Posted on 01/30/2013 3:02:09 PM PST by jazusamo
Republicans who support granting amnesty to foreign nationals residing in the United States illegally better answer some questions first.
I have previously argued that warm and fuzzy feelings toward the GOP will not grow in minority communities simply because some Republicans accept as lawful what was once lawless. The racial interest groups such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and LULAC have such a stranglehold in these communities that no GOP compromise will break it.
Racially polarized voting patterns among blacks and Hispanics are the fruits of their labors over decades.
Republicans who think these groups will allow goodwill toward the GOP to blossom once immigration reform passes are naïve. After any concessions, they will be back to job number one: ensuring continued racially polarized voting that will eventually lead to the demise of the Republican Party, especially with millions of new voters.
If you don’t think that’s happening, then you aren’t listening to them boast about “demographic changes.”
Even if you don’t accept the premise that racially polarized voting patterns are permanent and even if you don’t think immigration concessions are a suicide pact for Republicans, still senators like Marco Rubio had better answer a few substantive questions.
First, will you support a bill if it allows an alien convicted of a felony criminal offense or multiple misdemeanors to benefit from the legalization program? Currently, any alien who commits one felony or two misdemeanors cannot participate in immigration benefit programs such as Temporary Protected Status. Any legalization program should not be more generous.
Are you going to support a bill if it allows aliens to participate in the legalization program who have been through legal proceedings and already ordered removed from the United States, but who have ignored the removal order? We call those people fugitives. Will you support them being included in amnesty?
Will you require illegal aliens who have applications denied under any legalization program to be placed in immigration proceedings to be removed from the United States once they are denied? Currently, many who apply for immigration benefits now through DHS-USCIS, such as spouse petitions, are never placed in removal proceedings — even after their applications are denied, which is in part based on changes implemented in the last couple of years.
Are you going to support the bill if it includes provisions that weaken parts of existing immigration law that promote immigration enforcement and limit fraud, such as asylum fraud?
Are you going to require in the bill real fraud protections to limit the massive fraud from the 1987 amnesty? What will you require that this bill do to prevent fraud that the last amnesty bill did not do? For example, are you going to support the bill if it prohibits DHS from sharing information aliens put on their legalization applications with DHS immigration enforcement officers, like the last amnesty did?
The argument is that 11 million aliens could benefit from the legalization program. Those numbers are probably conservative. The real number of illegal aliens currently in the United States is probably higher. Are you going to allow those who benefit from legalization to sponsor people to come here from their home country, such as parents or siblings?
If so, is the program really limited to 11 million? Would you cap those who can participate in legalization at some specific number — such as 11 million total including dependents?
What provisions will any bill you support have to prevent the massive and extremely costly litigation that resulted from the 1987 amnesty? For example, it entirely prohibited federal court jurisdiction over decisions of whether to permit an alien to benefit from the legalization program. Do you support that?
The Schumer-McCain framework does not say when someone had to first arrive in the United States to qualify for legalization. Does it mean they can be here up until the day of enactment to qualify?
It would seem someone should have to be in the United States for years to qualify, such as five or ten years. The less time they have to be here the more the bill promotes more illegal immigration and the easier it is to create fraudulent documents for an immigrant to say he was here when the program started. Also, the less time someone is here, the less sympathetic their situation is and the more realistic it is to expect them to return to their home country.
The Framework talks about requiring illegal immigrants to “wait in line.” But what about immigrants who already waited in line and are now in the United States legally on a temporary visa (here legally but not on a “path to citizenship”). Is it fair to exclude them from the legalization program? If they cannot apply, and the Framework does not say that they can, why are those who came to the United States in a legal manner being treated worse than those who came illegally?
And finally, you have said the Senate committee and floor process must be followed on the legislation to allow amendments from all sides. Will you support a bill if the Judiciary Committee ranking member or the Senate minority leader says that Democrats did not permit Republicans to propose a reasonable number of amendments to the legislation?
Any Republican who will gamble the future of the country on the goodwill of the left and racial interest groups better answer a few questions first. If they don’t, perhaps giving the treasured gift of citizenship to those who have broken immigration laws really isn’t such a great idea.
I heard Rush giving Rubio a tongue-bath yesterday. It’s all kabuki theatre. Dems need illegal aliens for votes, Republicans need them for cheap labor.
Very good article
Only thing I would add: Where will the $ come from to fund all the provisions for Rubio-Obama Illegal Alien Amnesty?
Lots of questions for Rubio-Obama Amnesty supporters to answer
Your point is most valid and we really do know where it’ll come from. It won’t come from politicians either, they’ll just take it from us and put us deeper in debt.
Right you are...democrats want votes and GOP wants cheap labor. Problem is Hispanics are breeding faster than other races. Demographics look horrible for GOP and wonderful for democrats. So how do you propose to stop not forcing deportation of illegals and instead put them at the end of line of those waiting to get green cards?
The illegals issue is now huge because of blunder made by president Ronald Reagan. He gave IMMEDIATE blanket amnesty to ALL 3 million illegals. Which means they were given green cards immediately. That made them eligible to apply for citizenship after the normal 5 year waiting period.
That amnesty blunder encouraged 11 million more illegals to flood the country. The Rubio proposal is no where as bad as Reagan’s amnesty. The illegals do not get immediate holders of green cards (permanent residence visa). Instead they have to go back to the end of line of all the people waiting for green cards from all over the world. There are usually several million waiting for green cards.
Which means it will take several years before the illegals get green cards. After that they will have to wait another 5 years to become eligible to apply for citizenship.
The genie is out of the bottle, thanks to president Reagan. The democrats own the White House and the Senate. Democragphics are scaring the life out of GOP House members all of whom will have to run in 2014. You bet they are looking for a way out for sheer survival.
Legal immigration is actually more of a problem than illegal immigration. The legal immigrants are having far more of an impact electorally. The Dems don’t need a amnesty to get more Dem voters. Every year, 1.2 million legal immigrants enter the US and the overwhelming majority of them will be voting Dem. The last decade ending in 2010 saw the largest number of legal immigrants ever to enter this country in our history—13.9 million. One in 8 in this country is foreign born compared to one in 21 in 1970. Immigration is changing our electoral demographics ensuring that the Dems will be the permanent majority party. Amnesty just hastens a process that has been ongoing over the past 40 years.
I remember Heritage Foundation estimated that the 2007 amnesty was going to cost $2 to $2.5 trillion when fully implemented....and that was before ObamaCare. Lord knows how much Rubio-Obama will cost....it may be the biggest single act of government spending ever
Not really. Simpson-Mazzoli required that the applicant had to have lived in the US for at least five years. There were other checks and requirements before green cards were issued. That said, the process was rife with fraud. There are still people today taking advantage of that amnesty thru chain migration.
Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986
The USG estimated that 1 million would apply, but the true number turned out to be 2.7 million. The process was rife with fraud with phony document mills being set up just blocks from the processing centers.
The Rubio proposal is no where as bad as Reagan’s amnesty. The illegals do not get immediate holders of green cards (permanent residence visa). Instead they have to go back to the end of line of all the people waiting for green cards from all over the world. There are usually several million waiting for green cards.
The Rubio proposal is just a rehash of McCain-Kennedy. People immediately have their status legalized, which means they can stay and work here until the final processing is done. McCain-Kennedy allowed two years for this process, but it assumed there were just 12 million illegals. Any legislation that allows the lawbreakers to stay and work here is amnesty.
The genie is out of the bottle, thanks to president Reagan. The democrats own the White House and the Senate. Democragphics are scaring the life out of GOP House members all of whom will have to run in 2014. You bet they are looking for a way out for sheer survival.
You couldn't be more wrong about letting the genie out of the bottle. The 1986 amnesty was supposed to be one time event never to happen again. The proponents constantly stated that it would never be repeated again. Reagan never intended that this amnesty become a regular way to handle illegal aliens. Ed Meese said it was Reagan's biggest mistake.
If we grant amnesty, that will mean we’ll have 11 million Federal crimes going unpunished.
the last big amensty in 1986 was at least 40% fraud and INS was told to rubber stamp applications was supposed to be less than a million turned out to be 3 million down the line....what do you think will happen this time under an Obama administration? 20 million?
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over 20 million.
The government underestimates almost everything. Medicare costs 9 times what it was supposed to cost.
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