CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Democrats seek Obamacare for illegals

A group of House Democrats wants illegal aliens to be included in Obamacare.

President Obama has said he does not want health care proposals to cover illegal immigrants. The bill drafted by Montana Democrat and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, specifically excludes illegals from the proposed health care exchange.

In response, California Democrat Congressman Michael M. Honda says it is unfair to exclude illegals. Honda, and more than 20 of his colleagues sent letters to key players in the health care reform debate in the House of Representatives and the Senate urging inclusion of illegals in Obamacare.

According to the Washington Times, the National Council of La Raza tried to pressure Baucus to drop verification language in the legislation that could prevent illegals from participating in Obamacare.

It makes no sense to me to reward those who came here illegally by providing them with health care. It will only further encourage more illegal immigration.

Obama hit over driving illegals

There is a new ad being broadcast in Ohio. It takes Obama to task for his position favoring driver's licenses for illegal immigrants:

Remember the Democrats' debate at Drexel University? Tim Russert asked Hillary about giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants:

MR. RUSSERT: Thank you, Brian.

Senator Clinton, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer has proposed giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. You told the Nashua, New Hampshire editorial board it makes a lot of sense. Why does it make a lot of sense to give an illegal immigrant a driver's license?

Hillary's failure to give a straight response was the beginning of the end of her presidential campaign.

When pressed to say whether he was for it or against it, Obama said it was the right idea:

MR. WILLIAMS: Are you for it or against it?

SEN. OBAMA: I think that it is a -- the right idea.

Obama couldn't be more wrong on this issue. The American people do not support giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Even Democrats don't support the wrongheaded proposal that Obama calls "the right idea."

Number of Illegal Immigrants Declines

The flow of illegal immigrants into the country appears to have declined over the last year:

The study by the Center for Immigration Studies based its findings on Census data indicating that the number of less-educated, working-aged Hispanic immigrants--defined as 18- to 40-year-olds with a high school diploma or less--has dropped by more than 10 percent, or about 830,000 people since last August.

Good news indeed.

There is a debate as to how much the recent crackdown on illegal immigrants contributed to the drop in the number of illegals:

"The evidence is consistent with the idea that at least initially more robust enforcement caused the number of illegal immigrants to decline significantly," said Steven A. Camarota, one of the study's authors. "Some people seem to think illegals are so permanently anchored in the United States that there is no possibility of them leaving. . . . This suggests they're not correct. Some significant share might respond to changing incentives and leave."

Several demographers who specialize in estimating the illegal immigrant population expressed concern about the limits of the study's methodology, but said they found the possibility that the illegal immigrant population is decreasing plausible.

Determining the actual amount of that decline, however, is a far more controversial matter.

Recently the Washington Post reported immigration prosecutions have hit new highs:

Federal law enforcement agencies have increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators to record levels, in part by filing minor charges against virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to new U.S. data.

Officials say the threat of prison and a criminal record is a powerful deterrent, one that is helping drive down illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier between the United States and Mexico. Skeptics say that the government lacks the resources to sustain the strategy on the border and that the effort is diverting resources from more serious crimes such as drug and human smuggling.

Federal officials say there was a 20 percent drop in apprehensions of illegal immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2007, to 859,000.

There has also been a decrease in financial remittances from illegal immigrants in the United States to families in Mexico.

States are also cracking down on illegal immigrants and that is also having an impact.

Fred was right. Attrition by enforcement works. When illegal aliens don't have jobs, they don't stick around:

McCain Honors Hispanic Servicemembers

McCain courts Hispanic voters with a television advertisement honoring Hispanic members of the armed services:

Latinos constituted about 8% of the 2004 electorate and voted for Democrat John Kerry 53% to 44% for President Bush. But immigration activists and Democrats say that since then, hard-line Republican bluster on illegal immigration, a top issue among Hispanic voters, has galvanized the demographic segment and driven them away from the Republican party.

In 2006 and 2007, McCain was a driving force behind unsuccessful legislative efforts to reform the US immigration system and create a path to legal status for the about 12m illegal immigrants already in the country. McCain is a senator from Arizona, a border state with a large Hispanic population.

[. . .]

The advertisement features a short speech McCain made at a New Hampshire primary debate in June 2007. McCain, who despite his rightward maneuvering was among the more moderate Republican candidates on immigration, exhorts the audience to visit the black granite Vietnam war memorial in Washington, D.C., and note the Hispanic names chiseled into it.

He also praises military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan "who are of Hispanic background," even those "who are not even citizens of this country."

McCain has a lot of ground to make up in the campaign for Hispanic votes. A recent Gallup poll found Hispanic registered voters preferring Democrat Obama 59% to 29% for McCain.

I give McCain credit for his efforts to take on immigration reform. I'm on record as willing to give the Senate's great immigration compromise a chance. Too bad the Democrats killed the deal because New York Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer reportedly made the case that the failure to get a bill would be good for the Democrats.

McCain doesn't get the credit he deserves for his bipartisan efforts to solve the flood of illegal immigrants. As he said in his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 7, 2008:

On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration.

Even if you disagree with McCain's approach, he deserves credit for trying to solve such an important issue.

Have We Progressed Enough To Embrace Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

According to Newsweek, immigrants are leaving the United States -- willingly and unwillingly -- and countless others are deciding not to come.

The reasons cited by Newsweek for the new trend include:

More stringent Border Controls

Apprehensions are down sharply along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border—in fiscal 2007, 859,000 illegal immigrants were stopped, compared with 1.07 million in 2006. This suggests, at least to Newsweek, that fewer people are attempting to cross the border illegally.

Expanded Border Patrol

Use of the National Guard to Support the Border Patrol

Deportations of Illegal Immigrants

Deportations rose from 178,657 in fiscal 2005 to 282,548 in fiscal 2007—up 58 percent.

Prosecutions for Illegal Entry

Prosecuting Employers Who Employ Undocumented Workers

The Slowing Economy

The slowing economy means less work for immigrants, and for the people who make a living providing services to them.

The Weaker Dollar

Mexico's central bank said remittances from the United States fell 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008

A survey released by the Inter-American Development Bank in April found that 3 million fewer Latino immigrants are sending money home from the United States this year compared with two years ago.

Strength In Emerging Economies

Today, about 84 percent of the graduates of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology decide to pursue careers at home, compared with only 65 percent seven years ago.

That's the good news. On the other hand, U.S.News & World Report tells us about a new study confirms that what many of us who have been arguing for controlling the border have long suspected: Mexican immigrants are assimilating to life in the United States less successfully than other immigrants.

Using such factors as intermarriage, English ability, military service, homeownership, citizenship, and earnings, the Vigdor study uses a novel 100-point assimilation index. The closer to 100, the more assimilated an immigrant group:

Overall, the report shows immigrants are weaving into the American fabric at a remarkable clip, despite arriving poorer and knowing less English than immigrants of a century ago. And they are gaining speed, with new arrivals assimilating faster than those who came more than 20 years ago. With a score of 53, Canadians are the most assimilated, followed closely by Filipinos, Cubans, and Vietnamese. The main outlier: Mexicans, with a score of 13—followed by Salvadorans.

According to U.S.News, the root cause of the Mexicans' slower assimilation is that so many of them are illegals:

"There are certain jobs or certain services you just can't get [as an illegal immigrant]," Vigdor says. "There are plenty of indications here that for those Mexican immigrants who are interested in making a more permanent attachment to the United States, their legal status puts very severe barriers in that path."

Since the 1990s, Mexicans' immigrant story has differed from that of their peers. When comparing Mexicans and Asians, "Asians show up with a lot more money, oftentimes," notes Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California. "They have a higher education to begin with, and many of them are entrepreneurs." Past decades saw influxes of refugees from countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Today's Asian immigrants are some of the best and brightest, which puts them on a faster track to assimilation via economic success.

The Asian experience recalls a general rule of today's immigrants. The farther you have to migrate, the wealthier you probably were in your country of origin. "Poor people can't afford a plane trip across the ocean, but poor people can walk across the border," Myers says. "Poor Africans and poor Chinese can't do it." Because of their proximity to the United States, poor Mexicans can make the trip. Indeed, their poverty impels them to risk the border crossing. But when they arrive, they arrive significantly disadvantaged, and they often qualify for jobs that offer little opportunity for social advancement. Other factors may also contribute but are more difficult to quantify: The leading contender is that the sheer number of Latinos in the United States has created a subculture that slows assimilation.

Other reasons offered for the slow assimilation include segregation and lower education.

In reporting on the Vigdor study Boston Globe poses some important questions that should be answered before we can address what needs to be done about the "anemic progress of Mexican immigrants:"

- Should the goal of our immigration policy be to satisfy industrial demand for low-skilled labor? Or should we place a higher priority on admitting new residents who seek to build a permanent attachment with American society?

- Should our policy toward immigrants place a greater value on cultural or civic assimilation?

All that said, the question remains: are we ready to again try and achieve comprehensive immigration reform? I don't think we are, at least not in the midst of the presidential election. There will be a window of opportunity for the new President to again attempt comprehensive reform after the November election.

Nevertheless, until we reach a consensus -- not just a simple majority, but a consensus substantial enough to overcome a filibuster -- on what to with the 12 million illegal aliens already living here, no comprehensive immigration reform can succeed. To be successful, any proposed reform must convince the skeptics that it will actually discourage future illegal immigration.

Immigration reform should be one of the issues throughly debated during the presidential campaign to move us toward the needed consensus.

Happy Rights For Illegal Aliens Day

As you are sure to recall, two years ago, hundreds of thousands marched in support of rights for illegal aliens in coordinated events across the U.S.

Today, as they plan to march again, the rights for illegal aliens movement appears to have lost its enthusiasm:

Now, as they prepare for another round of May Day demonstrations in support of more liberal laws, some Austin organizers say fear and fatigue have sapped some of the marches' vigor.

"When year after year you fight and you fight without any kind of real attention and concern by our legislators, it's only logical that people might wear themselves out and maybe get discouraged from coming out again," said Luissana Santibañez of Familias Unidas por la Esperanza (Families United for Hope).

"The enthusiasm has diminished," said Josefina Castillo of the American Friends Service Committee.

[. . .]

Declining participation in the marches may also be due to a feeling among immigrants that the demonstrations haven't accomplished much and that they are powerless to make a difference, organizer Antolin Aguirre said.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, organizers are plan rallies and marches in downtown Austin:

Protesters plan to walk past the jail during the march, which starts at 5:30 at the Capitol and ends with a rally at Austin City Hall.

Thousands marched last year, though fewer than in 2006, when police estimated that 8,500 people protested in Austin. (Organizers said the turnout was closer to 40,000.)

In Chicago, up to 50,000 are expected at a downtown march and rally. "Activists" hope to revive the stagnant immigration debate, in time for the presidential election, demanding comprehensive immigration legislation - including pathways to citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the U.S.:

Organizers say they have extended their message to include unity among different races and, for the first time, gay rights activists. Representatives from the Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Nation of Islam are expected to attend events Thursday.

[. . .]

Organizers say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president.

Seattle, where organizers are preparing for a ninth annual march, they complain about enforcement.

All and all, the news is now better for those who wish to stop, or at least slow, the flood of illegal immigration:

• The border fence is being constructed.

• Enforcement is improving, both nationally and at the state level, as is evidenced by the protest organizers' complaints and plans to march past the jail, as well as complaints from businesses.

• The Border Patrol is continuing to expand, more resources to prosecute illegals have also been made available.

I realize that immigrants are an extremely vital element of our economy. Nevertheless, the only way I can see to stem the endless stream of illegal aliens is to establish a guest worker program that doesn't reward those who came into the U.S. illegally, punish those that hire illegal aliens, and make a serious effort to control the border.

I supported the Senate's 2006 compromise on immigration reform, which the Democrats scuttled. My main objection to other "comprehensive reform" proposals that give legal status to illegal aliens is those proposals would encourage more illegal immigration, as did the amnesty authorized by the 1986 Immigration Reform Act.
Allowing those that disregard the nation's immigration laws to remain here and pursue citizenship sends a simple message - get into the United States anyway you can because eventually, you will be legalized.

I commend President Bush and Senator McCain for their willingness to try and reform immigration. True reform might well include some path to citizenship, but it must be seen to discourage the flood tide of illegals constantly crossing the border.

Leaving Arizona

Attrition By Enforcement

Illegal Aliens are packing up and leaving Arizona.

Arizona enacted a new law in an attempt to lessen economic incentives for illegal aliens. Under the new law, which takes effect January 1, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.

Arizona employers have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally. As a result illegal aliens are returning to their home countries or moving other states.

The departure of the illegals from Arizona proves that attrition by enforcement works. When illegal aliens don't have jobs, they don't stick around.

Fred got it right.

Romney Battles Huckabee Surge

To combat Mike Huckabee's surge in recent polls, Mitt Romney is airing a "contrast" ad in Iowa on illegal immigration.

The ad begins by highlighting the similarities shared by Romney and Huckabee on the life and marriage issues:

"Two former governors . . . two good family men . . . both pro-life . . . both support a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage," says the ad's narrator.

The ad then argues that the real difference between Romney and Huckabee is on illegal immigration.

It specifically targets Huckabee for having supported in-state tuition benefits as well as taxpayer-funded scholarships for the children of illegal immigrants.

In an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson, Romney compared the Huckabee "surge" to previous surges and predicted like the McCain surge, the Giuliani surge, and the Fred Thompson surge, the Huckabee surge would eventually deflate:

And in the past, what's happened is, when the surge occurs, people look more closely at the record of the vision of the person running . . . and inevitably the surge kinda deflates. I think you will see the same thing here; I sure hope so.

Romney's contrast ad hit the airwaves shortly after Huckabee launched his own immigration ad, which calls for "no amnesty," building a border fence, and "doing it now."

The ad and Huckabee's new immigration plan are designed to counter the criticism that Huckabee has supported in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants.

Even if immigration is a hotter issue than Iraq, it's going to take more than Romney's the new contrast ad to deflate the Huckabee surge.

1 In 3 Would Deny Illegal Aliens Services

A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll finds one-third of Americans want to deny services, including public schooling and emergency room healthcare, to illegal aliens. A majority -- 60% -- favors a path to citizenship for illegals who have not committed crimes.

The poll also found that illegal immigration is less a concern than the Iraq war, the economy, protecting the country from terrorist attacks and health care.

The poll also makes clear that respondents make a distinction between legal and illegal immigrants:

Asked if illegal immigrants had made a positive or negative contribution to their community, 36% said negative, whereas 21% said positive and 29% said the effect was not discernible.

When the same question was asked about legal immigrants, 12% said their contribution was negative, compared with 46% who said positive and 31% who saw no discernible effect.

Only 22% said that illegal aliens should be able to get limited driver's licenses. That finding explains why many leading Democrats opposed licenses for illegals when it was proposed by New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer. It also helps explain why Hillary's failure to give a straight answer about Spitzer's unpopular plan has cost her the lead in Iowa.

Tancredo Blames Lax Border For Gang Violence

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo is airing another television ad with ominous warnings about illegal immigration, this one saying that vicious Central American gangs in the U.S. are killing mothers, raping children and selling drugs:

The ad, which is running in Iowa reminds us of Tancredo's "Tough on Terror" ad, which linked lax border security to future terrorist attacks.

Tancredo defended his ad campaign:

"What we state [in the ads] is something that is completely factual," he said. "Certainly, I think we should all be fearful of the massive problems caused by illegal immigration."

No wonder Tancredo's ads are labeled fear mongering.