illegal immigration ( Archived) (361)

Wrong....

1) you cant be illegal when there is no law on immigration. There wasnt when this country was being founded, so Native Americans are not the only ones who can be here COMPLETELY legally.

2) Ellis Island... nuff said.

Ex-border inspector faces 35 years in prison for accepting bribes from smugglers


SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former border inspector pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting cash bribes and luxury cars in exchange for allowing smugglers to sneak hundreds of illegal immigrants from Mexico into the country.

Richard Elizalda, 55, a 10-year veteran border inspector for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, admitted to one count of accepting bribes as a public official and two counts of bringing illegal aliens into the country for financial gain.

He was originally charged with 15 counts.

Elizalda sent text messages directing drivers to his inspection lane at the San Ysidro border crossing and then waved them through, Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Frakes said in San Diego federal court.

In return, Elizalda received as much as $1,000 for each immigrant, taking as much as $120,000 in cash from smugglers starting in 2004 until his arrest in June, Frakes said. Agents seized $36,170 in cash from Elizalda's home, along with a 2000 Lexus and a 2005 BMW given to him by the ringleaders of the smuggling ring.

He faces up to 35 years in prison and $820,000 in fines.

Elizalda said little in court. Asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr., how he pleaded, he replied in a quiet voice, "Guilty."

Also Thursday, another defendant in the indictment, Kenneth Web, pleaded guilty to one count of bringing illegal aliens into the United States. Frakes said he worked as a smuggler, bringing as many as 99 immigrants into the country without documentation.

He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines.

Customs and Border Protection has seen a number of instances of corruption recently. In July, a Border Patrol agent who was an illegal immigrant himself was sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling more than 100 illegal immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico near San Diego, some of them in his government truck.


* I think the penalties should be even stiffer than this...

I think America's view of illegal aliens has been been more negative since 911 and that is understandably so.

Honestly...

It has been a sore spot of mine for years, especially since I started a family. I ahve worked with people who would brag about not having to pay taxes and when the time period was up they would go back to mexico and live like kings until a certain time when they could come back up and work tax free again. When I started a family I had to start with nothing too so I have no sympathy for that argument.

Well Lene I have had the same thing from people living in the UK when I was there, not immigrants, who boasted about what they could claim for without working and the one and only time I tried to claim anything when my ex lost his job we couldn't claim anything, There are more native people claiming which creates the drain rather than immigrants.

They know that in unity there is strent,their gov't are the one's sending them here, so they get a big population in the U.S then the U.S is forced to help.

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It isn't like Mexico is a poor country either.

Well someone needs to say it. If the US does not get it's imigration policy in tact. They are going to lose their control over their own government. Majority means nothing, it's about concentration of imigrants and their ability to run for office. Give them free access to your country illegally and your toast..

There are 15 million illegal imigrants in the United states. That equates to half of the population of Canada...

Think about it....

BTW I have nothing against legal imigration, no matter what you race..Just do it legally..