Posted on 05/27/2007 5:41:46 AM PDT by starbase
NEW YORK - To judge how important assimilation is to Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., peruse their immigration bill, now before the Senate. "Assimilation" appears only once in this legislation, and not until the 343rd of 347 pages. "Americanization" never emerges. Too bad the most sweeping immigration measure since 1986 shortchanges assimilation. Whether America ultimately absorbs 12,000 or all 12 million illegal aliens estimated to live here, it will be better for them and this nation if they speak, study and vote in English, understand America's Constitution and political culture, respect our history and civic traditions, and honor our flag and national heroes. Otherwise, bedlam awaits.
McCain-Kennedy does little to forestall such cultural disarray, and it probably exacerbates it.
Unfortunately, as Hudson Institute senior fellow John Fonte told the House Immigration subcommittee May 16, "There are no serious assimilation components to the legislation." Dual citizenship, naturalized Americans voting here and overseas, non-English classrooms and multilingual ballots all thrive, despite McCain-Kennedy's "comprehensive" scope.
"Under this bill, every immigrant and every American citizen is his own little bubble of linguistic entitlement," says Jim Boulet Jr., executive director of English First. This is so, thanks to President Bill Clinton's Executive Order 13166. As Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., told the Senate Tuesday, this is "an entitlement for a translator in any language you want other than English...if you are a recipient of federal funds."
Under E.O. 13166, for instance, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 22 mandated language outreach by subsidized-housing providers. HUD, for instance, recognized one housing sponsor for hiring "translators fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Dari, Vietnamese and Chinese to translate written materials and advertising for the local press in those languages."
HUD's regulations state: "No matter how few LEP (limited-English-proficient) persons the recipient is serving, oral interpretation services should be made available in some form."
McCain-Kennedy would codify E.O. 13166, so only Congress could repeal it.
Until then, President Bush unilaterally could cancel Clinton's executive order. This, too, he has failed to do.
Illegals also could gain amnesty without English proficiency. Up to four years after receiving brand-new, permanently renewable Z (amnesty) visas, they merely must "demonstrate an attempt to gain an understanding of the English language." This is like saying that thinking about maybe asking someone out means you are dating. Z-visa holders can "demonstrate an attempt" through "placement on a waiting list for English classes." For McCain-Kennedy, waiting equals speaking.
Also under this legislation, the Homeland Security secretary would disseminate amnesty information to illegals "in no fewer than the top five principal languages ... spoken by aliens who would qualify for classification under this section, including to television, radio and print media ..."
McCain-Kennedy's English and assimilation shortcomings should aggravate cultural conservatives and annoy almost everyone else.
Fiscal conservatives should faint at Heritage Foundation scholar Robert Rector's estimate that this bill creates "a net cost to taxpayers of $2.3 trillion in retirement-related benefits" for amnestied illegal aliens. One fresh entitlement: Free immigration attorneys for illegal-alien farm workers.
Cops and counter terrorists should worry that McCain-Kennedy requires that eligible illegal aliens receive probationary Z visas by the "end of the next business day." Within that deadline, law-enforcement and national-security officials simply cannot isolate innocent aliens from those who aspire to rob, rape or plant bombs. Alas, there is no single, searchable, international-scoundrels database.
"A one-business-day time limit is madness, particularly if 48,000 aliens applied in a single day," warns Kris Kobach, counsel under former Attorney General John Ashcroft. "Would 48,000 daily applications be unusual? Try dividing 12 million illegal aliens by 250 business days, if they all applied the first year."
Americans who want secure borders wonder why the 700-mile southern-frontier-fence Congress authorized last year stretches only 370 miles under McCain-Kennedy.
And liberals fret that this bill's guest-worker program would depress the wages of low-skilled American citizens. This is a serious, albeit debatable, accusation.
By pushing this bill, John McCain is alienating GOP primary voters. Come 2008, he may become one lonely maverick. Meanwhile, by embracing this legislation, Bush is smashing his loyal Republican base to smithereens.
McCain-Kennedy is as wildly popular as algebra homework on prom night.
Congress should dropkick it into the Rio Grande.
Deroy Murdock can be reached by e-mail at deroy.murdock@gmail.com.
Until this past week, my tagline read “Anti-socialist Bostonian, Anti-Illegal Immigration Bush Supporter, Pro-Life Atheist”.
And yet Deroy Murdock, the writer of this piece, regularly pimps for Rudy Giuliani, who proudly made MYC a sanctuary city for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.
Where I come from, most people, Republicans, Democrats and Independants, are thoroughly enraged over this bill and they focus that rage, with some justification, on Bush. They know he could stop it and they know he won’t. I voted for that man twice. I don’t know that there was any viable alternative those times, but I now I feel they were the two worst votes I ever cast for president.
Off to Boston next weekend to celebrate our 30th anniversary with She Who Must Be Obeyed. Can’t wait to hit Jake Wirth’s for lunch and Durgin Park and the North End for dinner!
I live in the North End--wow, in one night, with you and your wife there, the Republican population of the city will explode by 100%... ;)
Deport Lindsay Graham!
“I live in the North End—wow, in one night, with you and your wife there, the Republican population of the city will explode by 100%... ;)”
Even better than that; there will be six of us, two Greek Orthodoxers, an Arab Orthodoxer and our three very Yankee wives! We’re planning on scaring some of those oh so highly evolved Brahmins!
I recently tried to find some patriotic t-shirts in the local Army/Navy store and came up with zilch...but they had MANY Che Gueverra (sp) t-shirts. (I had to wonder, Which country's Army/Navy store is this?)
That's Boston. It's a great city, but the unbridled America hatred here is nauseating.
"entitles"? Heck we are giving away "the ENTIRE store".....
Reagan thought the immigration bill was an honest piece of work (as did Simpson). Having never worked in Congress he did not understand that it was (and is now) a soulless place, and bills signed one day count for nothing the next. The mendacity of Senators, whether Republican or Democrat, is breathtaking. Senator Kyl of Arizona is a perfect example of someone who is not to be trusted. Elected last year in the Democrat landslide, his promises given then are worth nothing now.
if you are over 40 and do NOT speak English, the social security administration considers you handicapped and you qualify for SSI.
Really? Maybe I should forget how...
Clearly, and contrary to the idea of Equal Protection, we are creating a disadvantaged class under the law -- trackable, tax-paying citizens, especially if white, male, and hetero.
What's the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over expecting different results each time?
Stop wasting your vote over and over again voting for a Republicrat.
VOTE Constitution Party
1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the state and local jurisdictions;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances. (Emphasis mine)
Why is this so difficult for some (most) Americans to understand?
Because we, as a people, are so far down the road to some sort of neo-peonage, and so entangled in it, that even those who agree are completely hamstrung as to just how to go about disentangling ourselves. The Republican Party is dancing on the edge of perdition here, and actually appears to be leading the way down, with the Democrats cheering them on. If there's nothing else to lose, many are going to lose any fear of ridicule that they may have of going third party. Constitution is probably more viable politically than Libertarian, so it stands to benefit.
When will the people finally get sick of this charade?We have laws on the books to handle all immigration please stop all this pandering to the political parties,and start demanding that law enforcement do their jobs. If anyone in congress wanted to make a real stand they should back a bill that increases the fines on employers to 50,000 first offense,100,000 second offense with liberal jail time involved for anyone not checking the validity of a persons “legal” status.All this talk of a fence,visas,or amnesty are just smokescreens from both parties to amaze the public on how serious they consider this “problem”.The problem can be solved in six months but that would not leave this issue for the election and they would have to face a real issue.
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