Posted on 08/14/2011 9:25:36 AM PDT by teg_76
I agree, it’s a huge issue.
Palin’s my candidate and it is the one issue I want her to come out more precisely and thoroughly against. (But she’s already miles ahead of Perry on it.)
It impressed me tremendously when Palin immediately went down to Arizona and stood with Jan Brewer after the signing of that law. When Brewer signed it, the media went ballistic, and other big-name GOPers equivocated like scared rabbits, afraid of the media’s ire. But Palin stuck her neck out right in the firestorm and supported Brewer, literally standing right beside her. That counts for a lot with me.
Conferring rights and privileges upon illegal aliens has a corrosive effect on the Rule of Law, the very foundation of our Republic. It is also a slap in the face to legal immigrants who have followed the rules and obeyed the laws. There are millions of immigrants waiting their turn overseas to enter the U.S. legally and approximately 40 million immigrants living in the U.S., most of whom followed the law. Recent polling by Rasmussen has shown that the American people are calling for increased enforcement of our immigration laws. 74 percent of U.S. voters say the government is not doing enough to secure the borders. 73 percent believe that a police officer should automatically check to see if someone is in this country legally when an officer pulls that person over for a traffic stop. 67 percent support surprise raids on businesses to identify and deport illegal aliens. 77 percent are against illegal aliens getting drivers’ licenses.
The proponents of amnesty are wont to create the false choice between a blanket amnesty and mass deportation of 12 to 20 million illegal aliens. In reality, we have other choices and alternatives that don’t reward people who have broken our laws with the right to stay and work here and an eventual path to citizenship. The 12 to 20 million illegal aliens did not enter this country overnight and they will not leave overnight. Attrition through enforcement works. We have empirical data from Georgia, Oklahoma, and Arizona proving that it does.
Failing that, I would like to see something such as must have resided here 10 years, have no criminal record, have a job and not be on welfare, take the citizenship test (which better be in ENGLISH!) and probably some community service. That’s just off the top of my head; not sure what the final version would look like. But definitely not a blanket amnesty. If you don’t or can’t meet the qualifications, buh-bye.
Any legislation that legalizes the status of those who broke our laws by entering our country illegally and allows them to stay is amnesty. We must not only prevent the Democrats and some moderate Republicans from hijacking the meaning of the word amnesty, but the public must be made aware about the true impact of an amnesty. The Heritage Foundation concluded that the cost of amnesty alone would be $2.6 trillion. And the number of additional LEGAL immigrants who would join those who were the recipients of amnesty through chain migration, i.e., family reunification, would approach 70 million over a 20-year period, assuming there are only 12 million illegal aliens. We cannot assimilate such numbers. An amnesty would destroy the United States of America with the stroke of a pen.
You are recommending a blanket amnesty even with the criteria listed. And exactly how many people fall into your limited blanket amnesty? No one knows how many illegals are here yet you are establishing an amnesty for an unknown number of people who will not only be allowed to stay and work here despite violating our laws including such things as identity theft, tax evasion, working illegally, etc., but they would be able to sponsor millions of their relatives to enter this country legally.
We had a "one-time" limited amnesty in 1986 (You had to be here for 5 years, learn English, have a background check, etc.) The USG estimated that 1 million would apply. The real number turned out to be 2.7 million and there are still people coming into this country from this amnesty thru chain migration, i.e., family reunification. There was documented large scale fraud in the processing of the amnesty. We also had a large influx of folks who came here illegally to take advantage of the amnesty using phony documents. When you reward something, you get more of it. More will enter waiting for the next amnesty.
I guess to show his bona fides and prove no state needs the feds to (do their jobs and) secure US national borders, Rick needed to send in the Texas Army and Texas Air Force, maybe even the Texas Navy
Or maybe just LEGISLATE the issue away...as if the hordes coming over the border respect legislation. It’s working so well in Arizona ...
Let’s see your source quoting Governor Perry as saying he believes in open borders (unrestricted immigration)
White pop inside city limits of Houston is now 33%.
The problem is that issue will determine the fate of this country more than any other, because of its impact on elections.
What will determine the fate of this country is whether BO gets another 4 years. This is not a candidate running today I wouldn’t vote for with joy over letting BO have another 4. None of them are another McCain.
This immigration stuff is one big reason why conservatives’ number one priority in the next election should be to elect as many Tea Party candidates to as many offices as possible. When it comes to illegals/amnesty, there just aren’t many great candidates out there. Tancredo made it his signature issue last time and it got him almost nowhere.
But it’s a bigger problem than just electing the right candidate. The whole power structure of Washington is DEAD SET ON GETTING SOME KIND OF AMNESTY. So even if the ideal candidate gets in, he or she will be fighting extraordinarily powerful interests on this one.
There will probably come a time when we will have to lock horns with our preferred candidate. That conflict will probably resemble the dust-up that happened in 2007 when Dubya & Co tried to cram amesty down our throats. The more Tea Party types we elect to the federal congress, the better our chances will be to win.
Sucks to be us, but I don’t this issue playing out any other way, given the current array of forces. Nevertheless, primarying out old, grey heads like Dick Lugar and replacing them with Tea Party conservatives like Richard Mourdock in Indiana can only help us.
These battles are coming, and so we should view the upcoming elections with a scope broader than just the presidential race.
I agree. A great step in the right direction, and I hope to see more.
Yep, the only way to make sure progress on the immigration issue in 2012 is to replace RINOs like Lugar and some others, and to elect as many others to Congress as possible who are right on the issues.
A more conservative House and Senate is the best bet, and maybe a president who will follow the lead of Congress rather than trying to ram amnesty down the nation’s throat like W attempted twice. - It might be too much to hope for a president who’ll actually enforce the law, and who’d sign and implement new, stricter legislation on border control. But I guess we can hope.
THAT should leave a mark. LOL
Palin’s interview on Spanish tv sounds like mush to me, she is all over the place.
Agreed. That’s why I said to start with the border then deal with the illegals who are here. ;)
I think the illegal alien problem is theirs to solve. Attrition is the way to go. Make it difficult for them to hold down jobs, e-verify, no government benefits and getting identification that works are the way to go. We don’t have to physcially round up 12 million or 20 or 30 million illegals or how ever many there are here. Make it difficult for them to remain here and they will solve the problem for us. Why do we have to make things difficult for ourselves? And why do we have to carry everybody on our shoulders? I think that is very patronizing, they are adults and they can take care of themselves. Those who came here illegally as small children and are now adults can get the assistance of immigration lawyers. Maybe we could let those people stay if they have worked and kept out of trouble. Maybe 100,000 permits to remain in the US per year for those who fit this category. And cut way back on legal immigration from Mexico, about a quarter of legal immigration comes from Mexico. That is favoritism and as we are seeing the Mexican population is very problematic to the well being of the United States.
The country of origin quotas were in place before the 1965 immigration reform act. The 1965 act which Ted Kennedy enthusiastically supported changed immigration dramatically. The Democrats don’t do anything unless it benefits them.
Obama is not the only problem regarding illegal immigration, have you forgotten George W. Bush, McCain, Arnold, Kyle, Perry and others. We have to be honest with ourselves if we want candidates who are honest with us. The above mentioned Republicans have not been honest with us regarding illegal immigration. The illegal alien problem would not have happened in the first place if our national leaders of both parties were honest with us.
As a matter of fact it is working well in Arizona. Large numbers of illegals have left the state since they passed those tough laws.
Like I said, ideally I’d ship them all back from whence they came. Having them leave of their own accord would be fine, too. I agree it’s totally unfair to the people who worked hard and played by the rules to get here and to the ones who are still waiting. But assuming the premise I was responding to that we’re not going to get them all deported, I want to at least get rid of the ones who came to suck at the goverment teat, want to turn the US Southwest into ‘New Mexico’ (La Raza), and the criminals. I don’t think they’re going to leave without force.
I can sympathize with those that came/stayed illegally for a better life for themselves and their families. That’s the American dream. If they’re willing to be productive citizens and not expect the US to cater to them, I’d be willing to work with them. But it’s not my first choice.
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