As the debate in Congress intensifies over so-called “comprehensive immigration reform” amid fierce opposition from conservatives, critics are hammering the S. 744 legislation from all angles, arguing that it would provide amnesty to potentially tens of millions of illegal immigrants while costing trillions and doing nothing to secure the border. This week, meanwhile, an organization that advocates on behalf of law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents voiced its own opposition to the plan due to numerous concerns over national security, uncontrolled immigration, agent safety, and more.
Some opponents of the immigration reform measures, meanwhile, are even arguing that the future of America’s constitutional Republic could be at stake if the controversial legislation gets through. More than a few Republicans have also argued that if the bill becomes law, aside from rewarding illegal activities, Democrats may be creating enough new voters to completely seize control of the federal government. Homeland Security boss Janet “Big Sis” Napolitano even predicted that immigrants would turn the Republican stronghold of Arizona into a Democrat-dominated state.
In a strongly worded letter to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week, the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council (LEOAC) joined the growing chorus of opposition voices, laying out multiple arguments against what the group blasted as “the U.S. Immigration Capitulation Act of 2013” and “Shamnesty.” According to LEOAC, which is asking for its criticism to be entered into the congressional record, border security is already an abject failure after being sabotaged by top officials from the Bush and Obama administrations — and the amnesty legislation would make the problems worse.
“This bill was clearly influenced and partly written by the Mexican government and their agents in America, including Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza,” LEOAC Founder and President Andy Ramirez told The New American, referring to a controversial pro-amnesty outfit with a name that translates to “The Race” and its president. “Murguia testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with a self-admitted illegal-alien female. Yet not one conservative Hispanic opposed to the U.S. Immigration Capitulation Act, as I call it, was invited to testify before the Senate.”
A third-generation American of Mexican ancestry with a long history of advocating for Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers, Ramirez has testified before Congress about border security and immigration-related matters on multiple occasions. This time, however, the deck appears to be stacked in favor of the legislation’s supporters. In an interview with The New American, Ramirez said his organization submitted its declaration of opposition knowing that victory for the bill in the Senate “was a done deal long decided in a backroom deal.”
While there were more than a dozen senators, including Sen. Cruz, who voted against cloture on the bill, even lawmakers say the game is rigged — at least in the Senate, if not yet completely in the House. “However, I am not letting this go without a fight,” Ramirez continued. “The Senate has talked about border security like they actually know what they’re talking about, and they’re just as guilty of misleading the American people as the Department of Homeland Security. In essence, we’re being sandbagged by the Senate yet again with fool’s gold-type promises and a farce that the master of satire, the legendary Mel Brooks, would be proud of.”
Throughout the four-page letter, LEOAC highlights the various roles played by key characters in what the organization views as the “sabotage” of border security. Ramirez, citing his previous congressional testimony and other evidence, argued that the Department of Homeland Security under former President George W. Bush deliberately implemented policies that not only prevented proper immigration enforcement but also put national security and border agents at risk. Those sabotage efforts have continued under Obama, according to LEOAC.
Among the officials at the heart of the problems: ex-Border Patrol chief David Aguilar, who eventually became Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “He is the key player and handpicked all top U.S. Border Patrol managers personally, well documented as cronies and like-minded individuals,” Ramirez and his organization said in the letter to Sen. Cruz. “When we look to why border security has been an abject failure, which is acknowledged by top retired U.S. Border Patrol Agents including managers who have also denounced S-744, the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO), it is clear as day, who shares responsibility, David V. Aguilar.”
Still, while he may have played a crucial part, Aguilar is hardly alone — the crisis is systemic throughout the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. In the letter, Ramirez documented what he argues is a “pattern of internal sabotage by DHS over two presidential administrations to factually demonstrate that the claims of fixing border security… is both false and filled with the same lies and propaganda DHS has stated since its inception,” he told TNA in an e-mail, referring to the so-called “Gang of Eight” senators pushing the bill as “tr8ors.”
“The Gang of Tr8ors and their cohort supporters talk about providing resources,” Ramirez said. “But for all those very resources added, they refuse to admit the fact that DHS is an abject failure serving only as a ministry of propaganda and a money pit. Its agencies are ruled by the type of cronyism and terror tactics one has come to expect from a tyrannical dictatorship instead of what America represented to so many — a cradle of liberty and freedom or, as President Reagan often referred to it, ‘a shining city on the hill.’”
Also among the myriad individuals and government agencies responsible for the current fiasco, Ramirez continued in his letter, are the Department of Justice and some U.S. attorneys. According to LEOAC and its sources, attacks on law enforcement officers near the border, including gun shots, are now occurring on a regular basis. However, when agents ask that the Justice Department prosecute criminals responsible for attacking agents, the requests are regularly denied — especially when Johnny Sutton served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
“Consider the chilling message that [is] provided to agents: DOJ will protect illegal aliens but not law enforcement,” LEOAC said in the letter. “It’s no wonder when we see agents like Brian Terry are murdered, yet not one person is brought to justice for sending our agents into the field with rules that compromise their safety including the use of non-lethal loads though our agents face heavily armed drug cartels and alien smuggling organizations.” Passing the current “immigration reform” bill will only make it worse, Ramirez said — jeopardizing citizens and law enforcement alike.
Some critics have gone even further, saying the amnesty plan actually threatens the Republic itself. “I think the master plan of the ruling class that runs Washington, D.C., is to ram this bill through before the American people know what has hit them, and before members of Congress even know what has hit them.” Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) told WND. “This is President Obama’s number one political agenda item because he knows we will never again have a Republican president, ever, if amnesty goes into effect. We will perpetually have a progressive, liberal president, probably a Democrat, and we will probably see the House of Representatives go into Democrat hands and the Senate will stay in Democrat hands.”
Other concerns expressed by critics include the estimated price tag: more than $6 trillion over the next 25 years, according to a study by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation. Another key problem with the bill, according to lawmakers such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), is the effort to foist an unconstitutional national ID card on Americans. If approved, the identification scheme could include all sorts of biometric data and would be required to have a job. For now, the bill’s fate remains uncertain, but even some lawmakers say a strategy to ram it through both houses of Congress is already in place. The only way to stop it, opponents argue, is a massive public outcry.
Photo of LEOAC Founder and President Andy Ramirez inspecting border fence near San Diego in 2005: AP Images
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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