Despite Congress’ failures to come to an agreement on a budget and tackle the nation’s deficit, put a stop to all pork spending, successfully induce private sector growth, address problems with the health care law, fix tax laws to reflect “flat” or “fair” tax policies, and maintain oversight of the executive branch responsibilities, when Congress reconvenes in September, the White House and the Senate will pressure the House of Representatives to grant amnesty, federal benefits, and a path to citizenship for 11+ million illegal immigrants in exchange for promises of enhanced border security.
The truth is existing U.S. immigration laws are NOT responsible for the influx of illegal immigrants (coming mostly from Mexico) who seek asylum or enter the country in an unlawful manner. Therefore, altering existing U.S. immigration laws with expectations of curbing illegal immigration is an exercise in both futility and stupidity.
So, what are the President and Congress really up to?
Addressing Illogical & Irrelevant Arguments Of Immigration Reform
Since the mainstream media will not point out the flawed logic and irrelevant arguments of congressional members who are entertaining “immigration reforms”, it seems only prudent to address their assertions in a public manner by speaking up during town hall meetings, writing letters to the editors of your local newspapers, and using social media internet sites to dispute these dishonest claims.
“We need to bring people out of the shadows so we can increase the tax base.“
How many of the 11+ million illegal immigrants are making enough income to tax and what, exactly, would motivate a person to register for citizenship if the result of doing so would reduce their annual income level? A great example of this logic flaw are the babysitters, waiters/waitresses, maids, landscapers, and skilled tradespeople who accept cash payments under the table to avoid higher income tax brackets.
“Illegal immigrants already pay taxes and, therefore, deserve the benefits of citizenship.“
The I-9 form requires that employment eligibility be verified with a valid Social Security number. Without a valid Social Security number it is impossible for the government to verify a person’s income or for a person to pay income taxes because there is no record of employment for the government to verify. Therefore, aside from the income tax, illegal immigrants are only subject to the same type of taxes that any other non-citizen would be subject to.
“There are millions of illegals already here. We can’t just deport them all.“
Agreed. In point of fact, the sheer amount of illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States illustrates a fundamental failure by the executive branch to use State Department resources to pressure a neighboring nation that encourages its citizens to flee and unlawfully enter the United States. So, perhaps, instead of deporting people who have committed no crime and are already here illegally, the federal government should begin billing (via tariffs or sanctions) the Mexican government for its refugees.
“Doing nothing is, in fact, a ‘defacto‘ form of amnesty.”
No, Mr. Rubio, it is not!
By definition, amnesty is a general pardon for a person or group of people who have committed a crime. Therefore, if Congress does nothing about the illegal immigration problem then technically illegal immigrants are still breaking the law. However, if Congress grants amnesty to the millions of non-citizens who have committed a federal crime by residing/working in the country illegally, then they owe every U.S. citizen a “get out of jail free” card for the next non-violent federal offense.
“I support the ‘border security first‘ approach.“
Nice play on words but Congress is a Legislative Branch of government. It can create, remove, change, and appropriate laws but it does not have the power to administrate or enforce the laws of the nation; that responsibility lies with the Executive Branch. Short of threatening appropriation funding or impeachment proceedings, Congress is literally powerless if the Executive Branch refuses to properly uphold, administrate, execute, or enforce the laws that Congress creates or modifies.
“We need people to do jobs that Americans will not do.“
How insulting to both the American and Mexican worker. Exactly what jobs won’t American workers do and why won’t they do them? How do American workers differ from their Mexican counterparts?
Most working Americans already perform jobs that, no less than five years ago, were performed by two or more people and, yet, their wages and benefits have either remained the same or decreased. This phenomenon began when manufacturing companies, previously located in the United States, were force to compete on an uneven playing field due to free trade agreements. As a result, most of these companies no longer exist solely in America and the ones that do must remain competitive with their foreign counterparts who, due to economic condition, regulatory oversight, and taxation purposes, can hire 3 people in Mexico for the price of 1 worker in America.
All of these talking points with the intent of steering immigration conversations away from the unasked questions such as:
“How will granting amnesty and work visas to non-citizens effect the United States job market for the American citizen?“
In case no one noticed, the United States is not exactly over-abundant with employment opportunities. Granting amnesty and work visas to non-citizens forces American citizens to compete, inside their own country, with non-citizens who are willing to work for lower wages and benefits. While this may be a step up for the non-citizen, the effects to the citizen will be devastating.
“What effect will granting amnesty have on the solvency of federal benefits and the national deficit?”
The only way that granting amnesty could positively affect federal benefits and/or the nation’s deficit is if, of the estimated 11+ million, a large majority of them have taxable income to contribute to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other welfare programs. Otherwise, they become added burdens to already over-burdened systems that Congress, in its partisanship, are unwilling to address until they go bankrupt.
“What message does granting amnesty send to neighboring governments who allow their citizens to be driven from their homeland?”
Answering this question is key to understanding that granting amnesty is, in fact, a defacto form for accepting tyranny.
Since most of the illegal immigrants in the United States coming through the southern border are of Mexican heritage then the Mexican government should be held accountable for their continued well-being. Granting amnesty allows the Mexican government to continue to abandon its responsibilities to the Mexican people and to the security of its borders with the United States.
“Why is Congress even discussing reforming U.S. immigration laws?“
As I pointed out earlier, existing immigration laws do not cause people to flee their country of origin, therefore, modifying them will have little to no effect on the future flow of illegal immigration into the United States.
Since Congress is a Legislative Branch of government it does NOT have the power to negotiate treaties or foreign policy; neither does it have the power to administrate or enforce immigration laws. Congress does not control the Secretary of State, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Naturalization Services, Border Patrol, or any of the other various departments that have failed to dissuade 11+ million immigrants from unlawfully entering the country. Those responsibilities belong to the Executive Branch.
Considering that the Executive Branch has demonstrated a willful reluctance to properly execute existing immigration laws then what makes Congress think that anything will change once new immigration laws are passed?
Do not be fooled by Congress’ disingenuous attempts at “comprehensive” or “piece-meal” immigration reforms.
Let them know that you are fully aware that their discussions are not, nor have they ever been, conducive to securing the nation’s borders or solving an illegal immigration problem. Tell them you adamantly oppose any attempts by Congress or the President to create new voting blocks, expand federal dependencies, or cheapen labor costs by forcing American citizens to compete with non-citizens holding work visas. And, if they still feel they must do something, then suggest that Congress threaten all appropriations to any federal department of the Executive Branch that willfully refuses to do its assigned duties.
