Navarrette: Amnesty Bill Divides Both Sides of Debate
“Thanks to the “border surge” amendment sponsored by Republican Sens. Bob Corker and John Hoeven, what we got was a bill that will do some good for about half of the 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States. According to policy analysts, only about 6 million are likely to qualify for legal status, be able to afford the fees, clear background checks or stick around long enough to reap a benefit,” says Ruben Navarrette Jr.
“As amended, the Senate bill specializes in division. It splits Republicans between those who want to make amends with Hispanics and those who think Hispanics are a lost cause for the GOP. But the bill also splits the immigration reform coalition. It divides Mexican immigrants with a stake in the outcome from self-righteous Mexican-Americans who are comfortable taking risks with legislation that doesn’t affect them as much as it does other people.”
George W. Bush to Assist Amnesty Push
“When House Republicans file into the Capitol on Monday to start thrashing out a response to the Senate’s landmark immigration bill, former President George W. Bush will be presiding over a ceremony for new U.S. citizens at his newly minted library in Dallas. In a keynote address to mark the center’s first major policy event, Bush will argue that overhauling the nation’s immigration laws will be good for the country. A panel discussion titled ‘What Immigrants Contribute’ will follow,” the LA Times reports.
“Bush is not necessarily a role model for the new generation of Republican lawmakers. Many lean more to the right and reject a basic tenet of immigration reform — a long-term path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the country illegally — in a package with tougher border security and guest-worker programs.”
Tea Party Readies for Amnesty Fight
“After spending weeks dealing with the fallout from the IRS targeting scandal, Tea Party groups are starting to focus their energy on the immigration bill — a development that could imperil President Obama’s hopes for a speedy approval. Before adjourning for the Fourth of July holiday break, the Senate easily approved its version of the legislation. The bill now rests with the House, where Republicans say they will take up their own version,” Fox News reports.
“But House lawmakers already are hearing conservative calls to slow things down. And if the debate leaks into August — when Congress takes a nearly month-long recess — the prospects could get even more wobbly. The Tea Party, during the 2009 August recess, famously helped stall ObamaCare by storming town hall meetings and other events.”
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To put it in prospective……as a devil’s advocate to Navarro’s article……if the Bill does not pass then we will be in a worse situation…………………no extra border security and more illegals in the future………………………..SO…..it appears this might be it………….where once/if done there will ever be another of its kind…..so this must be the time to just take the broken plates and move forward instead for what we have…….. else the Republican party for the first time in history will be gone………
Yes John
Assuming we don’t enforce immigration and identity theft laws already on the books; like 100% E-verify with SSN duplication identity theft checks; for 100% of all American jobs…..
If we don’t enforce existing laws it clearly makes our politicians anarchists; border security or no border security.
You keep on repeating…if we don’t enforce our laws……could you tell me who does?
Mr Navarrette is having a conflict of personality in his article.
I live in a part of the country with a large population of illegal immigrants from south of the border. I went to the Fourth of July parade in a local city and there were very few Mexicans. Afterward I went a couple of blocks down the street to the local mall and there were huge numbers of Mexicans inside shopping. It is obvious that most of them are just here for the goodies and are not particularly interested in becoming Americans, as we saw with the immigration marches when millions initially marched waving Mexican flags.
What happens in the future when a majority of people living in states in areas that were once part of Mexico identify themselves as Mexican? Consider what is happening in China today. China’s government has been brutal in cracking down on violent separatist movements in Tibet and their heavily Muslim northwest region of Xinjiang. The Chinese are moving millions of ethnic Han Chinese into these regions because they have figured out that if most of the people living in these regions are Han Chinese they will lose their separate cultural identity and become part of the cohesive whole of China and be less unstable. There currently is a large amount of bloodshed between the native Uigher people in Xinjiang and the newly arriving ethnic Han Chinese. China’s government has recently moved in huge numbers of paramilitary troops and armored vehicles to crush all violence.
Just look at US history. As American settlers moved West and as American settlers began to outnumber Mexicans, the stage was set for the Texas War for Independence, the Mexican-American War, etc. As long as the goodies keep coming I doubt there will be a lot of unrest here now. But after their numbers have grown dramatically and our government is no long able to borrow trillions from foreigners, who knows what the future holds. History can happen here, it has before.
so tons of then are spending their money in the US?…………..that is good news
Tons of Mexicans who are not loyal to the US spending their money here would be great news if they planned to return to Mexico after their shopping trips. It would also be great if they were not breaking our laws moving here and settling in lands Mexicans think belong to Mexico and were stolen from them by the US.
SecBorders who invited them to come here? who became wealthy or created wealth here? THE PEOPLE………………so whose fault it is if there is any…….?
“Make amends with Hispanics”? Why do you have to make apologies for enforcing the law. Those same illegal “Mexicans” that Ruben Navarrette Jr. cries a river over happen to come from a country that does not wring it’s hands over enforcing their laws. You obey them or you are gone. Stay longer than your visa leave date or be in the country illegally and you will be lucky if all they do is make you leave, instead of jailing you.
Their constitution also legally discriminates. Those from Spanish speaking countries are eligible for citizenship two years ahead of anyone else. Many government offices and positions in the military are forbidden to those not born in the country. Property ownership, unlike in this country, is restricted for non citizens.
As for George W. Bush, essentially he was a totally pro illegal alien, open borders president. And quite frankly, his sister in law, Jeb’s wife, is Mexican. Yes, he got a bigger Hispanic vote by margin than previous GOP candidates, but it was still well short of a majority. His father George HW Bush, got only 31% of the Hispanic vote in 1988, even though he totally supported as vice president the amnesty Reagan signed in 1986.
After spending weeks dealing with the fallout from the IRS targeting scandal, Tea Party groups are starting to focus their energy on the immigration bill — a development that could imperil President Obama’s hopes for a speedy approval. Before adjourning for the Fourth of July holiday break, the Senate easily approved its version of the legislation. The bill now rests with the House, where Republicans say they will take up their own version,” Fox News reports.
“But House lawmakers already are hearing conservative calls to slow things down. And if the debate leaks into August — when Congress takes a nearly month-long recess — the prospects could get even more wobbly. The Tea Party, during the 2009 August recess, famously helped stall ObamaCare by storming town hall meetings and other events.”
Personality, many in the Tea Party are not as passionate against illegal immirgation as Obamacare or tax cuts.