On June 17, Day laborers from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut met in Morristown at a conference sponsored by the National Day Labor Organizing Network. A contingent gathered at the Morristown train station “demanding raids on illegal immigrants cease, and that any national legislation include a provision for family reunification”.

"We, the day laborers, are working people," Morristown resident Erick Carreto, 26, a community organizer for the Wind of the Spirit immigrant resource center, said through an interpreter.

Diana Mejia, also of Wind of the Spirit, said day laborers wanted to speak in Morristown because of Mayor Donald Cresitello's plan to deputize local police officers to enforce immigration law.

It appears the illegal aliens’ demands may well be met. The Senate today voted by a margin of 64-35 for cloture, a necessary step to revive the Senate’s immigration bill. The final bill would likely give amnesty to an estimated 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants and provide for chain migration to the U.S, also known as family reunification.

This Senate vote occurred despite the lack of support from the American people. The most recent polls show support for the immigration bill falling to an all-time low:

Among the public, there is a bi-partisan lack of enthusiasm for the Senate bill. It is supported by 22% of Republicans, 23% of Democrats, and 22% of those not affiliated with either major party.

New Jersey’s Senators Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg are currently on board with the bill, but you can make your voice heard at a ProAmerica Rally that will be held on Saturday July 28 in Morristown. Blogger Robb Pearson is organizing this event and has put together a website with all the details.
It’s time to stand up and make your voice heard!

The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran wrote a column yesterday about “immigration reform” and Senator Bob Menendez, a member of the gang of 12 who negotiated the failed “grand bargain” in the U.S. Senate.

The column is remarkable for the level of Moran’s mendacity, beginning with this whopper. Moran writes that Menendez is “himself an immigrant from Cuba”. In fact, the only migration Menendez experienced was from his birthplace in New York to New Jersey, where he has lived most of his life, save for his time spent in Washington D.C.

Painting Menendez as some sort of victim is central to the media’s narrative about the man, which Moran uses to set up the remainder of his piece.

Moran laughably tells his readers that Menendez “is a liberal Democrat, but one who likes to strike deals with Republicans to get things done.” No examples where given to back up this preposterous claim. Probably because anyone remotely familiar with the perennial backbencher knows that Menendez’s idea of a deal is of the “heads I win, tails you lose” variety. So it was with his tactics on the immigration bill. "Do we want to see principle in our public servants?" Menendez asks. "Or do we want them to equivocate for the sake of bipartisanship?"

At its core, the compromise he pushed would toughen border security while allowing the 12 million illegal immigrants already within our borders to earn citizenship. Polls show most American support the idea.

Of course polls show no such thing, which is one of the reasons, the so-called compromise failed. The American people were against it, especially those provisions favored by Menendez.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters would favor an approach that focuses “exclusively on securing the border and reducing illegal immigration.” Support for the enforcement only approach comes from 84% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats, and 69% of those not affiliated with either major party.

Moran tries to lead his readers to falsely believe, “penalties and fees for illegals seeking citizenship, a petty move that would inevitably discourage some from applying”, were a part of a deal breaking amendment. They weren’t. The “petty fines and fees” were a central part of the original Senate bill and the fig leaf used by proponents to pretend illegal aliens would not be receiving amenity.

Moran writes, “But now, Menendez says he would not vote for this bill unless it is fundamentally changed.”

His biggest objection is aimed at a provision that would emphasize job skills over family relationships in awarding visas.

That was another key provision in the original Senate bill that Menendez supposedly helped to negotiate, along with the misguided “huge guest worker program”. Menendez objects to the plan because it wouldn’t lead to permanent legal residency for “guest workers” and additional chain-migration for their family members. It was Menendez who tried to change it with an amendment.

Moran explains that “On a personal level, Menendez sounds deflated by the experience”.

"What surprised me was the vehemence of some of the language," he says. "I heard, 'those people.' When I hear that, it just sends a shiver up my spine."

He was referring to Arizona Sen. John Kyl, a Republican, who used the phrase on the Senate floor last week to describe the illegal immigrant population.

The Congressional Record tells a different story about the exchange between Menendez and Jon Kyl, the chief Republican proponent of the “grand bargain” of a bill that was to bear the Republican’s name along with Democrat Ted Kennedy. The “shiver up my spine” exchange Moran refers to is on page S7136 of the Congressional Record of June 6, 2007:

Mr. KYL: It was not easy for some people to agree to allow at least 12 million immigrants who came to this country illegally to stay here and eventually become citizens. That was not easy. One of the bases upon which we were able to do that was to respond to an argument that had frequently been made: Why should we let all those people, is the way it is described, become U.S. citizens and then chain migrate all their family—their uncles, cousins, grandparents, and so on?

Mr. MENENDEZ: One point. Remember how the Senator from Arizona said how all ‘‘those people’’ would be able to claim their families. The Menendez amendment has nothing to do with ‘‘those people.’’ The Menendez amendment has everything to do with U.S. citizens today who have a right under the law. So I hope we do not confuse both of those.

Mr. KYL: Mr. President, I say to the Senator from New Jersey that what he said, as far as he said it, is, of course, exactly correct. What I was talking about was the tradeoff that existed between the accommodation to the 12 million people and--by the way, I don't use that phrase ``those people .'' I hope the Senator understands that I was referring to the criticism of those who say we shouldn't allow the illegal immigrants in the country, especially if we chain migrate their families.

There are those people who check the facts and then, there are those people who don’t. Some people try to enlighten, others try to intentionally mislead. Moran seems to be one of those people following into the latter of both camps.

But, Moran did get one thing right about Menendez. “He is far more permissive than most when it comes to immigration.” New Jersey’s senior Senator, Bob Menendez has a voting record to back up the claim. We checked the facts.

"There's a great deal of ignorance out there." Someone should tell Paul Mulshine a good bit of it comes from his newspaper. May his and Moran’s brand of journalism R.I.P.

“Arrests double in crackdown on illegal immigrants in N.J” say the headlines in the newspapers across the Garden State. What a joke.

It’s estimated the illegal alien population in New Jersey is between 480,000 to 1 million. There’s less than a 1 percent chance of an illegal alien being arrested and an infinitesimal probability of being deported under this so-called “crackdown”.

Last year the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 1,772 illegal immigrants in New Jersey – 987 were removed from the United States, 350 were placed on a detainer which requires deportation proceedings begin after criminal charges are resolved and 435 were simply released on immigrations bonds.

New Jersey’s 300 ICE agents averaged slightly less than 6 illegal alien arrests per agent last year. Of the 1.772 arrested, 1,610 were immigration fugitives who had previously been arrested, but ignored final orders of deportation issued by immigration judges. In other words, the “crackdown” amounted to 162 additional illegal aliens being caught in New Jersey for all of 2006, or about one arrest for every two ICE agents.

Pathetic.

According to the latest Rasmussen Poll, public support for the Senate “immigration reform“ bill continues to slide with bi-partisan opposition to the grand bargain.

A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Monday and Tuesday night found that just 23% of voters now support the bill while 50% are opposed.

Just 29% of Democrats support the measure while 40% are opposed. Among Republicans, support is at 21%, 57% are opposed. Only 17% of those not affiliated with either party support the measure. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of unaffiliateds are opposed.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters prefer no bill over the Senate bill.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of voters believe it is Very Important for “the government to improve its enforcement of the borders and reduce illegal immigration.”

Adding pressure to Congress is the fact that voters see this objective as achievable --68% of Americans believe it is possible to reduce illegal immigration.

Where’s the Republican Party in New Jersey on this issue? Leadership is not flying below the radar.

According to the latest Rasmussen poll (conducted May 29), only 26% of American voters favor passage of the Senate immigration reform bill. Unaffiliated voters are now more opposed to the bill than either Republicans or Democrats.

• 81% of American voters are closely following news stories about the issue.
  
  75% want the Senate immigration reform bill to increase border security measures and reduce illegal immigration.
  
  74% do not believe illegal immigration will decline if the Senate bill is passed.
  
  68% believe it is possible to reduce illegal immigration
  
  66% believe it doesn't make sense to debate new immigration laws until we can first control our borders and enforce existing laws.
  
  57% of unaffiliated voters oppose the Senate immigration bill
  
  41% believe the Senate bill will actually lead to an increase in illegal immigration.
  
  29% would “make it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the country and eventually become citizens.”
  
  16% believe illegal immigration will decline if the Senate bill is passed

It should have been obvious that Congress had little interest in actually preventing future illegal immigration or solving, to the benefit of Americans, the problems associated with 12 to 20 million currently “living in the shadows”. After reading the Immigration Reform Act of 2007 all doubt should be removed.

Under the Senate’s proposed reform bill, the fine for entering or attempting to enter the U.S. illegally will be “not less than $50 or more than $250 for each such entry”. There are greater penalties for illegal parking and jaywalking.

New Jersey mandates a $250 fine for the first offense for parking in handicapped space without a special vehicle identification card. Subsequent offenses require a fine of at least $250 and up to 90 days of community service. (See N.J.S.A. 39:4-197(3)(c)). Jaywalking will get you a $100 fine in New York and one for $114 in California.

The Senate plan for the estimated 12 to 20 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. is also extremely favorable to the pro-illegal immigrant camp. Of course you wouldn’t know it listening to those complaining about the bill’s “impossibly tough standards” and the hardship it would bring “to an already overburdened and underappreciated community”. It’s doubtful these folks have read the actual bill.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was a lead negotiator of the Immigration Reform Act of 2007. He now he says opposes it.

Menendez, of Hudson County, said he and most members of Congress "all support fines for those who broke the law," but called the amount of the fines "prohibitive."

Menendez is referring to the $1,000 charge illegal aliens will pay to obtain a Z card and the $4,000 fee for a green card. What the Senator doesn’t mention is that under the proposed legislation, fines and penalties for entering the country illegally and any liability for back income and payroll taxes are wiped away with the payment of a $1,000 fee for a four-year, renewable “Z” visa. The fee for a second four-year Z card is $500 and can be renewed indefinitely. A green card is strictly optional and won’t be available for eight years.

Call this process what you will, but the past is forgiven. The price for legal status going forward is $250 per year for the first four years and then $125 per year thereafter. Flexible payment terms are even available.

The bill requires the government to establish procedures allowing for the payment of 80 percent of “z” and green card “penalties” through an installment payment plan. That’s $200 down, the balance in low, low monthly payments. Just imagine the mandatory ads in the five required languages - Crazy Uncle Sam: His prices are insaaane!"

So are his standards. To qualify for a Z card, all an alien need do is fill out an application; claim to have lived in the U.S. illegally before Jan. 1, 2007, plunk down $200 and get on the filing fee payment plan. A probationary Z card, with all benefits, is then issued until such time the government gets around to completing a background check. Unlike immigration visa’s, a medical exam will not be required for a “Z” or green card for the illegal alien population.

Renewals for a second four-year period will require an applicant, 18 years of age or older, “to demonstrate an attempt to gain an understanding of the English language” and “knowledge of United States civics”. The language requirement is satisfied by “enrollment in or placement on a waiting list for English classes”. The civics prerequisite is satisfied by taking the naturalization test. Passing the test is not necessary to qualify for renewal.

Z card holders can ultimately apply for a green card -- but not until the government clears a backlog of more than 5 million current green card applicants, which will take eight years. Processing 10 to 20 million Z Card applications, on top of 400 to 600 thousand new merit based Y visas, will undoubtedly overwhelm the system.

We could go on with a laundry list of problems with this bill, but the real point is no bill is better than this “comprehensive” mess. The immigration issue is too important to be rammed down the throats of Americans without an open and honest debate.

The other day Fred Thompson said: “there’s an old saying in Washington that, in dealing with any tough issue, half the politicians hope that citizens don’t understand it while the other half fear that people actually do. This kind of thinking was apparent with the “comprehensive” immigration reform bill that the U.S. Senate and the White House negotiated yesterday.” Man, was he right!

The immigration “plan hatched by a bipartisan group of senators yesterday”, according to the Star-Ledger, “inspires confusion, criticism from both sides”.

Here’s the first bit of confusion the plan inspires in us - Does congress represent American citizens or illegal aliens? Based on press reports, the plan offers a menu of benefits for 12 to 20 million people living in the U.S. illegally, beginning with ability, upon demand, to have their illegal status wiped away with a temporary-residency permit.

What’s in this plan for Americans? What’s it going to cost American taxpayers and how does the bill address the needs of Americans?

The Star-Ledger report was light on criticism from American rights advocates and loaded with complaints from illegal aliens and their advocates.

Hilario Castro, an illegal alien from Mexico, says "Oh, Dios mío," - "They're going to take $5,000 from us. It will be easier to go and come back than it will be to pay that." Other “illegal immigrants gathered at the Red Bank train station last night summed up the plan” as “painful, but somehow doable”

Sen. Robert Menendez, “who took part in the negotiations, quickly denounced it.”

The bill would enable illegal immigrants to immediately receive permits to work legally and then apply for renewable one-year visas after paying a $1,000 fine. But it would require them to return to their home countries within eight years to apply for permanent residency, with another $4,000 fee for that stage of the process.

Amy Gottlieb, attorney with the Newark chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, an organization that advocates for immigrants, said "They can't administer what they have right now. They'd have to double the size of the budget to have enough staff to process applications."

“Echoing the concerns voiced yesterday by many pro-immigrant and religious groups”, Gottlieb said “the measure was too punitive. Forcing poor illegal immigrants to pay thousands in fines and return to their home countries, she said, would only increase hardship and separate families. We are deeply concerned. The debate has gotten so polarized, so far apart. And cutting these deals that really disregard the humanity behind immigration is not a way to address the polarization."

The article did include the views of one advocate for Americans, Gayle Kesselman, co-chairwoman of New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control. "Crazy," said Kesselman, "The whole thing is crazy."

The U.S. government has known for 16 years the Duka family, including Fort Dix Six brothers —Dritan, Eljvir and Shain—were in the country illegally. It’s believed the family unlawfully slipped into the U.S. in 1984 by crossing from Mexico at Brownsville, Texas.

In 1989, Ferik Duka filed a claim for asylum with U.S. immigration authorities, but the application for the family languished inside the federal bureaucracy due to a paperwork “backlog”.

While the asylum application was under consideration, the government effectively suspended any effort to deport family members as illegal aliens, the source familiar with their immigration history said.

Then two years ago, federal immigration officials recommended an investigation by the FBI and Homeland Security agents into possible immigration fraud by the Dukas.

The former INS bureaucracy had been transferred from the Justice Department to the new Department of Homeland Security, where officials were under pressure from Congress and the public to eliminate immigration backlogs and crack down on aliens who had entered the United States illegally.

By late 2005, Homeland Security looked “at the Dukas’s suspicious file and notified both the new Homeland investigations bureau, known as ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and the FBI.”.

Before a thorough immigration fraud investigation could be conducted, however, the Philadelphia-area Joint Terrorism Task Force, responding to a tip-off from a Circuit City clerk who was disturbed at the contents of a video a customer wanted to have copied, launched the undercover terrorism investigation which last week resulted in the arrests of three Duka brothers and three other men on charges of plotting to attack Fort Dix and other targets in the New Jersey area.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said that government oversights like the ones that evidently plagued the Duka case are “par for the course” in what he called “our don’t ask, don’t tell immigration system. We make it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to live here. 'No' never means 'no'.”

Father of Fort Dix Six Arrested on Immigration Charges

Ferik Duka, the father of three men charged in the Fort Dix terror plot was arrested this week on immigration violations and is in federal custody. “It was unclear why the Duka's had not been charged with immigration violations earlier.”

N.J. Terror Suspects Had Past Run-Ins With The Law

Dritan Duka has past arrests on charges of disorderly conduct and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. He also received six separate speeding tickets and was stopped by police 11 times between 1997 and 2006.

Shain Duka has past arrests on charges of obstruction of justice, hindering apprehension and making physical threats. Shain was repeatedly stopped by police and had 19 suspensions of his license.

Eljvir Duka has past drug counts and had 24 suspensions of his driving permit. He was tagged by the state as a persistent violator.

Corzine Opposes Partnership With Federal Government To Enforce Immigration Laws

According to a report in last Friday’s Star-Ledger, Governor Jon Corzine is a prominent opponent of the 287G program from the Department of Homeland Security, which enables state and local law-enforcement agencies to work with ICE to identify and detain immigration offenders.

It’s clear to us why the Duka's had not been charged with immigration violations earlier - New Jersey is a sanctuary state.

Six Islamic radicals planning a heavily armed attack against soldiers at Fort Dix as part of a jihad against the United States were arrested last night in New Jersey. Officials identified the men as Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka, Serdar Tatar, Mohamad Shnewer and Agron Abdullahu.

Five have been charged with conspiring to kill officers of the United States Government, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. The sixth, Abdullahu, is charged with aiding and abetting the others.

“The Duka brothers had been popular in school. Shain drove a Cadillac Escalade SUV. Their family owned a pizzeria.” According to the federal affidavit, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Shain Duka were also illegal aliens.

"This is a case of thorough and aggressive law enforcement by U.S. Attorney Chris Christie and his team. Through a 16-month surveillance effort, they dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't' to ensure that this terror plot did not come to fruition and lead to a loss of lives."

Times have changed since 2004 when federal agents launched massive raids on illegal aliens at an apartment complex in Hightstown. “One Spanish-language newspaper recently dubbed Hightstown the "Paradise Town" of New Jersey.”

Hightstown has enacted a no-questions-asked policy on immigration status and is now considered a “sanctuary city”. The borough, with a population of 5,300, “allows its undocumented residents to officially interact with local police and access city services without fear of being reported to federal authorities”.

One illegal immigrant at the complex where the raids were staged called on the police recently to help place a family member in alcohol rehabilitation; others have reported domestic abuse, extortion, theft and other crimes. Some are calling the town's pro-immigrant mayor for advice on City Hall weddings and landlord troubles. Hightstown has added services aimed at immigrants.

Hightstown Mayor Robert Patten, a Republican, is under the impression his community would be a ghost-town without illegal immigrants, while Governor Jon Corzine is spending taxpayer money to build affordable housing. New Jersey’s illegal immigrant population, estimated at close to 1 million, has apparently already discovered plenty of affordable housing in places like "Paradise Town".

Blue Jersey’s ‘Hopeful’ sees Hightstown’s “sanctuary city” policies as providing “A Better Approach to Immigration” than communities actively working with federal law enforcement to reduce problems associated with illegal immigrants. “The result: Crimes are reported, and the town is flourishing.” From the sounds of it, Hightstown is flourishing with crime. We fail to see how turning a blind eye to immigration status s is a better approach, assuming the valid reasons for our immigration laws and the public‘s desire to see them enforced.

Illegal immigration in New Jersey has grown so dramatically in size and impact that the League of Municipalities recently formed a task force to study the cost to municipalities of providing education, law enforcement, health care and other services to illegal immigrants. Readers may remember our post about “One Loud Councilperson's Opinion” after voters rejected Hightstown’s school budget for the second straight year. If there’s an advantage to illegal immigration for legal residents and taxpayers, we’ve yet to hear it.

Fausta writes, “Hightstown is subverting the principle of the rule of law”. “The message is clear: the immigrants are taught that the law applies to someone else.” “Having, supporting and countenancing a group of people whose entire existence is predicated on evading the rule of law” is “erosive to our society”.

It’s also expensive, especially for a state that’s basically bankrupt. Steven A. Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies said, "You're also talking about a group of people who often work off-the-books but are getting access to expensive city services. It's not fair to everyone else paying the bill."

New Jersey – A Hell Of A State For Taxpayers

New Jersey residents continue fleeing the state in search of jobs, lower taxes and a more affordable cost of living. Only three New Jersey counties, Somerset, Gloucester and Cumberland, are keeping up with the nation's population growth rate, according to new Census data released today.

New Jersey's demographic quandary is simple: More residents are moving out of the state than are moving in.

James Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning at Rutgers University explains why:

“The reasons people are leaving are basically economic. When you look at New Jersey compared to the rest of the country, there are more economic opportunities in places like North Carolina, which has a rapidly growing economy and more affordable housing."

Without close to one million illegal immigrants, New Jersey’s population would actually have declined.

New Jersey's illegal immigrant population has grown so dramatically in size and impact in the last decade that the League of Municipalities has formed a task force to study the community and its effect on the state in general.

The task force has met once, but its plans are ambitious. It will look at crowding, health and safety issues and the cost to municipalities of providing education, law enforcement, health care and other services to "substantial numbers of individuals who do not pay taxes."

New Jersey’s “underground economy” may be flourishing, but the legal one is anemic. According to State of New Jersey statistics, a total of 55,600 private sector jobs have been added in New Jersey since 2002, while state and local government jobs increased by 38,800 during the same time period.

New Jersey’s growth industry is government and its population growth is from illegal immigration. What a hell of a state for taxpayers.

Source: State of New Jersey Employment Information