With apologies for being dilatory on this: The nation’s governors demonstrated some of the silliness that seems inherent to our ruling class (perhaps better described as “the particular set of white-collar criminals who happen to be in power”) at their national meeting about two weeks ago(”Govs’ anger with feds boils over,” 8/8/06).

Reporter Eric Kelderman described the guvs’ frustration with the feds’ nonfeasance on immigration enforcement:

Congress’ inability to reform the nation’s legal and illegal immigration policies also was criticized by governors. More than half of states have passed laws to try to deal with illegal aliens, including denying non-emergency services and imposing sanctions for companies that employ undocumented workers. But border enforcement is a federal job.

“As a border state, this has been a problem that has festered far too long, and ultimately can only be solved by Congress,” said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), who along with Gov. Bill Richardson (D) declared a state of emergency over illegal immigration in 2005.

But Kelderman also noted the guvs’ unhappiness when the feds actually awake to the problem:

The governors’ remarks over the weekend are the latest round of complaints about federal incursions into state business. Governors and state legislators have railed about the 2005 federal REAL ID act, which would preempt how states issue driver’s licenses and make state motor vehicle departments verify the citizenship status of drivers. The National Conference of State Legislatures has estimated the changes will cost states an additional $500 million to $700 million by 2010.

So the feds are damned when they (mostly) don’t, but also damned when they (occasionally) do. Evidently our governors have attention spans too short to suffer from the cognitive dissonance that their tantrum provokes in us mere citizens.

And think about those dollar amounts for a minute: Assume there are 150 million licensed drivers in our population of about 300 million. Then we’re talking about a maximum of $5 per driver, spread over four years. Yessir, that’ll be enough to disrupt delicately-balanced state budgets …

The immigration hearing held Friday in Gastonburg, North Carolina, was notable for welcoming a victim of open borders to testify, namely Emily Moose. She was the mother of Scott Gardner, who was killed by a previously arrested drunk-driving illegal alien.

Scott was a teacher, baseball coach and father of two young children. Just before his death, he had been ordained as a deacon in the First Baptist Church. (See the family website of remembrance and activism at the Gardner Family Circle.)

The mother of a Gaston County teacher who died in a July 2005 hit-and-run crash in Brunswick County caused by an illegal immigrant pleaded with the panel for a solution.

Scott Gardner was on vacation with his family when their car was struck by a truck driven by Ramiro Gallegos, who was intoxicated and had a history of drunken driving arrests.

Wife Tina Gardner remains in a vegetative state at a nursing home, her mother-in-law Emily Moose said Friday. The couple’s two young children are effectively orphaned.

Gallegos was sentenced earlier this year to 14 to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of second-degree murder.

“If you break the law to get here, you’re not going to respect the law once you’re here,” [Rep. Patrick] McHenry said.
[Using local law to stem illegals is just a stopgap, panel hears, News & Observer, 8/26/06]

Also attending the hearing was Rep. Sue Myrick, who introduced the Scott Gardner Act on September 14, 2005. She was disturbed by the case, in which an illegal alien who had been arrested several times for DUI was not deported and went on to destroy a young family.

Her bill requires that an illegal alien convicted of driving drunk be automatically deported. The legislation was successfully added as an amendment to the House immigration bill.

As Rep. Myrick stated when introducing the bill, “You’re drunk, you’re driving, you’re illegal, you’re deported, period.”

It is legislation that will absolutely save lives if signed into law.

Peter Brimelow will be on the Republican Radio show with Ann-Marie Lake. You can listen on the web, or if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, on the radio. We’ll give you an update when MP3’s are available.

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