Going To the Top!



I’ve been at the immigration reform and enforcement table for about 20 years. I’ve worked with activists during all those years. But last week, in Los Angeles, I had a first-time-ever experience at an activist brain storming session.

Gathered for an update on Stop AB131, the petition drive to gather signatures to force a ballot initiative as to whether the California taxpayers should fund college grants to illegal aliens, I asked the top activist leaders from Southern California how the signature drive was going.

They started updating me with the positive response from California residents who signed the petitions but then admitted about 500,000 more signatures were still needed. When I said there was only a little more than three weeks to go to meet the January 5th deadline, suddenly their faces dropped at once, and the room went completely silent.

It was easy to read on each of their faces; the task was nearly impossible! Without big money to pay signature gatherers or a tsunami of petitions flooding in, the taxpayers of California will be forced to give grant money to illegal aliens for college, on top of the $22 billion they are spending annually in California to support the illegal alien population.

While all of our minds were racing and searching for suggestions as to how to accomplish this daunting task of gathering signatures, Lupe Moreno, long time Hispanic leader from Santa Ana, said: “Can we have a prayer?” Everyone agreed to pray.

As the prayer went around the table, people expressed their sorrow for the lack of leadership in the State of California and in the nation to protect the interest of American citizens, and asked for divine guidance in helping them understand the harm their policies are inflicting on millions of innocent people in the state. In all the years I have worked on this issue, I had not witnessed the sort of sincere emotion that was expressed in that room.

You see, the politicians in California are happy to give money the state doesn’t have to illegal aliens to attend college, while they cut the budgets and slash programs for public safety, right and left. The American citizen’s interests and safety are simply collateral damage for seeking and appealing to the illegal alien lobby.

These activists in California have already learned what the rest of the nation is about to learn. We the people… are the only ones looking out for the best interest of American citizens. With few exceptions, we have no national leadership on the issue of stopping the illegal migration flow into our nation.

American citizenship or the benefits thereof have become a commodity for politicians to pander and barter away. They will grant de facto citizenship through sanctuary policies, in-state tuition, non-compliance with Secure Communities, grants for college, etc., etc., etc. President Obama and most the Republican presidential hopefuls are peddling various versions of amnesty proposals if they are elected next year.

What do these politicians want in return? They are hoping to leverage enough votes in key states to put them over the top in 2012, no matter what it costs the American people. This is futures betting: The politicians are gambling the nation’s future in hopes of winning the next election.

So while the state can’t afford to pay its bills or provide decent services to citizens, these California activists watch their elected leaders lavish still more benefits for people who don’t have a legal right to be in the country. And while their child might have to pay out-of-state tuition to go to college in another state, thousands of illegal aliens are going to college at in-state tuition rates in California that they are subsidizing.

In addition, they know that millions of other illegal alien parents are receiving food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance and dozens of other state and local benefits for their American-born children, while they have to decide which bills will be paid this month and which will have to wait.

It’s not hard to understand why the activists of California need all the help they can get.

About Author

avatar

Susan has been with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) since 2002. She is a former business owner, manager for municipal code enforcement, immigration coordinator for the Coalition of Government Officials (southern California), and president of Citizens Committee for Immigration Policy. Susan manages FAIR's extensive and national Field Program. She develops members and activist support and educates the media and public on immigration issues.

15 Comments

  1. avatar

    First and foremost we must make laws that will hold the legislators in check and stop them from all the
    self-serving, and blatant irreverent maneuvering so they can get rich and richer insuring a life time in politics.
    If we do not get good permanent laws in place their tactics will blatantly continue and there will be no
    way to stop them;. They do not foresee that the destruction will affect them as well as their constituents
    eventually. The devil has gotten in the barrel and the rot is spreading fast throughout the system. Any
    control we had by our vote will be completely gone. The rich and powerful surrounded by all that splendorous
    wealth will even deceive themselves and when they finally wake up in the mire they have created it
    will be too late for them as well as the rest of us.

    this is not a duplicate comment.

  2. avatar

    First and foremost we must make laws that will hold the legislators in check and stop them from all the
    self-serving, and blatant irreverent maneuvering so they can get rich and richer insuring a life time in politics.
    If we do not get good permanent laws in place their tactics will blatantly continue and there will be no
    way to stop them;. They do not foresee that the destruction will affect them as well as their constituents
    eventually. The devil has gotten in the barrel and the rot is spreading fast throughout the system. Any
    control we had by our vote will be completely gone. The rich and powerful surrounded by all that splendorous
    wealth will even deceive themselves and when they finally wake up in the mire they have created it
    will be too late for them as well as the rest of us.

  3. avatar

    Due to apathy from U.S. Citizens in California who will not stand up and speak out and the illegally increasing critical mass of Illegal Aliens and their La Raza/Open Borders politicians in Sacramento , California has become the Poster Child for Immigration Anarchy. A state sinking ,bankrupt, in decline and increasing dystopia, no longer seeing itself as part of the USA!
    Polls have shown that 1/3 of U.S. Citizens in California are against Illegal Immigration while in the USA at large 2/3 are against Illegal Immigration.

    numbersusa.com

  4. avatar

    we must secure our borders now. a nation without secure borders is no nation at all.
    we have gone down hill over the last 35 years out of control illegal immigration.

  5. avatar

    I for one am really tired of paying such high taxes for this illegal crowd to get benefits that are designed for American citizens & two illegals do not make one legal so their offspring should really not be given citizenship just because they were born here to illegals

  6. avatar

    6 years ago I emailed governor Schwarzenneger about a story that I ahd read in a paper. I ask him if it was true that there were 18,000 illegal aliens in our California Prisons System, costing California Taxpayers $750 million dollars per year for their incarceration? He replied back that, yes but, he had gone to Washington D.C. and got $100 million to offset some of these costs. I replied back to him that wether the money came from California or Washington, it was still Taxpayer Money and that all these criminals need to be sent back to where they came from. That will never happen because the prisons south of our Border are not as plush as the one’s here in California. Citizens are punished with high taxes and our government treats the illegal aliens as if they were Royal Visitors who only want to rob and kill Americans and still have us pay for their Vacations.

  7. avatar
    Chuck Williams on

    I have a hard time accepting free education for off springs of invaders of our country. My son in law is in the middle east fighting to keep America safe and he pays collage tuition for our grand kids. Is it not enough that we feed and educate these off springs in grammar school, give them medical insurance, clean up their graffiti, pay for their jail time. Our politicians have put themselves at the same mentality thinking level of illegal aliens. Our politicians are no better than these illegal aliens. We have reached the point where California can no longer afford these illegals,or brainless politicians who can only think with tax payers wallets. They are one in the same!
    I was born In Santa Maria, Ca. It use to be one of the most beautiful, peaceful cities in California. It is now a sanctuary city many parts look like Mexico, broken English is spoken everywhere. Most new job openings require Spanish as a second language. What happened to English being the official language voted in in California?Absolutely Sickening.

  8. avatar

    Susan,
    Thanks you so much for trying to help Ca. There are so many good citizens who have worked on this issue for a very long time. God Bless you and the good Citizens of Ca. who have given up many hours of their time to stand up for the rights of the Citizens.
    The receipient class that votes for these politicians will never give up their “Freebee’s” It won”t be long before Ca. will look like Detroit.
    We are unable to shop in the town of Santa Maria. Most of the town speaks only Spanish.
    The illegal aliens have become the new privileged class.

    • avatar

      If you were true followers of God, money would not be overpowering your mindset. It seems like money is more important than human dignity. Not to say that a stable economy is not important. You should look into other factors that have placed our economy at its current standing. Throughout history we have been finding scapegoats for our own mistakes. This time we are blaming undocumented immigrants for our current crisis. By saying that CA will look like Detroit, you are insulting other human beings culture, something I’m sure God will not accept. As God believer myself, I suggest for all of you to read your bible and study the basic principles. I’m sure you will run into human dignity and respect for others.

      • avatar

        Read the bible please it is all about laws being followed. Your idealism the whole world can live in the US and everyone pay for is by far anti-christ as it gets.

      • avatar

        Bri,
        It’s not FAIR to force taxpayers to fund criminals. If you are so worried about respecting those who have NO respect for US and our ways and our laws, YOU are free to sponsor them, and pay for all their many needs, and all their many babies’ needs. But do NOT tell other people that it’s OK for self -serving bHussein (or in this case, his lefty uncle in Sacramento ) to force CA taxpayer funds to be diverted from TAXPAYER, LEGAL resident students, and to be given, AGAINST OUR WILL to CRIMINAL’s kids. It;s basic !!! You DON’T reward bad behavior.

      • avatar

        Those here illegally have no respect for our laws or people. This is not racial, in fact it is reverse racialism, we have put their wants and needs before our very own. We give free everything to them, they do not have to pay taxes toward their needs which most of us would be in federal prison for not filing our taxes. We can’t check their I.D for fear of being racial profiling, yet we racially profile everyday when we are asked to show our I.Ds because we “look” or act like citizens. We are not responsible for the welfare of those that come here illegally, their country is responsible for them. When they come here illegally they by pass having a physical, which means they can come here with aids, tb, sars etc. and infect the citizens here. They bypass background checks, which puts the citizens here at risk. In order for us to respect them, they need to respect us and come here legally. Neither you or I are in their country illegally, if we were, ask yourself if we would be treated as well as they are here. Would we get free medical? Free housing, schooling and lobbyist fighting for our rights? If you want and feel a need to help these people, do it on your own dime and sponser one of them or a family of them. As a tax payer, I want my taxes taking care of our own citizens, illegals are a terrible burden costing us billions that belong to the citizens here. We have had 7 amnesties since 1986 and still many illegals made no effort to get their citizenship. They use us, our money and could care less about this country, if they did, they would have come here legally, but they CHOOSE not to.

      • avatar

        Baloney. Illegals lower wages for american workers, then increases their cost of living to pay for the taxes they need for expenses. I don’t think God ever intended for thieves (yes, thieves of american taxpayer benefits) to be given honest wages earned by hard work.