“We have a long and distinguished agricultural heritage in our region, and I am confident that this industry will continue to play a vital role in our economic future. We must continue to find new and innovative ways to expand this staple of our economy.”

“In the United States today, we enjoy the safest, cheapest, most abundant food supply of anywhere in the world, and we owe that to the hard work of our agricultural producers. The ideas generated today will help ensure we are able to expand this necessary industry as we find ways to create jobs for our region.”

– Rep. Zack Space

Space also sent out a column to area newspapers about his view on illegal immigration. You can find it after the jump.

As many of you will remember, I traveled to the US-Mexico border last year to inspect the state of our border security and what I found was shocking. I knew from reports that the border offered little resistance to a determined illegal immigrant, but only after I saw the border first hand did I fully understand how bad things are. The brave men and women who patrol that border must be commended for what they do. Unfortunately, they are not able to do it all.

I returned with some specific plans to alleviate this problem. I signed on to legislation that I felt would go a long way in combating this crisis. This bill, The Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act of 2007 (H.R. 4088), would take care of a number of problems we currently face.

First and foremost, we cannot stem the tide of illegal immigrants coming into this county if we do not make significant investments in the security of our border. The SAVE Act will provide 8,000 new Border Patrol agents – reinforcements for the front line of this fight.

Secondly, this bill will diminish the pull that draws many here by greatly reducing the job opportunities that are available for illegal workers. This bill makes mandatory a program of worker verification that is currently voluntary. By utilizing the E-Verify system, employers will be able to quickly prove that the information being provided by a potential worker is accurate. This bill will crack down on fraud and mandate that employers use this system.

Finally, the SAVE Act will dramatically step up interior enforcement to help deal with those who have already broken the law to get here. It increases the capacity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by providing more agents, as well as providing additional training for local and state law enforcement. The SAVE Act will also increase detention capacity and expedite the deportation process.

A number of my colleagues and I are tired of waiting for this vital piece of legislation to come up for a vote. That is why we are demanding that House leadership address this issue and give us an up-or-down vote on the bill. It is my hope that our pressure will bring the SAVE Act up for a vote as quickly as possible so we can begin to deal with this crisis.

Congressman Zack Space

“Local law enforcement is bearing an unfair and overwhelming burden due to our illegal immigration problem. We cannot continue to expect them to help stem this tide and fulfill their normal duties without proper financial assistance.”

“The fact remains that we have not properly secured our border – a problem I have been working to solve in Congress.  But, until we can effectively close off the sieve we call a border, we have an obligation to support local law enforcement to combat this crisis.”

– Rep. Zack Space

You can find the text of Space’s letter after the jump.

January 29, 2008

President George W. Bush

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Bush:

We are writing to ask you to fully fund the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which is currently authorized at $950 million, in your Fiscal Year 2009 Budget proposal.  As you know, SCAAP was created in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to reimburse states and localities for the arrest, incarceration, and transportation costs associated with criminal aliens (PL 103-322).  Without SCAAP, state and local budgets would be overwhelmed by costs that are more properly the federal government’s responsibility.

Securing our nation’s borders is the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government.  With this responsibility comes the added duty of punishing undocumented individuals that endanger our communities through criminal acts.  Congress has consistently legislated that the federal government must either take illegal immigrants into federal custody or reach an agreement to compensate state and local jurisdictions for their incarceration.

Considering the immigration challenge in America, under-funding SCAAP places a significant cost burden on state and local governments, stretching their resources and hampering their ability to protect our communities and uphold the law. Communities across the country continue to face extraordinary costs associated with incarcerating undocumented criminals.  Because of the limited federal contributions, the bulk of these costs are borne by counties, some of which are among the poorest in the nation and traditionally operate with slim budgets and staffing.  Given the increasing reliance on local law enforcement personnel by the homeland security and immigration enforcement communities, supporting their contribution to this mission with appropriate funds is critical. 

This is particularly important in communities along the nearly 2,000 miles of southern border where states and local governments incur greater costs than other jurisdictions. Unfortunately, over the past several years, the costs to qualifying jurisdictions have exceeded reimbursement by hundreds of millions of dollars.  Most counties along the U.S.-Mexico border are reimbursed as little as 9% of the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminals. 

Due to major state and county budget shortfalls, every dollar reduction in SCAAP reimbursement means a dollar less that a State can spend on essential public safety services.  This is unacceptable.  We therefore urge you to support our state and local law enforcement by adequately funding the SCAAP program in your Fiscal Year 2009 Budget.

Please take the appropriate steps to ensure that reimbursement of these costs, especially to Border States, remains a federal priority.

Sincerely,

Zack Space

“Illegal smugglers and Border Patrol agents play a game of cat-and-mouse every day – an occurrence that will only continue to grow until we make this crisis a top priority. Our Border Patrol agents are doing an amazing job with the resources they have, but they are being overwhelmed by the enormity of this crisis.  They simply do not have the tools and support necessary to stem the tide of people wishing to enter our country illegally.

“The U.S.-Mexico border is much more porous than I had imagined.  My experiences there have shown me the need for more fencing, more agents, and more technology.  If we cannot stop the flow of people across our border, we will never be able to secure our country from those who wish to do us harm, take jobs Americans need, or drain our public resources.”

– Rep. Zack Space

It’s interesting to note that after returning from the border Space said that he feels that the 700 mile fence we’re building along the border is necessary.  I’ve never really bought into the saying that good fences make good neighbors, but rather that building a fence was just a way around dealing with a bigger problem.  No matter how big or well guarded a fence is, there will always be ways to get around it.  The Berlin Wall should have taught us that. I’m not saying illegal immigration isn’t a problem, but in the long term I see a fence as nothing more than a stopgap solution. We need to come up with some sort of comprehensive immigration reform plan.

I also can’t help but laugh at the irony of the situation.  Free trade allows companies to leave the United States to take advantage of cheap foreign labor.  That “cheap foreign labor” then comes to the United States seeking better paying jobs.  I’m no expert on the topic but I don’t really see how this can last in the long term.

Space, along with several other members of the House, will be touring several locations such as Tucson, Arizona and El Paso, Texas in an effort to gain a firsthand view of the problems surrounding illegal immigration.

ORANGE COUNTY, California (CNN) — Radical Hispanic separatist organization MEChA (“Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan”) is taking responsibility for setting the wildfires in California, confimed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

California officials received a letter earlier today containing photographs of individuals holding Molotov cocktails, then throwing them into dry brush. The faces of the individuals appeared to have been digitally distorted.

Also included was a rambling manifesto, stating that the reason for the act of arson was that “Aztlán belongs to indigenous people, the Chicanas and Chicanos of Aztlán. We are sovereign and not subject to a foreign culture.”

Sharp eyed readers, however, will notice that the domain for the story is http://www.cnnheadlienews.com, a misspelling of CNN Headline News. The domain is actually registered to:

Bleachboy Heavy Manufacturing
701 Arbor Creek Way
Nashville, TN 37217-5053
US
(615) 260-4931
bboy@bboy.net

Now I’m no expert, but that doesn’t strike me as Ted Turner company.

Source: Anti-Immigrant Sites Link To Fake CNN Story Claiming Hispanics Started Wildfires – Politics on The Huffington Post