The below is the as written version of the column that ran in the Sunday Marietta Daily Journal yesterday. We thank the MDJ for the space. I have added several links to further educate the reader.

Amnesty-again? Remember 1986

D.A. King
columnist

Sunday, April 14, 2013

“We used the word ‘legalization,’ and everybody fell asleep lightly for a while, and we were able to do legalization.” Former Wyoming Sen. Alan K. Simpson, co-sponsor of the “one-time”1986 amnesty for illegal aliens- to NPR, 2010.

There can be no more effective reminder that the current attempt to legalize 11-20 million illegal aliens is a shameless, calculated and deceptive scam than the rallying cry “REMEMBER 1986!” Particularly for conservatives. And some Republicans too.

The liberal media seldom begins a news report on another legalization that’s ‘not amnesty’ without stating that “the Republican party has taken a second look at it’s immigration stand since the 2012 election…”. This in hope that the low-information and obedient GOP-bot voter will succumb to the endless false assertions that granted citizenship, grateful, low-wage, entitlement-dependent workers would vote for low-tax, small-government Republican candidates. If any of these vanishing conservative creatures were then able to make it out of a primary election.

An announced goal from the Republican establishment (yes, Virginia, there is a Republican establishment) of another legalization is to capture the Hispanic vote. And to “solve immigration forever.”
So, let’s make it clear. Again. In 1988, just two years after the Republican establishment actually delivered the “one-time” amnesty (“we’ll never have to do it again…”), GOP presidential candidate George H.W. Bush lost the Latino vote by 39 points. The all-time modern record harvest was Texan George W. Bush (R), who promised amnesty in his 2004 re-election campaign. And got about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote.

In 2008, Republican John McCain (yes, Virginia – there are RINOS’ too) got 31 percent of the Latino vote despite his desperate foreign-language radio campaign promise of legalization “on day one.”

The record low was Bob Dole at 21 percent in 1996 against incumbent Bill Clinton, who had just implemented landmark, effective border-fence measures in San Diego. An action that sparked wild outrage in the illegal alien lobby. But Democrat Clinton still won. In a landslide. With 72 percent of the Hispanic vote.
Don’t like the legal and accurate term “illegal alien?” “Undocumented Democrat” is just as descriptive – and accurate.

By 2000, according to the then INS, the legalization of 1986 only served to increase illegal immigration. Golly…why? Because rewarding any action creates more of the same. And because the false promises of future border security, future enforcement of temporary visa holder departures and future work place enforcement never happened.

The amnesty of 1986 is in large part the reason for the crushing crisis today. Immigration is not “solved.” It is managed. And we will never have a workable immigration system until we have a genuine, visible and proven policy of enforcement. Including at the workplace.

One of the current – “trust us, we mean it this time, no really!” – promises on legalization is future mandatory, nationwide implementation of the E-Verify system. In about five years. After legalization. Got that?

Who has been negotiating the terms of the promises – including E-Verify – necessary to slide another legalization swindle past the American people? One of the “stake-holders” is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The same people who used their enormous lobbying power to stop E-Verify from being mandatory at its inception. The same Chamber of Commerce that sued multiple times in federal court to stop the requirement that E-Verify be mandatory on federal contracts. The same Chamber of Commerce that went all the way to the Supreme Court trying to stop the E-Verify mandate in Arizona.

The border is not secure. “We’ve seen the number of illegal aliens (crossing) double, maybe even triple since amnesty talk started happening,” an irate Border Patrol agent told Townhall last month.

Right now, the most visible “it’s not amnesty” conspirators in the U.S. Senate include New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, a member of what is called the ‘Gang of Eight’. Schumer delivered the gangster’s promise on Meet the Press earlier this month: “We’ve come to a basic agreement, which is that first, people will be legalized. In other words, not citizens, but they’ll be allowed to work, come out of the shadows, travel. Then, we will make sure the border is secure” he said. With a straight face. (VIDEO: you can see Schumer’s Meet the Press remarks on my MDJ blog)

Office pool anyone? Awarded “probationary-we-aren’t-illegal-anymore” status, how many days would elapse before the now legalized victims of geography would restart the angry rallies demanding “CITIZENSHIP NOW!” while holding up “PROBATIONARY STATUS IS RACIST!” signs?

And how long before the ACLU and La Raza would file a lawsuit for “citizenship processing discrimination?”

The American people put down an amnesty attempt last in 2007. Ask yourself: If they were at all sincere, why didn’t the same people who were selling legalization then dedicate themselves to making the promises become reality before the 2013 legalization promise campaign?

Remember 1986.

D.A.King is president of the Cobb-based Dustin Inman Society and a nationally recognized authority on illegal immigration.

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