Last weekend while I was researching my column, I spoke with Glenn Spencer whose website American Patrol is one of the key sources (along with VDARE.COM, of course) of information about the illegal alien invasion.

Some time had passed since I had talked with Glenn. And as we were chatting I realized–again–how much he has done for patriotic immigration reform and how indebted we all are to him for his efforts. “Heroic” is how our Juan Mann describes Glenn.

Glenn’s been detailing the immigration crisis and getting the message out to American longer and better than almost anyone.

Recently, Glenn has taken to the air to monitor the progress (or lack thereof) of the border fence project and he posts his photo of the day that captures other border outrages, mainly in the form of unchecked crossings by aliens.and archives previous photos.

Anyone looking for accurate, current border information should not ask the federal government–that’s akin to leading with your chin–but instead seek out Spencer.

American Patrol’s photo of the day is an essential part of your immigration reading.

Rick Merritt writes at EE Times:

The U.S. government fined a consulting firm $45,000 for placing online job ads for computer programmers that said only H-1B visa holders should apply. The case is just the tip of an iceberg of H-1B abuses, according to a lobbying group that filed the original complaint.

The Department of Justice said iGate Mastech Inc. (Pittsburgh) placed 30 online job ads in May and June 2006 asking for only H-1B visa holders. The case is one of 215 the DoJ has handled involving preference for H-1B workers over U.S. citizens since the year 2000.

One of the iGate ads was for a Java programmer in the Midwest. It stated “Only H-1s Apply, and should be willing to transfer H-1B.”

According to government figures from 2007 iGate Mastech employed 14 H1-B visa holders in 2007. It was one of nearly 30,000 companies employing a total of 126,219 H1-Bs last year.

First off, this is the tip of the iceberg. The H-1b program in fraudulent by its very nature. These folks just did it more blatantly than most. The value of each H-1b visa to the recipient is about $50K. The theoretic value of US citizenship is more like $300K–probably more like $225K in today’s conditions and with today’s expectations. In that kind of situation, with a low chance of getting caught, companies can pretty blatently risk $45K fines like this.

The real cost of the H-1b program goes beyond just the mining the citizenship rights of US technical workers. Some H-1b worker have access to extremely sensitive information-and can facilitate the export of entire US industries. Other H-1b workers can be used to facilitate huge financial frauds–as appears likely to be the case with Enron (I just don’t think it is a coincidence that Enron heavily hired Indian programmers and the company made idiotic investments in India that cost shareholders $2 billion). I fully expect that every major intelligence agency in the world has some H-1b workers planted in key positions in the US. It would be nice if some of the folks in the FBI and congress wake up and actually do their jobs.

This morning, I received an e-mail from the Republican National Committee [Send them mail]:

WASHINGTON – RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement today:

“Today, we honor the brave soldiers who fought and prevailed at the Battle of the Puebla in 1862. Though greatly outnumbered, their small army won in the name of liberty and freedom for Mexico. We commemorate on this day the many contributions Mexican Americans have made and are making everyday.

“As a Party, we commit ourselves to the issues that affect all Americans, including Hispanics and offer solutions that support small businesses, diversity, and education. With Senator John McCain as our presumptive presidential nominee, our Party will continue to support the American Dream and offer opportunities to make it a reality.”

There are many things I could say about this statement. I could also note that this was a minor symbolic victory for the Mexicans. I could note that the French continued to fight for four years in Mexico, before US intervention encouraged them to withdraw. I could also ask why it is the job of America to take sides in a minor battle from over a hundred years ago where our allies in France, Spain, and Britain were trying to reclaim a debt that Mexico refused to pay. For those who say that Cinco de Mayo is no different than St. Patrick’s Day, I could note that I didn’t get an e-mail from the RNC celebrating the contributions of Irish Americans–who are not calling for Boston to secede and join Ireland.

Instead, I want to talk about another battle that took place on May 5, 1862 Over 70,000 brave Union and Confederate troops fought at the Battle of Williamsburg for what they both believed to be the noble causes of the Union and Independence respectively. There were 3,962 causalities on both sides—compared to 236 Mexican casualties in the Battle of Puebla.

You won’t hear anything about this from the Republican National Committee. Of course this was a relatively small battle in the totality of the American Iliad, but I didn’t get an e-mail on Lee-Jackson day either. The most you’ll hear from John McCain is that their Confederate flag is a “offensive” and a symbol of “racism and slavery.”

The RNC’s celebration of Mexico’s “independence day” is done at the expense of American Independence. White Southerners are the most loyal Republicans. This is just one example of how the Republican Party is just as much opposed to their interests as it was in 1862.

Today is Cinco de Mayo , which means “May the 5th” in Spanish. It commemorates the Battle of Puebla, a Mexican victory over the French on May 5th, 1862.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become, in recent years, a big holiday for Mexican-Americans and for politicians who wish to pander to them. It seems to be (along with Muslim observances of course) one of George W. Bush’s favorite public celebrations. It’s even been suggested that the U.S. declare Cinco de Mayo an official U.S. holiday.

What’s ironic is that here in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is not a big deal. It’s basically a bank holiday, and a holiday from school. However, not in my school, which has classes today. So I have to work on Cinco de Mayo today, in Mexico .

An interesting historical detail about the 1862 Battle of Puebla is that Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexican general in the battle, was born in Texas, during the brief (15-year) period in which Texas was part of an independent Mexico.

For more on the Battle of Puebla, you can read my Mexidata column on the topic here .
Happy Cinco de Mayo !

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