As with most things, the truth slowly emerges from the halls of government. Just months ago, the Administration and Congress met behind closed doors to secretly craft legislation that would provide what was being billed as "comprehensive immigration reform" or as it was more popularly known in spite of government protestations to the contrary: amnesty for illegal aliens.

One particularly onerous section of the proposed McCain/Kennedy legislation (Senate Bill 1639) was to be the expedited processing of the Z-nonimmigrant status Visa applications starting no more than 180 days after the enactment of the legislation. The section mandated that a security check was to be performed in 24 hours and that if the security check could not be performed within that timeframe, illegal aliens were to be granted probationary legal status to live, work and travel within the United States. Congressional estimates of the number of illegal aliens that could potentially come under the jurisdiction of the legislation was estimated to be between 12 and 20 million individuals. 

Here in California and I suspect elsewhere, you can't even get an appointment to renew your drivers license in under twenty four hours, yet alone perform an adequate criminal background check involving local, state and federal records.

Since both Congress and the Administration knew that there was no way to perform this background check, they were complicit in offering a blanket amnesty to the entire population of illegal aliens without safeguarding the American public from violent criminals, drug addicts/pushers and those with contagious diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis.

To this day, birth and criminal records in foreign countries have not been, as well as in this country, have not be computerized in a commonly-accessible format and no inter-computer communications systems exist to adequately perform this security background check. The 24-hour provision was a government strategy to immediately make these people eligible for social benefits -- but to a greater extent -- influence the upcoming 2008 election since both sides believed that the illegal aliens would be so grateful that they would vote for their respective candidates.

Not only did this prove that some members, notably John McCain and Ted Kennedy were attempting to subvert the sovereignty, safety, security and economy of the United States for political purposes, but that the government could never process the number of submitted applications in a timely manner without adding at least 250,000 new government workers to the government payroll.

Which brings us to today's story as reported in the Washington Post claiming that even LEGAL immigrant paperwork has snarled the system.

Immigrant Paperwork Backs Up At DHS
Delays May Deny Vote to Hundreds Of Thousands

"The Department of Homeland Security failed to prepare for a massive influx of applications for U.S. citizenship and other immigration benefits this summer, prompting complaints from Hispanic leaders and voter-mobilization groups that several hundred thousand people likely will not be granted citizenship in time to cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election."

"Bush administration officials said yesterday that they had anticipated applicants would rush to file their paperwork to beat a widely publicized fee increase that took effect July 30, but did not expect the scale of the response. The backlog comes just months after U.S. officials failed to prepare for tougher border security requirements that triggered months-long delays for millions of Americans seeking passports."

"Before the fee hike, citizenship cases typically took about seven months to complete. Now, immigration officials can take five months or more just to acknowledge receipt of applications from parts of the country and will take 16 to 18 months on average to process applications filed after June 1, according to officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of DHS. Such a timeline would push many prospective citizens well past voter-registration deadlines for the 2008 primaries and the general elections."

"The immigration agency's workload has nearly doubled, Aytes said, with 1.4 million naturalization applications arriving from October 2006 to September 2007, compared with 731,000 applications the year before. Between July and September of this year alone, USCIS received 560,000 applications, he said."

"The number of green-card-related applications surged to 876,000 in fiscal 2007, from 497,000 in fiscal 2006, he said. At one point this summer, USCIS had 1 million applications and checks waiting to be opened and acknowledged, Aytes said, a backlog that now stands at 235,000. Overall, USCIS received 7.7 million applications for all types of immigration benefits, up from 6.3 million."

Caught in the big lie...

"I really want to target the elections," USCIS Director Emilio T. Gonzalez told the Associated Press in an interview published Tuesday. "I really want to get as many people out there to vote as possible."

"Aides, however, contradicted him. 'We are going to process these cases as responsibly and as quickly as we can, but we're not focused on any of the election cycle,' Aytes said. USCIS spokesman Bill Wright emphasized that political calculations played no role in agency decisions. "Any implication of that is ludicrous," he said."

Even LEGAL CITIZENS are being delayed by the system...

"In June, poor planning and coordination between DHS and the State Department forced the Bush administration to temporarily suspend a new security requirement that Americans present passports when flying to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Processing times for passport applications ballooned from three weeks to three or four months, jeopardizing summer travel plans for millions of Americans. Wait times returned to normal after the State Department allocated more resources and staffing."

"Frontlog," a hip new way to refer to governmental inertia...

"The new crunch -- which some USCIS officials have dubbed a "frontlog" -- threatens to create a political headache that also stems in part from a State-DHS miscommunication. In addition to raising immigration fees this summer, the Bush administration triggered another cascade of applications for legal permanent residency, or green cards, from skilled immigrant workers when it pushed back a planned July 2 deadline, largely because the two departments failed to coordinate on how many slots were available."

Predictable?

"'It is the same pattern,' said Crystal Williams, deputy director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "It strikes me as remarkable. It's not as if this could not have been predicted."

DHS Secretary Chertoff needs to resign...

On a number of occasions, I have called for Secretary Chertoff to resign on the grounds that he had, per the administration's apparent wish, politicized his department -- and personally lobbied Congress to pass the amnesty for illegal aliens legislation with the full knowledge that his department was unprepared for the paperwork blizzard which would follow and his lack of leadership in completing the outbound portion of the computerized visa tracking system so that the government could actually determine who had overstayed their visa and remained in the United States.

Considering what this government has said and done in the recent past, I really wonder if all the onerous TSA travel restrictions and hassles are little more than public diversions to keep us from asking the DHS more serious questions about how they are keeping us safe from real terrorists. Not only those sneaking in on our Southern Border, but those being ushered in via Canada's notoriously lax and almost non-existent immigration system.

A Better Plan...

There is no doubt in my mind that most citizens would like to establish a rational guest-worker program and some form of in-country worker registration program which allows those now in our Country to work, pay taxes and perhaps receive limited benefits. The key would be to register within a six-month period with no exceptions. Unregistered illegal aliens would be instantly deported upon discovery. This program would not offer amnesty or citizenship to any illegal alien or family currently residing in the United States and would eliminate provisions for so-called "anchor" babies. Illegal aliens now here would be free from the predatory practices and molestation which now affects their communities. Under the law, they would not be deported unless they committed a crime or refused to cooperate with the authorities. Criminal gang members and those associated with drugs would face immediate deportation.

Americans are a generous people as witnessed by the selfless acts that have kept Europe free from dictators and provided a relatively stable world environment.

However, we are facing a major crossroads in our history, when those who wish us harm or to confiscate a portion of our hard-earned wealth have learned to use our own legal system against us. Our politicians and bureaucrats have become increasingly corrupt as they pander to special interests which provide them with campaign funds and their families with "employment." These politicians leave government and go to work for these special interests to lobby their former colleagues and departments.

And consider John McCain...

Here is a Republican who had my vote, as well as the implied endorsement of the party,  as the designated Republican candidate for the Presidency. A honorable man with a relatively undistinguished military career who, unfortunately, was shot down over enemy territory and was subjected to torture by enemies of the United States.

[A note for you far-leftists: an enemy who not only did not abide by the Geneva Convention, but mastered the art of torturous interrogation against all rational laws and humanity itself. Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib were fully-paid summer vacations compared to what this soldier experienced.]

Someone who I thought was a conservative Republican and a worthy candidate for the Presidency. But he sold out his country...

First, he was part of the misguided McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act which gave us anything but reform as it introduced new ways to influence political elections. This sole piece of legislation empowered George Soros and other anti-American wing-nuts on both sides of the aisle to further corrupt the election process with media-driven campaigns which were not subject to dollar limits or public disclosure.

And second, he sold out his country by collaborating with Ted Kennedy to cede the sovereignty of our nation to a foreign power (mostly Mexico) and engaged in the demographic bombing of America. The immediate legalization of 12-20 million unassimilated illegal aliens would have crushed our fragile legal, educational, healthcare, retirement and economic infrastructure to the point of breaking. The inevitable result would have been bigger government, more government controls, higher taxes and, in general, a move towards tyranny by the special interests promoting  greater restrictions on the average American citizen.

Which should serve as a cautionary tale about electing politicians based upon what they are saying as opposed to what they are doing. As the above Washington Post article clearly illustrates, the government was never prepared to handle its routine business, let alone the influx of applications of 12-20 million illegal aliens. A somewhat more benign repeat of the Iraq war which predicted early victory -- but did not prepare adequately for the aftermath.

What can YOU do?

First and foremost, do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for personal power, prestige or profits.

Second, demand that elected representatives be required to actually read the very legislation that they are proposing and offer a sworn statement that they have read and understand the implications of what they are voting on. Sort of a Sarbanes-Oxley Act for politicians. Not only would this result in the proposed bill to be written in understandable (8th-grade education) English, but it would prevent thousands of bills containing the same material from being submitted over-and-over to confuse the American public as well as the legislators who are asked to vote on the legislation.

Third, demand that each and every bill be accompanies by a summary by a neutral legislative analyst, a financial impact study, an environmental impact study and a social impact study prior to introduction. Again, written in plain, understandable language.

Fourth, demand that the historic, precedential rules of both the Senate and the House be codified in a written document and ratified by the respective chambers. No more hidden rules which allow politicians to hide legislative earmarks or withhold legislation without the identification of the person taking the extraordinary action.

And fifth, at this historical crossroads in our history, limit the election and appointment of lawyers to high office. It is bad enough that these self-serving politician/lawyers are inserting special interest loopholes into our legislation, but they are also endlessly debating legislation on which the people have clearly spoken. It is nice that they are lawyers and may possibly understand the arcane legal language in a bill, but it is time that they be forced to advocate for their client: the citizens of the United States, rather than be beholden to the special interests that are funding their campaigns.

It is time for the citizens to vote en mass for what they believe. I am not telling you to vote in any particular manner, but to vote for what you believe. Do not become one of those easily-manipulated hyper-partisan, single-issue voters. Ignore the political parties which have created a climate of chaos and corruption. Study the entire agenda and pick the best candidate for the office. It is your future and it is time to protect it against the politicians and bureaucrats who are acting ONLY in their self-interests.

Again, do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for personal power, prestige or profits.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

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Immigrant Paperwork Backs Up At DHS