Reagan Embraced Free Trade and Immigration

[alienlovechild 75]

My point is to do an experiment. Let the Right run the country however they will for 10 years. See what happens. If everything turns out good, great. If things go wrong, then the Right must shut up. Deal?

If we use the right track or wrong track poll numbers, the Democrats have used up their 4 years of Comgressional control and almost two years in the White House with dismal results.

Luckily we have things called elections in this country which take place more frequently than 10 years and no one expects the political opposition to make a deal to remain silent during any administrations tenure.

What percentage of the American people are calling for a halt to legal immigration to the U.S.?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Buscador words from 33 years ago very different America back then ...very!

"It makes one wonder about the illegal alien fuss. Are great numbers of our unemployed really victims of the illegal alien invasion or are those illegal tourists actually doing work our own people won't do?" Reagan asked. "One thing is certain in this hungry world; no regulation or law should be allowed if it results in crops rotting in the fields for lack of harvesters."

I agree sort of with Reagan except that in the 70's and 80's people duped the system and USC were lazy and stole from the system.

I remember people recieving foodstamps, medical card, free school expenses and lunches, unemployment checks and working a full time job that put them over the poverty level.

That's one slippery slope. For one, Reagan held a lot of positions that modern Conservatives still champion, so dismissing his views about illegal immigration because "that was 30 years ago and things have changed" opens up Reagan's views on all kinds of issues to revisionism.

Remember that during Reagan's presidency, he faced unemployment as high as 7.97% and was faced with about 5 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Would he do things differently if he were alive today and President? Nobody can say for sure, but the point is that Reagan understood the issue at hand and his attitude towards illegal immigrants was more compassionate and pragmatic than what many of the Republican Party hold today.

[peejay 327]

That's one slippery slope. For one, Reagan held a lot of positions that modern Conservatives still champion, so dismissing his views about illegal immigration because "that was 30 years ago and things have changed" opens up Reagan's views on all kinds of issues to revisionism.

Remember that during Reagan's presidency, he faced unemployment as high as 7.97% and was faced with about 5 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Would he do things differently if he were alive today and President? Nobody can say for sure, but the point is that Reagan understood the issue at hand and his attitude towards illegal immigrants was more compassionate and pragmatic than what many of the Republican Party hold today.

Reagan Would Not Repeat Amnesty Mistake

by Edwin Meese III

What would Ronald Reagan do? I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked that question, on virtually every issue imaginable.

As much as we all want clarity and certainty, I usually refrain from specific answers. That’s because it is very difficult to directly translate particular political decisions to another context, in another time. The better way to answer the question—and the way President Reagan himself would approach such questions—is to understand Reagan’s principles and how they should apply in today’s politics, and review past decisions and consider what lessons they have for us.

Immigration is one area where Reagan’s principles can guide us, and the lessons are instructive.

I was attorney general two decades ago during the debate over what became the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. President Reagan, acting on the recommendation of a bipartisan task force, supported a comprehensive approach to the problem of illegal immigration, including adjusting the status of what was then a relatively small population. Since the Immigration and Naturalization Service was then in the Department of Justice, I had the responsibility for directing the implementation of that plan.

President Reagan set out to correct the loss of control at our borders. Border security and enforcement of immigration laws would be greatly strengthened—in particular, through sanctions against employers who hired illegal immigrants. If jobs were the attraction for illegal immigrants, then cutting off that option was crucial.

He also agreed with the legislation in adjusting the status of immigrants—even if they had entered illegally—who were law-abiding long-term residents, many of whom had children in the United States. Illegal immigrants who could establish that they had resided in America continuously for five years would be granted temporary resident status, which could be upgraded to permanent residency after 18 months and, after another five years, to citizenship. It wasn’t automatic. They had to pay application fees, learn to speak English, understand American civics, pass a medical exam and register for military selective service. Those with convictions for a felony or three misdemeanors were ineligible.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because these are pretty much the same provisions included in the Comprehensive Reform Act of 2006, which its supporters claim is not amnesty. In the end, slight differences in process do not change the overriding fact that the 1986 law and the recent Senate legislation both include an amnesty. The difference is that President Reagan called it for what it was.

Lesson of 1986

The lesson from the 1986 experience is that such an amnesty did not solve the problem. There was extensive document fraud, and the number of people applying for amnesty far exceeded projections. And there was a failure of political will to enforce new laws against employers. After a brief slowdown, illegal immigration returned to high levels and continued unabated, forming the nucleus of today’s large population of illegal aliens.

So here we are, 20 years later, having much the same debate and being offered much the same deal.

What would President Reagan do? For one thing, he would not repeat the mistakes of the past, including those of his own administration. He knew that secure borders are vital, and would now insist on meeting that priority first. He would seek to strengthen the enforcement of existing immigration laws. He would employ new tools—like biometric technology for identification, and cameras, sensors and satellites to monitor the border—that make enforcement and verification less onerous and more effective.

One idea President Reagan had at the time that we might also try improving on is to create a pilot program that would allow genuinely temporary workers to come to the United States—a reasonable program consistent with security and open to the needs and dynamics of our market economy.

And what about those already here? Today it seems to me that the fair policy, one that will not encourage further illegal immigration, is to give those here illegally the opportunity to correct their status by returning to their country of origin and getting in line with everyone else. This, along with serious enforcement and control of the illegal inflow at the border—a combination of incentives and disincentives—will significantly reduce over time our population of illegal immigrants.

Lastly, we should remember Reagan’s commitment to the idea that America must remain open and welcoming to those yearning for freedom. As a nation based on ideas, Ronald Reagan believed that that there was something unique about America and that anyone, from anywhere, could become an American. That means that while we seek to meet the challenge of illegal immigration, we must keep open the door of opportunity by preserving and enhancing our heritage of legal immigration—assuring that those who choose to come here permanently become Americans. In the end, it was his principled policy—and it should be ours—to “humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people: American citizenship.”

Mr. Meese served as counselor to the President and attorney general in the Reagan Administration.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?print=yes&id=18399

[evli1966 88]

That's one slippery slope. For one, Reagan held a lot of positions that modern Conservatives still champion, so dismissing his views about illegal immigration because "that was 30 years ago and things have changed" opens up Reagan's views on all kinds of issues to revisionism.

Remember that during Reagan's presidency, he faced unemployment as high as 7.97% and was faced with about 5 million illegal immigrants in the country.

Would he do things differently if he were alive today and President? Nobody can say for sure, but the point is that Reagan understood the issue at hand and his attitude towards illegal immigrants was more compassionate and pragmatic than what many of the Republican Party hold today.

You are correct no one can say what he would do.

You are also correct he understood the issue at hand during that time and only moved the immigration act of 1986 with the consensus of a bipartisan group support. But knowing that in 2 decades the number of illegals would grow to 6 times the number the law would have been different which is why the current law is now outdated.

The law became outdated due to the actions of the illegals aliens that crossed the border whether illegally or legally; they are the true cause of why we need to reform the laws and enact strong border controls to prevent illegal aliens from crossing or over staying.

You are taking his statements out of context to support open border laws and to allow the open flow of immigrants from all over the world which would undermine the US economy and there is no arguing that.

I am not speaking purely in regards to unskilled labor because even the skilled professionals would come in masses to earn more money in hopes to make their futue brighter while the current citizens would take the bulk of the deterating economy and lifestyle they have.

Reagan understood compassion for oppressed people but he also knew that the economy would not support what is there now (the number of illegal aliens) and he fully understood border security.

Because he made one mistake in his admisnistration does not open doors to question his success. Even in his success he was viewed as to conservative my the liberals and that will never change. Reaganomics worked in that time period will it work now...I do not think so.

Edited June 5, 2010 by evli1966

[mRx 16]

virtually all acknowledge his role in defeating Soviet communism

I think this is #######. When Reagan entered office, he was as much of a Cold-Warrior as any... It just so happened that Reagan was president at the time when the USSR was in economic trouble, and Gorbachev had few options other than negotiating.

Reagan was just in the right place at the right time.

[Tahoma 2,292]

I think this is #######. When Reagan entered office, he was as much of a Cold-Warrior as any... It just so happened that Reagan was president at the time when the USSR was in economic trouble, and Gorbachev had few options other than negotiating.

Reagan was just in the right place at the right time.

Pinch me...I must be dreaming...I'm actually agreeing with you!