EckerNet.Com

I\’ve said already that no immigration bill is going to happen this year, and I continue to maintain that\’s the case.  It\’s been obvious for awhile, and now even Obama is stating it.  The Democrats were going to use it as a wedge issue, but the Arizona bill has revealed this issue as a one in which the Democrats would be bonkers to take on.  As a result they wouldn\’t be splitting the Republican Party, they\’d be splitting their own, as even liberal Democrats would have to question supporting amnesty when a large majority favors the Arizona bill.

But Reid is trying anyway, and why not, his re-election is doomed anyway.  He may as well try a long shot…but pandering to the Hispanics in his state.  He\’s proposed a solution for immigration and it\’s destined for defeat, even though it actually is a huge departure from previous attempts, as it\’s actually sort of a enforcement first bill.  But as always the devil is in the details.

His proposal does suggest that enforcement measures have to be carried out before anything else.  This is true, it\’s also an disingenious, as there is no reason this issue needs to be dealt with comprehensively.  An enforcement bill can be passed now, and in a later Congress we can deal with the rest.  And actually more than likely we\’ll never actually need to address later issues, because if enforcement measures are actually implemented, the rest of the problem takes care of itself naturally and without any unnecessary demagoguery.

But back to the proposal, it does insist that some enforcement measures take place but it doesn\’t say how much.  Technically hiring one additional border guard and stationing him in a closet in Omaha fits the bill\’s language.  It also is very particular in avoiding any permanent enforcement measures (like fences and barriers), and keeps to ones that Congress can easily defund at their convenience later on when the heat is off.

A bipartisan commission is appointed, which is supposed to report back in 12 months, but there is no requirement that anything they say should actually be implemented.  Basically it\’s a useless gesture.  And there is no benchmarks for defining the border as \”secure\”.

As part of it\’s employment verification measures, the proposal suggests implementing an electronic system, called BELIEVE (Biometric Enrollment, Locally-stored Information, and Electronic Verification of Employment) to verify a potential employees work eligibility.  Of course, what\’s not mentioned is a system like this already exists and it\’s been proven to work.  Since the proposal suggests creating something rather than use the existing E-VERIFY, I can only assume there are ulterior motives at work.  Moreover, E-VERIFY, while imperfect, is rapidly improving, but the point is that it took 10 years to get here.  Building a new system would simply set us back another 10 years, which I suspect is the whole point.

And of course what would an immigration bill without some amnesty tossed in.  This proposal also includes the AgJobs bill, which is, despite what it\’s supporters claim, pure amnesty.  Also included is the DREAM Act, which provides for chain-migration and free instate-tuition for illegals. Together, these two Acts alone constitute the worst of all the amnesty proposals of the past. Moreover there is some slight of hand math in counting immigrant workers against a cap, which basically ensures that unemployment will stay at or above 8% unemployment.

And in addition to the covert amnesty listed already, there is also an overt amnesty, in which virtually everyone here illegally gets protected status for eight years, after which they get legal status.  The fact that they are committing a crime just by being here is ignored.  The \”back of the line\” provision claims to put illegal aliens at the back of the line….ignoring the fact that they aren\’t actually at the back of the line.  While those that are taking the legal path are waiting outside the country, those that illegally entered get to stay in the country, with legal protection.

Despite it\’s claims of being an enforcement only proposal, there is little to ensure that the enforcement efforts will actually be undertaken before the amnesty portions are enacted.  And even if those enforcement efforts are actually implemented, there is little to ensure that they would not simply be discontinued once amnesty has been declared.  In fact the few safeguards that would prevent otherwise are conspicuously absent from this proposal.

Sorry Reid, we\’ve seen amnesty before and this is one.  We\’ve been lied to before and are rightfully suspicious of any proposal you put forward, and this doesn\’t pass the scrutiny.  Moreover, there is absolutely no reason that immigration has to be handled as a comprehensive matter.  Arizona\’s new immigration bill was passed out of frustration with the Federal government.  Not the Federal government\’s lack of a comprehensive immigration plan, but rather with the Federal government\’s inability to enforce it\’s own laws and protect it\’s states from what is arguably a foreign invasion.