Chapter III: Don’t be fooled by peddlers of ‘Immigration Reform’ Scams

With today’s issue of The Federal Observer, we bring you the next chapter of S. J. Miller’s twelve part addressing dealing with the title subject.

For those readers, who are new to this publication, we invite you to study Sandra’s series closely, and use her words, as an educational tool.

Once again, some of the names of the players have changed, such as Ted Kennedy (but his ghost lives among us). As Arizona once again paves the way for action, Miller’s work will once again, set the nation afire. (Editor)

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“Amnesty” is a political hot potato. Voter opinion polls consistently show 80%+ opposition to illegal alien amnesties. Even without a thorough understanding of the illegal immigration issue, their opposition to illegal alien amnesties is adamant.

Q. What is an illegal alien amnesty?
A. The US government publicly admits to Americans that they’ve so badly bungled their job of enforcing immigration laws that the vast number of illegal aliens are too many to apprehend and deport, and hollers “olly, olly outs in free.” Illegals already here are now eligible for a resident visa without being accountable for their offense of illegal entry.

Sound the warning bells and wave the red flags!!! When was the last time the government honestly came clean and admitted bungling their job unless they had a hidden agenda(although where immigration is involved it’s already well-known)? Every citizen should smell a rat (otherwise known as amnesty).

It’s much like declaring bankruptcy. The debtor (the US government) promises better immigration law enforcement in the future if the creditor (the public) will just give them another chance. Does the creditor (the public) believe them?

Q. Who wins?

• Illegal Aliens receive a “get out of jail free” card. Their past intentional violation of US laws is forgiven and forgotten, allowing them to bring up to 21 family members.

• Immigration Lawyers do a land-office business after an illegal alien amnesty.

• Cheap-labor businesses anticipate an abundance of workers.

• Politicians make lots of political points with ethnic and cheap-labor groups, often increasing campaign donations. To “unsuspecting” citizens, they claim they’ve “ended illlegal immigration,” because the illegal alien population is reduced to zero! It’s all an accounting trick.

Q. Who loses?

• Foreign applicants. The already-lengthy immigration process becomes longer as government priorities place amnesty seekers first. “Legalizing” those who sneaked in always takes priority over new immigrant applications (the rationale being ‘they’re already here’), but during amnesty times “immigrant processing” virtually nonexistent.

• American taxpayers. The deluge of newly-amnestied and largely unskilled people generates increased applicants for social services and increases Americans’ tax burden.

Been there, done that.
The 1986 “one-time only” amnesty was an unmitigated disaster with only 3.7 million illegal aliens were pardoned. Just as opponents predicted, the US was soon flooded with illegals lining up for the next amnesty, and 19 years later the illegal alien population exceeds 15 million. Like many former bankrupts, the government demonstrated worse bungling with their “second chance” and the illegal alien “debt” quickly increased to higher levels.

Many of those who suckered us back in 1986 are asking Americans for a “second chance”: Senators John McCain (AZ), Senator Ted Kennedy (MA), Congressman Dave Dreier (CA) with a few new players like President George Bush and Congressman Chris Cannon (UT).

But they do recognize that Abraham Lincoln was right when he said “…you can’t fool all the people all the time.” Knowing they won’t get away with another “amnesty,” they choose another name and tell you that it’s not the same at all. Again, they hope to confuse and frustrate voters with these euphemisms so that we’ll abandon our opposition.

Three “red warning flags” apply here:

(1) Don’t automatically believe the politician who tells you “it’s not an amnesty.”
(2) No matter the tag the politicians attach, an amnesty is still an amnesty.
(3) The louder and more insistently the politician assures you that “it’s not an amnesty,” the more certain you can be that it IS an amnesty.

Q. How can Americans identify an amnesty?
The best place to start is Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:

• amnesty: the act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals

• pardon: (a) a release from the legal penalties of an offense (b) an official warrant of remission of penalty.

Illegal aliens have committed the crime of illegal entry into the US. Any “immigration reform” plan that applies to people already in the US is a potential AMNESTY. For them to remain requires a pardon from the deportation penalty that applies to their offense. If the “immigration reform” plan exempts an illegal alien from deportation, it’s an AMNESTY!

Amnesties only apply to lawbreakers; people who haven’t committed an offense don’t need a pardon!

Not only is the deportation penalty clearly specified in federal law, the added bonus is that it actually makes sense! Imagine that! When someone steals something they shouldn’t have (i.e. US entry), the penalty is to take it away (i.e. deport them).

As we expose the “scam terms” for AMNESTY, don’t forget our lesson from Chapter I: Anyone using these terms to describe “immigration reform” is a scam artist!

“guest-worker plan.” Ask the question “Is entry limited to the “worker?” If not, it’s an amnesty disguised as “guest-worker” legislation. If the true intent is obtaining temporary workers, allowing families to accompany the worker destroys any incentive for the “guest worker” to ever return home. It not only burdens the American infrastructure to provide free health care, education and social services, but offers automatic citizenship to any children born during the “guest-worker’s” stay.

For this very reason, the Bracero program operated between 1943-1962 was an effective guest-worker plan. Only workers came to the US; families remained in Mexico. The braceros were screened for criminal background, supervised while in the country. Workers’ expenses were paid from administrative fees charged to the employers who used their labor. That they weren’t eligible for public assistance should be patently obvious.

But its resumption is rejected by President George Bush because he claims “family values don’t stop at the Rio Grande.” While governor of Texas, he used slightly different phrases: “Hell, if they’ll walk across Big Bend we want ‘em.” (1) Clearly, George W. Bush doesn’t care why they come.

“path to citizenship.” Let’s see if I have this right. Offering an “upgraded” reward (citizenship rather than only legal residence) for lawbreaking will make lawbreaking less common? Someone is out in la-la land with this one.

“earned legalization.” This is a hoot. For breaking the law, the violator “earns” the reward of legal US residence. Who in government thinks up such drivel? Do these people drink during the workday?

“regularization.” What on earth does this mean? It’s just another meaningless term to evade admitting it’s really an “amnesty.

The “reality” of amnesties.
No matter what “limitations,” “exclusions,” “provisions,” “safeguards” or “restrictions” politicians claim they’ve included, they’ll never be enforced. The “stipulations” are strictly “window-dressing” to soothe voters’ outrage and convince them that “nobody is caving in to lawbreakers” (even though that’s exactly what’s happening).

Politicians who support and vote for amnesties know in advance the “limitations” won’t be enforced. The louder the claims that this “not an amnesty” immigration reform plan will “crack down” on illegals and the employers hiring them, the more certain you can be that “safeguards” will never be enforced.

For example, legislation may require that the illegal alien must have documents proving they’ve been present and worked in the US for at least 3 years, giving a political rationale for “they’ve been living and working in the US and proving to be “law-abiding citizens.” This “safeguard” is laughable; illegal aliens can easily obtain “documented evidence” of anything.

Of course, the non-enforcement won’t be acknowledged until a major disaster blows the lid off the entire can of worms.

Remember that 6 months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, automatically-renewed student visas for the now-dead terrorists’ arrived at their flight schools. That’s when Americans learned how worthless the supposed student visa “safeguards” really were. The “safeguards” were part of the law, but INS stopped enforcing them many years before.

That’s how we’ll learn that the provisions of the “not an amnesty” immigration reform plan weren’t enforced. Excuses might include staff shortage, political pressures from Congress and the White House, unrealistic time deadlines, or heavy workload from unforeseen high applicant levels. There wasn’t time to check criminal backgrounds, so upper management directed that all applications receive automatic approval.

More about George Bush’s “guest worker plan” that’s “not an amnesty” will appear in Chapter VII, The “Compassionate Immigration Reform” Scam.

(1) Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush, Lou Dubose, Jan Reid & Carl Cannon, Perseus Books.

Next: Chapter IV: “Greedy Employers Need Amnesty, too!.”

© S. J. Miller, 2005-2010. All Rights Reserved

Published originally at FederalObserver.com. The complete series was first published from January 24, 2005 through, February 18th of that year. It’s time has come, once again. Republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact. (Editor)

~ About the Author ~
S. J. Miller is a former veteran of the IT industry who sought another career rather than “follow the jobs” abroad, and a lifelong resident of border states, California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.