Absolute lies

The illegal alien amnesty bill has been resurrected from the dead by President Bush's promise on Friday to add 4.4 billion more dollars to the bill, which is earmarked for even higher planned levels of border enforcement. The talking heads that support this bill have all been saying on the weekend shows that this increased security, along with more workplace enforcement and tougher catch and return polices, must be in effect before the amnesty visa program begins.

Don't believe them.

It's all sleight-of-hand theater. All of these promises to strengthen our borders and better enforce our laws before the illegal immigrants get their amnesty are just that, empty promises without any requirement that they be met before the Z visas start getting handed out like Halloween candy.

Here, see for yourself.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association is practically foaming at the mouth to get this bill passed, for obvious reasons, as this new law will leave its members set for life. The association has helpfully put together a 40-page summary of the proposed bill. Reading this summary, we find that the "effective date" of the new law is when the new border fencing and additional staff is in place, along with a stronger catch and release program and workplace enforcement tools. OK, fair enough. But wait a minute. There's an exception. What exception is that, one asks?

"With the exception of the probationary benefits conferred by Section 601(h), relating to Z visas". Hmmm, what's that all about?

Going to the actual text of the bill, we find that section 601(h) outlines the application procedure for the Z visas (and the fact that the government will have 24 hours to find fault with said application, or the illegal alien is automatically granted probationary status. This from the government that is hopelessly behind on passport applications).

In other words, the Z visa program is specifically exempt from every one of the "triggers" provided for in the bill. All of the goodies get handed out right up front, the day that the bill is signed. The fence never gets built? The officers aren't hired? No stepped-up workplace enforcement? (Like, say, exactly what happened in 1986?) "Sorry, everyone has visas and is legal now, it wouldn't be fair to go back and take that away from them".

This whole thing is just an absolute sham. It immediately grants resident status to upwards of 20 million people, without even a single one of those so-called "triggers" being reached. I haven't even gotten into some of the other, equally odious provisions of this bill, such as the DREAM Act for in-state tuition for the children of illegal aliens, while legal non-resident aliens and residents of other states would still have to pay out-of-state rates. Just the fact that the government is lying right to our faces about the provisions of this bill is enough to warrant its quick death.

Shut off the leak first. Then deal with the mess that we already have here. I don't need talk radio to tell me that, Senator Lott. It's common sense, something that is in mighty short supply on Capitol Hill these days.