April 03, 2006

Populists Beware Of Immigration Reform?

America is a melting pot because people of varying races and backgrounds come to the U.S. and bring their culture, and they choose to learn about America and our way of life. Many immigrants have assimilated. That is what ties us together as a family. When there are millions of illegal immigrants who do not wish to assimilate and go about the proper way to immerse themselves in American culture, and become legal, they undoubtedly isolate themselves. Americans should not feel that, in order to bridge the divide to communicate with an exploding Latino population, that we must take Spanish. - Felicia Benamon (an American first, an Afro-American second)

Edward Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee in the 2004 election cycle, has a piece titled "Populists Beware" in the Opinion Journal today in obvious support for a temporary guest worker program (surprise - his firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, represents clients who support a temporary guest worker program). He warns Republicans that the GOP must not become an anti-immigration party, and he irrationally draws a connection between being "anti-illegal immigrant" and being "anti-immigrant".

According to Gillespie, Republicans in Congress must choose either a comprehensive immigration reform package including a guest-worker program or a narrowly focused border-security bill. He then offers that the former would improve homeland security, help our economy and build greater Republican majorities, but the latter, conversely, would ignore fundamental problems, hurt our economy and risk the party's majority status. To support his premise, Gellespie accurately points out that between 2000 and 2004, President Bush increased his support in the Hispanic community by nine percentage points. Had he not, John Kerry would be president today (Perish the mere thought).

While Gillespie certainly knows his business, and who am I to argue with a political expert, reading his entire piece convinces me that while many of his points are valid, he, like so many of those supporting the guest worker program, fails to look at the issue in a balanced perspective. There's a very big difference between those that have come to America legally, and those that sneak into the country illegally.

No matter how you cut it, those that cross our borders illegally are criminals, and the fact that the U.S. government has failed to protect our borders and has also failed to enforce the enforcement of our laws is itself also criminal. To further fail to enforce the laws that have been criminally ignored is simply encouraging more criminal behavior and the continued invasion of America by an what has clearly become and "army" of illegal aliens in more ways than one.

And while I'm blowing my top, why is it that I keep hearing from politicians and the news media, even Fox TV, that we can't simply throw out 12 million criminals? Why not? Every time one goes to the doctor, a hospital, a school, receives a traffic ticket, applies for any program or job, aren't all of these opportunities to arrest them and spirit them back to where they came from? Shouldn't this have already been done during the last ten years while the federal government has sat back and allowed the problem to now reach a crisis point?

Frankly, I'm getting damned tired of having to go through a bilinqual menu every time I call a business, tired of paying to support services for people that have invaded my country illegally (although I certainly support caring for them during a very brief few days while we are arranging their transportation out of the country), tired of seeing Mexican flags flying over the streets of America, tired of hearing people that barely can speak English tell me on television about all of their rights and telling me what we legal Americas have to do for them while they are trampling all over ours (we have to obey laws, pay taxes, and behave responsibly (as do my kids who are not allowed to skip school), and yes, I'm also very tired of seeing politicians place politics way in front of what's good for America.

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Posted by: Richard@hyscience at 01:16 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 If you look back in history, these so called illegal immigrants were here before any americans were!!! Read your history book guys. The english came over here and pushed the indians south and took thier land from them forming what is now the United States and the indians became Mexico. We took from them, go live the life that Mexicans have to live for 1 week, you'll never make it! I have been there and it is not easy! Why can't we just live together and be happy instead of all the bull we put each other through? Do u think in Heaven the Lord is going to separate us?

Posted by: April Castro at April 03, 2006 03:04 PM (msYTX)

2 April, Yes, I can see and have a much better idea of what life in Mexico must be like than many. However, ILLEGAL immigration lets the Mexican government off of the hook of fixin the Mexican economy and giving Mexicans an oppurtunity at home. Up here, the government has to make sure it doesn't pursue economy killing policies because what happens if the economy is driven into the ground? Where would all of our unemployed go? There are Mexican workers up here where I live. I talked to one last year who was tending bar at a local establishment. He is up here working, where are his wife and children? At home apart from him. Is that what the people of Mexico want? There is one other nation on earth in a similar position. Its biggest source of foreign currency is its labor force and that is not what the people want, but it is what they must deal with. I'm all for liberal immigration quotas but not for immigration law violation.

Posted by: Marcus Aurelius at April 03, 2006 03:33 PM (ffPYG)

3 The problem is the quota system. Immigration was last reformed in 1986, a lot has happened since then. People are coming from different place for different reasons today. Rather than having a quota for each country, there should be one number that doesn't pay any attention to country of origin. I'm also not a big fan of the idea that it takes a decade for people to come to the US going through the proper channels - I think we could take a few years off that process with some new technology. As far as the guest worker/blue card program. It's a bad idea to limit people to only "agricultural" jobs. It's damn near immoral to condemn people to entry level jobs with no chance for advancement.

Posted by: KG at April 03, 2006 04:41 PM (SZsz5)

4 Liberals, be they Republicans or Democrats, always resort to ad hominem attacks on those using facts to shut down their arguments. Bush and the liberals who have been, and are heading the GOP have been doing this the last few weeks. Gillespe is just the latest in a long line of liberal (we used to call them Rockerfeller) Republicans to call conservatives names. Liberals of both parties have no shame and not much honor.They play the race card at will. Bush and the "leaders" of the GOP are in the process of destroying the GOP. But we saw this happen in 1992 with another liberal Bush President. Remember Bill "won" with only 42% of the vote, while Bush pulled in 33%. This is not the first time; and will not be the last either.

Posted by: Jo macDougal at April 03, 2006 06:17 PM (c2Gyu)

5 Excuse me, but is "Juan" an Aztec name? Is "Pablo" a Mayan name? No, they are Spanish names -- as in "European Spanish". As in the U.S., there are very few pure-blooded Indians/aboriginals left, so get over yourselves, amigos. The 9% increase among Hispanic voters in the last election was from LEGAL citizen voters. They don't want law-breakers HERE any more than the other Americans.

Posted by: Veritas Regina at April 03, 2006 06:39 PM (jXE2n)

6 "...aren't all of these opportunities to arrest them and spirit them back to where they came from?" Not as long as we keep allowing Los Angeles, New York and other cities to make their own rules by declaring themselves "sanctuary cities". The fact is they're in violation of a federal law, but no one cares. We can't even get a law passed which says they must obey an existing law. Is that ridiculous, or what?

Posted by: Oyster at April 04, 2006 05:50 AM (YudAC)

7 April, you stupid liberal whore, we didn't push the natives out of North America; we pretty much wiped them out. Oh, and by the way, there is now evidence that Europeans crossed into North America some few thousand years before Asians did, so we win again you stupid tart.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at April 04, 2006 06:15 AM (0yYS2)

8 The answer is really quite simple, Its time to "Annex" Mexico. With all we have to offer,Health care, unions and cable TV. lets let the mexicans vote on it! Viva La Annexation!!

Posted by: Vegas Vic at April 04, 2006 01:33 PM (LtJil)

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Posted by: CLONAZEPAM at April 08, 2006 10:10 AM (NrsdV)

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