Tuesday, October 28, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Coming Confrontation
Immigration is one of the most contentious issues in America. President George W. Bush twice tried to push a “comprehensive” immigration reform bill through Congress and failed because it was seen as being too close to amnesty.
Barack Obama promised it would be a major issue during his first year in office. Despite controlling large majorities in the House and Senate, he focused on health care instead. To pacify pro-amnesty activists on the left, in 2012 the president ordered his “deferred action program” for children of illegal immigrants and instructed immigration officials to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” in deportation cases.
Democrats tried to revive the debate last year, but conservatives in Congress stopped it. Obama threatened to issue another executive amnesty this summer. Then tens of thousands of children began streaming across our southern border, reminding everyone just how insecure it really was.
The debate over immigration changed dramatically. Illegal immigration suddenly became the most important issue in the minds of voters, exceeding even the economy. Sensing the changing mood, Obama publicly abandoned his amnesty plans, but privately continued to plot his course.
Earlier this month Obama told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, “I’ve said before that . . . I would act to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, and I meant what I said. So this is not a question of if, but when.”
By all accounts “when” is sometime shortly after the November elections. And numerous reports indicate that Obama’s amnesty will be huge, involving millions of illegal immigrants.
Obama is on shaky ground politically. A September Rasmussen poll found that 62% of likely voters oppose such action. Just 26% support it. Moreover, only 24% believe Obama has the legal authority to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.
The Opposition Finds Its Voice
Last night, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, took a very strong stand against President Obama’s expected amnesty of millions of illegal immigrants. Here’s what he said:
“It is un-American for a president to try and do such a thing. . . . We will do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen: Defunding, going to court, injunction. You name it. It’s wrong. It’s illegal. And for so many reasons, and just the basic fabric of this country, we can’t allow it to happen and we won’t let it happen. . . . I’m telling you, everything we can do to stop it we will.”
That unequivocal statement must be frustrating for some at the Chamber of Commerce and other Beltway types. But the issue resonates in middle America.
The media keep saying that there is no overriding issue in this campaign, like Obamacare was in 2010. But if there is anything close to one, it may be the cadre of issues related to security — securing the border and what porous borders mean in an age of ISIS and Ebola.
Union Leader Makes Urgent Plea
This morning Kenneth Palinkas, president of a union representing 12,000 immigration officers, issued an “urgent plea to the nation regarding executive amnesty.” Here are some excerpts of his statement:
“As the individuals who screen the millions of applications for entry into the U.S., it is our job to ensure that terrorists, diseases, criminals, public charges, and other undesirable groups are kept out of the United States. Unfortunately, we have been blocked in our efforts to accomplish this mission . . . by the very same government that employs our skill sets. . . .
“Whether it’s the failure to uphold the public charge laws, the abuse of our asylum procedures, the admission of Islamist radicals, or visas for health risks, the taxpayers are being fleeced and public safety is being endangered on a daily basis.
“I write today to warn the general public that this situation is about to get exponentially worse — and more dangerous. . . . If you care about your immigration security and your neighborhood security, you must act now to ensure that Congress stops this unilateral amnesty. . . . We who serve in our nation’s immigration agencies are pleading for your help — don’t let this happen. Express your concern to your Senators and Congressmen before it is too late.”
As recent headlines attest, Palinkas is right. Whether it’s illegal immigrants voting in close elections or gunning down police officers, taxpayers are being fleeced and public safety is being endangered.
Adding to these concerns are comments from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. During an interview on Fox News last night, Goodlatte said that a government whistleblower contacted his office warning that the administration was preparing to relax immigration rules in order to permit Ebola victims from foreign countries to be treated in the United States.
Goodlatte fired off letters to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson last week, but has yet to hear from them.
A new CNN poll finds that nearly 70% of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction and they are angry about it too. Who could blame them? Whether it’s redefining marriage or rewriting immigration laws, somewhere along the line basic American concepts of the rule of law and the consent of the governed have been forgotten and ignored.
From Bias To Bigotry
The media’s left-wing bias is a well-established fact. But in recent years journalistic standards have fallen so dramatically that bias is being replaced with outright bigotry against men and women of faith. Nowhere is this disturbing trend more evident than at the left’s flagship news outlet, the New York Times. You can read more in my latest op-ed at Townhall.com
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