Thread: Government authority is crossing a line

Government authority is crossing a line
By Raul Reyes

Last week, Eloisa Tamez, 73, lost the latest round in her ongoing fight with the U.S. government. A judge ordered her to let Washington survey her land near Brownsville, Texas. It lies in the path of a proposed border fence. Now, Tamez, heir to an original Spanish land grant dating to the 1700s, fears that her property will be seized with good reason.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently waived more than 30 laws in order to expedite construction of the border fence. He did so with little regard for the concerns of residents, local officials and environmentalists.

And though the proposed path would cut through the properties of many citizens, it would bypass land owned by the wealthy and politically connected. The Texas Observer reported that the fence would detour around the River Bend Resort and golf course, as well as developments owned by the Hunt family, whose members are major supporters of President Bush. The fence would also cause irreparable damage to wildlife; two Texas nature preserves would wind up in Mexico. They'd likely have to close.

Chertoff maintains that the fence is necessary because Americans have been adamant about border security. Yet two recent polls by CBS and CNN show that Americans rank illegal immigration lowest on their short list of the most pressing national problems.

The fence wouldn't solve our immigration crisis. It would simply divert crossings to other places along the 2,000 mile border. It would do nothing about the 12 million unauthorized migrants already here. In fact, nearly half of all illegal immigrants entered the country legally and overstayed their visas, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is right in assessing the fence as a waste of money.

Moreover, Congress has ceded too much power to Chertoff. In 2005, it granted him the authority to waive laws while prohibiting federal appeals courts from reviewing his decisions, undermining the system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution. Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club have filed petitions with the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the waiver. I hope the court accepts the case and voids the grant of power. Alternatively, Congress should revoke this power because it is being abused.

In the meantime, Chertoff has free rein to destroy fragile ecosystems, flout our laws and trample on the rights of citizens like Tamez. How sad that we are willing to undermine our Constitution for an expensive, wasteful monument to American insecurity.

Raul Reyes is an attorney in New York and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.

Posted at 12:15 AM/ET, April 18, 2008

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/04/ ... -auth.html

Talk about undermining our Constitution....WOW. And the rights of Tamez are no more important than the rights of any other citizen of this country. And the fence is for the benefit of all of the country not just Texas. And as for the Constitution, lets protect it by enforcing our immigration laws.

Yet two recent polls by CBS and CNN show that Americans rank illegal immigration lowest on their short list of the most pressing national problems.

"Lowest on their short list"....what's this supposed to mean, other than more evidence of lazy, agenda-reporting from the liberal MSM.

In the meantime, Chertoff has free rein to destroy fragile ecosystems

WHAT FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS? THE AREA IS TRAMPLED BY HUNDREDS OF ILLEGALS, DRUG DEALERS AND HUMAN SMUGGLERS DAILY....DAY IN AND DAY OUT. THE AREA IS TRASHED. ANY EXISTING ECOSYSTEMS THAT CAN SURVIVE THIS TRAFFIC FOR SO MANY YEARS, CAN CERTAINLY SURVIVE A FENCE MINUS THE TRAFFIC. AND THE FENCE WILL RUN ALONG THE BORDER, SO ANY WILD LIFE REFUGES THAT ARE NOW IN TEXAS WILL STILL BE IN TEXAS....UNLESS WE ARE PLANNING TO GIVE LAND TO MEXICO, WHICH I DOUBT.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, Rep. Pete Sessions, and Mr. Joe Loya have all given me EYEWITNESS reports of how ILLEGALS utterly DEVASTATE the border, and there is NO reason to DOUBT them!

Look, we wouldn't even need a fence if our government would enforce immigration laws the way they should be enforced. What we really need is interior enforcement on a level never seen before. Employers go to prison for second mistake and thirty thousand dollar fine for each illegal on the first offense. Also, all social services cut to illegals, period! Staying here has to be worse than their home country.

Originally Posted by Qflash

Look, we wouldn't even need a fence if our government would enforce immigration laws the way they should be enforced. What we really need is interior enforcement on a level never seen before. Employers go to prison for second mistake and thirty thousand dollar fine for each illegal on the first offense. Also, all social services cut to illegals, period! Staying here has to be worse than their home country.

Exactly right! You MUST get rid of any politician who is not looking out for our best interest! All of them will be on the chopping block and they will be looking for a new job if they don't do what we want! We are making progress in states all across the country. This means that they are starting to listen to us! We will be informed on who all the traitors are in each state and get rid of them one by one!

Originally Posted by Populist

Yet two recent polls by CBS and CNN show that Americans rank illegal immigration lowest on their short list of the most pressing national problems.

"Lowest on their short list"....what's this supposed to mean, other than more evidence of lazy, agenda-reporting from the liberal MSM.

That's laughable. So much for CBS and CNN, Americans rate them as obsolete and not the place to go to find real news.

Most Americans understand how illegal immigration impacts our economy. I'm sure the economy isn't on the short list CBS!

Originally Posted by Populist

Yet two recent polls by CBS and CNN show that Americans rank illegal immigration lowest on their short list of the most pressing national problems.

"Lowest on their short list"....what's this supposed to mean, other than more evidence of lazy, agenda-reporting from the liberal MSM.