Capitol, they had
inscribed in Latin, ``Laus Deo,'' meaning ``praise be to God;'' not
``praise be to Allah,'' but ``praise be to God.''
The reason they had ``Praise be to God'' facing the Capitol is that
this is east of the Washington Monument, and what they aspired to have
was the first rays of God's sun every morning striking ``Praise be to
God,'' enlightening those words before anything else in our Nation's
Capital was lit; ``Praise be to God,'' then the rest of the Capital
City would be lit. That is why it is there. It turns out that the New York killer, the radical Islamist, he came
to the U.S. under the diversity visa lottery program that was started
because apparently some Senators and a few Democratic House Members
believed that we were having too many Hispanics come in and we were not
having enough Irish come in. So they created this program so immigrants
like Irish, who were not being properly represented in the numbers,
could have a chance to come into the U.S. the way so many Hispanics
were. Well, I didn't think we cared about national origin that we needed a
special program to give some other countries a chance that Hispanic
countries would not have, but apparently some thought that was going to
be appropriate. It is high time to get rid of the program. We have known for years
terrorists have been trying to win the lottery, and terrorists have won
the lottery. My friend, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte,
had a terrific op-ed in The Hill, entitled: ``Visa lottery program is
too much of a gamble for our nation and needs to end.''
Republicans in the House voted to end the diversity visa lottery back
in 2005. The Senate wouldn't take it up. Senators were still there that
helped start the program, like Senator Schumer. Then Democrats had the
majority for the next 4 years after 2006. They certainly weren't going
to end the diversity visa lottery program. They are the ones who wanted
it. Then, in 2012, in the session after we got the majority back, we
voted again to end the lottery, but the Senate, again, wouldn't take it
up. In the last session, we didn't get it voted out, but I am grateful to
the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte, for pushing, as
he has, and I am hoping we can get that bill to the floor that will
allow us to end it. In that op-ed, Chairman Goodlatte says: ``The visa lottery, which was
enacted 10 years prior to 9/11, is foolish in the age in which we live. Those in the world who wish us harm can easily engage in this
statistical gamble with nothing to lose. The Office of the Inspector
General at the State Department has found that it poses significant
national security risks. In fact, Saipov``--the New York City radical
Islamic terrorist--'' is the fifth person who has been accused or
convicted in connection with terrorism plots to have come here through
the visa lottery.
``In another instance, Hesham Hadayet, an Egyptian terrorist who
killed two and wounded several others at Los Angeles International
Airport on July 4, 2002, was a lawful permanent resident who received
his green card through the program''--the diversity visa lottery
program--``since his wife was a visa lottery winner.''
So this Egyptian terrorist was a lottery winner, or his wife was, and
the two people who he killed in L.A. Airport and those he wounded were
the losers of that lottery. Chairman Goodlatte goes on to say: ``Additionally, in August of 2002,
Pakistan national Imran Mandhai pleaded guilty to conspiring to wage
jihad by plotting to destroy electrical power stations, the Israeli
consulate, and other south Florida targets. He entered the United
States with his parents, who had won the visa lottery, in 1998.
``Similarly, in August 2002, two diversity lottery winners from
Morocco--Ahmed Hannan and Karim Koubriti--were indicted as members of
an alleged terrorist `sleeper' cell in Michigan. In June 2003, a jury
convicted Koubriti of conspiring to provide material support or
resources to terrorists, and Hannan of possessing false documents.''
So visa lottery applicants, some of them--many of them submit several
applications under different names in order to increase their chances
of winning the visa lottery. Chairman Goodlatte continues: ``And marriage fraud is rampant in the
program. `Pop-up' spouses often appear in between the time that the
applicant registers for the lottery and the time when the applicant is
interviewed by the State Department. These `spouses' pay the applicant
in order to be part of the applicant's green card winnings.''
Winnings from the visa lottery. Chairman Goodlatte continues: ``The United States has the most
generous immigration system in the world, admitting more than 1 million
legal immigrants each year.''
There is no country in the world that allows that many people to come
into their country legally. We are far from being the largest country
either geographically or population-wise, yet we are the most generous
country in the world in allowing people into our country legally. Chairman Goodlatte goes on: ``Eliminating the visa lottery does not
negate our Nation's generosity, but makes our immigration system
smarter and safer for the age in which we live. Our immigration policy
should be based primarily on our national needs, security, and
economics, as opposed to an arbitrary system. The visa lottery is too
much of a gamble for our Nation to make with today's ongoing threat of
terrorism and must come to an end.''
There is no other country in the world that is so stupid regarding
its own national security and national interests that it allows a
lottery to determine who would get a visa to come into their country. It, hopefully, will be ending soon. That is why there was this article in The Daily Caller: ``GOP
Senators Distance Themselves from Diversity Visa Program They Helped
Create.''
There are some who helped create the diversity visa lottery program
in the Senate who are saying: You know what? Maybe it is time to get
rid of it. I hope we will.
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