Tucker Carlson: Bush not serious about immigration!
MSNBC News
Tucker Carlson
11/28/2005
President Bush announced a new immigration program on Monday, and was immediately accused of playing politics. The president, his opponents said, isn't more concerned about immigration reform than he used to be. He's just weaker politically. And there's no quicker way to win back the affection of the disaffected Right than to snarl about illegal aliens.
For once, the spin is right: Bush isn't serious about immigration; today's announcement was purely political. How do we know this? Let me count the ways:
For one thing, he waited an awfully long time to make the announcement. Bush has been president for five years. September 11th took place more than four years ago. And on Monday, November 28, 2005, he decides it's time to overhaul border security? Why did it take so long to notice the system was broken?
All the signs were there. The White House's own press release details them. As of now, the statement proclaims, the administration will no longer immediately release illegal aliens caught sneaking over the border. Which is to say, up until now, it has done just that. In the words of the White House: "Because detention facilities lack bed space, most non-Mexican illegal immigrants apprehended are released and directed to return for a court appearance. However, 75 percent fail to show. Last year, only 30,000 of the 160,000 non-Mexicans caught coming across our Southwest border were sent home."
In other words, 130,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants -- most from Central and South America, but also some from the Middle East and Pakistan -- were allowed to flee from justice and circulate among the American population. How long has the Bush administration been aware of this? Why wasn't something done earlier?
The answer, of course, is that much of the administration's business support comes from companies that benefit from illegal labor. This wings of the Republican Party tends to favor open borders. Under pressure not to enforce immigration laws, the White House hasn't.
And it still won't, at least not very seriously. The last paragraphs of the president's new plan outline what he calls a temporary worker program. "People in this debate must recognize that we will not be able to effectively enforce our immigration laws until we create a temporary worker program," Bush said today. The White House is quick to point out that such a program is not at all the same as amnesty. Perhaps not, but it's pretty close. Illegal aliens living in this country would be allowed to work legally for a set period of time, "and then be required to return home."
That last clause is enough to make you laugh out loud. "And then be required to return home"? Just as 130,000 apprehended illegals were required to go to court? But don't? It's a joke.
A White House serious about ending illegal immigration wouldn't issue press releases like this. Instead it would do three things:
1) Build a fence across the length of the US-Mexican border. Such a fence would be ugly and expensive (though no more expensive than the annual cost of illegal immigration to the State of California's school system.) But it would work. Not even its opponents deny this.
2) Fine employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. This is an obvious solution, a simple way to dry up demand for illegal immigration. But the business lobby opposes it, so the Bush administration resists it. Shameful.
3) Pressure the government of Mexico, with trade barriers if necessary, to help combat illegal immigration. As it stands, Mexico actively encourages illegal immigration to the US, in some cases even paying the legal fees of illegals who wind up in legal trouble here. When it comes to immigration, Mexico is our enemy, not our ally. We should force that government to switch sides.
When Bush adopts these positions, you'll know he takes border security seriously. Until then, don't believe a word.
TAKE POLL: Should illegal aliens be given Temporary Worker Permits?
Yes/No
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3080261/
