Posted on 06/16/2007 5:19:45 PM PDT by hardback
PROVIDENCE — Immigration reform was to be George W. Bush’s legacy. It’s now clear that he won’t have a legacy to stand on.
The president’s visit to the Capitol was supposed to restart the immigration “grand bargain,” currently in a mid-air stall. As is his habit, he painted scary scenarios if things don’t go his way. (Note how he lists the dire consequences of pulling out of the mess he created in Iraq.) On immigration, he warns that “the status quo is unacceptable.”
And we can thank him for that unacceptable status quo. As America’s chief executive, it was Bush’s duty to enforce the laws against hiring illegal immigrants.
And for seven years, he did next to nothing. No, he did worse than nothing. In 2004, he publicly vowed to “match any willing worker with any willing employer,” thus ending the tradition that stressed the interests of American labor in making immigration policy. The message was heard as intended, setting off a new surge of illegal entrants.
One recalls the famous line in the movie “Touch of Evil,” when Orson Welles, a corrupt U.S. cop, asks Marlene Dietrich, a fortune-telling madam in Tijuana, to read his future. “You haven’t got any,” she says ominously. “Your future is all used up.”
The same can be said of Bush’s future as a leader on immigration reform. The president’s credibility is all used up by his conscious strategy to neglect immigration enforcement — part of a shameful drive to cheapen American labor for the advantage of business.
Bush also pulled a bait-and-switch. He always spoke of amnesty as something that would be extended to illegal aliens who’ve been here a long time and paid their back taxes. But the bill he supports gives amnesty to people who crashed the border as recently as six months ago, and it drops the part about back taxes.
So, small wonder that Americans greet Bush’s views on the immigration bill with either hostility or utter indifference. They sense that the fix is in — that illegal-alien advocates and big business have combined with lawmakers to sell them out.
And they don’t want to fall for a repeat of the 1986 grand bargain, which promised amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in return for fines against employers who hire them. The amnesty came off, while the employer sanctions were sabotaged. The original proposal called for a computerized registry against which employers would have to verify the right of all job applicants to work in the United States. It was ditched and replaced with an “honor system” that let employers accept documents that looked OK to them. Thus, a new era of counterfeiting was born.
Here’s a simple idea to build public support for an immigration compromise: Have Congress pass the part of the bill that would force employers to check all new hires’ eligibility to work in the United States with a database (and fine those who don’t). Once that’s being done to the public’s satisfaction, we can discuss what to do about the illegal immigrants living here and whether to increase the number of legal visas.
The latest round of threats has it that if Congress doesn’t pass comprehensive immigration reform right away, the issue will get lost in the upcoming presidential campaigns. Wrong. On the contrary, the American people will have the opportunity to press the candidates on what they would do about a matter that affects their wages, health care, taxes and the environment.
There are worse things than the status quo. Bush has shown time and again that he knows how to create them. Now, if he would only just go away.
n Froma Harrop is a member of the Providence (R.I.) Journal editorial board and a Creators Syndicate colum
B T T T
I admit that it's more than he deserves, but my dog just left him a legacy to stand on.
Just say NO to Illegal Alien Amnesty!! Keep calling!! It’s NOT OVER!!
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
If America get’s hit with a terrorist attach again, it is our fault.
We did not close our borders after the first Reagan amnesty program. We did nothing but argue about small petty differences and allow this to esculate to where it is now.
The president wants us to repeat this again. Amnesty without first having a border (protection) in place.
Ron Paul is right, it is our fault that we have these things happen to us. It is time that we look at ourselves and evaluate our actions. As gross and obscene as terrorism is, it is American’s fault our borders are open.
Because they can rely upon the LSM to put any blame for this bill upon the Republicans.
We have been had for a very long time, wake up, Hillary is to carry the next baton. Look at this picture and discern for yourselves. I voted against Clinton and both times for Bush.
When is it going to change? We keep playing the same game voting the same guys in and wonder why nothing changes. Blame it on anyone, but we don't stop to look inside and see we are to blame.
And you are far from alone in that regard.
Loophole 1 – Legal Status Before Enforcement:Loophole 2 – U.S. VISIT Exit Not In Trigger:
Loophole 3 – Trigger Requires No More Agents, Beds, or Fencing Than Current Law:
Loophole 4 — Three Additional Years Worth of Illegal Aliens Granted Status, Treated Preferentially To Legal Filers:
Loophole 5 – Completion of Background Checks Not Required For Probationary Legal Status:
Loophole 6 – Some Child Molesters Are Still Eligible:
Loophole 7 – Terrorism Connections Allowed, Good Moral Character Not Required:
Loophole 8 – Gang Members Are Eligible:
Loophole 9 – Absconders Are Eligible:
Loophole 10 – Learning English Not Required For A Decade:
Loophole 11 – Earned Income Tax Credit Will Cost Taxpayers Billions In Just 10 Years:
Loophole 12 – Affidavits From Friends Accepted As Evidence:
Loophole 13 – Taxpayer Funded Legal Counsel and Arbitration:
Loophole 14 – In-State Tuition and Student Loans:
Loophole 15 – Inadequacy of the Merit System:
Loophole 16 – Visas For Individuals That Plan To Overstay:
Loophole 17 – Chain Migration Tippled Before Being Eliminated: Loophole 18 – Back Taxes Not Required:
Loophole 19 – Social Security Credits Allowed For Some Illegal Work Histories:
Loophole 20 – Criminal Fines Not Proportional To Conduct:
This ugly monstrocity of a bill must be murdered!!!!
Drive a stake through it’s heart.
Shoot it with a silver bullet
WHATEVER!!!!
I used to work at a clinic where “walk ins” were taken only in the case of emergency. A gentleman once called and wanted to come right away. I told him that he could only get in immediately if his condition was an emergency. He said to me “It IS an emergency! I have had this for three years!....I guess it must be “that” sort of emergency that President Bush is speaking of. Don’t know whether to laugh or cry sometimes.
Where is your proof that corporations are lobbying congress to pass this Amnesty bill?
I have read that there is a liberal coalition of tens or hundreds of liberal organizations like the "La Raza" that have hundreds of lobbyists meeting and paying congress to pass this bill.
This just sounds to me like the same liberal/communist, anti-corporation,anti-capitalist propaganda spewed by the liberal mainstream media.
This liberal anti-corporation propaganda is spewed so that liberals will be able to scream "someone has to do something about these corporations" . So then they will give government more power to regulate the economy. If the government can regulate the economy then they can control the people( that's a socialist dictatorship like the USSR which is the goal of liberals and why they spew their propaganda).
“One recalls the famous line in the movie “Touch of Evil,” when Orson Welles, a corrupt U.S. cop, asks Marlene Dietrich, a fortune-telling madam in Tijuana, to read his future. “You haven’t got any,” she says ominously. “Your future is all used up.” “
Michael Savage played this on Friday. Coincidence?
“If the GOP wants to commit political suicide by voting for a bill backed by 20% of the public, that’s their choice. “
The GOP will not support it, even Senators for it last year are peeling away. ... Even with armtwisting I doubt more than 10-15 GOP votes for it finally. Or 20-30% of the caucus.
In the House it will be far fewer proportionately.
You are a conspiracist.
Put down the crack-pipe for a second.
There is no conspiracy, no puppets, no shadow Government.
The plan to rip you off and make you pay for turning USA into a socialist multi-cultural haven is right there and out in the open.
JUST READ THE DEMOCRAT PARTY PLATFORM 2004!
“The seeming conspiracy that I espouse is that Bush is controlled by bankers. He is their puppet. I believe very sincerely that I am correct.”
Well, check your meds then. That is moronic babbling.
Bankers are mere clerks in the financial markets these days.
The Leo Wanta story is an interesting read about financial corruption, his latest is out and this piece I thought was interesting.
From Christopher Story
“07 June: Associates inform AmeriTrust Groupe, Inc. that former President George H. W. Bush has stated that ‘his son (President George W. Bush) has destroyed… what Presidents Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton have accomplished… (all) within the past two years’. No-one knows what this means, but it sounds uncannily similar to the outburst attributed to Barbara Bush against the President .......”
Here is the whole website http://www.worldreports.org/news
Could be a Hoax or could be real I have no way of knowing, but it’s as good as reading Anne Rice, or Stephen King. It does talk about financial corruption.
Same reason the current bill allows Z Visas to the 600,000 who have been ordered deported by courts. But who never complied and still live here. Ordered deported of course means the illegal alien is supposed to get on an airplane. No law officer forces him onto an airplane
"too much trouble and "time consuming" Also means that virtually no one will be forcibly deported if this amnesty passes.
MEANING:
- Those who refuse to sign up for z visas will not get the boot
--Those who are denied z visas will not get the boot
--Those Z VISA holders who commit crimes will not get the boot
In fact all of the above will be allowed to stave off deportation with their taxpayer funded lawyers
“Could be a Hoax”
So someone could be making crap up (make that *is* making crap up) ... and you feel the need to tell others? Right when we are about to be sold out by the open borders fanatics? Why tell people about it? Trying to distract us from the reality at hand??
You might want to take a look at #99 and perhaps get some other folks looking into it also.
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