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There is no question that Reagan ran for president twice and won on the platform of immigration amnesty.

Reagan did not run on a platform of immigration amnesty in 1980 or 1984. The immration bill was something he didn't ram through. He felt that immigration had gotten out of control, and needed to be reigned in. He did not run with that as an issue. He did not favor amnesty.

Reagan aquiesced to the call for amnesty. He agreed to the amnesty, for two reasons. One, he wanted to put more teeth into immigration enforcement. Two, the only way he could do that, was to agree to the amnesty. Being told there were only one million illegals in country, he bought off on it. New stricter enforcment regulations were enacted. This included employer fines, and strict enforcement both at the border and inland.

The bill was passed. 3.5 million illegals came forward. Subsequent presidents and Congress refused to enforce the new stricter policies.

Some folks still buy into the idea that was Reagan's amnesty. It wasn't. The legislation was passed and he signed it. He was wrong to do so. At the time I knew it was a big mistake.

This was not something he felt any need to hide. He declared his support for an amnesty (using that exact word) in the same 1984 presidential debate in which he famously joked about former Vice President Walter Mondale’s “youth and inexperience.”

He did agree to support it. That does not mean he campaigned on it. He agreed to support it, but he didn't go from campaign stop to campaign stop hawking amnesty. Those that accuse him of this are simply running cover for their favorite guy demanding amnesty today. I'll guarantee you one thing, Reagan having seen the fiasco of the 1986 immigration bill and it's aftermath would NEVER agree to another one.

One million vs thirty million is just one of the reasons why.

Reagan’s support for Amnesty did nothing to stop his winning the wholehearted support of the Reagan coalition in two consecutive elections. (The myth that he regretted the eventual 1986 amnesty dies hard, although the fact that it wasn’t well executed is widely accepted.)

Duh! Ya think? It would be a little hard for Reagan to express regret when the refusal to implement that bill's policies didn't come until after his term in office.

THIS WAS NOT THE REAGAN AMNESTY. This bill was put forth as the Simpson/Mazoli bill. Reagan signed the bill. He didn't not submit it. It's tenets came forth from an immigration reform committe.

This is referenced as the Reagan Amensty so folks can point to him and say, "Reagan pushed the last one in 1986." Horse stuff

This guy may not be award of it, but there is a lot of propaganda in this article.

Meant to send post 34 to all.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3334100/posts?page=34#34

Thank you for pointing out the worst of the propaganda in this piece.
The Cheap Labor Express is very worried we might actually elect someone who would shut them down.
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