LOU DOBBS VIDEO

CNN Lou Dobbs

video: Buckle Up - Mexican Trucks to Use American Highways

The Department of Transportation will begin a year-long pilot program that allows hundreds of Mexican truck drivers to travel anywhere in the United States to deliver goods. Right now they're limited to within 25 miles of the border. But some congressional lawmakers say it will lead to a gaping hole in the nation's safety and security system. The Transportation Department says the Mexican drivers will meet U.S. safety requirements and on-site audits will be performed. Despite reassurances, critics say the U.S. government is opening the country to increased drug traffic. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said: "In our new post- 9/11 world, we have learned a lot more about terrorist threats and how to prevent them. We've also learned a lot more about illegal immigration and the methods used to smuggle citizens into the United States." There are safety concerns as well. U.S. drivers have to pass rigorous testing to be licensed in the United States. The bar is much lower for Mexican drivers.

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CNN Lou Dobbs

video: Federal Funds to Help States Deal with Illegal Immigration being Cut and Redirected

The federal government's failure to secure our borders mean states are now forced to deal with the cost and consequences of illegal immigration. In California, for example, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to spend nearly $11 billion to build new prisons and jails in his state. Many are horribly overcrowded with rows of bunk beds in gymnasiums and office cubicles instead of cells. The result, rising prison violence, high recidivism rates and criminals being released early. Yet the Bush administration refuses to accept financial responsibility. For the fifth straight year White House has eliminated funding from its budget to reimburse states for the cost of jailing illegal aliens. In his 2008 budget request, President Bush says he wants to "redirect the dollars to other higher priority programs" because the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program "lacked goals and performance measures." National Council of State legislatures says that argument is nonsense because SCAAP has never been fully funded. States spend almost $2.5 billion a year incarcerating criminal illegal aliens.
[Our take: President Bush has so many ways to undermine national security, ensure a steady supply of cheap illegal alien labor and increase the economic pressures on the middle class, that it is difficult to imagine that any single legislative proposal can ever stop let alone reverse the damage he has done to our country. Yet many seem to think that this horrendous damage is preferable to plunging the nation into crisis by impeaching Bush. We say impeachment is not a constitutional crisis but a necessary remedy to restore normalcy to the nation, namely the rule of law. Congress is squarely to blame for allowing this state of affairs to continue. As always, members of Congress talk a good game, but never seem to get the job done. Voters are to blame, too. Despite the job approval rating of Congress being much lower that that of Bush, voters continue to delude themselves by thinking their representatives are the exception. Bottom line: maybe we really do have the government we deserve.]

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CNN Lou Dobbs

video: Support in Congress Builds for Outlawing Credit Cards for Illegal Aliens

Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn introduced legislation (HR-1314) aimed at preventing U.S. financial institutions from handing out credit cards to illegal aliens. The Photo I.D. Act comes after Bank of America announced it would issue credit cards to all customers, even those without Social Security numbers. Blackburn said: "Well, you know, I think that I should do everything I can possibly do to be certain that good American companies have a clear understanding of the law, that there is no ambiguity in that law and that they abide by that law. If they say they're exploiting a loophole and going after those that have illegal entered the country then I think we find a way to close that loophole."