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FAIR: Administration's Sham Immigration Proposals Misread Public Opinion

Posted by FAIR on Monday October 17, 2005 at 2:29 pm MST [ Send Story to Friend ]
Washington, DC- At the instigation of the White House, the Senate is preparing this week to hold hearings intended to lay the groundwork for the Administration’s push for a massive illegal alien amnesty and the admission of millions of additional guest workers. “No administration in history has been as disdainful of American workers as the one currently occupying the White House,� charged Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). “We are certain to see a parade of Administration witnesses file up to Capitol Hill to argue that our economy depends on a constant infusion of low wage foreign labor, while insisting that Americans, who until fairly recently used to do these jobs, are either unwilling, unable, or unqualified to work in their own country.�

While the public is demanding immigration enforcement and overall reductions in immigration levels, the Administration is pushing hard for sham immigration proposals in the form of an unpopular amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and massive increases in overall immigration levels.

Given the magnitude of the immigration crisis that now spreads across America, immigration enforcement must be a prerequisite to any talk of new immigration benefits, advocates FAIR. “Bluntly speaking, the American public has been lied to for nearly 20 years. An immigration ‘reform’ bill that grants immediate and massive giveaways to illegal aliens and their direct employers, in exchange for promises of future immigration enforcement is just another lie that the public will not accept. The Administration has squandered valuable time and resources, as well as national security, pursuing its dream of endless cheap labor. It is time for action, not more talk,� Stein concluded. A new push poll conducted on behalf of the Manhattan Institute -- part of the president's open borders coalition -- purports to show support for an illegal alien amnesty by offereing respondents a stark, and unrealistic choice between mass amnesty and mass deportation.

President Bush’s advocacy of what is perceived by millions around the world as a sweeping amnesty for those in the country illegally has triggered an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration. “The president, through his reckless pronouncements, has created an immigration crisis, and now he is trying to sell the nation on the idea that the only remedy is a mass amnesty and a massive increase in government mandated immigration,� Stein continued. “After consistently failing to enforce this nation’s immigration laws over the past five years, President Bush is promising that after we legalize more than 11 million illegal aliens and institutionalize a flow of millions more guest workers, that then - and only then - will the government consider enforcing the law. It is the political equivalent of sending in FEMA after the flood waters have reached the attic,� said Stein.

“This administration, in its relentless attempt to satisfy the special interest demands of its underwriters, has imperiled the economic and national security interests of the nation,� Stein said. “Neither the stagnating wages of middle class Americans, nor the staggering costs of unchecked immigration, nor the continuing threat of terrorism, has deterred the Bush Administration from its open borders agenda.�