BARACK OBAMA AND IMMIGRATION. PART 4.

Let us return to the Presidents Speech on Immigration.

Early on, he relates a Compromise Bill that Passed the Senate last Year:

"I WORKED WITH CONGRESS ON A COMPREHENSIVE FIX... 68 DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS AND INDEPENDENTS...TO PASS A BIPARTISAN BILL IN THE SENATE...IT WAS A COMPROMISE."

The Bill, According to the President, Would have;  "Doubled the Number of Border Patrol Agents, while giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, if they paid a fine, started paying their taxes and went to the back of the line."

Obviously this didn't pass through the House of Representatives, because House Leadership refused to hold a Vote on the Bill.

The Question becomes simply one of WHY?  If an Elected Official truly believed the Bill was wrong and ineffective, what led to this conclusion?

WAS IT:

-  DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF BORDER PATROL AGENTS.

-  ALLOWING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS A CHANCE TO EARN CITIZENSHIP BY:  PAYING A FINE, MAKING TAX PAYMENTS, AND WAITING THEIR TURN BEHIND OTHERS ALREADY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.

-   A REASON  NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED BY THE BILL?  

Further, if the House Leadership was convinced that this was Irresponsible, and not supported by most Americans, a Vote would have made their position that much more Powerful.

President Obama goes on to say;  "... I CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM... WORKING TOGETHER... TO PASS THAT KIND OF COMMON SENSE LAW."

In other Words, The President is saying; I WANT TO COMPROMISE, SO STOP TRYING TO ACT ALONE. REFUSING TO NEGOTIATE IS A STUMBLING BLOCK TOWARDS PROGRESS, AND FINDING LASTING SOLUTIONS TO THIS ISSUE.

With that being said, the Presidents Response to such Tactics is the Following Course of Action, stated in the Body of the Speech;

"BUT UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, THERE ARE ACTIONS I HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO TAKE AS PRESIDENT, THE SAME KINDS OF ACTIONS TAKEN BY DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS BEFORE ME, THAT WILL HELP MAKE OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM MORE FAIR AND MORE JUST."

LOOK FOR PART 5.

HUNDREDS OF SOLDIERS OWE THEIR LIVES TO ALI. CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE PAT RYAN.

David -- When I served in combat in Iraq, I wouldn’t have been able to do my job without my interpreter, Ali. Pat and Ali in Iraq I was the intelligence officer for a battalion of 1,000 soldiers and officers responsible for ground operations in Mosul. Ali was the lifeline that made it possible to communicate with Iraqi civilians, work with coalition troops, and carry out our mission. He had a tough, dangerous job -- if something got lost in translation, lives could have been at risk. And he put his own life at risk countless times. One night, driving back to his home, he was shot seven times and was so badly wounded that he was taken for dead at an overwhelmed Iraqi emergency room. But he survived. And after he recovered, he continued to put his life on the line serving with American soldiers.  When Ali decided that he wanted to come to the United States, I knew his honorable service had more than proven that he deserved a shot at the American dream. But it wasn’t easy -- I had to fight for years to get Ali and his wife to the U.S. Pat and Ali last week Thousands of interpreters like him are still waiting for their chance to come here. Ali and his wife Layla are still fighting for visas for their children, delayed by a backlogged and broken immigration system. When Donald Trump announced a year ago that he was barring citizens of 7 Muslim-majority countries from the U.S., my first thought was of Ali, who put everything on the line to make our work possible -- and who would be left behind. Trump’s Muslim ban was a despicable way to repay their sacrifice. It’s been amended to let Iraqis in, but that’s not enough. Shutting people out based on their religion or their country’s name runs contrary to the American values my fellow soldiers and I risked our lives to defend. When these values are under attack, we all have to stand up, together. That’s why thousands of protesters took to the airports and the streets a year ago. And that’s why I’m running for Congress today. -- Pat

BARACK OBAMA AND IMMIGRATION. PART 3.

Again, this is taken from the Transcript of PRESIDENT OBAMAS speech on Immigration.

"Today we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. And over the past six years illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half."

What do we find if these Statements are checked?

Well, referring to the number of Border Patrol Agents, this is what we find:

YEAR                                      2013            2010            2005            2000

TOTAL # OF AGENTS             21,391.         20,558.        11,264.         9,212.

ON STAFF. (U.S.)

# ASSIGNED TO THE              18,611.         17,535.        9,891.           8,580.

SOUTHWEST BORDER

SECTOR. 

We see it is true that the Total # of Agents has increased, both Nationally and in the Southwestern Operations Area.

Here are the APPREHENSION NUMBERS FOR 2011- 2013, FOR THE U.S. BORDER PATROL, FOR INDIVIDUALS ILLEGALLY ENTERING U.S.           

YEAR                                    2013                      2012                    2011 

TOTAL # OF                        420,789.                 364,768.              340,252.

APPREHENSIONS.                                

U.S. (ALL SECTORS.)

# OF APPREHENSIONS      414,397.                 356,873.              327,577.

IN THE SOUTHWEST 

BORDER SECTOR.

We can see that in just 3 years, the TOTAL # OF APPREHENSIONS HAS INCREASED FROM 340,252 TO 420,789.  THE # FOR THE SOUTHWEST SECTOR HAS GONE UP FROM 327,577 TO  414,397.  

THE ABOVE NUMBERS INDICATE AN INCREASE IN TOTAL STAFF, AND IN THE NUMBER OF APPREHENSIONS.  THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THE SOUTHWEST SECTOR.

(SOURCES-  THE U.S. BORDER PATROL, AND THE U.S. DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY.)

LOOK FOR PART 4.

IN FACT. GLOBAL WARNING.

Dear David,

The newest episode of inFact with Brian Dunning is now launched & live:

Season 4, Episode 2

"Two Simple Proofs of Global Warming"

Watch it right now on the inFact website or on YouTube.

Please help spread the word. Share one of the above links on your Facebook page, and if you use Twitter, click this link to send a tweet about the new episode.