Bush's latest amnesty twist

Posted: April 6, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

Listen to President Bush or his White House spokesmen and you would believe they are steadfastly opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens.

Of course, their definition of amnesty is pretty unusual. To them, and their Republican apologists in Congress, it means awarding illegal aliens citizenship, forgiving all, allowing them to remain in the U.S. without penalty or cost for as long as they like.

But that is not amnesty. That would be a reward for bad behavior.

Most Americans, seeing their communities changed for the worse, have understood the semantics game being played by the Bush administration and other advocates of amnesty – official disregard of the laws of the land by the very people charged with enforcing them.

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So Bush has come back with a new amnesty plan designed to look like it's tough on lawbreakers, but, in actuality, it gives them every thing they really want. The only people it's really tough on are law-abiding American citizens – the people Bush is constitutionally charged with serving.

Here's how it goes.

Illegal aliens, whose very presence in the country is a result of their lawbreaking activities, could apply for a three-year work visa. This would instantly transform them from illegal aliens to legal aliens. Most dictionaries would define that as amnesty.

What would happen if such a plan became law? My prediction is that millions would take advantage of the amnesty, while millions of others would not. And since there is no provision in the law to deport those who don't, what are we left with? Status quo. All the illegals we had in the country would remain, while some are now magically turned into legal residents and others are not.

But, wait a minute. There would actually be a lot more illegals in the country under the Bush "fix." We know from experience that every time Bush opens his mouth about his non-amnesty plans, illegal border crossings increase. When those caught are asked why so many more people are trying to get into Estados Unidos, they say it plain: amnistía.

Now let's look at what happens after three years to those who choose the amnesty.

Would they have to leave the country? No.

They would simply have to renew their work visa for another three years for $3,500. They could do that indefinitely for the rest of their lives. In other words, the cost of living and working in the greatest country in the world permanently is just over $1,000 a year. Heck, I pay a whole lot more than that and I was born here.

But the Bush plan actually gets worse.

If the illegal aliens with the work visa want to become permanent residents or pursue citizenship, they have to return to their country of origin, apply at a U.S. embassy to re-enter the country legally and pay a $10,000 fine. Who's going to do that? Very few.

Maybe I'm stupid, but I would think we'd want to encourage people living in the U.S. permanently to become citizens, not discourage them with penalties. If illegals are going to stay, we want them to learn to become Americans in every sense of the word, not become part of a permanent subculture of dependency, poverty and illiteracy.

Advocates of amnesty are obviously not asking themselves the most important question of all – a question that should be answered before any further talk about "comprehensive immigration reform" takes place.

Here's the question: "What kind of a country do we want America to be?"

The answer should be: "A country of equality, justice and equal opportunity for all – a nation that lives under the rule of law and observes the will of the people."

Does that sound like the kind of country Bush and the amnesty hucksters are peddling?



between the lines Joseph Farah WND Exclusive Commentary Bush's latest amnesty twist


Joseph Farah is founder, editor and CEO of WND

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