Immigrant Students Assault American Flag

In Whittier, California, area high school students the other day decided to walk out of school & demonstrate against proposed Congressional legislation on stricter immigration controls. They decided that assaulting the American flag would win them points with Americans, we suppose. They took down an American flag & re-flew it upside down, beneath a Mexican flag that was hoisted up.

This is the attitude of many of our distinguished "immigrants" - Screw the USA. They are here only for the money, the benefits, the escape from the dump that is known as Mexico. They have absolutely no loyalty nor respect for this country. La Raza - The Race - that is their only bond, that is their war cry. They are here to get what they can, nothing else. You already see it in other pro-immigration demonstrations, along with the curses, screams of racist America, blah, blah, blah. Expect more of this as the immigration debates continue to heat up.

We wonder how many of these students are illegal aliens & wonder why they cannot appreciate the fact that if still in Mexico their education would be quite different from what it is now.

The Charade Guest Worker Program

President Bush has been pushing hard for a temporary guest worker program for illegal aliens. The Senate Judiciary Committee is now debating the various forms this program should take. Proposals included issuing worker permits good for 3 - 6 years, renewable; some proposals requiring the worker to return to their country for a year, then applying for permanent status & eventually citizenship; others allowing the worker to remain & follow the same citizenship path. Businesses & immigrant advocates are all for a guest worker program. Whatever the Senate may conjure up as a program, it will be a disaster for the nation.

The White House issued forth this part of Bush's plan:

"The President proposes that the Federal Government offer temporary worker status to undocumented men and women now employed in the United States and to those in foreign countries who have been offered employment here. The workers under temporary status must pay a one-time fee to register in the program, abide by the rules, and return home after their period of work expires. There would be an opportunity for renewal. In the future, only people outside the U.S. may join the temporary worker program, and there will be an orderly system in place to address the needs of workers and companies.

American Workers Come First: Employers must make every reasonable effort to find an American to fill a job before extending job offers to foreign workers.
Workplace Enforcement of Immigration Laws: Enforcement against companies that break the law and hire illegal workers will increase.
Economic Incentives to Return Home: The U.S. will work with other countries to allow aliens working in the U.S. to receive credit in their nations' retirement systems and will support the creation of tax-preferred savings accounts they can collect when they return to their native countries.
Fair and Meaningful Citizenship Process: Some temporary workers will want to remain in America and pursue citizenship. They should not receive an unfair advantage over those who have followed the law, and they will need to be placed in line for citizenship behind those who are already in line. Those who choose the path of citizenship will have an obligation to learn the facts and ideals that have shaped America's history."

This is all meaningless mumbo jumbo. Sounds nice, but with 11-20 million illegals in the country, the program is doomed to failure. Some things to consider:

* Do you really think Business will make every effort to find an American to fill a job, when they are free to pay paltry wages to illegals?
* Three businesses were charged last year for hiring illegals. This is enforcement?
* As happened in the past, workers savings accounts in foreign countries have been prone to disappear by their corrupt governments.
* The notion that some workers will want to remain in the country & pursue citizenship is ridiculous. Try almost all of these workers will want to remain. Big deal - they have to learn what shaped America's history. What a tough requirement on the road to citizenship.

Further points to consider:

* How many guests workers? 500,000? 1,000,000? What do we do with the rest of the 11-20 million still illegal? Or do we make them all guest workers?
* What about family? Can they stay as well? Or ship them out? If they stay, they are just adding to the drain of social services by them.
* What about children born to "guest workers"? They US citizens, as it stands now by law? If so, Christ himself could not deport "guest workers" after their permit expires.
* What happens when "guest workers" must leave at the end of their permit? Will they leave. Don't count on it. They are not going to go back to poverty in their country. They'll stay & again become the illegals they started out as. Their is enough evidence that thousands of tourists on visas overstay its expiration & become illegals. And they haven't even established roots in this country.
* What happens when they lose their job? Can they have a work permit that allows them to go job to job? If not, they become illegals again.
* Will they be required to pay into social security, declare exemptions & follow other taxation laws? Will Businesses be required to stop paying them "under the table"?
* Will the Federal government establish minimum wage criteria for woefully under-paid & exploited guest workers?
* Will guest workers be eligible for health care, workers comp, unemployment benefits, etc?
* How will the Federal government identify each guest worker? What documentation will be required from them? Many illegals live with false i.d.'s
* The program allows those in the country after a certain period to apply for guest worker status. How does the Federal government determine when they got here?

This is just the tip of the iceberg floating towards the ship of state Titanic.

Business, Congressmen, the President & others perpetuate the myth of "jobs Americans won't do". The reality is that business is looking at the profit bottom line - cheap labor. A Mexican coming from his poverty ridden country is glad to make the $5 an hour, that would otherwise cost business $8-$12 if an American worked it. This country is perpetuating a profit driven worker underclass.

Before any "guest worker" program is considered, first the borders must be aggressively & completely controlled to stop the flow of illegals, criminals & potential terrorists, otherwise the guest worker program will be meaningless. Second, Businesses employing illegals should be specifically targeted with criminal & civil charges - not just the 3 a year businesses to date. Third, minimum wages should be mandatory in the agricultural business & other cooly-wage paying businesses. "Under the table" salaries should be ended with strict enforcement.
Then maybe we can consider some type of limited guest worker program.

An unfettered guest worker program will become a bureaucratic nightmare with a budget in the billions, wrought with fraud & corruption. The Federal government has already admitted that it's tracking databases are a joke & will not even begin to be ready by 2010.

It is time to back off on all the talk about a guest worker program until the problem of illegal immigration is dealt with. Such a program is amnesty by another name.

Illegals March Again for "Rights"

Illegal aliens & their advocates marched once again throughout the country, demonstrating against Congressional-proposed stricter immigration controls. In Los Angles 500,000 demonstrated. It was a very large turn out indeed. 50,000 demonstrated in Denver, 20,000 in Phoenix & 10,000 in Milwaukee. The demonstrations are expected to culminate April 10 in a "National Day of Action" organized by labor, immigration, civil rights and religious groups.





They were primarily demanding that Congress end its attempt to make illegal immigration a felony and to build more walls along the border. "We construct your schools. We cook your food," rapper Jorge Ruiz said after performing at a Dallas rally that drew 1,500.

Again, we are adamantly for strict control of immigration, legal or illegal. Illegals demand their "rights". But they have no "rights", not as US citizens, anyway. They were not invited into this country. Who are they to take it upon themselves to break this country's laws by entering illegally, then demanding "rights"? Who are they to jump in front of a line of thousands waiting patiently to enter this country legally & then demand their "rights"? Who are they to forge documents to obtain a fraudulent identity, cheat on taxes due the government, get free health care at taxpayer expense & further crowd our schools with their children?

How are we to know the working illegal entering the country from the terrorists, the criminals & the drug runners who enter the country alongside them? How are we to control the rise in TB & other diseases they bring with them when they cannot be monitored at the border? How do we explain to families of violent crime that the illegal crossed back into Mexico & the Mexican government refuses to extradite him?

The borders must be walled. Illegal entry into the country must be criminalized. Businesses must be heavily penalized for hiring illegals - only three were fined last year. Birthright citizenship must end. All government benefits & aid must end for illegals. Any guest worker programs must be limited,monitored & enforced. Cities that declare themselves sanctuary cities for illegals must be denied Federal aid. Vigorous enforcement & control of the borders must be enhanced.

Maybe then we will start to regain control of our borders, our national sovereignty & our national security.

Illegals Wrongly Demand "Rights"

An estimated 100,000 demonstrated in Chicago the other day in protest to pending Federal legislation that would tighten the U.S.-Mexican border, increase enforcement of illegal aliens & criminalize illegal presence in the country.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat, said, "This is our country, and this is where we will stay." Gov. Rod Blagojevich addressed the crowd in Spanish saying, "You are not criminals. You are workers."

What these demonstrators, as well as the Governor, fail to grasp is that illegals in this country should have no "rights". They are, after all, in this country illegally. It matters not whether they are only here for jobs & wish only to live peacefully. They are in the country illegally. It costs government in education, health care & other social services. They are in fact taking taxpayer dollars that could be better spent on - dare we say it - legal citizens.

Add to this the predominantly cash only pay from their jobs, the failure to pay taxes, the jobs taken away from - dare we say it - legal citizens, the inherent i.d. theft & fraudulent documents that comes with being illegal in this country, not to mention the sudden swarming of towns that can not handle the massive influx of illegals, & there is every reason to wonder why every Federal agent was not at the demonstration arresting the illegals there.

Let's not forget the terrorsts, criminals, thugs, gang members & drug runners that cross that same border as the poor working class illegal. Nor should we forget the unchecked diseases that cross that border.

Illegal rights? Yeah, right.

Educating Illegal Alien Children

The Supreme Court made a landmark ruling about educating illegal alien children. The result was profound in its consequences. It not only put budgetary strains on many districts, but has encouraged illegals to enter the country, knowing their children will be educated while they work illegally. Each child can cost a school district over $10,000 a year - all taxpayer money. The costs jump dramatically when special needs illegal alien children are educated - upwards of $80,000 a year per child. This is another incentive to enter the country, since most of their home countries do not have special needs programs.

The following is a summary of the ruling & what school districts are prohibited from asking prospective students & their parents:

Plyler vs. Doe 1982- A Summary -

In 1982, the Supreme Court rules in Plyler v. Doe , 457 U.S. 202 (1982), that public schools were prohibited from denying immigrant students access to a public education. The Court stated that undocumented (illegals) children have the same right to a free public education as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Undocumented (illegals) immigrant students are obligated, as are all other students, to attend school until they reach the age mandated by state law.

Public schools and school personnel are prohibited under Plyler from adopting policies or taking actions that would deny students access to education based on their immigration status.
Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, public school districts should consider the following practices in working with ELL students:

School officials may not require children to prove they are in this country legally by asking for documents such as green cards, citizenship papers, etc. They may only require proof that the child lives within the school district attendance zone, just as they might for any other child.
Schools should be careful of unintentional attempts to document students' legal status which lead to the possible "chilling" of their Plyler rights.

The following school practices are prohibited:
Barring access to a student on the basis of legal status or alleged legal status.
Treating students disparately for residency determination purposes on the basis of their undocumented status.
Inquiring about a student's immigration status, including requiring documentation of a student's legal status at initial registration or at any other time.
Making inquiries from a student or his/her parents which may expose their legal status.

Federal Program Requirements - Federal education programs may ask for information from parents and students to determine if students are eligible for various programs, such as Emergency Immigrant Education. If that is the case, schools should ask for voluntary information from parents and students or find alternative ways of identifying and documenting the eligibility of students. However, schools are not required to check or document the immigrant status of each student in the school or of those students who may be eligible for such programs. The regulations do not require alien registration numbers or documentation of immigration status.

Social Security Numbers - Schools should not require students to apply for Social Security numbers. If schools decide to pass out Social Security registration forms to assist the Social Security Administration, they must tell parents and students, in appropriate languages, that the application forms are merely a service and it is up to the parents and students whether the applications are actually filed. They should stress that schools will not monitor the filing of these applications. Additionally, schools should not require any student to supply a social security number.

School Lunch Programs - In order to qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch Programs, all applicants are required to furnish either of the two following types of information:
Social Security numbers of all household members over the age of 21, should they have one
For all household members above the age of 21 who do not have a Social Security number, an indication of the application that he or she does not possess one.
If a student or household members over the age of 21 do not have a Social Security number, "none" should be written in that space or another identifying number could be assigned by the school.

Parents and students should be reminded that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits any outside agency, including the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), from getting this information without obtaining permission from the student's parents or a valid court order.
School lunch programs are interested in determining household income, not in determining a student's legal status.

Communication with INS - Any communication to INS initiated by a school or school official concerning a specific student is prohibited. If parents and/or students have questions about their immigration status, school personnel should refer them to legal service organizations, immigrant rights organizations, or local immigration attorneys. They should not advise immigrants to go directly to INS offices without first getting proper advice from an attorney or immigrant rights advocate.

Requests for information by INS - School personnel are prohibited from cooperating with INS in any way that may jeopardize an immigrant students' right of access (with the exception of the administration of F-1 and J-1 visas). INS requests for information can only be released upon the presentation of a valid subpoena. All school personnel should be advised of this policy. If a subpoena is presented, it may be advisable to check with an attorney to properly check into the validity of the subpoena.

Requests by INS to enter a school - School personnel should not cooperate with INS in any manner that jeopardizes immigrant students and their right of access. The school principal should meet with INS officials in the front office with a credible witness present, deny the INS officials consent, and request to see a legal warrant. If a warrant is presented, the principal should determine that it:
Lists the school by its correct name and address
Lists students by name
Be signed by a judge
Be less than ten days old
Be served by an INS officer with proper identification.

To protect other students in the school, the principal should bring the INS officials to the office and request that they remain there while the named student(s) is brought to them. The principal should immediately inform the Superintendent and school attorney.
School District Personnel should always consult an attorney to clarify their duties and responsibilities under Plyler. This document is intended solely for guidance.

Source:
"Immigrant Students: Their Legal Right of Access to Public Schools. A Guide for Advocates and Educators" by John Willshire Carrera, Esq. National Coalition of Advocates for Students. Boston MA