So much is being said about the immigration
bill that’s working its way through Congress, that it’s hard to know where to
begin. Let me start by declaring that
this legislation, as it is currently proposed, is just another example of the
duplicity and dishonesty of our political elites, who believe they know what’s
best for the people they supposedly serve.In a
classic example of the maxim, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame
on me,” our political leaders are once again promising something they either
can’t or won’t deliver, which is control of our border with Mexico. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that
places a lower value on principle and honesty than it does on personal gain and
political advantage, so it’s not surprising that our legislators are once again
writing a major law that favors special interests, the people be damned. Jay
Leno recently put the situation in perspective with the following comment:
“The White House and key members from both
houses of Congress have come to an agreement on an immigration bill. Now people
from
If political pundits and
activists on the Left can argue that
As usual, the debate is
being distorted by extraneous arguments and name-calling, with those who are
demanding that something be done about border control being called “racists” or
“insensitive” to the plight of people who only come here because they want to
work.
A Side We
Don’t Hear Much About
There’s another issue
involved that we don’t hear much about, and that’s trust. The bill that has been working its way
through the Senate is 1,000 pages long, yet it was only made available to the
members of the Senate just one week before calling for a vote.
The Patriot Post reported the following commentary by John Fund (Wall Street Journal columnist):
“It’s
understandable that the White House and its Senate negotiating partners want to
rush through the compromise immigration bill they agreed to Thursday.
Supporters acknowledge that the delicately balanced legislation could collapse
if a single destructive amendment is attached to it. Its sponsors admit they
want to minimize the political debate. ‘We all know this issue can be caught up
in extracurricular politics unless we move forward as quickly as possible,’
says Sen. John McCain, a key architect of the bill. But this is no way to
debate the most sweeping change to our nation’s immigration laws in two
decades—especially since the last comprehensive attempt, the Immigration Reform
and Control Act, failed so spectacularly. The new bill is set to pass with much
less analysis in the Senate than the 1986 law, known as Simpson-Mazzoli, had. Senators did not even receive the bill draft
until
So, if the leadership of the Senate doesn’t
even trust their own members enough to allow them to weigh in on the
legislation before bringing it up for a vote, what makes the public think it
should know what’s in it before it is passed?
The simple truth is that I don’t trust anyone
in public office to do what they say they will, especially when I’m not even
allowed to know the specifics of what they are doing and am not given
sufficient time to review and react before they vote. And, my sense is that the majority of the
public feels the same way.
Some
Quotes on the Subject
The Patriot Post (
“A
‘comprehensive’ plan doesn’t mean much if the government can’t accomplish one
of its most basic responsibilities for its citizens — securing its borders. A
nation without secure borders will not long be a sovereign nation.” — Fred
Thompson (former Senator from TN).
“When
we pass a bill that gives people the impression that there are new benefits to
be had in the United States... you will have a stampede for the
U.S. border that will overwhelm our border forces.” — Congressman Duncan
Hunter (CA-R).
“Our
country is unique because it opens its arms to immigrants from everywhere and
gives them the chance to become citizens. If we start allowing ethnic groups to
make claims on the Treasury because of where they were born, we’ll quickly lose
the unity that makes our nation work.” — Ed Feulner,
Ph.D. (President, Heritage Foundation).
“Today,
all too many Americans feel like aliens in our own country—strangers in a
strange land... They’re the second and third-generation Americans—whose
ancestors came here legally, and learned our language, identified with our
history and heritage, and were proud and grateful to call themselves
Americans—who are now asked to press one if they wish to continue in English.”
— Don Feder (Syndicated Columnist)
I believe that most people
want our borders secured first, before moving on to other concerns, such as a
guest worker program. They’re not
against immigration or immigrants. What
they are against is illegal immigration, porous borders and people invading our
country seeking opportunity and a better life, but breaking our laws to do it -
and, receiving many of the privileges of citizenship once they are here, such
as health care benefits, welfare, education of their children, etc. It’s the cost, Stupid.
Immigration Facts (from ImmigrationCounters.com,
§
Illegal Immigrants in
§
Money Wired to
§
Money Wired to
§
Cost of Social Services for Illegal
Immigrants since 1996: over $397 billion
§
Children of Illegals
in Public Schools: over 4 million.
§
Cost of Illegals
in K-12 since 1996: over $14 billion.
§
Illegal Immigrants Incarcerated: over 337,000
§
Cost of Incarcerations since 2001: over
$1.4 billion
At this writing, it appears that the
immigration bill that is now in the Senate will pass, albeit by a slim margin,
but that it will fail in the House, which will take us back to square one. If Congress would listen to their
constituents and do something real about border security first, they might be
surprised to find that the public does not really oppose immigration, just
uncontrolled immigration.
© 2007 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved