On Nov. 13, 2013, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R–Ohio, spoke for the American people when he announced that the House would not enter into negotiations with the U.S. Senate on its comprehensive immigration bill, entitled the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.
Boehner maintained that Senate members did not even read the 1,300-page monstrosity before passing it. Boehner called to mind former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who infamously urged, “We have to pass the bill [Obamacare] so that you can find out what’s in it.”
A sadder but wiser nation is now finding out what’s in The Patient Protection, Affordable Care Act of 2009, better known as Obamacare. The bill, which was passed by a Democrat-controlled Senate and a Democrat-controlled House, received not one Republican vote in either chamber.
Boehner has opted for step-by-step consideration of immigration policy — the implication being that there is no rush to pass yet another flawed “comprehensive” bill like Obamacare, under which the American people now suffer.
He is correct in declaring that reform of a chaotic and dysfunctional immigration process must be conducted with a full and fair hearing of all interests, not just special interests, nor along liberal ideological party dictates. Such dictates often do not reflect American culture, heritage, history, and constitutional mores.
In contrast to a comprehensive bill, an incremental immigration reform package will contain several separate, readable, and understandable bills that address disparate topics in a logical, practical, and readable way.
A modernized program for guest workers (skilled and unskilled) is sorely needed. In addition, separate bills will address visa modifications, the legalization/deportation of illegal aliens, and future immigration quotas.
On Nov. 8, 2013, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press published a survey on U.S. immigration policy. It showed that 60 percent of respondents disapproved of President Barack Obama’s immigration policy, while only 32 percent approved.
Of the Democrats surveyed, 53 percent approved of the president’s immigration policy, while 42 percent disapproved.
Meanwhile, the response to Boehner’s Nov. 13 announcement of regular-order immigration legislation has been heated. Undocumented aliens residing in the United States join with their advocates, who include liberal newsmedia, academicians, and radical left-wing front organizations, to suggest political retribution and street violence if the House doesn’t pass the Senate bill.
Many Americans are being turned off by illegal aliens blocking congressional offices and demanding unrestricted immediate citizenship.
Illegal aliens can take advantage of the Obama administration’s “enroll first, confirm later” policy for Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), and sundry entitlement programs.
Obamacare does not permit any information (true or false) received by the Heathcare.gov enrollment process to be used in any legal actions against illegal aliens.
On Nov. 11, 2013, The Miami Herald reported that the number of boats smuggling “undocumented” aliens into the United States from countries — other than Cuba — is increasing. Federal officials say that these smuggled “undocumented’ aliens pay $1,000 to $2,000 to be escorted from the Bahamas, and $15,000 to $20,000 to come from Europe or South America. A U.S. Homeland Security Department (HSD) official admitted, “We don’t catch them all.”
Illegal-alien apprehensions recorded by the U.S. Border Patrol are now on the rise. As unemployment rates increase among U.S. citizens, resentment is growing toward illegal aliens who take jobs, healthcare, and other benefits — at taxpayer expense.
President Obama is finding that his open-borders, easy-citizenship-for-aliens campaign rhetoric is falling flat. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, in October 2013, a record high of 91.5 million Americans were “no longer in the workforce.” Their numbers had risen by 1 million each month since July 2013. These people, almost a third of the nation’s population, have just stopped looking for work.
The president reflects the image of a charismatic empty suit. Putting aside campaign rhetoric and getting down to resolving the immigration crisis and often-related healthcare chaos constitute the order of the day.
The crazy-quilt “comprehensive” immigration bill passed by the Senate appears as flawed and unworkable as Obamacare.
James H. Walsh was associate general counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1983 to 1994. Read more reports from James Walsh — Click Here Now.
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