Posted on 05/25/2007 5:14:56 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Conservative Republicans working to block a compromise immigration bill risk endorsing a "silent amnesty" by insisting on unfeasible mass deportations, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in an interview published on Thursday.
In remarks to USA Today, Chertoff also criticized liberal immigrant rights advocates, saying they could prolong the anguish of immigrant families by withholding support for legislation that could give them legal status.
Chertoff spoke to the newspaper's editorial board in a preview of a Bush administration media campaign to build support of broad immigration legislation being debated by the U.S. Senate, USA Today said.
The compromise bill brokered between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators ties tough border security and work place enforcement measures to the guest worker program and a plan to legalize an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
The measure has drawn criticism from many quarters and its fate in the Senate is uncertain.
The bill has been criticized for placing new limits on family-based immigration and conservative Republicans oppose the legalization program saying it would reward people who broke U.S. laws.
Chertoff acknowledged there is "a fundamental unfairness" in legislation that permits illegal immigrants to remain in the United States but said trying to force them to leave would be impossible, USA Today reported.
"We are bowing to reality," Chertoff said.
He dismissed the position of some opponents who argue that illegal immigrants will leave if strict enforcement of U.S. laws makes it impossible for them to find a job.
"You're not going to replace 12 million people who are doing the work they're currently doing," Chertoff said. "If they don't leave, then you are going to give them silent amnesty. You're either going to let them stay or you're going to be hypocritical."
Chertoff warned there would be more mass roundups of illegal workers if the workers do not get a chance to become legal.
"We're going to enforce the law," he said. "People all around the country will be seeing teary-eyed children whose parents are going to be deported."
© Reuters 2007.
Dog, as Grant said there’s no better way to get rid of a bad law than to enforce it. Stop and think, honestly, about what a serious deportation program would entail: 12+ million people! It’s the equivalent of the nuke-em now scheme for dealing with the Middle East.
Ain’t gonna happen.
The very best we can hope for in this situation is some kind of freeze of what we have now with a overall downgrade of the migrant flow. Meanwhile, we don’t want illegals to become citizens; we cannot send them all home; and the market demands their labor. Contradiction rules.
What needs to stop is the continuing flow. But even here the process contradicts the solution: if we were to effectively cut off the migration flow, we would strand millions of illegals in the country. So back to deportation — or amnesty of some sort. The anti-immigration laws of 1924 cut off inflows of European migration. It also cut-off the outflows. Prior to that law, over half of Italian immigrants stayed a while and then left the country; after 1924, nearly all of them stayed. Border and migration/flow control will only result in isolation of the people who are here now. And Chertoff is absolutely correct that it is politically impossible to deport those who remain. Impossible. It’s a reality that we must face; otherwise we’re just bitching and, worse, fantasizing towards self-defeat.
The reasonable solution is to accommodate “return migration” through temporary permits, discourage settlement through employer-based documentation, and discourage illegal transit through increased border enforcement.
Any one of those solutions alone is self-defeating. Only balanced together can any of it work. I’m terrifically sad that the Republican congress was incapable of dealing with this situation. Now we’re stuck with dims who only want amnesty and don’t give a damn for enforcement. I believe that pressure from enforcement-only scared the Pubbies congress away from a more reasonable balance of strategies.
Chertoff needs borking. The arrogance of this clown is breathtaking.
No wonder our border is like a sieve, almost six years after 9/11. With this idiot, gushing over Ted Kennedy like a schoolgirl and lying his rear end off about the “horrors” of not passing this America killing legislation, no wonder we are in the shape we are.
This man is administratively responsible for ICE, which is completely INCAPABLE of doing the things contained in this bill.
We gave three million amnesty in 1986, gave Mexico NAFTA in 1994, rescued their crappy peso to the tune of $ 15 billion in 1995, and suffer daily under the thousands of new illegals and drugs pouring across our border daily.
Mexico gives us no oil deals, and has not contributed tot he War on Terror. Oh, yeah, and thanks for the help to New Orleans after Katrina—oh, that’s right, there wasn’t any.
Gee, $ 23 billion in remittances a year, and nothing to give back.
This man needs to resign. He insults us law abiding, tax paying, play by the rules American with every statement he makes, and shows his contempt for us, his bosses.
He needs a tune-up.
I’m beginning to think that the whole of our government is contaminated with anti American technocrats like this boob.
If so, can it be salvaged?
No more jetting off to Gstaad and Cannes for the weekend. Heck, no more jetting off to Aspen or Martha's Vineyard either, for a while.
That will tighten up a few sphincters.
Start tripling the fines after that. Maybe a year doing custodial service in ICE detention centers, they love illegals so much.
Or building the fences and cleaning up after the illegals' trash.
No - the useful idiot for the other faction of this corrupt "Two-Party Cartel". Yeah - the one I have been telling you about for well over a decade.
Damn right. Expose this whole corrupt cesspool in D.C. Why you all keep voting in this "Two-Party Cartel" & get shite on every single time defies any rational.
I don't think I know you for over a decade.
>>The reasonable solution is to accommodate return migration through temporary permits, discourage settlement through employer-based documentation, and discourage illegal transit through increased border enforcement.<<
As long as we don’t go crazy by issuing too many temporary permits, and we enforce the employer penalties in good faith. But before we can enact decent laws, we need to elect better people to work in Washington.
Excellent post. Thank you.
>>”We are bowing to reality,” Chertoff said.<<
In other words, bend over. We are going to do this whether you like it or not.
BTTT
The teary eyed will be Americans trying to pay for social services for the Mexicans..... while being unable to pay for their own!
Micahel Chertoff - Bush Puppet speaks.
Exactly what are you talking about. A communication sans a subject reference is pretty useless.
I'm sypathetic to your cause, but I don't think that is the answer either. First, if jobs were cut off here, it may stem the tide, but if there are no jobs here and no jobs in Mexico, why would they leave? Second, at least some number of the newly unemployed could be expected to go into underground businesses, likely some criminal in nature. Third, it is not politically feasible to refuse emergency medical services to a sick kid, legal or not. The media and the democrats live for that kind of story. And that is the slippery slope that ends up with something akin to free healthcare. While it is logically right, it is just not politically possible.
I think this debate is too hung up on what we will do with the people already here. As they say, perfect is the enemy of good. In this case, "good" would be shutting down the borders to new illegal immigrants. Once that is done, we can have the discussion about what to do about the folks who are here. I bet they won't go anywhere while we decide. :)
But while we continue to discuss whether or not something is "amnesty," the borders are still open and the flood continues. Until the government shows it is willing to close the borders, promises to do something... anything... to stop illegal immigration will have no credibility with me.
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