Immigration Reform Bill – Reform… Unless Not (WITH CRITICAL UPDATE)

I decided to plow through this monster this morning after a cup of yummy French Roast coffee. I didn’t want to read about it; I wanted to read the legislation itself, because I like to make my own judgments about this infamous bill for which McCain, Rubio and other illegal alien fellaters betray this country.

For those of you who want to read this 1,922- page beast, have at it. You will need Adobe Reader and some Excedrin to get through it. And maybe some tequila.

I won’t go through the entire nearly 2000 page document, because I value your sanity (and mine), and because it would likely take me as long as a PhD dissertation. Instead, I’m merely going to point out some of the more problematic portions of this bill, and I’ll let you decide how you want to proceed.

Generally speaking, I have no problem with immigrants – immigrants who come here legally, meet the requirements, live off the products of their own labor, rather than the general benefits provided by this country at taxpayer expense, learn English and do not demand government services in their home language, costing the taxpayer yet more money.

I am an immigrant. My parents came here legally with nearly nothing in their pockets. We struggled to learn English for the first year, and my parents worked menial jobs – jobs that most Americans would find distasteful and beneath them. But they worked those jobs anyway – both of them with graduate degrees in engineering – because they knew that eventually they would do better.

So lest someone accuse me of being anti-immigrant, you can stick it up your asses. I’m no such thing.

I am, however, against implementing a convoluted piece of legislation to “reform” our broken immigration system, if it costs America a small fortune, and does nothing to actually reform our broken immigration system.

That’s exactly what this bill is – a waste of time and resources that won’t fix anything, and certainly will not turn the Hispanic tide to the GOP, like the clueless party leadership hopes it will. No matter what the Republicans do, they will never get an overwhelming percentage of the Hispanic vote. Sorry, GOP, but you’re idiots if you believe you can pander your way into the hearts of Hispanics. Ain’t going to happen. Hispanics prefer Democrats 2-1, and your amnesty proposals for illegals won’t change that. In 1986, Ronald Reagan gave amnesty to millions of illegals. In 1988, Hispanics gave the GOP 30 percent of their vote.

So what is it that makes the current crop of RINO dimwits think that giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens will result in anything different?

Worse yet, what makes the current crop of RINO dimwits think that couching S.744 as somehow tough on requirements for legalization of illegal aliens will go unnoticed?

Let’s start with these supposedly “stringent” migration deterrent measures that are part of this alleged “improvement” to border security. They’re no such thing.

For instance:

In any migration deterrence program carried out at a border, the Secretary and cooperating entities shall for each apprehended individual—
(A) as soon as practicable after such individual is apprehended—
(i) inquire as to whether the apprehended individual is—
(I) a parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver of a child; or
(II) traveling with a spouse or child; and
(ii) ascertain whether repatriation of the apprehended individual presents any humanitarian concern or concern related to such individual’s physical safety; and
(B) ensure that, with respect to a decision related to the repatriation or referral for prosecution of the apprehended individual, due consideration is given—
(i) to the best interests of such individual’s child, if any;
(ii) to family unity whenever possible; and
(iii) to other public interest factors, including humanitarian concerns and concerns related to the apprehended individual’s physical safety.

The way I’m translating this is that apprehended illegal aliens at the border will be deterred and turned back from entering, unless…

…they have kids with them, and unless…

…they have another sob story.

So, they will be prevented from entering, unless…

…they’re not.

Well, that clears it up!

This bill is chock full of such wishy-washy directives.

The physical presence requirement (p.943) – the alien must be physically present in the United States on the date on which the alien submits an application for registered provisional immigrant status, and will not meet the requirements for application for said status, unless…

… the absences are brief, casual, and innocent (well, there’s an objective criterion… NOT!). And it doesn’t even whether or not these absences were authorized.

In other words, you must be physically present in the US, unless you’re not.

Oh, and by the way, being a criminal doesn’t automatically preclude you from applying for the registered provisional immigrant status. You’re allowed to have committed three misdemeanors before you’re precluded…

…unless you get a waiver.

And  by the way, the victims of the crime committed by illegal aliens don’t really have a say in whether or not the criminal illegal alien is allowed to apply for registered provisional immigrant status. The government must notify them (p.957), and the victims can protest. But the illegal alien is given legal status ultimately at the discretion of the government.

‘‘(D) CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHTS TO NOTICE
14 AND CONSULTATION.—Prior to applying, or exercising, any authority under this paragraph, or ruling upon an application allowed under subparagraph (C) the Secretary shall—
(i) determine whether or not an alien described under subparagraph (B) or (C) has a conviction for any criminal offense;
(ii) in consultation with the agency that prosecuted the criminal offense under clause (i), if the agency, in the sole discretion of the agency, is willing to cooperate with the Secretary, make all reasonable efforts to identify each victim of a crime for which an alien determined to be a criminal under clause (i) has a conviction;
(iii) in consultation with the agency that prosecuted the criminal offense under clause (i), if the agency, in the sole discretion of the agency, is willing to cooperate with  the Secretary, make all reasonable efforts to provide each victim identified under clause (ii) with written notice that the alien is being considered for a waiver under this paragraph, specifying in such notice that the victim may—
     (I) take no further action;
     (II) request written notification by the Secretary of any subsequent application for waiver filed by the criminal alien under this paragraph and of the final determination of the Secretary regarding such application; or
     (III) not later than 60 days after the date on which the victim receives written notice under this clause, request a consultation with the Secretary relating to whether the application of the offender should be granted and if the victim cannot be located or if no response is received from the victim within the designated time period, the Secretary shall proceed with adjudication of the application; and
(iv) at the request of a victim under clause (iii), consult with the victim to determine whether or not the Secretary should, in the case of an alien who is determined under clause (i) to have a conviction for any criminal offense, exercise waiver authority for an alien described under subparagraph (B), or grant the application of an alien described under subparagraph (C).

(E) CRIME VICTIMS’ RIGHT TO INTERVENTION.—In addition to the victim notification and consultation provided for in subparagraph (D), the Secretary shall allow the victim of a criminal alien described under subparagraph (B) or (C) to request consultation regarding, or notice of, any application for waiver filed by the criminal alien under this paragraph, including the final determination of the Secretary regarding such application.

So a felon illegal alien is not eligible to receive legal status, unless the government grants a waiver, and notifies the victim of the alien’s felony that the felon is about to be granted amnesty. And if the victim objects… well… the government has the final determination anyway.

An illegal alien’s application status can be denied (I’m sure that makes you feel lots better), unless…

…the alien files an amended application (p.974)

The illegal alien will pay fees, unless…

…the government determines a fee reduction or waiver (p.996).

Illegal aliens will pay taxes and file all proper paperwork with the IRS, unless…

…they don’t have the proper paperwork, in which case they can file any of the following (all very impossible to forge, I’m sure):

(I) bank records;
(II) business records;
(III) employer records;
(IV) records of a labor union, day labor center, or organization that assists workers in employment;
(V) sworn affidavits from nonrelatives who have direct knowledge of the alien’s work or education, that contain—
      (aa) the name, address, and telephone number of the affiant;
      (bb) the nature and duration of the relationship between the affiant and the alien; and
      (cc) other verification or information;
Hey, buddy! I’ll give you $20 to sign this paper saying that I’m working real hard at a legally obtained job and tell the feds that you’ve been my friend for years!
(VI) remittance records; and
(VII) school records from institutions described in subparagraph (D).

Yes, you must be working and/or going to school to be eligible for registered provisional immigrant status, unless…

…you’re not.

If you’re under the age of 21 or over the age of 60, if you’re… um… slow or mentally challenged, if you are “disabled,” if you’re a dependent, if you’re on maternity leave, or have a kid and are the primary caretaker, or “unable to work due to circumstances outside the control of the alien” (how many people do you know who will admit that their unemployment is their own fault?), you’re apparently excepted (p.991).

And you must learn English (p.992)…

…unless you can’t (p.993).

Did you oppose the DREAM Act? Too bad. This bill will make it a reality starting on page 999.

Don’t want your taxpayer dollars going to private organizations that will help illegals stay here? Too bad (p.1021). These private organizations will now receive government grants (translation: your money).

And don’t forget the tons of concessions to “agricultural workers,” to include granting of permanent residence after 5 years if they prove they’ve been working not less than 100 work days of agricultural employment during each of 5 years…

…unless they weren’t.

Pregnancy, injury, severe weather, or termination of employment through no fault of their own and the inability to find another agricultural job are all exceptions to the rule.

They also have to have paid taxes and a $400 fee to the government…

…unless the government limits said fees, and it has the authority to do so.

And if employers who were hiring migrant workers think they can now have lots of cheap labor with the legalization of these illegal aliens…

…they’d better think again.

They’re required to provide benefits, such as insurance and housing. And the minimum wages mandated to be paid to agricultural workers under this law (p.1116) will dwarf nearly any state minimum wage law, as well as the federal minimum wage law of $7.25 per hour.

‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF WAGE RATE.— ‘‘(A) CALENDAR YEARS 2014 THROUGH 2016.
—The wage rate under this subparagraph for calendar years 2014 through 2016 shall be the higher of—
(i) the applicable Federal, State, or local minimum wage; or
(ii)(I) for the category described in paragraph (2)(A)(iii)—
     (aa) $9.37 for calendar year 2014;
     (bb) $9.60 for calendar year 2015; and
     (cc) $9.84 for calendar year 2016;
(II) for the category described in paragraph (2)(A)(iv)—
     (aa) $11.30 for calendar year 2014;
     (bb) $11.58 for calendar year 2015; and
     (cc) $11.87 for calendar year 2016;
(III) for the category described in paragraph (2)(A)(v)—
     (aa) $9.17 for calendar year 2014;
     (bb) $9.40 for calendar year 2015; and
     (cc) $9.64 for calendar year 2016; and
(IV) for the category described in paragraph (2)(A)(vi)—
     (aa) $10.82 for calendar year 2014;
     (bb) $11.09 for calendar year 2015; and
     (cc) $11.37 for calendar year 2016.
(B) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—The Secretary shall increase the hourly wage rates set forth in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A), for each calendar year after the calendar years described in subparagraph (A) by an amount equal to—
     (i) 1.5 percent, if the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries during the previous calendar year, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is less than 1.5 percent;
     (ii) the percentage increase in such Employment Cost Index, if such percentage increase is between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent, inclusive; or
     (iii) 2.5 percent, if such percentage increase is greater than 2.5 percent.

Now, let’s look at this from a free market perspective.

People come here illegally and earn what any of us would consider a paltry salary. This is good for both employers and employees. The employers get cheap labor that allows them to sell products at prices we all find appealing. The immigrant – even though his salary is petty compared to those of us in skilled jobs – will still get a higher salary than he would have ever gotten in his home country! Why would he even  come here if the pay was worse than in his country of origin, right?

With the passage of this legislation, the employers will no longer be allowed to pay paltry wages. They will be required to provide housing and benefits and wages that are higher than the minimum wage requirements in any state in this country.

Do you think they will keep more of these illegal alien workers if it’s going to cost them more to employ them, or less?

Do you think the result will be cheaper apples, or more expensive ones?

Do you think some of these employers will let these illegal alien workers go, if it becomes to expensive to employ them?

And do you think that the illegal aliens who have lost their jobs “through no fault of their own” will be able to apply for registered provisional immigrant status despite not having a job and paying taxes? You bet your ass they will!

In other words, the radio ads you hear about this bill imposing strict rules on illegal aliens about working, about paying taxes, about learning English, about going to the back of the line, about increased border security are a crock.

This bill provides comprehensive immigration reform…

…unless it doesn’t.

UPDATE: Thank you to commenter Rikkisan for pointing me to this critical video. You need to watch it, and you need to understand how bad this bill is actually is. In it, DC Caller’s Ginny Thomas interviews Former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey, who has also read this bill and who has many of the same concerns as I do, but focuses on more security-related problems in this bill.

Please, PLEASE follow the link and watch this video!

It’s as if Ms. McCaughey and I share a brain!!!

Do You Trust THESE People to Secure Our Borders?

It still boggles my mind that some of these legisleeches wind up in Congress and in the Senate, elected time and time again by people who are so stupid, they need a calculator to help them estimate change from the $5 bill they handed over for a $2.95 purchase.

Case in point, we have Mary Landrieu (D-umbass) from Louisiana. This is the same corrupt dimwit who was essentially bribed with a $100 million federal Medicaid subsidy for Louisiana in order to get her to vote in favor of ObamaCare. This time Mary showed her ever- reddening ass during a speech criticizing efforts by some Republicans to secure the border before legalizing millions of illegal aliens. This time she was a geography fail. A MASSIVE FAIL.

“I chair the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee that is actually building the fence,” she continued. “The money to build it comes through my committee, so I’ve actually gone down to look at the fence that we’re trying to build. It was shocking to me and would be shocking to everyone in America if they would see it, that no matter if you build a single fence or a double fence with space in between, how easy it is for people to be very ingenious about getting over it or under it. So I would be voting against Sen. Thune’s amendment because I’m not going to waste taxpayer money on a dumb fence. And that’s what his amendment would be.”

[...]

“We need to build a smart fence,” she continued. “And a fence is not just a physical structure which could be built out of a variety of different materials with or without barbed wire on the top. A smart fence which is what Sen. McCain and I want to build — since he’s from Arizona, I think he knows more about this than the senator from South Dakota who doesn’t have a border with Mexico, but only Canada and that is quite different. I think Sen. McCain would say if he were on the floor that we absolutely want to build a barrier of security, and that will be a combination of a physical structure that is built to the great standards that we can with the technology that will actually shut down illegal immigration. It is not correct for anybody listening to this debate to think that people on the Democratic side of this aisle or people supporting this bill do not want to secure the border. Nothing could be further from the truth. But I can tell you — I may be overridden. People may vote against it, but I’m going to hold the position that we cannot waste billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars building a fence that doesn’t hold anybody on one side or the other. We have wasted enough taxpayer money.”

Let’s put aside for a moment the fact that this is a person who was elected to make laws that would ostensibly protect and secure this nation. Let’s put aside for a second the fact that this hypocritical sow was bribed – BRIBED – into supporting a bill that will waste billions in taxpayer dollars, after she was essentially tossed $100 million more in taxpayer money for her state! And now she’s whining about a measure proposed to shore up the security of this country, even as she claims she and her idiot pals really do want to secure the border – they just don’t want to spend the money to secure it, because it’s… a dumb fence (sayeth the idiot who thinks South Dakota borders Canada).

Let’s put that aside and focus on the fact that this daft bint doesn’t know basic geography! She doesn’t understand that the fact that we have a South Dakota usually means that somewhere there is a North Dakota or a Dakota that is north of South Dakota, and therefore it is unlikely that South Dakota would border Canada.

Just in case Mary Landrieu was wondering, here is South Dakota.

And this is the person who has been elected by the people of Louisiana to represent them in the Senate since 1996.  This is the state that’s got some of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. That would explain quite a bit.

Of course, her buddy Harry Reid tried to push an amendment classifying Nevada as a border state yesterday, so maybe the definition of a “border state” might be in order here. Hint: It’s not merely a state that has borders.

Reports of Its Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

For those of you who thought you were safe from the politicians trying to relieve you of your Second Amendment rights, I have one thing to say:  not so fast, Sparky!

First, according to Uncle Joe, they have to tongue bathe the collective anuses of the illegal aliens prior to the 2014 Congressional elections, so they will force “immigration reform” (read: amnesty and a road to citizenship for millions of illegals whose first act in a country they claim to love and respect was to violate said country’s immigration laws) down our collective throats first, then regroup, and then continue their assault on the Bill of Rights.

The vice president’s words mark the first time the White House has revealed a timeline that has been widely discussed among gun control advocates and senior aides to senators who are pushing background checks.

“He doesn’t think it will come back before they’ve made some pretty good steps on immigration,” said Sister Marjorie Clark, a lobbyist for Network, the Catholic social justice organization. “He said, ‘I don’t think it will happen before immigration but it will come back.’”

The timeline adds to Biden’s Thursday revelation that he plans to travel the country to push the White House gun control agenda. Then, in a meeting with representatives of law enforcement organizations, Biden said he planned extensive travel to states where senators voted against background checks and said he would take an active role in tweaking the legislation to win more votes.

Here’s the problem I have with this immigration reform. Several, actually.

1. Amnesty has been tried before and was a miserable fail.
2. I have a problem with rewarding lawbreakers.
3. It’s not fair to the folks who have been waiting patiently to enter this nation legally.
4. We need highly educated, skilled workers. That’s not who is going to be given amnesty, for the most part.
5. Security. Security. Security.
6. And also… imagine this scenario:  We allow anyone who wants to stay to remain here and legalize them.  These are generally people who work for low wages, but whose salaries are way higher than what they would have ever gotten back home, which is part of the reason why they all came here to begin with. All of a sudden, they’re legally here, and the politicians now have more ammo to raise the minimum wage, increase benefits, etc. “Why just look at these poor people! They’re working for practically nothing! Their salaries are soooooooo low! We must raise their standards of living! Vote for us, recently legalized immigrants, and we’ll make sure you get even higher salaries! There are way too many impoverished immigrants in this country. We need to do something to raise their pay.”   Sorry, but that’s a no-go for me.  Libertarians will get exactly what they ask for when they advocate just allowing these people to stay – a whole new voting base to vote themselves benefits out of the public coffers. No thanks!

But anyway – back to my original point…

Gun control isn’t dead. Not even close.

Expect the “90 percent of Americans support background checks” lie to get resurrected. Expect more pressure brought on by Bloomberg money on legislators who actually respect the Constitution. Expect more assaults on your rights. Are you ready?

RLC National: Wrong On Immigration

A couple weeks back, I laid out my vision on the immigration issue. No amnesty, border security, one set of rules for everyone. Pretty straightforward stuff, even mostly endorsing a plan put forward by a Republican Liberty Caucus national board member.

Sadly, RLC National has gone ahead and released a plan that panders to Hispanics and apologists for illegals, with a supporting op-ed in the Examiner by RLC National Chairman Dave Nalle. I should point out that this is likely the only significant national issue where I disagree with Dave; however, this issue is very significant. I will urge the RLCVA state board to oppose this plan.

Amnesty now will be like the 1986 amnesty times ten, and there still won’t be any border security. We’ve seen this movie before. Washington will spend more energy coming up with a hundred excuses why they can’t secure the border than it would take to actually do so. No amnesty. If you’re illegal, go home and go to the back of the line, whether you entered illegally or overstayed a visa. No whining, no excuses.

‘Comprehensive’ immigration ‘reform’, reality, and rhetoric

Right now, the President is trying, along with Dianne Feinstein and the other usual suspects, to push legislation that would further abrogate our Second Amendment rights. Most Republicans in Congress are finding their courage, despite the bizarre sideshow that is Piers Morgan, and standing up to this to one degree or another.

But we’re not here to talk about that, at least not this evening. No, the focus is on the subject of the other great push about to be made by (most) Democrats and (some) Republicans, ‘comprehensive immigration reform’, aka AMNESTY. Yes, kids, that’s what it’s called when you reward people for illegal behavior. And make no mistake, when you let people who have entered the United States illegally stay, pay their kids’ college tuition, and make it possible for them to gain citizenship, you are REWARDING that behavior. The President will team up with Democrats and RINOs in Congress like John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who tried this in 2006-07 and were shocked when the people rose up and made it clear they weren’t having any of this. Now, the usual suspects say, the political environment is different. Republicans supposedly need to bow down, give up their principles, and pursue the Hispanic vote by offering them special privileges, free stuff, and amnesty, as the “Cafe Con Leche Republicans” insist.

Like hell. As I stated after the election, the LAST thing we need to be doing is rolling over. This will allow the left to import more third-world collectivists who will vote for the nanny state and handouts and strain our health care system and infrastructure even more. These people also may not share our culture. Libertarians might be apoplectic at this idea, and that’s fine. What they’re missing, as Ilana Mercer put it, is the civilizational aspect to libertarianism. In their rush to see who score the highest on libertarian purity tests, they’re missing the place where purist neolibertarian philosophy crumbles when it comes into contact with reality. Immigration is one such area. Aaron Alghawi, a national board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, has come up with what I consider a reasonable starting point for a pro-liberty immigration platform. It’s lacking in two areas. Firstly, we need to secure the border in a serious and sustained fashion. A wall/fence with vehicle barriers and geophones from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. No excuses. Second, everyone here illegally should have to go ‘home’ and get in line behind everyone else and apply for re-entry. Again, no excuses. No one gets treated any better or worse, and no one gets a break because of whom they know. This will meet with opposition from many libertarians, including much of the RLC national leadership. So be it. As the Virginia state chair of the RLC, I’ll fight to see such a platform on this issue adopted at our national convention in a few months.

Purist libertarians will call me racist, classist, nativist, etc. That’s fine. Bring it on. I’m ready. My policy prescriptions here are buttressed by reality. Rhetoric doesn’t scare me, whether it comes from the left, or from libertarians of one stripe or another. As such, I proclaim it is the duty of every patriot to prevent ANY immigration policy from becoming law that gives amnesty, retards enforcement of existing immigration law, or gives out privileges or rewards to those here illegally. And please… stop referring to illegal aliens as ‘undocumented’ and the like. It just makes you look cowardly, and worse, politically correct.