"Senate group reaches immigration deal"

Hi Gang:
I just received a link to the disturbing news report that appeared on Sunday, January 28th on the Politico website:
In my humble opinion, the long list of articles and reports about the multitude of failures of not only the Border Patrol to secure the US/Mexican border, but particularly the failures of USCIS to administer the immigration benefits program with even a shred of integrity will cause irreversible damage to national security.
I will provide a very partial list of such articles-  These should be seen as a “pre-flight!”  If USCIS cannot administer the benefits program under the current circumstances, how in the world will it deal with a flood of what I believe will ultimately be tens of millions of applications filed by aliens who will not be able to prove or, perhaps, not want to really prove who they are?  
The material contained below is lengthy but given the gravity of the issue I urge you to please take the time and set aside some time to look through the links and the material they relate to.  I also ask that you kindly forward this e-mail to as many folks as you can and ask them to do the same- we need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”
If ever there was a time for you to contact your elected representatives- this is it!
The 9/11 Commission was so clear on this issue about how the terrorists were able to embed themselves in the United States by committing fraud on applications for immigration benefits and it is being utterly ignored by those politicians who are focused on political gain at any cost!
There will also be no way of knowing how long illegal aliens who ran our borders have been here.  They created no record of entry when they ran our borders and nearly all of them have used multiple false names.  There will also, of necessity, be no ability to conduct routine in-person interviews!
You should also know that it takes just minutes to approve an application for immigration benefits but hours or sometimes days to deny an application.  The adjudications officers will be under tremendous pressure to approve nearly all of the applications that land on their desks! 
As you likely know, I host an internet radio program every Friday night at 7:00 PM Eastern Time, “The Michael Cutler Hour”  On July 27, 2012 my guest was Jerry Casale, a former colleague at the INS and a recently retired Adjudications Officer who was assigned to USCIS Headquarters in Washington when he retired.  Jerry and I discussed the lack of integrity to the adjudications process and the impact this has on national security.   This is the sort of material you will not find on any other program!  Here is a link to the podcast of my discussion with Jerry:
In 1986 we were told at the INS that some 1 million to no more than 1.5 million illegal aliens would emerge from the “shadows” to participate in that “one time” amnesty program.  We wound up with nearly 4 million.  It was believed that while there may have been some underestimation as to the actual number of aliens who were illegally present it also became clear that there were many aliens who had entered illegally long after the cutoff date and simply lied about their entry data as well as their names!  This is, without a doubt, going to happen now!
It is imperative to remember that some of the terrorists who attacked the United States in 1993 had acquired lawful status via the amnesty of 1986 and all of the terrorists of 9/11 lied on their respective visa applications as have other terrorists who attempted to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States since then. 

I have discussed the following material previously, but it beyond comprehension that the current administration is utterly ignoring the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report that provided an in-depth analysis of how the terrorists who attacked our nation on September 11, 2001 were able to enter the United States in the first place and then manage to game the immigration benefits program which enabled them to embed themselves in our country.  The 9/11 Commission also prepared a Monograph on Terrorist Travel which focused on these issues as well.

Here is a link to the Staff Report (Monograph) on Terrorist Travel in its entirety:

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf

Here is are two important excerpt from the 9/11 Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel.

First of all, here is the first paragraph from the preface of that report:

“It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country. Yet prior to September 11, while there were efforts to enhance border security, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy. We believe, for reasons we discuss in the following pages, that it must be made one.”

Here is a paragraph under the title “Immigration Benefits” found on page 98:

“Terrorists in the 1990s, as well as the September 11 hijackers, needed to find a way to stay in or embed themselves in the United States if their operational plans were to come to fruition. As already discussed, this could be accomplished legally by marrying an American citizen, achieving temporary worker status, or applying for asylum after entering. In many cases, the act of filing for an immigration benefit sufficed to permit the alien to remain in the country until the petition was adjudicated. Terrorists were free to conduct surveillance, coordinate operations, obtain and receive funding, go to school and learn English, make contacts in the United States, acquire necessary materials, and execute an attack.”

It is crystal clear that immigration fraud represents a huge threat to national security as do failures to enforce immigration laws violated by foreign nationals who manage to enter the United States. 

What is also being ignored is the impact that creating millions of authorized workers would have on the unemployment situation for American and lawful immigrant workers.
Additionally, in my experience, going back to the 1986 amnesty- when illegal aliens were granted lawful status and they demanded prevailing wages and lawful working conditions beginning with being paid “on the books” they were promptly fired by many of their unscrupulous bosses- how would our bankrupt government deal with having to pay unemployment and a host of other such expenses for workers who are likely to be fired? 
Here are some items I would ask you review:

On January 25, 2013 Homeland Security Newswire, an online publication that focuses on national security, posted an article that was entitled:

Immigration: Naturalized security threats retain their U.S. citizenship”

This article was itself predicated on a report issued by the Center for Immigration Studies that sounded the alarm about how a significant number of naturalized citizens have been charged and convicted of crimes that involve serious breaches of the national security of the United States including terrorism, espionage and theft of sensitive information and technology.

The report noted that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the INS and now DHS, cannot strip a naturalized citizen of his (her) citizenship even when there were lies concerning material facts in the application for naturalization. Under the ruling a person could only be stripped of citizenship pursuant to a successful criminal trial or through a civil lawsuit filed in federal court.

On November 15, 2012 a report was issued by Congressman Michael T. McCaul, the then Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management.  He is now the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
A LINE IN THE SAND: COUNTERING CRIME, VIOLENCE AND TERROR AT THE SOUTHWEST BORDER

Here is a copy of that report:

Here is the press release issued by Rep. McCaul’s office on November 15, 2012 in conjunction with the report:

From: Rosen, Mike 
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 3:02 PM
Subject: McCaul Releases Report Demonstrating Iran/Hezbollah Threat to Southwest Border
 

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 Contact:  Mike Rosen
November 15, 2012                                                                                 512.633.4550
 
 
McCaul Subcommittee Report Connects Dots Between Iran, Hezbollah and Mexican Drug Cartels
Underscores Terrorist Threat to the Southwest Border
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, today released the report “A Line in the Sand: Countering Crime, Violence and Terror at the Southwest Border“, an assessment of the threat from drug cartels and terrorist organizations.  
 
While the original Line in the Sand report in 2006 focused primarily on Mexican drug cartel activity, this report connects the dots between Iran and Hezbollah’s growing presence in Latin America, and their recently documented nexus with Mexican drug cartels.  The Subcommittee believes this underscores a threat that is not fully on the radar of this administration.  
 
The Subcommittee believes the presence of Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America represents a strategic migration to position terrorist operations within striking distance of the United States.  If Iran is provoked, the report asserts Hezbollah finance cells in Latin America will have the ability to turn operational.
 
The report cites the central criticism of the 9/11 Commission was our failure to connect thedots and to use our imagination when assessing the threat landscape.  This report is an attempt to be pro-active and not reactive. 
 
NOTE: The report is the subject of an Oversight & Investigations hearing tomorrow.        
           Friday, Nov. 16, 9:00am, 311 Cannon
           Live Web Stream (Internet Explorer preferred) 
 
 
# # #
 
 
 
 
Mike Rosen
Communications Director
Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10)
512.633.4550 m
512.473.2357 Austin
202.225.2401 DC
http://mccaul.house.gov
Chairman, Homeland Security Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee
 

On December 14, 2012 NextGov Magazine published the following article:

Immigration officials struggle with identity management – and mismanagement

On September 10, 2012 I wrote a commentary that was predicated on an GAO report that should make it clear that our government has not learned the lessons that should have been learned in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Here is the link to my article that was entitled:
Problems still abound in student visa program:
In conjunction with my commentary you should know that on March 19, 2002 I testified before a hearing convened by the House Immigration Subcommittee on the topic:

INS’S MARCH 2002 NOTIFICATION OF APPROVAL OF CHANGE OF STATUS FOR PILOT TRAINING FOR TERRORIST HIJACKERS MOHAMMED ATTA AND MARWAN AL-SHEHHI” 

The hearing was covered by C-SPAN and the video of that entire hearing is certainly worth watching!

On September 1, 2006 the House Judiciary Committee, then chaired by Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, held a field hearing at Dubuque, Iowa on the topic:

IS THE REID-KENNEDY BILL A REPEAT OF THE FAILED AMNESTY OF 1986?

I was one of the four witnesses who testified at that hearing.  I made mention of the way that immigration benefit fraud enabled the terrorists to embed themselves in the United States by citing the specific example of one of the terrorists who participated in the 1993 World Trade Center attack.  Here is an excerpt from my testimony:

    A notable example of such a terrorist can be found in a review of the facts concerning Mahmud Abouhalima, a citizen of Egypt who entered the United States on a tourist visa, overstayed his authorized period of admission and then applied for amnesty under the agricultural worker provisions of IRCA. He succeeded in obtaining resident alien status through this process. During the 5 year period he drove a cab and had his license suspended numerous times for various violations of law and he ultimately demonstrated his appreciation for our Nation’s generosity by participating in the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 that left six people dead, hundreds of people injured and an estimated one-half billion dollars in damages inflicted on that iconic, ill-fated complex. America had opened his doors to him so that he might participate in the American dream and he turned that dream into our worst nightmare. The other terrorists who attacked our Nation on subsequent attacks, including the attacks of September 11, 2001, similarly exploited our generosity, seeing in our Nation’s kindness, weakness, gaming the immigration system to enter our country and then hide in plain sight among us.


On July 27, 2006 I testified at a Congressional hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration Border Security and Claims on the topic:
“WHETHER THE ATTEMPTED IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REID-KENNEDY IMMIGRATION BILL WILL RESULT IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL SECURITY NIGHTMARE”

Here is the link to the transcript of that hearing in its entirety:
Here is an excerpt from my testimony at that hearing back then:

    My fear is that because we are dealing with millions of illegal aliens who, in the parlance of the open borders advocates, are undocumented that means they have no verifiable means of proving their true identities. This means that if the program were to be enacted under S. 2611 that it will be a simple matter for illegal aliens, including terrorists or criminals, to walk into an immigration office, along with millions of other illegal aliens, and produce a false name and then get an official identity document from our Government bureaucrats.

    These documents would then enable them to circumvent the various no-fly and terror watch lists. They would be able to use these documents as breeder documents, get driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, open bank accounts, even library cards, all the while staying under the radar and obscuring and concealing their true identity, and all of this at a time when the citizens of our country have witnessed an erosion of many of the freedoms that we have come to take for granted in the name of national security.

    I have heard the President often state that if our nation allowed aliens who simply wanted to work to do so, that law enforcement could then focus on the terrorists. I have to respectfully disagree with this optimistic but extremely naive assessment.

    Awhile back, Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his concerns about so-called sleeper agents. As you know, a sleeper agent is a terrorist, spy or enemy combatant who one way or another succeeds in gaining entry into the United States to carry out an attack or other hostile act against our country.

    But while awaiting his instructions, however, such individuals do whatever they have to do to not call attention to themselves. Many, as we have seen, get low-profile [jobs], such as driving an ice cream truck, a taxicab, work in a used car lot, or attend school. Often the job that they take provides them with mobility to move freely among us as they conduct clandestine meetings, surveillance or other preparatory functions till the day that they are called into action.

    A few days before a terrorist carries out an attack, he is in fact likely to hide in plain sight by going to his job. If our Government makes it that much easier for a terrorist to legally get a job under an assumed identity, then Al Qaida should give the people in our Government who make this possible the MVP award.

    The GuestWorker Amnesty Program will undoubtedly entice ever-increasing numbers of illegal aliens to head for our country, because this program will convince people throughout the world that in the United States not only will you be permitted to break the law and get away with it, but that we are actually willing to reward you for breaking the law by even providing you with Social Security benefits when you commit identity theft and use somebody else’s Social Security number, even as law enforcement agencies across our country are increasingly turning to asset forfeiture strategies to combat a wide variety of crimes on the city, State and Federal level.

    Moreover, there is no door that could be shut so there is no way to keep the millions more illegal aliens from gaining access to our country. The confidentiality provisions would also hobble efforts by law enforcement officials to make certain that criminal and terrorist aliens have their applications properly scrutinized, inviting more fraud.

    The avalanche of applications will further erode any effort to restore integrity to the benefit system, meaning that fraud will become even more attractive to criminal and terrorist aliens, furthering encouraging more of them to seek to enter the United States, making it easier for them to game the system, and then we wind up with a vicious cycle where we have more aliens filing more applications, and quality will continue to erode as more applications are filed.


    And, meanwhile, decent people who file applications for benefits will be put on the back of this line because the overflowing system won’t be able to deal with their applications. That was one of the lessons of the 1986 amnesty, in fact.

    Additionally, a meaningful effort needs to be made, not only to deny applications where fraud is involved but to prosecute people who become  involved in fraud and to remove aliens who are identified as being the beneficiaries of fraud applications. Right now they file an application with little fear of either criminal charges being brought or administrative deportation actions being initiated.

    So if you consider all of this and you realize that the bill of 1986 is essentially a reworked version that we are looking at now, it makes no sense to continue along this path. S. 2611, at a time that we are in now, facing terrorism, facing growing problems with narcotics and gang activities in the United States, makes no sense, and any kind of amnesty program must not be considered at this time.


My concerns back then are every bit as relevant today!
Here is another commentary I wrote for CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) that was predicated on a Washington Times article that focused on a a Homeland Security Inspector General report:

Audit: Feds’ immigration check system fails 12 percent of the time


Here is how my commentary began:

On December 18, 2012 the Washington Times published a story about a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report that incompetence and ineptitude at USCIS is so rampant that criminal aliens stay in the United States and obtain jobs in sensitive locations and participate in various social welfare programs.

The report begins by noting that of the one in eight aliens ordered deported who never leave, some end up working in sensitive airport areas and get benefits like Medicaid or food stamps. Others who should have been expelled have serious criminal records including charges for assault with a deadly weapon, drug convictions, extortion and child abuse according the inspector general’s audit. In total, 800,000 aliens are still living in the U.S despite deportation orders.

On December 24, 2012 I received a brief e-mail from a former colleague at the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) who is also a retired Senior Special Agent.  In addition to conveying his holiday wishes for my family and me, he provided me with a link to an infuriating Boston Globe news report that was entitled, 

Many freed criminals avoid deportation, strike again

The vast and secretive US prison system for immigrants, stymied when it tries to deport some criminals, has quietly released thousands, including killers, a Globe investigation shows

Here is the link to this important news report:
Immigration is not a single issue but a singular issue that impacts nearly every challenge and threat confronting the United States today!

Our nation is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations!


Our armed forces are charged with securing America’s borders externally while the DHS is supposed to secure those same borders from within!

It is vital that American workers never be made to compete with foreign workers for their jobs!  (This requirement is a component of the Immigration Laws that are not being enforced today!)

If our government’s failures to secure our nation’s borders and effectively enforce our immigration laws that are intended to protect our nation and our citizens concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

We the People must make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!


-michael cutler- 


Please check out my website at AND Magazine:

Please also check out my personal website:

       


On Friday evenings from 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, I host my show, “The Michael Cutler Hour” on the USA Talk Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio.

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pdf iconLine in the Sand_Final.pdf

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