Influx Redux

Amnesty: A pardon extended by the government to a group or class or persons, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not been convicted...- excerpted from Black’s Law Dictionary 7th ed.

In 1986, at the prodding of a Democratic majority in the House and a Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy, President Ronald Wilson Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The provisions as set forth in the bill laid out a path whereby long-settled illegal immigrants, then a comparatively minor population than say that of today, would be allowed to stay in the country. While the bill allowed illegal immigrants to stay in the country without fear of prosecution for their criminal status, the bill also contained further provisions which called for tighter border security, increased enforcement in current immigration laws, and most importantly greater sanctions against employers who hired illegal immigrants (appropriately cited at the time as the driving force behind illegal immigration). Furthering the attempt to persuade the opposition, it was stated that the path to citizenship however, was short of automatic. In exchange for a path to citizenship the legislation put forth a number of conditions that were to be met by the individual seeking citizenship: application fees were to be paid, the applicant must learn to speak English, have an understanding of American civics, pass a medical examination, and register for military selective service. Of course it is, at this point, appropriately worth noting that such provisions in 1986 sound oddly familiar with the bill that has recently come before us. However, while the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and its fraudulent companion the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 were both equally proposed as a pseudo band aid for a failed government immigration policy, moreover while strikingly similar in their feel good undertones, the former was at the very least, and to Reagan’s credit, acknowledged as amnesty. Reagan’s acknowledgement was dead on. But while George Bush and Senator McCain, and quite a host of others, are not yet willing to commit to the reality of that which defines their amnesty bill, the resounding opposition (it too strikingly similar to that of ’86) to it is deafening.

There was, amongst opponents of the 1986 amnesty bill, a great fear in that under such a proposal, an illegal influx would likely occur thereby replacing every one illegal alien granted amnesty with four more. Without question, given that an estimated 2.7 million illegal immigrants were given amnesty as a result of the ‘86 bill and by most conservative estimates we now have 12 million illegal immigrants living in America a mere twenty years later, the fears by those who opposed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 have indeed since been validated. And, although the fears surrounding the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 have yet to be validated, it is said that the truth lies in numbers. That said my dear readers; I think you’d agree that validation of these numbers (compiled by the Heritage Foundation. Learn more about the bill at http://www.heritage.org/), or any other such provisions set forth in this current bill are worthy of fear.

Given the current economic, if not social, impact of our American welfare state at present and the burden upon the taxpayers which subsidize it, the first item worthy of mention is that upon passage of the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 we would see the greatest increase in welfare in 35 years. Analysts say hidden costs within the bill include $500 billion in additional welfare payments. The pay out to illegal immigrants through the earned income credit alone, which at present goes unaddressed in the bill, is concluded by the Congressional Budget Office to amount to a $29 billion taxpayer funded pay out over 10 years. Overall, it is said that net cost to taxpayers of retirement benefits for amnesty recipients is likely to be at least $2.6 trillion. Laden with fiscal disaster, one such further financial impact comes by way of setting up an arbitration process for blue card aliens who, under the bill can only be fired for just cause whereas the vast majority of working Americans are under an at will employment agreement, might allege they’ve been terminated unjustly. This arbitration process is a right not afforded to American citizens. Additionally, the fee and expense of this arbitration process is to be incurred by the Department of Homeland Security and paid for by the American taxpayer. Moreover, the AgJOBS amendment within the bill not only attempts to provide amnesty for 1.5 million illegal aliens (workers mind you which as blue card holders are not limited strictly to agriculture), the amendment provides free legal counsel for those seeking amnesty under the bill also at taxpayer expense. And, adding insult to injury, the infamous Dream Act (of which I’ve mentioned in previous columns) would rewrite the law on in-State tuition rates for those in this country illegally thereby giving them a financial benefit not presently afforded to out-of-state citizens while furthermore granting them accessibility to Stafford student loans. These out-of-state tuition rates typically range anywhere from twice to three and a half times as much as in-state rates. These are just a select few of the stealthy provisions contained within this bill. However, were all these aforementioned taxpayer funded luxuries, for the sake of amnesty, not enough to serve as the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back, let the following serve as the coup de grace.

Though it’s been stated that those who partake in this amnesty plan will have to pay back taxes, the plain language of the bill apparently doesn’t require the entirety of the back taxes to be paid at all. Rather, illegals who partake in this plan will be afforded the opportunity of only paying taxes on 3 of the 5 years they might have worked. What’s more, the burden of proving any due back taxes owed by an individual who’s worked primarily “off the books” falls quite ridiculously on the IRS. And what about the business owner who’s reaped the benefit of cheap illegal labor while his competitor has not? According to the current bill he who has employed illegal labor “shall not be subject to civil and criminal tax liability relating directly to the employment of such an alien.” In closing, dare I point out this is the blood seeping from a wound for which the Influx Redux band aid of 2007 will never heal.