Thread: Fallacy and Deceit in the McCain/Kennedy Amnesty bill

The Fallacy and Deceit of the McCain-Kennedy Illegal Immigration Amnesty Bill

It’s not every day that the voters get to see two normally ideologically opposed senior senators collude together to deceive the American people. Unfortunately, the McCain/Kennedy Amnesty bill is just such an example of this kind of deceit. For either one of those senators to get in front of cameras, as both of them have repeatedly done recently, is a very shameful example of how far our political leaders have strayed off the path of service to our country. In fact, their behavior is a startling example of just who they owe their allegiance to, or more precisely to whose allegiance they do not owe.
For either of them to assert that this bill is not an amnesty bill would be laughable were this not such a terribly serious national matter. If there are 12 million or 20 million people in this country illegally, and no one really knows the number, which in itself should be alarming, then granting them legal status to live and work here is amnesty. It is also grossly unfair to the people who are trying to get here legally while waiting for a green card. And to say that the illegals do not go to the head of the line, is to torture the English language ala Bill Clinton (‘it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is’). The prize here is not US citizenship, as in the ‘back of the line’ semantic exercise. The prize is the legalization process whereby law breakers get to stay here, and legally work and live here. That is precisely what McCain/Kennedy amnesty would allow. They are being deceitful on this point and the deceit is quite transparent.

As for fallacies- we’ve heard them before when the last amnesty bill was passed in 1986.
Ok, they’ve been updated since that failed amnesty program promised to be the ‘last amnesty’ bill. Now we are being told how difficult the bar will be because the new crop of illegals, whose numbers are far larger in part, because amnesty bills beget more amnesty bills, will have to speak English, pay back taxes and pass a ‘background check’.
If anyone believes that, you show go to the head of the line for a brain transplant. Here’s why; If you are an illegal who has broken your first law when you stepped over the border, and then most likely forges social security cards (or bought one for 5$ as you can do on any day here in San Jose, Ca), then you only need to recall, how much you earned for each and every year that you have been here- up to 20 years in some cases. And of course, anyone who routinely break immigration law, and forges documents, will most certainly be honest enough, and accurate from recollection, to pay all state and federal taxes. And where a modest earner will get the money for those taxes, is of course, another detail that neither McCain nor Kennedy has bothered to explain. But I think that one of my favorite fallacies from these two con artists, is the nonsense about ‘background checks’. Most of these folks that are here illegally are from undeveloped countries, most notably Mexico and Central America. Are we to believe that those countries, even if capable, which is highly unlikely, would cooperate with a US background check? And as for US background checks, what name and address do you check since many illegals use multiple identifications and addresses. And what would be the criteria for failing to pass the background check? I have heard absolutely nothing about this from the two grinning senators. Obviously break immigration law is OK, and I would assume that forging federal documents like Social Security cards, is OK. I guess not paying taxes will be OK and forgiven. So what causes a red flag? Is it OK if you have been deported numerous times only to come back again illegally? Or if you lied in 1986 to be eligible for amnesty is that OK? So maybe, as was reported in the NY Times last June, you lied, got the 1986 amnesty, got your real documents and green card, decided to go back to Mexico and realized you could ‘rent’ your documents to other illegals to use in the US, would that be OK? Just what is a failing grade on a background check?

And then there is the image in my mind of Michael Chertoff managing this newly created disaster called amnesty. The Depratment of Homeland Security (DHS) is in bureaucratic disarray and its component parts have been for many years. This is the agency that will manage 12-20 million new guest workers and verify or monitor the criteria for legalizing the Illegal immigrants. This is the same agency that managed the Katrina disaster. And the same agency that gave a pass to the Dubai Ports World fiasco. It is the same group of folks who brought us to the terrible mess that we are in now at our borders. DHS has made a mess of the H1-Be visa program that was to allow 65,000 foreigners into the US as ‘Guest Workers’ and could not even seem to count the number of visas correctly. And 65,000 is a lot smaller number than 12-20 million folks! (BTW, the Kennedy/McCain bill has an amendment in it to massively increase that program as well.) And in case anyone forgot, DHS has had at least one Illegal Alien on the payroll as, guess what, a Border Patrol Agent who was busted for letting people in for bribes. And we even had a new arrest just today (April 5, 2006) of a high level DHS employee for soliciting child pornography. This is the agency that will manage the new ‘guest worker’ program?

So what is motivating McCain, Kennedy and the Arlene Specters of the world to totally ignore the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not want amnesty, and who do want secure borders? I am sorry to say, that whatever is motivating them, they are completely wrong headed on this and they are literally, if this mess is passed into law, creating another, much worse, immigration disaster.

Hi Dave,
Glad you joined Alipac!!!

So what is motivating McCain, Kennedy and the Arlene Specters of the world to totally ignore the overwhelming majority of Americans

May I take a wild guess? http://www.cfr.org

Coto

The McCain/Kennedy bill is all about Amnesty, citizenship and preventing illegals from being deported. Any Republican Senator who supports it significantly jeopardizes Republican control of Congress after November!

Senator Frist's bill isn't much better - he should have submitted the House bill without the felony provisions. McCain's presidential ambitions are of course over after this, as are Frist's.

Rep. Tom Tancredo however is looking good.