There is a lot that has been said about immigration reform. Some advocates of performing a massive overhaul of our immigration system will tell you the system is broken. They will insist something needs to be, has to be done. It is true that we have problems in how the immigration system is working, but those problems stem from an unwillingness of our government to enforce our immigration laws in the first place. This unwillingness is much more prominent in the Obama administration, with his specific orders to refrain from many deportations. The President's excuse is that it is simply the right thing to do. My question would also be simple. The right thing to do for whom, Mr. President?
The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives seem to be determined to make immigration reform a prime issue for the next political cycle. They have been testing out different scenarios of reform on their members and immigration reform will be one of the main topics at an annual GOP retreat today.
The Hill - Top House Republicans will face growing skepticism from reform-minded conservatives when they pitch their principles for an immigration overhaul Thursday at the party’s annual retreat.In interviews over the last several days, conservatives said that while they expect the principles to be broadly acceptable, they are less inclined to support a push by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and others to advance specific legislative proposals heading into the midterm election campaign.The GOP leadership in question will just have to forgive me if I sound a little skeptical of their intentions. John Boehner says he wants to get a better feel for what the members of his caucus has in mind, but I'm not sure that will have much bearing on what legislation he decides to advance. He's already stated his derision of conservative groups. Conservatives who oppose reforming the immigration system in such a grand fashion will likely feel that same derision.
“I think the willingness to go so far as specific legislation has cooled considerably for different reasons over the course of the last couple weeks,” Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) said Wednesday.
The principles will include support for giving probationary legal status to many illegal immigrants, Ryan confirmed in an interview Wednesday on MSNBC. That would be distinct from a so-called “special path to citizenship” that Republicans have long opposed.
Republican leaders have acknowledged that the reception of the rank and file at the retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore will be critical to the decision of whether to move forward.
“We’re going to outline our standards, principles for immigration reform and have a conversation with our members, and once that conversation is over, we’ll have a better feel for what our members have in mind,” Boehner said during a press conference.
Here is an outline of what the Republican leadership is proposing.
On MSNBC, Ryan said the principles would outline a bill that would allow immigrants living in the country illegally to “come out of the shadows” to receive a probationary work permits.To get out of the probationary status and receive a regular work permit, triggers for border security and interior enforcement would have to be met and independently verified.Supposedly, this is somewhat different from the amnesty proposed by the Democrats. I would ask them how it is different. They are still proposing that illegal immigrants be allowed to come "out of the shadows" and enter the legal work force. They say it isn't a special path to citizenship, but it sounds awfully close to amnesty to me. And does anyone really believe the illegal immigrants who already reside in America are going to follow this process, just so they can come "out of the shadows"? I'm not convinced that is likely to happen.
Those immigrants would also have to pay a fine, learn English and civics, and prove that they are not on welfare.
At that point, they would be able to apply for a green card for permanent residency through regular procedures.
In addition to border and interior security, the principles will also likely call for a guest-worker program, increased high-skilled visas and a path to legal status citizenship for children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.
Speaking of a path to citizenship, we already have one of those. It's set forth in the immigration laws that are already on the Federal Register. If illegal immigrants have refused to follow that path, what makes us think they will follow any future path to citizenship passed through Congress and signed into law? Simply put, if the illegal immigrants already living in America were interested in citizenship, they could have already applied for, and received, that coveted status. Their inaction speaks volumes. It would behoove the Republican leadership to listen closely to what they are saying.
