Posted on 05/29/2007 9:27:51 AM PDT by dennisw
No Alien Left Behind There’s nothing as permanent as temporary immigration status.
By Mark Krikorian
Our editors here at National Review Online pointed out last week that “It’s Worse Than You Think” with regard to the Senate’s preposterous amnesty bill. They were addressing specifically the fact that the Senate bill would immediately give probationary amnesty to virtually all illegal aliens, and that the much-touted enforcement “triggers” are therefore a sham, since legalization will already have taken place. What’s more, if the benchmarks (more miles of fencing, additional border-patrol agents, etc.) are not met, the probationary status would likely continue indefinitely, since there is no expiration date in the bill.
The editorial asks with regard to the possible failure to meet the triggers: “Does anyone really believe that the government will, at that point, make all of the illegal immigrants who have gotten ‘probationary’ legal status illegal again?” Common sense would suggest the answer is “no,” which is what the editors were getting at. But it’s actually worse than that. We don’t need to guess what will happen — we already know.
This kind of provisional or temporary immigration status is routinely offered under the rubric of “Temporary Protected Status.” Known as TPS, this is a nominally time-limited status granted to groups of illegal aliens, or visitors here on visas about to expire, because of natural disaster or civil unrest back home. They don’t qualify as real refugees because they don’t face the prospect of persecution, but we’re also unwilling to deport them to an unstable situation.
Despite the government’s protestations of temporariness, no one is ever made to leave; most grants of TPS are renewed year after year until everyone gets a green card.
This is not some tiny asterisk in immigration policy; hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have benefited from TPS and its antecedents, most of them Central American, but with smaller groups of people from all over the world also getting in on the act. Although the formal mechanism for granting Temporary Protected Status was created by the 1990 Immigration Act, that was really just an example of Congress “bowing to reality,” in Michael Chertoff’s evocative phrase — the executive branch had been inventing ways of not enforcing immigration law for decades, using Orwellian formulations like “Extended Voluntary Departure” or “Deferred Enforced Departure.” (Several years ago I traced the development of this insidious practice; see here.)
The government’s site says “TPS does not lead to permanent resident status,” and strictly speaking, that is correct; the attorney general can terminate it, at which point the people in question revert to their original status — i.e., in most cases go back to being illegal aliens. But in practice, TPS is renewed as many times as necessary to ensure that no one is deported. Only in the smallest of cases, involving a few dozen or at most a few hundred people, has this “temporary” status actually been ended without everyone getting a green card, and as far as I know, no one has ever been made to leave because they lost TPS.
Earlier this month, the “temporary” status of 230,000 Salvadorans, 78,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans was extended by another 18 months — the Salvadorans have had this “temporary” status for six years, and the Hondurans and Nicaraguans for eight years. The explanation for the extension offered by Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, is a gem: “Although Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador have made significant progress in their recovery and rebuilding efforts, each country continues to face social and economic challenges in their efforts to restore their nations to normalcy. This 18-month extension reflects the United States’ commitment to continue assisting our Central American neighbors on their road to recovery.” It’s not obvious what “normalcy” is supposed to mean in this context, since all three countries remain in their normal state of being hapless third-world kleptocracies, but the point is clear — the Bush administration will not make these illegal aliens go home, no matter what.
The most extreme case is that of several thousand Liberians, who received “temporary” status in 1991 and had it renewed regularly ever since. Their TPS is set to expire in October — definitely, for sure, this time, though that’s what Janet Reno said nearly ten years ago.
Our experience with TPS leads to only one possible conclusion: Once an illegal alien gets legal status, no matter how “temporary,” he’s here for good. Sponsors of the Senate’s amnesty bill know this full well.
— Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and an NRO contributor.
WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! TILL YOU RUN OUT OF INK IN YOUR PEN!
Bombard the Democrats as well, especially the ones that ran on an anti illegal immigration plank and the ones in marginal districts who could be vulnerable. keep pounding on them.
Always wondered what was in those TPS reports.
bttt
It PURCHASED AMNESTY. You pay a fine and all is forgiven. That’s no different than when Pope Leo X, in the 16th century, offered indulgences to raise funds to finance building construction.
In case someone out there doesn't’t know what an indulgence is, it is a way of gaining forgiveness be it in penance or payment for the FORGIVENESS of sins.
“...temporary” status of 230,000 Salvadorans, 78,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans was extended by another 18 months — the Salvadorans have had this “temporary” status for six years, and the Hondurans and Nicaraguans for eight years.” Every time it starts to expire, their ambassadors and consuls are on TV and in the news demanding an extension. As a result of their “temporary” status, there are Salvadoran banks popping up all over the DC metro area, Spanish TV runs ads offering them property for sale in El Salvador, car dealerships run ads saying you don’t need a SS number, just your tax ID number will do, and entire areas of northern Virgainia have turned into El Salvador del Norte. These “temporary’ folks are HUGE consumers of publicly funded programs such as WIC, food stamps, “assisted” (that means free) public housing, medical care, etc. That is, they are parasites.
I am so tired of McCain and the other idiots in congress telling us this bill is not amnesty.
::::
It is the Joseph Goebbels principle all over again — tell the lie long enough, and it will become truth...again, these pols are depending on a level of ignorance and stupidity in the American public to continue their survival.
This fine only applies to "other than Mexican". Mexicans won't even have that.
First: Change “Citizen” to “Party Member”.
Then Change: “Guest Worker” to “Non Party Member”
Now, what do you have?
A brand new Soviet Styled Social System where party members have the right to participate in government and economy, but non party members only have the right to participate in economy. It will not take long before the unions, or others decide non party members should not be allowed to hold certain jobs, which quickly devolves to non party members are only allowed to hold certain jobs.
Regardless of your feelings for Hispanic culture, or Immigration issues or Amnesty, any conservative should reject this plan on its face for its relationship to Soviet Styled Command Economy Socioeconomic Structure!
Communism is not defeated, and is still evil.
— lates
— jrawk
Yup. Demand a deportation bill, not an immigration bill!!!
ping
When the Senate attempted to sneak a Bill giving amnesty to 25,000, 000 illegal aliens into law, they hoped that their actions would equal if not rival that of John Marshall’s when he signed his “Midnight Appointments”...
However, unlike the lack of instant communication and a population mainly aware of governing affairs of 200 years ago, today’s politically saavy American can use technology that was not dreamed of by Ben Franklin...
Thus the nation-saving opportunity that Americans who love their country have to defeat a Bill laughingly called the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2007...which would give AMNESTY to 25,000,000 illegal Aliens...
The Machiavellian-like stealth and scorn that the Senate displays towards hard-working American citizen tax-payers is at the least appalling and at the worst treasonable...
Hmmmmmmmmmmm
make that “treasonous”.....
Congress is insane. They need to be fired. All of them.
Treason, pure and simple!!
Didn't they all raise their right hands, with their left hands on a bible, and swear to uphold the Constitution???
U.S. Constitution, Article 4 Section 4:
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass.
I was thinking along these lines last week. It amounts to permanently, and for all time, being unable to question somebody here who they are, why they’re here,and where are they from.
All they need say is “I’m an illegal alien applying for z card” or whatever.
So if they’re driving down the street - unlicensed - Mr. Law Enforcement simply lets them go.
Meanwhile, Mr or Mrs. J6P Red-White-and-Blue born-in-Peoria get hauled downtown, fingerprinted, a court date, lawyesr fees, and a hefty fine.
Perhaps Mr. and Mrs Sheeple would be a better descriptor.
“Didn’t they all raise their right hands, with their left hands on a bible, and swear to uphold the Constitution???
U.S. Constitution, Article 4 Section 4:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
and shall protect each of them against Invasion;”
The Constitution means nothing to the “bought and paid for”
whores running (ruining) our country.
Our military take the same oath..to uphold the COTUS etc...
But if a GI did something like that he would be charged with treason under the UCMJ...
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