Remittances to Mexico Fall as Immigration, Incomes Stagnate
By Jesus Cañas and Pia Orrenius
Southwest Economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, First Quarter 2016
Hillary and Billary have had a long history of
hispandering to the Mexican fascist party of
LA RAZA which is funded with U.S. tax
dollars and operates out of the Obama white
house.
Hillary Clinton, during those few days she was
Senator of the State of New York, was an open
advocate for CHAIN MIGRATION, which
would enable each and every looting Mexican
to bring on up the rest of their family for
gringo picking!
"Magnon voted for Hillary Clinton in 2008,
but now considers her corrupt. She had high
hopes for President Obama before she saw
how he handled immigration and national
security."
When she hears Trump talk about building a
wall to keep out those not legally entitled to
enter the country, she isn’t offended. She’s
reassured: “He said the Mexicans who are
crossing are rapists and murderers. Well, he’s
right. He’s not talking about us. He’s talking
about the illegals.”
"Three Illegal Alien Convicted Rapists Arrested Sneaking Back into Texas." see the article below
“Living in a border town, I’ve seen how it’s
changed, where the maids we have here,
illegally, they’re not leaving. They’re having
WIC. It is just unbelievable what they get,”
she said.
"Now, Magnon said, migrants who cross
illegally seem to stay and apply for welfare,
such as the federally funded Women, Infants
and Children program (WIC), which provides
food, healthcare referrals and nutrition
education to low-income mothers with young
children."
"Unless someone stops the flow of illegal
immigration and stabilizes the economy, Gil
worries, “Our kids are going to be working
like psychos for the deadbeats.”
How Donald Trump scored a win in Texas border country
Patti Magnon grew up on the other side of the Rio Grande — in the adjacent Mexican city known as Nuevo Laredo.
But the border here has never been a barrier, and Magnon, who has lived on the U.S. side now for years, feels at home in both. “Proud to be an American & a Catholic!” proclaims her bio on Twitter. “Love my Mexican heritage! An immigrant is not the same as an illegal immigrant.”
“I find it insulting when people say people who follow Trump are uneducated, unintelligent,” said Magnon.
“Te aventaste!” Gil exclaimed. “You hit it.”
Across the country, only a small minority of Latinos have backed Trump, and even here in Texas, a plurality of LatinoRepublicans voted for home-grown U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who won the March 1 primary with 44% of the overall vote to Trump’s 27%. Now as ever, most Latinos vote Democratic, and in Texas, where Latinos make up more than a quarter of the electorate, up to 71% of them backedHillary Clinton, according to exit polls.
It was here on the border that Trump scored his biggest Texas victories, capturing Laredo’s Webb County, which is 95.3% Latino, and Zapata County next door (94%), as well as Terrell County (49 17.4% Latino Hispanic) and Hudspeth County (78%), which are farther west.
“It’s the hardworking people,” said Miriam Cepeda, 24, a history major at the nearby University of Texas-Pan American who is leading Trump’s campaign in the Rio Grande Valley east of Laredo. What she hears, she says, is a lot of resentment aimed at undocumented immigrants who receive government services. “Those that pay the taxes and do what they’re supposed to say, ‘Why do I have to pay?’”
Magnon and Gill voted for Trump in the Texas primary, plan to vote for him in the general election, and are waging their own kind of ad hoc citizens’ campaign, praising him on radio shows and online, recruiting friends and family.
The two women met last summer when Trump came here, to the Southwest border’s third-most populous city, behind El Paso and San Diego.
Magnon drove her 7-year-old daughter, Allie, to the small local airport to see the real estate magnate. They were greeted in this majority Democratic, heavily Mexican American town by a crowd of opponents chanting into megaphones: “Dump Trump!”
Both Magnon, 44, and Gil, 49, are former Democrats — working mothers with community college educations who say they’re alarmed about welfare fraud, illegal immigration and the rising costs of healthcare. Magnon almost lost her health insurance when Obamacare took effect. Gil seethed at paying an $800 penalty under the new federal healthcare law, but insurance would have cost even more.
Trump promised to run the country like a business and repeal Obamacare. They didn’t think he was racist when he promised to build a bigger border wall to keep out Mexican “rapists.” They thought he was right — and were delighted to find that others around town agreed with them.
“I was surprised other people in Laredo think like I do,” Magnon said.
Gil’s father was an electrician, her mother a day-care worker. Raised on the south side of town near the river, she was a cheerleader in high school but was pregnant with the first of five children at age 16. She helped her husband start a bakery. But the union was not a happy one, and Gil eventually left, working multiple jobs, training as a paralegal, buying rental properties and businesses.
The tough-talking single mother relied on undocumented Mexican migrants to watch her children and run her businesses — but at least none of them were on welfare, she says. “I could never have done it on my own,” she said. “I’m not Wonder Woman. You have to keep your boat afloat.”
She says she spent many years working so hard that the only time she saw her children was when she drove by her house and waved at them through the front window.
Gil still lives near the Rio Grande. Tooling around in her custom 2015 white Audi recently, she pointed to homes and businesses she had bought, all for cash. When she stopped to pick up her blood pressure medication, $71.75 for a month’s supply, she pointed to the button for the state welfare benefit, “Lone Star,” for those who are receiving state assistance.
“Do I press ‘Lone Star’? Ha!” she said, then paid out of her own pocket.
Gil called a local bilingual radio show recently to praise Trump’s promises to crack down on welfare cheats.
“Trump is right. Just because he’s a billionaire — well, he worked hard for what he has,” she said.
Unless someone stops the flow of illegal immigration and stabilizes the economy, Gil worries, “Our kids are going to be working like psychos for the deadbeats.”
Magnon worries about many of the same things. She and her siblings spent their childhood in Laredo’s Mexican sister city, Nuevo Laredo. Her father worked for an import-export business, her mother for a chain of retail stores. The family had an extensive staff including a driver and housekeeping staff.
When Magnon was in high school they moved to Laredo, where she married 22 years ago and settled with her husband, an oil company manager, in a northern subdivision near the country club.
“People say, ‘Why do you say you’re Mexican?’ Because my people are Mexican and American. People think we’re second-rate citizens and we’re not,” she said. “We come to the U.S. and have so much to offer other than we’re just illegals.”
Magnon remembers visiting her grandmother’s house by the river, where migrants would arrive wet and hungry. Her grandmother provided water, taquitos and coins to the temporary workers, who inevitably returned to their families in Mexico. Now, Magnon said, migrants who cross illegally seem to stay and apply for welfare, such as the federally funded Women, Infants and Children program (WIC), which provides food, healthcare referrals and nutrition education to low-income mothers with young children.
“Living in a border town, I’ve seen how it’s changed, where the maids we have here, illegally, they’re not leaving. They’re having kids here, they get Medicaid, food stamps, WIC. It is just unbelievable what they get,” she said.
Magnon is deeply religious, and feels conflicted at times about how to best help immigrants.
When Laredo and other border cities saw an influx of Central American migrant families and children two years ago, Magnon drove to the local Greyhound station with donations. “They’re coming over here because [of] what they’re promised,” Magnon said. “But at the same time, who is going to pay for all the entitlement programs?”
She hasn’t crossed the border with her family in a decade due to the escalating violence in Mexico, and her youngest daughter has never crossed. A friend’s husband did, and was kidnapped and held for ransom.
“That makes me so sad — because I have walked those streets,” Magnon said, eyes tearing as she thought of her three girls. “I want them to know where I was raised and their heritage.”
When she hears Trump talk about building a wall to keep out those not legally entitled to enter the country, she isn’t offended. She’s reassured: “He said the Mexicans who are crossing are rapists and murderers. Well, he’s right. He’s not talking about us. He’s talking about the illegals.”
Both women see the New York businessman as the only one who can make a change.
Magnon voted for Hillary Clinton in 2008, but now considers her corrupt. She had high hopes for President Obama before she saw how he handled immigration and national security.
“He always lets me down. Sometimes I think, ‘Are you proud to be an American?’”
Trump, she said, “made me feel safe. He’s that fighter. He’s so proud to be an American.”
During breakfast not long ago at Eduardo’s, a Mexican steakhouse full of saddles and mounted deer heads, Gil stopped the Latina waitress to ask whom she was voting for, and what she thinks of Trump.
“What Trump is saying is true,” Teresa Castro replied.
The server said she works four days a week for $45, no benefits, and has struggled to care for her epileptic husband. She applied for Medicaid but was ineligible.
“We’re all in the same boat,” Gil told her.
Gil and Magnon say they fear for their children’s future. Gil worries her kids will have to work as hard as she did.
“They’re going to live the same life I lived,” she said ruefully.
The women picked up and prepared to join their families — Gil’s at a barbecue, Magnon’s at church.
“Well, hopefully not,” Magnon said. “If Trump is elected.”
Follow Molly-Hennessy-Fiske on Twitter
THE PHONY CLINTON FOUNDATION CHARITY HAS HANDED OUT ONLY ABOUT 9 MILLION TO CHARITIES OF THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS THEY'VE COLLECTED IN BRIBES FROM DICTATORS, MUSLIM DICTATORS, CRIMINAL CRONY BILLIONAIRES AND BANKSTERS.
BUT THEY'VE BOUGHT CHELSEA A $11 MILLION DOLLAR APARTMENT IN NYC.
DO THE MATH. IT'S CALLED OBAMA-CLINTONOMICS!
MORE HERE:
HILLARY CLINTON SAYS MILLIONS MORE VOTING ILLEGAL SHOULD BE HANDED OBAMACARE!
CLINTON'S PLATFORM IS SIMPLE: BUILD THE MEX WELFARE STATE ON AMERICA'S BACK TO BUY THEIR ILLEGAL VOTES.
THEY ALREADY GET MILLIONS OF OUR JOBS AND BILLIONS IN WELFARE!
THE AMERICAN THINKER
MORE HERE
NO ONE SERVES HIS PAYMASTERS ON WALL STREET MORE THAN BARACK OBAMA!
HE SMELLS THOSE SPEECH FEE BRIBES ALREADY!
AND HILLARY IS OBAMA'S CLONE!
Drug prices have also been a theme in the presidential campaign. The Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, for example, released a campaign advertisement earlier this month attacking the “predatory pricing” of Valeant Pharmaceuticals. Like the congressional hearing, this is all for show. Of all the presidential candidates, Clinton is the top recipient of donations from the pharmaceutical and health products industry, taking in $410,460 according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
US drug prices doubled since 2011
By Brad Dixon
18 March 2016
According to a new report by the pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, the average price of brand-name drugs increased by 16.2 percent last year. Between 2011 and 2015, branded prescription drug prices have nearly doubled, rising 98.2 percent. Since 2008, the prices have increased by a whopping 164 percent.
Drug spending rose by 5.2 percent in 2015. This was about half the increase seen in 2014, the year of the largest hike since 2003.
The report is based upon prescription use data for members with drug coverage provided by Express Scripts plan sponsors. In assessing changes in plan costs, the report distinguishes between the relative contributions from changes in patient utilization (e.g. more patients being prescribed the drug) and changes in the unit price of the drug (e.g., price hikes).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most drug spending was on traditional drugs (small-molecule, solid drugs) to treat conditions such as heartburn, depression and diabetes. The recent trend has been a shift to specialty drugs. Still, within traditional therapy categories there were significant increases in spending on medications to treat diabetes, heartburn and ulcers, and skin conditions.
Diabetes medications remain the most expensive of the traditional drug categories. Drug spending in this category increased by 14 percent, with the hike being equally influenced by increased utilization of the drugs and rise in unit cost. Three diabetes treatments—Lantus, Januvia and Humalog—were among the top five drugs in terms of spending across all traditional therapy classes.
Although not discussed in the report, an investigation by Bloomberg News last year found evidence of “shadow pricing” by drug manufacturers, where companies raise their prices immediately after their competitors do so. The investigation found that the prices of diabetes drugs Lantus and Lemivir had increased in tandem 13 times since 2009, and evidence of similar shadow pricing for the drugs Humalog and Novolog.
Heartburn and ulcer drugs saw a 35.6 percent increase in spending, almost solely due to the rise in unit cost. Although 92.3 percent of the medications filled in this category were generic, the price unit trend was heavily influenced by the increase in prices of branded drugs such as Nexium, Dexilant and Prevacid.
Treatments for skin conditions also saw a significant increase of 27.8 percent in spending, again due almost completely to rises in the unit costs of the medications. The report notes that these increases occurred for both generic and branded therapies, largely due to industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions leading to less competition in the market. While 86.3 percent of the drugs filled were generic, many of the generic versions saw sharp increases in unit cost, including the two most widely used corticosteroids, clobetasol (96.2 percent) and triamcinolone (28 percent).
While the overall spending increase for traditional therapy classes was nominal (0.6 percent), the primary factor for the increase in spending came from specialty medications. Specialty medications require special education and close patient monitoring, such as drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis or cystic fibrosis. Spending on specialty drugs rose by 17.8 percent in 2015. The report found that 37.7 percent of drug spending was for specialty drugs in 2015, and the figure is expected to rise to 50 percent by 2018.
Spending in this category was topped by inflammatory conditions—such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases and psoriasis—which rose by 25 percent, driven by a 10.3 percent increase in utilization and 14.7 percent rise in unit cost. The average cost per prescription in 2015 was $3,035.95. The medications Humira Pen and Enbrel, which captured more than 66 percent of the market share for this class, saw unit cost increases of more than 17 percent.
Spending on oncology therapies increased by 23.7 percent, due to both increased use (9.3 percent) and increased unit cost (14.4 percent). New cancer therapies average $8,000 per prescription and the average cancer regimen is around $150,000 per patient. Between 2005 and 2015, the anti-cancer drug Gleevec, manufactured exclusively by Novartis, has seen its price more than triple, with an annual cost of $92,000. In 2015, the year prior to the drug’s patent expiration, Novartis increased the unit cost of the drug by 19.3 percent. This is a common practice for companies facing patent expiration.
Drug spending on cystic fibrosis treatments rose by a significant 53.4 percent, largely based on increases in unit cost (40.9 percent vs. 13.3 percent from patient utilization). This rise was largely due to use of the new oral combination therapy, Orkambi, which became available in mid-2015. The drug costs more than $20,000 per month.
The report forecasts that between 2016 and 2018 spending will increase annually by 7-8 percent for traditional drugs and around 17 percent for specialty drugs.
The prices of generic drugs have on average decreased, although there are notable exceptions. Pharmaceutical companies like Horizon Pharma, Turing Pharmaceuticals, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals have purchased generic drugs and then significantly hiked their prices.
The report notes the emergence of “captive pharmacies” in 2015 as another factor responsible for higher drug spending. Captive pharmacies are owned or operated by pharmaceutical manufacturers and tend to promote their manufacturer’s drugs, rather than generic or other low-cost alternatives. The report gives as examples the arrangements between Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Philidor Rx Services, and between Horizon Pharma and Linden Care Pharmacy.
The Express Scripts data matches the findings released earlier this year by the Truveris OneRx National Drug Index, which found that branded drugs rose by 14.8 percent in 2015.
Despite the widespread media publicity of the notorious drug price hikes by companies like Turing and Valeant, pharmaceutical companies have continued to inflate prices in 2016, with Pfizer leading the way with an average price hike of 10.6 percent for 60 of its branded drugs.
Workers are rightly outraged at the skyrocketing price of drugs. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted last year found that 74 percent of respondents felt that the drug companies put profits before people.
The political establishment, however, has sought both to exploit this anger for electoral support and to direct it into safe channels that do not disrupt the status quo.
A congressional hearing held in January placed a spotlight on the price-gouging practices of HYPERLINK Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Turing Pharmaceuticals, whose dubious activities were highlighted in a pair of congressional memos. The purpose of the hearing, however, was not probe the underlying causes of the sharp rise in drug prices. Instead, legislators sought to safeguard the profits of the pharmaceutical industry as a whole through a verbal lambasting of the industry’s most notorious culprits.
Drug prices have also been a theme in the
presidential campaign. The Democratic
frontrunner Hillary Clinton, for example, released
a campaign advertisement earlier this month
attacking the “predatory pricing” of Valeant
Pharmaceuticals. Like the congressional hearing,
this is all for show. Of all the presidential
candidates, Clinton is the top recipient of
donations from the pharmaceutical and health
products industry, taking in $410,460 according
to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Clinton’s rival, Bernie Sanders, who has stated that he will support Clinton if he loses the Democratic nomination, received $82,094 in donations from the industry. Sanders has proposed a series of minor reforms to address drug prices, such as the re-importation of drugs from Canada, allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers, and decreasing the patent life of branded drugs.
None of the candidates, including the “democratic socialist” Sanders, challenge the private ownership of the pharmaceutical industry in which everything from research and development and clinical testing to drug pricing and promotion are subordinated to the profit interests of corporations.
March 22, 2016
DHS says administration has 'no
intention' of deporting most illegals
They're not even trying to hide their lack of
enforcement of immigration law.
The president of the National Border Control Council testified before Congress that a top Homeland Security official told agents that the Obama administration has "no intention of deporting" most illegal aliens.
This "catch and release" policy amounts to a de facto amnesty for the tens of thousands of illegals who jump the border every year.
DHS claims that the policy is in place because immigration courts are clogged up. So instead of expanding the number of judges and courts, they simply give up and allow the illegals to disappear into the underground.
Washington Times:
The backog of immigration court cases is
meaningless. Seventy-five percent of illegals fail
to show up for their hearings anyway. And DHS
has under this policy.
President Obama's policies have made it only
more difficult to fix this broken system. Adding
to the problem by increasing the number of
illegals is irresponsible governance – which just
about sums up the president's terms in office.
enforcement of immigration law.
The president of the National Border Control Council testified before Congress that a top Homeland Security official told agents that the Obama administration has "no intention of deporting" most illegal aliens.
This "catch and release" policy amounts to a de facto amnesty for the tens of thousands of illegals who jump the border every year.
DHS claims that the policy is in place because immigration courts are clogged up. So instead of expanding the number of judges and courts, they simply give up and allow the illegals to disappear into the underground.
Washington Times:
Mr. Judd provided his testimony in written answers released Monday by the House Judiciary Committee, saying that even in some criminal cases, agents are ordered to let illegal immigrants go without ever issuing them a Notice to Appear, or NTA, which is what puts them into deportation proceedings.
Mr. Judd said they took their case directly to Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who told them not to bother.
“Deputy Secretary Mayorkas told us that the Border Patrol needs to focus its resources towards the worst of the worst. He said that by prioritizing those we choose to deport, we will help alleviate the burden on an already overburdened court system,” Mr. Judd recalled.
“He further stated, ‘Why would we NTA those we have no intention of deporting?’ He also stated, ‘We should not place someone in deportation proceedings, when the courts already have a 3-6 year backlog,’” Mr. Juddrecounted. “Since the day of this meeting, we have seen no improvements in our enforcement efforts and the morale of the Border Patrol agents is one of, if not the lowest in the entire federal government.”
Immigration agents have complained for several years that Mr. Obama has tied their hands, forcing them to release illegal immigrants who should have been easy deportation cases.
Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees the Border Patrol, declined to comment on Mr. Judd’s testimony.
But CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, testifying to Congress earlier this month, brushed aside Mr. Judd’s comments, saying he didn’t believe agents were releasing people without putting them through the full process.
Mr. Kerlikowske said Mr. Judd was “probably not the most knowledgeable organization about what’s actually going on” in the field with Border Patrol agents, and he said agents that object to Mr. Obama’s policies should quit.
The backog of immigration court cases is
meaningless. Seventy-five percent of illegals fail
to show up for their hearings anyway. And DHS
has under this policy.
President Obama's policies have made it only
more difficult to fix this broken system. Adding
to the problem by increasing the number of
illegals is irresponsible governance – which just
about sums up the president's terms in office.
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
Clinton has also held several fundraisers
in Mexico. One of the co-hosts of a February
fundraising dinner was Wal-Mart lobbyist Ivan
Zapien, who relocated to Mexico with the company
in 2015. Clinton served on the board of Wal-Mart
from 1986-1992.
Clinton rakes in cash overseas
Greg Nash
By Jonathan Swan - 03/20/16 10:30 AM EDT
Hillary Clinton's campaign has held more fundraisers on foreign soil than any other candidate running for president in 2016.
The Clinton campaign has held at least 13 fundraisers overseas so far, involving celebrities such as jazz singer Tony Bennett and fashion editor Anna Wintour, according to tracking of political fundraising invitations by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation.
Clinton’s offshore fundraisers, which tap wealthy U.S. citizens and permanent resident living abroad, have spanned from London, where the campaign has held at least eight fundraisers, to Munich, Mexico City, and Durban, South Africa. None of the Clinton campaign's foreign events, so far as the invitations suggest, have featured the candidate herself, though surrogates including her daughter Chelsea, have hosted the high-priced gatherings.
No other candidate running for president this cycle has done anything remotely approaching the amount of overseas fundraising as Clinton's campaign has done to date.
The former secretary of State has dwarfed her rivals in expatriate cash, raised at least $495,000 so far from Americans living abroad, according to The Hill's analysis of federal election records.
Clinton's rival in the Democratic primary race, Bernie Sanders, has raised less than a quarter of that, and the three Republicans still in the race have raised relatively miniscule amounts from Americans abroad.
Ted Cruz has raised just $23,000 overseas; Donald Trump — who has a “donate” button on his website but doesn’t hold fundraisers — took in $1100; and John Kasich has raised only $50 from overseas donors, according to figures disclosed in the most recent reporting period.
Even Jeb Bush, who has a wide political network overseas through his family’s connections, only raised slightly more than $200,000 from Americans living abroad.
No foreign fundraising invitations could be found by the Sunlight Foundation for any other candidate besides Clinton. One of the rare examples of a foreign fundraiser for a 2016 presidential candidate found on the public record is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who went to Israel last year in part to raise money for his campaign.
While overseas fundraisers are hardly a new practice for well-known establishment candidates; the Clinton campaign is on pace to exceed even what the sitting President Barack Obama managed in 2012, assuming she becomes the Democratic nominee.
Throughout the two years of the 2012 presidential cycle, President Obama's campaign held at least 13 fundraising events on foreign soil in countries as far-reaching as China and Egypt, according to the Sunlight Foundation. Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign held at least four fundraisers in London and Jerusalem.
Long-time Democratic fundraiser Kenneth Christensen, whose D.C.-based consulting firm Christensen & Associates helps candidates set up their finance operations, says he's not surprised that the Clinton campaign has established a more powerful offshore finance machine than any other candidate.
"Obviously with the Clintons they have a lot of experience in doing that. They give lots of speeches overseas, and they run into a lot of people," Christensen told The Hill in a telephone interview Friday. "A lot of that fundraising overseas are relationships they already have."
Christensen, who is focusing on Democratic congressional races this cycle, indicated it would be professionally negligent not to take full advantage of Clinton's relationships to finance what is becoming an expensive primary race against a well-funded Bernie Sanders campaign. The Clinton advantages include her global connections as a former secretary of State, her family's foundation, and above all, the unparalleled donor network established by both Bill and Hillary Clinton over several decades.
Clinton's offshore fundraisers so far this cycle have included a post-concert reception at London's Royal Albert Hall with Tony Bennett, a "discussion" between Chelsea Clinton and Anna Wintour, and a Munich Fashion Week event with former ambassador Melanne V
Clinton has also held several fundraisers
in Mexico. One of the co-hosts of a February
fundraising dinner was Wal-Mart lobbyist Ivan
Zapien, who relocated to Mexico with the company
in 2015. Clinton served on the board of Wal-Mart
from 1986-1992.
The Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaign fundraising, stipulates that "foreign nationals are prohibited from making any contributions or expenditures in connection with any election in the U.S." But the FEC allows that both U.S. citizens and "green card" holders living abroad (individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S.) "are not considered foreign nationals and, as a result, may contribute."
"I would expect a professional campaign to take advantage of all their fundraising opportunities," Christensen said. "She's capitalizing on it now to make sure she's running an aggressive and professional fundraising operation."
The Clinton campaign has held at least 13 fundraisers overseas so far, involving celebrities such as jazz singer Tony Bennett and fashion editor Anna Wintour, according to tracking of political fundraising invitations by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation.
No other candidate running for president this cycle has done anything remotely approaching the amount of overseas fundraising as Clinton's campaign has done to date.
The former secretary of State has dwarfed her rivals in expatriate cash, raised at least $495,000 so far from Americans living abroad, according to The Hill's analysis of federal election records.
Clinton's rival in the Democratic primary race, Bernie Sanders, has raised less than a quarter of that, and the three Republicans still in the race have raised relatively miniscule amounts from Americans abroad.
Ted Cruz has raised just $23,000 overseas; Donald Trump — who has a “donate” button on his website but doesn’t hold fundraisers — took in $1100; and John Kasich has raised only $50 from overseas donors, according to figures disclosed in the most recent reporting period.
Even Jeb Bush, who has a wide political network overseas through his family’s connections, only raised slightly more than $200,000 from Americans living abroad.
No foreign fundraising invitations could be found by the Sunlight Foundation for any other candidate besides Clinton. One of the rare examples of a foreign fundraiser for a 2016 presidential candidate found on the public record is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who went to Israel last year in part to raise money for his campaign.
While overseas fundraisers are hardly a new practice for well-known establishment candidates; the Clinton campaign is on pace to exceed even what the sitting President Barack Obama managed in 2012, assuming she becomes the Democratic nominee.
Throughout the two years of the 2012 presidential cycle, President Obama's campaign held at least 13 fundraising events on foreign soil in countries as far-reaching as China and Egypt, according to the Sunlight Foundation. Republican nominee Mitt Romney's campaign held at least four fundraisers in London and Jerusalem.
Long-time Democratic fundraiser Kenneth Christensen, whose D.C.-based consulting firm Christensen & Associates helps candidates set up their finance operations, says he's not surprised that the Clinton campaign has established a more powerful offshore finance machine than any other candidate.
"Obviously with the Clintons they have a lot of experience in doing that. They give lots of speeches overseas, and they run into a lot of people," Christensen told The Hill in a telephone interview Friday. "A lot of that fundraising overseas are relationships they already have."
Christensen, who is focusing on Democratic congressional races this cycle, indicated it would be professionally negligent not to take full advantage of Clinton's relationships to finance what is becoming an expensive primary race against a well-funded Bernie Sanders campaign. The Clinton advantages include her global connections as a former secretary of State, her family's foundation, and above all, the unparalleled donor network established by both Bill and Hillary Clinton over several decades.
Clinton's offshore fundraisers so far this cycle have included a post-concert reception at London's Royal Albert Hall with Tony Bennett, a "discussion" between Chelsea Clinton and Anna Wintour, and a Munich Fashion Week event with former ambassador Melanne V
Clinton has also held several fundraisers
in Mexico. One of the co-hosts of a February
fundraising dinner was Wal-Mart lobbyist Ivan
Zapien, who relocated to Mexico with the company
in 2015. Clinton served on the board of Wal-Mart
from 1986-1992.
The Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaign fundraising, stipulates that "foreign nationals are prohibited from making any contributions or expenditures in connection with any election in the U.S." But the FEC allows that both U.S. citizens and "green card" holders living abroad (individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S.) "are not considered foreign nationals and, as a result, may contribute."
"I would expect a professional campaign to take advantage of all their fundraising opportunities," Christensen said. "She's capitalizing on it now to make sure she's running an aggressive and professional fundraising operation."
"Criminal aliens released by ICE between 2010 and 2015 have been charged with 124 new homicides and thousands of other crimes that harm citizens and degrade the quality of life in American communities."
March 20, 2016
Clinton claims our border is secure
Was Hillary Clinton a stand up comic in another life? She told an Arizona radio station in an interview that our southwest border was "secure" because "net illegal immigration" had been cut to zero.
Washington Times:
But that's hardly the entire picture:
aliens.
Washington Times:
In an interview with KTAR radio in Phoenix, Mrs. Clinton said improvements under President George W. Bush and President Obama, including several hundred miles of fencing, have cut net illegal immigration from Mexico to zero.Looking over the last 20 years of illegal immigration from Mexico, Clinton may have a point. Apprehensions at the border are way up and net immigration from Mexico has fallen.
“Now I think it’s time to turn our attention to comprehensive immigration reform,” she said, using the term immigrant rights advocates use for legislation to legalize the 11 million illegal immigrants now in the country.
Her evaluation of the border stands in stark contrast to Republican presidential candidates who say the border is not secure, pointing to increasing seizures of drugs and to the renewed surge of Central
American illegal immigrants.
But Mrs. Clinton said they’re ignoring how bad it used to be during her husband’s administration.
“I think we’ve done a really good job securing the border and I think those that say we haven’t are not paying attention to everything that was done for the last 15 years under both President Bush and President Obama,” she told KTAR. “We have increased dramatically the number of border security officers, we have added physical obstructions like fences in many places, and in fact the immigration from Mexico has dropped considerably. It’s just not happening any more.”
But that's hardly the entire picture:
But the number of Central Americans attempting the illegal crossing has surged over the last three years, leading some experts to say the border problems have shifted, not gone away.The first line of defense of our borders has a much different view of the matter. Border agents are supporting Donald Trump for his strong stand against illegal immigration:
Border Patrol agents say the new illegal immigrants are drawn by the chance to take advantage of lax enforcement of immigration laws within the U.S., which gives them the opportunity to disappear into the shadows with the 11 million other illegal immigrants already here.
Mrs. Clinton,
who will face voters in the Democratic primary in Arizona next week, has come under fire from some Hispanic activists for having voted as a senator for the Secure Fence Act, which called for building 700 miles of double-tier fencing along the southwest border.
The largest U.S. Border Patrol union local is praising Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for being the "only candidate" to support their tough mission, an almost endorsement that is the latest boost for the front runner's campaign.Perhaps before the next time Hillary Clinton makes a fool of herself spouting immigration nonsense, she should consult the people who know the situation best; those charged with defending our borders from illegal
"Mr. Trump is the only candidate that has publicly expressed his support of our mission and our agents. He has been an outspoken candidate on the need for a Secure Border and for this we are grateful," said a statement from Art Del Cueto, president of Local 2544 of the National Border
Patrol Council, the representative of 18,000 agents.
aliens.
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