Yo, Senator, We're Not That Stupid
Thomas Sowell celebrates the stoppage of the immigration bill (as do I):
Among the fraudulent arguments was that illegal immigrants were taking "jobs that Americans won't do." What that really meant was that they were taking low wages that Americans wouldn't take.Another fraudulent argument was that "We can't find and deport 12 million people."
A much bigger problem than these 12 million people are the tens of millions of additional immigrants who are virtually certain to come in, legally or illegally, if amnesty is extended.
After all, there were only 3 million illegal immigrants the last time an amnesty bill was passed, back in 1986. That's how we got to 12 million.
Research at the Heritage Foundation indicates that tens of millions more people can be expected to come over the border from Mexico in the years ahead unless something is done to stop them.
These tens of millions would include not only Mexicans but also people from other countries entering the United States from Mexico because that border is so poorly guarded. Terrorists would find that very convenient.
The "comprehensive" immigration "reform" bill offered nothing that was likely to stop them.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III exposed how little this bill added to border security laws already on the books, in a June 7th column in the Wall Street Journal.
...There is no inadequacy in our existing laws on border security that the new bill would have remedied. But no law is adequate if it is not enforced.
Non-enforcement of existing laws by the federal government and active sabotage of these laws by state and local officials who forbid the police from reporting illegal aliens to the authorities suggest that existing laws could be effective -- if enforced.
When the new immigration bill gave the government just 24 hours to "investigate" each illegal immigrant before rubber-stamping him into legality, it is clear that there was no serious intention of investigating or enforcing the new law.
You can't get a credit card application approved in 24 hours. But Congress was prepared to fling open the borders to millions of people on the basis of 24-hour investigations.
I guess, to buy Latino votes, and those of businesses paying, or who'd like to pay, exploitative wages for labor...while letting the taxpayers pick up the cost of health care and other services for their employees.
Good riddance to a crappy bill.
As an aside - was this legislation not the best example of the old phrase "politics makes for strange bedfellows"? (well, except for maybe Carville and Matalin... shudder.). Kennedy, Kyl, Lott, Big business, immigrant-friendly unions, etc in favor, with hardcore righties and lefties opposed. Also, the fact that this legislation failed on cloture should also help to quiet the righties "up or down vote" nonsense, right?
justin case at July 6, 2007 10:05 AM
> That's how we got to
> 12 million.
Well, it's not all about us. Mexico is more populous and presumably wretched than it was in the 80's, though not necessarily three times as bad.
Following a nearby post of Amy's, someone was saying that to be lawful about this we need to punish the 'employers who cheat' by hiring inexpensive immigrants. But I think that's almost everyone, not just the abjectly corrupt.
It's been said (of my Southern California in particular) that our success is built on artificial cheapness of three things: Water, real estate, and labor.
Crid at July 8, 2007 2:37 AM
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