Ding-dong, the witch is dead. The Kennedy-McCain-Bush immigration amnesty bill has apparently died a deserved ignominious death in the Senate. The proponents of this "compromise" should take the measure of the bloody nose inflicted upon them and rethink future measures. The bill was terribly misguided to begin with, and the rush to stampede it through was distasteful. The language used by Bush administration officials against those who opposed the bill was inflammatory and unnecessary. The next step should be to adequately secure our ports and borders before moving forward.
We are nearing the six year anniversary of 9/11, and our national security has come to include immigration and border security. Greater and greater numbers of illegal entrants from countries other than Mexico are entering every year. A porous border only invites those intent on harming Americans to go ahead and take a stab. Al Qaeda and their terrorist allies are continually plotting and cannot help but notice the state of our borders as the strategic weakness it is.
No potential system of immigration management can succeed as long as the borders are as open as they currently are. Major efforts must be made to improve security through physical and electronic means. The administration has drug its feet on building the fencing that has already been authorized, hoping to trade further fencing for a "comprehensive" (meaning amnesty) bill. No one can possibly keep a count of folks in an area if the entrances and exits are open and unmonitored.
The main reason for the current state of the immigration system is lack of border security. No way to count or track those coming or going, no way screen out the bad guys, and no defense against a massive wave of illegal entry. The other problems with the system pale in comparison to securing the borders, and cannot be fixed without that step.
Legislators must enact an enforcement and security law before moving on to other issues. They will have a very small window of opportunity after the current bill is eulogized. I hope they have learned to start with security, not use it as a bargaining chip or accuse opponents of bigotry. Enforce the law, gentlemen. No immigration measure will be possible until the public is satisfied that our ports and borders have been sealed against foreign invaders. The involvement of Ted Kennedy should have been an indication of the quality of the bill.
JINGOCON
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