Amnesty would only make it worse
In 1984, President Reagan won re-election despite losing Hispanics 2-to-1. In 1986, Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which both tightened immigration enforcement at the border and granted amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants. In 1988, Hispanics rewarded the Republican party by voting … even more heavily Democratic. President Bush lost Hispanics by 40 points, 70 percent to 30 percent. So much for amnesty as the “single policy change” capable of “fixing the Latino problem.”…
The question is, what happens when they get here? Every amnesty-based proposal to the immigration problem is the essentially the same: a randomly chosen date divides noncitizens, who will be rewarded for illegally entering the United States, from those who didn’t get here illegally soon enough. There simply is no moral or logical reason to reward the first group and punish the second. The moral case for granting citizenship to those in the United States now is just as strong today as it will be for those who enter the country tomorrow. Pretending otherwise, as Krauthammer and Hannity do, only undermines our civil institutions and the rule of law.
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Open the borders and sign everyone up for bennies.
That is what the left argues for, make it so.
It will be awesome.
tom daschle concerned on November 11, 2012 at 12:14 PM
no kidding, its not about race, its about Goodies and Government intervention on behalf of favored groups. Amnesty will lead to desertion by loyal Republicans to the GOP, and the creation of a Democrat super-majority.
rob verdi on November 11, 2012 at 12:15 PM
KAG.
Kiss America Goodbye.
profitsbeard on November 11, 2012 at 12:15 PM
They love big government. My Mexican family on my fathers side were born here and they still haven’t fully assimilated themselves. Took my dad 50 years to realize the that unions are destroying industry and our schools and that big government is a complete failure on every level. This year was the first year he voted for the Republcian in his entire life.
jawkneemusic on November 11, 2012 at 12:18 PM
We need to kill this amnesty idea right now. Anyone even considering it as the answer to this party’s woes is way off the mark.
NickTx on November 11, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Borders are discriminatory!
Ergo racist!
End all Borders now!
The 2016 Dem slogan
FORWARDNO BORDERS!profitsbeard on November 11, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Once you have amnesty then you have millions of people – now legal citizens – that have to be assimilated into society.
Jobs, benefits, help…..it’s not just amnesty, it’s an entire panoply of other programs.
And after this wave of immigrants, you’ll have the next wave.
Liberals see these people simply as voters; nonliberals see the issue as much more complex.
SteveMG on November 11, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Hard to understand how accepting/facilitating one of BO’s big pander issues is going to help the GOP. If the Right folds and agrees to amnesty we end up with lots of new users of government programs, lots of new unskilled workers without jobs in a time of high unemployement and a lot of eager voters looking to rewatd the Democrats for finaly beating down the hateful GOP bigots.
Then if the GOP pushes for border security we’ll be accused of breaking up families and picking on those who weren’t quick enough to sneak in. The GOP will never be able to compete with the Dems on how & when to pander.
Say hello to Democratic majority forever – they won’tbe happy until we all aredragged down to the ghetto/barrio level.
katiejane on November 11, 2012 at 12:25 PM
from the GOP.
rob verdi on November 11, 2012 at 12:25 PM
The red states need to leave the union under a new specifically anti-progressive constitution, the blue states can have their progressive utopia including amnesty.
After 10 or 20 years, when the blue states have had enough of being 3rd world hellholes, they can apply for admittance to the newer, prosperous nation.
Rebar on November 11, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Instead of Republicans caving on amnesty, we should be pushing a new amendment to the Constitution that protects the demographic majority in the US and requires all new immigration to conform to the set quota, which would likely require 90% white population. You start high and negotiate down to 80%. All opposition to the new amendment effectively admits that they want to create a white scapegoat minority in the US. Most liberals aren’t thrilled with the idea of a white minority, which is why they want Republicans to do their dirty work. They could have done anything they wanted the first two years of Obama.
Buddahpundit on November 11, 2012 at 12:31 PM
The House GOP should cave on visible taxes that can be changed once the public gets its fill, and hold firm on things that can’t be turned back, like Amnesty.
So of course that’s the opposite of what John Boehner will do.
Amnesty is particularly stupid because it isn’t going to make Latinos any more likely to vote for Repulicans. Obama will get the credit and Latinos will become the new blacks.
Actually putting the Democrat’s name on a tax increase – something that hasn’t actually happened since Clinton’s hikes in 1993 – would go wonders toward educating the public, especially young people, that the perils of liberal economics are real and not a Republican talking point.
HitNRun on November 11, 2012 at 12:35 PM
And think of this: If the Democrats are pushing for amnesty and the Republican House is the only thing that is standing in their way, then the people will vote Republican regardless of the personalities involved in the contests just to prevent amnesty.
Boehner should go ahead and draw up a very liberal amnesty bill and let the house vote on it. Just make sure it’s something that can’t pass. We want all those Democrat reps on the record that they supported it. In fact, let the house Democrats write the bill.
Buddahpundit on November 11, 2012 at 12:37 PM
With hispanics we import South American banana-republican political culture and it transforms our society. Round’em up and get’em out!
Valkyriepundit on November 11, 2012 at 12:49 PM
Illeagal aliens DO NOT WANT CIRIZENSHIP. They want to work.
Create a generous guest worker program so Mexicans, et al, can come and go as they please to work. If they are free to come and go they won’t come here illegally and permanently.
Right now they stay because they’re stuck. They risked everything to get in and dare not leave. And with no plans to leave many then bring in their families exacerbating the immigration problem.
With a guest worker program they will come here and Orkney and then mst will leave.
This strikes me as common sense.
It is only the Left and the Hispanic special interest groups that want to give these people citizenship for blindingly obvious reasons.
Charlemagne on November 11, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Make that CITIZENSHIP
Charlemagne on November 11, 2012 at 12:50 PM
What is so hard about this issue? If you came in illegally, you should not expect to get citizenship before anyone who is in line doing it the right way. Number 2, if you are in this country and you haven’t been productive or have committed crimes you need to go. Third, if you are in this country and you haven’t bothered to learn English, you need to go. We want immigrants and there is clearly a demand for immigrants, but they have to come in the front door and only if we want you here. WE should have control of our borders. Immigration policy isn’t made by those coming in illegally. It’s time for Congress to do their jobs and its time for the GOP to stand on principle. Rule of Law is what has made this country great and the reason these illegals are coming here.
So put more border patrol. Secure the borders with a fence where feasible. Implement e-verify and make it illegal for an illegal immigrant to get any government benefits. Those who have been here illegally, will have to get in line like everyone else to get citizenship and can’t get a pass because they are already here. They should come forward, prove their worth and pay a fine. If they fail on being productive, speaking English and being law abiding, they go home.
milemarker2020 on November 11, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Land of the freebies and the home of the benefits.
Wigglesworth on November 11, 2012 at 12:59 PM
A country that fails to protects its borders cannot survive. Yes, our strength is that we are a country of immigrants, but those who came here in the past learned our language, assimilated into our culture, believed in the American Dream and knew if they worked hard they could be part of it. They helped to build and strengthen the US.
Many illegals don’t even want to be citizens. More often than not those who work send their earnings back home. Many more live off the taxpayer dime, refuse to learn English and have no affinity for our culture. And the bottom line is that they broke the law to come here, while those who truly want to BE American spend years and frequently huge sums of money dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s.
Obama loves to scream about “fairness,” yet nothing is more unfair than our immigration system. Make it fair, make it rational, and yes, make it selective. We are losing our identity. We may have already lost our country.
Meredith on November 11, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Shorter version: They’re here for the welfare, not “to do the jobs Americans won’t do.” And if there is anything this country needs, it is a new block of welfare voters.
And those of you calling for more border enforcement? Well…bless your hearts. You are soooo cute wishing for that. Adorable, actually. Just adorable.
Rational Thought on November 11, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Which we will promptly deny. Just because.
tdpwells on November 11, 2012 at 1:25 PM
There is a solution to the new-immigrants-who-become-Democrats’-clients problem (i.e. the Latino problem) that doesn’t rely on bad-faith promises from the likes of Obama to finally get serious about border enforcement: a grand bargain that grants immediate legal residency to all current illegals and that scraps completely the 1965 immigration act, which created chain migration.
A new point-based system for immigration which reduces the over-80 visa categories we now have down to three or four (most people don’t know that there’s a special visa category for “clergymen” which is used by Islamic imams), eliminates “family unification” and basically requires any new immigrant to be fluent in English and have a BA or MA level of education or job skills. In addition, put a 50,000/yr visa quota limit on any single country (i.e., Denmark has the same quota as India). Any unused quota cannot be transferred to another country. Australia has a system very similar to what I’ve outlined here.
Sadly, the current GOP leadership and its moronic Igors in the pundit class (e.g., Hannity) has neither the brains nor the balls nor the vision to get a long-term play like this in the works and forestall a demographic disaster. Obama is playing 3-D Vulcan chess while Republican “leaders” can barely master Chinese checkers. They don’t call us the stupid party for nothing.
As for border security, we’re basically screwed until there’s a conservative president-dumbed-down border enforcement is yet another gift bequeathed upon us by the GWB-Rove-Karen Hughes triumvirate. Any promise from Obama to beef up border security wouldn’t be worth the Post-It it was written on. Get what you can while you can still get anything. I want every immigrant from Latin America to be offset by 3-5 immigants from Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, etc..
Travis Bickle on November 11, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Amnesty shouldn’t mean citizenship. We can create a system that enables immigrants to work legally in this country, without a guarantee of citizenship. We already have a system that allows those seeking to citizenship to become citizens. I don’t see why a special path to citizenship should be part of any immigration reform package.
HarryBackside on November 11, 2012 at 1:43 PM
The reason we have an illegal immigration problem is because our immigration systems already makes it near impossible for low skill workers to come to America legally. Part of a free market is access to labor without government intrusion. Only those afraid of capitalism should fear allowing businesses access to the labor of their choice.
HarryBackside on November 11, 2012 at 1:48 PM
NO AMNESTY
WisCon on November 11, 2012 at 1:51 PM
Yup, just like all of those pesky Italians, Cubans, and Eastern Europeans and Cubans who immigrated to the US in the 60′s and 70′s. It had nothing to do with fleeing an oppressive system of government or the opportunity to climb the socio-economic ladder.
HarryBackside on November 11, 2012 at 1:56 PM
They did? Yes, they believed in the American Dream, but it’s a fallacy that the first generation of immigrants that came to America learned the language or assimilated into our culture. Their kids learned the language, and they assimilated culturally to some extent, but they also maintained the culture of their heritage.
HarryBackside on November 11, 2012 at 2:02 PM
No one has the right to come to America. We already take in more legal immigrants than the rest of the world combined, and have for four decades.
Yet for some reason, we’re the bad guys for not letting even more in.
How about America imposes an immigration moratorium for 10-20 years, and these other countries fix themselves to the point where their citizens aren’t tempted to break another countries laws?
We’re at 320 million people, we have 20%+ real unemployment, and this flood of people aren’t even trying to integrate into our society.
Enough is enough.
Rebar on November 11, 2012 at 2:04 PM
This. Let them stay. Let them be residents. But don’t let them become citizens and vote unless they leave and apply for citizenship through the same process every other nationality has to follow.
Angainor on November 11, 2012 at 2:17 PM
Conflating Mexicans coming here to give birth to their illegitimate anchor babies so they can immediately apply for welfare benefits with Cubans fleeing a murderous regime. Bless your heart. You are just precious.
Rational Thought on November 11, 2012 at 2:35 PM
I would imagine that the economy will be so great here pretty soon that a huge block of them will self-deport.
Probably some very well-to-do citizens will, too.
trigon on November 11, 2012 at 3:26 PM
ALL Mexicans come to the United States to give birth to their children? Do you have any evidence to back this up?
You do realize that the term Hispanic refers to more than just Mexico, right?
HarryBackside on November 11, 2012 at 8:25 PM