A retired Montgomery County Police Officer defends fellow officers and county workers against Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and the entire Montgomery County Council’s remarkably dishonest approach to illegal immigration and the county budget deficit! See below for letter printed in today’s Washington Post.
Brad Botwin, Director Help Save Maryland
The real drag on Montgomery’s budget
By Mike Mancuso
Gaithersburg
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and the County Council are
facing serious budget problems that will dramatically impact the quality
of life for county residents. Numerous articles, letters to the editor
and statements by politicians point the budget-busting finger at the
unions that represent our police, firefighters, teachers and other
county workers.
As a recently retired Montgomery police officer, I find these
accusations insulting to the dedicated employees of this county. No one
from Mr. Leggett on down has seriously addressed the No. 1 budget
problem: an ever-increasing population of illegal immigrants that is
rapidly depleting our tax dollars and services. Mr. Leggett and the
council’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for illegal aliens
and their families has caused a huge influx of residents without
“legal presence” in Montgomery County.
While these residents can no longer get a driver’s license, there are
no restrictions on enrolling their children in schools, qualifying for
in-county college tuition, obtaining medical, dental, mental health,
prescription drug, housing, food and energy assistance, job
opportunities and training, and more. Yes, there is a free lunch and a
lot more in Montgomery.
It’s time for Mr. Leggett and the County Council to address this
major problem area of the budget. Why should dedicated employees and
taxpayers of Montgomery County suffer because of the county’s
ineffective approach to illegal immigration?
By washingtonpost.com editors | March 29, 2010; 6:21 PM ET
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2010/03/the_real_drag_on_montgomerys_b.html
Straw Men Arguments Used to Promote
Sanctuary Status and Amnesty in Maryland
A number of HSM members have been confronted by the illegal alien crowded in recent days. Like cicada bugs emerging, these pro-amnesty zealots are swarming the metro area looking for anyone to listen to their sad tales of “immigrant abuse and exploitation”. Below is a link to the standard bogus pro-illegal arguments and our list of proper responses to these falsehoods. So when you come across these bothersome folks, usually affiliated with CASA de Maryland (Central American Solidarity Association), La Raza (The Race), ACLU or the SEIU (Illegal Aliens’ Union of Choice), just shew them away with some facts.
http://www.helpsavemaryland.org/files/AmnestyStrawMen.pdf
It starts in Arizona and it ends up here in Maryland! Another needless death of an American citizen at the hands of an illegal alien. Comprehensive Immigration Reform is not the answer. With the proper people in power, effective implementation of the law will do the trick to end this social, political and financial madness.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Washington Times
Arizona rancher’s slaying spurs calls for more border aid
Valerie Richardson
The apparent slaying of a prominent Arizona rancher on his property near the Mexican border has inflamed tensions over illegal immigration and intensified calls for the federal government to ramp up protection along the increasingly perilous southern border.
Robert Krentz, 58, was found fatally shot Saturday. A helicopter crew with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office discovered his body inside his Polaris all-terrain vehicle along with his dog, which also had been shot and critically wounded.
Authorities say on the day of his death, Mr. Krentz sent his brother a message via radio phone, but his brother could only understand the words “illegal alien” and “hurt.” Mr. Krentz is thought to have fled from the site of the shooting, eventually coming to a halt about 1,000 feet away.
Search teams from the sheriff’s office, the Border Patrol and state Department of Corrections followed foot tracks from the site for about 20 miles in the direction of the border but failed to capture any suspects. Mexican authorities have been notified and are cooperating with the search, said Cochise County spokeswoman Carol Capas.
“It’s a big deal. It’s something that could be a turning point here,” said Ms. Capas following a Monday press conference by Sheriff Larry Dever in Bisbee, Ariz. “People in the area are on heightened alert. They’re grief-stricken, saddened, and they’re extremely angry.”
Speculation was rampant that the killer was connected with Mexico’s violent drug cartels, which have laid siege to communities south of the border. The drug lords may have used the remote 35,000-acre Krentz Ranch to ferry drugs into the United States.
The day before the shooting, Mr. Krentz’s brother found eight illegal aliens on the ranch. They were taken into custody by Border Patrol, along with several hundred pounds of marijuana, said Ms. Capas.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona Democrat, whose district includes the Krentz Ranch, called on the Obama administration to heighten enforcement along the border.
“If, as suspected, this tragedy was connected to smugglers or drug cartels, the federal government must respond appropriately,” Mrs. Giffords said. “All options should be on the table, including sending more Border Patrol agents to the area and deploying the National Guard.”
Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who’s challenging Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republican nomination, issued a statement calling for a greater federal role in protecting the border. Mr. Hayworth, a border-security hawk, has made illegal immigration a major issue in the primary campaign.
“We need the federal government to act now and step up its efforts to secure our borders,” Mr. Hayworth said. “Border security is national security, and it is time that we enforce the law. For thousands of Arizonans, border security is also quite literally a matter of personal security.”
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, who was in Arizona Saturday for a “tea party” rally, also called for National Guard troops. He noted that former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano had deployed National Guard troops during her tenure to aid with border security.
“Three days ago, Napolitano told an audience at Arizona State University that the border is more secure than ever,” said Mr. Tancredo, Colorado Republican. “I challenge her — no, I dare her — to come to this community and try to sell that lie. The residents here know better.”
Chris Simcox, a founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and one-time McCain challenger, said the Krentz Ranch recently had been caught up in a turf war among drug cartels. As the Border Patrol closed off more popular routes, drug smugglers and human smugglers were increasingly using the vast Krentz property as their path of choice.
“It’s one of those routes the drug cartels are fighting over,” said Mr. Simcox, who dropped out of the Senate race in January and threw his support behind Mr. Hayworth. “But nobody ever pays attention to that area because it’s one of the most rugged. It’s even been a no-man’s land for the Border Patrol.”
Mrs. Giffords described Mr. Krentz as a “pillar of the Cochise County ranching community.” The Krentz family had raised cattle on the southeastern Arizona ranch since 1907. In 2009, the Krentz Ranch was inducted into the Arizona Farming and Ranching Hall of Fame.
In recent years, Mr. Krentz and his wife, Susan, had appeared on at least two television programs about the plight of southwestern ranchers facing waves of trespassers using their property to enter the United States.
Mr. Simcox described Mr. Krentz as a “gentle giant” who had endured multiple robberies, threats and property damage at the hands of border-crossers, but continued to help whenever he found an immigrant on his land in need of water or medical care.
“He was such a humanitarian. He never turned hard. He was always willing to help those in need,” Mr. Simcox said. “Now they’ve lost the patriarch of the family, a man who never harmed anyone.”
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