Hi Gang:
Earlier today, Sunday, June 2, 2013, CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) posted my commentary:
The debate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform is ramping up in the United States Senate now that the Senate’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill (S. 744) has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Within weeks it is expected that the Senate will vote on this legislative disaster. I refer to it is a disaster because it would be disastrous for national security- it would require that USCIS process what would likely be tens of millions of illegal and undocumented aliens for lawful status. They would be issued official identity documents without even being interviewed in person. Remember, these are aliens whose true identities including their countries of citizenship cannot be readily verified. There are no resources for USCIS or ICE to conduct a significant number of field investigations to attempt to uncover fraud. There would be no way of verifying when, where or how these aliens entered the United States. The adjudications officers who cannot keep pace with their current workload would be compelled to approve the vast majority of the applications if they have any hope of keeping pace with the tsunami of applications that would flood their offices each and every day.
It only takes minutes to approve and application but hours or more likely, days to deny an application.
I host an internet radio program every Friday night at 7:00 PM Eastern Time, “The Michael Cutler Hour.” (The link to my show is posted below on this and all of my e-mails.) On July 27, 2012 my guest was Jerry Casale a former colleague at the INS and a recently retired Adjudications Officer who was assigned to USCIS Headquarters in Washington when he retired. Jerry and I discussed the lack of integrity to the adjudications process and the impact this has on national security. This is the sort of material you will not find on any other program! Here is a link to the podcast of my discussion with Jerry:
On April 5, 2013 Jerry Casale joined me, once again, to continue our discussion immigration benefit fraud. Here is the link to the recording of that show:
Currently USCIS is processing DACA (Deferred Action- Childhood Arrival) applications for aliens who would have been covered by the DREAM Act or would be willing to lie to fraudulently claim that they were eligible for participation in that program. According to recent Washington Times articles, the approval rate for these applications is in excess of 99%. They are not conducting any face-to-face interviews. The way that DACA is being run is a prelude for what would happen if Comprehensive Immigration Reform was to be enacted.
This process runs in direct opposition to the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
On April 16, 2013 Accuracy in Media published my article
In that article I focused on how efforts to declare the U.S./Mexican border to be the only area of concern is absurd and dangerous.
Time and again we have seen instances where terrorists who have attempted to carry out attacks in the United States as well as those who succeeded gamed the visa process, the Visa Waiver Program and the immigration benefits program to enter the United States and embed themselves in the United States.
The Tsarnaev brothers who carried out the terror attacks in Boston at the marathon on April 15, 2013 and subsequently killed a police officer in cold blood had apparently acquired political asylum along with their parents, who seemingly made false claims of “credible fear” enabling them to acquire lawful status.
On May 2, 2013 I was interviewed by Megyn Kelly at Fox News about the Boston terror attack:
On Friday, May 24, 2013 two relatively small newspapers, The Blaze and My San Antonio, reported on the arrest of an individual by the name of Wissam Allouche by the FBI and members of the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force) in San Antonio, Texas, for lying on his application for naturalization to acquire United States citizenship.
He did, in fact successfully beat the immigration system.
Here are the links to the news reports:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Alleged-member-of-Hezbollah-arrested-here-4547483.php
The title for the Blaze headline was a true attention grabber:
“Infiltration? The Alarming Details Surrounding Alleged Hezbollah Member’s Arrest in Texas”
Here is an important excerpt from the article:
The federal indictment revealed Allouche had married a U.S. citizen and was going through the naturalization process when he was arrested. When asked by officials if he had ever been associated with a terrorist organization, he replied no. That apparently turned out to be a lie.
According to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, he was a militant with the Amal militia in Lebanon in the early to mid-1980s. He was reportedly captured as a Israeli prisoner of war, but was later released to become a commander of the Amal militia.
“News reports at the time said Hezbollah was formed by religious members of the Amal movement,” the Express-News notes.
In addition to lying about his terror ties, Allouche is also accused of lying about his relationship with his ex-wife. He falsely claimed on his application forms in 2009 that he and his wife were married and living together for the past three years. In reality, they had no lived together since May 2007 and they filed for divorce in December of 2007.
Here is a link to Allouche’s indictment:
At the time of his arrest Allouche was applying for a security clearance in order to work for the Department of Defense and had also applied for naturalization. Allegedly he lied by claiming to have never been a member of a terrorist organization when in fact,, according to the FBI, he had been a member of Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2013 both of those newspapers published follow-up reports in conjunction with disclosures made by prosecutors during the bail hearing. Here are the links to these news reports:
Here is a quote from the latest “My San Antonio” news report about Allouche:
Allouche was arrested by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force here last week after being indicted on charges of not disclosing, during his quest to obtain his U.S. citizenship, his membership in the Amal militia and Hezbollah in Lebanon in the 1980s.
He’s also charged with not disclosing his prior membership in those groups when he applied for a security clearance with the Defense Department as he sought a contracting job.
Before 2009, Allouche worked for L-3 Communications, which provides linguistic services for the U.S. military, and he was deployed for several months to Iraq. He has lived in the U.S. since about 2002, and once owned Windcrest Mobil, a gas station at Walzem Road and Interstate 35, his lawyer said.
In view of the charges lodged against Allouche, it would be important to know what the vetting process was that enabled him to be put in a position of trust.
I would be greatly concerned about what documents or people he may have had access to. Did he come to meet with covert officers whose identities must be preserved? Did he meet with suspected terrorists and, perhaps, have the capability to alter what the record reflects that they did or did not say? Might he have learned the identities of foreign nationals who for whatever reason decided to become cooperators? Has this endangered their lives and the operations that they were providing information for?
With all of the debates about the need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform there are only a handful of politicians who have raised what should be the first question that needs to be asked (and answered) what would the impact of Comprehensive Immigration Reform be on America and Americans?
The point is that President Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, eloquently described the government of the United States as being “Of the people, by the people and for the people.”
How in the world could a government such as President Lincoln described still be a government of the people, by the people and for the people propose sweeping changes in the immigration laws of the United States that, at their foundation, were enacted to protect the lives and livelihoods of Americans and not spend any time discussing how the radical changes to the immigration laws would impact the citizens of the United States?
Labor is a commodity. When dealing with commodities values are established by classic economic law that involves supply and demand. If the supply of a commodity is greatly increased but the demand remains constant the value of the commodity will decline. Dumping unknown millions of foreign workers into the already overflowing labor pool that cannot find enough jobs today would cause the value, hence the wages, of these workers- when they can find work in the first place, to drop precipitously. Yet it is the rare politician who has the moral integrity to raise this issue. The focus of all too many politicians in Washington is how Comprehensive Immigration Reform would likely impact the way that Latino voters will vote. What is so outrageous is that this sort of “reasoning” represents a vile and reprehensible form of profiling and is wrong headed!
While unemployment and underemployment rates are at record levels and while record numbers of American workers and their families are living below the poverty level, the unemployment, underemployment and poverty rates of American Latinos and American Blacks are way higher than non-minority Americans. They are most likely to suffer the greatest from a massive influx of newly legalized workers being dumped into the labor pool. This is commonsense. But it is something that only a few courageous politicians are willing to discuss.
It is unfathomable that if a small number of creatures is endangered by the construction of a bridge or other such structure that the wellbeing of that creature must be taken into account, but even as Congress is poised to take on legislation that could profoundly and irrevocably impact the safety and wellbeing of 300 million American citizens, from coast to coast and border to border, that few “leaders” in Washington are willing to even give their fellow citizens a moment of consideration!
Immigration is not a single issue but a singular issue that impacts nearly every challenge and threat confronting the United States today!
Our armed forces are charged with securing America’s borders externally while the DHS is supposed to secure those same borders from within. The failures of the DHS to live up to its half of the equation are undermining the efforts, valor and incredible sacrifices of Americas men and women who serve in our military!The immigration laws are supposed to achieve two primary goals- to protect American lives and protect Americans’ jobs.
Our nation is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations!
It is also vital that American workers never be made to compete with foreign workers for their jobs! (This requirement is a component of the Immigration Laws that are not being enforced today!)
If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws that are intended to protect our nation and our citizens concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation!
I also ask that you pass this e-mail along to your friends and neighbors- I am attempting to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
We the People must make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!
We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.
This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!
You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!
Democracy is not a spectator sport!
Lead, follow or get out of the way!
-michael cutler-
Please check out my website:
https://www.michaelcutler.net/
Also please check out my website at AND Magazine:
On Friday evenings from 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM Eastern Time, I host my show, “The Michael Cutler Hour” on the USA Talk Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio.
Call in and join the conversation! The phone number is 310-982-4145
I hope you will be listening! (Please tell your friends and neighbors!)
Here is a link to the program:
http://www.caps-blog.org/articles/2013/06/02/environmental-impact-study-must-precede-comprehensive-immigration-reform/
Environmental Impact Study Must Precede Comprehensive Immigration Reform
By Michael Cutler, Senior Special Agent, INS (Ret.), CAPS Senior Fellow, June 2, 2013
Environmental laws are often stringently enforced whenever major construction projects are under consideration. Environmental impact studies are generally required before major construction projects are initiated. Their purpose is to minimize the potential for causing harm through unintended consequences to ecological systems. This becomes more important issue when findings indicate that wildlife species may be forced into extinction.
In1973 a freshwater fish, the snail darter, a member of the perch family, was first discovered. Its habitat was freshwater found in East Tennessee. Shortly after it was discovered, environmentalists determined that it might be pushed to extinction by the construction of the Tellico Dam which would block its migratory route.
Because a rare fish might be harmed, construction on a vital dam was halted. The debate over the snail darter went all the way to the Supreme Court which ultimately ruled that the dam could be constructed. This snail darter was transplanted to other locations to help insure its survival.
Today, Congress is debating the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S. 744. This sweeping legislation’s negative impact, should it be enacted, would be felt from coast to coast and border to border. It would do irreparable harm to national security and the middle class Americans’ survival.
Because it would add millions to our population, S. 744 would impose huge stresses and burdens upon critical infrastructures in towns and cities across the United States.
Today, even without comprehensive immigration reform, the United States admits more than one million lawful immigrants each year. Each month, tens of thousands of foreign workers with temporary non-immigrant visas enter the United States to work legally. Many of these are high-tech workers. Some non-immigrant visa holders violate the terms of their admission by overstaying and continuing to work. They compete with Americans for jobs. During many months, more foreign workers enter the United States than the number of new jobs created.
Additionally, illegal aliens enter the United States by entering without inspection, the process that is supposed to keep out aliens whose presence would be problematic.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is essentially static at about 7.5 percent. But those numbers are so disconnected from reality and meaningless. That percentage ignores Americans who have exhausted their unemployment benefits and have given up looking for work as well as millions more Americans who are underemployed and whose standard of living has plummeted dramatically.
S. 744 would roughly double the number of high-tech workers that could legally work in the United States and would legalize tens of millions more foreign workers who would gain an equal standing in the labor market with American workers.
Politicians who may join the “Eight Gangsters” to ram S. 744 through the legislative process couldn’t care less about the adverse impact that this would have on beleaguered American workers and their struggling families.
S. 744 would put the nation’s vanishing middle class at further risk. But Congress seems indifferent since the future of hard working Americans and their dreams aren’t part of the S.744 debate.
