Posted on 04/06/2006 7:28:43 AM PDT by Reagan Man
Those of us who want real immigration reform had better reconcile ourselves to the fact that it just isn't going to happen. We are at least 20 years too late.
The trouble began, as so many of America's troubles have, with a proposal by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.) -- specifically, his 1965 immigration reform bill. That bill, which duly passed, opened the floodgates for Asian and Latin American immigration, and they have never closed since. But at least the newcomers were legal immigrants. Thereafter, the appetite of American employers for cheap labor, combined with the desire of impoverished Mexicans to provide it, simply overwhelmed the laws and the Mexican border. The Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986 tried to stop the flood by granting amnesty to the 5 million or so illegal aliens already in the country, while tightening border controls. But the government, pressured by American business, simply failed to enforce the law. Today, it is estimated that there are at least 11 million illegal aliens (mostly Mexican) working in the United States at low-paying jobs that U.S. citizens are reluctant to do at those wages.
This enables defenders of the status quo to argue (correctly) that the U.S. economy simply couldn't sustain the arrest and repatriation of those illegal aliens, even if they could be identified. Many U.S. businesses, large and small, that are dependent on cheap illegal immigrant labor would simply go under. And the many millions of Americans who are dependent on such workers would discover that there was now no one to tend their gardens, pick their crops and do other menial jobs for anywhere near the same low pay.
Finally, the issue of illegal immigration having at last been forced to the forefront of the public consciousness by a few vocal critics like Rep. Tom Tancredo (R.-Colo.) and become a really hot controversy, American business has bestirred itself and successfully pressured President Bush and the Republican Congress to resist real reform. Appallingly, the Democrats, who are also more vulnerable to business pressures than they like to pretend, have gone along with the charade, calculating that they will get the votes of most of the aliens when they finally become citizens, even though the illegal immigrants are a deadly economic threat to the Democrats' traditional allies in the labor unions and the black community.
The result is that there will be no serious immigration reform. Either the two parties will kick the gong around for a few more months and end up doing nothing, or (more likely) some bill along the lines of the one currently being debated in the Senate will be passed, beefing up the border patrols, but leaving the 11 million illegals still in the country, perhaps subject to some largely unenforceable penalties, but headed for legal residency and, ultimately, citizenship.
Will this matter? What harm, after all (their defenders argue) have the illegals done? It would be wonderful if, in the long run, they and their children were to assimilate to the American culture, as so many other waves of immigrants have done. But, as Victor Davis Hanson has pointed out, Mexican immigrants, unlike those from Europe or Asia, don't come from a distant land: their homeland is just a yard away, across a largely undefended border. They can return to Mexico at will, and many intend to -- though they rarely do. Instead, they become permanent residents of the lowest rung of the American economic ladder, and are acutely bitter over their status. Moreover, there are so many of them that millions cling to their Hispanic language and culture, refusing assimilation and living in politicized ghettoes.
That is the meaning of those Mexican flags waving so prominently in the hands of many of the half million Hispanics who demonstrated in Los Angeles recently against immigration reform. America is not just being invaded by an eager horde of willing workers. It is being taken over, gradually but inexorably, by millions upon millions of Spanish-speakers who, without yet even having the vote, are already a political force the American public cannot generate the will to resist. Our two major parties have already sold out to them; American business is happily profiting by the labor they perform so cheaply; and the 11 million illegals already here will look like a drop in the bucket by 2030.
Mr. Rusher is a Distinguished Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy.
Why should the whole country have to put up with him just because the Mass. snob cult keeps re-electing him and forcing him in our face. The guy is a walking (steaming) pile of self indulgence.
FBI stopped Hezbollah smugglers (US Mexico Border)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606335/posts
The very least they need to do, is to change the tax system so that the invaders are not a burden on us. Do away with social programs, etc. Not one cent in tax payer support should go to either them or the thousands that they will then be qualified to bring in with them.
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How can WE vote Ted Kennedy out?
We can't do anything about him and yet his actions affect our lives on a daily basis.
"Not holding my breath. The American public is just too lazy and complacent."
Some of them may be lazy and complacent. On the other hand there are plenty of people who have been trying to draw attention to the problem for years to no avail. The problem I see is that we're basically LAW-ABIDING people who are trying to do things the right way only to be ignored or kicked in the teeth by our elected representatives and the bureaucrats who have another agenda.
Whatever the reasons are this is turning out to be a defining moments for the U.S. A lot of eyes are opening now and there is a rising animosity for politicians on both sides of the aisle. The coming years should be very interesting.
A lot of eyes are opening now and there is a rising animosity for politicians on both sides of the aisle. The coming years should be very interesting.
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Agreed. For too many years, people have trusted Washington (huge mistake) to make judgements that support the will of the people and what is right for America. Well, even the most naive are opening their eyes to the FACT that those days are long gone and Washington is running strictly for itself and its empowerment. This issue is a deciding moment, and I fear our so-called government will let us down for the sake of political expediency no matter what the impact on the country or what the will of the people is.
These clowns in the Congress and the White House, opeate with impunity -- and have disconnected themselves from responsiblity to the people in many ways. They have never had to take the impact of the ire of the American public -- maybe we have to hit bottom here for the people to turn on them and remind them about who and what nation they work for...
"Yep, those Mexicans are here taking all of the jobs and putting able bodied Americans in the unemployment lines."
What happens if the US has a deep Recessionary period?
All these illegals would put a BIG strain on Americans looking for work.....these IDIOT INCOMPETENT DC Boobs think the well will never run dry? They are killing the goose laying the golden eggs.
No - 77%.
Our Commander in Chief and Congress will never do anything to stop the invasion, because they are a part of it. The plan has been to destroy America through Mexican invasion and has been in place for many years. The enemies have out thought us, out flanked us and have won our country. How right you are this invasion is not about jobs or finding a better life. It's about taking over our country and dumping American citizens in the sewers of every city - with the blessing of our Commander In Chief and the Congress.
I guess with 200 million more illegals, things would be even rosier. /sarcasm
So What are we supposed to do?
Hang up our little American hats and hand our ocuntry over?!
I don't intend to.
Well, we are handing it over, city by city. The only answer is for America to rise up and vote these incompetents out of office and get people like Tancredo in power.
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