Will immigration proponents attack Michael Steele now?
The immigration debate is heating up again. The president and his supporters descended on Capitol Hill earlier this week to offer a $4.4 billion bribe to the opponents of the bill in security and enforcement funding. The problem that I see with that, as I observed yesterday when I called up Hugh Hewitt's show, is that if the Bush administration and proponents of the bill were serious, they'd implement those measures immediately in a separate bill to prove to America that they're serious about security. Today, Michael Steele penned a piece for TownHall that calls for what we've been yelling about; security first, not pandering to lawbreakers:
When House Republicans passed legislation last December that secured our borders and put a premium on strict enforcement of our immigration laws, the American people had hope that their elected leaders had heard their demands.
Sadly, the legislation that is currently leading the debate in Washington shows our Senators have turned a deaf ear to the public. Despite last week’s action stopping it from coming to the Senate floor for a final vote, efforts are being made to tinker around the edges with this legislation and pass it later this year.
The better course of action is for our elected leaders to follow the no-nonsense direction being called for by hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens: Secure Our Borders Now!
The current Senate legislation is a mirror image of the approach passed by Congress in 1986 when it forced on us amnesty for illegal immigrants in exchange for border security.
The result of that misguided approach then is an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States now.
The American people are fed up and won’t be misled again. This Congress will be judged on their actions, not their words.
Congress must stop the flow of illegal immigrants across our border. Once we know who is in our country then we can take the next step in immigration reform.
Mr. Steele is correct. America is fed up, and they're not going to be fooled again. Congress should heed his warning about being held accountable. While McCain/Feingold did it's job of protecting incumbents, there are plenty of primary challengers lining up against Republicans and Democrats alike. See, Congress forgot how much of an incendiary issue immigration actually is. Many running for election and reelection in 2006 campaigned on the need for reform. (A few of the more extreme lawmakers, like JD Hayworth -- a good man, mind you -- made it a cornerstone of their run, which allowed their opponents to open up with both barrels and paint them as "racist".)
America wants security first. We were promised it in 1986, and it wasn't delivered. We've been hearing this garbage for years that they're serious, that they're listening to us, but all we see out of them is, literally, lip service. The president and his supporters wants those that blocked cloture last week on their side. The best way to do this is to split the bills. The first one should be security and enforcement. It should focus on the completion of the fence; the implementation of a virtual fence; the hiring and training of 25,000 border patrol agents; the establishment of a database to track and identify those here in the nation, and ensure that no criminals or terrorists are given any sort of regularization benefits; and the hiring of those investigators that will run those background checks.
The second bill, which will only be activated once the above provisions are met, would deal with regularizing those here already. That includes a tamper-proof ID card identifying their immigration status, and that ID won't be issued until a complete and thorough, worldwide background check is complete. And while they will be here "legally" at that point, their should be a punishment for violating our laws int he first place. Those can be fines, paying of back taxes, and possibly a lengthier wait for citizenship for those that wish to become US citizens. And for those people, they shouldn't get to jump to the front of the line. They go to the back, and they wait like everyone else has to.
This isn't racist. This isn't nativist. It's sensible. As long as we are at war, security should be the primary focus of any legislation like this. No one can deny that we have had breaches in our national security when it comes to those wanting to hurt this nation. Drug smugglers cause tons of havoc on our southern borders, and people wishing to come here know their easiest way in is through our very porous borders. We need a common sense approach to the immigration problem, and what the president and his supporters are presenting isn't the solution. It's a bigger bureaucratic boondoggle that will be this nation's worst nightmare.
Security first, Mr. President. If you're serious about that, then implement those measures now, with the full funding, and when that's done, then we can talk about how we will "legalize" the twelve-to-twenty million illegals here now.
Publius II
When House Republicans passed legislation last December that secured our borders and put a premium on strict enforcement of our immigration laws, the American people had hope that their elected leaders had heard their demands.
Sadly, the legislation that is currently leading the debate in Washington shows our Senators have turned a deaf ear to the public. Despite last week’s action stopping it from coming to the Senate floor for a final vote, efforts are being made to tinker around the edges with this legislation and pass it later this year.
The better course of action is for our elected leaders to follow the no-nonsense direction being called for by hard-working, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens: Secure Our Borders Now!
The current Senate legislation is a mirror image of the approach passed by Congress in 1986 when it forced on us amnesty for illegal immigrants in exchange for border security.
The result of that misguided approach then is an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States now.
The American people are fed up and won’t be misled again. This Congress will be judged on their actions, not their words.
Congress must stop the flow of illegal immigrants across our border. Once we know who is in our country then we can take the next step in immigration reform.
Mr. Steele is correct. America is fed up, and they're not going to be fooled again. Congress should heed his warning about being held accountable. While McCain/Feingold did it's job of protecting incumbents, there are plenty of primary challengers lining up against Republicans and Democrats alike. See, Congress forgot how much of an incendiary issue immigration actually is. Many running for election and reelection in 2006 campaigned on the need for reform. (A few of the more extreme lawmakers, like JD Hayworth -- a good man, mind you -- made it a cornerstone of their run, which allowed their opponents to open up with both barrels and paint them as "racist".)
America wants security first. We were promised it in 1986, and it wasn't delivered. We've been hearing this garbage for years that they're serious, that they're listening to us, but all we see out of them is, literally, lip service. The president and his supporters wants those that blocked cloture last week on their side. The best way to do this is to split the bills. The first one should be security and enforcement. It should focus on the completion of the fence; the implementation of a virtual fence; the hiring and training of 25,000 border patrol agents; the establishment of a database to track and identify those here in the nation, and ensure that no criminals or terrorists are given any sort of regularization benefits; and the hiring of those investigators that will run those background checks.
The second bill, which will only be activated once the above provisions are met, would deal with regularizing those here already. That includes a tamper-proof ID card identifying their immigration status, and that ID won't be issued until a complete and thorough, worldwide background check is complete. And while they will be here "legally" at that point, their should be a punishment for violating our laws int he first place. Those can be fines, paying of back taxes, and possibly a lengthier wait for citizenship for those that wish to become US citizens. And for those people, they shouldn't get to jump to the front of the line. They go to the back, and they wait like everyone else has to.
This isn't racist. This isn't nativist. It's sensible. As long as we are at war, security should be the primary focus of any legislation like this. No one can deny that we have had breaches in our national security when it comes to those wanting to hurt this nation. Drug smugglers cause tons of havoc on our southern borders, and people wishing to come here know their easiest way in is through our very porous borders. We need a common sense approach to the immigration problem, and what the president and his supporters are presenting isn't the solution. It's a bigger bureaucratic boondoggle that will be this nation's worst nightmare.
Security first, Mr. President. If you're serious about that, then implement those measures now, with the full funding, and when that's done, then we can talk about how we will "legalize" the twelve-to-twenty million illegals here now.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 4:50 PM
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