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Return to Article: Outgoing Homeland Security official cautions against citizen border guards

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  What nonsense! Mr. Hutchinson equates keeping out illegal aliens with sealing off our borders to international commerce. If this is what he believes, he should never have been appointed to the job.

  He also frets about people being shot. Who is going to be shot and by whom does he think it will be done? Are the illegal aliens going to shoot their way in? His remarks are a good example of what is wrong with our government today.

  John T. Fisk Posted March 31, 2005 1:44 PM
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  I'm glad Hutchinson is gone since his statement proves he didn't know his job. Since when is "international commerce" illegally sneaking across our borders. Neither political party will do anything to stop the flow of illegals because they are trying to attract the latino vote. We need a new political party and soon.

  Nick Posted March 8, 2005 1:38 PM
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  To "Taxpayer, DOD":

  Maybe you should take a closer look at history. The previous immigrants to this country, including my grandparents from Italy, wanted to be AMERICANS. They came here LEGALLY, through Ellis Island, and wanted to achieve the American dream. They worked hard, learned English, and were proud to see their children grow up as American kids. Although they kept some of their old traditions and customs, they never forgot that they were now AMERICANS, unlike many of today's immigrants, who come here ILLEGALLY and make no effort to assimilate into America's "melting pot". These illegal aliens eagerly take all the benefits they can, but they break the law, don't learn our language, disrespect our history and traditions, don't assimilate, bring with them diseases from the Third World we thought we had conquered (such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, etc.), overwhelm our health care system, don't pay taxes, and then send billions of dollars back to their native countries, where their true loyalties remain. So wake up, and see what is really going on today. To compare today's illegal aliens with our forefathers is not only absurd, but historically inaccurate. And best of all, guess who is paying for all of this, "Taxpayer"?!!

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 7, 2005 2:51 PM
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  Apparently GovExec is looking for heroes (Service to America Medal). Nothing wrong with that. But why not call a spade a spade, and highlight bad managers? Ridge, Hutchinson, and Garcia managed this department into the ground. Do you see employees from the VA, or DoD, or anywhere else, who are frustrated like virtually everyone is at ICE? Oh, and have any of these other departments been virtually bankrupt for 2+ years? And are any other agencies so incompetent that they can't even name themselves?

  Sarah Posted March 2, 2005 8:34 PM
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  I have never seen so much nerve in my life. How can Hutchinson say with a straight face to go see him first if a President asks someone to set up a new department? The only reason why ICE was created separate from CBP was so that he can get a fat paycheck, and later partner up with a contractor to suck the millions of dollars that are being wasted in DHS contracts. The sick part of all this is that Hutchinson can say whatever he wants and it will be in the mainstream media because it is interpreted as newsworthy. The employees of DHS do not have that luxury. They have to depend on Govexec mailbag that doesn't have the circulation needed to expose the incompetence of these so-called leaders. If there is a way that Govexec has, to take these e-mails and generate an article documenting these complaints we would appreciate it. Hutchinson is a joke and Garcia is a clown. Both are not respected by their subordinates. All they do is surround themselves with yes people who have the same mental competence as the Jim Jones or David Koresh followers. In fairness Garcia does not have the brains or ability to be in charge of more than two people. So why would someone put him in that impossible situation? For the same reason DHS was created. To take the blame for the next terrorist attack. The CIA took the fall for the last incident thanks to the Justice Departmant and the FBI. You guys at Govexec have more clout than a bunch of agents at DHS. Make this story known. The complaints are well documented on the e-mails that have been sent to Govexec. P.S. Don't drink the kool-aid.

  name witheld for obvious reasons Posted March 2, 2005 3:34 PM
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  Hutchinson and other self-important obstructionists should keep their mouth shut and leave. This would be their greatest contribution to national security in a lifetime of so-called "public service".

  Bureacrats always detest any action that may encroach upon their sacred "turf" or publicly show them up as ineffectual.

  I am not personally pleased with civilians patrolling the border but if the U.S. Government continues to abdicate its responsibility in this area then "hats off" to the "Minute Men" project. May God bless them and keep them safe along with all who serve and protect our country.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 1, 2005 1:31 PM
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  Tell me what's wrong with defending your country, your country is your home. Lebanon defending against illegal occupation by Syria is good, Palestine defending illegal occupation by Israel is BAD? Iraq for Democracy is good, we pay to protect their borders. Would Bush or anyone else defend their home from illegal entry? If not, I want to move.

  bob Posted March 1, 2005 12:55 PM
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  If I was going to start a new department, the LAST person I'd go to for advice is Asa Hutchinson, after the mess he and other ignorant bureaucrats made in creating ICE and DHS. INS and Customs were forced together in a shotgun marriage, which is still not working after two years. I'm still carrying a Customs badge and credentials, but have to tell people I work for ICE. You should see the perplexed looks on their faces! Not to mention the budget disaster, administrative meltdown, lack of mission direction and focus, the hiring freeze combined with attrition which led to serious staffing shortages in many offices, rockbottom morale, etc.

  Regarding the citizens who call themselves "Minute Men", are they really any different from "block watchers" recruited by local police departments to be the "eyes and ears" of law enforcement in their neighborhoods? If the U.S. government was handling the illegal immigration problem adequately, there would be no public outcry, and no need for frustrated citizens to react in this manner to the invasion of illegal aliens. And don't fool yourselves, this is an invasion by those with no regard for the rule of law, or respect for our country and its citizens.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 1, 2005 12:12 PM
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  All the discussion concerning border violations is about people entering illegally. Why doesn't anyone ask about potential WMD ingredients crossing the border and whether anything has been done to enhance the ability of officers on the ground to detect non-radioactive dangerous substances? Terrorists are little more than cranky people without the stuff that goes boom.

  GovExec.com reader Posted March 1, 2005 9:39 AM
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  Border patrol has nothing to do with keeping people out of the country, it is purely an economic consideration. Keep the blacks from joining the union, when that fails, keep the foreigners out. Otherwise we give up jobs of Americans to foreigners. This has gone on forever and this country was built on the backs of immigrants. Where do you think all you German, Italian, English and Irish came from? There was no movement to close the borders. Foreigners were able to enter the country at will and that probably is how it should be today. However, there has to be some form of security screening to catch terrorists. The real joke is the idea of "minute man formations." The minute men were all foreigners in this country!

  taxpayer Posted March 1, 2005 6:26 AM
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  Again, more comments from an OUTGOING manager who presided over a FAILURE, and who ought to have the decency to keep his thoughts to himself.

  No, sir, if an administration was ever going to start up a new department, I think you'd be the LAST one to go to. Did you not get the hint that President Bush passed over you 3 times for the Secretary's post? Telling, isn't it?

  As to your objection to citizen border guards, the citizenry will stand down when faith, confidence and integrity is restored to border enforcement in this country. The people aren't stupid: They know an impending disaster when they see it, and they see a fully loaded runaway freight train straight on a collision course with our nation's safety and security.

  Of course, in the interest of their safety, I implore the Minuteman Project to reconsider their role in this endeavor. However, I would be hard pressed to say that I, or most Americans, do not understand the frustration from whencefore they act.

  What a pitiful mess...

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 28, 2005 7:39 PM