The Bush Legacy

The dis-oriented author is in Canada this week. I watched President Bush's immigration speech with great interest. As a conservative Republican I hoped that the president would come out strongly in favor of strengthening the border and going after companies that employ illegals.

The President said:

Somos un estado de derecho, y debemos hacer que se cumplan nuestras leyes. También somos una nación de inmigrantes y debemos respetar esa tradición, que ha fortalecido a nuestro país de tantas maneras. Éstos no son objetivos contradictorios; Estados Unidos puede ser a la vez una sociedad que cumple con la ley y una sociedad acogedora. Solucionaremos los problemas creados por la inmigración ilegal y crearemos un sistema que sea seguro, ordenado y equitativo. Por lo que respaldo la reforma inmigratoria integral que logre cinco objetivos claros.

Oops, that was from the Spanish transcript on the official White House web site.  I feel betrayed, once again our president has suggested amnesty for illegal aliens.

The more President Bush insists his program isn't amnesty the more you can be sure that it is. Now I am not so naive as to believe that the United States can or will deport more than 10 million people. It simply will not happen and there is no historic precedent.

Given the reality that illegals are not going home what can we do? The president suggests that those who have flouted our laws for the longest time should be given a path to citizenship Huh? What kind of logic is that?

So what should we do? We need to lock down the borders. The President's plan to use the National Guard is a start. Next we need to go after employers who knowingly hire illegals. Finally, no amnesty!

While we may not be able to deport 10 million illegals we certainly should not grant them citizenship. I would propose that no one who enters the United States illegally should ever be granted US citizenship. Perhaps they can work here and live here but not as citizens.