A persistent threat scenario against the U.S. has been foreign terrorist organizations—acting independently or in cooperation with violent transnational criminal organizations, and perhaps backed by anti-American regimes in the region—launching a terrorist attack from across our southern border. It is a scenario the Obama Administration has recognized but generally minimized. For example, the U.S. State Department’s 2010 Country Reports on Terrorism reported: The threat of a transnational terrorist attack remained low for most countries in the Western Hemisphere. There were no known operational cells of either al-Qa’ida- or Hizballah-related groups …
In 2009 alone, 419 bodies were discovered along the Mexican border. In the even shorter time between April and September 2010, some 11,333 illegal immigrants were kidnapped throughout Mexico. And just last year, 72 immigrants were brutally slaughtered by the Los Zetas, their bodies dumped in mass graves. Unfortunately, this violence is nothing new. It is both shocking and unacceptable, and it’s finally getting recognition. On July 6, The Washington Post produced a piece about the treacherous journey of illegal immigrants from Mexico. This timely front page spread had striking …
As states continue to face large deficits and budget cuts, Arizona has hit on a smart solution. On Tuesday, the Arizona House of Representatives passed S.B. 1495, a bill enhancing the power of the governor to create a state guard unit. These units, better known as State Defense Forces (SDFs), are today’s modern state militia. Unlike the images of rag-tag groups often associated with the term militia, these are professional forces authorized by the Constitution and under the command of their respective state governors.
There is no shortage of criticism of our immigration laws from detractors who contend that they are unjust and immoral. And though criticism of U.S. immigration laws can be fierce – particularly in the case of Arizona’s SB 1070, the Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Acts – Mexico’s much harsher immigration laws rarely get noticed. Upon Arizona’s passage of SB 1070, critics attacked the law with claims of racial profiling. Among the opponents were the open border lobby, including the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), other liberal interest groups, President …
Today, President Barack Obama gave a major speech on immigration reform at the American University in Washington, D.C. He emphasized that it was time for the United States to “squarely confront our challenges” when it comes to the country’s broken immigration system. Indeed, fixing the immigration problem is appropriate because the country is facing a serious illegal immigration problem — however, the answer of how to fix it is where President Obama deviates from common sense. It is clear that at the heart of the Administration’s immigration reform agenda will …
One might expect that if the President of the United States had the ability to secure the southern border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. A recent YouTube video of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) reveals otherwise. In the video, Kyl describes a one-on-one encounter he had with President Barack Obama about the Administration’s plans for the southern border. According to Kyl, President Obama said, “If we secure the border, then you all won’t have any reason to support …
Nothing is more vital to a nation’s sovereignty than its ability to protect and control its territories, and that’s why it’s so appalling that the federal government essentially has given control over U.S. land to Mexican drug and smuggling gangs. Under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, the federal government is charged with providing for the common defense, which includes protecting America’s borders. Although small compared to the vastness of the border, this implicit bequeath of U.S. territory occurred in 2006 during President George W. Bush’s Administration and continues …
Fears that pro-Teamster protectionists in Congress would seek to kill the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Cross Border Demonstration Project”, that has allowed a carefully selected group of Mexican trucking operators full access to the U.S. road network have been realized. The Supplemental FY 2009 Omnibus spending bill (aka “Porkulus II”) that is currently being rushed through Congress by the Democrats contains sections (SEC. 135) that impose onerous new safety inspection requirements on the Mexican carriers as well as (Sec. 136) directly barring new funding for the USDOT pilot program. Since it is …
