What should Immigration “Reform” look like?

In a recent post, I talked about what South Carolina could do (as a state and individual communities) to fight illegal immigration from non-federal levels (in the absence of any solid federal leadership on the issue through the last six administrations…)

But that begs the question: If there is to be immigration reform, which virtually everyone agrees needs to happen in some form or fashion, what should those “reforms” look like? I’ve tackled this issue in a post for SCHotline about 4 years ago, but that blog is gone now, so let’s revisit with four more years to ponder it.

PRE-REFORM STEPS:

• ENFORCE THE BORDER

I’m not saying put tanks and fighter planes on the border, or issue shoot on sight orders. I am saying build a double fence the length of the southern border with enforceable points of entry. Then staff it properly. Border enforcement is a valid use of taxpayer dollars, but one that has been badly neglected by every administration since Carter. I’d much rather spend resources protecting the country from an invasion than on stimulus packages for bureaucrats and special interests. This is an act of will that simply requires a government willing to enforce the law and a Congress willing to pay for it. This should be a no brainer, but it never gets done.

• REFORM THE BUREAUCRACY

We need to take a hard look at the bureaucracies that have failed to date. I’ve heard horror stories from plenty of legitimate immigrant applications that take far too long to get approved. We need to make it harder to get here illegally, yes, but we also need to make it easier to get here legally or understand why an application has been denied. This is the carrot in the carrot and stick approach. Mandate that applications have to be dealt with in a certain amount of time, and then lets have Congressional oversight to ensure that those metrics are met.

• ENFORCE CURRENT LAW MORE EFFECTIVELY

Why have deportations gone down since Eisenhower was President? Has every President since simply not cared enough about the issue? No one is saying you can deport 20 million illegal immigrants all at once. Start by enforcing the law. The current Arizona situation proves yet again that when the laws are enforced a large number of people will self-deport. That’s a good starting point for this process.

REFORM COMPONENTS

• END AUTOMATIC BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

I know this will come as a surprise to some (since I’ve been a pretty vociferous critic of our Senior Senator over the years) but Senator Graham is absolutely right on the need to tweak the definition of the automatic birthright citizenship of the 14th Amendment. You can do very little to fix to current mess without handling the Anchor Baby/Birth Tourism issue. Bob McAlister has done a great piece on this issue; The Heritage Foundation says it can be done with clarifying legislation (as opposed to another Constitutional Amendment) – and George Will agrees. What needs to be clarified is that only the children of citizens or permanent legal residents gain automatic citizenship; anyone else needs to go through the naturalization process – complete with application.

• GUEST WORKER PROGRAM

Short an overhaul of welfare reform that would stop subsidizing laziness in the general populace, we’re going to still need someone to do the jobs that are currently being done by illegals (in South Carolina, this is predominantly peach picking, chicken plucking, and construction). What we need is to be able to have these be done by people who are here legally, who will pay their fair share of taxes while they’re here, and who will go back home when they’re done. Such a program would involve employers being able to bring in workers to do specific jobs for specific time periods before returning to their home countries. Reforming the bureaucracy is a must before you do this because otherwise, no one will get to work on time. Ending automatic birthright citizenship is a must before you do this, as you want the guest workers to bring their families for maximum societal stability and economic gain without creating permanent anchors.

• NO AMNESTY – NO NEW PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR THOSE HERE ILLEGALLY NOW

There are plenty of paths to citizenship now. We don’t need to create more, and more importantly, we don’t need to reward those who have come here illegally by letting them stay. If they want to work here, they’ll need to apply under the guest worker program. If they want to immigrate here, they’ll have to go back to their home country and apply from there like everyone else, going through the background checks and fulfilling the application process along the way.

As an aside, let’s define amnesty. Amnesty is defined as allowing the criminal to keep what they’ve stolen. In this case, the illegal alien has stolen a place in the country. “Amnesty” is anything that lets them keep it – even with “fines, back taxes” or whatever other artifices are attached to the process. Put me down for no amnesty; it’s a perversion of the rule of law, and it should be unacceptable to a modern society based on law.

• INDEFINITE MORATORIUM ON IMMIGRATION FROM MUSLIM COUNTRIES

Let’s face it, the current system invites more attacks. Until we can be certain that the jihadist threat is behind us (and it certainly isn’t yet), it behooves us to protect ourselves. This means no more student visas (like the ones used by 9/11 attackers) or permanent resident visas for those who are coming from high risk countries, unless they can certify a status worthy of asylum. This isn’t racial profiling – it’s religious profiling; it’s important to remember that our rights as a nation to survive outweigh the religious rights of non-citizens who seek our demise but want to live here in the meantime. The Constitution, after all, wasn’t a suicide pact.

OTHER POTENTIAL FACTORS TO CONSIDER:

Other things that I suppose could be included in an acceptable form of a “comprehensive immigration reform” might include changing the current system to more of a points based system (more points for a college degree or needed work skill, for instance). We also need to emphasize English only in our immigration system – if you want to live here, you agree to become part of our culture and that means communicating in our shared language. English proficiency (using forms printed only in English, giving tests using only English) should be mandatory for immigrating to the US and for citizenship.


Agree? Disagree? Want to discuss? Comments are open below…

On Censure Resolutions

I know a thing or two about censure resolutions. For those of you who missed it in June, I was the author of the resolution by the Lexington County GOP censuring Senator Jake Knotts for the “@*#&$%! raghead” remark (though, in truth, I’m just as angry about the “@*#&$%! pro-lifers” remark Knotts made at another Senator just off the Senate floor earlier this year…).

Last night, the Greenville GOP voted 61-2 to censure Senator Lindsey Graham over a litany of ills concluding with being not enough of a Republican. You’ve heard them before, and if you’re like me, you agree that Senator Graham was wrong on most, if not all counts: Judges Haynes (no), Sotomayor and Kagan (yes), amnesty for illegals, closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, supporting TARP, cap and trade, comments about Glenn Beck, comments about earmarks, etc.

The question is do these resolutions work, and do they matter?

Clearly I think there’s a place for them, or I wouldn’t have written the Knotts censure. Were I a member of the Greenville GOP, I would likely have voted yes last night.

But it strikes me that these resolutions eventually become whistling into a tornado.

Senator Knotts reaction was one of complete contempt. If the resolution was intended to force him out of office (it wasn’t), it failed miserably. If anything, Senator Knotts is more dug in than ever. Likewise, the reaction out of the Graham camp will likely mirror his performance at the Greenville GOP convention last spring – I won, I’m your Senator for four more years, get over it.

All that said, local County Parties have a right to express their displeasure with their elected officials, especially when those officials depart from the values they expressed when getting themselves elected. Senator Graham spoke to the Lexington GOP Convention in 2007 and talked about making sure President Bush got his pro-life judges. By the end of that summer he had put the knife to the Haynes nomination over the Guantanamo issue. For those of us who are conservatives who care about judges, that knife was lodged in our backs, too. Good on Greenville for holding his feet to the fire.

There’s one more thing that makes Greenville’s censure interesting, different, and bold. The Greenville GOP added one last clause that puts some teeth into the resolution that others may wind up copying. They barred the Senator from addressing Greenville County GOP meetings in the future. That’s about as strong as a County Party can affect within the boundaries of the law. We can’t throw people out of the Party (the law defining Party membership is too vague), but we can bar folks from meetings.

What the censures will eventually turn into (it seems to me) is fodder for primary campaigns against Knotts and Graham, assuming both men decide to run for reelection as Republicans. Graham has two more years to develop his response (and for the hoopla to die down) than Knotts does, but that’s also two more years for opposition to develop a gameplan. Either way, both men can probably expect mailpieces/TV ads blaring “Rebuked by the GOP” or something similar.

Whether those efforts succeed may rise and fall on whether or not we can finally change to a voter registration by party/closed primary system that protects the First Amendment Freedom of Association rights of party members. In a closed primary, Knotts or Graham would almost surely fail. In a system that allows Democratics to vote in Republican primaries, Knotts and Graham at least have a chance to survive politically. Time will tell.

Immigration Reform, South Carolina style

You would think the federal government would appreciate a little help on the immigration issue right now.

Budget cuts being what they are, and an out of control border causing havoc and mayhem to the local citizenry, you’d think the feds would tell Arizona “Thanks for the help! Let us know who we can pick up.”

And of course, you’d be spectacularly wrong. Under the Obama Regime, the federal government has no interest in fixing the immigration problem with anything other than blanket amnesty (which of course only worsens the problem in the long term, as we have already seen post-1987). To the Obama Regime, this isn’t a problem to be fixed, but a Rahm Emanuelesque crisis to be taken advantage of.

So you get the insane situation where rather than enforce its own laws and its own borders, the federal government instead puts up signs warning the locals to stay out of portions of their own country due to rampant lawlessness (above).

Let me point to Beaufort County, South Carolina as evidence that the Arizona approach should be preferred to the federal government approach. Beaufort County, fed up with the federal government’s non-intervention into immigration enforcement, decided to do its own ordinance to cut back on illegal aliens, including fines for businesses that employ illegals.

On the other end of the state, York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant has his deputies trained under section 287(g) to handle immigration cases on their own. Beaufort County is also doing this. This will result in a drop to the crime rate in both of those communities.

And yes, South Carolina’s own immigration reform act has finally come completely into fruition this month, though the Obama Regime’s likely move there is to shut down the e-Verify system that the state relies on for businesses to verify workers and the law to be enforced.

So, it seems to me that there are three things that South Carolina and her communities can do on this immigration issue to clamp down, and tell the feds “Yes, we can.”

First, in addition to the previously passed bill, South Carolina needs to pass the Arizona law. This will accomplish two things: it will put us in a position to protect ourselves, and it will give Arizona (and other states contemplating similar actions) some cover to do the same. The feds can pick on one state far more easily than they can pick on 30. Let’s get other states passing Arizona’s immigration law. I know it will be difficult, but the State also needs to pass enough funding for SLED to enforce the law. This will pay for itself in the long run with reduced costs to our Medicaid and social welfare spending.

Second, South Carolina counties should immediately begin discussing how to bring the Beaufort County immigration ordinance to their county. I have a copy, if you need one – look me up. I’ll be sending copies to the Lexington County Council to see if we can get this law passed here. If every county raised moneys similar to the Beaufort tally, you’d see far less clamoring for state dollars. Sooner or later, businesses are going to figure out that hiring illegals isn’t the money making operation they hoped it was, and you’ll start to see a drop in citizen unemployment rates as well.

Finally, every county Sheriff in South Carolina should follow Sheriff Bryant’s lead and get their deputies trained under ICE’s 287(g) program to handle these cases. The problem of criminal illegal aliens is a serious one, and 287(g) is a serious response while it lasts. (I have no faith that the Obama regime won’t pull the plug on this eventually.)

This would be a serious three-tiered approach to stopping the illegal immigration influx into South Carolina, and an effective way to address unemployment, crime, and the looming budget crisis in our state. I hope our leaders will listen.

Better Late Than Never: Ramos, Compean freed

Word is breaking this afternoon that President Bush has commuted the sentences of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who had become a cause celebre for those of us in the "border hawk" camp. Inexplicably, Fox News is reporting that the sentences are commuted not to time served, apparently, but to March 20, so they still have two months to serve. Still, commuting these sentences (if not an outright pardon) was the right thing to do, and politically all the easier with the bipartisan support these two law enforcement officers have received from across the country, especially from the entirety of the Texas House contingent.

While I don't understand the two month delay, I'm grateful that these two will get out sooner rather than later. They faced 10 year sentences if the President hadn't acted.

Why Abortion is a cause of the Financial Mess (by way of illegal immigration)

Something struck me at breakfast this morning, an awful (and frankly, a little strange) realization that I think has been overlooked in the bailout debate.

One of the root causes of the financial mess we’re in is the holocaust of abortion.

Follow the logic here…

In the thirty five years since Roe v. Wade, 48.5 million babies have been killed (legally) in the United States. That’s 48 million people under the age of 35 that we’re missing as a nation - about 20 million of which would now be in the workforce.

In 1973, according to the US government, the estimated number of illegal immigrants in the United States was at 4 million people. In the intervening thirty-five years, those same years since Roe, that number has quintupled to (you guessed it) around 20 million. To replace the population, especially the workforce population, that had been lost by abortion, businesses turned to an underground market of illegal immigrant labor.

Where did those illegals live? Many were (and in some places, still are) in tent cities and trailer parks hidden away around the nation.

But, in the 1990s, something strange happened. In the ‘90s, those who wanted low-income folks (many of whom had been the victims of racial discrimination) to get more affordable housing changed the rules for lending to those folks, but did it in a way that included easing the paperwork burden. This noble goal came with an unintended consequence: illegal immigrants flocked to buy houses, since the new rules made it easier to get mortgages without actually being a citizen or legal resident.

Those same rule changes allowed no down payment mortgages up to 125% of the value of the house – which encouraged fraud among the illegal immigrant population.

Imagine the fraud possibility – you use the fraudulent documents that allowed you to steal someone else’s identity to also get a mortgage, for 125% of the value of a home, pocket the extra 25% in cash, live in the house for a year, don’t make payments, leave to go work somewhere else and let the bank foreclose. And because you’re on a stolen identity, no one can track you down.

Now, I do understand that this is only one part of the overall mess in the financial system, and not a comprehensive fix. But it’s still a major part.

The Bailout Package really should include border fencing and the repeal of Roe v. Wade. Otherwise, we’re open for more of this in the future.



Update: Video of liberal Democrats in denial over the impact of Fannie and Freddie. When you watch press coverage tonight of the bailout, remember that those same folks are the ones who gave us this mess in the first place.

Out of State Groups in District 23 backing... Knotts?

Very interesting post card hitting in Senate 23 today - the NRA's ILA (also known as the Incumbent Legislator Award) is endorsing Senator Jake Knotts from the safety of their offices in Fairfax, Virginia. The card (seen here) was mailed out from "Suburban, MD".

Four items of note for irony or newsworthiness with this piece.

First, this comes on the heels of his last campaign mailer, which included dead people (Louis Shealy), convicted felons (Charlie Sharpe), and a whole array of people who have since told the Knotts campaign they never gave their permission. That probably warrants it's own story, but I know the local newsies are working on it, so I'll leave it at that for now.

Second, Senator Knotts cannot open his mouth or send a mail piece without screaming about "out-of-state special interests", "Wall Street Billionaires", "Walmart-style Schools" and the like. One wonders if he'll denounce the out-of-state intrusion on his behalf. (/sarc)

Third, the out of state group in question kinda got his name wrong on the headline. If you look close at the image's second line (I zoomed in on the back half) you'll notice they asked the voters of District 23 to "Vote for Judy Boyle". Now, as everyone in Lexington County surely knows, Judy Boyle is running for District 9 in the Idaho House. That happens to be only 2472 miles away from downtown Lexington, according to Yahoo Maps. Here's to hoping Jakie's voters write her in on June 10...

Finally, the mailer specifically references Knotts' support for concealed weapons reciprocity. This is interesting, since Knotts spent all of his debate time on Monday night (a debate Shealy won handily, according to the audience who cast straw poll ballots) bashing reciprocity for CWP holders, and likened reciprocity supporters to the "ACLU". No, I don't know what he was blathering about, but it's still entertaining to figure out how he was against it Monday, but for it Thursday afternoon. (this is the inverse of last week, when he claimed to be for mandatory "e-Verify" on Monday night before voting against it on Thursday afternoon).

It will be interesting to see if Jakie keeps trying to play the "out of state" card now that these are running around the district, and it will be interesting to see what else Knotts flip-flops about over the next 3 weeks.

Senate Republican Caucus on Immigration Reform: Thank you Jim Ritchie

Just noted a press release/blog post from the folks at the Senate Republican Caucus: Thank you Jim Ritchie. The thrust of the Thank You Note is for his leadership on tax issues and immigration reform. The Caucus also notes that they've put up a new website: ThankYouJim.com.

Now, I have to admit I like Senator Ritchie, who I regard as one of the brightest policy minds in the Senate. We don't always agree on issues, but Jim's intellect on policy matters is unquestionable. I happen to give him tons of credit for trying to advance the illegal immigration bill for the past two years - I know others have faulted him for some of the steps taken along that process, but on balance, Ritchie's work has been invaluable to the debate. Without fear of contradiction, I can say that without Senator Ritchie's efforts and leadership, we would not have a state immigration bill to discuss right now. Hence the new website.

That being said - since when is the Caucus putting up websites? And, does this mean there's a "ThankYouJakie".com in the works? If so, what would they thank him for - obstruction of every major Republican reform and tax cut in the past four years?

Let's see, he's the major Senate force undermining concealed carry, he's the major force trying to stop e-Verify in the Senate, he single-handedly delayed DUI reform by a year and a half with his DUI trial lawyer buddy Brad Hutto, he was a thorn in the side of anyone trying for meaningful workers comp reform, he voted against income tax cuts, the hits just keep on coming...

At the end of the day in Ritchie's case, he's getting criticized for trying to push the agenda forward (and defended by the Caucus for trying to do the right things). That's far from true in Knotts case. I hope we don't see the Caucus try that one on for size.

Random Thoughts

Just a few notes on this and that...

***

For those of you who listen to the weekly Andy Thomas Show hits, you'll know we talked this morning about Obama's poll numbers. Here's the latest from Rasmussen: Hillary is up ten points on Obama nationwide in the three days since the Rev. Wright press conference.

Maybe, just maybe, Wright's linking the United States Marine Corps to Christ's crucifixion was a bit of a stretch.

Sooner or later, the twenty-year relationship with Jeremiah Wright finishes Barry O. The only question now is who gains, Clinton (in time for the convention) or McCain in the General. Even "throwing Wright under the bus" won't help now - that time was two months ago.

***

I don't know who this Indiana "Republican" Congressional candidate jokeris kidding, but the sooner he disappears from the political scene, the better. We've never been the "Hitler Party", and we aren't about to start now. His anti-Semitic hatred is not welcome in our party.

Illinois Nazis? Well, we can't stand Indiana Nazis either.

The Indiana Nazis have no more place in the modern political dialogue than Jeremiah Wright/Louis Farrakhan should. Both forms of bigotry are equally obnoxious.

***

Global Warming on Hold for another Decade, due to "natural variations in ocean currents". Ummm... don't you think maybe it was those same variations that might've contributed to some temporary warming ten years ago? (since we already know that the Earth cooled more than a Fahrenheit degree last year alone.)

Memo to John McCain: Jump off the Global Warming Bandwagon while you still have the chance. The sooner you do it, the bigger the long-term gain will be when we have climate alarmists in fur coats explaining that man-made warming will be coming around any old day now...

Oh, and don't forget the solar pattern/cosmic ray/cloud seeding theories from our Danish friend, Henrik Svensmark. When in climate doubt, never underestimate the power of the Big Ball of Fire in the Sky...

***

Dueling Headlines:
Senate passes Immigration bill that includes fines for businesses who hire illegals vs. SC has fastest growing Hispanic population

Just a guess, but I'd say those two are related, and the first headline will significantly alter the longterm impacts of the second one. One of the key reasons for the growth in SC is the GA law that passed last year to crack down on illegal immigration there. I strongly suspect that will change once our Legislature finally comes to agreement and passes a strong bill.

I will also note that the second story studiously avoids mentioning the number of illegal immigrants included in that statistic.

***

Thomas Ravenel goes to prison in GA in May.

I haven't blogged my thoughts about the Ravenel case yet. I still think it's one of the saddest stories I know - a friend who we didn't know was going through a struggle with drugs, a friend with a brilliant mind and a bright future, all thrown away because of the power of cocaine. I hope he uses this time to reflect on his own mortality, on his need for repentance and forgiveness, and come out a changed man. He may not have a future in public political life, but he can still have a future, and I pray he realizes that and reacts accordingly.

Random thoughts with three dots

OK, so I'm not sure how related all of this really is, but it's running around in my brain, so here goes...

Rod Shealy caught with dirty tricks before the race even gets started? Shocked, I say, just shocked... I'm sure he'd never do that in any other race... or arrange for threats... or have people followed... or get unemployed fishermen into the race... nah, not good ole' Rod... (...just sayin')

Just as shocking: Tompkins & Sullivan's mouthpiece racing to Shealy's defense, in an attempt to take whatever the potshot of the day is at the Governor (as well as lay down the marker for future dirty tricks, no doubt). Definitely dog bites man stuff, but still...

(Side note, why do all of the consultant bloggers hate the Governor so much? I haven't figured it out, other than that he doesn't pay them, or they're tired of the second term already a la Bush/Cheney circa 2006... I've never been on his payroll, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to continually bash a sitting Republican Governor with an approval rating in the 70s...)

My take on the Ceips/Shealy/Bates Illegal alien affair: Shealy, Bates and the alien should all get fired. The alien should then work on a green card and list "actor" as his occupation...

Then you've got this "story" out of the Spartanburg Herald Journal, apparently alleging that nefarious groups are trying to influence state politics. You know those nefarious types - the State Chamber of Commerce, the REALTORs, BIPEC, Palmetto Family Council... OH wait, that's not who you thought I was going to say? Well, read to the bottom of the story (Ok, about 2/3 of the way down) to the paragraph entitled "Group Auditions". Bam - there's the list. Ricky B (and his planted mouthpiece Jason Spencer) thinks these are "outside groups"? Umm, we conservatives usually refer to small businesses, family values folks, and limited government types as "the Republican base". But hey, don't let that stop you from writing the story...

"Wilson Charles" at the Other Brooks Brothers has the right of this:

I always thought that in a representative government like ours, it was our duty to practice advanced citizenship. I’m not talking about that garbage they force you to swallow in elementary school about being nice to everyone. I’m talking about really getting involved.

It’s more than taking a few minutes out of your day to vote every now and then (which not enough people do anyway).

It means that as an American and as a South Carolinian, you should know what your leaders think and feel. You should know if they represent you. You should know if what they do in office is what they said they would do in the slickly designed campaign pamphlet somebody shoved in your door when you weren’t home.

The disturbing thing is that Spartanburg’s NEWSpaper actually condoned the line of thought coming from the party and consultants. Its editors sanctioned and published an article that seemed to include few facts except that someone ran polls.

One consultant accidentally made sense among those quoted in the piece. He said that there are “as many people recruiting candidates, and as many agendas, as you can count.”

What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want South Carolina’s best in public office? Don’t we want to elect people who believe like we do so that our thoughts and feelings are represented at City Hall, County Council, the Statehouse, or Congress?

I have to agree with that...

Then there's the little gem of a quote from the aforementioned Mr. Sullivan.

These third-party groups are spreading like a rash.

Somehow, that sounds familiar... Didn't Cindi Scoppe call them a "cancer"? And the forementioned Mr. Tompkins called them a "scourge"?

Y'all stay classy, now...

Speaking of classy, the Tompkins & Sullivan mouthpiece has now also attempted to "out" Brooks Brothers columnist Wilson Charles as belonging to another new consultancy group. Y'know, just for once, I'd love to see these consultant blogs focus on actual issues instead of constant attacks on each other...

But, I suppose that's way too much to ask for...

Ted Kennedy SINGS! (en espanol)

There is very little to say to describe this. One need only see it.

Unreal.