Posted on 02/01/2006 7:38:50 AM PST by Reagan Man
Sadly, the President missed yet another great opportunity to correct his course on immigration reform tonight. The President should have clarified his plan and joined the forces in Congress holding the line against amnesty. Instead, Americans will have to wait and wonder where the President stands on securing our borders, while he pushes for guest workers.
The President must enforce our immigration laws before we consider any guest worker proposal. Until we bring law and order to our border anarchy, importing more workers into the equation is out of the question.
In 1986, Congress passed a blanket amnesty on the promise that border security would come later. We all remember the ’86 bait-and-switch, and we won’t be fooled again. There is no way to determine if we need guest workers, and there is no way to gain control of this broken system until we seal our borders and control our country’s interior.
A Gallup poll released this week showed that a mere 25 percent of Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of immigration—his worst approval rating of all major issue areas that were surveyed.
The House’s get-tough immigration bill is in the Senate’s hands, where it is in jeopardy of being dropped or – worse yet – turned into a blanket amnesty. From his bully pulpit, President Bush could have broken the Washington stalemate and secured the most significant immigration reform in a decade. But tonight we got more of the same—more stalling, more roadblocks, more lax enforcement with no action in sight.
Border security is not an issue from which President Bush should run away. An overwhelming majority of Americans demand that their government secure the border now, and if we restore law and order, Republicans will be the political winners. As the President does in so many other areas, he must not retreat but lead.
I call BS. California pays out 9 billion a year in benefits to illegals, education, incarceration, medical.
How much is our structural deficit?
Not if most of us can help it.
Secure our borders! Then lets talk "guest worker."
It's doubtful if it comes back with an amnesty/guest worker attached it'll even get past the conference committee. Then we're back to square one if they can't agree on the enforcement issues.
Truth hurts doesn't it...figured out a Final Solution yet?
Meirs was a "done deal" and we did not quit. We did not quit when the Dems tried to steal Florida. "We did not quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor." Realisticly, our borders need to be secured, I'd like that it be before the amnesty/guest worker program is enacted.
Either he drops his guest worker crap or he'll be looking at a House asnd Senate that is no longer Republican.
Blah, blah, blah, more empty threats and BTW, does the genius tancredo think that a Speaker nancy pelosi would let an immigration reform bill to see the light of day.
Then why won't Tancredo agree to do border security and guest workers and/or immigration quota increases together? Pro-growth conservatives (at least this one) might not trust isolationists/unionists/protectionists to not pull the reverse bait-and-switch: secure the borders but then refuse to do anything about providing for our labor needs.
You seem to be proud of Kyl's plan. What's so good about it?
"work with other conservatives such as Kyl/Cornyn on a solution"
They are just as liberal as you are, that's no solution it just makes the problem worse!
Crucify employers of illegals and elimiante the problem!
ping
That's right. We don't need no stinkin' guest workers just because our economy is booming at the same time our demographic of working age adults is plummeting. I'm sure retired baby-boomers will be happy to leave their golf courses and go pick lettuce.
This problem started in the 80's when it became policy that law enforcement in at least San Bernardino and Riverside counties could not call INS for illegals until they committed a crime other than being illegal.
Why try to blame in on one man and narrow it down to the Bush presidency.
Blah, blah, blah. Yuh know maybe you and tancredo should take a Dale Carnegie course and maybe you wouldn't repulse people who probably agree with you politically 80% of the time.
He doesn't get it on Trade Balance either.
You have a point. But the past is past, and we can only go forward from here. I hope you're right about prongs #1 & 2, but prong #3 is a loser as far as I'm concerned. Why should we be Mexico's safety valve? Illegals are sending billions home to mamacita and the kids, money that should have been earned by Americans and stayed in this country. Not to mention the opportunity for terrorists and drug dealers to enter undetected.
The borders should have been slammed shut on 9/12- and that's all there is to it.
There's a great big effin' hole in America's security and it better get closed, pronto!
Miers wasn't ever a done deal.
And, there's really no analogy.
I agree with you on this, but not on your comment about voting dem because they will tell you one thing and do another and they want all those second generation hispanic votes...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.