Moving The Goal Posts On Immigration Reform

The Big Business wing of the GOP is engaged in strong arm tactics and subterfuge in an attempt to sway the House of Representatives to sign onto an immigration bill which will cause rank and file conservative GOP supporters to desert the party in droves come November, if not for good.

RNC senior adviser/BC04 senior strategist/Ron Fournier co-author Matthew Dowd urges Republican Nat'l Committee members to favor a "comprehensive" solution to immigration, which the public believes is is "unifying -- not polarizing."

Dowd: "Furthermore, majorities of Hispanics back it. Therefore, it is imperative for the Republican Party to talk about immigration effectively and comprehensively and demonstrate leadership on this vital issue as we move toward the mid-term elections."

The strong arm has been coming from Karl Rove, twice recently dispatched to the House to gain support for Bush and the Senate's attempts to end run the will of the American people and curry favor with big business and Left Wing special interests which will never go Republican.

If the GOP's position were principled, they wouldn't sneak it out in a Friday afternoon memo, or try to accomplish their goal through closed door meetings. The core issue is not about amnesty, or comprehensive immigration reform - it's about the public trust, as I have already pointed out.

What the Dowd memo outlines may be true, but it is not accurate. The reality is that most of the public knows that if the special interests get their way on amnesty, any subsequent enforcement will get lost in the shuffle once Americans turn their backs.

Americans cannot trust our government to enforce even current immigration laws and the conclusion they won't do so in the future is born from experience, not polls, or political calculation. It's disgraceful to watch an administration I once strongly supported attempt to play this shell game on the American people.

And it's sad to see some notable Right-leaning bloggers putting experience aside to prop up what amounts to propaganda by the Bush administration.

If you want to know what's going on behind the scenes simply go to the FEC and look at Lindsey Graham's contributors - including PACs and committees. By the time you remove big tobacco and large agriculture from the list, the poor guy hardly has a dime.

Meanwhile, South Carolina is doing everything it can to crack down on illegal immigration levels growing faster there and causing more problems than most anywhere else in the United States.

The entire affair and the White House's role in this is an absolute disgrace and the betrayal of a public trust which hardly even exists any longer. And issues like this are why. From our own DEA.

South Carolina is identified more as a drug "consumer state" rather than a "source state." However, there has been increasing evidence of organizational activity extending to major distribution hubs, such as New York City (cocaine and heroin), southern Florida (cocaine and Ecstasy (MDMA)), southern Texas/Mexico (marijuana, methamphetamine, and diverted/illicit drugs), and southern California (methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine). Investigations are becoming more complex and cross numerous statewide and nationwide jurisdictions. Additionally, Mexican-based traffickers have taken advantage of the increase in Latino immigration to the state by hiding within Hispanic enclaves. Based on the last census, Hispanics are the fastest growing racial group in South Carolina. Recent investigations have targeted Hispanic, Cuban, Haitian, and Jamaican traffickers.

The White House and the Senate are selling out the American people to big business interests who couldn't care less about an American way of life so long as they get their cheap labor while American taxpayers continue to subsidize its associated but hidden health care and social service costs.

Border enforcement first, then guest worker arrangements is the only approach that makes any sense given the long history of government refusal to enforce immigration laws that hurt corporate interests.

We shouldn't allow the politicians to move the goal posts on this issue. They are using American's genuine desire to see our borders effectively regulated to pass an agenda that sells out America to special interests already more than powerful enough.

Comments

[Jake Jacobsen]

While I agree with you overall on the need for enforcement first, I do have a question. Guest worker programs are not a new idea, in fact we've had several before.

Can you give me one example of a guest worker program that had a good outcome? I can't seem to find even one, so it seems the height of folly to say we'll be pursuing a policy that has failed repeatedly in the past. In fact the most common reasons the earlier programs were shut down was fraud and abuse of the guest workers, so you know, it really seems like we're setting ourselves up for something nice down the road, no?

Also, I've been arguing that a guest worker program is actually the preferred outcome as opposed to amnesty. Amnesty creates citizens with all attendant rights and obligations, a guest worker program creates government subsidized serfs. I think this whole charade has been geared toward that outcome as being most desirable to big business which is the enemy here as you so ably noted.

just wonderin.

Thanks,
Jake

[Jake Jacobsen]

Oh, one other thought. Business, who is lying to us in so very many ways on this issue assures us they require guest workers. Why should we believe them?

I have worked in hospitality for thirty years and love to make this point. Pre-86 there were plenty of people to staff restaurants and hotels without resorting to illegals, post 86 every restaurant in the country would have to close it's doors without illegals, why? What changed exactly? And are those places that have yet to be colonized by illegals without restaurants and hotels?

And of course wages in hospitality have been stagnant or falling since, oh, let's say 86. A mystery, you decide.

I live in Chicago and never worked with an illegal alien until 88. Who was doing all that work previously? Now, well you better speak fluent Spanish if you want a job in large sections of the industry these days.

I can say confidently that every job that should be filled, would be filled if we deported every illegal alien tomorrow.

[Phoenix]

Nice comments, Jake. I just thought of something because of what you wrote. I read something a while ago about the 'Twixters' - kids of the baby boomers and how about 30% between the ages of 10-29 still live at home. This was detailed as a sharp increase compared to the 80's and 90's. So, not only are we subsidizing the illegals, parents are stuck subsidizing their own children who would be the ones filling those jobs you speak of as many young people cannot find jobs - especially for those who did not go to college. The article stated, as well, that many young people go off to college only to come home again. Sounds to me as if we have a huge work force out there ready to go. And plenty of parents who'd be glad to see them go.....

[Dan]

just wonderin

If you look into the deep background what appears is that organizations set up to provide jobs to Americans before guest workers don't work and when they do, Americans tend to fill the jobs. What business is banking on is no enforcement, so they can continue to employ illegals and pass the costs for healthcare and social services, etc off on to us.

They dontr want guest workers - they'd cost too much which is why I call this a shell game. Enforcement will never happen, especially as regards employers. They pay too much into campaigns for that too happen. The big business wing of the Rep party is running this show.