http://www.mininggazette.com/stories/ar ... cleID=3425

Published: Monday, September 04, 2006

Amnesty program poor policy
When Washington politicos don’t want embarrassing facts to make the front pages, they release them late in the day on a Friday, by which time even most of the 24-hour cable reporters have gone home for the weekend.

The release of a Congressional Budget Office assessment of the Senate’s illegal immigration amnesty bill went a step further: Just to be safe, the CBO study’s sponsors held its release until a Friday night.

And no wonder: The CBO calculates that the Senate legislation ultimately would grant amnesty to 16 million illegals and cost taxpayers at least $126 billion over the next 10 years.

One of the biggest costs: Some $50 billion in federal benefits that would accrue to lawbreakers in the form of welfare, Social Security and Medicaid services — paid for by law-abiding taxpayers.

Apologists for the Senate legislation claim that much of the price tag would be incurred anyway if real border-enforcement measures were imposed. But these costs amount to only a fraction of the total tab, according to the CBO report — less than $10 billion.

Most Americans, polls consistently show, don’t want an amnesty program. They simply want the U.S. government to adequately enforce our borders and to welcome those who wish to come here legally to make a better life for themselves and their families.

The Senate and White House’s continued disconnection on this issue is simply stunning. Amnesty proponents know by now that theirs is a deeply unpopular cause. That they would resort to holding the facts at bay until the dark of a Friday night speaks volumes about the substance of their argument.