In an editorial yesterday, the Washington Times wrote:

In demanding amnesty, advocates often say it is necessary because illegals have deep “American” roots. But under this bill, illegals who entered between Jan. 7, 2004 and Jan. 1, 2007 would be given the same amnesty benefits as those who have been living in the United States for decades and have children who were born here. Additionally, people who waited in line to come in the legal way would have to start the process over if they filed their applications after May 1, 2005. So much for the notion of fairness.

In the National Review Online today, the Hudson Institute’s John Fonte spells out why the immigration reform legislation now before Congress is no “grand deal.” The bill has one-day amnesty, tax amnesty, faux enforcement “triggers,” weak employer verification, and no exit system for guest workers. In addition, we are asked to just trust criminal gang members.

Below the fold, Mr. Fonte adds:

* “Section 136: Nothing in this section may be construed to provide additional authority to any State or local entity to enforce Federal immigration laws.” Why not? The illegal aliens who were part of the Fort Dix terrorist conspiracy were stopped by local law enforcement 56 times but their immigration status was never checked. This bill does nothing to ensure cooperation between local and federal officials in combating terrorism.

* No real merit or skills-based (point) system instead current extended family chain migration is accelerated: The chain migration of extended family members will continue and be greatly expanded for the next eight years and only then would a skills-based merit (points) system supposedly go into effect. That is, if you really believe that after eight years a skills system would be adopted against strong business and liberal opposition.
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* The term “assimilation” disappears; the concept of “Americanization” never appears; and the Euro-speak weasel word “integration” enters the text. Thus, 100 million federal dollars will be given to states and cities to award grants to “nonprofit organizations with experience working with immigrant communities” for “effective integration of immigrants into American society.”

In plain language this means that the State of Illinois’s Office of New Americans funnels federal funds to groups like La Raza and MALDEF. The type of “integration” that the new citizens will be learning can be gleaned from remarks of Jose Luis Gutierrez, the head of the Illinois Office of New Americans as reported in the Chicago Tribune April 6, 2007.

“The nation-state concept is changing. You don’t have to say, `I am Mexican,’ or, `I am American.’ You can be a good Mexican citizen and a good American citizen and not have that be a conflict of interest. Sovereignty is flexible.”

Gutierrez is a dual citizen who is actively involved in Mexican politics. He votes in both the US and Mexico and is active in political campaigns in both nations. His political allegiance is clearly divided. He will not choose the United States over Mexico. Remember this is the guy in charge of assimilation; sorry, I mean “integration.” In short, the Senate bill can’t even get assimilation right.

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