Thread: Bush puts cart before horse on immigration

Bush puts cart before horse on immigration

By: Tom Delay
Submitted on: 04/12/07


EDITORIAL - On Monday of this week, President Bush revisited the subject of illegal immigration with a policy speech in Yuma, Arizona – effectively re-igniting one of last year’s most divisive issue debates.

I take the President at his word when he says that he is committed to securing our southern border with Mexico, and I am confident that his push for increased fencing, enlarging the number of border patrol officers and adding additional monitoring technology (e.g. cameras, movement sensors, aerial drones) will pay much needed dividends. My worry, however, is that President Bush is putting the cart before the horse with his continued insistence on a guest worker program and citizenship allowances as the first step in addressing the immigration issue.

On Monday he said,

"You cannot fully secure the border until we take pressure off the border. And that requires a temporary worker program. It seems to make sense to me that if you’ve got people coming in here to do jobs that Americans aren’t doing, we need to figure out a way that they can do so on a legal basis for a temporary period of time…"

He then continued in his remarks,

"…we've got to resolve the status of millions of illegal immigrants already here in the country. People who entered our country illegally should not be given amnesty. Amnesty is the forgiveness of an offense without penalty. I oppose amnesty, and I think most people in the United States Congress oppose amnesty. People say, why not have amnesty? Well, the reason why is because 10 years from now you don't want to have a President having to address the next 11 million people who might be here illegally. That's why you don't want amnesty. And, secondly, we're a nation of law, and we expect people to uphold the law."

I agree with President Bush that there is a need for a guest worker program of sorts and that the status of illegals residing in the United States must be resolved by lawful means. Unlike the President, I believe that securing the border and basic law enforcement must be the first steps in our solution, whereas Mr. Bush has the order exactly reversed with his guest worker program and ‘earned citizenship’ initiatives at the fore.

We must enforce the law and we must understand the root problem before we offer solutions. The President feels that illegals living in our country are the root problem that we must find a solution for. I feel that a broken system which allowed those illegals here in the first place is the true root problem in need of remedy and if that dysfunctional system is fixed, our other troubles can be more easily solved.

If the laws punishing employers who hire illegals are effectively enforced, we can cut off the great lure for illegals to cross our border – gainful employment. Furthermore, many of those illegals who are already here and suddenly find themselves jobless because of this effective law enforcement will return home, without any need of deportation. In short, give Simpson Mazzoli some teeth and the full weight of the Executive’s enforcement authority and see what happens.

As for those illegals that remain, I have not yet found a plan that I can comfortably support, but I feel strongly that the president’s notion of earned citizenship is folly; particularly in its most recent incarnation which calls for illegals to pay thousands of dollars in fines and hassle with a complicated registration process. What illegal immigrant would voluntarily submit to this rigamorale?

Furthermore, I would repeal the law which says that if you are born here, you are automatically a U.S. citizen, since this statute is regrettably taken advantage of by thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrant parents. Truthfully, I cannot fault impoverished Mexican parents who cross our border in order to birth their children in this country insuring that their children become natural born U.S. citizens, yet I also insist that a common sense solution be applied to end this phenomenon.

These two points (effective law enforcement and removing natural born citizen status) in conjunction with a strong border security bill must be immediately moved on. Then and only then can you address the subject of guest worker programs and resolving citizenship status for lawbreakers.

Any other timeline is just plain wrongheaded and will ultimately lead to continued immigration failures and porous borders. Our nation’s sovereignty is at stake.



http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/07ap ... migration/

We must enforce the law and we must understand the root problem before we offer solutions. The President feels that illegals living in our country are the root problem that we must find a solution for. I feel that a broken system which allowed those illegals here in the first place is the true root problem in need of remedy and if that dysfunctional system is fixed, our other troubles can be more easily solved.

If the laws punishing employers who hire illegals are effectively enforced, we can cut off the great lure for illegals to cross our border – gainful employment. Furthermore, many of those illegals who are already here and suddenly find themselves jobless because of this effective law enforcement will return home, without any need of deportation. In short, give Simpson Mazzoli some teeth and the full weight of the Executive’s enforcement authority and see what happens.

Finally someone with some sense in the Republican Party--I hope someone is listening to him!

Originally Posted by olivermyboy

We must enforce the law and we must understand the root problem before we offer solutions. The President feels that illegals living in our country are the root problem that we must find a solution for. I feel that a broken system which allowed those illegals here in the first place is the true root problem in need of remedy and if that dysfunctional system is fixed, our other troubles can be more easily solved.

If the laws punishing employers who hire illegals are effectively enforced, we can cut off the great lure for illegals to cross our border – gainful employment. Furthermore, many of those illegals who are already here and suddenly find themselves jobless because of this effective law enforcement will return home, without any need of deportation. In short, give Simpson Mazzoli some teeth and the full weight of the Executive’s enforcement authority and see what happens.

Finally someone with some sense in the Republican Party--I hope someone is listening to him!

Tom DeLay probably not!!!

Furthermore, I would repeal the law which says that if you are born here, you are automatically a U.S. citizen, since this statute is regrettably taken advantage of by thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrant parents.

Repeal of this law is LONG overdue. I have always wondered if it would stand up in court because it originally was applied to slaves back in the 19th Century....really never intended to apply to illegal aliens.

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We must enforce the law and we must understand the root problem before we offer solutions. The President feels that illegals living in our country are the root problem that we must find a solution for. I feel that a broken system which allowed those illegals here in the first place is the true root problem in need of remedy and if that dysfunctional system is fixed, our other troubles can be more easily solved.

We do NOT have a broken system.

We have a SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN IGNORED.

There is a difference.

I sent a note along to Mr. Delay hoping to encourage him to get busy and spread the word to others in the party!


Mr. Delay,

Thank you very much for your article, "Bush puts cart before horse on immigration". It is the first common sense approach by a mainstream Republican, I have heard. The public endorses your solution and the states endorse your solution. Even most Democrats endorse your solution.

I fear that if the Republicans do not adopt your position, and pass any form of legalization, the party will cease to exist after 2008, so strong are the base's sentiments in this regard.

Thank you,

You are so right 2ndAmendsis,OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS NOT BROKEN! THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THEY ARE NOT BEING ENFROCED AND THEY ARE BEING IGNORED BY OUR SORRY EXCUSE OF A PRESIDENT AND GOVERNMENT. I AM SICK OF HEARING THAT PIN HEAD CONGRESSMAN FROM ILL.LUIS G. KEEP REFERING TO OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM. MAYBE THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN WHERE HE COMES FROM (HIS HOME COUNTRY) BUT NOT THE SYSTEM HERE IN THE U.S.A. I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT HIM TRYING TO SELL HIS THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT HE JUST MAKE ME SICK. WHO WAS DOING ALL OF THE JOBS THAT HE AND THE OTHER IDIOTS SAY AMERICANS AREN'T DOING BEFORE BUSH OPENED THE BORDER TO MEXICO? WHAT BUSH HAS DONE TO THIS COUNTRY DURING HIS TIME IN OFFICE IS VERY WRONG AND THE SAD THING ABOUT IT IS, HE IS TOO DUMB TO SEE IT. WE AS AMERICANS DESERVE MUCH BETTER THAN WE HAVE NOW AS FAR AS A PRESIDENT IS CONCERNED. ITS GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME FOR THIS COUNTRY TO OVERCOME THE DAMAGE THAT HE HAS CAUSED IT!

Why does Bush keep saying that "we have to RESOLVE the STATUS of the millions of illegal immigrants living in this country"???

The answer is simple! THEIR STATUS IS "ILLEGAL"! They are ILLEGAL ALIENS!!! THEY CAME HERE ILLEGALLY...WITHOUT PERMISSION!

What's to resolve??? The existing laws state that they must be deported! We do not have to "resolve" anything! The resolution is to follow the existing laws.

Once they are all deported, we can hire them from Mexico on a 'contract' basis, if needed. In other words, don't call us...we'll call you!