Postcards - and video - from the edge

Wrap up from forthecause.com

Orange County Register: Kennedy Says Immigration Bill Will Happen

Just because a comprehensive immigration bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate that doesn't mean the issue has gotten off the track, Sen. Edward Kennedy said. The Massachusetts Democrat said bipartisan negotiations are continuing both among the members of the Judiciary Committee and with the White House. The veteran lawmaker has made the calculation that it's better to get as much agreement on the elements of what is likely to be a complex and controversial bill before it gets introduced than after. "It is the judgment of those who want the bill that the way we are following is the fastest way of getting the legislation," said Kennedy. "Obviously we have to consider it on the floor in May or no later than June."

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The Washington Post: Latin American Remittances to Hit $100Bby 2010

Latin Americans working outside their countries are expected to send home more than $100 billion annually by 2010, despite efforts by the U.S. to slow illegal immigration, an Inter-American Development Bank official said. Donald F. Terry, general manager of the bank's Multilateral Investment Fund, said remittances will increase by about 15 percent a year over the next four years. Still, Terry called remittances a "very effective poverty reduction program" that keeps 8 to 10 million Latin American families above the poverty line. The region, however, has not tapped into the potential of remittances, which total more than all the foreign aid and investment combined in Latin America, Terry said. Terry said if governments could tap into as little as 1 percent of the money and funnel it toward development, it could make more of a difference.

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CNN Lou Dobbs

video:Plaintiffs Say During Hazelton Trial: There's Nothing "Illegal" About Illegal Immigrants, Since There's No Definition in Law

The trial against Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is now in its second week. The plaintiffs' attorneys spent most of the day in court trying to deliberately blur that distinction between illegals, saying you can't quite say that. Attorney Witold Walczak said: "It is simplistic and wrong to say illegal is illegal. And Hazleton has really made a pretty fundamental mistake in relying on that kind of premise here." The plaintiffs also pointed out in court, there is no definition for what constitutes an illegal immigrant or illegal alien in federal law. And they tried to make the point that the law also doesn't define what unlawful presence in the country means. Under this logic, there is no point in having laws, let alone enforcing them.

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CNN Lou Dobbs

video:Another Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to Prison for Doing His Job - Mexico Intervened Again

Former Edwards County Texas sheriff's deputy Gilmer Hernandez was just doing his job in April 2005, when he attempted to pull over a Suburban loaded with suspected illegal aliens. Gilmer approached the car that run the stop sign. They stopped approximately half a mile after he turned his emergency lights on. He walked up to the driver's window and asked for the license. And the driver immediately put the car in gear and swerved toward him, taking off. Gilmer pulled his pistol and fired at the left rear tire, blowing it out. And they kept on going, and he attempted to shoot out the right rear tire. One of the shots slightly injured a passenger. The other occupants fled. The Texas Rangers investigated the shooting and cleared the deputy of wrongdoing. Even so, Gilmer Hernandez, not the illegal aliens or their smugglers, is now the one incarcerated. He was convicted of violating the illegal aliens' civil rights and sentenced to a year and a day in prison. The prosecutor: Johhny Sutton, who also prosecuted Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

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Allan Wall:Why Won’t Bush Ask Mexico For Immigration Reciprocity?

President Bush just passed through Mexico (March 12-14th). His visit was welcomed by protestors in both Mexico City and Merida, the other city which he visited. Protestors called Bush a murderer, burned American flags, and bore anti-Bush banners, such as the one which read "Bush You Are Not Welcome in Mexico—Go to Hell". How could Mexican protestors possibly be saying such ugly things about our president? Bush has been a Mexico booster and illegal immigration defender since before Day One of his presidency. Bush has constantly lauded Mexican culture and celebrated the Latinization of the United States. Bush has consistently done all in his power to frustrate anyone’s attempt to control the border. In 2005, he publicly slandered the Minutemen in the presence of the previous president of Mexico. So Bush—dubbed “The Mexichurian Candidate” by my VDARE.COM colleague Brenda Walker— ought to be the most popular American in Mexico, right? Absolutely not.