-As we predicted, the Senate passed the Gang of Eight amnesty yesterday, setting the stage for the final battle in the House of Representatives, which is ostensibly controlled by Republicans. You can view the roll call vote, which will serve as a handy reminder of which cringing Republicans need to be removed from office the next time they come up for reelection.

-The Senate debate over disassembling our republic was a thoroughly unedifying spectacle, from the senescent tirades of the Republican Party’s chief open borders pom pom twirler to the irrefragable idiocy that we’ve come to expect from his mini-me, Lindsey Graham. The only consolation is that some of us will be able to elect a new Senate before Congress elects a new people.

-You would think the threat of a bitterly fought, expensive primary-endorsed by no less than a former GOP Vice-presidential nominee-would cause skittish representatives to think twice before enacting a politically and economically ruinous amnesty. The promise by Rep. Steve King to depose Speaker Boehner if he moves forward on S.744-a move supported by powerful members of the House Republican caucus-seems to have instilled a measure of fear into La Raza enthusiast Luis Gutierrez’s BFF.

-Then again, the Republican leadership has never been known for its sagacity or political intuition. A fact demonstrated by comments made by RNC Chairman Reince Priebus after Senate passage of the Gang of Eight monstrosity. The elites have an entirely different conception of the public interest than that of most Americans, who tend to prioritize things like job security, safety, and upward mobility over the concerns of large corporate donors such as Big Agra and Silicon Valley lobbyists pleading for the importation of more high tech serfs.

-I tend to agree with Mark Levin, who believes that if amnesty is stopped in this session of Congress it will be in spite of John Boehner, not because of him. This man wants amnesty to be the law of the land, and the only thing preventing his wish from being fulfilled is the unified opposition of conservative Republican voters. The leadership of the Republican Party in the House needs to be reminded that they do not work for either Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama, but for their constituents, i.e. patriotic  citizens who believe in American sovereignty and real border security. Even if the demise of the GOP as a national political entity is meaningless to them, these people should be reminded that they are placing their own political careers in jeopardy.

-With the abdication of leadership and abandonment of principle by so many Republicans, it’s reassuring to find a small glimmer of light in the struggle over amnesty in one of the least likely places. I refer to a fantastic piece published by The New Republic written by self-described liberal, opposing immigration reform. Much like Ted Rall, T.A. Frank sees the peril in naturalizing millions of workers-in addition to the hundreds of thousands who will imported over the same period-that will compete-at a decided advantage thanks to Obamacare regulations-with unemployed Americans who are already on the bottom rung of the economic ladder. The plight of American workers is something that the left cared about a scant two decades ago, but I suppose times have changed.

-We end today’s Rattle on a slightly humorous note. It appears that the Obama administration is not pleased with the way Hong Kong immigration officials  handled the departure of former NSA contractor turned leaker Edward Snowden, whose whereabouts have yet to be ascertained with any degree of certainty. Although this subject raises themes of constitutionality, privacy, foreign policy and other issues of grave import, what tickles the funny bone is the White House’s reaction to Mr. Snowden’s tour of the Eastern Hemisphere. In particular, the comments of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney:

The White House, which is typically much more restrained in its public remarks about the PRC, expressed a similar sentiment.

“We are just not buying that this was a technical decision by a Hong Kong immigration official,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said to reporters at a daily news briefing on June 24. “This was a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the U.S.-China relationship.”

I completely agree, Mr. Carney. The notion that career bureaucrats would be responsible for momentous decisions that could have potentially grave consequences for national security is simply preposterous! I have no idea why someone would even consider deceiving the public with such an implausible scenario. People get the daftest notions sometimes.

In today’s Rattle, we cover everything from the Obama administration’s continued dismantling of border security and immigration enforcement, to the trivialization of the Civil Rights Movement by the open borders left, to congressional oversight into Attorney General Eric Holder’s obstruction of justice in the Fast and Furious probe.

But first, we look at the increasingly misnamed Southern Poverty Law Center, which continues its progressive slide into buffoonery with a report into the national security threat posed by purportedly misogynistic weblogs. As Mark Krikorian explains in The Corner, the SPLC has adopted new hate objects now that its demonization of patriotic immigration reformers has run its course. Notwithstanding the dearth of civil rights violations by non-government entities or white-on-black crimes-the ostensible raison d’etre for the organization, the SPLC continues to rake in millions of dollars from credulous liberals. Even so, the fundamental illegitimacy of Morris Dees’ operation hasn’t escaped notice, and its laughable mission is now the source of mockery on countless blogs and websites.

On a much more distressing note, yet another vicious attack by an illegal alien has been recorded in Lexington, South Carolina. In a case of life imitating art, Jose Hernandez Mendez has been charged with a string of brutal machete attacks against innocent South Carolinians and is being held on an immigration detainer. As those of you who’ve been following American Rattlesnake probably know, the dramatic spike of machete attacks inside of the United States correlates with the increase in illegal and legal immigration from Central America and Mexico, hubs for brutal criminal gangs like MS-13  and Los Zetas. Look for more such arrests-and less preventive deportations-in the future as this administration removes even the faintest veneer of immigration enforcement. What’s more, the exodus of emigrants from Latin America will increase as these organized crime syndicates go global, as this piece from InSight demonstrates.

As for the lack of enforcement stateside, there are several new, disturbing developments to report. Even as John Morton moves to expedite the administrative amnesty implemented by this administration last year, the process of eviscerating this nation’s border security and internal immigration controls has been expanded to include the United States Border Patrol. Not content to merely persecute dedicated law enforcement officials like Agent Jesus Diaz, and heedless of the lack of interagency cooperation between Customs and Border Protection and ICE, this administration seems bent on doing away with whatever remaining obstacles impede or deter illegal aliens in any substantive way. But you need not fear, because Angelenos are being protected from counterfeit sex drugs peddled by septuagenerian Koreans! What tax dollars aren’t being funneled into fake Viagra suppression sweeps are being redirected to hormone therapy for transgendered illegal alien detainees.

There are a few-far too few, unfortunately-members of Congress objecting to cuts in border security appropriations, but the vast majority of congressmen seem to be mired in a state of torpor that would be risible if these individuals hadn’t been elected in order to represent our interests. This administration is in the process of eliminating even the vestiges of immigration enforcement-while simultaneously engaging in political charades intended to mask its true intentions-and the one possible check on its exercise of unconstitutional power shirks its oversight responsibility altogether. What’s more, the leaders of the Republican House majority are actively thwarting attempts by backbenchers in their own caucus to advance E-Verify, a state of affairs so blatant in nature that Numbers USA feels compelled to run television ads taking Speaker Boehner to task for his inaction.

Congress’s dereliction of duty has had a deleterious impact across a wide spectrum of issues. For example, a new audit from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration found that illegal aliens and immigrants ineligible to work had pocketed over 4 billion dollars as beneficiaries of the Addition Child Tax Credit. As if the serial manipulation of our tax code for social engineering purposes and squandering of tax dollars for economic “stimulus” weren’t enough, our federal government is now subsidizing the creation of more anchor babies.

Perhaps one issue where Congress-or at least, its Republican membership-has continued to press this administration for accountability is its ongoing probe into the Fast and Furious fiasco. Breitbart.com’s Big Government reports on the growing chorus of Republican congressmen who have called upon Eric Holder to resign, a group which now includes former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann-who has pushed for a no-confidence vote on the Attorney General in the House of Representatives. To discover what the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee is doing to bring this administration to account, take a look at Representative Jason Chaffetz grilling Holder for his serial evasion and obstruction of justice.

While Congress vacillates between dithering and actively holding this administration to account for its skewed priorities, the impact of the greatest recession-and most stunted recovery-in decades continues to be felt by ordinary Americans. Unfortunately,  many of those Americans who are unemployed are not able to find work at home. As CNN reports, American manufacturers are scouring foreign shores to find qualified factory workers that allegedly do not exist in this country. However, much like the purported dearth of qualified American engineers, this media narrative is a complete and utter fabrication.

There are more than enough factory workers and engineers to occupy vacancies within their respective industries, but the problem is that “tech titans,” as the Wall Street Journal so lovingly describes them, would rather fill them with illegal aliens and imported workers using the H1-B visa program, which-as we’ve pointed out repeatedly in the past-is rife with fraud and corruption. The reason being that American workers expect to command a salary commensurate with their level of training and education, whereas foreigners can be locked into contracts that even supporters of lenient immigration laws compare to indentured servitude. These policies obviously have devastating consequences for Americans seeking employment, as this Edwin Rubenstein analysis of last month’s job data illustrates.

The quest to replace the American worker continues at nearly all levels, as does the attempt to stretch the increasingly elastic immigration laws that do exist. For example, in the state of Massachusetts, Senator Scott Brown is attempting to expand the E-3 Visa-currently available only to Australian workers-to include nearly 11,000 Irish nationals seeking admittance to the United States. In the proud tradition of ethnic pandering carried out by his predecessor, the late Ted Kennedy, Senator Brown is attempting to curry favor with a mainstay of Massachusetts’ politics, i.e. Irish-American voters, by contorting American immigration law. It should be noted, however, that drastic changes to immigration laws often have unintended consequences.

On a statewide level, the fight for immigration enforcement plods along, encountering the same impediments that Arizona did when Governor Jan Brewer decided to stand up to the Obama Justice Department nearly two years ago. Even so, activists like D.A. King-president of the Dustin Inman Society-have begun to wield the law to our advantage. The Montgomery Advertiser has a story exploring how he has lodged a complaint with the Immigration Enforcement Review Board-an entity charged with applying Georgia’s new immigration law-over Atlanta’s decision to accept illegitimate Matricula Consular  cards as valid identification for the purposes of dispensing public benefits.

Mexican-issued identification cards are prevalent in many American cities and states, especially in the South. In addition to the mockery they make of our election laws-a threat this administration does not seem to be cognizant of, based upon its attempts to nullify voter i.d. laws-these fraudulent i.d. cards, through their wide availability, also invite domestic terror attacks, as the House Judiciary Committee pointed out nearly nine years ago! To appreciate the true scope of the damage inflicted by American institutions which have chosen to accept these cards, check out this CIS backgrounder, which explains how and why the Matricula Consular has proliferated in the United States.

Moving on to Georgia’s neighboring state, Alabama, we find open borders hysterics beclowning themselves once again. This time, by analogizing Alabama’s landmark immigration enforcement law HB 56  to Jim Crow Era segregation. Dr. Frank L. Morris, punctures this insipid, desperate comparison brilliantly in his Daily Caller column, which I urge you all to read in its entirety.

Finally, our fight against the negation of American immigration law shouldn’t let us lose sight of the courage and compassion displayed by the front line warriors in this nation’s battle to protect its borders. Officer Ross Goodwin is just one member of the Border Patrol who deserves our gratitude for his selfless devotion to duty, which has been recognized by the New Mexico Sheriffs’ and Police Association, as KOB reports. Officer Goodwin was accorded the honor of being named Officer of the Year  for saving the life of an illegal immigrant while in the line of duty.

In spite of the racist crudities heaped upon them by embittered Mexican nationalists, and the unremitting hostility open borders dogmatists exhibit towards them, our nation’s Border Patrol agents continue to risk life and limb in order to protect Americans, as well as save the lives of Mexican and Central American border crossers who have been left to their fate by coyotes wholly indifferent to human suffering. While this administration continues its predecessors’ policy of political prosecutions of Border Patrol agents, these men and women are putting themselves at risk in order to help their fellow human beings, something we should all keep in mind the next time we see or hear a know-nothing assault against immigration enforcement.

 Hat Tip: bcsco and Nafbpo

We at American Rattlesnake  would like to wish all of our followers a very contented and happy Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who are pained by the absence of loved ones this holiday, including the family of Marizela Perez. More than eight months after this vivacious, precocious University of Washington student disappeared from her campus in Seattle, she remains missing. Michelle Malkin has a deeply moving meditation on the trauma, frustrations, and unexpected blessings that her family has experienced in their search for her cousin, which I strongly recommend reading. I also urge everyone to visit Find Marizela, a website dedicated to documenting the ongoing search for Marizela Perez. 

It can’t be forgotten that on this day of giving thanks there are many who won’t be able to celebrate with their flesh and blood because their brother, or sister, or mother, or aunt, or uncle, is no longer with us. The family of young Dustin Inman, a sixteen year-old cut down by an illegal alien with a Matricula Consular ID, will have one less place setting this Thanksgiving.

Andrew Ostroy, the husband of the late filmmaker and actress Adrienne Shelly, has a daughter who will never get to celebrate with her mother on this day. Why? Because an unscrupulous construction company named Bradford General Contractors’, although by now probably operating under a different name, employed an illegal alien from Ecuador named Diego Pillco. Someone who would murder Mrs. Shelly in cold blood, then attempt to pass her death off as a suicide-a mendacious ploy that would have succeeded, had it not been for the tenacity and unyielding love of her husband. 

The father of the late Jamiel Shaw Jr. will never be able to celebrate another Thanksgiving with his son, a young man who had limitless potential, who was murdered by an illegal alien gang member released onto the streets of Los Angeles, the first major metropolitan area in this nation to declare itself  a sanctuary city. 

These are the names you should remember when ignorant politicians grasping for yet more power, who have hardened their hearts to the pain and suffering that Americans have experienced because of their indifference, accuse you of being “heartless” for caring about the lives and well being of your countrymen. For those of you who are of a faithful bent, I would also suggest saying a prayer for the families who are missing loved ones this Thanksgiving, including the many who I simply do not have enough space to list here. Unfortunately, there are many of those. 

Even so, there is much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. As Michelle writes,

To find a way, with the help of God, family and friends, to count our blessings even (and especially) in the midst of great angst. Because in the end: “All will be well.”

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

A few observations about last night’s Republican presidential debate, at least as it pertains to the subjects of immigration and border control:

-Newt Gingrich, despite his previous record of supporting amnesty, acquitted himself quite well. At least, rhetorically. His suggestion that American citizens be able to review prospective immigrants, although impractical in theory, does put the emphasis of immigration in the right place. Namely, in the hands of Americans who are seeking the best and the brightest, rather than simply empowering those who want to settle in this country. Millions, perhaps billions, of individuals would immigrate to the United States if afforded the opportunity, but I think it’s our responsibility to consider the opinions of all Americans, naturalized and native-born citizens alike, rather than simply assume that every single person seeking to come here is doing so in good faith. 

-Herman Cain nicely defused the accusation that he’s a xenophobic vigilante, vis-a-vis the issue of border control, by explaining that he favored the construction of fences as well as welcoming new, legal immigrants who sought to contribute to American society. He noted that you can be both generous and firm on this issue, and that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I also thought he tackled the amnesty question with aplomb, noting that there does exist a “path to citizenship,” which entails immigrating to this country legally. It would have been nice if he had coupled this with pragmatic suggestions about how to eliminate much of the byzantine federal bureaucracy that currently impedes the process for highly talented, law-abiding foreign nationals.

-Ron Paul continued to attempt a precarious balancing act which entails pandering to the liberal, open borders faction among libertarians, while retaining some of the pro-enforcement, hawkish paleocons who have supported past campaigns. Personally, I don’t think he succeeded. Yes, the welfare state is an attractive nuisance to people from across the globe, and is a huge part of any discussion, but to merely focus on that aspect to the neglect of every other problem unfettered immigration poses-particularly the allocation of scarce resources-is misguided. And although I agree with Rep. Paul that employers are put in an unenviable position-punished for employing illegals yet also prohibited from inquiring into their legal status in many instances-I do believe that a sovereign government has a right to determine who is and is not admitted to its country. And as long as states can Constitutionally establish labor laws, I think it’s hard to proclaim that they don’t also have the ability to proscribe the employment of people who are living in this country illegally.

-Jon Huntsman attempted to run away from his uniformly dreadful record on immigration and immigration enforcement issues to no avail. I suppose he should be credited for at least rhetorically stepping away from the default Bush/McCain stance, although I doubt his sincerity.

Other than that, there’s not much to be said about last night’s Republican presidential primary debate as far as immigration is concerned. We didn’t hear many new proposals, and despite some good answers regarding illegal immigration, there was not enough focus on proactive approaches to reducing immigration levels to a sustainable level in the near future. For a brief recap on what was said at the debate, check out the Twitter stream of Numbers USA, the nation’s premiere, grassroots organization lobbying on behalf of immigration enforcement and reform.

As many of you who are followers of American Rattlesnake know, one of the most infuriating aspects of our nation’s unsecured borders is the number of violent crimes, including homicides, that are committed by illegal aliens who have evaded the criminal justice system precisely because of our government’s lax attitude towards their initial crime. One of the most horrific crimes of this kind was committed in this city nearly five years ago by an individual who was an Ecuadorian national living here illegally. I bring up the case of Diego Pillco, which I’ve covered in the past, because of a disappointing ruling by  Justice Louis York in a civil lawsuit filed by Adrienne Shelly’s widower, Andrew Ostroy. To exculpate Bradford General Contractors, the company that employed Mr. Pillco when he callously murdered Mr. Ostroy’s wife, then proceeded to cover up his barbaric crime, from responsibility altogether is bad enough. But even more outrageous is the rationale the judge used when clearing them of blame. To assert that there was no tangible connection between Pillco’s illegal status and the crime he committed-which was done in order to prevent Mrs. Shelly from calling law enforcement-is absolutely preposterous. To then go even further and claim that Pillco’s illegal status didn’t imply his willingness to break other laws, despite the documented link between the two, is positively galling. 

While Mr. Ostroy’s attorney promises an appeal of this judgment, I think New Yorkers need to be reminded of the impunity with which many of these construction firms operate, not to mention the thousands of potentially dangerous individuals they employ. This environment has only been exacerbated by Governor Cuomo’s craven decision to kow tow to special interest groups and withdraw New York State from Secure Communities. The fight for justice in this case continues, but there is also a corresponding battle to ensure that public officials don’t allow criminals to roam our streets freely simply to burnish their political credentials.

For those of you who might want to contribute to a cause dear to the heart of the late Adrienne Shelly, I suggest visiting the website for the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, which was established by Andrew Ostroy in order to preserve his wife’s legacy as a brilliant independent actress and filmmaker, and to give opportunities to young women who want to follow in her footsteps. Despite the injustice and staggering incoherence of this ruling, the light of Adrienne Shelly’s life continues to shine brilliantly, all the more so because of the devotion her surviving family members have shown in the years since her death.

When the subject of illegal Palestinians living inside of Israel is broached, we more often than not view it through the prism of  terrorism directed against the Jewish state. Considering the collaboration between Israeli Arabs and Islamic terrorist organizations in the region, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, that’s not an altogether baseless concern.

We’ve also been told countless times of the alleged plight of Palestinians working inside of Israel illegally, often within the context of a broader condemnation of Israel’s construction of homes for citizens living on the West Bank.

What’s less frequently discussed are the problems posed by the large sub-population of Palestinian illegal aliens living within Israel on a daily basis. The gravity of this problem though was made apparent recently when an eleven year-old Israeli boy was habitually raped and tortured at the hands of four Palestinian men. As gruesome as this crime is, it reflects the enormous problems you invite into your country when you sanction the presence of hundreds of thousands-or in our country’s case, millions-of illegal aliens. Peruse New York tabloids from the past decade and you will find hundreds of criminal incidents that illegal aliens lie at the heart of, including one of the most notable cases, the brutal murder of acclaimed actress/director Adrienne Shelly by a nineteen year-old IA from Ecuador.

Nations can continue to ignore this problem-in order to reap the dubious benefits of access to a cheap supply of labor-or they can grapple with the enormous human cost of illegal immigration. As last week’s horrific revelations in Israel demonstrate, this is a problem that all Western nations must face, even if they are reluctant to do so.

A very good Bloggingheads debate between Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies, and an SEIU spokesperson who supports amnesty.

One of my favorite talk radio hosts, Laura Ingraham, taking the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, to task for his hypocritical support of DREAM.

Our friend Marinka Peschmann, who I’ve mentioned before on this site, has some great reasons why Congress should reject the DREAM Act.

Mickey Kaus, as always, has his foot on the pedal when it comes to reporting on the underhanded machinations of those people who claim to represent us. One of the chief reasons the open borders lobby hasn’t been successful in enacting its agenda these past two years is due no small part to the tireless work of Mr. Kaus.

We’re taking a break from our election coverage in order to commemorate the anniversary of the death of a wonderfully talented independent actress, writer, and director named Adrienne Shelly. For those of you not familiar with her all-too-brief life, Adrienne Shelly, nee Levine, was a Queens native who pursued an acting career under the tutelage of independent filmmaker Hal Hartley.

Unfortunately, she achieved her greatest fame not in life, but in death. November 1st marks the day when, four years ago, Shelly was murdered in her West Village apartment by an illegal alien day laborer from Ecuador named Diego Pillco. That’s why, instead of rejoicing in her burgeoning directorial career-which culminated in the critically acclaimed comedy, Waitress-or helping his wife raise their lovely daughter, Andrew Ostroy is forced to memorialize his slain wife with a foundation in her name. He’s also bravely exposed the negligent contractors who allowed a criminal like Diego Pillco to thrive in their industry, by suing them for knowingly employing the individual who so callously took Adrienne Shelly’s life.

Thank goodness there are people like Mr. Ostroy out there, otherwise the fate of this country would look even more bleak than it does at this moment in time. In order to celebrate Adrienne’s life, I suggest you watch a moving tribute to her uploaded to Youtube several years ago.

As long as someone lives on in our memories, she’ll never truly be gone.