Amnesty + No Border Fence = Disaster
By Marc Rotterman
Senior Fellow at the John Locke Foundation/Former Reagan Administration Official
The New York Times reports this morning that President Obama intends to make immigration “reform” a priority this year. The Times quotes Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House, calling for “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system.”
Translating through the policy speak, Ms. Munoz is calling for amnesty. But what she is not calling for is any sort of fence, to secure the U.S.-Mexican border. Amnesty + No Fence is a formula for disaster.
According to a recent Rasmussen Reports national survey, most Americans support the continued construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and the use of the military, if necessary, in border areas.
But that’s the liberal Democratic agenda (shared by some Republicans, unfortunately), and it must be stopped. Open border advocates and some in Congress are urging Obama to stop construction of the 670 mile fence along the Mexican border.
Others are are even pushing for the fence to be completely dismantled, ignoring the will of the American people who overwhelmingly rejected the McCain-Kennedy amnesty plan in 2007 and instead supported border security.
During the recent presidential elections, the illegal immigration crisis was downplayed by both major party presidential candidates and virtually ignored by the elite media and pundits in New York and Washington. That was good news for Obama, who supported amnesty in 2007, but it was bad news for John McCain, who never could see that border security was a potential game-changer for him.
Many “Washington political experts” stated that illegal immigration was no longer an issue. But according to a recent Rasmussen Reports national survey, most Americans support the continued construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and the use of the military, if necessary, in border areas.
The pro-open border, anti-fence activists are now emboldened because former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the new Secretary of Homeland Security, is perceived to be one of them and may try to halt or further delay construction of the much-needed barrier.
The issue of border security is all the more important at a time when Mexico is in crisis. Some 5,700 deaths last year in Mexico were blamed on drug violence–is now the time to make it easier to cross the border?
In addition, America is now plunging into what could be a deep and protracted recession. With unemployment on the rise, American workers need the work, and the United States government can no longer afford the economic costs associated with illegal immigration.
The Obama administration should complete the fence and secure our borders. The legal status of those here illegally should wait–although, of course, all Americans should obey the law, and nobody should be here illegally.
If Obama won’t fulfill his sworn duty to defend the nation, and to protect the American people, then he should be held to account, by peaceful political action.
And that calling to account will happen, starting with the 2009 elections, in Virginia and New Jersey.
Marc Rotterman worked on the national campaign of Reagan for President in 1980, served on the presidential transition team in 1980 and worked in the Reagan administration from 1981-1984. He is currently a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, N.C.
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2009
Traitors want to Give Away America
President Obama is gearing up for yet another legislative battle, this time over the contentious issue of immigration, according to a New York Times report that says one of the goals will be to a create a path for illegal immigrants to become legal.
The push for immigration reform would echo one of Obama's campaign pledges, though its success is uncertain in a tough economic climate.
Administration officials told the Times that Obama plans to speak publicly about the issue in May and will press lawmakers from both parties to begin discussing legislation by the fall.
But the White House downplayed the report, with a spokesman telling FOX News the president consistently said the debate over immigration reform would start this year. The spokesman said nobody is claiming the problem will be fixed this year.
The spokesman pointed out a lengthy response Obama gave at a town hall meeting in California in March, when Obama called for strengthening the border and creating a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. He did not give a timeframe, however, for when this debate would occur.
"This is not going to be a free ride. It's not going to be some instant amnesty," Obama said at the time. "What's going to happen is you are going to pay a significant fine. You are going to learn English. You are going to go to the back of the line so that you don't get ahead of somebody who was in Mexico City applying legally. But after you've done these things, over a certain period of time you can earn your citizenship."
Several Senate Democratic aides insisted that getting any immigration bill through Congress this year would be almost impossible -- but a senior spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told FOX News Reid wants a bill on the Senate floor in September.
Democrats are in a difficult position, however. Hispanic-Americans were key to numerous Democratic victories in the last two congressional elections, as well as Obama's presidential campaign. Also, Reid, up for re-election in 2010, is from a state with a prominent Latino population, many in the massive service industry based in Las Vegas.
But the labor movement, a major backer of Democrats, is not at all in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, particularly in tough economic times.
Another complicating factor is that the lead immigration reform negotiator Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass, has been slowed by his battle with brain cancer. One Democratic source said it is possible Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will become the next point man, as he took over the reins of Kennedy's immigration subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee.
"We must solve the immigration issue and we can, even in these difficult economic times. I believe there is a real chance of passing comprehensive reform this year, and the Senate panel on immigration will begin a series of meetings and hearings later this month with an eye towards meeting that goal," Schumer said in a statement.
Schumer plans to meet with Hispanic groups when Congress returns from recess the week of April 20.
The goal of the immigration program will be "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House's intergovernmental affairs, told the Times. "He intends to start the debate this year."
However, the new push for immigration reform would come in the wake of the failure two years ago of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act. That bill received criticism from both sides of the immigration debate, despite being portrayed as a compromise between legalization of illegal immigrants and increased border enforcement.
During Obama's campaign, he pledged to "bring people out of the shadows" through a system that would allow the 12 million undocumented immigrants to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line in the citizenship process.
"Opponents, mainly Republicans, say they will seek to mobilize popular outrage against any effort to legalize unauthorized immigrant workers while so many Americans are out of jobs," the Times said.
The push for immigration reform would echo one of Obama's campaign pledges, though its success is uncertain in a tough economic climate.
Administration officials told the Times that Obama plans to speak publicly about the issue in May and will press lawmakers from both parties to begin discussing legislation by the fall.
But the White House downplayed the report, with a spokesman telling FOX News the president consistently said the debate over immigration reform would start this year. The spokesman said nobody is claiming the problem will be fixed this year.
The spokesman pointed out a lengthy response Obama gave at a town hall meeting in California in March, when Obama called for strengthening the border and creating a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. He did not give a timeframe, however, for when this debate would occur.
"This is not going to be a free ride. It's not going to be some instant amnesty," Obama said at the time. "What's going to happen is you are going to pay a significant fine. You are going to learn English. You are going to go to the back of the line so that you don't get ahead of somebody who was in Mexico City applying legally. But after you've done these things, over a certain period of time you can earn your citizenship."
Several Senate Democratic aides insisted that getting any immigration bill through Congress this year would be almost impossible -- but a senior spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told FOX News Reid wants a bill on the Senate floor in September.
Democrats are in a difficult position, however. Hispanic-Americans were key to numerous Democratic victories in the last two congressional elections, as well as Obama's presidential campaign. Also, Reid, up for re-election in 2010, is from a state with a prominent Latino population, many in the massive service industry based in Las Vegas.
But the labor movement, a major backer of Democrats, is not at all in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, particularly in tough economic times.
Another complicating factor is that the lead immigration reform negotiator Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass, has been slowed by his battle with brain cancer. One Democratic source said it is possible Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will become the next point man, as he took over the reins of Kennedy's immigration subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee.
"We must solve the immigration issue and we can, even in these difficult economic times. I believe there is a real chance of passing comprehensive reform this year, and the Senate panel on immigration will begin a series of meetings and hearings later this month with an eye towards meeting that goal," Schumer said in a statement.
Schumer plans to meet with Hispanic groups when Congress returns from recess the week of April 20.
The goal of the immigration program will be "policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House's intergovernmental affairs, told the Times. "He intends to start the debate this year."
However, the new push for immigration reform would come in the wake of the failure two years ago of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act. That bill received criticism from both sides of the immigration debate, despite being portrayed as a compromise between legalization of illegal immigrants and increased border enforcement.
During Obama's campaign, he pledged to "bring people out of the shadows" through a system that would allow the 12 million undocumented immigrants to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line in the citizenship process.
"Opponents, mainly Republicans, say they will seek to mobilize popular outrage against any effort to legalize unauthorized immigrant workers while so many Americans are out of jobs," the Times said.
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