Posted on 5/16/2006, 4:20:45 PM by Reagan Man
President Bush tonight gave a hopeful speech on immigration reform. And by that I mean he hopes you believe his speech. Unfortunately for Mr. Bush, and for our nation, the American people no longer trust the leaders of either party to make an earnest effort to enforce the law when it comes to stopping the corruption of illegal immigration.
Perhaps trust is so totally lacking because Mr. Bush has been President now for five years and has done nothing to seriously address the issue of uncontrolled borders until tonight. Indeed, illegal border infiltration and visa fraud have gotten far worse during his presidency.
Yet these problems did not seem to bother Mr. Bush until backlash against them threatened his long-desired “temporary” guest-worker program and a stealth amnesty for the 10 million to 20 million immigration criminals already here. (And bear in mind that legalization, whether we call it “amnesty” or “earned citizenship” or any other name, will allow these 10 million 20 million to bring their extended families into the United States under family reunification laws, so we are really talking about legalizing around 40 million persons, most of whom are not yet in the country at all.)
Or perhaps mistrust of our leaders over “comprehensive” immigration reform is so total because we’ve been sold that bridge once before. In 1986, we were told that simply enforcing our existing immigration laws was an unrealistic approach and so we had no choice but to allow Congress to pass a comprehensive reform bill—one that included both increased law enforcement and an amnesty of the 3 million immigration criminals already in America. Common sense dictated a “carrot and stick” approach, we were told. Congress gave away the carrots just fine, but somehow it never got around to using the stick.
As a direct result, today our illegal immigration problem has grown from a quaint 3 million to at least 11 million—and by some estimates 20 million. Far from bringing people “out of the shadows” as was promised, “comprehensive” reform spread the shadow of illegal immigration across the entire nation. What was mostly a border state problem is now a truly national problem. Does anyone really believe that applying the same approach today will produce a different result?
The President’s promise of enforcement as part of a “comprehensive” plan is thus simply unbelievable in light of past performance. But worse yet, it is now just plain irresponsible. Every one of the President’s proposals for increased security could be passed quickly, if they were not tied to a guest worker amnesty. Indeed, all of them could have already been passed and signed into law if they weren’t being used as sugar to coat the bitter pill of legalization for millions of illegal aliens. But the President and Senators John McCain and Teddy Kennedy (as well as others) want the amnesty giveaway so badly that they refuse to allow the Senate to vote on the enforcement measures as a separate bill, as the House of Representatives has done.
Essentially, they have offered the American people a take it or leave it deal: give us our guest worker amnesty, or we will let the whole world across our open borders until you do. Give us the laws we want, or we will not enforce the laws we already have.
Every month that increased security measures are held up by this game of political chicken, another 30,000 to 50,000 illegal aliens sneak or lie their way into the country. This number includes the proverbial hardworking and honest laborers, and it also includes fugitives escaping foreign courts, drug smugglers, thieves, rapists, murderers, aspiring welfare defrauders and, very probably, potential terrorists. Yet the Bush-McCain-Kennedy axis has chosen to allow the dangerous unchecked flow to continue, creating the crisis atmosphere they know is necessary to force through a guest worker amnesty they believe they need to buy the votes of former illegal aliens and the industries that profit from their cheap labor.
If a guest-worker program and amnesty are such good ideas, then why can they not be passed as separate bills, as the increased enforcement measures easily could be?
If increased enforcement, by itself, is doomed to failure, then why do open borders advocates fear it so much? Shouldn’t they simply pass an enforcement bill and show everyone how right they were? An amnesty could then easily be added later.
The simple fact is that an enforcement-only approach would work better than any comprehensive bill promising legalization to lawbreakers. And this is why every proponent of amnesty and guest worker shenanigans is working so hard to see that an enforcement-only bill will never pass—even if that means leaving America’s borders wide open as long as it takes to frustrate voters into accepting a comprehensive bill.
The illogic of the comprehensive reform scam can be seen in the numerous self-contradictions the president uttered in support of it in a mere 16-minute speech.
Deporting the 11 million to 20 million illegal aliens already here is simply impossible we are told. But then in tonight’s address the President bragged that we have deported 6 million illegal aliens in just the last five years. Why is 6 million possible and praiseworthy, but 11 million is a ludicrous impossibility?
The President bragged tonight of his commitment to deporting every illegal alien caught crossing our border. And then reasoned that we cannot deport those that have been here illegally for a few years. Why is it good to deport those caught at the border, but wrong to deport those that make it inland and buy a fake ID? How is the criminal transformed by this illegal stay?
How can the President promise to use all manner of technology—motion sensors, drones, cameras, fences, vehicle barriers—to keep dangerous illegal aliens out, and then argue that those same criminal aliens become indispensable and honorable once past the gizmos? Why bother to keep out anyone, if they all become wonderful by the time they reach Dallas?
Why, in short, would he have us believe that enforcing immigration laws at the border is a good thing, but we must not enforce immigration laws just a few miles north of the border?
Because you cannot simultaneously argue for earnestly enforcing the immigration laws in our interior and also argue for a guest worker amnesty of the millions of illegal aliens already hiding there.
And the guest worker amnesty is the only part of the allegedly “comprehensive” bill that the President is actually interested in. If we support the President’s plan, all we can be sure we’ll get is the amnesty part—just like 1986.
The only way we can secure our borders is to pass an enforcement-only bill, and then see to it that it is actually enforced. Our nation’s security cannot be held hostage to the politics of amnesty any longer.
Bush needs to support HR4437.
Good point. Why should anyone take the new laws seriously?
the pubbies have a problem. their choices like those of the people on flight
93 are between certain death and near certain death.
If they allow the illegals citizenship--the illegal/legals will do what they did after 1986: vote democratic and tip the country to a democratic majority as they have done in california and that because after 1993 in California many mexicans began voting in california to preserve gov bennies--for which the dems excel. There won't be social security benefit for Americans of retirement age from the illegals/legals because they will suck up what ever they put into the economy--as they are now. They won't yield a net gain. ie they won't pay for anyone's social security.
Everyone but everyone who has ever been to any government building that dispenses anything from health care to drivers lisences can't help but notice that the place is swamped with foreigners. Basically the welfare state system set up in the 1960's is being totally gamed by foreigners.
If the president gets his way he will demoralize the republicans bringing on the effects of the 1992 & 1996 elections. There may not even be a third party but when W builds in a reversal of the fortunes of the war of 1848--it creates a kind of passivity in people when they see their leaders commit them to the status of world historical losers.
If Bush decides to put up a wall and expel the illegals then there is a chance to preserve Republican majorities. It would be helpful to promise that the USA will kill the cost of water desalination and transport so as to make it economically possible to turn the deserts 1000 miles from any desert seacoast -- green. (this would increase the habitable size of the USA by a third and double the habitable size of Mexico.)This work is already ongoing and will be accomplished in five years or so--or in about the same time frame that GM promises to have a cost effective fuel cell car. For GM as it is for the GOP its do or die time.
The chief difference between the pubbies current predicament and flight 93 is that they are currently in the cockpit. (if you presume that bush is a republican or at least more of a republican than a bilderburger.)
The point here is that if these guys cannot act like loyal americans at least they can act like republicans. ie people who have a stake in the continuity of the republican party.
Since they are not doing this the republicans in the white house and senate all need to be smacked on both sides of the face and kicked in the but.
ping
The Axis of Amnesty
I've started to wonder why any of us should take any laws seriously. At every level of government, there are enough laws on the books to criminalize Mother Teresa if someone with enforcement power decides to do so. Selective enforcement, free passes for the powerful and well-connected - all make for widespread cynicism.
Senate has been debating ALL morning. They are currently taking a vote on Isakson Amendment:
Delays EARNED CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM until Homeland Security Secretary CONFIRMS BORDERS ARE SECURE.
Split down party lines so far. No surprise, the DEMs want what Bush wants. NO secure border unless their is also a gues worker program and so are voting NO to a delay. Not one without the other. Period.
>>>>The Axis of Amnesty
I like it.
"Delays EARNED CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM until Homeland Security Secretary CONFIRMS BORDERS ARE SECURE. "
DELAY:
YES - 40
NO - 55
THERE WILL BE NO DELAY.
What this tells me is that cleary, our D.C. leadership, by a majority vote, and as evidenced by history, has NO intention of securing our borders, unless or until they also protect the interests of the employers of illegal aliens and the illegals themselves. As many of the pundits said yesterday, prior to the speech, Bush's sudden desire to secure the border with NG is nothing but a ploy for grant amnesty to both the employers and their illegal employees.
Pardon me while a vomit.
Also, the children of guest workers will automatically become citizens, a stealth increase in legal immigration. These numbers are staggering, we are witnessing, both here and in Europe, something almost unprecedented in human history, a Shaker-like death wish of an entire civilization, one that was dominant.
If increased enforcement, by itself, is doomed to failure, then why do open borders advocates fear it so much? Shouldn’t they simply pass an enforcement bill and show everyone how right they were? An amnesty could then easily be added later.
Touche.
I have no idea what to tell my children. They're old enough to know what's going on and they don't understand why the government doesn't just enforce the law. Honestly, I have no idea what to say to them. How do I tell them we're a nation of laws when it's becoming ever more obvious we're not?
Axis of Amnesty - ping!
Therefore I hope our House of Representatives is prepared to kill this "Immigration Reform" bill if the Senate passes the kind of crap they are proposing and the conference can't remove it.
The house should then create a border security bill that will build a good border fence along much if not most of the border. Increase the capabilities of the border patrol with better equipment. Either increase the number of Border Patrol agents if there is a long term need to continue increasing their size, or allocate funds to use the National Guard to supplement the Border Patrol until the fencing and other measures can allow the Border Patrol to be effective.
Don't let the debate on the topic revolve completely around illegal immigration. Make it a border security bill.
If the President keeps trying to block it, he will leave us little choice but to keep reminding the public that he is refusing to fulfill his constitutional duty to enforce our immigration laws.
On a great variety of policy issues the President has served our country well, and generally conducted himself honorably.
However, on immigration law he has simply refused to fulfill his duty to uphold the laws.
In my opinion, there are things he's doing that place him among the greatest of our Presidents and things that place him among the worst. I hate to see him remembered as being a President who refused to do his duty and worked to undermine our laws after he served us so well following 9/11, but he isn't giving us much choice.
With that vote, Republicans in the Senate moved one step closer to minority status.
If that doesn't work, it's up to the House to kill this, which I think they will do.
Mac Johnson is always very good. Good that he exposes who all these "guest workers" will be allowed to bring in mama and the kids. Katy bar the doors when it comes to inundated schools and welfare systems. Schools will be jammed with kids with no English speaking skills
Recall that Bush met with Senate RINOs and Dems (while excluding conservatives) to try and get the compromise moving in that chamber.
And all it would take in the House would be for a few RINOs to peel off and join the Dems. And quite frankly, given Bush's antics in the Senate, I would not put it past him to try and hamstring House pubbies in a similar manner.
*LOL*
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