I'm confused.
I've thought for years as a long-time resident of southeast Texas that there was an illegal immigration problem at the US/Mexico border? I also thought that the US needed to increase southern Border Security to reduce the number of illegal immigrants sneaking over here.
They set up web cams with night vision and everything, didn't they? The news guy even whispered as they showed the film. And then, we heard all that mess about the Security Guards being arrested for trying to do their jobs, and saw CNN reporters filming agents escorting them back over the bridge, didn't we?
I know I saw and heard that.
Spotlight on the Border - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - www.tceq.state.tx.us
Here's what got me started:
How is it that these school children LIVE in Mexico, but cross the border every day to attend US schools? Who pays for this? There are many residents who LIVE in San Diego, US citizens born and raised, who have no earthly idea this is happening while their tax dollars are being sucked south.
Cause for Pause #2: Same thing is happening along the Texas, New Mexico & Arizona borders.
After receiving that information about San Diego schools, I wrote to every Tom, Dick and Harry who'd listen including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger directly, his Public Relations firm, the San Diego Superintendent of Public Schools and the State Superintendent.
Here's my partial inept letter, to the Superintendent of California Schools and his response three months later. Arnie has yet to respond....
TO: Jack O'Connel - California Superintendent of Schools:
How is it that students living in Tijuana, Mexico ride the trolley across the border and back every day after being educated in U.S. public schools in San Diego?
Are these students Mexican nationals, American born, or what? How many children do this every day? Where is the funding coming from and under what statute?
Thank you,
LMT
HIS REPLY:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: JACK O'CONNELL <superintendent@cde.ca.gov>
Date: 21 Mar 2008 17:04:50 -0700
Subject: 2008-0420 General Information
Dear LMT:
Thank you for contacting the California Department of Education (CDE) regarding Binational Migrant Education Program.
The Binational Migrant Education Program is an international program between Mexico and the United States. It provides direct services to migrant students who travel between the two countries. As part of the program, teachers from Mexico spend six to eight weeks during the summer in a California school district in sharing culture and teaching strategies to support migrant students. The Migrant, Indian, International Education Office and the Mexican Consulate collaborate on this project.
If you have any further questions regarding this matter please contact, Edda Caraballo, Bilingual/Migrant Education Consultant, Migrant, Indian, International Education Office, at 916-319-0396 or by e-mail at ecarabal@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
JACK O'CONNELL
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
JO:ng
2008-0420
EPILOGUE: "NAFI Super Highway advances: four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn." The Open Road
"NAFI, whose first objective is to make "the public and decision-makers aware of the challenges of economic and political integration between the three NAFTA countries," is following the country-integration plan of the European Union. (Emphasis added.)"
NAFI's vision is being enacted right now. Eighty separate, but interconnected, "high priority corridors" are being initiated in the United States."
Reporter: The Associated Press
Email Address: news@kbtx.com
The agency said earlier this year it was scaling down the
project. Now, transportation officials say it's fully dead.
Transportation Commissioner Bill Meadows broke the news to the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, transportation officials plan to announce they've
selected the "no build" option for part of the corridor that was
to parallel Interstate 35. The development contract with a private
company is being terminated.
The news comes a day after Perry's Republican primary opponent,
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, got the endorsement of the Texas Farm
Bureau - a vocal opponent of the corridor.
Latest Comments
If the public knew how much money has been spent on this project already, they'd impeach Perry. It was a "Spruce Goose" from the get-go, but Perry was seeking fame and a bigger place in history. We paid for it.
The TTC was renamed "Innovative Connectivity Plan". Only segments of the plan have been put on hold. Don't forget that Perry sold out to foreign interests when he pushed for a development contract with Cintra of Spain and Zachry Construction. It takes land from Texans and gives all construction and profits to foreigners. Thanks Perry!
Get the Headline right...ONE of the SIX segments of the TTC has been temporarily canceled; I'm sure the other five (ie I14, I69, and the Texas T-Bone) are still alive and well and sneaking around under the radar...
[ Report Abuse ]
Child X-ing
Del Rio's controversial crackdown on border-crossing students.
Melissa del Bosque | December 11, 2009 |
"There, Del Rio school district employees handed out fliers citing Texas educational and penal codes. “Upon conducting a check at the Port of Entry your child was observed crossing into the United State from Mexico to attend school. … Your child will be withdrawn from the school immediately,” the notices read in part. “Please come to the Office of Pupil Services … to provide proof of residence in the United States.”
About 200 notices were issued that morning. The orders had come from Del Rio’s new school superintendent, Kelt Cooper, who has made it a priority to root out Mexican residents attending school in his district. Port Director Mike Perez, who has worked at the bridge since 1979, says that previous school administrators occasionally came to the bridge with clipboards jotting down students’ names. But “it hadn’t been done for a few years,” he says. “The flier is new. I’ve never seen that done before.”
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libbyliberalnyc
Fay Paxton
Bob Eckstein
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Salon.com
Comments
First... International Falls MN is just BARELY outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The STRESS that such a highway would undeniably put on that area is immense. The flora and fauna in the wilderness area WILL die rapidly due to the pollution increase alone.
Second... PART of it goes across the Sioux reservations in the Dakotas. I guess that means that once again Americans are willing to lie, murder and steal if they are white and those who are red can either sit down and shut up or they can die... That IS, after all the way that it has ALWAYS been in the US.
I will have to dig out some maps and do an overlay to see how many OTHER reservations idiot white folks are willing to rape and pillage for their own benefit... I'm BETTING that I will come up with 30 at least looking at the list of roads though.
Methinks someone took out their brain to play with it and forgot to put it back again.
I'm sorry that this post has seemingly evoked such a deep-seated, negative response, MrsRaptor.
It seems you may have overlooked the originators of the NAFI plan which in no way indicates an all-white U. S. force. Far from it:
"...a group of wealthy industrialists, academics, and politicians whose aim it is to break down barriers to the North American Union. The main actors in NAFI are members of the Council on Foreign Relations or related organizations based in Mexico and Canada."
To say that it has ALWAYS been the 'white' American way to lie, murder and steal undermines and conflicts your position.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Maybe you can channel your activism into a movement to circumvent the NAFI projections.
BR
BTW-When I initially looked at that map, I thought of the Columbia's path.
I woned whether those invaders carrying schoolbooks are required to show a passport LIKE AMERICANS HAVE TO?
Tell me please... precisely WHAT property are the people who came up with this idea going to REPLACE the reservation lands that they are bent on stealing with? Are they, as was the case with John McCain and the Navajo, going to MOVE the Native Americans negatively impacted onto lands condemned due to contamination from Uranium mining? I suspect that will be the case. There are after all thousands more acres of land that have been contaminated by uranium mining available...
Even absent the Native American issues however this remains a very stupid idea. The Boundary Waters Wilderness area *can't* take the stress that additional pollution place on it. There are thousands of *endangered* plants in that wilderness area... those plants *can't* survive if we increase the pollution they are forced to attempt to survive under.
Then there's the issue of building a road over the top of a volcano. Yellowstone (the Volcano not the park) has been growing at a rate of between 3 and 7 centimeters a year for years. It is known to be both active and a super volcano. According to the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, between June of 2004 and June of 2009 the Yellowstone caldera rose 23 centimeters. (That is slightly more than 9 inches) and the entire Caldera has raised 35 inches since 1923.
Nobody would suggest building a road over the top of Mount St. Helens and yet people think that building a road over the top of Yellowstone (a much larger volcano) might accidentally be a "good" idea? How intelligent do you have to be to decide to build a road over the top of an active volcano? If you look at this map http://www.earthmountainview.com/yellowstone/YellowstoneFalloutAshBed.gif you can see the ash beds from the last 3 eruptions of Yellowstone. The map also shows the (relatively) minute amount of ash spewed by St. Helens in 1980. As you can see looking at the map, one of those eruptions covered all or part of 19 states and parts of three countries. That kind of an eruption isn't "minor" I humbly submit that it would be a much more intelligent and safer thing to leave Yellowstone alone rather than giving him the proverbial "helping hand" when it comes to erupting.
I need to point out that TxDOT recently killed the super highway (Trans-Texas Corridor) that was supposed to link Mexico to Canada (at least the section in Texas). Thus, given the current budgetary problems the federal and state governments are facing, I am not anticipating any of these super highways being built any time soon (note: I work in this area). Some people though claimed that this one is not officially dead.
As discussed by Blue Roses and a comment I posted below my article, the proposed fence is a big waste of money.
See, here is how it works:
A)-Wars are not too expensive, but Medicare and Social Security are.
B)-Giving away trillions to the asses who blew your 401 k's is not too expensive, but paying you Unemployment compensation, is.
C)-Throwing away & outsourcing jobs via NAFTA, is not too expensive, but making COBRA free for those out of work is.
D)-Allowing Foreign Nationalists to cross the border and go to OUR schools is not too expensive, but paying their parents uniuon scale is.
See, one thing is that when industry is using YOUR money nothing is too expensive, when they ahve to use thneir own that IS too expensive.
They are flooding America with Foreign Nationaosists because they are trying to crush the unions and they cloak it in "doing good for our poor southern natives." Uhuh. They sent you to talk with a Mexican person about your gripe about peiople from Mexico stealing your revenue, so that tells you what he thought of your complaint, by saying, "Go ask the person with a vested interest in this program sucker!"
"BTW-When I initially looked at that map, I thought of the Columbia's path."
Which Columbia's Path? I'm afraid I don't catch the reference, unless you're referring to settlements in the heart of the south or NASA's failed mission? (I'm still working on my second cup of coffee this morning. Can you tell?;)
"I woned whether those invaders carrying schoolbooks are required to show a passport LIKE AMERICANS HAVE TO?"
Nope, they don't, apparently. The only criteria, as far as I can tell, is that their parents are migrant workers.
What's interesting, though, is that in the rest of the U.S. public school system, we can't ask specifics about whence or how they come to our districts. Only that we provide them full benefits throughout their entire school enrollment, and then some.
"(BTW, there seems to be something wrong with the formatting at the top of the post.)"
What formatting, specifically, doesn't seem to be working? The only thing that doesn't 'work' is the summary at the bottom of the map -- You have to go to the site (Spotlight on the Border) to get a clear read. I didn't quite know how to delete it from the map before uploading the entire pic. Is that what you're referring to?
"I need to point out that TxDOT recently killed the super highway (Trans-Texas Corridor) that was supposed to link Mexico to Canada (at least the section in Texas). Thus, given the current budgetary problems the federal and state governments are facing, I am not anticipating any of these super highways being built any time soon (note: I work in this area). Some people though claimed that this one is not officially dead."
That's good news, Kanuk -- I think. Do you have a link to that effect so I can include it here and update the post? Why would the SuperHighway be scrapped only for Texas?
"As discussed by Blue Roses and a comment I posted below my article, the proposed fence is a big waste of money."
Given the 62-mile inland 'border', where are they going to put the fence? Certainly not along the Rio Grande.
The fence
You can find the link in the “Trans-Texas Corridor” comment above. I put it here again:
http://www.kbtx.com/money/headlines/63624372.html
"There, Del Rio school district employees handed out fliers citing Texas educational and penal codes. “Upon conducting a check at the Port of Entry your child was observed crossing into the United State from Mexico to attend school. … Your child will be withdrawn from the school immediately,” the notices read in part. “Please come to the Office of Pupil Services … to provide proof of residence in the United States.”
http://www.texasobserver.org/features/child-x-ing
The Mexico-Canada Corridor has about as much reality as alligators in the sewers of New York. The right wing loves conspiracies, and they like to play spin the bottle on which minority groups will be in the hate spotlight of the day. Blacks, illegals, gays, secular humanists, global warming scientists. It's all about fear, paranoia, and a lust for power on the great right wing conspiracy machine.
This is why the debate on illegal immigration is so complicated. From my perspective, illegals are the hardest working people in show biz, putting Americans to shame. Anyone here who wants to pick lettuce in Yuma? I didn't think so. Studies have shown that illegals contribute far more to the economy than they cost it through crime, fraud, etc.
And of course, the border fence is just another plum to the defense contractors. Boeing got $400M for its work on the fence.
And of course, racism has absolutely nothing to do with concerns about illegals. And monkeys fly out my butt.
The Mexico-Canada Corridor has about as much reality as alligators in the sewers of New York. The right wing loves conspiracies, and they like to play spin the bottle on which minority groups will be in the hate spotlight of the day. Blacks, illegals, gays, secular humanists, global warming scientists. It's all about fear, paranoia, and a lust for power on the great right wing conspiracy machine.
This is why the debate on illegal immigration is so complicated. From my perspective, illegals are the hardest working people in show biz, putting Americans to shame. Anyone here who wants to pick lettuce in Yuma? I didn't think so. Studies have shown that illegals contribute far more to the economy than they cost it through crime, fraud, etc.
And of course, the border fence is just another plum to the defense contractors. Boeing got $400M for its work on the fence.
And of course, racism has absolutely nothing to do with concerns about illegals. And monkeys fly out my butt.
"This is why the debate on illegal immigration is so complicated. From my perspective, illegals are the hardest working people in show biz, putting Americans to shame. Anyone here who wants to pick lettuce in Yuma? I didn't think so."
"And of course, racism has absolutely nothing to do with concerns about illegals. And monkeys fly out my butt."
From my teacher-perspective from southeast Texas and contrary to what many people think, the frustration of the ills of illegal immigration is NOT coming from racism.
Texas takes in approximately 150,000 illegals per year. Every year. That we know of. Probably more. How many migrate to your area of the country?
It all boils down to money, sadly, from my perspective. Money that should go to benefit legal citizens. Since my background is in public education, I see tax billions siphoned away from American citizens (school children) toward illegals who have no interest in pursuing a path to citizenship. For generations.
Like I referenced in this piece: Texas shells out 4 Billion, with a B, per annum on the effects of illegal immigration.
"Studies have shown that illegals contribute far more to the economy than they cost it through crime, fraud, etc."
I don't know where you found all of those studies, but I'd love to see them and how they apply to Texas. Most of the illegals I've known (and possibly employed) over the past 20 years work independently.
From the ones I've come in contact with, most of the money they make goes right straight back to Mexico. Are they contributing to the economy as much as the economy is investing in them? We can't know that answer because their earnings and status go unreported.
What we DO know is the cost to Texas (and border state) tax-payers to maintain that anonymity.
This is indeed a complex issue on which I could write a half-dozen more posts.
Thank you for your input, onl.
"D)-Allowing Foreign Nationalists to cross the border and go to OUR schools is not too expensive, but paying their parents uniuon scale is."
Their parents cannot be paid 'union scale' because they are undocumented and without forging an application, they cannot be hired for those positions. You would think that a potential gain in overall income would be an incentive to work toward citizenship, but it doesn't. At least not here.
"They are flooding America with Foreign Nationaosists because they are trying to crush the unions and they cloak it in "doing good for our poor southern natives." Uhuh."
Who are you referring to when you say "They"? I find it hard to believe that any entity would deliberately 'flood America with Foreign Nationalists' just to crush the unions, as you put it.
Union support and membership has decreased dramatically in this country over the last several years, but I don't think it's because of illegal immigration. I belonged to a teacher's union for many years and was a faculty rep and officer.
I stopped paying those exorbitant dues because, frankly, they stopped doing their job and spent the millions in dues on their own agenda rather than to support education. Illegal immigration had nothing to do with it.
" They sent you to talk with a Mexican person about your gripe about peiople from Mexico stealing your revenue, so that tells you what he thought of your complaint, by saying, "Go ask the person with a vested interest in this program sucker!""
I would HOPE, Professor, and for the sake of Diversity, that assigning a Mexican national to represent Mexican interests would be their first priority. Looks like it was.
As to their reliability, the banks consider illegal aliens who hold mortgages in the US their best, most dependable customers who are least likely to default on their loans.
Illegals are very loathe to come into contact with either law enforcement or health providers because of their fear of being deported. As to the "burdens" they put on the school system, I am totally aware of their presence, having taught in South Central LA for ten years. Their cost to the school systems are only marginal, as their rents and property taxes contribute to the school system budgets.
The benefits they provide to the Texas economy far outweighs their costs due to their contribution to state and local taxes through their work and employment.
the acquisition of northern mexico into the south western tier of states has stabilized. it's time to incorporate the rest. make 'em an offer they can't refuse.
That oxymoron stirs the pot in a discussion like this, old new lefty:
How can they be 'totally law abiding citizens' if they came to and remain in this country illegally? They know they risk deportation once discovered, but they do it any way? Why? Why not apply for citizenship as opposed to staying for decades in the shadows? That's like thumbing your nose to the whole process, isn't it?
I seriously do. not. know. why. I guess, because they can?
"Obtaining phony papers is no problem??"
I wonder what would happen if you or I (I assume you're a citizen of the United States) got phony papers and attempted to work in the public school systems? How long would we last? Would we be able to get another job once our fake ID was discovered?
I have a real problem with 'phony papers' which brings up another issue. Where do they get those phony papers? The only place I can deduce is through identity theft of some kind.
"They do work in union jobs, non-union jobs, at regular pay, and below pay. They all contribute into Social Security, and they all have income taxes withheld by their employers. They do sent money to Mexico or wherever. They do go home. And then they go back to the US again. Illegals do take many jobs that regular Americans consider beneath them."
If they have those jobs, it's because they have circumvented the system and played it well under false pretenses via phony papers and fraudulent IDs.
I'm not even going to bring up the drug or medical issues.
Thanks for your input, lno.
BR
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09tribes.html?_r=2&th&emc=th
"think big[ger].
the acquisition of northern mexico into the south western tier of states has stabilized. it's time to incorporate the rest. make 'em an offer they can't refuse."
It looks more like, to me, by looking at that blue border, that the acquisition of the southern United States into the northern tier of Mexico has been stabilized. ;)
UPDATED Update:Washington Post staff writer
Tuesday, May 25, 2010; 3:23 PM
President Obama will deploy an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the southern border and request $500 million in extra money for border security, according to an administration official