Far-Reaching And Fraudulent

Posted 2007-06-23

The Bush administration said on June 19 that it would be flexible in enforcing a new passport requirement for Americans who return by land or sea from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

In signaling a partial retreat from strict implementation of new security rules, State Department officials acknowledged mismanaging an initial phase-in for air travelers that produced a backlog of almost three million passport applications and quadrupled waiting time from three weeks to three months.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said, "This is just another example of ineptness that absolutely destroys Americans’ — including mine — confidence in the federal government doing anything right, competently."

It raises the question; if three million Americans seeking new passports cause a three week to three-month wait, how is it practical to give 12 million illegal immigrants the equivalent in a 24-hour period?

Does it not dramatize just how fraudulent is the Bush-Kennedy so-called immigration reform legislation? We say that for this reason and quote Edwin Meese, former attorney general in the Reagan administration, concerning establishment of "probationary" Z visas.

"Within 180 days after enactment of the bill, the government would have to begin accepting illegal aliens’ applications for Z visas. Under this new category of permits, any illegal alien can apply for legalization by showing some evidence (for example, an affidavit signed by a non-relative, plus a second document such a pre-2007 bank statement or lease, etc.) that he has been residing in this country since before Jan. 1 of this year.

"In each case the Department of Homeland Security must issue a probationary visa within one business day of the application, unless it discovers a reason for disqualification within that 24-hour period.

"Under the proposal, issuing a probationary Z visa takes precedence over applying the regular immigration laws that govern illegal entry and presence, so that applicants could not be deported or subjected to other enforcement procedures — even if they have been apprehended before the legislation is enacted. Thus millions of illegal aliens would quickly be allowed to remain in the United States with legal status.

"Our security system would be overwhelmed. The task of carefully checking each applicant within one business day would be virtually impossible.

"Moreover, the minimal documentation needed to support a probationary visa application is immediately susceptible to fraud. Terrorists, drug dealers, and other criminals will easily exploit a security system that will be inundated by millions of applications demanding virtually immediate clearance."

This is the view of the former Republican attorney general.

The Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell, told CBS on "Face the Nation" that the "Z visas" allowing illegals to get legal status amounts to "amnesty."

The legislation not only grants amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants, but creates a huge new bureaucracy and specifies that illegals, after obtaining a Z card, cannot be prosecuted or deported for past illegal acts. It does not grant citizenship but protects from deportation and prosecution.

Amnesty is only one of the many unwise provisions of this proposed legislation that is far-reaching and should be defeated.

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