Wash Times edit: US must tighten rules on illegal immigrants
Aug 12th 2004, 12:00 pm
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Wash Times edit: US must tighten rules on illegal immigrants
Washington Times
Editorial
August 12, 2004
A flawed approach on immigration
When it comes to immigration, the administration is laboring to come
up with a coherent formula to protect the nation's borders. Judging
from recent actions and statements by Department of Homeland
Security's Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, the administration hopes to
solve the problem by putting out the welcome mat for millions of
illegal immigrants. They ought to go back to the drawing board because
this proposal is not in our national interest and will never be passed
by a Republican Congress.
****According to Mr. Hutchinson, President Bush plans to put forward a
plan to give aliens access to travel, so they know they can "go and
return freely" to their country of origin "without fear of being
denied re-entry" to the United States. Mr. Hutchinson adds that the
United States needs to give illegal immigrants access to bilateral
agreements allowing them to receive Social Security benefits in their
home countries and to allow illegals to create tax-deferred savings
accounts that could be withdrawn upon their return to those countries.
**** Current law says that an alien who has lived illegally in the
United States for longer than 180 days must return home and wait three
years before applying for legal visitor or immigrant status; if he has
been here illegally for more than one year, he needs to wait a decade
before re-applying. Since many of the illegal aliens who would
participate in the Bush plan would have exceeded the three- and
10-year bars, Mr. Hutchinson wants legislation that would weaken these
restrictions. His statements came in response to questions from Sen.
Edward Kennedy, who suggested that the Mr. Bush's plan was not
generous enough in permitting illegal immigrants to stay in the
country.
****Compounding the situation is the administration's cave-in to
political pressure from open-borders advocates in California, who
object to the fact that the Border Patrol enforcers have been too
vigorous.
**** In June, a new 12-officer Mobile Patrol Group under the auspices
of the Border Patrol arrested more than 450 illegals in a series of
raids in Southern California. Latino advocates and 25 California
Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Joe Baca and including
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, complained to Mr. Hutchinson.
Fifty-three House members, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay, signed
a letter to Mr. Hutchinson supporting the stepped-up enforcement. So,
what did Mr. Hutchinson do? He sided with Mrs. Pelosi and the
open-borders crowd. Mr. Hutchinson declared that future operations
conducted away from the border must be approved by department
higher-up. The National Border Patrol Council representatives in the
San Diego area said last month that the the Mobile Patrol Group had
been disbanded.
****To be certain, John Kerry's approach would be even worse. But that
doesn't get the Bush administration off the hook for tilting toward
the Kennedy-Pelosi crowd on a critical issue like safeguarding our
borders. The administration is courting a platform fight — and further
political trouble down the road with the Republican Party's
conservative base — with its ill-considered approach on immigration.
****
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/200...5710-5349r.htm
Editorial
August 12, 2004
A flawed approach on immigration
When it comes to immigration, the administration is laboring to come
up with a coherent formula to protect the nation's borders. Judging
from recent actions and statements by Department of Homeland
Security's Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, the administration hopes to
solve the problem by putting out the welcome mat for millions of
illegal immigrants. They ought to go back to the drawing board because
this proposal is not in our national interest and will never be passed
by a Republican Congress.
****According to Mr. Hutchinson, President Bush plans to put forward a
plan to give aliens access to travel, so they know they can "go and
return freely" to their country of origin "without fear of being
denied re-entry" to the United States. Mr. Hutchinson adds that the
United States needs to give illegal immigrants access to bilateral
agreements allowing them to receive Social Security benefits in their
home countries and to allow illegals to create tax-deferred savings
accounts that could be withdrawn upon their return to those countries.
**** Current law says that an alien who has lived illegally in the
United States for longer than 180 days must return home and wait three
years before applying for legal visitor or immigrant status; if he has
been here illegally for more than one year, he needs to wait a decade
before re-applying. Since many of the illegal aliens who would
participate in the Bush plan would have exceeded the three- and
10-year bars, Mr. Hutchinson wants legislation that would weaken these
restrictions. His statements came in response to questions from Sen.
Edward Kennedy, who suggested that the Mr. Bush's plan was not
generous enough in permitting illegal immigrants to stay in the
country.
****Compounding the situation is the administration's cave-in to
political pressure from open-borders advocates in California, who
object to the fact that the Border Patrol enforcers have been too
vigorous.
**** In June, a new 12-officer Mobile Patrol Group under the auspices
of the Border Patrol arrested more than 450 illegals in a series of
raids in Southern California. Latino advocates and 25 California
Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Joe Baca and including
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, complained to Mr. Hutchinson.
Fifty-three House members, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay, signed
a letter to Mr. Hutchinson supporting the stepped-up enforcement. So,
what did Mr. Hutchinson do? He sided with Mrs. Pelosi and the
open-borders crowd. Mr. Hutchinson declared that future operations
conducted away from the border must be approved by department
higher-up. The National Border Patrol Council representatives in the
San Diego area said last month that the the Mobile Patrol Group had
been disbanded.
****To be certain, John Kerry's approach would be even worse. But that
doesn't get the Bush administration off the hook for tilting toward
the Kennedy-Pelosi crowd on a critical issue like safeguarding our
borders. The administration is courting a platform fight — and further
political trouble down the road with the Republican Party's
conservative base — with its ill-considered approach on immigration.
****
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/200...5710-5349r.htm
