By Semperpapa
Please read he following article.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/28/seeing-a-fallen-soldier-home/
It is somewhat disheartening to be forced to admit that our society has reached a point where we behave as true Americans as long as it does not require to get out of our little comfort zone and our priorities are infringed upon.
But at the same time it is uplifting to see that those of us who suffer the most are those who are more willing to be there for others.
I have had the fortune to witness some of these incredible acts of kindness.
The mother of Spc. Spencer T. Karol, KIA in Iraq on October 6, 2006. Bridget is a very active Gold Star Mother with the Patriot Guard Riders in Southern California.
The parents of Spc. Matthew Creed, KIA in Iraq October 22, 2006. Richard and Kimberly Creed are active with the Patriot Guard Riders in Southern California.
Sgt. Jon Centanni, father of LCpl. Rick Centanni, KIA in Afghanistan on March 24, 2010.
Sgt. Centanni attended the homecoming of his son's unit from Afghanistan on May 2010 as a gesture of support for his son's buddies.
There are thousands of stories like these. I wish the American people would get to know of them more.
Just my thoughts!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Showing The Colors
By Semperpapa
It appears that almost everyday a new story hits the wires about some controversy on the display of the American Flag.
It almost always refers to some Homeowner association rules and regulations that prohibit the display of any flag, banner or political advertisement. In all, the real point of the matter is lost in the abused field of common sense.
In my opinion, the issue is very clear: when it comes to the symbol of our Nation, there is no gray area. It’s all black and white.
Old Glory is not just a flag; it is not just a banner. The symbol of the United States transcends political affiliations and religious beliefs and country of origin. Well, at least it should.
Of course the lawyers have a field day with this issue, on both sides of it. There are those who take up the case of the people who believe that they have the right of displaying the flag and there are those who are so hungry for national spotlight that they would enjoy the controversy that such a case would bring.
The cases that have appeared on the news prove that there still is some positive use for the media, because the exposure of these situations has the result of galvanizing the reaction of a large multitude of people.
There are those who invoke the First Amendment right of free speech expressed in the display of the flag, the same right used by those who aim at desecrating it. But is it really a matter of free speech? Shouldn’t the flag be held at a higher standard than, let’s say, a bumper sticker calling to “save the whales”? I think it should.
I understand that some real estate associations use these rules to curb the tendency for some people to paste an entire neighborhood with hideous signs, but the American flag should be an entity well above the rest of the lot.
Of course the whole thing comes down to the lawyer in search of the next case, because if an association would stipulate that the ban on sign and flags and such does not include the American flag, they would have someone filing suit for discrimination against their right to display whatever stupid sign they wanted.
And that is where the problem lays.
When the term “melting pot” is used to address the United States, it refers to the historical ability of our country to accept people from everywhere else in the world and allow them to enjoy and participate in the unique environment that our Nation is.
One only has to look at the names of any member of a US national sport team to see the point. There are names of German root, Italian root, Hispanic, Asian, African and so on. But they all are playing for the success of the United States.
What has been lost is the principle of America as one nation. For those of us who were not fortunate enough to be born in the United States, becoming an American should mean that while we maintain the heritage of our old culture, we must embrace and strengthen the ideals of America by conforming to the rules and regulations of America.
Instead, what we are witnessing today is an increased tendency of people who have come to America, legally and illegally, demanding that the Nation would accommodate their special interests, even if they go against the rule of law.
These are the same people who left their country of origin because of discrimination or lack of opportunities or persecution. Also the same people who never dare demand changes in their countries, and yet they feel free to demand special treatment in ours, all the while displaying the flag of their native state.
What our Nation needs is a return to the times when the principles and ideals of America was revered, when multiculturalism was the strength of our country and not its demise.
The concept of multiculturalism has been hijacked by those who saw the opportunity to gain personal power and wealth, on the backs of those who could be easily brainwashed. And in the process of crying racism at every possible corner, they have diluted the real meaning of the word to the point that very few pay much attention to it, allowing real cases of racism to go undetected.
One first step toward the reestablishment of a strong America is by recognizing that that at no time the display of the American Flag on our soil is to be considered inappropriate or offensive.
So many people cry about the deep political and philosophical differences among Americans, but political correctness blinds them from realizing that Old Glory is already uniting all Americans.
And if the American Flag offends you, than you should not live under it and return to where you came from.
Just my thoughts!
It appears that almost everyday a new story hits the wires about some controversy on the display of the American Flag.
It almost always refers to some Homeowner association rules and regulations that prohibit the display of any flag, banner or political advertisement. In all, the real point of the matter is lost in the abused field of common sense.
In my opinion, the issue is very clear: when it comes to the symbol of our Nation, there is no gray area. It’s all black and white.
Old Glory is not just a flag; it is not just a banner. The symbol of the United States transcends political affiliations and religious beliefs and country of origin. Well, at least it should.
Of course the lawyers have a field day with this issue, on both sides of it. There are those who take up the case of the people who believe that they have the right of displaying the flag and there are those who are so hungry for national spotlight that they would enjoy the controversy that such a case would bring.
The cases that have appeared on the news prove that there still is some positive use for the media, because the exposure of these situations has the result of galvanizing the reaction of a large multitude of people.
There are those who invoke the First Amendment right of free speech expressed in the display of the flag, the same right used by those who aim at desecrating it. But is it really a matter of free speech? Shouldn’t the flag be held at a higher standard than, let’s say, a bumper sticker calling to “save the whales”? I think it should.
I understand that some real estate associations use these rules to curb the tendency for some people to paste an entire neighborhood with hideous signs, but the American flag should be an entity well above the rest of the lot.
Of course the whole thing comes down to the lawyer in search of the next case, because if an association would stipulate that the ban on sign and flags and such does not include the American flag, they would have someone filing suit for discrimination against their right to display whatever stupid sign they wanted.
And that is where the problem lays.
When the term “melting pot” is used to address the United States, it refers to the historical ability of our country to accept people from everywhere else in the world and allow them to enjoy and participate in the unique environment that our Nation is.
One only has to look at the names of any member of a US national sport team to see the point. There are names of German root, Italian root, Hispanic, Asian, African and so on. But they all are playing for the success of the United States.
What has been lost is the principle of America as one nation. For those of us who were not fortunate enough to be born in the United States, becoming an American should mean that while we maintain the heritage of our old culture, we must embrace and strengthen the ideals of America by conforming to the rules and regulations of America.
Instead, what we are witnessing today is an increased tendency of people who have come to America, legally and illegally, demanding that the Nation would accommodate their special interests, even if they go against the rule of law.
These are the same people who left their country of origin because of discrimination or lack of opportunities or persecution. Also the same people who never dare demand changes in their countries, and yet they feel free to demand special treatment in ours, all the while displaying the flag of their native state.
What our Nation needs is a return to the times when the principles and ideals of America was revered, when multiculturalism was the strength of our country and not its demise.
The concept of multiculturalism has been hijacked by those who saw the opportunity to gain personal power and wealth, on the backs of those who could be easily brainwashed. And in the process of crying racism at every possible corner, they have diluted the real meaning of the word to the point that very few pay much attention to it, allowing real cases of racism to go undetected.
One first step toward the reestablishment of a strong America is by recognizing that that at no time the display of the American Flag on our soil is to be considered inappropriate or offensive.
So many people cry about the deep political and philosophical differences among Americans, but political correctness blinds them from realizing that Old Glory is already uniting all Americans.
And if the American Flag offends you, than you should not live under it and return to where you came from.
Just my thoughts!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Hope For America
By Semperpapa
I received an e-mail from a family member with this poem:
The Glory of Her Beauty
No citizen completely understands the Glory of Her beauty
Waving Free, Proud and True,
No one understands the burden that She carries,
Just taking for granted
The Freedom that they live.
Caught up in life
With all the fame and Glory
Fighting to be top dog.
Barely understanding,
No longer a privilege
Just cast down, under the thousands of things,
that we all take for granted.
The Glory of Her beauty,
That we cast down under,
Are the things that others strive to earn,
By killing and stealing,
For the sake of one thing,
Which She holds as She waves
Majestically and Proud,
One thing...
Something Her people do not understand the greatness of,
Freedom.
Reading this beutiful words was enough to give this American hope for our Nation and our future, but what made it even more significant was that the author is 12 years old young lady from Arizona.
Sydney Lauren Woodford, a member of a family I have the honor and privilege to call family, is a representative of our country's future.
She, and her brothers and soon to arrive sister, are the foundation of the United States, the leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you Sydney.
Just my thoughts!
I received an e-mail from a family member with this poem:
The Glory of Her Beauty
No citizen completely understands the Glory of Her beauty
Waving Free, Proud and True,
No one understands the burden that She carries,
Just taking for granted
The Freedom that they live.
Caught up in life
With all the fame and Glory
Fighting to be top dog.
Barely understanding,
No longer a privilege
Just cast down, under the thousands of things,
that we all take for granted.
The Glory of Her beauty,
That we cast down under,
Are the things that others strive to earn,
By killing and stealing,
For the sake of one thing,
Which She holds as She waves
Majestically and Proud,
One thing...
Something Her people do not understand the greatness of,
Freedom.
Reading this beutiful words was enough to give this American hope for our Nation and our future, but what made it even more significant was that the author is 12 years old young lady from Arizona.
Sydney Lauren Woodford, a member of a family I have the honor and privilege to call family, is a representative of our country's future.
She, and her brothers and soon to arrive sister, are the foundation of the United States, the leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you Sydney.
Just my thoughts!
A Time To Give Back
By Semperpapa
With Memorial Day approaching, it is time to reflect on the price many have paid for our Freedom. The Fallen are the ones we remember on this occasion, but the wounded are the ones we need to concentrate on, and their families.
There are several organizations devoted to the assistance of the thousands of wounded Military as they try to make inroads into a new civilian life.
One I would like to encourage to check and possibly help is the Semper Fi Fund.
www.semperfifund.org
Please check them out and hope you can help. And if not them, please find a way to repay a little those who gave up so much for us.
Just my thoughts!
With Memorial Day approaching, it is time to reflect on the price many have paid for our Freedom. The Fallen are the ones we remember on this occasion, but the wounded are the ones we need to concentrate on, and their families.
There are several organizations devoted to the assistance of the thousands of wounded Military as they try to make inroads into a new civilian life.
One I would like to encourage to check and possibly help is the Semper Fi Fund.
www.semperfifund.org
Please check them out and hope you can help. And if not them, please find a way to repay a little those who gave up so much for us.
Just my thoughts!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Now I Understand
By Semperpapa
I must admit it was a surprise to hear that the Obama administration had dispatched 1,200 National Guard troops to the Arizona border with Mexico.
It was not indeed a surprise that the regime had done so without even consulting or acknowledging the Arizona Governor, as the disregard for state rights is becoming increasingly apparent on the part of Obama.
The initially welcomed application of the Military to secure the border was leaving me with some hope, even though I was waiting for the negative portion of the story, the inevitable downside of the move. Because there is always a downside to what Obama does.
Sure enough, the State Department declared yesterday that the troops being sent to the border will not run interdiction of illegal immigrants. They sole role will be to possibly combat the crossing of dangerous people and goods, meaning drugs, weapons and related criminals.
So this is clear now. Although the interdiction of drug and weapon runners is a very worthy endeavor, it is not acceptable that our troops will be sitting idle as the invasion of our country continues.
The "clarification" came from Philip Crowley, State Dept. spokesman. He declared that the deployment is not about immigration, which makes perfect sense because the Obama circus and liberal politicians across the Nation see every illegal as a potential voter.
Moreover, Crowley made the clarification in response to the opposition on the part of Mexican president Calderon to what looked like a potential plan to secure our border.
So the United States leadership again bends over for foreign intrusion.
Take another bow, Mr. President.
Calderon probably got a little nervous when he thought that the second highest source of income for his nation could be in jeopardy. In a country where political corruption and failed economic state reigns supreme, Calderon counts heavily on the billions of dollars that the illegals in the US send back to Mexico every year. This is money illegals do not pay taxes on, while straining the social services of our country, which we pay increasingly high taxes for.
But surely Calderon thinks of that as an internal affair of a sovereign country, the US, in which he does not want to meddle.
Crowley, being questioned about the deployment and Calderon reaction said
So we are friends again. How sweet that is. Get a room!
All of progressives around our nation can rest easy now. Your gardener and cook and roofer is not in danger of being stopped from entering the country by bunch of mean, imperialistic soldiers.
Just my thoughts!
I must admit it was a surprise to hear that the Obama administration had dispatched 1,200 National Guard troops to the Arizona border with Mexico.
It was not indeed a surprise that the regime had done so without even consulting or acknowledging the Arizona Governor, as the disregard for state rights is becoming increasingly apparent on the part of Obama.
The initially welcomed application of the Military to secure the border was leaving me with some hope, even though I was waiting for the negative portion of the story, the inevitable downside of the move. Because there is always a downside to what Obama does.
Sure enough, the State Department declared yesterday that the troops being sent to the border will not run interdiction of illegal immigrants. They sole role will be to possibly combat the crossing of dangerous people and goods, meaning drugs, weapons and related criminals.
So this is clear now. Although the interdiction of drug and weapon runners is a very worthy endeavor, it is not acceptable that our troops will be sitting idle as the invasion of our country continues.
The "clarification" came from Philip Crowley, State Dept. spokesman. He declared that the deployment is not about immigration, which makes perfect sense because the Obama circus and liberal politicians across the Nation see every illegal as a potential voter.
Moreover, Crowley made the clarification in response to the opposition on the part of Mexican president Calderon to what looked like a potential plan to secure our border.
So the United States leadership again bends over for foreign intrusion.
Take another bow, Mr. President.
Calderon probably got a little nervous when he thought that the second highest source of income for his nation could be in jeopardy. In a country where political corruption and failed economic state reigns supreme, Calderon counts heavily on the billions of dollars that the illegals in the US send back to Mexico every year. This is money illegals do not pay taxes on, while straining the social services of our country, which we pay increasingly high taxes for.
But surely Calderon thinks of that as an internal affair of a sovereign country, the US, in which he does not want to meddle.
Crowley, being questioned about the deployment and Calderon reaction said
"We have explained the president's announcement to the government of Mexico,
and they fully understand the rationale behind it,"
So we are friends again. How sweet that is. Get a room!
All of progressives around our nation can rest easy now. Your gardener and cook and roofer is not in danger of being stopped from entering the country by bunch of mean, imperialistic soldiers.
Just my thoughts!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Just When I Thought It Could Not Get Any Lower!
By Semperpapa
By now, the entire country knows that President Obama has opted to take a vacation to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend, instead of commemorating the true meaning of this holiday and participate in the traditional laying of the wreath to the Unknown Solider memorial. He will have the stooge Biden representing him instead.
On the way from D.C. to Chicago, Obama will stop in Louisiana for a photo op on the oil spill issue (maybe my geography is rusty, but Louisiana is not really on the way, but I am digressing again). With any luck, his handlers will be able to locate some oil covered bird that he can use as a prop to call for the nationalization of the oil industry too.
With Obama’s latest insult to the Military and their families, the man has sunk so low in my opinion that he could actually plug the hole himself, thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean.
There are no excuses that any liberal scumbag could give, spin or vomit that would diminish the loathing I presently feel for this man who is supposed to be the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces.
And the affront to our Military and the memories of those who have given their lives for the preservation of liberty across the world, comes just hours after he supposedly charged the DOD to examine contingency plans to support South Korea in what appears to be naked aggression on the part of the North Korea.
Just last weekend, Obama stood in front of the 2010 graduating class of the Military Academy at West Point and spoke to the cadets about some new world order Obama is ushering in and of which he wants the new Army officers to be part of, a world where diplomacy will reign supreme, where conflict resolution will win the day, a world where the danger of climate change will be the new challenge of those in his audience.
Well, considering that the men and women being forced to listen to this travesty of a President, have gone through their training to lead combat troops in defense of America, by describing his view of the world he wants America to be part of, he completely contradicted the very essence of the audience in front of him.
Those cadets are the future of our Military Officer Corps, the future leaders of that arm of America’s diplomacy that has always had a deterring effect over the evil that affects our planet, trained in concepts of honor and duty and dedication to ideals that are completely foreign to Mr. Obama.
The interpretation of Duty, Honor, Country is completely different for those wearing the uniform today and those who have worn it throughout our history, and that of Mr. Obama.
For President Obama, Duty is to those who paved in dollars his ascension to power and to pander only to the segment of the population that wants to keep him there.
Honor is toward his own agenda and radical political ideology.
Country is not the United States as the American people want, but a continuous degrading and reneging of all that our Nation has been for almost two and a half centuries.
And so on the day when Obama should truly celebrate the sacrifice of those who have made his own success a possibility by safeguarding the liberties he has so amply benefited from, liberties he is so adamant to take away from the rest of us, he will be at some democrat thug reunion in Chicago, maybe playing golf or shooting some hoops.
By contrast, hundreds of thousands of Veterans and civilian supporters will be descending, on the same day, on Washington for Rolling Thunder to honor the fallen of our Military.
And then again, maybe that is the reason he is skipping town, so not to have to endure the outpouring of patriotism he witnessed last year and that he obviously finds highly regrettable.
But no fear, Obama will be back in D.C. in time for Paul McCartney. That’s something it would not be proper to miss.
Just my thoughts!
By now, the entire country knows that President Obama has opted to take a vacation to Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend, instead of commemorating the true meaning of this holiday and participate in the traditional laying of the wreath to the Unknown Solider memorial. He will have the stooge Biden representing him instead.
On the way from D.C. to Chicago, Obama will stop in Louisiana for a photo op on the oil spill issue (maybe my geography is rusty, but Louisiana is not really on the way, but I am digressing again). With any luck, his handlers will be able to locate some oil covered bird that he can use as a prop to call for the nationalization of the oil industry too.
With Obama’s latest insult to the Military and their families, the man has sunk so low in my opinion that he could actually plug the hole himself, thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean.
There are no excuses that any liberal scumbag could give, spin or vomit that would diminish the loathing I presently feel for this man who is supposed to be the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces.
And the affront to our Military and the memories of those who have given their lives for the preservation of liberty across the world, comes just hours after he supposedly charged the DOD to examine contingency plans to support South Korea in what appears to be naked aggression on the part of the North Korea.
Just last weekend, Obama stood in front of the 2010 graduating class of the Military Academy at West Point and spoke to the cadets about some new world order Obama is ushering in and of which he wants the new Army officers to be part of, a world where diplomacy will reign supreme, where conflict resolution will win the day, a world where the danger of climate change will be the new challenge of those in his audience.
Well, considering that the men and women being forced to listen to this travesty of a President, have gone through their training to lead combat troops in defense of America, by describing his view of the world he wants America to be part of, he completely contradicted the very essence of the audience in front of him.
Those cadets are the future of our Military Officer Corps, the future leaders of that arm of America’s diplomacy that has always had a deterring effect over the evil that affects our planet, trained in concepts of honor and duty and dedication to ideals that are completely foreign to Mr. Obama.
The interpretation of Duty, Honor, Country is completely different for those wearing the uniform today and those who have worn it throughout our history, and that of Mr. Obama.
For President Obama, Duty is to those who paved in dollars his ascension to power and to pander only to the segment of the population that wants to keep him there.
Honor is toward his own agenda and radical political ideology.
Country is not the United States as the American people want, but a continuous degrading and reneging of all that our Nation has been for almost two and a half centuries.
And so on the day when Obama should truly celebrate the sacrifice of those who have made his own success a possibility by safeguarding the liberties he has so amply benefited from, liberties he is so adamant to take away from the rest of us, he will be at some democrat thug reunion in Chicago, maybe playing golf or shooting some hoops.
By contrast, hundreds of thousands of Veterans and civilian supporters will be descending, on the same day, on Washington for Rolling Thunder to honor the fallen of our Military.
And then again, maybe that is the reason he is skipping town, so not to have to endure the outpouring of patriotism he witnessed last year and that he obviously finds highly regrettable.
But no fear, Obama will be back in D.C. in time for Paul McCartney. That’s something it would not be proper to miss.
Just my thoughts!
Three Presidents, Three Common Approaches
By Semperpapa via Chris Lewis
Today I received this e-mail from a gentleman I work with. The information I found to be of interest and asked Chris for the permission to post it.
What did Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower have in common?
Back during The great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens who desperately needed to work.
Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal’s after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.
In 1954. President Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican Nationals!
The program was called 'Operation Wetback.' It was done so WWII and Korean Veterans would have a better chance at jobs. It took 2 years, but they deported them!
Now... if they could deport the illegal’s back then - they could sure do it today. If you have doubts about the veracity of this information, enter Operation Wetback into your favorite search engine and confirm it for yourself.
http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=11145
It's true, Eisenhower did it!
Burgeoning numbers of illegal Mexican immigrants prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint his longtime friends, John Cox and General Joseph Swing, as INS Commissioner. According to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration upon taking office. In a letter to Sen. J. William Fulbright, Eisenhower quoted a report in The New York Times that said, "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' (rooted from the watery route taken by the Mexican immigrants across the Rio Grande) to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."
The operation was modeled after a program that came to be termed the Mexican Repatriation, which put pressure on citizens of Mexico to return home during the Great Depression, due to the economic crisis in the United States.
Operation Wetback in action:
The effort began in California and Arizona, and coordinated 1075 Border Patrol agents, along with state and local police agencies, to mount an aggressive crackdown. Tactics employed included going as far as systematic police sweeps of Mexican-American neighborhoods, and random stops and ID checks of "Mexican-looking" people in a region with many Native Americans and native Hispanics. In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born minor dependent children as is standard international practice. This occurred despite the fact the children were, by current legal interpretation of the 14th amendment, citizens of the United States. Some 750 agents targeted agricultural areas with a goal of 1000 apprehensions per day. By the end of July, over 50,000 immigrants were caught in the two states. An estimated 488,000 illegal immigrants are claimed to have left voluntarily, for fear of being apprehended. By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and the INS estimates that 500,000 to 700,000 had left Texas of their accord. To discourage illicit re-entry, buses and trains took many deportees deep within Mexican territory, prior to releasing them. Tens of thousands more were deported by two chartered ships, the Emancipation and the Mercurio. The ships ferried them from Port Isabel, Texas, to Veracruz, Mexico, more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) to the south. Some were taken as far as 1,000 miles. Deportation by sea was ended after seven deportees jumped overboard from the Mercurio and drowned, provoking a mutiny which led to a public outcry in Mexico.
It is obvious that the problem of illegal immigration has been one that our Nation has been pressed to address for some time. The part I found most interesting was the data regarding the estimated hundreds of thousands of illegals that voluntarily left the country for fear of being discovered by the Federal authorities. Guess there was a time when punishment was a deterrent.
It is clear that the problem since then has grown exponentially, mostly due to the complete inefficiency of the government to secure the border. or maybe it was not inefficiency, but just a way for the politicians to obtain political gain. And the hell with the law.
Thank you Chris Lewis for the information.
Today I received this e-mail from a gentleman I work with. The information I found to be of interest and asked Chris for the permission to post it.
What did Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower have in common?
Back during The great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens who desperately needed to work.
Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal’s after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.
In 1954. President Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican Nationals!
The program was called 'Operation Wetback.' It was done so WWII and Korean Veterans would have a better chance at jobs. It took 2 years, but they deported them!
Now... if they could deport the illegal’s back then - they could sure do it today. If you have doubts about the veracity of this information, enter Operation Wetback into your favorite search engine and confirm it for yourself.
http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=11145
It's true, Eisenhower did it!
Burgeoning numbers of illegal Mexican immigrants prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint his longtime friends, John Cox and General Joseph Swing, as INS Commissioner. According to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration upon taking office. In a letter to Sen. J. William Fulbright, Eisenhower quoted a report in The New York Times that said, "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' (rooted from the watery route taken by the Mexican immigrants across the Rio Grande) to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."
The operation was modeled after a program that came to be termed the Mexican Repatriation, which put pressure on citizens of Mexico to return home during the Great Depression, due to the economic crisis in the United States.
Operation Wetback in action:
The effort began in California and Arizona, and coordinated 1075 Border Patrol agents, along with state and local police agencies, to mount an aggressive crackdown. Tactics employed included going as far as systematic police sweeps of Mexican-American neighborhoods, and random stops and ID checks of "Mexican-looking" people in a region with many Native Americans and native Hispanics. In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born minor dependent children as is standard international practice. This occurred despite the fact the children were, by current legal interpretation of the 14th amendment, citizens of the United States. Some 750 agents targeted agricultural areas with a goal of 1000 apprehensions per day. By the end of July, over 50,000 immigrants were caught in the two states. An estimated 488,000 illegal immigrants are claimed to have left voluntarily, for fear of being apprehended. By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and the INS estimates that 500,000 to 700,000 had left Texas of their accord. To discourage illicit re-entry, buses and trains took many deportees deep within Mexican territory, prior to releasing them. Tens of thousands more were deported by two chartered ships, the Emancipation and the Mercurio. The ships ferried them from Port Isabel, Texas, to Veracruz, Mexico, more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) to the south. Some were taken as far as 1,000 miles. Deportation by sea was ended after seven deportees jumped overboard from the Mercurio and drowned, provoking a mutiny which led to a public outcry in Mexico.
It is obvious that the problem of illegal immigration has been one that our Nation has been pressed to address for some time. The part I found most interesting was the data regarding the estimated hundreds of thousands of illegals that voluntarily left the country for fear of being discovered by the Federal authorities. Guess there was a time when punishment was a deterrent.
It is clear that the problem since then has grown exponentially, mostly due to the complete inefficiency of the government to secure the border. or maybe it was not inefficiency, but just a way for the politicians to obtain political gain. And the hell with the law.
Thank you Chris Lewis for the information.
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