Revisiting Immigration Reform... Likely to Fall to the States

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Birthplace of Independent Conservatism



As the ineffective federal government has refused to stop the flow of illegal immigration into our country, going back the the Reagan years, Rational Nation USA fully supports Arizona's Immigration Law. The combination of an ineffective and inattentive federal government combined with businesses that willfully broke immigration law to exploit the cheap labor of illegal immigrants are responsible for our present situation.

It is certainly time strong and decisive action is taken to seal our borders. Since the federal government has chosen to dither and focus its efforts more on justifying amnesty rather that securing our borders, the news that more states are considering state immigration laws similar to Arizona's law based on Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is indeed welcome and encouraging.

Five states are expected to push ahead and introduce laws similar to Arizona law are, Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Rational Nation USA is hopeful that more states will take the initiative to introduce, and ultimately enact substantive and tough immigration law for their respective states.

Perhaps the only way to get immigration policy effectively addressed is through the individual states taking action. No doubt the feds will challenge state initiatives in court. That would not be a bad thing, as the voice of the majority would be heard. Clogging the courts because of years of inaction by the federal government would almost be poetic justice in and of itself.

The New York Times ran an article today, important excepts follow.



Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states say they will propose bills similar to a controversial law to fight illegal immigration that was adopted by Arizona last spring, even though a federal court has suspended central provisions of that statute.


The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.


Legislators have also announced measures to limit access to public colleges and other benefits for illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them.


Few people expect movement on immigration issues when Congress reconvenes next week in a divided Washington. Republicans, who will control the House of Representatives, do not support an overhaul of immigration laws that President Obama has promised to continue to push. State lawmakers say it has fallen to them to act.


“The federal government’s failure to enforce our border has functionally turned every state into a border state,” said Randy Terrill, a Republican representative in Oklahoma who has led the drive for anti-illegal immigration laws there. “This is federalism in action,” he said. “The states are stepping in and filling the void left by the federal government.”


The Arizona law authorized the state and local police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they detained for other reasons, if they had a “reasonable suspicion” that the person was an illegal immigrant.


Acting on a lawsuit filed by the Obama administration, a federal judge stayed central provisions of the law. In November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments on an appeal of that stay by Arizona.


“States will push ahead regardless of the Ninth Circuit,” said Kris Kobach, a law professor and politician from Kansas who helped many states devise immigration laws — including Arizona’s. “A lot of people recognize that the district judge’s decision is very much open to dispute.”


In Oklahoma, where Republicans won big majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office, Mr. Terrill said he would introduce a bill he called “Arizona plus.” In addition to the terms of Arizona’s law, it would allow for the seizure of vehicles and property used to transport or harbor illegal immigrants.


In Georgia, an all-Republican commission of legislators plans to propose measures to enhance enforcement of tough laws already on the books. Georgia will also consider a bill to bar illegal immigrant students from all public universities.


The newly elected governor, Nathan Deal, a Republican, is expected to sign those bills. But the Georgia Farm Bureau, which represents the state’s powerful growers, voted to oppose any measures that would affect immigrant farm workers, most of whom do not have legal status.


In Kansas, Republicans won big majorities in both legislative houses and Sam Brownback, who just retired as a United States senator, was elected governor. Mr. Kobach, the law professor, was elected secretary of state after a campaign in which he vowed to pass a law requiring proof of citizenship for voters.

The newest initiative is a joint effort among lawmakers from states including Arizona, Oklahoma, Missouri and Pennsylvania to pass laws based on a single model that would deny American citizenship to children born in those states to illegal immigrants. The legislators were to announce the campaign in Washington on Wednesday.

A leader of that effort is Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican state representative from Pennsylvania. At a recent news conference, Mr. Metcalfe said his goal was to eliminate “an anchor baby status, in which an illegal alien invader comes into our country and has a child on our soil that is granted citizenship automatically.”

Read the entire article here.

There is no question but what something needs to be done. The issue of what to do with the approximately 12 million illegal aliens already inside our borders does need to be addressed. But first lets stop the illegal flow across our borders and then turn to how we should handle the illegals already here.

Of course our federal lawmakers {politicians} are deeply focused on the "political" ramifications of their decisions as they position themselves to get the minority vote. But an illegal is an illegal, regardless of the softer terminology the liberals and the Obama administration likes to use. An "undocumented immigrant" is still an illegal alien. And it is time to stop the steam of illegals coming into our into our country daily. Another thing, if the choice of terms offends anyone, well, I call a spade a spade.

Cross posted to the Left Coast Rebel

Via: Memeorandum

Comments

  1. Ending the welfare state is the ideal solution because it would take all the financial incentive away from illegal immigration. But since that will never happen, Congress must undertake comprehensive immigration reform but fear of reprisals from the Hispanic voting bloc and the business community make it a political hot potato.

    If Congress wants to undertake immigration reform, they must do so in a stand-alone bill that does not grant amnesty to a vast majority of illegal entrants, regardless of their reason for being in this country or where they came from, and include aspects such as full assimilation to our culture along with a process for documenting and doing background checks on those who will be allowed to stay or want to come in.

    Stricter border security must also be included along with a simpler process for granting temporary work visas so those who are here can pay their fair share of taxes into a system where they are currently reaping benefits from, while paying little for. The financial incentive for coming to America illegally has to end now.

    Congress must also address and enforce the original intent of the 14th Amendment and stop allowing for automatic citizenship of children born in this country to illegal immigrants and those who come here on tourist visas solely to achieve US citizenship for their child. To do this it will take SCOTUS to revise the ruling of US v Wong Kim Ark which granted this "right".

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  2. I've heard of this latest con-fad. 'Oh, the states will have to action!' No. They can't. This is a national issue.

    I know admirers of the Confederacy - that hellish moral vacuum that caused the deaths of 600,000 Americans - believe that every state should have a veto in national matters, but when you think about it, its utterly unteneble.

    You can not have every state autonomously regulating immigration any more than you can have them do the same for countless other national prerogatives.

    There is a time and a place for federal authority and anyone who thinks IMMIGRATION is not covered by that is an idiot - regardless of 'how well' the federal gov't is doing it.

    Fix the federal system - don't subvert the entire constitutional system. We don't need another moral vacuum sucking our national blood.

    JMJ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bogeyman argument from the right that appeals to the lazy and uninformed RN.

    There but for the grace of God or accident of birth if you prefer, we all could have been born in Mexico or Haiti.

    The Dream Act provides a path to citizenship for children. Pardon my "french" but I don't care to look a child in the eye and say tough shit kid. Go back to Haiti. Your parents are illegals.


    Fixing the immigration problem entails more than a fence and meaningless tough talk.

    ReplyDelete
  4. An interesting fact about illegal immigration: when ICE raids cause the dismissal of large numbers of illegals, what happens? Well we know that "Americans won't do these jobs", right?

    oops, it turns out Americans line up for them and are very grateful to get them!

    http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2009-09-13-plants_N.htm

    So we could solve much of our unemployment problem by much more energetic workplace enforcement (Obama admin has shown no energy in pursuing such raids).

    A bonus: the illegals send a big fraction of their money back to their home country, whereas Americans doing the jobs will stimulate our economy.

    So how could anyone with even an ounce of patriotism not favor this?

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  5. Chis - Excellent well thought out points all. Our current system is indeed a magnet and since the illegals have it a lot better off here rather than from whence they came, and they are not paying into the system getting a free ride the taxpayer gets screwed once again.

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  6. JMJ - Congress has proved itself inept. Businesses have proven themselves indifferent. National politicians think only about how to improve thei standing with special interests.

    Time to get some b*lls. Since the feds have none lets see what the state can do.

    I would be all for fixing the federal system if that stood a chance and actually happened, it wont. Especially under Obummer.

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  7. Truth - Not a bogeyman argument from the right.

    But from the bleeding heart liberals that fire only on emotional issues and therefore emotionalism and irrational BS that is naturally the take from the left.

    The DREAM act was rubbish and it should have died. Until the borders are secured and laws with steep penalties for employing illegals are enforced I do not care to listen to the amnesty argument.

    Frankly my problems are not those of Haiti or the rest of the world for that matter. Nor do I think we ought to continue to make them our problems any longer. Call it tough love from the USA.

    Truth, it is a matter of opinion who exactly is uniformed and lazy. I have mine you have yours.

    I suspect that by far more independent conservatives have remained open to a wide range of views than the narrow and closed minded left ever has.

    Independent thinking means exactly what it means. Independence of thought. On this issue call me what you wish, calling me lazy and uniformed will not deter me. And I could, should I choose to level the same phrase at you.

    I did not state anything about a fence. Had you chose to ask I might have elaborated in this comment.

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  8. Sherry - Great points! You are totally correct.

    Thank you for the link as well. Great information and based on actual experience.

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  9. The federal government, including George Bush has failed in regulating immigration.

    How can we trust it to implement a dream act or anything else? It's madness to trust that they wouldn't screw it all up.

    Undocumented (the libs's favored word) means just that: No documents. No entry or exit visas, documentation that establishes true identity. Couple this with a nation unable to control its borders, and you open the door unlimited immigration and a cheapening of US citizenship.

    Here's a question for the lefties: What makes a college student more deserving of citizenship than a 50 year old "undocumented" woman who has worked hard, stayed out of trouble and never accepted government assistance?

    First we fix the border and establish who is here. Then we proceed with the discussion of what to do. I know logical thinking is an alien concept to those on the left, but you've got to establish the magnitude of the problem before you can figure out how to solve it. You've also got to stabilize the situation, or your solution will end up not fitting a metasticizing problem.

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  10. Silverfiddle - Spot on commentary. What else could possibly remains to be said...

    ReplyDelete

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