Posted on 11/23/2011 12:43:17 PM PST by ez
As the nation's attention turns back to the fractured debate over immigration, it might be helpful to remember that in 1986, Ronald Reagan signed a sweeping immigration reform bill into law. It was sold as a crackdown: There would be tighter security at the Mexican border, and employers would face strict penalties for hiring undocumented workers.
But the bill also made any immigrant who'd entered the country before 1982 eligible for amnesty — a word not usually associated with the father of modern conservatism.
In his renewed push for an immigration overhaul this week, President Obama called for Republican support for a bill to address the growing population of illegal immigrants in the country. This time, however, Republicans know better than to tread near the politically toxic A-word.
Part of this aversion is due to what is widely seen as the failure of Reagan's 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. However, one of the lead authors of the bill says that unlike most immigration reform efforts of the past 20 years, amnesty wasn't the pitfall.
"We used the word 'legalization,' " former Wyoming Sen. Alan K. Simpson tells NPR's Guy Raz. "And everybody fell asleep lightly for a while, and we were able to do legalization."
The law granted amnesty to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants, yet was largely considered unsuccessful because the strict sanctions on employers were stripped out of the bill for passage.
Simpson says the amnesty provision actually saved the act from being a total loss. "It's not perfect, but 2.9 million people came forward. If you can bring one person out of an exploited relationship, that's good enough for me."
Reagan And Amnesty
Nowadays, conservative commentators like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh often invoke the former president as a champion of the conservative agenda. Sean Hannity of Fox News even has a regular segment called "What Would Reagan Do?"
Simpson, however, sees a different person in the president he called a "dear friend."
Reagan "knew that it was not right for people to be abused," Simpson says. "Anybody who's here illegally is going to be abused in some way, either financially [or] physically. They have no rights."
Peter Robinson, a former Reagan speechwriter, agrees. "It was in Ronald Reagan's bones — it was part of his understanding of America — that the country was fundamentally open to those who wanted to join us here."
Reagan said as much himself in a televised debate with Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in 1984.
"I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally," he said.
Up to you if you want to add this to the ping list.
You are not going to help Newt by pushing this BS.
Do those things and illegal aliens will self-deport rather quickly and pay for the trip themselves.
It failed.
It FAILED.
You cannot bargain with leftists!
That is the lesson we learned.
Hey, rape someone long enough and you become family! is a retarded idea.
“I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally,” Ronald Reagan said in 1984.
We made a deal with some of these people, what, 25 years ago? Ahh screw them, let’s pack em up and send them back to ... nothing. It’s all gone now.
Wait aminute...25 years ago? Isn’t that....
Of course, the bill as signed was complete with safeguards which were then ignored. Simpson knows this but has been a degenerate liar so long he may actually have come to believe his own lies.
30 million + illegals only contribute to the growth of government. After all, congressional districts are set based on census numbers and comes to somewhere in the range of 50 congressional seats that need not exist.
A vote for amnesty is a vote for a permanent democrat majority and is frankly treasonous.
Babe Ruth didn’t always hit home runs.
Let’s get one thing perfectly clear:
“IF reelected,” the Marxist will initiate full amnesty for all illegal aliens here and all who want to enter through our wide open Southern border, which will never be secured under his watch.
It’s imperative that we elect TEA Party Patriots to the majority in both the US HOUSE & SENATE.
Also remember, that not one vote has been cast in any primary.
There are millions of people in this country who are not citizens and don't want to be. What benefit is there to citizenship?
We are no longer a mixing pot. We are all sitting around the pot...dipping as needed.
Sorry. Your source is tainted. Independent verification of this story is needed before I believe a word. It is obviously designed to prop up Hussein.
Then we had best be sure we run a candidate who is strong on illegal immigration. Sorry, Newt.
Actually, it does mention that in the article if you go to the link. I didn’t post the entire article. I agree with your 5 bullet points. Just tired of watching all the zealots around here demanding perfection from every candidate. They all have flaws. Who will do the best job saving America?
"First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same. Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, (the Immigration Reform Act) will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think. It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs."
Of the current roster of candidates? Michele Bachmann.
Well there's a perfect excuse for not facing facts.
OK, I went to the link and I don’t see it there. ???
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