First, I want to say that the first thing we need to do to stem the tide of illegal immigration is to secure the border. If we don't secure the border, all other attempts to slow down the flow of illegal immigration will largely be a moot point. The Constitution demands that we secure the border, and common sense reveals that we must secure the border first.
However, that all said, let's address a bill proposed, and supported by, Republicans, that the GOP believes would be a great help in alleviating the problem of illegal immigration at hand.
We have this funny little thing called the First Amendment, which enumerates the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances, and that should not be hindered in any way.
The CREST ACT, I was originally led to believe, would disallow by law the protests we saw in Murrieta, and criminalize any action by any border patrol agent (including letting us know if planes or buses are on their way) that may be considered assistance to the protests.
The bill was proposed by the Arizona Senators, including John McCain.
The bill, I originally thought, is bad enough, we expect bills like this from the democrats. But republicans? This is what I mean when I separate the GOP into two distinct groups, calling the problem in the Republican Party the Establishment Republicans.
I firmly believe that the problem is the good ol' boys of the establishment side of things are in the majority, and if we are to turn this country around, conservatives, constitutionalists, need to conduct a hostile takeover of the GOP. If we don't throw the leftists in the party out on their heels, we will not get this country back under control.
I have been calling for, and still call for, a hostile takeover of the Republican Party, a convention of States, and a return of local control over local issues largely accomplished by citizens being active in their local politics. That is how you turn America around. The difficulty in all of this is that it seems like the establishment (in both parties) is doing what it can to keep us from protecting our rights, and turning this country back towards being a constitutional republic. This is not just some political disagreement. When politicians seek to use their power to force their will upon us, and take away our rights to disagree, it is war.
This is what I received regarding the CREST ACT, originally, by email and on various websites - this specifically from a website called USA Carry:
Proposed McCain bill would criminalize Murietta/Vassar patriots….
This is a discussion on Proposed McCain bill would criminalize Murietta/Vassar patriots…. within the Politics forums, part of the Main Category category; John McCain Strikes again with the introduction of the CREST Act, which hires 150 more attorneys to represent "unaccompanied refugee ...
(A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 27 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 556. Unlawfully hindering immigration, border, or
customs controls
‘‘(a) ILLICIT SPOTTING.—Any person who knowingly transmits to another person the location, movement, or activities of any Federal, State, or tribal law enforcement agency with the intent to further a Federal crime relating to United States immigration, customs, controlled substances, agriculture, monetary instruments, or other border controls shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION OF UNITED STATES BORDER CONTROLS.—Any person who knowingly and without lawful authorization destroys, alters, or damages any fence, barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed by the Federal Government to control the border or a port of entry, or otherwise seeks to construct, excavate, or make any structure intended to defeat, circumvent or evade any such fence, barrier, sensor camera, or other physical or electronic device deployed by the Federal Government to control the border or a port of entry — ‘‘(1) shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; and ‘‘(2) if, at the time of the offense, the person uses or carries a firearm or, in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm [such as happened in Vassar, MI, when they protested the possible use of a facility to house UACs - added], shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. ‘‘(c) CONSPIRACY AND ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts or conspires to violate subsection (a) or (b) shall be punished in the same manner as a person who completes a violation of such subsection.’’
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Then I did a little more digging.
According to the Tucson News Now website:
CREST SUMMARY
Amends the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA) to increase repatriation of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from non-contiguous countries.
The CREST Act requires UACs from non-contiguous countries be given the same treatment as those from Mexico and Canada with respect to the option of voluntarily returning to their own country.
In addition, keeping in place the existing screenings, the CREST Act reforms the TVPA to require expedited removal of all undocumented immigrants that are stopped at the border attempting to enter the United States illegally, allowing law enforcement to return them to their home countries within days as opposed months or years.
Requires mandatory detention of UAC until their cases are fully adjudicated.
This Act requires UAC to be under the custody of CBP or HHS until they are repatriated or their immigration cases have arrived at an outcome that allows them to remain in the U.S. Exceptions are made for non-federal custody in cases where the UAC is found to be a victim of trafficking, has special needs, or severe physical or mental health needs. In those cases, they can be released to a biological parent that is legally present in the U.S., has submitted to a biometric criminal history check, is willing to face fines for a failure to appear in immigration court, and a safety and suitability study has been completed.
Increases the number of immigration judges to hear cases and create a separate immigration docket to hear the cases of juveniles.
The CREST Act authorizes the hiring of 100 temporary immigration judges, 150 new immigration litigation attorneys in the ICE Field of Legal Operations, and 100 new asylum offices to reduce immigration case backlogs.
The Act prioritizes the swift resolution of cases involving unaccompanied minor children by requiring the creation of a separate juvenile docket in every immigration court in the United States and requiring the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to bring a resolution to immigration cases, from the issuance of a notice to appear through the exhaustion of appeals, within thirty days.
Increases the number of refugee applications by up to 5,000 for each of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
This CREST Act requires the administration to carry out in-country processing of refugee applications in these countries and provides funding for the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations at USCIS to fulfill these requirements.
Conditions foreign aid on countries’ efforts to secure their borders.
This Act requires the President to certify that Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are doing everything they can to prevent the illegal migration of unaccompanied minors or risk losing foreign aid assistance and assist in the repatriation of their citizens.
Increase penalties for human smuggling.
The CREST Act increases penalties for those engaging in human smuggling, including the smuggling of unaccompanied minors.
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Okay, except for the part of buying into the "refugee" argument, which is a load of crap and is simply a ploy being used by the Left to tug on heartstrings, the bill doesn't seem so bad after all.
So what is the truth?
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Jeff Flake, the other Arizona Republican Senator to introduce this bill, had the following from a news article on his website:
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) today formally introduced the Children Returning on an Expedited and Safe Timeline Act (CREST Act), which addresses the mounting humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, where tens of thousands of unaccompanied children (UAC) are being apprehended as they illegally cross into the United States.
“This legislation attends to the urgent humanitarian crisis on the border today while also addressing with the root of the problem, deterring future flows of unaccompanied children making the long and dangerous journey north,” said McCain. “This crisis will continue until the parents who paid thousands of dollars to smuggle their children north to the United States see plane-loads of them landing back at home – their money wasted.”
“While President Obama should be doing more to halt the flow of unaccompanied minors crossing the border, Congress also needs to step up,” said Flake. “The McCain-Flake CREST Act would both stem the present tide and prevent future waves of children from making the dangerous journey north.”
In addition to Senators McCain and Flake, the bill is co-sponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK).
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Then I read the text of the bill itself, and received a little "context." The hysteria surrounding this bill that says the CREST ACT criminalizes Murrieta Style Protests is not entirely accurate. The context of the language used is not directed towards protesters, but against the illegal aliens, and those that assist them in coming into the United States illegally. Plus, the bill tries to address a very serious problem when it comes to the illegal immigration debate, and is for the most part in line with Congressman Ken Calvert's bill, H.R. 5079.
Let me explain.
The buses were arriving in Murrieta every 72 hours, and that clock was based on the time it takes to process the illegal aliens. By law, minor children from non-contiguous countries could not be rapidly processed and sent back home in 48 hours like their Mexican counterparts. The hearings of OTMs (Other Than Mexicans) were backlogged, and the processing was more time-consuming than the process it takes to deport Mexicans. Since illegals are still allowed due process, and hearings for these people from non-contiguous countries could not be conducted within 72 hours, and the maximum legal time for holding someone without a hearing is 72 hours, the people had to be released with a piece of paper telling them to report back later to a border patrol station or ICE facility for their hearing. And, of course, 95-98 percent of the illegals never reported back for their hearing.
The Senate bill by McCain and Flake, and the House bill by Calvert, are designed to address that problem, to strike the non-contiguous designation out of our laws, and treat these people no different than Mexican illegals. The Senate bill calls for hiring more judges to handle this influx of people at the border, something I suggested we need to do during my interview on NPR, so that we can perform their hearings rapidly, so that they can then be deported as a result of being found guilty of violating the law by crossing the border illegally. The Senate and House bills are a direct challenge to the 2008 law signed by President George W. Bush that created the special designation of "non-contiguous" allegedly in order to help curb human trafficking, and deal with the problem of the non-contiguous countries refusing to take their people back.
Could this bill, once it becomes law, be used in the way the hysteria suggests?
I don't think so. Then again, I put nothing past the federal government. However, before we start believing hysteria, we have to investigate, we have to know what we are talking about, otherwise, the opposition will use our hysterics against us, and label us even more so with the things they love to label us with. . . extreme, racist, dumb, and whatever else they can pull from their evil bag of tricks.
Let's be smart about this. Let's be informed, and message our commentary in ways that it reveals that we understand the reality behind these issues, and we understand how to carry out our intentions based on the rule of law.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Proposed McCain bill would criminalize Murrieta/Vassar Patriots - USA Carry
U.S. Senators from AZ introduce CREST ACT addressing Border Crisis - Tucson News Now
CREST ACT - Flake.Senate.gov
Ken Calvert Seeks to Close Illegal Immigration Loophole - Political Pistachio
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