The Washington Post reported that undocumented workers got $4.2 billion in tax credits last year.

Undocumented workers got billions from IRS in tax credits, audit finds

The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago.

Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that federal law is ambiguous on whether these workers qualify for a tax break based on earned income called the additional child tax credit.

More…

Here’s FoxNews on the story:

Illegal Workers Used Tax Credit to Pocket $4.2 Billion, Audit Shows

Talk about a tax loophole. 

Undocumented workers collected $4.2 billion in a certain tax credit last year, up from less than $1 billion five years ago, according to a new audit. 

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked only at a tax benefit known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable credit meant for working families. The audit found that as a result of vague U.S. law — as well as an expansion of the tax credit in stimulus legislation and other measures — the number of illegal workers collecting the money has skyrocketed.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/02/undocumented-workers-pocketed-42-billion-in-tax-credits-audit-shows/#ixzz1XBZgZuaz

COMMENTARY: So the illegal alien gets a tax id number because he does not have a Social Security number, files a tax return, and gets the child credit paid.

Someohow I cannot believe for a second this is some kind of accident…illegal aliens are gettng some pretty sophisticated help in getting taxpayer id numbers and gaming the system for the tax credit.

It is a crime in this country to aid and abet illegal entry…thus if you pick up an llegal alien and give him a ride you can go to jail.

How about the crime of aiding and abetting tax fraud and illegal residency?

The immigration debate is tainted by a sense of entitlement from illegal aliens that they have some kind of right to illegally cross our border and work in the United States.

Having talked to many illegal immigrants over the years several arguments are made for why they crossed illegally into the US:

The primary argument is that there is no work or opportunity for them where they live, and in order to feed their families they must go “al norte”.

The second and related argument is there is “trabajo”…work…waiting for them in the US.

The third and more recent vintage argument is it is so difficult to cross and it costs so much in coyote fees that the initial illegal immigrant can’t go back and forth, and thus the family must join him or her in the US. That’s why we’ve seen a significant increase in woman and children crossing illegally in recent years.

All of these arguments are true as far as they go.

But they leave out some significant issues which Americans are responding to legitimately and with increasing anger.

On the first justification, the driver behind illegal immigration is the failure of Mexico’s economy (and other countries) to provide enough good job opportunities so folks can stay in their home countries and feed their families.

While the US may have some indirect responsibility for the failure of economies like Mexico to be able to absorb its own work force (NAFTA’s agricultural impact on Mexican subsistence farmers) the bottom line is it is not the United States of America’s responsibility to solve the unemployment problem in Mexico or anywhere else.

It is the failure of Mexico to create a vibrant economy that can fully employ its own people. Mexico is pushing people out of its country rather than solve its own problems.

Rather than directly address that problem, Mexico has been exporting that problem to the United States for decades. This is a relief valve for Mexico because if millions of poor Mexicans were stuck inside their country, they might have another revolution.

The point from our side of the border is we have no duty or responsibility to solve the problems of Mexicans or immigrants from any other country that can’t get good paying work  feed their families at home. We certainly have enough problems inside our country creating jobs for our own people.

Where I believe a lot of the anger against illegal aliens comes from is this “entitlement” attitude of the immigrants that since they have problems in their own country, they can leave, illegally enter our country, and expect to have their problem solved at our expense.

The second justificati0on…that there are jobs waiting for the illegal immigrants…has been true for decades. They wouldn’t come to solve their own personal financial problems if there was not a solution waiting for them on our side of the border.

That is the “pull” side of the equation.

And, like it or not, there are a lot of jobs like farm work that American citizens will not do in sufficient numbers to keep our agribusiness functioning to capacity.

This creates a serious opportunity to exploit illegal immigrants because they have no rights like an American worker to things like a minimum wage or safe working conditions.

American businesses that hire illegal aliens benefit hugely from the cheap and unprotected labor pool.

If the illegal alien workers complain about working 12 hours a day 7 days a week, guess who calls ICE to have the troublesome workers deported?

We have a nasty form of slavery going on in the US…I call it “rent a slave”.

The third element is the effectiveness of securing our border which has made illegal entry more difficult and expensive.

The mistake in US border policy was to assume if the easy illegal entry points in border cities were choked off, the illegal immigrants would not risk their lives trying to cross through our harsh deserts and rugged mountains.

Wrong.

The economic pressures the illegal immigrants face create a desperation that does not dissuade them from trying anyway. And the real fact is if they are determined enough, they will succeed eventually. How else do you think we accumulated 5 or 6 million illegal aliens who illegally crossed out border?

Because of the increased difficulty to illegally cross and the higher coyote fees, the historic back-and-forth migration of workers changed, and now the families are moving north. At $2,000 a person, ultimately it is cheaper to import the rest of the family than go back and forth from work to home in Mexico. So our border security effort has had the counter effect of increasing the permanent resident population of illegal aliens from the south.

But that doesn’t giove the first illegal immigrant thr right to import his family to the US.

So what do we do?

On the first issue the illegal immigrants really need to lose that sense of entitlement that they can break our laws because of their personal needs.

They in effect saying “screw US sovereignty” by illegally crossing.

The “open borders” advocates agree with that entitlement claim and argue that for some reason in spite of our being a sovereign nation the folks living outside our border have some kind of “right” to come here because historically this was once part of Mexico, or because we have a land border, or whatever.

Americans are not buying the right to illegally enter our country. 

Interesting Hispanic American especially don’t agree with the “open borders” advocates because all this is doing is devaluing the people who played by the rules and came here legally.

One of these days the Repuiblican Party will figure out that instead of  voices like Russell Pearce or Joe Arpaio ranting about illegal aliens, this needs to be turned into a public safety issue for legal Hispanic residents of the country whose quality of life is degraded by illegal aliens.

It is not a race issue. It is who plays by the rules and who does not issue.

The voice for cracking down on illegal entry and securing our border should come from Hispanic Republicans. And I believe it will.

We’re getting our backs up because this is an invasion and we absolutely have the sovereign right to decide who can enter our country and on what terms and conditions.

Until and unless both the illegal immigrant community and their allies in the US understand that there is absolutely no right to illegally enter our country because it serves the illegal immigrants’ goals, the debate about immigration reform will remain stuck.

That is one of the core issues of the “no amnesty” position many take in the US.

If you broke our laws by illegally entering our country, that’s one big strike against you to gain some kind of right to stay.

That’s why all immigration reform proposals have elements of existing illegal immigrants having to admit to the crime of illegal entry, pay a fine, go to the back of the line, etc. before gaining legal status.

Interestingly I do not see immigrant rights groups accepting that the first step to legalize anyone is going to have to be a punitive element.

And we absolutely have the right to deport every single on of the 11 million illegal aliens in the country now.

Our problem is this is enormously expensive and impractical.

But to the degree that illegal aliens soak up welfare benefits, create costs for local governments, and fuel a crime wave in Hispanic neighborhoods, it may be just a question of time before some illegal alien commits an outrageous enough crime to push the country over the edge.

SB 1070 was fueled by the death of Douglas rancher Bob Krentz, and the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry south of Tucson by an illegal alien has just added fuel to the fire to seal our border and deport the illegal aliens already here.

Immigrant rights advocates need to understand and appreciate that we must gain control and secure our border and stop the flow of illegal aliens and drug smuggling criminal aliens into the US. Period.

We must be able to decide who can come in and who cannot.

Right now illegal alien criminals have just as much opportunity to get into the US and wreak havoc on us and especially Hispanic communities as illegal workers. We can’t sort them out. Maybe the solution is throw them all out.

But first we must stop the flow before getting to the rest of the issues.

Until immigrant rights advocates accept securing the border to the maximum extent we’re not going anywhere.

Maybe we’re not talking about moats and alligators but we sure as hell are talking about opening up federal lands next to the border to secure it and not put protecting lizards ahead of securing our border.

A message to immigrant rights advocates…the environmentalists who oppose securing the border to protect the lizards are your worst enemy because if we cannot fully secure our border, there is nothing to talk about regarding immigration reform.

Turning to the next issue…the job magnet drawing illegal immigrants: Arizona did the right thing in cracking down on employers and the US Supreme Court said we can do this.

The more we can impose penalties on hiring illegal alien workers the better.

Sure the farmers in California and elsewhere will have a problem in the near term…all the more reason to support getting access to the border on federal lands to shut down the flow of illegal aliens and then work up some kind of guest worker visa program that will be effective.

The farmers dependent on illegal aliens need to support the efforts to secure our border. Not whine about how many peaches are going to rot this season because there aren’t enough workers on their farms. Not whine about E-Verify without putting a better alternative onb the table.

We get to another dimension of the problem…the US government has no credibility in being able to sort out the 11 million illegal aliens already inside the country to decide who gets legal status and who gets “removed”.

The 1986 “amnesty” was an “amnesty” because a huge percentage of the applicants for legal status used fraudulent paper to get in, and the US government knowingly looked the other way.

That’s why I have suggested the processing of illegal aliens be delegated to the states and funded from fees charged to illegal alien applicants for legal status. The states will do a lot better job than the feds will.

Finally, we do need a guest worker visa program to allow unskilled labor into the country…provided that labor pool does not gain resident of citizenship opportunity status as a result. Come here and work and go home.

Labor unions have been a big obstacle in creating a guest worker visa program.

Somehow they think if they can cut off the immigrant worker supply, they will protect their union members. That is what comes out the back end of a horse.

Labor unions need to get out of the way and concentrate on their own problems which are numerous and resulting in the decline of the labor movement in this country.

Again we have a massive administration issue with a guest worker visa program. Remember INS “lost” 5 or 6 million legal entrants who overstayed their visas.

Allowing workers to come in on worker visas just exacerbates the problem if no one can keep track of them and make sure they went home after their work visa expired.

I have yet to see a serious proposal that addresses the failure of the federal government to manage its existing visa program and propose an alternative that will work, without costing us taxpayers any more money.

Those who need immigrant workers really need to dig into this issue and come up with a program…I suggest administered again by states…that will make sure only non-criminal aliens get work visas and that they go home when their visas expire.

____________________________________

Comprehensive immigration reform…a proposal

What will it take to end illegal immigration?

States must have an important role in immigration reform

Why do they immigrate? The problem is Mexico

Federal government ineptness main enemy of immigration law reform

The two aspects of the border debate

Two faces of the border

Long hot summer predicted on immigration law reform debate

Poll shows Latinos taking immigration debate personally

U.S. Chamber Report Offers Recommendations for Creating a 21st Century U.S.–Mexico Border

Environmentalism vs. Border Control: A Complex Battle of Survival

Counting Grain Cars by Jack McGarvey

Mexican drug cartels need to be designated as terrorists

An immigrant’s story …my family comes to America

Migrants or mules? by Katie Micik….from The Progressive Farmer

Would you pick lettuce in Yuma?

“Prosecutorial Discretion” is urged to change immigration policy

Where is the border with Mexico? At the official border or 100 miles inland?

Recycling illegal aliens so they can commit more crimes in the United States

Smuggling of migrants into the US a $6.6 billion dollar business

Wilderness Areas on the border? What a great idea if you are a cartel drug smuggler

Cybercoyotes guiding illegal aliens around the Border Patrol with cell phones

Another Open Letter to Obama…this one from the residents in Eastern Arizona on their border situation

An open letter to Obama about the border

Legalizing 11 million illegal aliens does not mean 11 million Democrat votes

“Probationary Presence” not “amnesty” needed in immigration reform

Press Release from the US Attorney’s Office for Arizona June 4, 2011:

THREE MEXICAN HOSTAGE-TAKERS SENTENCED FOR HOLDING ILLEGAL ALIENS FOR RANSOM

TUCSON, Ariz. – Faustino Chiquete-Reyes, Miguel Leyva-Rocha and Angel Reyna-Vargas were each sentenced on Friday by visiting U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett to 132 months, 132 months and 96 months in prison, respectively, for Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking. Chiquete-Reyes and Leyva-Rocha also face five years supervised release following their imprisonment and Reyna-Vargas will be on three years of supervised release. All three will be deported, however, immediately following the completion of their prison sentences. All three were also ordered to pay restitution for ransom fees exacted from the aliens that were being held.

“These defendants are disturbing examples of the lawless human smuggling underworld in which kidnapping and treating humans as cargo has become standard,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. “The offenders sentenced today conducted kidnapping and hostage-taking enterprises in the very midst of our community and neighborhoods. Such reckless and dangerous behavior will not go unpunished.”

On November 29, 2009, an illegal alien who was being held hostage was allowed to make a call for ransom money to a relative in California. The relative subsequently contacted authorities and federal agents were able to pinpoint the location of that cellular call to a home in Tucson. Within 24 hours, federal agents and members of the Pima County Sheriff’s SWAT team surrounded the home and had six suspects in custody and 14 hostages safely freed. All of the illegal aliens who were held hostage were eventually deported and five of the suspects were indicted by a federal grand jury for hostage-taking and weapons charges. One suspect was a minor and he was charged and convicted separately, as a juvenile. In addition, Nestor Chiquete-Reyes, brother of Faustino, was convicted and sentenced to 88 months in prison earlier this year for his role in this conspiracy. Both the juvenile and Nestor will also be deported at the completion of their sentences.

The investigation in this case was conducted by Tucson-based U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Micah Schmit, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona.

CASE NUMBER: CR-09-2910-TUC-RCC

COMMENT: One of the nastier things about illegal immigration is the violence being done to illegal immigrants from Mexico …by other Hispanics.

I interviewed a victim of border bandit crime and he asked “why are our people doing this to us?”

Reading the various comments that pop up on this blog, one gets the impression that many fear an “Hispanic invasion” of people sucking off welfare aimed at creating Aztlan.

Obviously those who suffer from “Mexiphobia” have never actually met an Hispanic immigrant or been in the home of an Hispanic family.

Growing up in Tucson in the 1950′s it was obvious there was another “border”…Broadway. North of Broadway was Anglo country, south of Broadway was Hispanic country.

The Sam Hughes neighborhood between Campbell and Country Club, Speedway down to Broadway, was 100% Anglo.

The Broadmoor neighborhood whose north boundary was Broadway west of Country Club was more like 50% Anglo and 50% Hispanic.

I lived on both sides of Broadway at various times in my life.

By the 1990′s it was very obvious to me that only a small percentage of Anglo Tucsonans ever went south of Broadway and fewer still had social relationships south of Broadway.

Tucson was seriously defacto segregated. It was like there were two distinctly different cities living side-by-side.

I was one of the small percentage of non-Hispanic Tucsonans that crossed the “border” and lived as happily on the Hispanic side of the dividing line as I had on the Anglo side.

One of the most interesting experiences I’ve had…and this has happened hundreds and hundreds of times not only in Tucson but in Nogales and Santa Cruz County…is visiting an Hispanic family in their home and seeing the photos of their kids as high school graduates, college graduates, Marines, teachers, doctors, lawyers…

One hears the stories of how the family originally came to America and the struggles they faced. Some came during the Mexican revolution. Some more recently.

But all share stories about working hard and making it for themselves and their children and grandchildren.

They may speak Spanish…but they are as “American” as you or I in their belief in America as the land of opportunity.

I have listened to the old ones talking in a mix of Spanish and English, with their kids (sometimes as young as 5 or 6) translating into English. The old ones saying how proud they are that the little ones know English and can succeed.

I have never heard anyone fantasize about creating Aztlan.

I simply do not understand the fear of Hispanics being fanned by people like State Senator Russell Pearce. Obviously he has never been in an Hispanic home and really gotten to know his neighbors.

That is why I (among others) view the immigration reform debate as seriously tainted by racism.

We are not being “invaded” by people who oppose our country and our values.

Sure…they are “different” in a lot of ways from most of us….but “difference” is either seen as opporunity or out of fear.

People who exploit “difference” to gain political power and to denigrate the “different” people are very dangerous in my view.

Anyone not like them are “those” people…people not entitled to human rights.

But wait a minute….most of us were “those” people when our ancestors came to America. My family were “bohunks” on my dad’s side…. and you all know what my Jewish mon’s side were called.

I grew up in Texas originally as one of “those” people…and as a consequence never really ended up being an “anglo”. That to me was a great gift…because I never thought twice about going across the street and sharing a drink or a meal with someone else who was also “different”.

So…yes I can rant about border security issues when it comes to the drug cartel invasion going on. Having guys running around with automatic weapons shooting ranchers and Border Patrol agents is not my idea of a safe and secure America.

But I am also deeply committed to immigration law reform because the migrants who want to work and build a better life for their families are not a threat to this country. They are an asset and we would do well to get our migrants above ground and legally here.

You just need to visit the homes of immigrant families…cross your “difference” borders…and see for yourselves who the “invaders” really are. And you might discover you have a lot in common with them when comparing how well your kids turned out as ….Americans.

___________________________________
More on border issues:

The following are some of the articles and commentaries on border issues and SB 1070 that have appeared in the View From Baja Arizona since May, 2010.

Poll shows Latinos taking immigration debate personally

Counting Grain Cars by Jack McGarvey

U.S. Chamber Report Offers Recommendations for Creating a 21st Century U.S.–Mexico Border

An immigrant’s story …my family comes to America

Why are we afraid of these people?

Would you pick lettuce in Yuma?

Probationary Presence…another Immigration Law Reform Proposal

Arizona would go broke if all the illegal immigrants left the state

Birthright citizenship debate…is the solution worse than the problem?

Immigration enforcement efforts damaging to community, police group says

10 million more illegal aliens coming to America?

US Census Report on Arizona…Hispanic population increases dramatically

Utah avoids mistakes Arizona made on immigration laws

Cops don’t want to be junior Border Patrol agents (except in Maricopa County)

11.2 million illegal immigrants in US according to Pew Research Center

Does America hold children responsible for the crimes of their parents?

Humanitarian crisis on our border must be addressed

Special law enforcement task force needed to prosecute crimes against illegal immigrants

Broken immigration law fuels illegal entry

Do people deliberately come to the US to have babies who will be citizens?

11 million illegal immigrants…a resource that should not be wasted

Some difficult issues in the “amnesty” debate

Out in the desert on immigrant trails

What does “no amnesty” really mean?

Secure the border or immigration law reform first?

Are there human rights for people who cross the border illegally?

Who will stand up against the racism in Arizona?

Poll results show politicians the way on border issues…if they’ll listen

More blame to share on illegal immigration

Who is at fault for illegal immigration?

How would you deport 11 million illegal aliens?

Securing the border and immigration law reform

What is your definition of a “secure border”?

“Attrition through enforcement”…SB 1070 attempts to make Arizona the “bouncer” of illegal aliens

59 dead in the desert in July due to killer coyotes

Why Americans Think (Wrongly) That Illegal Immigrants Hurt the Economy

Arizona Republic Poll: Most Arizonans would let immigrants stay in U.S

Would you allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if…

What if a state said “welcome” to immigrants?

The immigration debate — it never ends

Recipe for making an American

Can you qualify to be a US citizen?

_______________________

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From the Frumious Bandersnatch Satirical Newspaper:

A lot of effort is going on to try and get people in the US to understand the reality of migrants crossing into America. Most recently a 75 mile walk from the border was staged by immigrant rights groups.

But one way to get a lot of  people’s attention in the US is to put the issue into a TV Reality Show.

Hence the proposal for “Sneaking into America”…

Note: This is satire :

New Reality TV Show proposed: Sneaking into America

While the crossing of the border between Mexico and the US by illegal aliens and drug smugglers gets a lot of news and political attention, few people actually know very much about how this is actually done.

Herewith is a Treatment / Proposal for a new TV reality show called “Sneaking into America” :

Ten contestants  for each series will be selected randomly from applicants. There would be 3 series of Sneaks into America.

Each of the 3 series will have 4 episodes… for a total of 12 one hour shows.

The first episode of each ”Sneak” series is titled “staging for illegal entry”, the second being “crossing the line”, the third being “the overland journey of death” and the final episode “arriving in the promised land”.

The last scene in each series will be the winner starting his or her new minimum wage job in the United States.

Winners get to pick lettuce

Contestants who are captured, killed, die or give up with be eliminated from the contest for the winning prize.

All contestants will be required to pass a rigorous physical examination and sign a hold harmless agreement that if they are kidnapped, murdered or die or are injured in any way they will not be able to sue anyone involved in the program. All contestants will be afforded a $100,000 life insurance policy for the benefit of their family. US citizenship will not be required for contestants except for “Going to Washington DC”  run. Contestants for that series will be required to provide proof of US citizenship to be a contestant, but will not be allowed to show such proof while competing in the show.

Each contestant will be accompanied by a cameraman who will not be allowed to provide any assistance whatsoever to the contestant during the “Sneak”.

The first series will be called Sneak to Phoenix.

Contestants en route to Phoenix

The ten contestants will be taken to town of Altar in northern Sonora and left there with $1,000 in cash, one gallon of water, one cell phone, and the clothes on their back. They will not be allowed to carry any documentation confirming they are United States citizens if in fact they are. Each contestant will be able to guarantee payment to a “coyote” of an additional $2,000 upon their safe arrival at the destination within 14 days of starting out.

Their goal is to reach the State Capitol building, Senate Wing in downtown Phoenix and try to meet with state senator Russell Pearce.

In order to achieve this goal contestants will have to:

–decide which “coyote” to hire to transport them to the US-Mexican border and get them across and negotiate the terms of their relationship.

–purchase dark  ”crossing” clothing and supplies such as a back pack,  food and water.

–decide whether to work together as a team or go their individual ways.

– then walk for 3 or 4 days through the desert to a point where they would be picked up and driven to Phoenix.

–they will have to successfully avoid being captured by the US Border Patrol.

–they will have to successfully avoid being robbed by border bandits.

–they will have to avoid dying of heat prostration or dehydration while crossing into the United States to the point where they would be picked up by their coyote transportation deal

–they will have to avoid being kidnapped in Phoenix.

All contestants reaching the destination in Phoenix will be considered “winners”. Each winner will receive a minimum wage job in the Phoenix area cleaning hotel rooms,.

The second Sneaking into America series  is called Vamos al Chicago  and will start in Oaxaca, Mexico and end in Chicago, Illinois

In order to achieve that goal contestants will have to arrive alive in the vicinity of Brownsville or Laredo, Texas without being kidnapped and murdered by the Zeta cartel, cross the Rio Grande, avoid being captured by the Border Patrol, and travel across the country to downtown Chicago.

Winners of this contest will have the choice of a minimum wage job in Chicago, Detroit or New York City.

The third series in Sneaking into America  is called Going to Washington DC and will feature state and federal politicians as the contestants.

The starting point for this series will be Guatemala and end at the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

In addition to all the risks and challenges of the other series, the “Going to Washington DC” contestants will also have to sneak through Mexico and avoid being captured by that country’s law enforcement authorities for illegal entry.

The winners of the “Going to Washington DC”  “Sneak” will be allowed to hold a press conference about issues such as securing the border and immigration law reform, and then return to their elected official jobs.

It is hoped that one or more Presidential candidates would participate in the “Going to Washington DC” Sneak series.

Sneaking into America could be a top rated show.

Viewers will experience at ground level some of the most remote and beautiful country in America ranging from burning deserts to rugged mountains.

Each episode will be filled with suspense as each contestant tries to avoid being killed by bandits or captured by law enforcement. Viewers will experience hiding beneath bushes as helicopters circle over head and masked men carrying automatic weapons hunt for them to steal their money and shoes.

Interspersed with eye-level video of the ordeals of the contestants, “Sneak” will also include real-time footage shot from Border Patrol aircraft and vehicles searching for the contestants,. The  “Sneak” series would also include commentaries from all sides of the border security and immigration law reform debate and interviews with real  illegal aliens who have survived the journey into the United States themselves.

Viewers can pick their favorite contestants and follow their dangerous journeys on Twitter.

At the conclusion of each series viewers will have as close to a first-hand experience as possible of what thousands of illegal immigrants experience daily as they cross the border for jobs in the United States.

And the question will be asked at the end of each episode “would you try and do this?”

From BorderZine:

The Border Patrol plays sleight-of-hand with the cost of capturing immigrantsBy Jack McGarvey on May 26, 2011

I live in Rio Rico, Arizona, which is about 16 miles north of the USA’s border with Mexico.

Where, recently, on a sunny Sunday morning during a walk with my dogs in the usually tranquil Santa Cruz River Valley below my home, I heard the drone of an airplane.

Irritated, I looked up to see a Border Patrol (BP) plane drop down to circle a mile or so south of a Union Pacific Railroad crossing.

At once, I knew a drama would soon unfold. Sure enough, within 15 minutes, three BP vans sped up.

Nervously, I called my dogs to come sit by my side.

My dogs and I then watched as BP vans bumped south on the dirt road alongside the Union Pacific railroad tracks that lead to Mexico.

A short time later, a BP van emerged out of clouds of dust to cough up its catch: two small, brown-skinned men, who were clearly terrified.

As I watched two muscular BP officers literally pick up and toss those two men, one at a time, into a van, I almost threw up.

But I also found myself tallying up the costs of using the airplane and the three vans, plus the salaries of a pilot and the six BP agents.

I’m certain the BP spent many thousands of dollars to nab those two scared, outrageously abused men.

More….

Note: Jack McGarvey is a 14 year resident of Rio Rico and writes frequently for area publications.

To: Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: Invitation to visit the border in Arizona

Dear President Obama

I understand you have been invited to visit Nogales, Arizona by the Mayor of that city for the dedication of the new Mariposa Port of Entry .

Please come to the Arizona-Mexico border and not only visit the new port facility, but also to see the border in all its diverse manifestations.

Please come to the Arizona-Mexico border and meet with the diverse people who are the voices of the border’s issues.

Please bring with you leaders of both political parties from the US House and Senate. Especially include Senators Kyl, McCain and Grassley and Representatives Grijalva, Chaffetz and Issa.

Here is a proposed itinerary and discussion topics for the visit:

Fly into Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson and take a helicopter tour of the Arizona border region. Fly over the various Border Patrol office complexes in Tucson and Nogales and Sonoita and see all the Border Patrol vehicles parked in their parking lots. See the checkpoints on Interstate 19, and other roads in the region. Then fly the line from Douglas out over the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation and see where the border fence has been constructed and where it has not been completed. See the rugged countrysides and deserts where immigrants and drug smugglers cross into the United States. Maybe you might even see drug cartel spotters sitting on our mountain tops guiding groups of undocumented aliens and drug smugglers around Border Patrol deployment. The borderlands residents will not agree the border is “secure” until the drug cartel spotters and smugglers are ousted from the United States.

Then stop in Nogales and walk down Morley Avenue and then go to the Nogales Wal Mart and see hundreds of Mexicans shopping in border stores contributing to the US economy.. Talk to people you meet in the stores and the store keepers about the economic importance of trade with Mexico. You will see first hand that it is true that border security inside border cities is vastly improved as claimed.

Then tour both the DeConcini Port of Entry and the new Mariposa Port of Entry and see what the gateways to the United States look like. In particular notice the massive traffic jams at the two ports. The USEPA can provide you with documentation that these traffic jams create a serious air pollution problem on both sides of our border.

Then meet with a delegation of maquiladora, produce and retail interests to talk about the problems of crossing the border. They will tell you that building fancy new port facilities is wonderful…but the lack of sufficient Customs and Border Protection officers to staff the ports takes away the benefits of expanded port facilities and still leaves the border gummed up and not functioning as well as it should. You will hear requests for more funding to fully staff the ports of entry.

Then meet with the border county sheriffs from Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pima and Yuma counties. You will get a diverse view of the border from Dever, Estrada, Dupnik and Ogden. Since federal border enforcement authority and strategies reach 100 miles into the US, also include sheriffs Babeu and Arpaio.

You will hear vastly different views of the border security “problem” from these sheriffs. There is truth in all of what they have to say because they are the front line of the human smuggling and drug trafficking problems in our state.

Then meet with some of the Samaratans…folks who go out in our deserts every day to provide water and first aid to undocumented immigrants who get in mortal danger trying to enter the United States. They have some chilling stories to tell you about the humanitarian crisis in our borderlands.

Then meet with the Pima County Medical Examiner who will describe Pima’s morgue full of unidentified bodies of undocumented immigrants who died in our deserts. Hundreds of bodies are found every year around here. Bodies will continue to be discovered as long as the remains are intact and many will never be discovered because of the rugged nature of the region.

Then visit the site of one of the rape trees along our border. There is one near Arivaca. Consider the violence being wrought against undocumented aliens in our borderlands by bandits.

Then meet with representatives of the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation and hear their version of the border security problem and the impacts on their people. Half of the dead undocumented aliens being discovered in our borderlands are found on the Indian lands.

Then visit the site where Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was murdered by some of the border bandits and talk to some ATF agents who blew the whistle on their bosses for “walking” guns to the Mexican drug cartel. Two of those “walked” guns were found at agent Terry’s murder scene. Meet with agent Terry’s family.

Begin to consider that your administration’s approach to the Gunwalker scandal should not be hiring a public relations agent, but to weed out of the government the misguided management that “walked” the guns. Make sure your administration understands that any US official who impedes Senator Grassley’s and Representative Issa’s investigation into Gunwalker will be fired and turned over to the US Attorney’s office for prosecution for obstruction of justice.

Then come to one of the border ranches and meet with Sue Krentz, the widow of Robert Krentz and, Dan Bell and Tom Kay and Jim Chilton and others whose ranches are along the border and daily have to deal with drug smugglers and undocumented aliens in areas where…by the Border Patrol’s own admission, the border is not secure. Hear their stories.

I would hope by the time you visit our borderlands you will see what the problems really are.

First, I would hope that you begin to understand that when folks around here demand that the border be secured, we’re not talking about a moat filled with alligators and 10,000 more Border Patrol agents.

What we are questioning is why the federal government cannot finish building the fence. As your own Government Accounting Office has documented, your federal land managers along the border are impeding securing the border.

What we are questioning is why the Border Patrol has spread itself around 100 miles into the interior of the United States instead of concentrating themselves at the border.

What we are questioning is why the federal government cannot adequately staff its ports of entry.

What we are questioning is why the federal government cannot come up with a visa tracking system so 6 million people who entered the US and overstayed their visas cannot be found.

What we are questioning is why a Guest Worker program cannot be developed immediately to get people out of our deserts and mountains.

What we are questioning is why are parts of our country being taken over by the drug cartels armed with automatic weapons.

What we are questioning is why some sort of legalization process cannot be agreed upon to bring 11 million undocumented aliens above-ground that is not an “amnesty”.

As the final stop in your trip, I’d like you to enjoy some bar b que steaks at one of the border ranches and have a frank discussion between yourself and key congressional leaders to develop a legislative package that secures the border and straightens out our immigration mess.

The claim that legalization is going to benefit Democrats in 2012 is actually bogus. If you knew our Hispanic residents you’d begin to see what a mistake it has been for some to demonize illegal aliens. We have millions of people who believe in the American dream of hard work equals a better life. If they weren’t the target of xenophobes, they just as likely would vote Republican in the future.

We must break the political and rhetorical impasse we are in now on the border. Neither side of the border debate should use the border for political gain as this does nothing to actually solve our border and immigration problems.

Come to our border Mr. President and hear all the diverse voices coming from our region….aid workers, retired Border Patrol agents, ranchers, sheriffs, produce importers, store keepers…and appreciate everyone is right from their side and between all of the various views there are solutions we can all agree on.

Thank you.

PS: If you can’t make it out here please talk to Chris Sautter who has been making a documentary film about our border and has a lot of this on film.

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More on border issues:

The following are articles and commentaries on border issues and SB 1070 that have appeared in the View From Baja Arizona .

Most recent….
“Probationary Presence” not “amnesty” needed in immigration reform

Who will wipe your baby’s butt? Who will pick your lettuce? Who will mow your lawn?

California Congressman re-introduces DREAM Act

Arizona Attorney General blasts Obama on border security

Obama immigration reform proposal lands on table like dead fish

Arizona Sheriffs Babeu and Dever call Obama immigration proposal “amnesty”

Obama’s blueprint for a 21st century immigration system

Obama speaks in El Paso about immigration reform

Mexico…a partly failed state

Smugglers take advantage of distressed real estate market in Santa Cruz County

Arizona set to build own border fence …another really dumb idea from the state legislature

Another drug tunnel discovered and other border news

Illegal alien charged with murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Issa Leads Congressional Investigation of DOJ’s ATF “Operation Fast & Furious”

Napolitano promises to change the way “border security” is measured

Cochise County Sheriff Tells Congress That Border Patrol Agents Ordered to Reduce Arrests

California Gulch..one of those places along the border wide open to drug smugglers

If the border is so secure why are there dead bodies all over the place?

Republicans Introduce Bill to Secure Border on Federal Lands, Protect Environment

Apprehensions of illegal aliens at the border are way down…why?

GAO confirms federal environmental laws and federal land managers hinder securing our border

Senators Kyl and McCain propose new border security plan

DHS testifies at same hearing as border rancher…compare the view of the border situation

Rancher tells Congress the way it really is down at the border

What does “securing the border” really mean?

Illegal entry and drug smuggling in perspective…what if all this was going on in your front yard?

Probationary Presence…another Immigration Law Reform Proposal

Arizona Republic trashes claim by Pinal Sheriff Babeu that Pinal is the number 1 pass-through county for drug and human trafficking in America

Drug cartels have made Nogales the tunnel capital of the Southwestern border

GOP drafts legislative assault on illegal immigration

Arizona would go broke if all the illegal immigrants left the state

230,000 displaced in Mexico by drug war

Janet Napolitano: Border security better than ever

Birthright citizenship debate…is the solution worse than the problem?

Immigration enforcement efforts damaging to community, police group says

10 million more illegal aliens coming to America?

Border officials say security is improving…and the tooth fairy is real

US Census Report on Arizona…Hispanic population increases dramatically

Utah avoids mistakes Arizona made on immigration laws

Cops don’t want to be junior Border Patrol agents (except in Maricopa County)

CBS News reports on ATF scandal…was Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry murdered by a gun being tracked by ATF?

Inside ATF…an ugly picture …how many dead bodies are out there as a result of Project Gunrunner?

Senator Grassley struggles to get to the bottom of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death and the role of ATF

FBI: Friendly fire ruled out in Tucson border agent’s slaying …so which gun fired the bullet that killed Brian Terry?

Grassley blasts Department of Justice on coverup of guns used in Agent Terry’s murder

Dept. of Justice denies gun claim about Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death

Is there a cover-up on Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder?

Senator Grassley letters accusing BATFE of letting guns be sold that may have been used in the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry

Was Border Patrol agent Brian Terry killed by a gun bought in Phoenix?

DHS chief Napolitano living in a fantasy land about border security

Guns and Mexico … be very afraid my friends

More on the coverup of the truth about the guns that killed Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Secure the border at the border

Border safe and secure, CBP commissioner Bersin proclaims

Dept. of Justice denies gun claim about Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death

Think things are bad for illegal aliens in Arizona…don’t go to Escondido, California if you are an illegal alien and have any kind of criminal record (including a traffic ticket)

Is there a cover-up on Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder?

Arizona ranchers question Napolitano’s claims the border is safer

Napolitano touts Homeland Security’s border efforts

Guns from Arizona going to Mexican drug cartels according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Senator Grassley letters accusing BATFE of letting guns be sold that may have been used in the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry

Was Border Patrol agent Brian Terry killed by a gun bought in Phoenix?

11.2 million illegal immigrants in US according to Pew Research Center

Arizona legislators determined to keep Arizona as the center of anti-immigrant efforts

Arizona’s harsh immigration law cancer not spreading across nation

Murdered Border Patrol Agent’s mom still in the dark about what really happened

Birthright citizenship bill unveiled by Arizona lawmakers — 2011′s version of SB 1070

McCain willing to seek immigration overhaul bill when the border is secure

Mexican cartel violence prompts calls for bigger National Guard deployment along the border

Mexico headed to collapse?

Celebrating the New Year in the borderlands with automatic weapon gunfire

An NPR report: Nogales, Sonora — Once A Mexican Tourist Town, Now No Man’s Land

Mexican drug cartels killing their border cities

More rumors and few facts regarding the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Texas border ranchers face same unsolved problems as Arizona’s border ranchers

Does America hold children responsible for the crimes of their parents?

Feds making a big mistake in secrecy over death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry

Battling the border bandits

Green Valley News Reports Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was shot in the back

Border Patrol agent death a wake up call to many

Nogales International report on BORTAC and Peck Canyon

Dream Act dead because a majority isn’t a majority in the US Senate

Napolitano confirms bandit gang killed border agent

Borderlands a war zone

Some ideas about how to really secure the border

Tucson Sector U.S. Border Patrol Agent Killed in Line of Duty

The Border is NOT Secure !!!

Mexico a powder keg about to explode

Militia shows up in Sasabe

A 14 point proposal for immigration law reform –”probationary presence” instead of amnesty

Humanitarian crisis on our border must be addressed

Special law enforcement task force needed to prosecute crimes against illegal immigrants

Drug cartels fight over control of northern Sonora

Are the Mexican drug cartels taking over Mexico? Is there any doubt?

Border wildlife refuge turns into battleground over humanitarian aid to illegal immigrants

Broken immigration law fuels illegal entry

What to do about drug cartel “spotters” on the US side of the border?

Napolitano says border is largely controlled

Border Patrol agents in shootout near Nogales — what’s wrong with this story?

Why isn’t the border secure?

Sealing the border is unrealistic says border boss

Marijuana fuels Mexican drug cartel profits

Do people deliberately come to the US to have babies who will be citizens?

Illegal immigration trashes wildlife refuge

Tohono O’odham Reservation deadly place for migrants

Are there fewer drug tunnels in Nogales?

Immigration law reform—overstaying a visa should be a crime

12 million illegal immigrants…a resource that should not be wasted

Some difficult issues in the “amnesty” debate

Border tours offer opportunity to see border realities

Sovereignty and a secure border

The difficulty of securing the border

A Cochise County rancher’s view of the border

Is the effort to secure the border deliberately designed to fail?

Alice in Wonderland and border security

Out in the desert on immigrant trails

Are there some areas near the border that are too dangerous for the Border Patrol?

Mexican drug cartels are not listed as official terrorist organizations

Rumors on the border? What about the truth? Mexican drug cartels are seeking to control the Mexican side of our border

Is the Border Patrol avoiding some areas of the border because “it is too dangerous”?

Posse Comitatus and the Mexican border

Legalize drugs to bankrupt the cartels…Pfizer versus the Aztecas…the ultimate “smack down”.

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Major posts…..

We need immigration law reform — Opinion

What does “no amnesty” really mean?

Secure the border or immigration law reform first?

Life on the border — the residents of Nogales, Rio Rico and Tubac

Life on the border — the ranchers

Life on the border — Entering the US illegally

More horses needed to secure the border – Commentary

More on the cartel attack on a border ranch

Border ranch attacked by drug cartel

Ranchers report smuggler scouts on the border area hilltops

Send in the US Cavalry

Has the federal government abandoned land to the Mexican drug cartels?

Abolish the Border Patrol and replace it with a new Border Security Agency

The lost border

The lost border part 2

Is racism on the rise in Arizona?

Has Arizona become the “cracker state”?

Klan types ride again … only on electron beams

Guide to Border Patrol Checkpoints

Are there human rights for people who cross the border illegally?

Who will stand up against the racism in Arizona?

Poll results show politicians the way on border issues…if they’ll listen

Background on why SB 1070 even exists

More blame to share on illegal immigration

Who is at fault for illegal immigration?

How would you deport 11 million illegal aliens?

Securing the border and immigration law reform

What is your definition of a “secure border”?

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More….

“Attrition through enforcement”…SB 1070 attempts to make Arizona the “bouncer” of illegal aliens

59 dead in the desert in July due to killer coyotes

Why Americans Think (Wrongly) That Illegal Immigrants Hurt the Economy

Law enforcement discretion and SB 1070

Commentary on the judge’s decision to stop parts of SB 1070 from going into effect

Do politicians have the will to work together to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling?

Should SB 1070 have been enjoined?

Was SB 1070 worth it? Commentary

SB 1070 enjoined by federal judge July 27, 2010

Read full text of SB 1010

Arpaio takes 50 caliber machine gun out into desert hunting cartel smugglers

Is it safe to visit Southern Arizona ?

Arizona Republic Poll: Most Arizonans would let immigrants stay in U.S

Would you allow illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if…

Feds’ suit raises stakes for Arizona’s immigration law

Feds sue Arizona on SB 1070

US sues Arizona over SB 1070 — Justice Department Press Release

Full text of Complaint filed against Arizona on SB 1070 by US

US Brief in support of injunction against SB 1070

Statement of Santa Cruz County Sheriff in support of suit against SB 1070

Statement of Tucson Police Chief in support of suit against SB 1070

What if a state said “welcome” to immigrants?

The immigration debate — it never ends

Recipe for making an American

What’s wrong with SB 1070

Pinal County Sheriff: Mexican drug cartels now control parts of Arizona

SB 1070 does nothing to stop drug cartel gunmen

Can you qualify to be a US citizen?

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This in the Daily Star:

No new Dream Act, say GOP lawmakers

WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans are pronouncing President Obama’s proposal that the next Congress overhaul the country’s immigration laws as dead before arrival.

….

Congressional Republicans said in interviews Thursday that their concerns about the measure remained strong, and both House and Senate GOP leaders said they would fight any attempt to legalize any of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country before the administration secured the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

More…

While there is probably a lot of agreement with the concept that any immigration law reform…not only dealing with the 11 million people who illegally entered the US or overstayed their visas and creating a guest worker program…has to wait until the border is secure….what does securing the border really mean?

That’s where the wheels fall off.

There needs to be serious effort on a bi-partisan basis to define what a secured border means and how to get there.

Does this mean we stop60% of the attempts to cross people or drugs illegally across our border instead of the estimated 30% interdiction rate now? 70%? 80%?  90%?

What additional resources in terms of numbers of Border Patrol agents and all the support facilities will it take to achieve a 60% goal or a 90% goal?

Will Congresscritters..especially deficit hawk Republicans..agree to spend the additional few billion dollars a year  necessary to really secure the border?

What changes is tactics and strategies are needed to reach the defined “secure” level? Do we continue to allow the Border Patrol to pursue its “layered defense” approach which scatters agents 30 or 40 or 60 miles inside the country or does someone order the Border Patrol to concentrate its assets with 5 or 10 miles of the border?

How much of a crackdown is feasible to identify and deport those already illegally inside the country?

Do we continue to concentrate, as the Obama Administration is doing, on illegal aliens with criminal records? Or is the scope of this expanded to try and deport everyone? What is the cost if various levels of deportation efforts? Would the country really tolerate trying to boot all 11 million illegal aliens out of the country?

Do we increase the penalities for illegal entry and overstaying a visa to a felony or leave illegal entry as a misdeamor and over stay as just a deportation oppotunity if and when caught? Do we have the judges and lawyers and jail space to achieve felony enforcement?

Do we appropriate and spend the necessary money to vastly improve the visa tracking system so we don’t lose 5 or 6 million people in the system who overstayed their visas? What are these improvements?

One sure way to avoid dealing with the Dream Act kids or another aspect of immigration law reform is to sit there and demand the border be secured…then not agree what that means and not agree to provide the kinds of money that would be needed to really accomplish this.

That leaves the door open to continue to exploit the border and illegal immigration issues for political gain without actually doing anything about the problem.

Talk is cheap. Action is needed on the ground to secure the border. Neither side of the debate is putting forward anything that looks like a real solution to actually secure the border. The door will never then be open to solve the rest of the problems.