Will Americans support another amnesty?

www.townhall.com ^ | January 5, 2004 | Phyllis Schlafly

[God is good]

Were Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's Miami meanderings a gaffe, a trial balloon, an announcement of his department's policy, or an announcement of Bush administration policy?

We are entitled to know.

His shocking words were a broadside on current law: "We have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegal aliens, afford them some kind of legal status some way." He pointedly did not say we have to come to grips with 8 to 12 million people who have violated our laws by entering our country illegally, and further violated our laws by using fraudulent documents to get jobs and remain here.

Nor did he say we have to come to grips with the thousands of employers who are violating our laws by hiring illegal aliens, and violating additional laws by paying the illegal aliens in the underground economy in order to avoid our laws about minimum wage, overtime, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, family leave, Americans with disabilities, payroll taxes, etc.

Ridge didn't elaborate on how he would award "some kind of legal status," nor explain how giving legal status is any different from granting amnesty. What part of illegal doesn't Ridge understand?

Continuing, Ridge said his plan is to "legalize their presence, then, as a country, you make a decision that from this day forward, this is the process of entry, and if you violate that process of entry we have the resources to cope with it."

But we've been there, done that. In 1986, the United States granted what was promised to be a one-time legalization - then honestly called amnesty. That sent a message to others to enter illegally and wait for the next amnesty.

The administrations of Presidents Bush I, Clinton and Bush II have flagrantly failed to use our resources "to cope with" those who afterward violated the "process of entry." And so the illegal-alien problem quadrupled.

Not only did the 1986 amnesty transform millions of illegal aliens into lawful permanent residents, but after they became U.S. citizens they could import their relatives. Congress never investigated how many additional millions entered the United States or the massive document fraud that was involved in the process.

The current President Bush was asked to clarify his policy. He responded: "I have constantly said that we need to have an immigration policy that helps match any willing employer with any willing employee.

"It makes sense that that policy go forward. And we're in the process of working that through now."

No, that does not make sense. First, it's an all-out repudiation of current law, and second, up to 5 billion people in the world might want to be "willing employees" in the United States.

Bush didn't limit the number of "willing employees." An estimated 300,000 to 400,000 Mexicans every year cross illegally into the United States looking for work.

Thousands of these have died from thirst and dehydration in the desert or in locked vans, or from drowning, or from crimes committed by their smugglers. The Bush's administration's failure to close the border makes the payoff of getting into the United States worth the risk of death.

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan repeated Bush's exact words and added, "Migration should be safe, orderly and humane." But Congress and the American people never authorized "migration." We only authorized immigration under certain laws.

Bush claims he is "against blanket amnesty," but "blanket" is his weasel word. He apparently is for amnesty for the 8 to 12 million illegal aliens already in this country.

Amnesty for illegal aliens comes disguised under various euphemisms. These include guest worker program, Mexican ID cards, the DREAM Act (to give in-state college tuition), driver's licenses, 245(i) visas, H-1B and L-1 visas, free hospital care, anchor babies, and "totalization," which is to give Social Security benefits.

Ridge says that illegal aliens in the United States should be given "some kind of legal status" because most are not a threat to national security. That's an irrelevancy. Most passengers who boarded those four fatal planes on Sept. 11, 2001, were not hijackers, but 19 of them were, and Ridge has no plan to separate the terrorists from the 300,000 or more who cross our borders illegally every year.

According to the Washington Post, Karl Rove is designing the White House plan and the president will present his proposal the second week of January, shortly before his trip to Monterrey, Mexico.

Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security's undersecretary for border and transportation security, says the Bush and Ridge remarks simply reflect the ongoing debate in Congress over the immigration issue. If that's so, then it's time for Congress to hear loud and clear from the two-thirds of Americans, according to a Zogby International poll, who believe that foreigners residing illegally in the United States should not be allowed to stay.

[ImpotentRage]

You, too, huh? I am so contemptible of this move that I cannot even speak.

[Paul C. Jesup]

And the rub is that they will be paying for it with your's and my money through taxes.

[riri]

Nobody wants to stand up and admit that large-scale immigration of this kind is the only thing that might prevent the U.S. from descending into the catastrophic deflationary spiral that is going to cause chaos in Europe and the developed nations of Asia over the coming decades

If that's the case, let's bring them in by the half millions from varying different countries. Then we can be the melting pot we where known to be.

With this insanity, we will soon have 40% of our population made up of one nationality. These people do not want to be Americans. They want to be Mexicans living and working in America. Big difference.

[HiJinx]

They want to be Mexicans living and working in America. Big difference.

Drive the point home!!

[Dante3]

Amnesty is such a bad idea that anyone with half a brain would recognize its dangers.

[TomGuy]

If GWBush pushes through any amnesty, I'll never support him, regardless of his efforts on the WoT.

Selling out the Nation is still selling out the Nation.

I'd vote for Hillary Clinton before I'd support GWB. Why not, it would be about the same difference. At least she is vocal in her socialization of America. GWB is simply opening up our Southern Border more and supporting another 10 or 20 or 50 million illegals newly-documented before his term would end in 2008. Can we, as a nation, afford another 20 or 50 million illegals? Paying for their social services will force this nation into the socialist state Hillary wants---but GWB is taking us there fasttrack.

The US as a sovereign nation is in very grave danger---from within, from those elected to uphold and defend the Constitution. They are failing their oath.

[God is good]

catastrophic deflationary spiral that is going to cause chaos in Europe and the developed nations of Asia over the coming decades

Not that I don't think that the idea, that amnesty is the economic answer over many other more "conservative" (if that word means anything anymore) means, is a joke; but for the sake of argument, I'll take the deflation if I can keep the borders.

[DoctorMichael]

BTTT

[RinaseaofDs]

Que?

No entiendo, senor.

[God is good]

And by the way, two actions would help more than amnesty.

1. Get rid of the minimum wage.
2. Get rid of the illegals.

Jobs will open up and the President doesn't break the law, order, and borders.

[azhenfud]

As I've stated elsewhere, I'm for penalizing employers of Illegaliens to the point of their bankruptcy to enforce the law, because those who will work for substandard wages lower the living standards of all Americans and end up draining federal resources because their cheap wages eventually force them into assistance programs.

It's the "Cut off the head, then kill it" tactic.

If Bush and his supporters want to make Illegaliens legal, they are welcome and capable (I think) to do the paperwork AND WAIT THEIR TIME. If not, the Illegaliens deserve "LEGALIZATION BY DEPORTATION, NOT BY LEGISLATION!"

[bushfamfan]

He just doesn't know when to stop. Now he is about to offer an award to people who enter our country illegally. He and Rove and the rest of those traitors are so confident they will still get conservative/Republican votes! Bush is selling his soul and this country out. He just doesn't seem to want to stop the liberal agenda like this and it's sad he seems to show no concern for his country when he offers up something as horrendous as this.

[God is good]

I'm starting to see an America where the citizens would do better to disappear and come back as illegals.

[azhenfud]

I had that to cross my mind, but I couldn't get a dozen to go along with me.

[God is good]

It's called double speak. You should have learned this from the last administration, or better yet, dictatorship regime.
It's the new way to lie to the suckers. Or better yet, it's not double speak at all--it's code speak. The regime will "decide" for us what our immigration policy is, minus current law and the will of the governed. Bye-bye Constitution, life, and liberty.

[TheDon]

Looks like our "conservative commentators" are helping the Dems win back the White House with their cries of, "An amnesty is coming! An amnesty is coming!" Hopefully it will at least improve their readership and book sales. If it gives the Demorats the White House, who cares? What are a few SC judicial nominations anyway? Who cares about the WoT? I'm sure the Dems will do just as well.

Seriously, don't fall for the simplistic analysis provided in this, and other articles. This administration is willing to take on the massive illegal immigraiton that has been going on for decades. No other politician has touched it with a ten foot pole. I think we can all agree we cannot continue to go on with the status quo.

The question is how to proceed. The author disingenuously states that the Bush Administration answer to the problem is an amnesty. The answer they are proposing to the illegal immigration problem is in response to the perceived problem. Which is that the US has not properly enforced our own immigration laws for decades. This being the case, we should examine our immigration laws and determine what changes we should make to them that we would then be willing to enforce. It is rather obvious that we support many more workers coming to the country than we currently legally allow. After such changes are made, and we begin to enforce them properly, we must deal with a massive underground population. An amnesty, then becomes a solution to decades of our neglect to enforce our immigration laws.

[God is good]

I agree with your post #23. If we are going to do socialism, we might as well do it productively.

[jgrubbs]

Will Americans support another amnesty?

As long as they support W and do what he wants they will support another amnesty. If Bush can't get enough conservatives to vote for him on election day, amnesty will give him millions of "new citizens" to vote for him.

[azhenfud]

Didn't work under Reagan for two and a half million. Won't work now with 8-12 million. Feed the bear, the bear will be back with his family, his friends, his friends' friends, his acquaintences, those of the other forest, those of the next valley, etc. to infinity .....

[riri]

amnesty will give him millions of "new citizens" to vote for him

He or his advisors are deluding themselves if they think he is going to get their vote.

Maybe, he is thinking ahead to keep the dynasty going with the nephew. Who knows...