The Republican silence on illegal immigration

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

Posted: May 28, 2011

1:00 am Eastern

© 2011

If there is one thing on the minds of Americans across the nation, it is our economic crisis and Washington's failure to address it. The failure of Obama's policies is nowhere more painfully obvious than in his unwillingness to connect the dots between our economic burdens and illegal immigration.

President Obama and his congressional allies on Capitol Hill enacted a failed $787 billion stimulus, a $1 trillion government takeover of health care, auto bailouts, cap-and-trade legislation and tax increases. All of these hurt America's working families and small businesses, but they have done nothing to create the jobs promised by the Obama administration.

Yet, no one in Washington – and as yet, no candidate on the 2012 campaign trail – has tackled the overarching issue of illegal immigration and its connection to our economic woes.

Illegal immigration affects every aspect of our daily lives and every part of our economic crisis. Illegal aliens attend our schools, utilize America's health-care benefits and enjoy access to America's public roadways, parks and other public amenities. In many states, criminal aliens occupy 20 percent or more of the beds in our jails and prisons. More importantly, they compete for jobs at a time of 9 percent unemployment.

All of this comes at a cost to the American taxpayer. The United States is a nation founded on freedom, individual responsibility and the rule of law. Allowing persons who are in the country in violation of our laws to exploit our social services and safety nets is a slap in the face to all Americans. It is especially insulting to legal immigrants who have come here the right way. Simply put, rewarding illegal behavior punishes the rest of us.

Two days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an Arizona law that requires all employers to use the federal E-Verify program to check the lawful eligibility of new hires. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has now been told by the Supreme Court to stand down in its opposition to such laws. Other states can now move forward without fear of expensive litigation, and Congress could make the use of E-Verify mandatory across the nation.

Just weeks ago, Obama visited our southern border at El Paso in an attempt to woo Hispanic voters in 2012 and appease the open-borders lobby. The new claim from the White House is that amnesty and unmitigated immigration won't hurt American workers – in fact, Obama asks us to believe it's good for the economy. The fact is, during a time of high unemployment, adding more illegal workers to the job pool – or legalizing 10 million illegal workers now "in the shadows" – only hurts Americans already struggling to find work. This is simple economics.

We have come to expect persistent attempts at passing the unpopular amnesty bill from President Obama and congressional Democrats, but it is surprising that not one of the current candidates for the Republican nomination for president have discussed the issue on the campaign trail. I say surprising because it is a popular issue among Republican voters, with 80 percent of them opposing amnesty and supporting stronger border security. Republicans agree we must put an end to Washington's culture of reckless spending and soaring taxes to create jobs and put our economy on the road to recovery. But oddly, not one of the presidential candidates has addressed the dangers illegal immigration and open borders have on both our prosperity and our survival as a nation.

No Republican presidential candidate has mentioned the growing threat Mexican drug cartels pose to American citizens and our national sovereignty. According to the FBI, the Mexican drug cartels now have operatives in over 200 American cities. Not one of the presidential candidates has led the fight against sanctuary cities and businesses that hire illegal aliens. Not one of them has voiced concern for these issues on the campaign trail.

Here are the dismal facts.

Rep. Ron Paul has taken a sharp left turn on immigration, which I highlighted in a recent column, and refuses to back meaningful immigration enforcement measures such as mandatory E-Verify for all employers. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has consistently supported amnesty and was an ardent supporter of in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Gov. Mitt Romney supported the McCain-Kennedy amnesty plan, before he was against it, and has avoided the issue in all of his campaign statements. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich supports a "robust" guest-worker program and a comprehensive amnesty. Sen. Rick Santorum voted against creating a voluntary E-Verify system and has consistently stated America needs to increase immigration to fix Social Security. Gov. Sarah Palin has outlined a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens. And finally, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has a respectable but limited record on the issue in Minnesota, has consistently ignored it on the campaign trail.

If we are serious about solving our economic problems, we must insist on secure borders and effective interior enforcement of our immigration laws, including enforcement of federal laws against hiring illegal workers.

Not one of the 2012 Republican candidates has a passing grade on illegal immigration, and not one of them is discussing this problem openly with the American people. I hope one of the current candidates will step up and address this issue. If that does not happen soon, I do know one person willing to give that issue the attention it deserves on the 2012 national stage.

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[^_^ 5,021]

Overarching issue? Please. The only Americans who have to worry about illegals taking their jobs are menial losers.

That said, the issue of Mexican drug cartels is very real and does warrant serious debate.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Overarching issue? Please. The only Americans who have to worry about illegals taking their jobs are menial losers.

That said, the issue of Mexican drug cartels is very real and does warrant serious debate.

WND isn't in the market to start serious debates. They're a bunch of morons attracting only the likes of their own.

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

only 2 posts in and the source is attacked.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

only 2 posts in and the source is attacked.

The World Nut Daily? Really? You would take them seriously on anything at all? Sorry to hear, Chuck.

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

The World Nut Daily? Really? You would take them seriously on anything at all? Sorry to hear, Chuck.

dismiss it all you want, but it's a piece by tancredo.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

dismiss it all you want, but it's a piece by tancredo.

And that makes it better or worse?

[Ban Hammer 13,491]

And that makes it better or worse?

depends on if you are open minded and you know where tancredo sits in the political spectrum.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

depends on if you are open minded and you know where tancredo sits in the political spectrum.

There's political spectrum where Tancredo sits?

[Darnell 8,479]

I think the RNP is still trying to figure out which campaign contributors are gonna be hurt by any stance on illegal aliens working in the USA.

I'll give em another 3 months, though, to figure it out, then you'll see some hardcore, b@ll-busting statements in the press .

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The exploitation and abuse of humans has been a staple of this country since it began. It is not going to change and there are no politicians that have any desire or interest in ending what, to them, is not a problem. The "problem" could be fixed tomorrow, They KNOW how to do it. They also know how to pay lip service to their constituents whil ebenefitting from exploiting humans. The human smuggling will continue. The avoidance complying with employment laws will continue.

Congress will continue to pass laws requiring employers to pay for goodies for employees, and each time, more employers will decide the benefit of employing illegals exceeds the risk. The cost to employ someone legally keeps growing...Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Family and Medical Leave, OSHA, Workman's Comp rates, health insurance. The "load" increases and each time it does, that illegal worker looks better and better. The penalty for hiring illegals is far less than the cost of employing legal workers. That needs to change and until it does the problem will NOT go away. WHEN it does, the problem will go away all by itself.

It is the most topsy turvy issue there is. With people who support the cruel exploitation of humans, the inhumane smuggling of people like cattle, the intolerable work conditions...the same people supporting all that, call you a racistif you do not support this cruel and inhuman treatment.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So called "native Americans" are simply immigrants that got here before the ones from Europe.

Do you support the exploitation of humans brought here illegally for profit?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think most people are indifferent to that side of things, Gary. It's not much of a factor in people's thinking.

[NickD 203]

State of Wisconsin is taking an issue with undocumented persons as the politically correct terminology to use. But only against employers with employees of more than three.

If a corporation say owns a thousand farms, its not based on the corporation, but based on the number of employees they have per farm. And as long as that number is less than three, they are exempt. But only the man of the family is considered the employee, what they really want is a man with a large family so his wife and kids can slave for free. The minimum family size is at least five, so that adds up to over 50,000 undocumented persons by this corporation. Births are recommended, kids are US citizens and eligible for Medicaid and food stamps.

Corporations are not liable for workmen's compensation, somehow they are issued phony SS cards, and get FICA taxes deducted, but haven't learned whose pocket that is going into, certainly not SS.

Where does corruption start? At the government level of course. If an undocumented person gets severely injured, is cause for immediate dismissal. Plenty of others to take his place.

Did our civil war resolve anything regarding slavery in this country? I think you know the answer to that.