This month’s Rattle brings us a host of stories that the mainstream media didn’t cover sufficiently-preferring instead to shower accolades upon the man responsible for abandoning immigration enforcement in the name of political opportunism. We’ll cover everything from the latest spate of violent crimes committed by illegal aliens to Barack Obama’s continued roll out of administrative amnesty, which now includes directives to ignore both interior enforcement and border security.

But first, we’ll examine this administration’s ongoing obstruction of Congress’s investigation into the ever-broadening gun-walking scandals. Courtesy of Sipsey Street Irregulars-whose coverage of Fast and Furious is non pareil-we learn that the White House is blocking testimony from Kevin O’Reilly, a former staff member of the National Security Council who wants to speak with the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This administration’s invocation of executive privilege is just the latest example of obstruction of justice  relating to Fast and Furious.

It should be recalled that last July the acting head of the ATF told Congress that his agency was paying FBI agents to ignore the law in pursuit of this administration’s bizarre and opaque political goals. Immigration control, not gun control, is a solution that Barack Obama’s Justice Department dismisses out of hand. We can only hope that, as Katie Pavlich reports in Town Hall, Chairman Darrell Issa pursues this investigation to its conclusion, which hopefully will result in a more than a few stiff prison sentences. Speaking of Katie Pavlich, she has a fantastic new book about Fast and Furious entitled-appropriately-Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal, which I urge you all to read.

Obfuscation and evasion are hallmarks of this administration, especially as it pertains to immigration and border security, as an insightful commentary from Michael Cutler published by Fox News Latino illustrates. The former INS agent and current immigration watchdog points out that Janet Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security is effectively “cooking the books” by relying solely upon  documented arrests-a misleading statistic-in order to pretend that this administration is cracking down upon illegal entry into the United States. FAIR’s Legislative Update further dissects this policy, which is drawing increasing scrutiny from Congress-particularly Chairman Darrell Issa and Rep. Jason Chaffetz- notwithstanding what Tom Tancredo accurately describes as a bipartisan conspiracy to hobble border security and immigration enforcement. By not logging and tracking the number of illegal border crossers who were not detained, Customs and Border Protection is painting a rosy picture of a much more dire situation.

The deceit of this administration extends beyond the CBP and encompasses virtually every aspect of immigration enforcement, both at the border and inside of the United States. Even though ICE is touting the Cross Check raids it initiated earlier this month-intended to apprehend ostensibly violent criminals, absconders and  fugitives from justice-this is merely a political expedient designed for election year consumption. The truth is that Barack Obama’s administrative amnesty proceeds apace, with four cities ordered to halt deportations, according to the Dan Stein Report. Remarkably, the Executive Office for Immigration Review has closed San Francisco’s immigration court and plans to completely halt its proceedings for the entire summer. Jim Kouri reports on yet another component of Barack Obama’s administrative amnesty, the decision to suspend deportations of illegal aliens with “families,” inside of the United States.

And while illegal aliens are not being deported, they will be able to enjoy state-of-the-art detention facilities, including some new amenities such as beach volleyball and cable TV. Lamar Smith excoriates this administration for its skewed priorities in a must-read op-ed published in The Hill. Although this new detention manual  might seem farcical, it’s far from a laughing matter. As Jim Kouri points out in his Examiner column, the Department of Homeland Security has taken virtually no action against foreigners who overstay their visas. This negligence persists over a decade after the September 11th massacres, which were committed by a cadre of jihadists whose visa applications are symptomatic of our country’s dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy. This is not merely an hypothetical problem, even after the destruction of the World Trade Center, as the case of illegal alien Amine El Khalifi demonstrates. The fact that this indifference to the lives of American citizens continues unabated, despite repeated pressure exerted by the GAO serves to illustrate this administration’s fundamental lack of accountability.

Even as it lags behind in locating and detaining criminal aliens, the administration of Barack Obama has deigned to grant Temporary Protected Status to thousands of Syrians living in the United States. As we’ve pointed out in the past, Temporary Protected Status is anything but temporary. In fact, it is merely another expedient used to grant de facto amnesty to a group of illegal aliens who can prove “hardship” circumstances, most of which persist indefinitely-making their stay in the United States permanent. This is even more disturbing when juxtaposed against the State Department’s recent decision to bar inspection of a visiting Egyptian delegation consisting of Muslim Brotherhood officials. Of course, Egypt isn’t the only country where the Ikwhan has a strong foothold.

The problem is that Barack Obama’s ostensible opposition, i.e. congressional Republicans, are doing virtually nothing to investigate the egregious overreach of his administration on immigration matters. Quite the contrary, some are hard at work developing proposals that would only worsen the situation, such as DREAM Lite, in hopes of  cultivating the ever-elusive Hispanic vote. Republican leaders in the states are not faring much better in this regard, as the difficult struggle in New Hampshire to prevent illegal aliens from capitalizing upon in-state tuition benefits demonstrates.

In an update to a story that we’ve covered recently, the North Carolina General Assembly held another hearing on illegal immigration and potential enforcement mechanisms. Unfortunately, according to NC Listen, it was dominated by illegal aliens and their supporters in the legislature, including some of the very people who had disrupted a previous hearing about these problems. Heading further south, we learn that the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Act has been killed in the Mississippi State Senate. Apparently, Judiciary Chairman Hob Bryan has caved knuckled under to the Mississippi Poultry Association and its desire for cheap labor, notwithstanding the harm such a decision may inflict on innocent Mississippians. Its neighbor to the East, Alabama, has revisited HB 56, the landmark legislation that targeted illegal aliens living in that state. Rep. Micky Hammon has decided to alter some of the provisions that have been enjoined by a federal court, but maintains that he and his fellow Republicans will not repeal the law, which is welcome news.

In not so good news, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has decided to defy Immigration and Customs Enforcement and refuse detainer requests for criminal aliens housed in her county’s jails. Saul Chavez is one beneficiary of Preckwinkle’s benevolence, having fled the country upon being released from jail after killing William McCann. The carnage our government’s policies wreak is not limited to the odd vehicular manslaughter though, as the massacre at Oikos University in California makes clear to any impartial observer. Limits to Growth has an insightful story about mass-murderer One L. Goh which explains the circumstances surrounding his rampage which the main stream media willfully ignores. Oikos was apparently more concerned with harvesting tuition payments by foreign students-often with loans backed by American taxpayers-than ensuring the safety of its student body. It brings to mind  9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, whose entrance to the United States was facilitated by a campus administration eager to recruit students from the Middle East, heedless of the potentially deadly repercussions.

The fact that there are visa mills exploiting the F-1 Visa program should come as no surprise to people who are aware of the extensive fraud and exploitation present in the legal immigration system. Just as in Canada-which recently charged attorney Sandra Zaher with inventing false refugee claims-the United States is plagued by immigration fraud so pervasive that the conviction of Earl Seth David, aka Rabbi Avraham David, head of a New York law firm, headlines an ICE press release. The irony of an agency headed by John Morton-who’s tasked with expediting illegal immigration-spotlighting the conviction of someone for immigration fraud is apparently lost on this administration.

In another prime example of abuse, a lawsuit by two former employees of Larsen & Toubro InfoTech Limited Inc alleges systemic fraud at the India-based IT firm for which they once worked. Joining an earlier class action filed against the firm, this suit asserts that the plaintiff was forced to not only forge documents related to H-1B visas-a program rampant with corruption and fraud-but told not to report the crime to outside authorities. Read the sickening story for yourself, if you feel you have the requisite stomach. The baffling purposes of the H1-B visa program weren’t illuminated by a recent decision by Judge Gregory Frost, who ordered suppressed almost all information related to the case of  Geza Rakoczi, who is described thusly,

…a young alien man with a mysterious legal status, probably an illegal alien, who has a bachelor’s degree from a marginal educational institution, a private one that accepts all applicants, and his employer, a mortgage finance company in trouble in two different states.

Putting the lie to the idea that these visas are reserved for “highly-skilled” immigrants. More often than not they are merely convenient bodies used to replace the more demanding, highly-compensated Americans who they’ve made redundant. If you don’t believe me, just ask the wife of unemployed semiconducter engineer Darin Wedel, who is still waiting to hear back from President Obama. But do not fear, the virtual border fence is back on track,which I suppose is small comfort to the thousands of hard-working Americans like Mr. Wedel.  However, India is not the only nation to take advantage of the nebulous, easily exploitable H1-B visa program. As Phyllis Schlafly  points out, the Islamist Gulen movement in Turkey has used these same visas in order to indoctrinate Muslim students in American charter schools. The dangers posed by the Gulen movement have been explored ad nauseam in other forums, but it should be noted that even if you ascribe the most benign of intentions to the Gullenists, the idea that fundamentalist Muslim teachers are somehow highly skilled workers is implausible on its face.  Focusing on yet another rising Asian power, the New American has an interesting story about the PRC’s use of the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program in the state of Idaho which is well worth reading.

Returning to more timely issues, we discovered this past week that it’s not all that difficult to register to vote using a fabricated identity, or even assuming the persona of the current Attorney General  of the United States. Thanks to James O’Keefe we’ve discovered how simple it is to game the system, although officials at the increasingly misnamed Justice Department don’t seem to agree. Of course, acknowledging that vote fraud exists would require the Obama administration to prosecute those responsible for it, which wouldn’t bode well for the electoral prospects of Barack Obama’s party. From New York to Florida, from Indiana to Arizona, stealing elections has become quite commonplace, even as the White House-and its complaisant cronies in the media-scoff at the notion. Some Democrats, though, readily admit that trying to manipulate the outcome of elections is a routine practice, and a few even have the integrity to support measures that would rectify this betrayal of democracy.

In an ironic twist, labor unions-which were some of the most vehement supporters of President Obama’s Stimulus plan-are now complaining about some of the jobs stemming from stimulus projects going to Korean workers. I suppose the lesson is to be careful what you wish for, especially if it is over 700 billion dollars worth of taxpayer-financed boondoggles.

In more border violence, two illegal immigrants were murdered just northwest of Tucson on Thursday by two camouflaged gunman, echoing an attack that occurred  near the same city in 2007. This sort of bloodshed is rare but not unheard of in Arizona, especially in the Tucson sector, where over forty percent of this nation’s  illegal aliens come through. It is yet another reason why the constitutionality of SB 1070 must be upheld by the Supreme Court, in spite of the hostility of open borders dogmatists such as the misleadingly named Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Our final story is related to our relationship to the state as individuals, and how that relationship is changing as a result of our government’s decades-long recalibration of this country’s demographics. Courtesy of the Pew Hispanic Center, we now know that over seventy percent of Latinos want the government to provide more services to Americans, not less. Limits to Growth has a fascinating summary of the survey’s other findings, which include a belief among Hispanics that they should learn English in order to succeed in the United States, but not in order to integrate into the broader society. The findings about faith in government are worth exploring though, because they reinforce something that our side has been saying for a very long time. Namely, that Hispanic voters’ support for Democrats and generally left wing political candidates has very little to do with the GOP’s position on immigration, but a lot to do with their endorsement of redistributive economic policies.

The findings of the Pew Hispanic Center demonstrate that the cause and effect most often cited in declining Republican Party affiliation among Hispanics-embodied by the specious narrative about Pete Wilson and the waning fortunes of the California GOP-is reversed. Hispanics do not support the Democratic Party because it advocates open borders, the Democratic Party supports open borders because it enhances its ability to win future elections. In effect, what is happening is that the political elite is electing a new people. This dynamic needs to be remembered whenever we hear mealy-mouthed Republicans exhorting us to abandon any attempt to impose reason upon an anachronistic immigration system that is designed to thwart the wishes of the vast majority of the American public.

It’s going to be a long, tumultuous election year.

I’ll discuss this at length in the days ahead, but I’d be remiss in not reporting the news that Senator Pearce seems to have been recalled by voters in Arizona’s Legislative District 18. The people who want to turn Arizona into a haven for illegal aliens would appear to have achieved a significant political victory, although it should be noted that they needed to resort to gross deception in order to win. Even so, it can’t be denied that this is a huge feather in the cap of a well-funded, media-supported open borders political machine and that the strategy used to unseat Majority Leader Pearce will be replicated throughout the country whenever a public official has the temerity to stand up for the civil rights of his constituents. 

I’m loathe to make a snap analysis of tonight’s results, and will temper my remarks by reminding everyone that this fight will be a long, protracted struggle, but the fact that Lewis won by such a large margin will undoubtedly buttress the heretofore weak argument cautioning politicians against taking a tough stand on immigration issues, lest you be punished by “moderate” voters. Until now the chief-some would say only-example of this argument being validated at the polls was the decade-long erosion of support for the California GOP after the retirement of Governor Pete Wilson, a staunch supporter of anti-illegal ballot measure Proposition 187. This reversal of fortunes for the Republican Party was, predictably, described as the Wilson backlash. Why this animus towards Mr. Wilson never manifested itself during his three decade-long service in statewide and national office was never adequately explained, or even addressed, by immigration enthusiasts. 

However, the fact that opponents of American law now have a prominent scalp to wave will undoubtedly further invigorate their efforts to bolster the narrative that opposing the will of illegal aliens and their numerous supporters will have dire consequences at the ballot box. Expect LULAC, NCLR, the AFL-CIO, and other entrenched left wing interest groups to redouble their efforts at enacting amnesty on a national level, and on a statewide basis you can rest assured that the unceasing campaign to oust Sheriff Joe Arpaio will continue apace. That is why we must remain steadfast, and not let this admittedly very dispiriting result impede what will be a long term process of reasserting control over  this country’s porous borders.

Finally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to Senator Russell Pearce for his dedicated service to his state and country. Not only has he valiantly defended American citizens through his legislative efforts, but as a deputy in Maricopa County’s Sheriff’s office he heroically fought off a gang that nearly fatally wounded him, and as Stand with Arizona points out, along with his son is the only father and son to be awarded the Medal of Valor. Even though his efforts might not have been appreciated by monomaniacal open borders fetishists, I can say without hesitation that scores of patriotic Americans are grateful for the selfless work of Russell Pearce. You will be missed, Senator.

Republicans can march with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Republican Chairman John Morrissey tomorrow morning. Those of you who don’t live in the district can still help defeat the open borders colossus. If you live in Arizona, and are free next Tuesday, you can drive those  voters who are incapable of walking to the polls. You can also remind friends who live in Russell’s district that they need to come out next week and support the man who is responsible for SB 1070, the most important statewide immigration law since Proposition 187. Whatever little you can do to help him out in this race counts, because the margin of victory-or defeat-is likely to be razor thin. And we can not afford to lose Senator Pearce’s voice in the important battles that loom.

• Former Virginia congressman Virgil Goode pens a fantastic piece for Human Events, which explores the underreported attempt by amnesty advocates such as Senator Robert Menendez to force the issue, yet again, during a lame duck session of this Congress. He also focuses upon the steps Republicans need to take in the next Congress to not only thwart bad legislation-such as the DREAM Act-but to enact positive, immigration enforcement and limitation laws. A must-read for anyone interested in the battle ahead!
• The race for governor of the state of Colorado, which we’ve covered extensively on this site, is heating up as we head into the home stretch of this election cycle. While some polls put former congressman and immigration reformer Tom Tancredo behind Denver mayor Tom Hickenlooper, others are showing the two candidates in a virtual dead-heat. Either way, the fact that Congressman Tancredo has managed to wage such an effective third party campaign should put to rest the myth of a Pete Wilson Effect.
• An interesting piece in Politics Daily about one of our favorite politicians, Hazleton mayor Lou Barletta, who is looking to unseat Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski this November after running two previously unsuccessful races against the well-entrenched incumbent. Even though he’s expanded his platform significantly, Barletta is not backing down from his courageous stand against illegal immigration.
• And finally, in a slightly sillier  vein, it appears that Canada’s absurdly liberal refugee system-whose failings we’ve documented extensively on this site-will redound to the benefit of sporadically employed, frequently medicated actor Randy Quaid, as this analysis of his bizarre asylum claim in Maclean’s explores. Let’s hope Mr. Quaid is shown the courtesy regularly extended to suspected Tamil terrorist and TB-afflicted stowaways.

As those of you who are regular readers of this site will know, I’ve given extensive coverage to one of the more interesting gubernatorial races in this country which is taking place in the state of Colorado. Well, it turns out that the contest that appeared at first blush to be a cakewalk for the designated Democratic nominee, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, is turning into a real horse race. Although Tom Tancredo’s decision to enter the race as a third party candidate has exacerbated pre-existing strains within the state GOP, as the discussion elicited by this thread on Red State illustrates, now that his candidacy is within striking distance of Hickenlooper it has to be given serious consideration by those Colorado voters who care deeply about immigration enforcement and reform.

Tancredo’s candidacy is significant for a number of reasons. If he manages to win this race as a third party candidate-an improbable but not impossible scenario at this point-he’ll have demonstrated the potency of the immigration issue in a “purple” state with a growing Hispanic population, debunking the Pete Wilson Effect and refuting the oft-repeated claim that a “single issue” candidate can not win a statewide election. Even if he loses to Hickenlooper by a small margin, but Dan Maes draws 10-15% of the vote, he’ll have proven that a plurality of voters in one of the most pivotal states on the electoral map support a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Simply put, Tancredo’s performance in this gubernatorial race will be a marker of the strides we’ve made in defining the problem inherent in unfettered immigration and lax immigration enforcement, which is why it bears watching over the course of the next month.