In response to the political article published on Ground Report by Matthew Kolken, an immigration lawyer it appears, as a former 45 year Arizona resident who has been a three time victim of illegal immigrant crime, and who was unable to respond to the article published May 24, 2010 with respect to the backlog of immigration cases in the United States at the present time due to a technical glitch in the site for responsive comments, below is my response as one who also is aware of the history of federal legislation also in this matter prior to the Reagan amnesty especially in the border states which has far more illegal immigrants than any others, primarily Mexicans and Canadians.
If this is the case, since it is the lawyers in this country that lobbied for all those "rights" now given to immigrants, whether in this country legally or not, prior to deportations then I would state that it is your profession as a lawyer that has created this backlog of cases.
Since the Bill of Rights actually was created to insure the protection of Americans against foreigners, corporately or otherwise,and also the federal and state government – American civil rights does not include foreigners civil rights if they are here illegally and have overstayed their visas, or didn’t even bother to go through the process.
The founders created a new nation dedicated to sovereignty, and at that time was a growing country.
At the present time our country is pretty much populated, and it was their intent as found in the Constitution to provide for the protection of their posterity, those natural and legally naturalized Americans from that day forward as is clear by the provisions included – meaning those future Americans born of at least one American parent, or going through a fealty and naturalization process which in their time took over five years, after that first generation of immigrants who created this nation died out foreswearing their allegiance to any other "foreign" entity or country before their loyalty to the Constitution, and America.
Although the process now is so time consuming and expensive, also due to lawyer lobbying, that most of those from poorer countries such as Mexico cannot afford the fees and costs and it is cheaper then to chance it with those rogue Coyotes that simply charge $2,000 per immigrant. I’d say look in the mirror, sir, before blaming a President that truly hasn’t a clue, or is pretending not to as also a former Bar member.
As an immigration lawyer who is pushing for what is no more than another amnesty, it appears, for perhaps questionable reasons, may I ask what your usual fee is for handling such cases?
And how many poor Mexicans you represent there in New York, rather than maybe the well-heeled Canadians and those from Europe whose currency now is much higher than our own, which is why so many of them are now attempting to immigrate to get a "steal" on some land and property here at the American public’s expense?
And due to globalization and currency manipulations which have occurred by those foreigner bankers who own our own Federal Reserve, how "secure" is this country now when many non-Americans also now own stock in America’s infrastructure, including our nuclear reactors, airlines and other vital industries?
I, of course, and many other Americans who are speaking up in greater and greater numbers believe the focus of this "reform" is off, just as was the "reform" of health care, and the rescue of those "bankrupt" banks.
While the background checks and such should be thorough given the security concerns that remain post 9-11 due to also federal negligence in getting America’s borders secured, it should not take massive amounts of money, or a lawyer in order to immigrate to this country.
My grandparents immigrated in the 1920’s, and it didn’t take a lawyer to do so, as it should not today.
They applied from their former home country, waited in line, paid a nominal fee for the application, went through a thorough background check (including a dental examination even), arranged for a sponsor, and then after immigrating – checked into immigration once a year until they formally went through the classes and naturalized.
In fact, one of my relatives never really became a U.S. citizen since she was afraid that she would not pass the classes as only having a partial high school education, but lived here as a resident alien all her life.
And never pressed for voting rights, demonstrated, or demanded her citizenship due to poverty or the language barrier, but checked into immigration every two years for her entire life to get her status updated and verified.
So this is all so much rhetoric, since there is a process but there is no border security.
And the reason there is such a backlog is due to the above, and fact that with over 500 miles of open desert, this situation will simply get worse as it has since Reagan – so what you propose is serial amnesties, I take it, for economic stimuluses at the cost of the safety and security of this country and its existing citizenry?