Thursday, October 14, 2004
Granting Amnesty
During the debates last night, the subject of what to do with the number of illegal aliens who are in the United States was discussed. Bob Schieffer asked Mr. Bush whether he saw this as an economic issue or a security issue.
The President clearly looked to paint it as a security issue, hinting that anyone (read: Kerry) who would consider granting them amnesty was a fuzzy headed moron:
Now, it's very important for our citizens to also know that I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen. And we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line.
Mr. Kerry didn't say it, but I did as I yelled at my television set: Does this mean Ronald Reagan was all wet on the issue of immigration?
Back in 1986, the Congress handed to the President a massive overhaul of the immigration system in the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 had an amnesty provision written into it, which the President signed and enforced.
The provision allowed that any illiegal alien who had worked and lived in the US since 1982 were eligible to apply for amnesty and then full citizenship. This was considered the only practical way to deal with the problem of millions of hispanics (mostly) who had crossed our Southern borders and were living and working in the US.
But the President needed to portray it as a security issue. But in so doing, he rebuked the icon of the Republican party.
|
The President clearly looked to paint it as a security issue, hinting that anyone (read: Kerry) who would consider granting them amnesty was a fuzzy headed moron:
Now, it's very important for our citizens to also know that I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen. And we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line.
Mr. Kerry didn't say it, but I did as I yelled at my television set: Does this mean Ronald Reagan was all wet on the issue of immigration?
Back in 1986, the Congress handed to the President a massive overhaul of the immigration system in the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 had an amnesty provision written into it, which the President signed and enforced.
The provision allowed that any illiegal alien who had worked and lived in the US since 1982 were eligible to apply for amnesty and then full citizenship. This was considered the only practical way to deal with the problem of millions of hispanics (mostly) who had crossed our Southern borders and were living and working in the US.
But the President needed to portray it as a security issue. But in so doing, he rebuked the icon of the Republican party.
