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April 06, 2006

Sabotage of Immigration Reform
CHUCK BUSCH

If a legislative bill could be devised that would increase illegal immigration double fold, alienate the American people, appease a foreign power, reinforce the sense of entitlement of non-citizens, foment civil unrest, demoralize the Border Patrol, abandon national security and jeopardize the entire cultural and constitutional balance of the United State, then no better example can be found than the proposal passed by the Senate Judiciary committee this last week. Eight Democrats and four Republican dupes reacting to the weekend massive protests over stringent reforms voted to sell out the country in opposition to six steadfast mostly western Republican Senators trying to bring sanity and seriousness into the debate.

What Border Security?

The senate bill does authorize a “virtual wall” of unmanned vehicles, cameras and censors to monitor the border but otherwise does very little to physically stop foreigners from coming into the country. It does have a provision for doubling the Border Patrol by adding 2000 agents next year and 2400 annually for the succeeding years through 2011, but how is this going to fix the problem now? Last year under our current border security system, an estimated 500,000 persons (the same number as was seen on the streets of LA last weekend) slipped through into the U.S. Since the Senate panel intends to do nothing this year, are we just going to accept another half million to add to the swarms of illegal aliens already here and who are not about to leave? And how are 2000 more border agents going to make any difference considering the size and length of the territory to be guarded.

Rewarding Bad Behavior

The other terms of the proposed senate bill seems to be all about rewarding bad behavior rather establishing deterrents to foreigners attempting to immigrate illegally into this country. Illegal entry will not be made a felony as proposed by a House bill such that offenders need not go to jail. Humanitarian groups that offer more than just emergency aid will not have to fear arrest. Illegal aliens can apply for “guest worker” status as recommended by President Bush. This bill invites with open arms any and all aliens who wish to remain in the US. It reintroduces earlier legislation efforts to offer health and educational benefits that surpass even those which legal immigrants are able to receiving. Senator Jeff Sessions referred to it as the “no illegal left behind” bill.

The most disturbing aspect of the bill is the offering of a “pathway to citizenship” to aliens if they work six years, pay back taxes and a fine and learn English. So not only does the Senate bill pardon those who have broken our immigration laws by allowing them to remain in the country, it rewards them further by promising them citizenship as well. What clearer definition of “amnesty” is there? Why should people who broke our immigration laws be placed ahead of those who are going through the long tedious process of legal immigration? The penalty for immigrating illegally should be that they forfeit any opportunity for citizenship unless they return home. It would seem by this action that the Senators are not just extending pardons to illegal aliens, but are also excusing themselves from taking responsibility for decades of neglect that led to this dilemma.

Who wants citizenship for illegals?

Offering citizenship to millions of these illegals is all the more perplexing after observing the unacceptable display of the anti-law enforcement protests orchestrated to co-inside with a Cancun summit meeting between Mexican President Vincente Fox, Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper and President Bush. Judging by the number of Mexican flags flowing and the anti-American slogans, one can only conclude that a significant portion of these people are not interested in citizenship and are simply intent on extending Mexican jurisdiction into their local community. What’s the likelihood that in every case, a foreigner who deserts his own country (or maybe not) and breaks our laws to enter will become a model patriotic citizen?

According to numerous surveys and polls, Americans are not in favor of the mass adoption of all these aliens into our national family as brothers. Gallup Poll: 80% want tougher immigration policies. Quinnipiac University Poll: 62% do not want it easy for illegals to become citizens and 72% do not think illegals should have driver’s licenses. Time Magazine: 72% want major penalties on employers of illegals, 70 % believe the threat of terrorism is increased by the presence of illegals and 57% advocate the use of the military on the border. NBC/Wall Street Journal: 59% are opposed to a guest-worker program. IQ Research: 92% said that border security should be the number one priority.

Studies of various demographic groups also show opposition to rewarding aliens for being in the country illegally. When Arizona’s Proposition 200, which denied state services to illegal aliens, was passed just two years ago, it received most of its support from the poor and minorities. Not surprisingly, 72% of those from families of less than $15,000 wanted state to cut back on benefits to illegals. Exit polling recorded that 65% of blacks, Native Americans and Asians favored the measure. Interestingly, 47% of the state’s Latino citizens voted for Prop 200.

There seems to be a real disconnect between the romanticized picture of the new multicultural America and what is actually happening on the street. Why do these senators feel obligated to be so generous with the precious gift of US citizenship? President Bush has not asked for this as an extension of his “guest worker” program. Organized labor is resisting efforts to expand immigrant worker programs. These senators certainly are not listening to the American people. I can understand wanting to issue worker permits, but why promote citizenship?

Is this the best they could do?

Since this Senate bill fails in every respect to address the illegal immigrant problem and is not what the American people want, why would liberal and moderate members of the Judiciary committee vote to pass such a counterproductive and even dangerous bill. Despite the people’s hopes for some real leadership and bi-partisan action on the issue, regretfully this appears to be just another disgusting example of political gamesmanship at the expense of the public will, national well-being and the hopes of displaced persons.

The liberal Democrats are not striving to find an solution to this monumental crisis which rivals even the terrorist threat in its importance to the life of the nation, but to position themselves as best they can politically for the 2006 election cycle and beyond. Rather than standing for anything so principled as enforcement of laws, the preservation of national sovereignty or maintaining a solvent economy, Democrats are simply out to get as many votes for their party as possible.

Democrat subversive immigration strategy

By promising the moon, or at least the southwest region of the United States, to this desperate uneducated mass of people unfamiliar with the functioning of a healthy republic, the Democrats are sure to score a lot of Latino votes. The more citizens that they can make of the illegal hordes that come through the door, the more votes they can generate for themselves. The scheme is self-perpetuating that is until the social welfare burdens of importing so much poverty in the country completely collapses the middle class economy which has been the financial engine of this once prosperous nation.

Meanwhile, Republican Party policy makers have been so enamored by the prospect of unlimited cheap labor that they have until recently been oblivious to the political reality that the majority of immigrants vote Democrat. None the Republican Party stands poised to commit political suicide by abandoning traditional American values and voting for a weak immigration bill.

The resultant pro-immigrant vote from the Senate Judiciary committee debate was a perfectly executed strategy by the Democrats to gain a very liberal immigration policy and at the same time divide the Republican Party. The Democrats strengthen their appeal to Hispanic voters by selling out the country while leaving it up to the Republicans to advocate enforcement of immigration law. By doing this, the Democrats denounce the Republicans as being harsh and in the process hopefully lure a few nervous Republican moderates into competing with them in handing out benefits.

They have no qualms about doing this because they are not invested in the success of the nation state or sound economic principles, only the immediate acquisition of power. The Republicans have had to be the “adults” in this scenario as they diligently struggle to develop policies that will actually resolve the immigrant status and border issues peaceably and permanently. The Democrats on the other hand are content to promote impossible schemes in a deliberate attempt to sabotage any sensible reform.

Unfortunately, some moderate Republicans on the panel, Spector, Brownback, Graham, and DeWine, fearing they might be missing out on a few Latino votes, went “wobbly”, took the liberal bait, hook, line and sinker and signed onto one of the worst un-American appeasement piece of liberal socialist garbage ever to emerge from the Senate. They ought to be more concerned about what 90% of voters think than 500,000 noisy demonstrators.