Immigration, again

It seems the “withdrawn” Senate immigration/amnesty bill didn’t get withdrawn very far. It’s back, unchanged, and apparently going up for yet another vote. President Bush, John McCain, and Teddy Kennedy have been joined by another big gun, Sen. Hillary Clinton, in pushing for its passage. Even the pentagon has weighed in, asking that the bill be passed, so that they can recruit a couple of hundred thousand previously unavailable illegal aliens into the US Army!

The bill has been reintroduced three times in the last month. The government has been pushing for its passage a couple of times a year for last six years. This obviously isn’t a "second chance" as the media claims, this is its 14th or 15th chance! We’re being told that its being “brought back” and “killed off” so much that most people are worn to a frazzle trying to keep track of it. This brilliant government idea has more lives than the neighborhood tomcat! I would think that by now our elected representatives employed at the big hot air machine on the hill would understand the meaning of the word “NO”, particularly when it’s being spoken loud and clearly by the “legal” voters in the land. Although if they do pass it, there will be ten or twenty million brand new voters who will quite happily say “Si” to every harebrained scheme that Teddy, Hillary, Harry, or Nancy come up with.

The part about the pentagon wanting to recruit so many illegals is alarming to me, even though I’m a strong supporter of the US military. (I’m also prone to lecture about Roman history every now and then, and this is as good an excuse as any.) Historically, the Roman Legions beat all comers, and extended “Pax Romana” to all corners of the known world. They did loose a battle occasionally, but Rome ruled the western world for centuries. Then the Roman citizens, tired of serving in the army, building roads, and “seeing the world”, decided to stay home and enjoy the famed “bread and circuses”. The Roman Senate, in desperation, began the practice of recruiting non-citizens to fill the thinning ranks of the legions. It didn’t take long before those legions were primarily made up of alien barbarian soldiers with no loyalty to Rome, but only to their particular commander, as long as they were paid regularly. The kicker came about when the Roman Senate started cutting the budget, and “downsizing” the legions. Shortly thereafter, the barbarian Vandals, who had incorporated a lot of those laid-off legionnaires into their ranks, along with a good many fellow tribesmen who had deserted from the remaining legions, were pounding on the gates of Rome itself, gates undefended by loyal Roman soldiers! Exit the Roman Empire, and say hello to the beginning of the dark ages.

According to the polls a few weeks ago (which I generally take with a grain of salt anyway), approximately 72% of the American people were opposed to this compromise immigration deal being considered by Congress. Today it’s even worse from Mr. Kennedy’s viewpoint, with (according to yet another poll) slightly over 90% of the population being opposed. Strange that the politicians, whose careers rise or fall on those polls, seem to be ignoring these astounding numbers. I can understand President Bush not being concerned, as he’s out of a job next election anyway. But all the Senators and Representatives who hope to get re-elected in the not to far distant future? Then to, why are the two major political parties in this country, both of whom have popularity problems with the voters, ignoring the public will and apparently daring the voters to do their worst? Is something going on in the arcane world of American politics that we don’t know about?

President Bush has stated "We've got to convince the American people this bill is the best way to enforce our border." It’s somewhat enlightening that our president, who is sworn to uphold the laws of this nation, thinks that the people need to be "convinced" that ignoring the laws, leaving the border wide open, allowing mass amnesty, and inviting chain migration, is the best thing for the country. To my way of thinking, that’s the exact opposite of ensuring our border security or enforcing our existing immigration laws.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) published a list of 20 loopholes in this recurrent immigration bill which he claims is indicative of the flaws. This list of loopholes includes things like border security, chain-migration and assimilation policies. The list also exposes a lack of attention to legislation curing our present immigration ailments. For example, one loophole in the legislation prevents the benefits of merit-based immigration from taking full effect until 2016. Until then, chain migration into the U.S. will reportedly triple, compared to a very low increase in skill-based immigration. Another allows immigrants to avoid demonstrating a proficiency in English for more than a decade. Legal status must be granted to illegal aliens 24 hours after they file an application, even if the aliens have not yet “passed all appropriate background checks.” (The previous bill gave DHS 90 days to check an alien’s background before any status was granted). After filing an application and waiting 24 hours, illegal aliens will receive full “probationary benefits,” complete with the ability to legally live and work in the U.S., travel outside of the U.S. and return, and their own social security card. Claims that the bill also “expands fencing” are erroneous, as the bill only requires 370 miles of fencing to be completed, while current law already mandates that more than 700 miles be constructed. Some felons, including child molesters are not barred from getting amnesty. Even better, illegal aliens with terrorist connections are not barred. The to, members of violent gangs such as MS 13 are not deported after coming out of the shadows, but are instead are allowed amnesty if they “renounce” gang membership on their application. Oh yeah, free legal counsel and the expenses of arbitrators will be provided to aliens that have been working illegally in agriculture. Now however, the Washington Times reports that House Democrats are breaking the immigration issue up into a series of smaller bills that would put off the tougher parts and allow others to pass, such as border security, and high-tech and agriculture worker programs that have clear support. That would allow the Democrats more time to find an answer to the problem of amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens now here. It would go against the Senate's massive catchall approach and contradicts President Bush's call for the broad based bill to pass. So now instead of the big “compromise” package deal, we get a bunch of little ones, amounting to the same thing?

Perhaps they’ll finally get the message, and eliminate some of the more odious provisions?