Tuesday, May 16, 2006
A Thousand Days Too Late
President Bush finally took a stance against illegal immigration. With his speech Monday night, he outlined a plan to send National Guard troops to help secure the border with Mexico, use high-tech surveillance, and begin cracking down on the problem of illegal immigrants. However, his speech was a thousand days too late and not strong enough.
The President, finally acknowledging that something has to be done, has compiled a plan to use National Guard troops to help construct fences and other barriers along the border with Mexico as a way to keep illegal immigrants out. However, his plan will keep the Guard’s activities to one of assistant to the border patrol as they will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities. Will a toothless Guard be effective?
He wants to create a “temporary guest worker program” to help employers find workers for jobs Americans won’t fill. This canard has been the lead argument for pro-immigrant advocates for years. Yet studies have shown that the unemployment rate for low-skilled Americans in these occupations is very high. The more appropriate argument is that employers are unwilling to pay Americans a proper wage to do these jobs and thus look to illegal immigrants as a source of cheap disposable labor. The President asks for compassion for people who want to come here, yet does not show compassion for low-skilled Americans whose jobs are being taken and wages depressed by illegal immigrants.
He then gives employers a pass on hiring illegal immigrants by claiming it is too hard to verify documents. This should be the first priority of any crackdown on illegal immigrants. If the government starts levying heavy fines or shutting down employers who hire illegals, then jobs will start to dry up and fewer will cross the border illegally.
He does get it right by noting that amnesty will only encourage more to cross the border. We witnessed this with the amnesty of the late 1980s when 3 million were granted legal status and twenty years later we now have 11 million illegals awaiting the same gift. But his plan is tantamount to amnesty. By saying that rounding up all 11 million would be too difficult a task is sending the message that the government won’t even try. This stance will not deter new illegals from entering, it may even encourage more.
The President’s immigration plan may be too late and a few dollars short, but it is about time something is done. However, token efforts will not secure this nation. The government, and the President, needs to make it clear to those wishing to enter this country that illegal entry will not be tolerated. Those who are already here illegally must be ferreted out and sent home. Employers hiring illegals must be prosecuted. The border with Mexico must be secured absolutely. We don’t need more immigration laws; we need to enforce those already on the books.
The President, finally acknowledging that something has to be done, has compiled a plan to use National Guard troops to help construct fences and other barriers along the border with Mexico as a way to keep illegal immigrants out. However, his plan will keep the Guard’s activities to one of assistant to the border patrol as they will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities. Will a toothless Guard be effective?
He wants to create a “temporary guest worker program” to help employers find workers for jobs Americans won’t fill. This canard has been the lead argument for pro-immigrant advocates for years. Yet studies have shown that the unemployment rate for low-skilled Americans in these occupations is very high. The more appropriate argument is that employers are unwilling to pay Americans a proper wage to do these jobs and thus look to illegal immigrants as a source of cheap disposable labor. The President asks for compassion for people who want to come here, yet does not show compassion for low-skilled Americans whose jobs are being taken and wages depressed by illegal immigrants.
He then gives employers a pass on hiring illegal immigrants by claiming it is too hard to verify documents. This should be the first priority of any crackdown on illegal immigrants. If the government starts levying heavy fines or shutting down employers who hire illegals, then jobs will start to dry up and fewer will cross the border illegally.
He does get it right by noting that amnesty will only encourage more to cross the border. We witnessed this with the amnesty of the late 1980s when 3 million were granted legal status and twenty years later we now have 11 million illegals awaiting the same gift. But his plan is tantamount to amnesty. By saying that rounding up all 11 million would be too difficult a task is sending the message that the government won’t even try. This stance will not deter new illegals from entering, it may even encourage more.
The President’s immigration plan may be too late and a few dollars short, but it is about time something is done. However, token efforts will not secure this nation. The government, and the President, needs to make it clear to those wishing to enter this country that illegal entry will not be tolerated. Those who are already here illegally must be ferreted out and sent home. Employers hiring illegals must be prosecuted. The border with Mexico must be secured absolutely. We don’t need more immigration laws; we need to enforce those already on the books.
