Thread: Immigration bill's demise not a reason to cheer(vile paper)

Published: 07.01.2007

Immigration bill's demise not a reason to cheer
Our view: Senate's failure to act will not make our borders any safer, or make the 12 million illegal residents go away

By the end of last week, every politician who could get to a phone or a computer was eager to let the world know how disappointed he or she was over the death of the immigration bill.
Those were the people, like Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who had made a valiant but unsuccessful effort to create an immigration bill that would lure hard-liners from the far right and far left into the center.
That didn't happen. Narrow-mindedness won the day. Anyone who sees this as a victory for America is living in a fantasyland.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen reflected the views of many of the critics when he declared that the defeat of the immigration bill was "a great day for Americans in general and the grassroots of the Republican Party."
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps called the death of the immigration bill "a small but significant victory . . . in the fight to secure our nation's borders."
It is questionable whether either Pullen or the militia reflects the views of most Republicans or most Americans. Certainly their views are opposite of those expressed repeatedly on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal, which is arguably the most conservative mainstream newspaper in the country.
There is no question, however, that both Pullen and the militia reflect an opinion consistent with that of the John Birch Society, which says, "The problem facing the nation along the southern border with Mexico is not so much immigration as invasion."
By extension, this view holds that those here illegally are nothing more than criminals, regardless of how long they've been here or what their achievements have been or how much they have contributed to the U.S. economy.
But those who cheer the death of the immigration bill in effect cheer the death of progress. The bill's defeat does nothing except maintain the status quo, which is precisely what the critics were fighting against. By a roll-call vote of 46-53, those who were unhappy with the bill basically shot themselves in the foot.
Failure to adopt a comprehensive immigration law will not result in a protective bubble over the United States, nor will it lead to a long line of buses carrying 12 million illegal residents out of the country.
On the contrary, maintaining the status quo means the estimated 12 million undocumented workers will continue playing a game of cat and mouse with immigration authorities. The rejected bill would have set up a system for bringing those people out of the shadows. Amnesty was not a gift without strings; certainly it led to citizenship, but it was a difficult and cumbersome process. It was not carte blanche.
The bill that died addressed that issue, as well as the need for beefed up border security. Voting to allow the bill to proceed by ending debate were 33 Democrats, 12 Republicans — including Kyl and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. — and independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. Voting to block the bill by allowing debate to continue were 37 Republicans, 15 Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont. One senator, Tim Johnson, D-S.D., did not vote.
Kyl's theory is that the bill's failure was part of the larger voter backlash. A significant number of Americans, he says, lack confidence in the government's ability to secure the border, issue passports and take care of emergencies like Hurricane Katrina.
"Conservative activists," Kyl said, have "a very firm view that the government is unable to get anything right." Those activists had "a huge impact" on the Senate vote, he said.
Kyl may be right, but it seems to be the most positive spin possible to explain the influence of a bunch of fear-mongering, do-nothing pontificators who have been polluting the airwaves all year.
Now they've achieved their goal, which means Congress will not revisit the immigration issue until after the 2008 presidential election.
In the 12 days that ended on Wednesday, 11 bodies were found in the desert between the Mexican border and Tucson.
How many more will die before Congress musters the courage to act on an immigration bill that includes a humane process for regulating the flow of foreign workers into the United States?
We've heard all the critics who say such laws already exist, of course, but it doesn't take a genius to see that those laws are not working.
A new approach is needed that includes a guest-worker program, tighter border security and a way to legalize those who are here and have proved themselves worthy of citizenship.
Every member of Congress knows that is needed. However, it is revealing that even a bipartisan effort led by Kyl, a staunch conservative, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a staunch liberal, was unable to build a consensus.
The immigration vote was one that will cost us dearly until more reasonable voices make themselves heard.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/189775


This paper is SICK!

In the 12 days that ended on Wednesday, 11 bodies were found in the desert between the Mexican border and Tucson

Yep ...The Mexican government should be ashamed...but they are not...kinda like Castro...when he dumped his folks....hey how about the Americans killed by illegal alien each year....??????????????????????????
Have not seen anyone on the OBL side write about these Americans killed and murdered by these invaders...

"In the 12 days that ended on Wednesday, 11 bodies were found in the desert between the Mexican border and Tucson.
How many more will die before Congress musters the courage to act on an immigration bill that includes a humane process for regulating the flow of foreign workers into the United States?"

Gosh, maybe for starters, Mexico should revise the little pamphlets they pass out. Instead of telling people how to sneak across the border safely, maybe they should tell them that crossing the border is not safe and Mexicans should stay in Mexico. But, no, you don't see them writing about that, do you?

These are Traitors talking ... they want to take out the Americans because we're the only ones with the ideals or gumption to stop One World Government.

That's why they don't care if we're murdered any illegal aliens. They probably wish they would murder US all.

I sent them a lettor to the editor tonight, but I'm sure they won't run it.

To the editor: Re, "Immigration bill's demise not a reason to cheer" published 07-01-07,
shows me how out of touch you are with the people of Arizona which is reflected in falling circulation. I would love to drop your paper immediately on Sundays but unfortunately there are no alternatives. I'm only expressing what you deserve as you present such a
condescending attitude to the majority of Arizonans and blatantly equate us with John Birchers and call Minutemen a "militia". I find your comments mean spirited and bigoted and believe you should apologize to your readers.

I disagree, It was a reason to cheer. In fact, I'm still cheering!

"How many more will die?"

Let's see now. 25 Americans are killed each day by illegal aliens.
So to answer your question, quite a few of us will continue to die.

My comment to the Author.

This Author is an idiot. He say that we need new laws WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ENFORCE THE CURRENT LAWS. What a moron to think we should believe anything our goverment tells us. Thankfully, we as a people are not as STUPID as this author.