WASHINGTON, June 23, 2008
High Court OKs Fast Track For Border Fence
Justices Refuse To Rein In White House's Power To Waive Laws To Speed Fence's Construction
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(CBS/AP)
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Interactive The Supreme Court History, traditions and key cases, plus what it takes to get on the bench.
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Photo Essay Border Insecurity The slow, sensitive path to tighter security along America's borders.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has used authority given to him by Congress in 2005 to ignore environmental and other laws and regulations to move forward with hundreds of miles of fencing in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
The case rejected by the court involved a two-mile section of fence in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area near Naco, Ariz. The section has since been built.
As of June, 13, 331 miles of fencing have been constructed in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
"I am extremely disappointed in the court's decision," Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said. "This waiver will only prolong the department from addressing the real issue: their lack of a comprehensive border security plan."
Thompson chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. He and 13 other House democrats - including six other committee chairs - filed a brief in support of the environmentalists' appeal.
Defenders of Wildlife lawyer Brian Segee told CBS News correspondent Barry Bagnato that it's not just the environment that's threatened.
"It's one unelected Cabinet-level official that’s allowed to pick and choose which laws apply," Segee said.
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Homeland Security Department, said, "The American people expect this department to enforce the rule of law at the border." He added that the department is happy with the court's decision.
"As fence construction proceeds," Knocke said, "the department will continue to be a good steward of the environment, and consult with appropriate state, local, and tribal officials."
The concept of a border fence took on new life after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which revived the heated immigration debate. Intelligence officials have said the holes along the southwest border could provide places for terrorists to enter the country.
Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform when it had the chance in 2007.
Thompson said, "Without a comprehensive plan, this fence is just another quick fix."
Earlier this year, Chertoff waived more than 30 laws and regulations in an effort to finish building 670 miles of fence along the southwest border. Administration officials have said that invoking the legal waivers - which Congress authorized in 1996 and 2005 laws - will cut through bureaucratic red tape and sidestep environmental laws that currently stand in the way of fence construction.
Environmentalists have said the fence puts already endangered species such as two types of wild cats - the ocelot and the jaguarundi - in even more danger. The fence would prevent them from swimming across the Rio Grande to mate.
Also on Monday, the Supreme Court:
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- Displeased ..
the Deer and the big horn Sheep will flash an RFID Chip I.D. and a park ranger will come and Hand out Botteled water from China!!! - Reply to this comment
- You will not be able to keep out people that want to get here, but you will cause irreprable damage to the environment, shame on whoever came up with the hairbrained idea...
Posted by lovesamerica
I''m curious though, how will the wildlife on the Texas side of the fence get to the river to drink? - Reply to this comment
- the Question is, will it do a good enough job of keeping people in....
- Reply to this comment
- "The court ruled 8-1 in favor of Walter Rothgery, whose request for a lawyer was denied by local Texas authorities for six months. Rothgery was arrested in Texas for carrying a gun as a convicted felon, based on a background check that erroneously showed a felony drug conviction in California. "
And which of the freedom loving justices thought that it was OK to deny legal representation while holding a man for months on a false charge?
Let us guess--one of the appointees of the freedom loving Neocons--Scalia or Thomas, no doubt. - Reply to this comment
- With all the garbage, chemicals, and industrial wastes that are flushed into the Rio FROM THE UNREGULATED MEXICAN SIDE a fence is the least of the problems faced by wildlife there.
Posted by cyberus
Garbage and poisons are flushed into the river by unregulated American companies operating on the Mexican side of the border.
The beaches along the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic coasts are polluted. The beaches in Mexico are clean. That''s why people vacation down there. Lakes and streams in the U.S. are polluted. Lakes and streams in Mexico are pristine. Fish caught in the U.S. are known to have disease and/or Mercury. Fishing in Mexico is a big tourist industry.
South Koreans are demonstrating against the importation of U.S. beef. Tainted and unsafe they say. Polluted.
The list of U.S. products that have been on the "Thanks But No Thanks" international list due to some kind of pollution is ever changing. - Reply to this comment
- exactly... this is just a diversion. nobody intends to build the fence and nobody wants it to be in the way. But there are certain political and corporate interests that need to send a certain sector of the population into tail chasing as a distraction./
- Reply to this comment
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The real losers with this brainstorm wall idea is the wildlife that will have its territory disturbed. You will not be able to keep out people that want to get here, but you will cause irreprable damage to the environment, shame on whoever came up with the hairbrained idea...
Posted by lovesamerica
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With all the garbage, chemicals, and industrial wastes that are flushed into the Rio FROM THE UNREGULATED MEXICAN SIDE a fence is the least of the problems faced by wildlife there. - Reply to this comment
- The real losers with this brainstorm wall idea is the wildlife that will have its territory disturbed. You will not be able to keep out people that want to get here, but you will cause irreprable damage to the environment, shame on whoever came up with the hairbrained idea...
- Reply to this comment
- Hurry the fence, now that there''s nobody left in Mexico.
- Reply to this comment
- 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens
each year. http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs
such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal
aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the
American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html - Reply to this comment
- Darth: "Dammitt Shrub, just do it"!!!
Shrub: "Okay, Okay,....don''t get so testy"....
"Hello"???...."Yea, listen Cherty, let''s get that Border Fence and some other divisive stuff out there in the Press, so the Citizens''ll have somethin'' to occupy themselves with while I pull off this Domestic Spying Caper and get the Ball Rolling on this Iranian Bombing Scam"......"Yea, I''ll hold".... - Reply to this comment
- (continuation)
3 months after the 6 months prepaid ended the foreclosure notice was posted .. 3 months later the eviction notice, when the sheriff arrived to evict they had all moved out .... leaving behind a house that was immediately declared unfit for occupancy.
The group that paid the first 6 months and co-signed was left paying to repair the home ($27k using volunteer labor) and paying the mortgage until they could sell the house .. they lost so much money that they had to close down for months until they sold the house due to the lack of funds to help other people .. and still ended up losing tens of thousands.
And in the end it was discovered that the original *family* was using the SS numbers of a family that died in a fire in California the year before.
Saddest part is not only did they bite the Hispanic hands that tried to help them up .. they ripped the hands off so they could not help others. - Reply to this comment
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Several families will get together and purchase a home then flee back to Mexico because they can''''t pay the mortgage, leaving a further burden on citizens.
If they wish to receive these benefits, they may go thru the system, become legal, pay their taxes and bills like the rest of us - there is a huge difference between a hand up and a hand out
Posted by sbbm
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Had a case like that next door.
A *family* bought the 3 bedroom 1 bath house (homes in this area are all over 50yrs old) with the help of a local Hispanic group, who helped them get the loan through some special program, and paid the first 6 months mortgage to *give them a hand up*.
Withing 3 weeks this house had 12-15 people living in it.
(continued) - Reply to this comment
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Anyone building a Berlin Wall in the southern border with Mexico is going to pay and answer to voters who call this idea foolish and shameful. John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan called on Communists to tear down the wall. Soon, President Calderon and some descent US citizens will call on President Bush and later, Obama to tear down that wall. It is plain ugly!!! The American Iron Curtain never set well with me!!! That wall is stupid and qualifies for international condemnation!!!
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The Berlin wall was built by the East Germans to keep East Germans in, not to keep West Germans out.
A Mexican border fence/wall will not prevent Americans from leaving, or actually prevent Mexicans from entering ... *legally*. - Reply to this comment
- The jews, are the main supporters, besides these disloyal hispanics, of these illegal parasites, and provide them "legal" aid and information on how to evade the law. But in reality, these jews use these illegals for cheap labor, consumers of their jewish wares ans services, a source of economic & artistic creativity, and another minority to hide behind. Just as they did with blacks.
- Reply to this comment
- Illegal immigrant is the term given by white racist to the descendents of the original inhabitants of this American continent.
Posted by rudy654
... ... ...
Ummmm........no it''s not. - Reply to this comment
- Roachcrusher and Andor3, I totally agree with both of you.
I have watched K.K.K. harass Vietnamese and eventually get chewed out by a Federal Judge in Kemah, Texas in the late 70''s, and then watch to learn that K.K.K. were much of the white protestant (white supremist in disguise) political machine from the 1930''was when it was legal to oppress and deprive a person from their civil rights.
I watched Texas lose their court fights in the Federal Supreme court over trying to deprive aliens of their access to medical care, school and legal representation when charged with a crime. There are many federal laws, and international treaties that cover and over-ruled the wishes of many Texans, who fuel bigotted attitudes against latins.
Anyone building a Berlin Wall in the southern border with Mexico is going to pay and answer to voters who call this idea foolish and shameful. John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan called on Communists to tear down the wall. Soon, President Calderon and some descent US citizens will call on President Bush and later, Obama to tear down that wall. It is plain ugly!!! The American Iron Curtain never set well with me!!! That wall is stupid and qualifies for international condemnation!!! - Reply to this comment
- ****** the enviroment. Put the *** fence up already.
- Reply to this comment
- ****** the enviroment. Put the *** fence up already.
- Reply to this comment
- All of you advocates of these illegal slaves, mostly blood sucking jew business people and jew lawyers, disloyal hispanics, and other corrupt business owners from here and abroad who hire these parasites, will soon be creeping around corners, just as those who particpated in those traitorous illegal rallies are doing now. Our Constitution demand that the citizens of this country rid it of all foreign invaders, and an invader is never invited, invited by whom? Indeed, battle lines are being drawn by the minute.
- Reply to this comment
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