3 years ago
Unless of course it’s the U.S. Southern border, in which case, they want to lose that war.
WAIT JUST A MINUTE https://t.co/cOn5SBDIf1
— Wag the Poso 🐕 (@JackPosobiec) January 26, 2022
8 years ago
From Art Acevedo, who aided the fedgov to take forcible blood draws at random stops in Travis County in violation of constitutional protections – protections from people exactly like Art Acevedo – to something apparently just as bad.
The one on the left is Abbot, the governor of Texas. He’s a good guy. The one on the right is … ahem … the sheriff of Travis County. No, I’m not kidding. She’s not a good guy. She hates Texans. And she hates America. And she doesn’t look to me like she could find her way to the gun safe, much less protect anyone.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is formally demanding that Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez reverse her new policy on cooperation with federal immigration authorities or lose state dollars, further escalating a showdown over “sanctuary cities” that have been in the crosshairs of Republican officials.
“This is not a pronouncement of sound public policy; it is a dangerous game of political Russian roulette — with the lives of Texans at stake,” Abbott wrote to Hernandez — whose jurisdiction includes Austin — in a letter dated Monday.
The newly elected sheriff, who campaigned on the issue, announced Friday that her department would reduce its cooperation with federal immigration authorities when they request an inmate be flagged for possible deportation. Her office said it would continue to hold people charged with very serious crimes, such as capital murder.
[ … ]
Abbott’s threat targets Criminal Justice Division grant money that is administered by his office. Travis County got almost $1.8 million from the division over the past year “based upon the commitment that federal immigration law would be enforced,” according to the letter.
“Your policy is in violation of that commitment,” Abbott told Hernandez. “Unless you reverse your policy prior to its effective date, your unilateral decision will cost the people of Travis County money that was meant to be used to protect them.”
Solution. Fire her and throw her in the state penitentiary with the general prison population where she belongs for (1) violation of the law, and (2) theft from the citizens of Texas.
This is a prime example of collectivists. They are literally willing to impoverish people in order to fulfill their wet dreams of statist utopia.
What is it with those folks down there is Travis County? Do they like abuse?
8 years ago
I don’t think there is any question that the voters put Donald Trump in office, at least in the main, because they’re sick and tired of seeing their jobs go to Hispanics and Latinos, all the while observing the cash-based society they live in where they don’t do business via official channels where they would be taxed. And they’re tired of this cashless society since they have to endure the taxation to prop up medical care, SNAP, welfare and other support for cross-border workers. They’re tired of paying their share when others don’t.
Paul Ryan doesn’t care about you or your views.
Congressional Republicans are working with the Trump transition team on a solution for immigrants brought illegally to this country as kids, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands of these immigrants gained temporary protections and work permits from President Obama. While campaigning for president, Donald Trump promised to undo those protections, putting the immigrants at risk of deportation, although he said last month he hoped to “work something out” to help them.
Ryan didn’t detail what Congress and Mr. Trump would do about the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. But when questioned on a CNN town hall by a woman who identified herself as a DACA recipient with a young daughter, Ryan told her he did not want to see her deported.
“I can see you love your daughter, you are a nice person who has a great future ahead of you, and I hope your future is here,” Ryan said.
“What we have to do is find a way to make sure that you can get right with the law, and we’ve got to do this in a good way so that the rug doesn’t get pulled out from under you and your family gets separated.”
Host Jake Tapper pointed out that Mr. Trump, during the campaign, promised a “deportation force” to round up the more than 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. Ryan dismissed that idea.
“I’m here to tell you in Congress, it’s not happening.”
It sure would be nice if we engaged in the fabrication of machine guns in violation of the NFA, and then had Paul Ryan on our side who wanted to help us “get right” with the law.
But we haven’t yet made our voices heard in such a way that Paul hears them. Mark my words now though, he is compromised. I’ll guarantee it, I would bet every penny I’m worth on it. He is involved in the deep state, and someone has pictures of him. Mark my words. It’ll eventually be found out.
And as for what you really need to know about Ryan, you have already heard it. Paul Ryan advocates universal background checks. There. That’s all you ever need to now about him. He is a communist. Case closed.
8 years, 4 months ago
Uncle gives us his usual quick take on what Rubio’s proposal. Go and read it for yourself. TCJ reader Fred comments on this, but I want to focus on one comment in particular from Sean Sorrentino who is himself a blogger.
Sorry, Uncle, but you’re wrong on this one. This is a great move on his part. It offers the lying shitweasel Dems everything they *say* they want without giving them anything they *actually* want.
They say they want to ban terrorists from buying guns. This would do it. It gives the AG the power to prove, in court, that a person is a terrorist, and stop him from buying a gun. I’m totally cool with this. Who wouldn’t be? And they only get three days to get the paperwork in. And if they fail in court, they have to pay ALL reasonable attorney fees and costs. So you know that every ambulance chasing dickhead in the nation will show up to defend the little terrorist jerk. Or me, if it’s me.
But the shitweasel Dems can’t just randomly declare that every person who buys a “Don’t Step on Snek” flag is a terrorist and make them fight to get their rights back.
This is why Rubio’s opponent is screaming about this like someone just raped him with a running chainsaw. He realized that they just got outmaneuvered. They just got fucked over.
“Oh, you want to ban terrorists? Here you go. ACLU would buy in on this process. Why are you angry? It’s everything you SAID you wanted?”
But gun owners are too busy screaming “MUH RAHTS!” instead of finding new and interesting ways to screw over our enemies …
Horrible. Just horrible. Who wouldn’t be okay with your option, Sean? I wouldn’t be. You give far too much deference to the corrupt court and the corrupt officers of the court for my tastes, and you’ll be sorry for this approach one day if they seek a declaratory judgment for folks who believe in second amendment remedy for tyranny to be right wing terrorists. They’re either there already or not far away.
Hey, I have a much better idea, Sean. How about if they can prove to a jury of our peers (even here I’m skeptical given the idiots that make up juries these days) that a person is a terrorist – you know, has actually perpetrated some act of terror – they jail him or deport him? Or put him to death? In fact, if a person isn’t a citizen and believes in the application of Sharia law in America, they should deport him too! I can give you all kinds of suggestions for how to close the border. I’ve thought about this a good bit. For example, let’s deploy the U.S. Marines along the Southern border to shoot “mules” who transport people across. See? I have lot’s of worthy ideas.
If a person is really a terrorist, we should do a lot more than prevent him from purchasing a gun. He can get a car and kill far more people, or a truck load full of fertilizer and kill even more. You see Sean, you’re chasing after Red Herrings and misdirects. It’s how they want their underlings to behave.
That’s what the progs want us to do. As for Rubio, he is an open borders freak. I’m not surprised he wants to help folks chase after misdirects rather than focus on closing the borders. It took Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert, Dave Brat, Mike Lee and Jeff Duncan to shut that crap down when he tried to do it as part of the gang of eight bill before. Don’t help the little weasel keep the borders open by chasing after this misdirect. Be smarter than that.
UPDATE: Ken Blanchard has a very good analysis of this.
9 years, 5 months ago
WRSA: If you have a door on your home, you believe in borders.
Especially if you lock it.
11 years, 10 months ago
Good grief. Heritage again.
On February 26, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Center for Human Rights issued a white paper on the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which concludes that “the proposed ATT is consistent with the Second Amendment.” This conclusion neglects important facts about the treaty and the processes surrounding it, which we have explored in this four-part series.
We have shown that while we agree with several of the ABA’s contentions, it ignores the fact that the ATT—like many treaties—is not designed for a nation with a federal structure like the U.S. The ABA also ignores the fact that the ATT goes beyond import restrictions on firearms by requiring signatories to prevent the domestic diversion of imports. The treaty may also invite the executive branch to take executive actions to restrict and control the import of firearms into the U.S., imports which comprise about 35 percent of the new firearms market.
Finally, the treaty raises broader concerns about the application of transnational law to the U.S. These concerns are heightened by the fact that both foreign nations and some prominent legal scholars have identified treaties like the ATT as a mechanism to pressure the U.S. to change its domestic policies, and even to change the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, including the Second Amendment.
The question, then, is what the U.S. should do about this. The U.S. is sensitive to allegations that it is failing to fulfill treaty commitments, and it rightly takes its treaty obligations seriously. Because the ATT is a process that is designed to evolve and grow, it is impossible to know where it will lead.
A new ATT conference begins today in New York, and we will be blogging from the conference.
Supporters of the ATT frequently defend it as entirely unrelated to the Second Amendment. Some opponents of the ATT criticize it as a nefarious plot against the Second Amendment. The truth is more complicated …
Listen carefully. No, the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty isn’t really that complicated. It is a nefarious plot against the second amendment.
We’ve covered this in detail before. All that rubbish and claptrap about the treaty excluding civilians because it excludes civilian arms is a ruse. What it does is what Feinstein and Obama want to do within the framework of U.S. law, and distinguish between so-called “military weapons” and “civilian weapons.” Again – it doesn’t distinguish between you and a member of the professional military, it distinguishes between military arms and civilian arms.
It would make illegal all sorts of firearms currently in circulation, as well as subject you to a set of rules, licensing and governmental checks that would make what Obama has proposed look like free utopia.
Some things really are as they seem. Can Heritage at least try to get it right next time? Otherwise, it’s just wasted space and bandwidth.
12 years, 6 months ago
From Fox News:
The Obama administration is moving to shut down nine Border Patrol stations across four states, triggering a backlash from local law enforcement, members of Congress and Border Patrol agents themselves.
Critics of the move warn the closures will undercut efforts to intercept drug and human traffickers in well-traveled corridors north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Though the affected stations are scattered throughout northern and central Texas, and three other states, the coverage areas still see plenty of illegal immigrant activity — one soon-to-be-shuttered station in Amarillo, Texas, is right in the middle of the I-40 corridor; another in Riverside, Calif., is outside Los Angeles.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it’s closing the stations in order to reassign agents to high-priority areas closer to the border.
“These deactivations are consistent with the strategic goal of securing America’s borders, and our objective of increasing and sustaining the certainty of arrest of those trying to enter our country illegally,” CBP spokesman Bill Brooks said in a statement. “By redeploying and reallocating resources at or near the border, CBP will maximize the effectiveness of its enforcement mandate and align our investments with our mission.”
The last paragraph has all of the right keywords, but I told you what this is really all about Changes in Mexican Border Strategy. This aligns personnel with the objective of increasing transcontinental and cross-border traffic. It’s all part of a larger nation and state level plan to make the border less significant, make it easier to cross, and raise cross-border shipments of goods and products, especially with Mexican truck drivers.
Mark Krikorian passed on a revelation that alone should have cost this administration the upcoming election. In the initial fight with drug cartels fighters, Brian Terry and his team shot beanbags rather than bullets. But the situation is really even worse than that.
First it was confirmed that Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and his elite tactical unit initially fired bean bags at heavily armed dope smugglers. Now comes news that a Border Patrol training video is instructing agents that, when confronted by a shooter. they should “run away” and “hide”. Only as a last resort, if they are cornered, should agents get “aggressive” and “throw things” at the perps. Throw things? Really; here’s the site of the largest local of the Border Patrol agents’ union describing the training they’re required to undergo. The site reports that the suits in D.C. have “offered to revise and clarify this training” — sure, only because it was exposed. It’s debatable whether Bill Clinton actually loathed the military, but this administration certainly loathes the Border Patrol.
This is sad but not surprising. It dovetails with the overall administration policy for the border, that is, the last three administrations. As I have observed, “The National Guard is bored, has little to do other than watch, isn’t under arming orders, and has sagging morale, while the administration is using the lack of security on the border as an opportunity to make political hay on so-called “assault weapons,” and study groups are more concerned about militarization of the border than they are border security. Don’t look for a secure Southern border in this generation unless something catastrophic happens to the U.S. homeland. By then it will be too late.”
Securing the border would look so different than what we currently have that it would be indiscernible to the average American, and we aren’t prepared to implement what’s necessary. The border would have to come before trade and trucking deliveries, all traffic would be fully searched, the U.S. Marines would have to patrol the border, under arming orders, outside of the constraints of the Supreme Court ruling in Tennessee versus Garner, men with weapons would be shot by Scout snipers before they ever became a threat, and e-verify would be implemented on a national level.
Again, don’t look for this unless something catastrophic occurs, such as Hezbollah fighters crossing the border and perpetrating acts of terror. Right now, trade and cheap labor on the backs of the American taxpayer are far too important to prevent “alignment of our assets with our strategic goals.” Expect more border station closings and a more diminished Border Patrol.
12 years, 8 months ago
From Tucson Sentinel:
EL PASO – Border Patrol agents might soon switch from sitting in trucks along the U.S.-Mexico border to helping traffic move more efficiently on the international bridges in this Texas city.
This scenario comes from the idea of Border Patrol agents collaborating with other government agencies.
Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher in May announced a strategy to fight transnational crimes and drugs, support Homeland Security efforts and aid U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
One possible outcome might be reassigning Border Patrol agents to Customs border crossings to reduce the long wait.
“Currently Customs and Border Protection needs all of the staffing help that they can get – in particular at our ports of entry,” said El Paso City Representative Steve Ortega in an email.
As Border Patrol agents apprehend fewer undocumented people each year, its mission as an agency with resources focused on deterring and apprehending undocumented crossers is being reconsidered.
Currently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel in the El Paso area of responsibility are apprehending and removing more undocumented people through the Secure Communities Program, employment raids and by catching crossers at major ports of entry than the Border Patrol, according to Border Patrol and ICE enforcement and removal figures.
That is why the Border Patrol 2012-2016 Strategic Plan calls for redirecting its agents’ efforts toward relieving congestion and waits at the ports of entry, as well as combating terrorism and transnational crime.
By the close of fiscal year 2011, the typical Border Patrol agent working from Texas to California was apprehending 17.7 undocumented people a year, from a high of 352.2 “illegal alien apprehensions” per agent in 1993. In comparison, the numbers fell even more for agents in the El Paso Sector, from a high of 470 apprehensions per agent in 1993 to only 3.8 apprehensions by 2011.
More agents at entry checkpoints would be a relief for some people of El Paso.
“People would cross to go to work, or to go to restaurants and enjoy the nightlife. They would cross to see family and they would cross to engage in trade. It used to be pretty easy to cross and it’s gotten more and more difficult,” said border journalist Louie Gilot.
Gilot is the publisher of Newspaper Tree, a nonprofit online news organization in El Paso. Previously, she covered immigration issues as a reporter for the El Paso Times.
For those who cross the border back and forth as part of their daily lives, long waits are too time consuming.
“There used to be no lines when you were going on foot and now there is. I have spent an hour on foot,” Gilot said.
Analysis & Commentary
The reason for the decrease in border apprehensions is more complex than simply painting a picture of success. The story being peddled here is that border security is improved to the point that the border patrol can now focus on making cross border traffic even easier and more efficient. The truth is that illegal border traffic is becoming more knowledgeable and efficient, the border patrol (and DHS) is under-reporting “got-aways,” and “soft metrics” are making things look better than they really are.
The U.S. has operational control over only 13% of the Mexican border, regardless of the stories peddled in the media. This change in strategy has nothing whatsoever to do with being able to focus on efficiency because of improved border security. It is part of a larger push for more trans-border traffic which has been in the works for some time.
U.S. and Mexican officials are meeting today as a first effort to decide where new border crossings and connecting roads may be necessary, reports HispanicBusiness.com.
At the first Border Master Plan meeting today at the University of Texas at El Paso, representatives will begin identifying future projects, along with project priorities and timelines.
Objectives will also include increasing understanding of the planning process and designing a process that ensures participation from everyone involved in the port of entry projects.
“All sorts of transportation projects and issues will be discussed,” Bob Kaufman, a spokesman for Texas Department of Transportation, told the website. “It will be a binational, multi-government agency meeting. There will be federal, state and local officials that have responsibilities for transportation. The end result will be a list of transportation infrastructure priorities.”
Representatives from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, City of El Paso, the Texas Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Department of Transportation will also be present at the meeting, in addition to U.S. and Mexican federal officials.
“The Border Master Plan is part of a national initiative,” said Roy Gilyard, El Paso’s MPO executive director. “California has a plan and so does Laredo.”
Just to make sure that you understand what is happening, read that last paragraph again: “The Border Master Plan is part of a national initiative.” Nothing is happenstance or happening by accident. It’s all part of a larger plan to make the border less significant, make it easier to cross, and raise cross-border shipments of goods and products, especially with Mexican truck drivers.
But take note that ignoring the border (or pretending that is is secure) has its consequences. The Mexican cartels have the capability to seize control over large geographical areas with great ease. There is the influence of cartel corruption in New Mexico, and Mexican drug gangs control parts of Arizona. The cartels have become adept at extreme brutality, but these organizations [previously] “settled matters with a bullet in the head. Not anymore … Now there is a psychopathology at work. Some of these people obviously enjoy this, and they are teaching their surrogates, teenagers, to enjoy it.”
Due to the facts that there are no arming orders for the National Guard troops on the border (causing the troops simply to perform clerical duties), misapplication of the rule of law to these troops (i.e., Supreme Court decision in Tennessee versus Garner), and confusion about the Posse Comitatus Act (i.e., the belief that it applies to border security caused by foreign threats), the law enforcement battle (fought with law enforcement officers, and not enough of them doing the right things) has been substantially lost at the border.
This criminal insurgency crosses the border with as much ease as illegal immigrants, and the lack of border security is as much of a cause of the diminution of U.S. sovereignty and security as it is the increased cost of insurance, health care and other costs associated with illegal immigration and the influx of low skilled workers.
The new strategy at the border isn’t without planning and forethought. It just isn’t the planning and forethought that one might have guessed would attend issues of national security. It has more to do with trade, facilitating transcontinental traffic, and enforcing the idea that the United States is an idea rather than a place.
Prior:
Border Lies And What National Guard Troops Do
Stability Operations In Mexico
The Texas Border Coalition On Border Security
Threat Assessment: Transnational Jihadists and Mexican Cartels
12 years, 9 months ago
Recall that I told you “the National Guard has been “deployed” to the border to perform clerical functions and do overwatch and reporting,” and that the troops have been deployed without arming orders? Now this.
From The Boston Herald:
The Pentagon began flying military helicopters and surveillance planes over the U.S. border with Mexico last month as part of an effort to withdraw all but 300 of the National Guard ground troops who have helped patrol the rugged border since mid-2010.
The 19-month deployment of 1,200 National Guard troops on the southwest border has hurt recruiting efforts and threatened to strain diplomatic relations with Mexico, Brian J. Lepore, a director at the U.S. Government and Accountability Office, told a House homeland security subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
About 12 Blackhawk helicopters and several fixed-wing manned surveillance planes began flying regular patrols over the Rio Grande in Texas for a mission called “Operation River Watch II” in March. The 300 troops will fly the aircraft, or analyze intelligence about smuggling routes in command centers miles from the border.
The Obama administration deployed the National Guard to build access roads for border patrols and to help spot smugglers. The extra manpower was intended to bridge the gap while U.S. Customs and Border Patrol hired an additional 1,200 agents.
In the first year, the National Guard troops helped apprehend 17,887 illegal immigrants and seize 56,342 pounds of marijuana, which was 5.9 percent of all apprehensions and 2.6 percent of marijuana seizures during that time, officials said.
This is a great report, that National Guard troops “helped” apprehend 17,887 illegal immigrants. But wait.
National Guard troops could man watchtowers and stare at closed-circuit television screens of the fence line but were prohibited from making arrests, and officials said morale suffered. The National Guard leadership became concerned that the mission, if extended, could hurt recruitment, according to a GAO report titled “Observations on Costs, Benefits, and Challenges of a Department of Defense Role in Helping to Secure the Southwest Land Border.”
Further use of National Guard troops “could create a perception of a militarized U.S. border with Mexico,” State Department officials told the GAO.
And we certainly wouldn’t want to create the perception of a militarized border. That would be worse than anything else. And speaking of perceptions, Lanny Breuer is at it again. Lying and creating false impressions, that is. Feinstein queued up the issue of “assault weapons” for Lanny, and he responded as intended.
Thank you, Senator, for the question, and for your leadership on this issue. You have, of course, identified the paramount issue that we have to face as we deal with transnational organized crime from the Mexican cartels.
That’s it. The paramount issue, without which there wouldn’t be any such thing as the Mexican cartels. American “assault weapons.” This deceitfulness will be held to account one day, but until then, it belongs in the same category as stupid border security reports like this one.
Today, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Mexico’s College of the Northern Border (COLEF) released “Beyond the Border Buildup: Security and Migrants along the U.S.-Mexico Border,” a year-long study on the impact of both countries’ security policies on migration.
The study finds a dramatic buildup of U.S. security forces along the southern border–a fivefold increase of the Border Patrol in the last decade, an unusual new role for U.S. soldiers on U.S. soil, drones and other high-tech surveillance, plus hundreds of miles of completed fencing–without a clear impact on security. For instance, the study finds that despite the security buildup, more drugs are crossing than ever before.
The study reveals that security policies that were designed to combat terrorism and drug trafficking are causing a humanitarian crisis and putting migrants in increasing danger.
Migrants are often subject to abuse and mistreatment while in U.S. custody, and face higher risks of death in the desert. Also, certain deportation practices put migrants at risk. For example, migrants can be deported at night and/or to cities hundreds of miles from where they were detained. These same cities are also some of the border region’s most dangerous, where migrants may fall prey to–or be recruited by–criminal groups. In Mexico, approximately 20,000 migrants are kidnapped a year; many others face other abuses. “Decency demands more humane policies,” said Maureen Meyer, WOLA analyst and co-author of the study.
In addition, “We have reached a point where any further increase in security will yield diminishing returns,” said Meyer.
Yes, we may as well just stop everything and swing the borders wide open. Our buildup hasn’t helped. The possibility that it is a drop in the bucket compared to what it needs to be doesn’t occur to this team because they have different presuppositions than you do. They don’t want a secure border, so it’s easy conclude that there should be no buildup or change in strategy or tactics.
The National Guard is bored, has little to do other than watch, isn’t under arming orders, and has sagging morale, while the administration is using the lack of security on the border as an opportunity to make political hay on so-called “assault weapons,” and study groups are more concerned about militarization of the border than they are border security.
Don’t look for a secure Southern border in this generation unless something catastrophic happens to the U.S. homeland. By then it will be too late.
12 years, 10 months ago
Glenn Reynolds links Mickey Kaus writing at The Daily Caller on the border fence. Mickey links and discusses observations by Mark Krikorian. Mark’s report is a mixed bag, and I recall reading it with some skepticism. Mark’s report, which Mickey views as “balanced,” discussed how the larger fences have been more effective (even if the smaller ones aren’t). The border situation, says Mark, is “better.” Sorry, but I’m not buying it. The pitiful parts of the fence are still pitiful, and the larger parts of the fence – well, you can judge for yourself.
Also, here is something to watch for in upcoming debates about the border situation. Napolitano says that things at the border have gotten far better. But the Border Patrol (and DHS) is under-reporting “got-aways.” Why would they do this? Well, soft metrics can make things look better than they really are.
Napolitano cited some specifics of the new index, which she wrote would include “traditional measures” but also other indicators.
“This index would take into account traditional measures such as apprehensions and contraband seizures, state and local crime statistics on border-related criminal activity, and overall crime index reporting,” the testimony states. “But to fully evaluate the condition of the border and the effectiveness of our efforts, this index would also incorporate indicators of the impact of illegal cross-border activity on the quality of life in the border region.”
“This may include calls from hospitals to report suspected illegal aliens, traffic accidents involving illegal aliens or narcotics smugglers, rates of vehicle theft and numbers of abandoned vehicles, impacts on property values, and other measures of economic activity and environmental impacts,” says Napolitano’s testimony.
I mostly agree with the normally clear-thinking Mark Krikorian. In this case, I continue to advocate U.S. Marine Corps arming orders and patrols along the Mexican border. Build large fences, but enforce border security by arms.
