Kentucky Guards the Border

The Associated Press reported last week that the governor of Kentucky has agreed to send a contingent of the Kentucky National Guard to help patrol the southern border.

Kentucky will send up to 650 National Guard troops to patrol the U.S. border with Mexico under an agreement signed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Fletcher said the soldiers could be deployed by July under a memorandum of agreement with several other states.

Fletcher said the troops will not be permanently used for immigration patrols. "It will be on a rotational basis for a short period of time — maybe for several weeks," Fletcher said. "Then they'd come back and we'd have another group go down."

There is no word yet on whether the Guard troops being deployed will include canine units utilizing the state's prized breed of hunting dogs.

With Friends Like These

If this doesn't convince skeptics that the president's "immigration reform" bill is bad for our country, I don't know what will.

Former president [Jimmy] Carter, a Democrat and frequent critic of President Bush, sees eye-to-eye with him on immigration.

Carter on Wednesday called the Republican president's commitment to immigration reform "quite admirable," saying he agrees with Bush's support of a system that would eventually grant citizenship to some illegals.

'Nuff said.

Another Step Backwards

According to Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Senate took another step backwards today in the fight against terrorism.

Senator Chuck Grassley today said the Senate failed to pass an amendment that would help break down the barriers of information sharing between federal agencies. The amendment, sponsored by Senator John Cornyn of Texas, would have allowed the Department of Homeland Security to share information about illegal aliens who receive amnesty if they were connected to national security or criminal investigations. The underlying bill says that if an illegal immigrant applies for amnesty, the federal government cannot use information provided in the application for anything but adjudicating the petition. This provision was one of Grassley's "Top 10 Flaws" that he outlined in a press release Tuesday.

Here is Grassley's statement on the failed vote.

"This provision in the bill is a serious flaw. National security is at risk because some believe that illegal aliens deserve unlimited privacy. But, it ends up handicapping the federal government while it tries to protect the American people. Since September 11, we have made information sharing one of our top priorities. The failure of the Senate to pass the amendment takes us backwards in our fight against terrorism."

Remember that the individuals targeted by this immigration reform bill include all illegal aliens, not just those who have poured over the southern border. This also includes those who have overstayed expired student or work visas.

Top 10 Flaws with Immigration Reform Bill

As discussed today by Rush Limbaugh, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is standing strong against the Senate's version of the immigration reform bill:

Sen. Chuck Grassley today said the immigration reform bill being debated in the U.S. Senate is riddled with loopholes and flaws. During a speech on the Senate floor, he outlined for the American people nearly 30 flaws within only two sections of the bill.

"I was burned once in 1986 when I voted for amnesty believing that it would solve our problems. Now, we have a 12 million illegal immigrant problem. I'm not getting burned again," Grassley said. "Not only do we have a glide path to citizenship, but it's a glide path with plenty of loopholes that don’t meet the common sense test."

Grassley's Top 10 Flaws with Amnesty and Guest Worker Portions of the Senate's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill:

1. $2,000 fine — Under the bill, an illegal alien can go from illegal to legal by paying a small fine of $2,000. ...
2. Taxes — ... The bill would treat lawbreakers better than the American people. ...
3. Security Clearances in 90 days — ... This is a national security concern because Homeland Security will be pressured to complete these checks without doing a thorough job.
4. Work Requirements — ... [T]he bill ... allows illegal aliens to ask anybody to attest that they have been employed. This invites fraud, and the government cannot realistically investigate all these cases.
5. Confidentiality — Under the bill, if an illegal alien applies for amnesty, the federal government cannot use information provided in the application for anything but adjudicating the petition. ... This provision severely handicaps national security and criminal investigators. Also, if a federal agent does use information provided by an illegal alien in an application for amnesty the agent would be fined $10,000. This is five times more than the alien has to pay to get amnesty.
6. Social Security to illegal aliens &mdash Under the bill, illegal aliens are not prohibited from getting credit for the money they've put into the Social Security system if they've worked in the U.S. illegally. ...
7. Employers get a tax pardon for hiring illegal aliens — ... Businesses that hired illegal workers would now get off scott-free from paying the taxes that they owe the government. ...
8. Family Members of H-2 Visa Holder need not be healthy — Under the bill, spouses and children of H-2C visa holders are exempt from a requirement proving that they meet certain health standards. ...
9. Mandatory Departure isn't really Mandatory — Under the bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security may ... waive the departure requirement if it would create substantial hardship for the alien to leave.
10. No Interview Required — Under the bill, illegal aliens in the 2nd tier who are required to leave the country can re-enter the United States on a visa. However, the bill does not require these individuals ... to be interviewed. ... Today, the State Department requires most applicants to submit to interviews, and waives them only for children and the elderly.

See Sen. Grassley's web site for his complete discussion of each point.