:: The Keys to Internet Safety ::
Almost as quickly as I blew out the
candles of my 16th birthday cake, I begged Dad to let me take the
old Ford out for a drive. As most parents would, Dad reluctantly
agreed. But before I could take off, he sat me down in his oversized
brown chair for the “talk.” As he stood in front of me with the keys
stretched out in front of him, I braced for the lecture on
responsible driving. “Remember,” Dad said sternly, “with driving
comes tremendous responsibility.” He went on to remind me of the
driving do’s and
don’ts we had so exhaustively discussed as I had been learning to
drive. “And,” he finished, “if you are not responsible, I will take
the keys to the car.” I have since found with my own children that
this was and continues to be the most unimaginable punishment for a
young teenage driver.
As parents, we understand that keeping our children safe on the road
depends greatly on our own job to teach them to be responsible
drivers. Equally, keeping our children safe on the internet depends
greatly on us as parents teaching our children to be smart and
responsible internet users. Just as we wouldn’t even think about
allowing a teenager to drive without proper training and
instruction, we shouldn’t place a child in front of the computer without
establishing and enforcing some ground rules.
You may be familiar with the less-than comforting show by Dateline
NBC called "To Catch a Predator", where viewers are brought behind the
shadowy world of online predators to watch them be exposed in
sting-like operations coordinated by the host. Although these are
real stories and real predators, we often don’t realize the reality
of the risk of something like this happening to our children in the
safety of our own homes—but it does.
Although popular social networking sites like MySpace and Xanga have
created "safety" features like rules prohibiting explicit pictures,
age limitations to access the sites, and personal privacy features,
even the safest internet users are susceptible to online predators.
We cannot expect our children to “just know” how to be responsible
internet users. Parents have an essential duty to teach children
this responsibility. Likewise, legislators have a duty to figure out
the most appropriate way to regulate this global medium so we can
stop as many online predators from reaching our children as
possible.
In an effort to discourage the exchange of exploitive materials
online, the Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation
of Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act of 2007 was included in a House
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security
legislative package called America’s Law and Order Agenda, which was
introduced in February. As the Ranking Member on the Crime Subcommittee,
I see a
number of bills that relate to cyber-crime, and one of the most
important cyber-crime issues is the threat against our children’s
safety online. The Internet SAFETY Act, which I have cosponsored,
includes the following important provisions:
• Making internet service and email providers who knowingly assist
predators in accessing children susceptible to federal charges and a
punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment.
• Increasing penalties for offenders who sexually exploit children
online and creating civil penalties against providers of internet
service who don’t report known child pornography.
• Attempting to cut off funding for child exploitation acts by
holding credit card companies responsible for knowingly assisting
online predators’ access to children.
• Requiring warning notices on commercial websites that contain
sexually explicit material.
• Requiring internet service providers to retain records of IP
addresses, which is often the only way to identify an online
predator and is critical for assisting federal law enforcement in
child exploitation investigations.
The month of June has recently been established as National Internet
Safety Month. We have the opportunity to create a powerful wall
between children and online predators if we work together to stop
online child exploitation from all angles. Legislation like the
Internet SAFETY Act is an important step in cutting off online
predators’ means of reaching children. Parental responsibility for
teaching children household rules for the internet is critical in
raising children’s awareness to the dangers that can reach them
through the computer. I encourage you to take part in National
Internet Safety Month and use this time to teach your children the
importance of being safe online.
For suggestions on teaching internet responsibility to children,
visit the “Creating Internet Accountability” page on my website at
http://forbes.house.gov/ConstituentServices/internetsafety.htm.
:: Temporary Protected Status Amendment ::
Watch Congressman Forbes offer an
amendment on the House floor to address illegal immigrants and gang
members who are currently in our nation and protected under
Temporary Protected Status. Click the link below to watch
Congressman Forbes offer the amendment on the House floor and then
read below for more information on Temporary Protected Status.
Watch Congressman Forbes on the House Floor
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130109180205im_/http://www.house.gov/forbes/images/images/jrftpsamendment.jpg)
Learn More About Congressman Forbes'
Amendment on Temporary Protected Status:
Congress has granted the Secretary of Homeland Security the
authority to grant temporary refuge to aliens, usually illegal
immigrants, from particular countries under “temporary protected
status”. Unfortunately, a pattern of abuse has emerged in the
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. DHS can grant TPS status
to the nationals of a country for as long as 18 months and can later
extend the TPS period indefinitely by adding extensions up to 18
months each.
The Administration has begun to utilize TPS as a de facto amnesty
for illegal immigrants from certain Central American countries. TPS
status was granted to Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals at the end
of 1998, following Hurricane Mitch. The Administration has extended
TPS for these individuals multiple times, the latest extension
lasting until January 2009, more than 10 years after the hurricane.
TPS status for Salvadoran nationals was granted early in 2001 as a
result of earthquakes hitting the region. The latest TPS extension
for Salvadoran nationals lasts until September 2007, again, long
after temporary dislocations caused by the earthquakes.
There are currently some 248,000 Salvadorans, 81,000 Hondurans, and
4,000 Nicaraguans, mostly aliens who came illegally to the U.S.,
benefiting from TPS status. Of 5,000 gang members in a database that
ICE compiled for Operation Community Shield, 291 El Salvadoran
nationals, 43 Hondurans, and one Nicaraguan had been granted
temporary protected status (TPS), 6.7 percent of the total. At least
one of the suspected MS-13 members accused in the 2002 rape of two
deaf girls in Massachusetts had been in our country protected by TPS.
In fact, currently, a criminal gang member could literally stand on
a street corner and announce that they were a member of a violent
criminal gang and that they came here illegally and, if protected
under TPS, no law enforcement officer could touch them until they
committed an actual crime.
TPS is being used to grant long-term residence - a perpetual amnesty
- to illegal immigrants of certain favored nationalities. Today,
Congressman Forbes introduced an amendment to the Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would have returned TPS
to its original intent of providing temporary refuge during
temporary periods of crisis. While the amendment failed to gather
the necessary votes for passage, Congressman Forbes plans to
continue addressing abuses in temporary protected status through
other legislative vehicles.
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