Amnesty Insanity | Rubio's Reform Ruse | America Wants Border Security First!
We will provide more details as we have them, but I'm skeptical. Security has been promised repeatedly for thirty years. It hasn't been done.
For months the Gang of Eight has been promising that its bill would secure the border. Yet those Senators have voted down every significant border security amendment, including one for additional fencing. Not surprisingly, the Congressional Budget Office determined that the Gang of Eight bill would not significantly improve border security.
But suddenly today there is a breakthrough on security. We're just supposed to trust that they got it right this time. By the way, in 2006 Congress passed the Secure Fence Act calling for 700 miles of additional fencing along the border. Only 35 miles of it got built.
When Democrats got their first look at the bill several weeks ago, liberals and their pro-amnesty allies were trying to conceal their glee. Politico reported that the bill was "far more generous to their constituencies than Democrats and Hispanic activists expected. … their side made off with more policy victories than it could've predicted."
Why don't our Republican friends understand that the level of trust for anything favored by Obama, Schumer and Pelosi is less than zero? After healthcare reform, why would we trust this crowd with comprehensive anything?
And who is going to decide that the border is secured? If it is left to some Obama agency I guarantee it won't happen. Don't forget that this administration is laying off hospital workers at Walter Reed and air traffic controllers rather than EPA bureaucrats. How long until the new Border Patrol agents are laid off? Obama's got that big African vacation to pay for.
As Rush Limbaugh said today, no one is talking about how to stop illegal immigration, but how to get to 70 votes in the Senate. This latest "deal" is only meant provide cover for senators to vote for amnesty. Like the definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results -- we've been down this road before. Let's try something different.
Drop the comprehensive part and focus on border security first. The border needs to be secured before any kind of legalization is even contemplated. Make members of Congress go on the record every year by voting to certify whether or not the border is secured.
Once illegal immigration has been reasonably reduced and the border is under control, then we can start talking about what to do with the illegal immigrants "in the shadows."
Rubio's Reform Ruse - Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), whom I admire and have high hopes for, is now seriously damaging himself among grassroots conservatives. Most conservatives will not consider any legislation that doesn't secure the border before giving illegal immigrants a "pathway to citizenship" or amnesty, depending on your point of view.
As most of you know, I worked for Ronald Reagan for eight years. President Reagan pushed through a citizenship bill after being promised by Congress and leading Republican senators at the time that the legislation would guarantee border security. But it was a charade.
The border was not secured, and today, as a result, we are once again debating another amnesty bill. Only instead of 3 million illegal immigrants, we are now talking about 10 to 15 million.
By the way, after that law was signed by Ronald Reagan in 1986, Republicans did worse among Hispanics than before he agreed to the bill. In 1984, Reagan got 37% of the Hispanic vote. Four years later, after the '86 amnesty, George H. W. Bush got just 30% of the Hispanic vote.
Senator Rubio said border security was essential for any legislation to pass. But in recent interviews he has said the earned citizenship begins immediately no matter what the situation is at the border.
The bill he and the other seven members of the Gang of Eight are pushing essentially trusts the Obama bureaucracy, or perhaps the Hillary Clinton bureaucracy in 2016, to certify that the border is secure. That is beyond naïve. That is intentional blindness about just how badly out-of-control the overwhelmingly huge and growing government is.
Out of loyalty to the Gang of Eight, Senator Rubio has so far voted against every significant amendment to strengthen the border security provisions of the Senate's quasi-amnesty bill. Respectfully, Senator Rubio, your loyalty should not be to any Senate "gang," but to the conservative movement that helped to make you a United States senator.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on the radio this morning that nobody from the Gang of Eight has reached out to him on his border security amendment, which would require Congress to vote every year on whether the border is secure.
Former Congressman Allen West made news this morning when he said he was so disappointed in Rubio that he was considering the possibility of challenging him in the GOP primary in 2016.
America Wants Border Security First! - As I mentioned above, a central premise of the conservative view on immigration is border security. That view is not limited to the political right. It is shared by most Americans -- a fact our elected public servants in Congress (particularly Republicans) should keep in mind.
A recent CNN poll asked Americans, "What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with immigration policy?" Only 36% said "creating a path to citizenship for many immigrants" illegally in the country.
The overwhelming majority -- 62% -- said the main focus should be "increasing border security to reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants coming into this country without permission."
Let's break down the data even further:
- 74% of Republicans support border security over legalization.
- 65% of independents support border security over legalization.
- Democrats are split with 49% favoring border security and 50% favoring legalization.
- Even among "Non-whites," 47% believe the main focus of our immigration policy should be border security, while 52% believe it should be legalization.
According to its findings, "CBO ;estimates that, under the bill, the net annual flow of unauthorized residents would decrease by about 25 percent relative to what would occur under current law." Moreover, the CBO adds that "aspects of the bill would probably increase the number of unauthorized residents -- in particular, people overstaying their visas issued under the new programs for temporary workers."
So 62% of Americans favor border security over legalization, but this bill fails to stop 75% of illegal immigration.
And what about those new programs for temporary workers? What other effects might they have? The CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation both concluded that "a greater number of immigrants with lower skills … would be added to the workforce, slightly pushing down the average wage for the labor force as a whole."
Once again, I am baffled by those who appear so eager to push legislation that does not accomplish what the American people want (border security) and which hurts working class Americans. Republicans should stand firmly for the rule of law, secure borders and strong national security and support policies that help, not undermine, the wages of working class and middle class families.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families where his articles are also shared.
Tags: Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, senate, immigration bill, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 4:00 PM - Post Link
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