Moonage Political Webdream

The U.S. Congress is again preparing to tackle one of the thorniest social issues in contemporary America what to do about the thousands of illegal aliens attempting to cross U.S. borders every year as well as the millions who are already here.

"It is affecting every member of Congress in their district back home, it is a top-tier concern," said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz.

There’s the opening salvo.  Everyone has an opinion.  And, right now, it seems everyone’s trying to talk the toughest.  I think the initial toughness is a knee-jerk response to the initial proposal Bush put on the table.  His initial proposal to eliminate the stigma of "illegal" by giving them guest worker passes was met by a fairly solid round of boo’s from all sides.  It’s just wasn’t manly enough.  His subsequent criticism of the The Minutemen probably didn’t win a lot of support either.  So, to counter the impression of being soft on illegal immigration, people are talking big.  And I mean real big.

Jeff Sessions of Alabama has introduced S.1362, which intends to "to provide for enhanced Federal enforcement of, and State and local assistance in the enforcement of, the immigration laws of the United States, and for other purposes."  Basically, it allows states to bill the federal government for enforcement of illegal alien extradition.  But, the state has to provide certain information to the government to get reimbursed.  Clever.  I like that.  It puts the burden of determining if they are a terrorist on the state level.  How many times have you ever heard of a state government abusing someone’s civil liberties.  Clever diversion Rep. Sessions.  I like it.  It has very little support so far.

And of course, the baddest of the baddest legislations introduced comes from the one and only Senator John McCain, the `Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act’ (S.1033).  In this legislation he cites the problem:

"Fixing the broken immigration system requires a comprehensive approach that provides for adequate legal channels for immigration and strong enforcement of immigration laws which will serve the economic, social, and security interests of the United States." 

He cites to some degree reason for it:

"The Government of the United States must strengthen international border security efforts by dedicating adequate and significant resources for technology, personnel, and training for border region enforcement."  And, he cites the obvious, "Current immigration laws and the enforcement of such laws are ineffective and do not serve the people of the United States, the national security interests of the United States, or the economic prosperity of the United States." 

He then cites his vision for what this will accomplish:

"In conjunction with strategic homeland security planning efforts, the Secretary shall develop, implement, and update, as needed, a  National Strategy for Border Security that includes a security plan for the Border Patrol and the field offices of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security that has responsibility for the security of any portion of the international border of the United States." 

In other words, illegal immigration remains solely the baby of the federal government, which has failed miserably in that task so far.  He then takes things one step farther by sticking this caveat in it:

"Federal immigration policy should foster economic growth by allowing willing workers to be matched with willing employers when no United States worker is available to take a job." 

What’s that?  Surely it’s not a guest worker visa that temporarily gives illegal immigrants a legal status?  Surely not.  That’s not bad enough.

There’s a TON of legislation on the table addressing the myriad of issues regarding illegal aliens.  There almost always is.  This has been a hot button issue for at least a decade.  As many people who argue that we need to close the borders will argue that we need the cheap labor. 

Where I stand is I want the borders closed, and the cheap labor.  Call the Minutemen, call the State Militia, call the National Guard, call them anything you want, but call them.  Things are too dangerous right now to be pussyfooting this issue.  And call the John McCain’s that are toying with issue and tell them to crap or get off the pot.

And, then, once we have that issue straight, I want a guest worker program for the cheap labor.

And finally, I want our leaders to act like leaders and not political prima donnas trying to one-up each other over every issue that arises.

That’s all I want.

Technorati Tags: National Politics

Tags: National Politics

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