(The following originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune over the weekend)

Imagine you were in abject poverty in Central America or India or China and had an opportunity to flee for American opportunity. You take the law into your own hands and pay a smuggler. He agrees to ensure your passage to a safe house in the states where you will learn your ultimate fate, where you will seek to call home.

A family from China did this a few years ago, but never made it to the states because they all suffocated in the shipping container in which they were sealed, but the smuggler made his money. In the case of our southern border, where 80% of all crossings are illegal, law enforcement will share stories of smuggler fees as high as $10K per person. And what’s worse, once the smugglers lead their “cargo” across the desert and arrive at the safe house, they coerce concerned loved ones at home into paying even more, threatening to expose the new arrivals which would result in immediate deportation.

After the final extortion racket, these people, many of whom don’t speak a lick of English, are farmed out to various communities throughout the country. They know few people and naturally gravitate to folks who look and sound like they do. Not having a specific job guarantee, they take what they can and enter into modern day American slavery. Some businesses justify this on the grounds that they are providing a better opportunity than could be found at home.

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act stating that illegal immigration was a “challenge to our national sovereignty.” This was to be the final reform measure needed to once and for all solve our illegal immigration problem. Illegal immigrants in the United States for longer than four and half years were given amnesty. In exchange, businesses were to be held accountable from this point on for knowingly and willingly hiring illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, this law never truly lived beyond its most generous proposal of the blanket amnesty. But the intention was clear, no more amnesty. The American people had had enough.

(Read the rest after the leap)

Congressman Burton’s latest ad speaks for itself.

Okay people, I’m really beginning to wonder why the 5th CD race is even a race. Time and again, John McGoff has proven that he doesn’t get how being a congressman even works. The only thing he’s run on is “if you don’t like Dan Burton vote for me”. Now that’s enough to swing some people, but that’s no platform. He’s run a negative campaign devoid of any real ideas from the beginning. And he’s still going on the attack trying to…get this…label Burton as a liberal. The idea is so absurd I don’t even know where to begin. Oh wait, yes, I do.

McGoff’s latest unfounded criticism of Congressman Burton comes on immigration. He’s going to start running ads claiming that Burton promoted amnesty for illegal immigrants. He’s even sent out mailers to scare voters into believing that Burton supported amnesty. The problem is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. So did McGoff just make this up? What he did was misconstrue the truth (that political-ese for lying).

Friend of the site Gonz O. Defenestrater wrote on his blog:

Sometimes, when you sit at the “big-boys table” and you understand the Rules and Procedures of the House of Representatives, you have to do something that they affectionately call a “kitchen sink bill” – wherein, as the Chairman or Ranking Member of a Committee or subcommittee, you put every idea that everyone has in a draft bill that will act like a “discussion draft” so that everybody has a chance to speak on the issues that concern them and beat up on the issues that they don’t agree with. It’s the process.

(Read more after the leap)

Podcast: Play in new window

Senator Mike Delph (R) and Representative Vern Tincher (D) are working on a last minute compromise on immigration reform.  The Star has the story here.

Below I offered up some thoughts about the House GOP walkout that took place Thursday evening after Speaker Bauer killed SB 335, the immigration reform bill.  Dealing with the same subject, a post over on Hoosiers for Secure Borders caught my attention.

Apparently, Pat Bauer’s office sent an email reply to an inquiry regarding SB 335 and the reply email seems to indicate that Bauer was going to call the bill down for a floor debate and vote.  According to the post the email read like this:

From: “Dolly Starnes”
To: “…..” <……@msn.com>
Subject: RE: Please vote yes on Bill 335
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:16:38 -0500

Dear Ms. …..,

Senate Bill 335 has passed out of the Public Policy Committee this morning with a 7-4 vote.

It will be heard on the floor of the House most likely this week.

Sincerely

Dolly M. Starnes, Executive Assistant
B. Patrick Bauer
Speaker of the House
200 W. Washington St. Rm 3-2
Indianapolis, IN 46204
1-800-382-9842
317-232-9628

Did that last line read “It [SB 335] will be heard on the floor of the House most likely this week”?  “Will be heard” usually means “will be heard.”  Now, here we have an email communication from the Speaker’s office declaring that a bill “will be heard” and then we have the Speaker turning around and killing the bill without hearing it on the floor.  Either the Speaker changed his mind after this email was sent, or he went ahead and let everyone think that he would hear the bill, even going so far as to personally promise to hear the bill, never meaning to actually keep his word.

This is an action utterly unbecoming the office of the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives.

By: Brian Sikma

On Thursday evening the Indiana House Republican Caucus finally had enough with the shenanigans of Speaker B. Patrick Bauer and his various minions. In a bold and overdue move House Republicans refused to reconvene with the rest of the House after a series of amendment battles involving immigration reform legislation, specifically SB 335.

The action started when the Speaker failed to call the Senate passed immigration bill down to the floor for amendments and votes. This amounted to a killing of the Senate passed bill. Democrats then began trying to incorporate some provisions of the killed bill into another Senate passed bill. House Republicans left the floor, objecting on the grounds that they did not have sufficient time to prepare for amendments to the other Senate bill or even offer any amendments on the fly.

Speaker Bauer appears to have defended his move saying that he was trying to prevent the passage of a racist bill. According to the Indianapolis Star, Bauer declared “we don’t need a hate debate on this floor.” Apparently it is hateful when a group of legislators seek to pass legislation that provides for greater law-enforcement tools.

The charge of racist has been leveled repeatedly at Sen. Mike Delph, the lead sponsor of SB 335. According to one report, Rep. Vannessa Summers (D-Indianapolis), who sits on the House Public Policy Committee, repeatedly lashed out at Sen. Delph during a committee hearing on SB 335. Of course one of the charges she leveled at Sen. Delph was that he was a racist.

It is disturbing when our elected officials resort to name-calling at a time when serious debate and discussion should be had. Many of the state legislators who support state level immigration reform are reluctant warriors in this battle. It is widely acknowledged that our current immigration woes are the result of inadequate border security measures and sporadic enforcement of immigration law. Both of these are federal issues.

[Read more Below]

I’m bothered right now. It’s not because of this nasty cold/flu I can’t seem to get rid of, though that is bothersome.  It’s because a good friend of mine, former colleague, the man who gave me my first job out of college, and a legislator I look up to is being dragged through the mud for standing up for the rule of law. I’m talking about one of the most upstanding individuals you will ever meet. State Senator Mike Delph (R-Carmel). And Mike is not alone in this either. A certain blogger out there whose business is reliant on assisting illegal aliens to stay in this country by flouting our nations laws is a attacking Mike Delph and another serviceman to our country Lt. Col. Ray Mejia.

Now, like most of you, I glance at this person’s blog most every day. We both claim the Republican mantle, but we are on opposite ends of the Republican spectrum. Sometimes we agree and sometimes we couldn’t be farther apart. But this is one of those instances and this is one with which I take great umbrage.

It galls me to no end that this attack has happened. What Senator Delph and Lt. Col. Mejia did are not breaking the law as this particular blogger’s business seems to be built around. Lt. Col. Mejia was present at a press conference. He was not on the campaign trail with Mike. One could even say that this is akin to testifying in a committee hearing.

Lt. Col. Mejia was present at this press conference because he was coming out in support of Senator Delph’s legislation that cracks down on businesses that break the law by knowingly hiring illegal aliens. Mejia, is an immigrant himself, but he came to this country and went through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen the legal way and not by some shady maneuverings of possible loop holes in our nations laws. Now, Lt. Col. Mejia is serving our country in the Army as Sen. Delph serves his State in the General Assembly and our country in the Army Reserve. That’s called citizenship. And these are men who we should be proud of and not bring down just to advance the further flouting of our nations laws.

Thank you for standing up for the rule of law and serving our country Senator Delph and Lt. Col. Mejia.

This is cross posted at “When the going gets weird, the tough turn pro.”

By a vote of 10-1, SB 335 which is State Senator Mike Delph’s (R-Carmel) immigration bill, passed through committee after some changes were made. First, an amendment to push back the effective date, from July of 2009 to October 2009, was added. Also, exemptions from prosecution were made for “churches, healthcare workers, attorneys and spouses, parents and children of suspected illegal immigrants” according to the Indianapolis Star.

The lone dissenter was Greg ‘The Flogger’ Walker. He said that he “believes Indiana is entering dangerous waters by passing an unconstitutional law.” He came to this decision after reading the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “about 12 times”.

Senator Delph’s legislation, had it passed in it’s original form, would have been the stiffest immigration law, penalizing businesses, in the nation. The changes passed today put it on par with Arizona’s and Oklahoma’s laws which are currently being challenged.

I liked the original bill, but these changes make sense. And after reading the 14th Amendment myself, I think I can see where Senator Walker is coming from. But the simple fact is, this legislation does not target the law abiding and the legalized. It targets those who break the law. It used to be in this country people got punished for breaking the law. But I have to agree with Senator Jim Arnold (D-LaPorte) when he said that this bill is not intended to be racist or to drive people out of our country. It’s not! It’s intended to attract the law abiding.

(Read more of my take after the leap)

While the federal government has done a good job of bungling immigration reform, they are not the only governmental body to feel the pressure created by our illegal alien woes. Local governments and state governments across the country have had to live with the consequences of our federal government’s ineptitude and inaction on this issue.

If State Senator Mike Delph(R) has his way, however, before this session is over Indiana will have some tougher laws for dealing with illegal immigrants. Sen. Delph, like many people supportive of immigration reform, is not against immigration. Instead, Sen. Delph and the senators who have joined him by co-sponsoring SB 335are interested in seeing the rule of law restored. They want to make sure that Hoosiers are not required to pay for the care of those who are here illegally or face a criminal threat from an individual who has broken the law in entering our country.

The fundamental principle of our government is that we are a nation of laws and that no individual or entity is above the law and no individual or entity is below the law. The selective enforcement of the law must stop and if the federal government is unable to act then Indiana should do everything within its power to prevent its citizens from having to bear the financial, economic, and security burden imposed by the presence of illegal aliens.

On January 16th the Senate Pension and Labor Committee, chaired by Sen. Dennis Kruse (R) one of the bill’s co-sponsors, held a hearing on the immigration reform bill. To read the legislative summary of the bill go here.

Briefly, the bill empowers properly trained members of the state police to enforce federal customs and immigration law, provides for the prosecution and penalization of employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, prevents any governing body within the state from refusing to cooperate with any other government entity that is seek to determine the status of a suspected illegal alien, provides for the cancellation of state contracts with employers who employ illegal aliens, and establishes penalties for hiding or transporting illegal aliens.

Senator Delph and the co-sponsors of SB 335 should be lauded for their efforts to restore the rule of law in Indiana with regard to immigration and employment.

To view a list of the bill’s supporters go here and to drop a line to your senator urging him or her to support SB 335 go here.

(Eventually, I’m going to count how many late 70’s early 80’s band references I’ve listed here. In all honesty, one is too many, but sometimes it just works.)

It’s about to get a lot tougher on those who knowingly hirer illegal immigrants for jobs in Indiana. That is, if State Senator Mike Delph (R – Carmel) has his way. One of the most staunch conservative in the General Assembly, Senator Delph will introduce legislation that would make the state’s penalties for hiring illegals among the stiffest in the country.

According to the Indy Star:

The bill, authored by Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, gained support from Republicans and Democrats alike Friday but was criticized by Hispanic leaders, business officials and civil rights experts who say cracking down on illegal immigration should be left to the federal government.

Cracking down on illegal immigration should be left to the Federal Government? While I’d like to agree, the Feds have a lousy record of enforcing immigration laws in our country. More recently, instead of backing existing laws, Congress wanted to pass legislation that amounted to amnesty rather than enforcing what’s currently on the books. But it’s not as if Democrats are to blame there. This lousy piece of legislation was penned by our Republican President and essentially approved of what has been going on for over twenty years or more. And that’s “Breakin’ the law” (beware: really really really bad 80’s metal rock band video in that link…who in the world plays a cardboard guitar?!?)

It also begs the question, what part of illegal do opponents of this bill not get? Is it the “il” or the “legal”?

(More conservative goodness after the jump)

While John Gizzi of Human Events is thinking that 2008 could be a repeat of 1974 for Congressional Republicans, George Witwer is thinking that ‘08 could turn out to be a statewide 1994. In ‘74 Republicans in Congress saw their numbers drop dramatically. The candidates that they ran for Congress in districts across the nation may have been good individuals, but they weren’t always the best individuals. In ‘94 of course Republicans, led by the brilliant Newt Gingrich, stormed Capitol Hill and gained a majority in the U.S. House.

George Witwer, as you may recall, ran as Stephen Goldsmith’s Lt. Gov. candidate in 1996. Mr. Witwer is also the founder and Chairman of the Opportunity Project of Indiana (OPI). The Opportunity Project focuses on electing conservative Republicans (emphasis on conservative) to state office in Indiana. For several years now they’ve not been as active as they were in the ’90s, however, as the stormy political climate in Indiana continues to rage and heat up, Mr. Witwer is dusting off the Opportunity Project and planning on playing a serious role in the ‘08 cycle.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to talk to Mr. Witwer about his plans for OPI and his thoughts about the upcoming election. He, like just about everyone else, thinks that property taxes will be the defining issue of the statewide ‘08 cycle. No, they are not the only issue, and may not be the most important issue, but they are a high profile example a broader problem of uncontrolled spending and government mismanagement. From school districts to the state budget, spending is on the rise, and now taxes are starting to catch up.

(Read more below the fold)

During the MRLC, fellow HA Directors Scott Fluhr, Greg Magnuson and I were able to attend the panel discussion on immigration hosted by WIBC’s Greg Garrison with panelists Congressman Mike Pence and former Congressman Mike Sodrel. Afterward, I was fortunate to spend a few minutes with Congressman Pence to get his views on what went wrong for Republicans nationally in 2006, what could be done differently in 2008 and what the chances are for Republicans to take back the House in 2008. It was a fun conversation that touched on other topics as well. Take a look.