The Discerning Texan

How to solve a problem: pretend it doesn't exist! The American people have already overwhelmingly rejected legislated amnesty: so it looks like the Prez is just going to order it granted anyway. So who is the rocket scientist that came up with this one in the middle of an election year where well over 65% of the American people want our existing laws enforced? From today's WaPo:

Facing a rapidly growing backlog of immigration cases, the Bush administration will grant permanent residency to tens of thousands of legal U.S. immigrants without first completing required background checks against the FBI's investigative files.

The change affects a large but unknown number of about 47,000 permanent residency, or green-card, applicants whose cases are otherwise complete but whose FBI checks have been pending for more than six months, U.S. officials said. Overall, about 44 percent of the 320,000 pending immigration name checks before the FBI -- including citizenship as well as green-card requests -- have waited more than six months.

The delays have been called "the most pervasive" processing problem in the U.S. immigration system, according to Prakash Khatri, the ombudsman of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The change, announced in an internal agency memorandum Feb. 4, follows years of criticism by Khatri, the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, lawmakers and federal judges, who say that lengthy delays in FBI name checks serve neither national security nor immigrants, who in any case have been living in the United States for years while awaiting a decision.

Critics blame poor management and coordination at the FBI and USCIS, and the inefficient system by which the FBI keeps more than 86 million investigative files. About 90 percent of name checks are completed electronically within three months, but the rest can take years to finish through paper-based searches for any mention of an applicant's name in records stored in 265 locations nationwide.

So--to make sure I understand--we don't have enough dollars and resources allocated to solving this backlog; but we do have enough money to send $1.4 Billion to Mexico so they can address their immigration problem--with our tax dollars?? Is this a government or a Kafka novel? :

A reader asked me to check into information that President Bush was pushing a massive foreign-aid package to Mexico to help them secure their southern border against the flow of illegal aliens from Central America.

“We can’t even get our own border straight, and we are going to provide Mexico with funding so they can solve their problem,” the reader fumed. “I doubt the Central Americans are staying very long in Mexico anyway. We know where they are going!”

Too outrageously outrageous to be true?

Well, I checked it out and it’s even worse than the reader described. Far worse.

The plan is called “The Merida Initiative.” Seems that the White House has had this plan in the works for nearly a year with little congressional input on either side of the border.

We can’t finish our own border fence, properly supply our immigration agents and border patrol with all the equipment and resources they need, or get our house in order. Yet, the Bush administration wants to fork over $1.4 billion to Mexico and Central America–with much of it going into the hands of corrupt law enforcement officials and government bureaucrats who have worked tirelessly to undermine our immigration laws. The funding is tucked into the 2008 supplemental budget.

Naturally, the State Department has taken a lead role. They’ve held meetings in secret and cut out members of Congress from discussion. You’ll love the explanation for the secrecy: Mexico is “sensitive,” you see. Also, according to one expert, “Mexico is very protective of its sovereignty and very worried about any incursion of U.S. security forces or private contractors—like Blackwater—coming in to train Mexicans.” Yeah, they’re worried about incursions and sovereignty.

Read the rest here (and be prepared for a blood pressure rise) Also, much more here. My suggestion, call the phone numbers below and let them know how you feel about this. Today. And let's also be sure our voices are heard in encouraging Senator McCain NOT to support this:

Update: Here’s the audio of Rush Limbaugh’s remarks on the Merida Initiative.

***
If you’re looking for my report on the $1.4 billion Mexican stimulus/border security funding package mentioned by Rush Limbaugh this afternoon, it’s here. And there’s a follow-up here on the state of our border fence.

Make sure you ask your congressional representatives if they know what the hell is going on.

Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121.

Mexican president Felipe Calderon, who is pushing the plan, continues to lambaste America as a racist country, even as he holds out his hand waiting for his billions.

It gets worse.

Calderon is refusing any conditions on the money.

Read the rest here (warning: you will get madder as you go...)

How about this: Enforce the freaking law!

Isn't it time the American people stepped up and put a stop to this madness?? We'll need your help to do so.