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House Republicans Propose Immigration Bill McCain Would Have Loved to Sign
Townhall.com ^ | February 15, 2022 | Ira Mehlman

Posted on 02/15/2022 3:30:18 AM PST by Kaslin

Earlier this century, conventional political wisdom posited that Republicans would never be able to win a national election unless the party out-pandered the Democrats on the issue of amnesty for illegal aliens. Republican political “experts,” who spent too much time listening to other “experts” instead of actual voters, insisted that supporting massive amnesties for illegal aliens was the key to unlocking the Hispanic vote for the party.

John McCain and Mitt Romney took the advice of the experts to heart and got wiped out in 2008 and 2012, garnering just 31 percent and 27 percent of Hispanic votes, respectively. Donald Trump who, to put it mildly, eschewed conventional wisdom on just about everything, fared no worse among Hispanic voters than McCain or Romney when he eked out a victory in 2016, and significantly increased the Republicans’ share of the Hispanic vote in 2020.

Nevertheless, a handful of House Republicans, led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, have decided that 2022 might be a good time to dust-off the old McCain/Romney playbook and give it another try. Their bill, dubbed the Dignity Act, revives failed Republican efforts to grant amnesty to nearly every illegal alien in the United States, while appeasing business interests by promising them greater access to cheap foreign labor. While the Biden administration is making a mockery of the laws we have now, the bill promises the American public better border and immigration enforcement in the future.

Ignoring the fact that amnesty for illegal aliens and large increases in new immigration aren’t anywhere near the top of the wish list for Hispanic voters, Rep. Salazar declares, “There’s a very big movement within the Republican Party understanding that this is the invitation letter for the browns, the Hispanics, the Latinos, you know, the largest minority in the country, welcoming them into the into the Republican Party, because we know that we need them in order to continue improving the American economy.”

If opening up our borders and promising amnesty to just about everyone who is, or ever has been, in the United States illegally were indeed the “invitation letter” Hispanic voters have been waiting for, President Biden would be basking in the adulation of that segment of the electorate. Instead, his approval rating among Hispanic voters is an abysmal 28 percent, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll – significantly worse than his standing among voters generally.

Actual Hispanic voters, as opposed to elitists who claim to speak on behalf of this diverse group of 23 million, care far more about the same issues that keep other voters awake at night: a 7.5 percent inflation rate; runaway government spending; a seemingly endless coronavirus pandemic; the surge of violent crime on the streets of the cities where they live; access to health care; and the quality of their children’s education. Moreover, Hispanic voters are as alarmed as the rest of the public about Biden administration policies that have triggered an unprecedented crisis at the border. Hence, Biden’s 28 percent approval rating among Hispanic voters, which is actually 11 points worse than his standing among the electorate as a whole.

The Dignity Act is where bad policy meets bad politics. From a policy perspective, granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens would do nothing to address any of the above-mentioned crises that threaten the well-being of the nation. It would probably make most of these matters worse, and trigger still greater levels of new illegal immigration.

Nor can the American public rely on legislative language promising future enforcement in the face of an administration bent of defying their obligation to enforce immigration laws. As Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently boasted that regardless of what the law might say, “our policy explicitly states that a non-citizen’s unlawful presence in the United States will not, by itself, be a basis for the initiation of an enforcement action.”

Politically, amnesty for illegal aliens is a priority for only a small segment of mostly white urban elitists who would sooner eat rat poison than vote for a Republican. Nationwide, Republicans have made inroads with Hispanic voters by focusing on bread-and-butter issues that are a much greater priority for this segment of the electorate.

If Republicans are once again hearing the Sirens’ Song of political consultants who, despite all evidence to the contrary, continue to insist that amnesty and expanded immigration make good public policy and are the keys to electoral success, they need to brush up on their Greek mythology. There’s a shipwreck in their future if they don’t steer clear.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: bidenadmin; illegalimmigrant; johnmccain; mittromney

1 posted on 02/15/2022 3:30:18 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Time for a blistering salvo from Trump.


2 posted on 02/15/2022 3:36:49 AM PST by Rockingham
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To: GOPJ; poconopundit; Jane Long; Diana in Wisconsin; Grampa Dave; Godzilla; null and void; aragorn; ..

Biden’s DHS Secy Alejandro Mayorkas recently boasted that regardless of what the law might say,
“our policy explicitly states that a non-citizen’s unlawful presence in the United States will not,
by itself, be a basis for the initiation of an enforcement action.”


3 posted on 02/15/2022 3:50:13 AM PST by Liz ("Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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To: Liz

ALL DEMOCRATS ARE LAWLESS!


4 posted on 02/15/2022 3:51:17 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Liz

BUT he WOULD NOT let CUBANS seek asylum here!! And he’s CUBAN!


5 posted on 02/15/2022 3:52:09 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: Kaslin

It sure worked in the 80s and solved all the immigration problems.


6 posted on 02/15/2022 3:52:22 AM PST by pas
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To: Liz

DHS Secy Alejandro Mayorkas is an example of how Biden’s filled his administration with criminals - - ie people who refuse to follow the law.


7 posted on 02/15/2022 4:19:20 AM PST by GOPJ (We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. Ayn Rand)
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To: GOPJ

No question.....the Delaware Dreck Biden’s a pal to all.....as long as you’re a criminal.


8 posted on 02/15/2022 4:22:49 AM PST by Liz ("Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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To: Ann Archy

Good point.


9 posted on 02/15/2022 4:23:23 AM PST by Liz ("Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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To: Ann Archy
ALL DEMOCRATS ARE LAWLESS!

Yes, except this article is about House Republicans who support open borders.

10 posted on 02/15/2022 4:23:43 AM PST by JonPreston (Q: Never have so many, been so wrong, so often)
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To: Kaslin

Astonishing.


11 posted on 02/15/2022 4:28:55 AM PST by rlmorel (Nothing can foster principles of freedom more effectively than the imposition of tyranny.)
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To: Kaslin

Why isn’t Biden charge for human trafficking ?.

Guess we don’t need any stinking laws huh comrades.


12 posted on 02/15/2022 7:46:26 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: Liz

Same with the MainStreaMedia... they’re down with criminals, elites and thugs...


13 posted on 02/15/2022 8:32:05 AM PST by GOPJ (We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. Ayn Rand)
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To: Kaslin

You get what you vote for and even don’t vote for via the 2020 selection fraud!


14 posted on 02/15/2022 8:41:31 AM PST by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: Kaslin

The Deplorables want a Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement bill, missing since 1986 ONE TIME amnesty. Since that amnesty was granted already, a second amnesty is off the table. What remains is the enforcement the Democrats have disallowed since then.

The List of Comprehensive Immigration Enforcement, missing since 1986 goes like this -
1) southern barrier;
2) require eVerify to hire;
3) end all chain migration;
4) birthright per Minor v. Happersett (plural parents);
5) end work visas;
6) 40-year moratorium on all new applications for citizenship to allow workplace automation effects on downsizing population);
7) Set up an illegal aliens’ victim restitution fund.

Enactment of these provisions will motivate illegal aliens to SELF-deport, and remove colonizadors from our welfare rolls.


15 posted on 02/15/2022 9:22:44 AM PST by RideForever (Damn, another dangling par .....)
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To: Kaslin

What’s the problem? Just doing their job.

They swear to faithfully execute the laws of The United States; and every day they put up them against the wall.


16 posted on 02/15/2022 11:44:17 AM PST by ApplegateRanch (Hey, hey, ho, ho Fidel Trudeau Has got to go!)
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