to any sentence for discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Members of U.S. Border Control, with other border security activists, had gathered millions of the signatures asking Bush to pardon or commute the sentences of the two men.

Americans strongly in support of local immigration enforcement, border fence, penalties for firms that hire illegals

Americans are strongly in support of local law enforcement of immigration laws. Some 73 percent of respondents to a mid-March poll said that police officers should automatically check to see if someone is in the country legally when vehicles are pulled over for traffic violations.

Two-third of those polled also said that if law enforcement officers know of places where illegal aliens gather to find work, generally known as day laborer locations, they should conduct surprise raids to identify and deport illegal aliens.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) said they want strict government penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens. Only 22 percent of respondents opposed such penalties. In addition, 48 percent support strict government sanctions on landlords who rent or sell property to illegal immigrants.

Additional questions found that 79 percent of those polled support using troops on the U.S.-Mexico border to protect Americans from drug-related violence. The number of those in support of troops on the border jumped 21 percent in two months, two months during which many Americans learned the extent of violence by Mexican drug cartels. A total of 82 percent of respondents said they are concerned that Mexican drug violence will spill over into the United States, including 50 percent who say that they are very concerned.

Finally, the poll found that more than 60 percent want the Department of Homeland Security to continue to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.