53percenter's Blog

To the shouts of “Si, se puede!” House Democrats voted Tuesday to hand out an unconditional amnesty to more than 2 million illegal immigrants brought here as old as age 15 as well as two other migrant categories, sending a message abroad that the border’s open and path to the citizenship comes free. That’s some message to send during an ongoing border surge.

According to The Hill:

The Democratic-led chamber passed the Dream and Promise Act in a largely party line 237-187 vote, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for the bill.

Supporters in the gallery broke out into cheers of “Sí se puede!” when the tally reached the necessary simple majority of 218 in favor.

“That was good,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), walking off the House floor.

The bill would grant permanent residency with a path to citizenship to more than 2 million immigrants across three categories: It would permanently protect from deportation Dreamers – immigrants who came to the country illegally as children – as well as certain recipients of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs.

The illegal immigrants who ballot-harvested California’s congressional delegation into the House must be ‘si se puede-ing’ themselves into a ’mission accomplished’ moment.

And as for Democrats, well, their game is just politics. They know the measure isn’t going to pass in the Senate, and certainly won’t get signed in the White House. But for them, that’s not a problem, because it’s less about providing relief to DREAMers than it is about incentiving more illegal immigration as a means to gaining more political power. Democrats, remember, kind of like having a lot of people here illegally who can’t quite vote and who are always dependent on them. They lead the pack in “dead districts” wih 9% voter turnout, and benefit from congressional seats from districts padded with illegals.

Their standalone measure with zero balance on immigration enforcement, won’t help DREAMers so much as it will be employed as a pressure tactic, (with Democrats’ media handmaidens putting out more individual sob stories to influence public opinion) for the 2020 election, and maybe as a means of getting their end of any comprehensive bargain with the GOP through as a unit.

Take a look at which states may be affected most. This 2010 chart from the middle-of-the-road Migration Policy Institute (I marked swing states in yellow) suggests that it is a bid to affect swing state votes: 

Incredibly, they even admit it’s just political:

Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said that even without a Senate vote, the bill will serve a political purpose as Democrats push back on immigration moves by the Trump administration.

“I mean, the Senate is tough. But we’re going to do everything we can to push them to move on it. And even if they don’t move on it immediately, it holds it in place for larger negotiations for comprehensive immigration reform,” Castro said.

“At worst, this is a ready-made piece for further negotiation on a larger immigration package,” he added.

The real problem is that this vote incentivizes illegal immigration at a time when the border is already surging with uneducated, unskilled ”families” seeking asylum they are unlikely to qualify for. More than 109,000 illegal, unvetted migrants were apprehended in just April and more than a million illegal entrants are expected this year. Migrants are now showing up with kids who may or may not belong to them, and those kids not only serve as entry tickets for a stretch in the U.S. without vetting or detention, they also form a convenient backstop for a path to citizenship for the whole family if the asylum claims don’t go through, via the DREAM act. Once a single member gains the citizenship path, chain migration permits all of them to get the benefit. 

Think it will incentivize a few more to make it here before the wall that Democrats are blocking goes up? Very likely, even as the law only officially applies to about a fifth of the nation’s already-here illegals. It’s amnesty, and with every amnesty, there’s a firm sense that there will eventually be another amnesty, because it’s only a matter of time before newer entrants are grandfathered in. What we are seeing here is a disgraceful bid to play politics at a time when there’s a national emergency at the border and Democrats are blocking a wall.

Now, citizenship is up for being handed out like candy to lawbreakers, and Democrats are still complaining about illegals being transported to their sanctuary cities. Does the bid to block President Trump have less idiocy? Not with these guys.

Image credit: Screen shot from Migration Policy Institute

To the shouts of “Si, se puede!” House Democrats voted Tuesday to hand out an unconditional amnesty to more than 2 million illegal immigrants brought here as old as age 15 as well as two other migrant categories, sending a message abroad that the border’s open and path to the citizenship comes free. That’s some message to send during an ongoing border surge.

According to The Hill:

The Democratic-led chamber passed the Dream and Promise Act in a largely party line 237-187 vote, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for the bill.

Supporters in the gallery broke out into cheers of “Sí se puede!” when the tally reached the necessary simple majority of 218 in favor.

“That was good,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), walking off the House floor.

The bill would grant permanent residency with a path to citizenship to more than 2 million immigrants across three categories: It would permanently protect from deportation Dreamers – immigrants who came to the country illegally as children – as well as certain recipients of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs.

The illegal immigrants who ballot-harvested California’s congressional delegation into the House must be ‘si se puede-ing’ themselves into a ’mission accomplished’ moment.

And as for Democrats, well, their game is just politics. They know the measure isn’t going to pass in the Senate, and certainly won’t get signed in the White House. But for them, that’s not a problem, because it’s less about providing relief to DREAMers than it is about incentiving more illegal immigration as a means to gaining more political power. Democrats, remember, kind of like having a lot of people here illegally who can’t quite vote and who are always dependent on them. They lead the pack in “dead districts” wih 9% voter turnout, and benefit from congressional seats from districts padded with illegals.

Their standalone measure with zero balance on immigration enforcement, won’t help DREAMers so much as it will be employed as a pressure tactic, (with Democrats’ media handmaidens putting out more individual sob stories to influence public opinion) for the 2020 election, and maybe as a means of getting their end of any comprehensive bargain with the GOP through as a unit.

Take a look at which states may be affected most. This 2010 chart from the middle-of-the-road Migration Policy Institute (I marked swing states in yellow) suggests that it is a bid to affect swing state votes: 

Incredibly, they even admit it’s just political:

Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said that even without a Senate vote, the bill will serve a political purpose as Democrats push back on immigration moves by the Trump administration.

“I mean, the Senate is tough. But we’re going to do everything we can to push them to move on it. And even if they don’t move on it immediately, it holds it in place for larger negotiations for comprehensive immigration reform,” Castro said.

“At worst, this is a ready-made piece for further negotiation on a larger immigration package,” he added.

The real problem is that this vote incentivizes illegal immigration at a time when the border is already surging with uneducated, unskilled ”families” seeking asylum they are unlikely to qualify for. More than 109,000 illegal, unvetted migrants were apprehended in just April and more than a million illegal entrants are expected this year. Migrants are now showing up with kids who may or may not belong to them, and those kids not only serve as entry tickets for a stretch in the U.S. without vetting or detention, they also form a convenient backstop for a path to citizenship for the whole family if the asylum claims don’t go through, via the DREAM act. Once a single member gains the citizenship path, chain migration permits all of them to get the benefit. 

Think it will incentivize a few more to make it here before the wall that Democrats are blocking goes up? Very likely, even as the law only officially applies to about a fifth of the nation’s already-here illegals. It’s amnesty, and with every amnesty, there’s a firm sense that there will eventually be another amnesty, because it’s only a matter of time before newer entrants are grandfathered in. What we are seeing here is a disgraceful bid to play politics at a time when there’s a national emergency at the border and Democrats are blocking a wall.

Now, citizenship is up for being handed out like candy to lawbreakers, and Democrats are still complaining about illegals being transported to their sanctuary cities. Does the bid to block President Trump have less idiocy? Not with these guys.

Image credit: Screen shot from Migration Policy Institute

I don’t think it is a coincidence that just as President Trump is in the UK, we suddenly learn that “dossier” author Christopher Steele has agreed to be questioned by US authorities. Chuck Ross of The Daily Caller reports:

Former British spy Christopher Steele has agreed to meet in London with U.S. officials regarding the dossier, The Times of London is reporting.

A source close to Steele told the newspaper he plans to meet with American authorities within the next several weeks, but only about his interactions with the FBI and only with the approval of the British government.

Steele’s decision is an apparent about-face from his reported refusal to meet with U.S. investigators regarding his infamous report.

Reuters reported in May that Steele was unwilling to meet with a federal prosecutor who Attorney General William Barr tapped to lead an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe. And Politico reported on April 17 that Steele was refusing to meet with the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general, which is looking into the FBI’s use of the dossier to obtain surveillance warrants against Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser.

I have all along believed that part of President Trump’s mission in the UK was winning over British support for fully outing the role of its intelligence services in the Russia Hoax. He would have to guarantee that the overall relationship would remain sound even if highly embarrassing facts come to light. While speaking with outgoing PM May was necessary, she will soon be replaced.  I do not discount the importance of his 90 minute private conversation with Queen Elizabeth. The next PM cannot take office without going to her for permission, and in that conversation she is fully capable of laying out her expectations that this affair be made public to the extent that President Trump demands. The serene continuation of the Special Relationship with the US is precisely the sort of institutional matter of utmost importance that a British Monarch has a legitimate and important voice on.

YouTube screen grab (cropped)

Steele must have learned that the offer to speak with US authorities was one he couldn’t refuse. Her Majesty’s government would not support any efforts to resist extradition if he were to refuse cooperation and be indicted. They might even provide documentation to would lead to his conviction.

Joe Di Genova sees that this is really big news:

…Attorney General William Barr’s investigators are hot on the trail of former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and others who played a role in concocting the conspiracy to take down our duly elected president.

If investigators conclude that Comey, Clapper and others engaged in a criminal conspiracy – as seems increasingly likely – then Christopher Steele could easily be named as a co-defendant, which would trigger an extradition request that Britain would almost certainly honor.

Steele obviously doesn’t want that to happen, which is probably why he declined a previous request for cooperation from U.S. Attorney John Durham, one of Barr’s top investigators looking into the FISA warrants scandal.

We don’t yet know which investigators will be interviewing Steele in the coming weeks, but it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ve offered him some form of immunity in exchange for his candor. That should terrify the Democrats who enlisted him in their attempts to execute a Deep State coup against Trump.

If Steele spills the beans on his former handlers, the resulting prosecutions of former high-level federal officials would make Watergate seem trivial by comparison.

In addition to Comey, Clapper and Brennan, it’s entirely possible that Steele’s testimony will yield new insights that could eventually help to implicate even higher-ranking officials in the Obama administration.

Watch, as on Hannity last night, Joe says that walls are beginning to close in:

I don’t think it is a coincidence that just as President Trump is in the UK, we suddenly learn that “dossier” author Christopher Steele has agreed to be questioned by US authorities. Chuck Ross of The Daily Caller reports:

Former British spy Christopher Steele has agreed to meet in London with U.S. officials regarding the dossier, The Times of London is reporting.

A source close to Steele told the newspaper he plans to meet with American authorities within the next several weeks, but only about his interactions with the FBI and only with the approval of the British government.

Steele’s decision is an apparent about-face from his reported refusal to meet with U.S. investigators regarding his infamous report.

Reuters reported in May that Steele was unwilling to meet with a federal prosecutor who Attorney General William Barr tapped to lead an investigation into the origins of the Russia probe. And Politico reported on April 17 that Steele was refusing to meet with the Justice Department’s office of the inspector general, which is looking into the FBI’s use of the dossier to obtain surveillance warrants against Carter Page, a Trump campaign adviser.

I have all along believed that part of President Trump’s mission in the UK was winning over British support for fully outing the role of its intelligence services in the Russia Hoax. He would have to guarantee that the overall relationship would remain sound even if highly embarrassing facts come to light. While speaking with outgoing PM May was necessary, she will soon be replaced.  I do not discount the importance of his 90 minute private conversation with Queen Elizabeth. The next PM cannot take office without going to her for permission, and in that conversation she is fully capable of laying out her expectations that this affair be made public to the extent that President Trump demands. The serene continuation of the Special Relationship with the US is precisely the sort of institutional matter of utmost importance that a British Monarch has a legitimate and important voice on.

YouTube screen grab (cropped)

Steele must have learned that the offer to speak with US authorities was one he couldn’t refuse. Her Majesty’s government would not support any efforts to resist extradition if he were to refuse cooperation and be indicted. They might even provide documentation to would lead to his conviction.

Joe Di Genova sees that this is really big news:

…Attorney General William Barr’s investigators are hot on the trail of former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and others who played a role in concocting the conspiracy to take down our duly elected president.

If investigators conclude that Comey, Clapper and others engaged in a criminal conspiracy – as seems increasingly likely – then Christopher Steele could easily be named as a co-defendant, which would trigger an extradition request that Britain would almost certainly honor.

Steele obviously doesn’t want that to happen, which is probably why he declined a previous request for cooperation from U.S. Attorney John Durham, one of Barr’s top investigators looking into the FISA warrants scandal.

We don’t yet know which investigators will be interviewing Steele in the coming weeks, but it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ve offered him some form of immunity in exchange for his candor. That should terrify the Democrats who enlisted him in their attempts to execute a Deep State coup against Trump.

If Steele spills the beans on his former handlers, the resulting prosecutions of former high-level federal officials would make Watergate seem trivial by comparison.

In addition to Comey, Clapper and Brennan, it’s entirely possible that Steele’s testimony will yield new insights that could eventually help to implicate even higher-ranking officials in the Obama administration.

Watch, as on Hannity last night, Joe says that walls are beginning to close in: