"Opponents of the plan and conservative pundits had already begun citing the Boston bombings as a reason to move slowly."
Yeah, we were saying scrap it because we don't want "terrorists" coming in here under cover with a worker visa.
"Senate immigration hearing turns to Marathon bombing; GOP senator brings up Marathon suspects’ status" by Ashley Parker and Michael D. Shear | New York Times, April 20, 2013
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican senator said Friday that the approaching political debate about an immigration overhaul should take into account the revelation that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing had apparently immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union.
Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the most senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, opened a hearing on immigration legislation by stressing that the issue was important ‘‘particularly in light of all that’s happening in Massachusetts right now and over the last week.’’
‘‘Given the events of this week, it’s important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system,’’ Grassley said in his opening statement. ‘‘While we don’t yet know the immigration status of people who have terrorized the communities in Massachusetts, when we find out it will help shed light on the weaknesses of our system.’’
They were both US citizens, weren't they? (See when the younger one was naturalized?)
Friday’s hearing was expected to offer an early glimpse into how Democrats and Republicans in the Senate would react to immigration legislation that a bipartisan group of senators introduced this week.
Instead, it was overshadowed by developments in the Boston bombing case, which also affected the meeting directly, as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who was scheduled to testify before the committee on border security and enforcement, had to cancel her appearance at the last minute to oversee the department’s involvement in the investigation.
A senior US official briefed on the government’s investigation Friday told The Boston Globe that bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now 19, and his father and mother were issued visas to come to the United States in the Kyrygz capital of Bishkek in 2002 and arrived in Boston later that year.
The father then applied for refugee asylum status through the Department of Homeland Security, claiming the mother and son as dependents.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for more details about the family’s asylum application, including why they specifically claimed they could not remain safe in Kyrgyzstan.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: The Brothers Tsarnaev
The older son and the other bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed in a shootout with police Thursday night, was a teenager when his parents and younger brother came to the United States and remained in Kyrgyzstan with his two sisters until the following year when his father sought permission to bring them to the United States to reunify the family.
Related: What the Immigration Bill i$ Really About
Strange how they were already shifting focus, huh? Coordinated conspiracy or not, it sure is strange.
Last year the father, mother, and youngest son became US citizens, said the official, who was not authorized to speak to the press. The older brother, who had not been in the country as long as the others, had not earned American citizenship. He did not know the citizenship status of the sisters.
‘‘How can individuals evade authorities and plan such attacks on our soil?’’ Grassley asked. ‘‘How can we beef up security checks on people who wish to enter the US?’’
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, a member of the bipartisan group behind the legislation, urged caution about linking the bombings to flaws in the country’s immigration system.
Oh, THAT i$ RICH, that i$ REALLY RICH!
‘‘Before I get to the bill, I’d like to ask that all of us not jump to conclusions regarding the events in Boston, or try to conflate those events with this legislation,’’ Schumer said.
Referring to the legal immigration program through which the brothers most likely came to the country, Schumer added: ‘‘In addition, both the refugee program and the asylum program have been significantly strengthened in the past five years, such that we are much more careful about screening people and determining who should and should not be coming into the country.’’
The hearing formally kicked off consideration of a plan that would increase border security and would quickly legalize many of the 11 million unauthorized workers in the United States, eventually offering them a path to full citizenship.
That's not all it would do.
Sunday Globe Specials: Waves of Immigrants
Sunday Globe Special: H1-B Hijacking
Why was the expansion of work visas for every job category there is left out of that background paragraph that is supposed to supply information?
Opponents of the plan and conservative pundits had already begun citing the Boston bombings as a reason to move slowly.
--more--"
Related: Gun Legislation Jammed
Yeah, those kids had guns (and bombs), too (a two-fer)!
Tensions remain high after gun-control bill fails
Marathon bombers defused them:
"Gun-rights rally finds Battle Green closed; Town puts temporary hold on all permits" by Brock Parker | Globe Correspondent, April 20, 2013
Dozens of people attempted to attend a gun rights rally Friday morning in Lexington despite an emergency moratorium the town placed on gatherings on the Battle Green after the Boston Marathon bombings this week.
God Bless 'em!
Police Chief Mark Corr said several groups, ranging in size from about 10 to as many as 80 people, began arriving around 9:30 a.m. Friday for a Second Amendment rally that had at one time been issued a permit for Lexington’s historic downtown common.
But Corr said that after the Marathon bombings Monday and based in part on the advice of federal authorities investigating the attack, the town’s Board of Selectmen held an emergency meeting Tuesday to temporarily suspend all permits for the Battle Green. Corr said the town consulted federal authorities and State Police, and they also agreed that postponing the rally would be a good decision.
When dozens of people came to Lexington anyway for the rally Friday, his officers would not let them gather on the green, Corr said. The decision was reinforced by the manhunt for the Marathon bombing suspects in Watertown and Cambridge that unfolded from late Thursday until Friday evening.
“In light of what was happening in the Boston area, I don’t know how we could not have made that choice,” Corr said.
Corr said police did allow the rally goers to briefly assemble on the lawn in front of the Lexington Visitor Center and briefly say their piece before moving on.
Some of the participants came by motorcycle and were headed to other gun rights rallies Friday, Corr said....
Several people who came for the rally were still lingering near the Battle Green shortly after noon Friday.
Walter Reddy, 61, of Weston, Conn., wore a tricorner hat and other Colonial-era attire for the rally, which he said was in support of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Reddy said he thinks citizen militias need to be revitalized and restored in several states.
That was its intent, yeah. They had close experience with tyrannical government.
Will Harvey, 40, of Andover said he came to Lexington to show his support for the Constitution, call for the country to get back to its original values, and urge people to turn off their televisions and care for the people in their communities.
Be careful, guy; that's "terrorist" talk.
Speaking together to a reporter, Reddy said there is no excuse for the attack in Boston on Monday, while Harvey said that does not mean the rally in Lexington should be canceled.
“When there is some sort of event, are we supposed to put our lives on hold?” Harvey said.
Corr said he also considered that the Boston Marathon bombings occurred on the Patriots Day holiday, when thousands of people visited Lexington to remember the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.
He said authorities were also wary of having a gun rights rally on April 19, which is the anniversary of the government siege in Waco, Texas, and the Oklahoma City bombing in the 1990s.
Related: OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING WAS AN INSIDE JOB
I don't know about the Iraqi angle, but that's par for the course when it comes to Alex. Good information sometimes, but take a grain of salt with your controlled opposition.
It's one of the better known and more obvious conspiracies.
Not as well known; Amurkn people have for the most part bought the conventional media myth of crazy nut Christian.
Selectman Norm Cohen said the board’s emergency vote to place a moratorium on all rally permits for the Battle Green was done completely in the interest of public safety.
Cohen said the gun rights supporters can apply for another permit once the moratorium is lifted....
Before the rally permit was suspended, Corr said, other people had been planning to hold a counterprotest calling for tighter gun-control measures.
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Related:
"NRA holding seminar for N.H. lawmakers
The National Rifle Association is holding a crime prevention and personal safety seminar in August for New Hampshire lawmakers. The seminar titled ‘‘Refuse to be a Victim’’ will be held Aug. 14 at The Yard Seafood & Steak House from 6 to 9 p.m. The seminar also is open to the public, government officials, and law enforcement. It costs $35 and preregistration is required at www.defensivestrategies.org/refuse."
