the Centrist

Here we go again, or perhaps more appropriately ‘here they come again’.  First, make no mistake; this ‘immigration bill’ in its present form is amnesty.  And one need only look at the last time amnesty was granted and we were promised security at the border.  That was the Reagan amnesty and has resulted in an open border with millions more crossing and choosing the U.S. as their resident charity.  Senators from both sides of the aisle assure us that we will first seal the borders and then enforce the remainder of the bill.  Sound familiar?  Do they believe that we will not remember the empty Reagan promises or the bill that was passed just last November to build a fence and patrol the border? Do they think that citizens do not realize their insincerity when they purposely forgot to fund last November’s law?  If they were honest about the sealing of the border why not just fund that ruling?  The border would then be secure and they could get on with an immigration law fair to all. 

At this time I am even cynical about the promise they will be made to learn English.  Were that true all they would have to do is decree that we would never again hear: “press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish”. 

These same politicians, led by Senators Kennedy and McCain, are attempting to cram this through the Senate without even a debate.  They point to a portion of the bill that will force these illegals to pay a fine to become a citizen.  Can you imagine the bleeding heart stories which will eventually ensue?  I can just see the commercials; a little boy holding the hand of his mother looking sadly at his father laboring in the field … with the caption or voice over: “How will they ever be able to afford America? Vote proposition X to over turn this mean spirited law.” 

Make no mistake this bill has nothing to do with justice or protecting our borders.  For the businessman it is about cheap labor, but for the politician it is a fight for a voting block.  That block will number between 20-40 million within ten years.  The Democrats are banking on placing those millions into their column by offering them social programs at your expense, including importing millions more family members and granting them citizenship.  This will ensure their dominance into the foreseeable future.  Republicans who champion this bill are counting on the Hispanic strong family values and serious ties to their Catholic faith to persuade this minority to vote for them. 

Yet for the average American this immigration bill, in its present form, is a disaster.  Not only will it drain our economy and increase your taxes, but, without sealing the borders first, it is merely another promotion to citizenship by criminal activity.  This will encourage millions of more illegal aliens into the nation … and some may be looking to harm America.  According to the Dept. of Homeland Security there are presently over 600,000 illegals accused or convicted of crimes that cannot be found.   

Misplaced compassion was behind the inappropriate Reagan Amnesty as well as the disastrous Clintonian North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA).  The goal of NAFTA was to ‘export’ America’s middle class into Mexico.  Rather than export America’s middle class, we have exported our middle class jobs making the corporate fat cats fatter and our middle class smaller.  Since this has failed the next step in our insane immigration policy demands that we import those unable to create a middle class in their own country.  Therefore, we are about to reward millions of foreigners American citizenship for breaking our laws.  We will not even be able to deport criminal drug lords … they will become citizens.  Not only that, if any have cleverly avoided paying taxes, they are exempt.  Try telling that to your favorite IRS agent the next time you are audited.  It is time to take a long sober look at the immigration controversy.  As far as I am concerned Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot have proven prophetic when just 15 years ago they assured us that this was not immigration, it was an invasion.  It was and continues to be just that … an invasion of the needy sponsored by the greedy.