Senators’ Amnesty Push Gears Up
“As President Obama prepared to unveil his plan to overhaul the nation’s immigration system Tuesday, advocates for immigrants in Massachusetts and nationwide mobilized for what they say is their best chance in almost three decades to secure a path to US citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States,” the Boston Globe says.
“Critics of the Senate group’s plan said they have heard promises of tough and lasting changes before, such as in the bipartisan legislation known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act that Ronald Reagan signed in 1986. The law legalized nearly 3 million illegal immigrants and promised to increase enforcement, making it a crime for employers to knowingly hire illegal immigrants. But enforcement proved to be weak, allowing the illegal immigrant population to soar to 12 million nationwide, though the numbers have since declined, along with the economy.”
Amnesty Deja Vu
“A legislative proposal out of Washington may soon give hope to millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States, while at the same time sparking renewed fears of a system run amok and warnings that years of inaction have made the problem only more complex,” VOA reports.
“Groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) are not impressed. ‘To a certain extent this is deja vu,’ said Special Projects Coordinator Jack Martin. ‘It basically is a rehash of the push that was made in 2007 to come up with a comprehensive immigration reform that could pass. And it did not pass Congress.’ FAIR’s biggest objection is the plan’s path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, a provision it sees as nothing more than a general amnesty.
Rubio Goes on Limbaugh Show to Sell Amnesty
“Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., took his case for an overhaul of the nation’s immigration system straight to one of the most influential voices in Republican politics, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh,” McClatchyDC.com says.
“Their friendly exchange notwithstanding, Limbaugh remained opposed. And their exchange underscored a key facet of the coming debate over whether to allow a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now inside the U.S.: Republicans are split on the immigration issue and the schism is not going to be easily healed.”
Rubio also published an op-ed at Redstate defending his plan.
President’s Immigration Reform Plan Places Interests of Illegal Aliens Ahead of Americans
“President Obama’s outline for overhauling the nation’s immigration policy places the interests of illegal aliens above the vital interests of American workers and taxpayers, charged the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The president’s speech in Las Vegas sketched out a reform plan designed to aid and abet those who broke our immigration laws, increase competition for American workers, and pander to those who politically profit from illegal immigration, rather than truly fix a system that has been broken for decades,” said FAIR in a press release.