When we think of illegal immigration, we tend to only think of the problem here in the United States.  But other countries have the same problem.  They battle illegal immigrants every day, just like the U.S.  Perhaps we could benefit from looking at what other countries are doing to curb the problem.


"Miriana spends her nights sleeping in a park, and her days hunched on a stoop outside a Madrid shop, begging for money. The young woman admits that she earned more in Italy, where she lived for a year. But for this Romanian immigrant, who is also ethnically Roma (or gypsy), the decision to move to Spain was easy.

"Here, the people are better," she explains in broken Spanish. "They don't have as much hate."

Both Spain and Italy, situated across from Africa on the Mediterranean coast, have faced huge influxes of illegal immigrants over the past couple of years – 18,000 intercepted by Spain last year alone, and 12,000 by Italy so far this year. But their governments, though sharing a conviction that the problem urgently needs to be curbed, have taken different approaches to reach that common goal.

While Spain struggles to find the balance between limiting immigration and protecting human rights, Italy has implemented state of emergency measures and even fingerprinting of Roma – measures decried as "xenophobic" by the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg.

"The Spanish government has a very strict policy," says Roberto Malini, president of the Italian human rights organization EveryOne. "The Italians have an intimidatory policy: the idea is to scare immigrants, so that when they go home, they can tell their countrymen that Italy is no place for foreigners."

from the Christian Science Monitor

Spain, Italy:  Two Tactics for Tackling Illegal Immigration

HERE

TUCSON, Arizona —  U.S. officials were shocked that a Mexican judge had freed a man imprisoned in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.Jesus Navarro Montes was arrested Jan. 22 in northern Mexico in the killing of Agent Luis Aguilar and had also been held over for trial there on migrant smuggling charges. The circumstances of his recent release from a Mexicali prison couldn’t be determined Wednesday.“We are working with a determined Mexican government, and our Department of Justice, to seek swift justice for the Aguilar murder,” Chertoff said in a statement Wednesday. “We have also assured Agent Aguilar’s family that every resource is being called upon in the relentless pursuit of justice.”The attorney general’s office in Baja California, Mexico, confirmed that Navarro had been released but couldn’t provide any details of his case. Officials answering phones at the 12th District Court in Mexicali said no one authorized to speak to the media was available.

Aguilar was run over and killed Jan. 19 as he tried to put down spike strips to stop a drug-filled vehicle and a pickup that were fleeing back to Mexico.


Read the entire article on : FoxNews  ç here


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


 
AP Photo

What has just recently happened in Northern Mexico is a prime example of how the Mexican Government fails to abide by the law on their side of the border. 

Judges there free murderers of U.S. Border Patrol Agents. 

There is no one protecting the United States Border Patrol Agents. 

They are virtually on their own down there. 

Where is the justice?

 

Carlos Carrillo, foreground, chief U.S Border Patrol Agent, Laredo
sector, speaks during a news conference Thursday, June 19, 2008,
in Austin, Texas. Gov. Rick Perry, left, joined with U.S. Border Patrol
sector chiefs and the Texas Department of Public Safety to announce
a joint federal-state law enforcement effort that cracks down on
commercial vehicle operators who knowing smuggle across the
state's border with Mexico. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)


Texas governor warns smugglers will lose livelihoods...

"Commercial truckers who knowingly smuggle people, illegal weapons or drugs into the United States face losing their livelihoods, Texas Gov. Rick Perry warned Thursday as he announced a federal and state initiative to revoke the commercial licenses of drivers convicted of felony smuggling. Perry said the initiative, dubbed "Texas Hold 'Em" and involving the state Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Border Patrol, will use existing laws to go after truckers who increasingly are being recruited by Mexican and other crime cartels to smuggle goods and people."




AP Photo


The drug smuggling problem is a major one and truck drivers are constantly being caught with drugs in the cabs of their trucks.  In the past they were turned over to ICE and prosecuted.  With this program, they will now be able to lose their licenses for life. 

One of the major issues with drug smuggling from Mexico is that the problem stems from the United States.  Until the demand for the drugs deceases here, the smuggling won’t decrease.  A trucker risking going to prison for life is huge and is going to cut down on that type of drug smuggling.  But it still doesn't get rid of the dealers back in the U.S.

Truck drivers may lose their licenses for up to one year for smuggling immigrants, for the first offense, and for life for a repeat offense.

The more obstacles we put in place for these enablers, the better.

Read the article from the Austin American-Statesman  ç  here

 

On Monday I reported this:


“No federal law prohibits North Carolina from admitting illegal immigrants to its colleges and universities, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said today [May 9, 2008]. The statement from federal officials contradicts a letter sent this week by the office of state Attorney General Roy Cooper."


College O.K. for Illegal Immigrants  É here


Now in a complete turn-around, North Carolina will no longer allow undocumented or illegal immigrants to attend their community colleges.

"I don't think its fair," student Patrick Chen said. "Everyone deserves a right to education."


Oh, really, Mr. Chen? 

Since when do illegal immigrants have a "right" to a college education?

Student Daniel McCauley disagrees. "I think that if you are illegal, you shouldn't be allowed to go to school because it takes away from the people that are here that are us citizens."

Well, at least you're a more intelligent college student, Daniel...

And, not surprisingly, of course, we have, what else?  "Outrage"


"In Raleigh, at El Pueblo, an advocacy group for Hispanics, community leaders are outraged."

"No, there is nothing at all from the federal government saying that a school cannot permit a student paying out of state tuition go to school," one leader said.

The state attorney general disagrees a passed down new guidelines to the state's 58 community colleges. The new rule went into effect Tuesday.

That means students graduating from high school, who are illegally in the U.S., will not be admitted.

Undocumented students can attend any of the 16 public universities. The problem is most can't afford the out of state tuition and they are not eligible for state or federal financial aid.

So, why don't student's apply for citizenship? Some say its a lengthy and expensive process."

A lengthy process?

Yes...becoming a citizen of the United States of America doesn't happen overnight.

It never has, and it probably never will.

But immigrants have been becoming American citizens the proper way for decades.....

And it is a proud moment for those who have followed the process and can now say the are Americans.

Expensive?

I've never heard that one before.

College is expensive, though.


See an interview of students at

Wake Technical Community College and advocacy group El Pueblo   É  here

and read an article from the Guardian.co.uk

 
North Carolina Bans Illegal Immigrants from Community Colleges         É  here

 

“No federal law prohibits North Carolina from admitting illegal immigrants to its colleges and universities, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said today [May 9, 2008]. The statement from federal officials contradicts a letter sent this week by the office of state Attorney General Roy Cooper."

Read the article from News & Observer

Feds: College OK for illegal immigrants      ç  here


~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m a bit mystified as to why illegal immigrants are allowed to be admitted into colleges and universities.

The first question that comes to mind is, don't you need a social security number to attend school as a resident of the United States?  A foreign student would have a temporary visa or student visa allowing them to attend.  Just what documentation are these students showing?

Next, illegal immigrants may be taking a spot at a college or university that could be going to a resident of the United States.  And, usually housing is limited on college campuses. 

Finally, is anyone subsidizing college tuition for the illegal immigrant students?  Illegal aliens do not qualify for state or public benefits.  An illegal immigrant can't legally get a job to work his/her way through college...they don't have a social security card, or birth certificate/passport for identification in order to show in order to get a job.  Just how is their college education being paid?

This doesn't make sense.

Does it?

 

 

"Federal officials on Thursday opened a path to temporary legal status for illegal immigrants whose spouses or parents died on 9/11, a step the families’ supporters called a breakthrough in the effort to allow them to remain permanently in the United States."
[...]

"The measure, which was prompted by a request by Ms. Steinberg [a lawyer representing several of the illegal immigrants] for help from immigration officials in resolving the legislative impasse, affects no more than two dozen immediate family members of 9/11 victims who have lived in limbo since the attacks. Their spouses, including those who were themselves illegal immigrants, were listed by name as heroes on memorial rosters of the victims. The families received payments from the Victim Compensation Fund, ranging from $875,000 to $4.1 million."

[...]


"Homeland Security officials will use the information to decide whether to give the immigrants a temporary humanitarian parole to allow them to live and work legally in the United States, Mr. Baker [Dept. of Homeland Security] wrote. The parole would not be granted to immigrants with criminal records, ties to terrorism or formal orders of deportation, he said."


So, let me get this straight...

Illegal immigrant survivors of illegal immigrants who were working at the World Trade Center and tragically died on 9-11, and have already been compensated between $875,000 and $4.1 million....again, this to illegal immigrants, will now be allowed to legally stay in the United States?

Oh, as long as they are not terrorists or criminals?

Excuse me, but aren't they criminals in the first place because they are illegal immigrants?

There are tragedies that happen in this country every single day, which include the murder of Americans by illegal immigrants.

Do we compensate those families with our tax dollars?

Do we give them special treatment because they have had a loss?

I'm just asking...

I pesonally believe the 9-11 Victim's Compensation Fund was a huge mistake in the first place. 

It was pretty obvious it was created by Congress to protect the airlines.

The trouble is, 9-11 was the fault of the terrorists, and they and their families aren't the ones who paid the compensation. 

We taxpayers did.



Read the complete article  in the New York Times


Steps Set for Kin of 9/11 Victims to Stay in U.S.  í   here

I'm very sorry the illegal immigrant families can't invest their compensation money because they don't have social security numbers.

Will we grant dual citizenship to families of all foreigners who lost a loved one here, also, because they feel a "connection?"

 

"A Polk County judge has ordered Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro to stop using languages other than English in the state's official voter registration forms. District Judge Douglas Staskal ruled in favor of U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who sued state officials last year, contending they were violating the state's English-language law. He brought the suit against Gov. Chet Culver, who previously served as secretary of state, and Mauro, contending they had placed illegal voting forms on the secretary of state's Web site."
The ruling could be taken as a sign against Spanish-speakers' inclusion in every facet of government, said Jorge Espejel, the Mexican consul in Omaha.

****************

"It's going to be affecting everything," Espejel said. "I think it's not a good decision for us. As you know, for the people who have become a U.S. citizen, it's better to know what they're signing in their own language. ... They are going to be afraid. It's not going to be easy for them."

*****************


Craig Halverson of Griswold, state director of the Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which opposes illegal immigration, said he was elated by the judge's decision.

"Our country has been English language all along. ... When I went to Greece, I learned how to speak Greek. But I am here, so I speak English. This shows that we still have some judges who will represent the American people," Halverson said.||

*******************

"It's better to know what they're signing in their own language.  They are going to be afraid?"

Give me a break!

And PLEASE don't vote if you can't understand English.

Read the article from the Des Moines Register

Judge Puts English Only On Voter Forms  É here

"There is a father, leading the way with a clear sense of urgency, bent at the waist. A mother, running behind him, despite the prim dress that hugs her knees. A little girl, holding her mother's hand, unable to keep pace, her feet barely touching the ground, her pigtails -- everyone knows the pigtails -- flowing behind."


In the 1980s, illegal immigrants were running across I-5 in California, as they entered the U.S.  The highway was very busy, and many of the people, usually the youngest or oldest, were getting hit by cars, and killed.

In 1990, John Hood, a Navajo, Vietnam Vet, and graphic artist, created the picture of the immigrant family, running, in order to help prevent these deaths of illegal immigrants.  It was put on a yellow caution sign.

Today, a photograph of the sign is hanging in the National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C.

"In museums, we are constantly looking for objects that transcend their own history," said Peter Liebhold, chairman of the museum's Division of Work and Industry. "This is, without a doubt, an icon of the current immigration debate. It's taken on meaning that was never intended."


Read the story from the Los Angeles Times


The Artist Behind the Iconic "Running Immigrants" Image    í here

 

 

After reading the story I am going to link you to, I know from past experience there will be differing views among my readers.

So be it.

I’m clear on my views.

This is a story about government surveillance. 

It begins off the coast of Washington State, near the city of Bellingham, where federal agents are monitoring terrorist activity that could possibly come in off of ferry runs.

But this is off of an interstate highway, and they are monitoring the area for nuclear “dirty bombs.”

The article doesn’t say so, but for them to be monitoring specifically for this activity, you would think there has to have been some tip-off somewhere along the line….but back to the story.

They are monitoring activity using highly sensitive radiation detectors. 

On this day, in the article, a car goes by at 70 miles per hour and the detector goes off with a warning.

They chase the driver, pull over the car, do questioning, do a search, and what do the find? 

They find radiation, alright….but as my title suggests, it is a pet.

The owner's cat had cancer and had undergone radiation treatment several days earlier.

Now, I think….how cool is that...we could detect radiation from a cancer treatment?   In a cat?

Look what we can do!

The article states something to that degree, also.

I say, keep it up and do what you have to do to prevent terrorism in the U.S.

We have already caught two terrorists on our soil, before they did the damage they intended to do, which you will also read about. 

The writer will end his article with a quote from a Washington, San Juan County Councilman, Kevin Ranker, who says “I think it’s fair to say many people up here have been left wondering just what kind of country it is they’ re living in.”

Well, Kevin Ranker…I think we are living in a wonderful country.

And I would like to keep it that way. 

I know it would be an inconvenience to be stopped by an FBI agent because I had radiation in my car.

I’m sure most people would be scared and angry about it at first.

But later, I’m sure you would feel reassured that if that had been a “dirty bomb” heading to San Juan, you would be safe. 

God Bless America.



Here’s the story from the Seattle Times

ø  Watch out, you’re being watched   ÷  here

Trust me…

Those of you that know anything about me know that if I opened a business of any kind I would not be hiring employees as translators, I would not be putting up signs in different languages, and I would not be learning another language so I could communicate with my patrons. 

I would be opening a business in America, where our language is English, and my employees would be speaking English.  My phone lines would not allow you to “press one.”

Would I lose some business….

Probably…

But you know, I believe a lot of the people reading these signs, using interpreters, and pressing one, really can speak English, and businesses are just enabling them rather than encouraging them to improve their language skills. Would I serve or help a non-English speaking patron?  Well, of course!  That's not what it's about.

 If I was moving to another country, I would start learning their native language before I left.

In Philadelphia, PA, a business owner, of a famous cheese steak shop, decided, hey, this is America, if you want to order my cheese steaks, I would like you to order in English.

So, he put up a sign in the front window stating this.

There are other cheese steak shops around, after all, this is Philly....

It seems the city's human Relations Commission thought the sign was intimidating to non-English speaking customers....

The owner of Geno's Steaks, Joe Vento, says he never refused service to anyone who couldn't speak English.

He just has the sign hanging in the window... "WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH." 

The commission originally thought the sign discouraged customers from different backgrounds from eating at Geno's. 

At the final vote, Geno's won with a 2-1 vote saying they did not discriminate.

Read the story at Breitbart  (it's in English)



"Speak English" Signs O.K at Philly Shop  í here

O.K.  I’m being sarcastic with my title.

But it might as well be that way in Arkansas.



LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A bailiff who forgot about a woman locked in a courthouse holding cell and left her there for four days without food, water or access to a bathroom has been suspended for 30 days but will keep his job, officials said Wednesday.

Washington County Cpl. Jarrod Hankins acted without "intentional misconduct" when he left Adriana Torres-Flores in the 9 1/2-by-10 1/2-foot cell, Sheriff Tim Helder said.Hankins "became busy and simply forgot" about the woman last Thursday, leaving her in the cell with only a jacket until Monday morning.

"I realize some people may have expected Hankins to be terminated. However, my philosophy is if an employee makes a mistake while trying their best to perform their duties, I will try to salvage them," Helder said in a statement.

What?

"If an employee makes a mistake while trying their best?”

He became “busy and simply forgot” that there was a human being alone, in a cell, with no food or water for FOUR DAYS?

She could have died.

Anything can happen to someone when they are alone like that.

Yeah, scare the illegal immigrants so badly that they will tell each other “Hey, we better leave Arkansas, because if you get caught you get locked up and they throw away the key." 

30 days suspended without pay?

I say lock him up with no food, water, or bathroom facilities….for one day longer…5 days.

Then he can see how it feels when people make simple mistakes.

If instead of the criminal it had been a police dog accidentally locked up…this bailiff probably would have been fired.


Read the article from the Associated Press:

Arkansas Bailiff Who Forgot Inmate Suspended   ÷ here

Tent City in Phoenix, AZ



If you are in Phoenix, Arizona...don't break the law.

And if you are an illegal immigrant, maybe you just better avoid Arizona altogether.

You may be be familiar with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known as "America's toughest Sheriff."

And that he is.

He's the one who runs that tent city jail.

He makes all of the male inmates wear pink underclothes and eat food that's not quite fresh.

They sleep outside, in tents, all year round, no matter what the weather.

Arpaio is tough on illegal immigrants too.



"Arpaio finds creative ways to arrest illegal immigrants — using state law intended on human smuggling to charge them with smuggling themselves — something no one else in the state has attempted."

And once arrested, they learn English.

Sheriff Arpaio is in trouble with the public quite often because of his methods.

But it's thought he will be re-elected again, for the fifth time, in November.

Read about America's toughest sheriff and his stance on illegal immigrants on npr.org

America's Toughest Sheriff Takes On Immigration   å  here

The Red Queen lecturing Alice, by John Tenniel

Red Queen's race

The Red Queen's race is an incident that appears in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and involves the Red Queen, a representation of a Queen in chess, and Alice constantly running but remaining in the same spot."Well, in our country," said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else — if you run very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."

"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I’ll only address the Red Queen’s Race this one time.  Amazingly, its example can be paralleled with countless life circumstances.  Among them….jobs, economic growth, and taxes. 

Here we are, well into the age of technology (yes, the information age – you must read this) finding that jobs here in the U.S. are disappearing and being outsourced to other countries.  At the same time, the cost of living is going up at a steady pace and we have less purchasing power.  The average citizen is running as fast as he can to stay in the same place he used to be.

Taxes….excessive government spending….tax the average citizen to near death….tax businesses until they leave the country.  Then, find cheap labor where those products are now being made.  Give us more to buy…then, we end up buying more.   So, we need to work more and we become multi-income families.  College students attend college longer and live home longer.  Marriage and family (if any) has been put off until the thirties or later. 

The government offers a multitude of social benefits, from our taxes, for those who are not as well off as those of us who are running as fast as we can to stay in the same place…. and most who are offered, take advantage of those benefits.  Most immigrants using benefits, who are working, make low wages.   This includes illegal immigrants.

There is talk of raising the minimum wage, which, in the end, will just cut jobs, raise prices, and make multi-income families have to work even harder when the cost of living goes up, yet again.  Increasing services to the public…increasing taxes…expanding our government….that’s what makes the race continue….

Currently, the pitch from Obama, Clinton and McCain is in support of virtual fencing to protect the border.  When, after the election, the dialogue reverts back to illegal immigrants being given amnesty, and if that becomes a reality, with more social services bestowed upon possibly 12 million illegal immigrants living in our country….

How much faster will we have to run to keep up then?

Government red tape at its finest.

I know we are bogged down since 9-11 with the passport issue and every other issue regarding paperwork when it comes to keeping our "homeland" safe.

But if you don't have enough government employees to process the paperwork of immigrants...

Then hire more, rather than give in and risk our safety.

How about skimming some of the floaters off of the top, in Administration, who aren't needed so we have some extra funding.



This, from Washington....


"In a major policy shift aimed at reducing a ballooning immigration backlog, Homeland Security is preparing to grant permanent residency to tens of thousands of applicants before the FBI completes a required background check.


Those eligible are immigrants whose fingerprints have cleared the FBI database of criminal convictions and arrests, but whose names have not yet cleared the FBI's criminal or intelligence files after six months of waiting.

The immigrants who are granted permanent status, more commonly known as getting their green cards, will be expected eventually to clear the FBI's name check. If they don't, their legal status will be revoked and they'll be deported."

Read the entire article from ajc.com

More Immigrants to Get Green Card Before Full Review   à here

I blogged in January about the issue I have with our non-English speaking citizens who refuse to learn to speak English, and the way certain companies, businesses and government entities enable them, therefore forcing me, and you  to "press one."  My blog was chosen for the "Best of the Blogs" that week, although it was edited in title, and content. 

A reader in Hales Corners had this to say about it in an article in HalesCornersNOW:

Let's Celebrate Our Diversity and Not Only in English

By Jan Gorzalski
HalesCornersNOW.com user

Posted: Jan. 26, 2008

Your "BEST OF THE BLOGS" article in the January 24th issue, "No, I won't press one for English", prompted me to do what I don't normally do, and that is to write a response. Author, Janet Evans, expressed frustration in being "forced" to accommodate non-English speaking residents by making various language selections (Press 1 to continue in English; press 2 to continue .....) in many of our pre-recorded telephone messages. While I can certainly share her frustration in connecting to a recorded telephone voice in lieu of a "live" voice, I cannot understand her reluctance to accommodate all people in our multi-lingual society.

As a decedent of immigrants myself, I know that "Lady Liberty" welcomed both our English as well as non-English speaking ancestors. America is a nation of immigrants and we "Americans" are blessed by its rich diversity. This multiplicity should be celebrated as a quality which makes our country unique.

In our busy lives, it often feels as though we cannot spare the extra minute or two it takes in order to accommodate people with diverse needs. That is precisely when we should pause for the moment, take a deep breath, and appreciate that America is home to all of its citizens-those that speak English and those that do not.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Jan Gorzalski....

You don’t quite have my story correct. 

Yes, I was “forced” to press one.  In this instance I picked up the phone call from my insurance company, which is based in the United States of America, and a recorded message, in English, came on and said, “To listen to this message in English, press one.” 

I’m sorry if you don’t think that as an American citizen, that’s wrong.  Maybe that alternative should be given to Spanish speaking people instead of to those that speak the native language of this country.  My “frustration” that you speak of, in this instance, wasn’t that I couldn’t connect to a live person.  It was that I, an English speaking American, must make the choice of a language.

I also am a descendant of immigrants.  My grandfather came over on a ship, by himself, not speaking a word of English.  HE learned.  He did so to survive.  To make a living.  That is what Theodore Roosevelt preached back in those days.  He was staunchly against those immigrants who refused to learn English. 

Don’t give me this “accommodate people with diverse needs” business.  Why?  Should we print all of our road signs in Spanish in the name of diversity?  Every piece of literature?  Menus in restaurants?  Where does it end?

I say it’s all about the mighty dollar.  Those who are providing the option of “press one” or signage are those who are selling something, except for government institutions, who are enabling. 

The point of my blog was, if you want to be a citizen of this country it is your responsibility to learn English.  Period. 

In my view, in most cases it is laziness and the fact that it is easier to stick with your own language.  When your children are learning English in school and you are “forcing” them to speak another language at home because you refuse to learn English, you are lazy.  You are un-American. 

Period.

 

 

I've been tough on the illegal immigrant issue.

And I won't change my stance.

I want to make it clear that I certainly do not have any arguments against immigrants coming to our country the legal way.

Follow the rules; LEARN English.

I'm not much on preferential treatment.

And I certainly don't think those in the entertainment business deserve anything better than anyone else.

Many actors and actresses think they are extraordinary and deserve a political soapbox.

(and seem to forget most Americans just want to be entertained, and we didn't pay that money so we could have you preach your views to us...just be grateful you are where you are today because of people like US!).

Today I read something that I had never thought about before.

Did you know that foreign actors, actresses and athletes are most often given preferential treatment when it comes to Visas?

Did you have any idea that a "job" (therefore, a record company or other entity) can "sponsor" a foreigner in our country?

"He died thousands of miles from home, but like hundreds of other entertainers who came before him, Heath Ledger had left his native land to carve out a career in Hollywood. In doing so, the Australian-born actor, who died last week in New York City of still-undetermined causes, joined a long list of expatriate entertainers that includes Spain's Antonio Banderas, Canada's Mike Myers and even the man who paid tribute to Ledger at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Englishman Daniel Day-Lewis. With immigration as a hot-button issue in an election year, the internationalization of Hollywood—nine of the 20 acting or supporting Oscar nominations this year went to foreign-born movie stars—begs the question: Is it easier for an actor to get a U.S. work visa than, say, a dishwasher?"


Well, this is a real eye-opener.

Read the full story

From green card to SAG card: Expatriate's path to Hollywood star   Ã here

_________________________________

I’ve gotta tell you. 

I have less respect for foreign actors now than I ever did.

But, it really isn't their fault.

They're just taking advantage of OUR system.

So I have to question WHY we are letting foreign actors, entertainers and athletes get away with  moving to the head of the line?

There is that question, are they taking a job away from an American?

Well, I say a resounding yes!

Always.

How many wannabe actors and athletes are there in our country? 

More than we could count...that's for sure.

They may not be as talented as the "immigrants" who want to get these jobs...but they are Americans.

Something tells me the mighty buck has something to do with this....

So in the case of the immigrant dishwasher AND the American wannabe actor/athlete....


Go to the back of the line! 

I guess you need an agent . . . .

 

On January 3, 1919, just three days before his death, Theodore Roosevelt wrote in a letter to the American Defense Society:

"We should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with every one else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed or birthplace or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American.

If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn't doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else a