So, I will say it now.
Dubya had a solid speech that recognized the BALANCE involved in immigration policy. If I say so myself, those who call for closing the borders and not allowing any immigration frankly need to get a heart. These people are desperate to get here.
However, at the same time, we are a nation of laws, and we are not going to reward lawbreakers. That is why Bush said those who want citizenship and come here via a guest worker program or other means will be at the back of the line, and they will have to learn what it is to be American and pay a penalty for coming here illegally.
However, just sending them all back does NOT send the message that America should be sending, a message that we are a nation of love and caring, a melting pot willing to take in those wanting the American dream.
Was there more I wish Bush would have done? Yes.
I would have liked to see plans for a REAL fence. I would have liked to have seen plans for 15,000 troos, not 6,000. I would have liked to hear even tougher requirements for the path toward citizenship. I would have liked to hear tougher demands on companies that hire illegals.
But, overall, the speech was very well done and the plan brings together all the different requirements of tackling the immigration problem.
Remember: this president is still better than Ronald Reagan on the immigration issue, and Reagan is considered a conservative hero. Those who would hate Bush for his stance here need to reconsider their love for Reagan, unless you enjoy being hypocritical.
If I say so myself, those who call for closing the borders and not allowing any immigration frankly need to get a heart. These people are desperate to get here.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1065553/posts
http://thetarpit.blogspot.com/2005/11/bush-amnesty-smoking-gun-found-again_03.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122297,00.html
In 1986, there were about 2.5 million illegal aliens in the U.S. who Congress and the Reagan administration regarded as being “safe” – that is, not having committed serious crimes or otherwise being dangerous, and having sufficient ties to American life to be allowed to remain here. Many members of Congress, chiefly Democratic members, regarded the amnesty of these illegal aliens a sine qua non of any attempt to reform our immigration laws. Reagan recognized this, and, being the optimist that he was, saw something humane and profitable in affording this relatively small group of illegal aliens legal status.
In exchange for legal status for the group, Reagan insisted that the magnet attracting illegal aliens to the United States be removed by extinguishing any incentive for U.S. employers to hire illegal aliens. In tandem with the amnesty, Reagan campaigned for employer sanctions for hiring illegal aliens, sanctions so stringent that many at the time regarded them as draconian.
Reagan reasoned that if an employer were fined for hiring an illegal alien (as much as $1 million in the worst cases), any payroll savings achieved by the hiring would be wiped out by the fine. In effect, it would be more expensive to hire illegal aliens than to hire Americans or lawful permanent residents. The few illegal aliens who continued to take the gamble and cross the border would be intercepted by a robust and more generously funded Border Patrol.
While Reagan’s 1986 immigration reforms (search) can at least be called rational, they were a failure. Today, there are between 8 million and 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. The majority of them crossed our southern border and has found employment — illegal employment, but employment nonetheless. This is attributed to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s eventual gutting of the enforcement mechanism for Reagan's employer sanctions, and successive administrations refusing to give our Border Patrol the resources it needs to achieve its mission.
In 1986, though, President Reagan showed a clear recognition between wrong and right. If U.S. employers were to gain from the employment of people whose very presence in our country was a crime, then they would at least have to pay for it.
How far we’ve come since 1986. At the moment, there are two amnesty bills pending in Congress, and both predicate an illegal aliens’ eligibility on the very thing that President Reagan fought so hard to stamp out: illegal alien employment.