White House verifies immigration review
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The White House yesterday said a new immigration review is under way that could lead to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens living and working in the United States.
Confirmation of the review came during a White House briefing, just two days after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said during a town hall meeting in Miami that the government had to "afford some kind of legal status" to the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens in the country.
"We've taken steps to improve border security — significant steps, I might add; have made great progress there. We've taken steps to improve the immigration infrastructure," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "Those are some foundations for moving forward on a more orderly, safe and humane migration policy.
"And this is a matter that really is under review at this point. We continue to look at it," Mr. McClellan said.
Mr. Ridge, during a question-and-answer period after his Miami speech, said he would not support granting citizenship to illegal aliens now in the country "because they violated the law to get here," but the government needed to "determine how you can legalize their presence" and then institute an immigration enforcement policy to prevent future illegal entries.
His comments drew harsh criticism from some congressional sources and immigration opponents.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican and chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, said Mr. Ridge should resign if he is unable or unwilling to enforce existing immigration laws. He said the secretary's comments would "open a floodgate" of illegal aliens "trying to sneak into the United States in order to be first in line for amnesty."
Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR), questioned what security interests of the United States were being served "by granting legal status to people whose identities cannot be confirmed and who already have shown an unwillingness to observe U.S. law?
"The law has to be respected before you grandfather in the very people who disrespected it," he said.
Various amnesty bills are pending in Congress, although none has been scheduled for debate or a vote.
Congress approved an amnesty program in 1986, granting legal status to 2.7 million illegal aliens then in the country. The program contained increased enforcement and penalty policies aimed at ending illegal immigration, although the illegal alien population in the United States today is more than twice the total in 1986.
Mr. McClellan said Mr. Bush "has always been a strong believer that America should be a welcoming society. We are, after all, a nation of immigrants, as he often points out."
He said discussions with Mexico on a new amnesty proposal were ongoing prior to the September 11 attacks, but were halted.
Mr. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox had agreed to consider granting permanent residency, or green cards, to as many as 3 million Mexicans living illegally in the United States.
Mr. McClellan also said that although some people had interpreted Mr. Ridge's comments as "some broad amnesty discussion," it was not that at all.
"He's very involved in, obviously, overseeing border security and immigration matters, now under the new Department of Homeland Security," he said. "And I think he's been looking at the issue of the large number of illegal immigrants we do have in the country and looking at those that could be threats and those that are here for other reasons.
"And so, he's just talking about the realities that we are facing now," he said.
Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security's undersecretary for border and transportation security, also defended Mr. Ridge's comments, saying they simply reflected ongoing debate in Congress over the immigration issue.
"Secretary Ridge addressed it very honestly yesterday, engaged in that debate, but clearly this administration has not taken a firm policy position on that and the debate continues," Mr. Hutchinson said.
RIDGE WAS RIGHT! president considering huge amnesty program
Moderator: S2k Moderators
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rainstorm
excellent editorial from the washington times
i agree!! rewarding illegals will only encourage a flood of new illegals to come across the border. oh well, the poor taxpayer can pick up the tab, as usual.
Ridge is wrong
We disagree with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's remarks on Wednesday supporting the legalization of millions of illegal immigrants now living in the United States. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Miami Wednesday, Mr. Ridge declared that the government "had to come to grips with the presence of 8 million to 12 million illegals" now in the country, in order "to afford them some kind of legal status some way." While Mr. Ridge said he was not advocating the granting of citizenship to this group, history suggests that legalization is often a first step in that direction. The idea of legalization is not new for the Bush administration; it was seriously considering granting permanent residency for illegals right before the September 11 attacks. Late Wednesday, Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, said that Mr. Ridge's remarks simply reflected the congressional debate on immigration, and that the administration had not taken a firm policy stance on the matter. But even a soft policy stance would be unacceptable.
It's time for the administration to put this bad idea to rest. We believe that legal immigration to the United States is a good thing for our country. But the same is not true of illegal immigration. When someone decides to sneak into this country or to overstay their visa, they show a disrespect for an important principle that should unite us as Americans: adherence to the rule of law.
Of course, the great majority of illegals are not terrorists; rather, they have broken our immigration laws in the hope of attaining a better standard of living for their families. But that does not make the violation of our borders any more acceptable. Most Americans — whether citizens or legal resident aliens — are here today because, at some point during the last few centuries, either they or their ancestors decided to legally immigrate to this country. That meant putting up with long lines while waiting to apply for visas and jumping through myriad other bureaucratic hoops. But at the end of this process, these people could honestly say that they had earned the right to be here.
This process continues to this very day. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit an American Embassy in a place like Guatemala City, for example, will find long lines stretching out the building door, filled with locals applying for visas to enter the United States. These people are doing things the right way. Anytime the government attempts to short circuit the process through legalization, it rewards people who disobey the rules at the expense of those who comply with them. That's precisely the wrong message to send to people seeking to become American citizens or attain some alternative form of lawful status.
Even if there were no significant terrorist threat to the American homeland, there would still be compelling reasons to oppose mass legalization. The U.S. government cannot abandon the position that as a sovereign nation, we have the right and the duty to protect our borders.
For nearly two years, Mr. Ridge has served with dedication and distinction as the federal government's top official protecting the homeland from terrorist attack. The country continues to be well-served by his performance of that thankless, absolutely critical job. But he was in error in suggesting mass legalization. We would urge the president to make it unmistakably clear that the concept is dead.
Ridge is wrong
We disagree with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's remarks on Wednesday supporting the legalization of millions of illegal immigrants now living in the United States. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Miami Wednesday, Mr. Ridge declared that the government "had to come to grips with the presence of 8 million to 12 million illegals" now in the country, in order "to afford them some kind of legal status some way." While Mr. Ridge said he was not advocating the granting of citizenship to this group, history suggests that legalization is often a first step in that direction. The idea of legalization is not new for the Bush administration; it was seriously considering granting permanent residency for illegals right before the September 11 attacks. Late Wednesday, Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, said that Mr. Ridge's remarks simply reflected the congressional debate on immigration, and that the administration had not taken a firm policy stance on the matter. But even a soft policy stance would be unacceptable.
It's time for the administration to put this bad idea to rest. We believe that legal immigration to the United States is a good thing for our country. But the same is not true of illegal immigration. When someone decides to sneak into this country or to overstay their visa, they show a disrespect for an important principle that should unite us as Americans: adherence to the rule of law.
Of course, the great majority of illegals are not terrorists; rather, they have broken our immigration laws in the hope of attaining a better standard of living for their families. But that does not make the violation of our borders any more acceptable. Most Americans — whether citizens or legal resident aliens — are here today because, at some point during the last few centuries, either they or their ancestors decided to legally immigrate to this country. That meant putting up with long lines while waiting to apply for visas and jumping through myriad other bureaucratic hoops. But at the end of this process, these people could honestly say that they had earned the right to be here.
This process continues to this very day. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit an American Embassy in a place like Guatemala City, for example, will find long lines stretching out the building door, filled with locals applying for visas to enter the United States. These people are doing things the right way. Anytime the government attempts to short circuit the process through legalization, it rewards people who disobey the rules at the expense of those who comply with them. That's precisely the wrong message to send to people seeking to become American citizens or attain some alternative form of lawful status.
Even if there were no significant terrorist threat to the American homeland, there would still be compelling reasons to oppose mass legalization. The U.S. government cannot abandon the position that as a sovereign nation, we have the right and the duty to protect our borders.
For nearly two years, Mr. Ridge has served with dedication and distinction as the federal government's top official protecting the homeland from terrorist attack. The country continues to be well-served by his performance of that thankless, absolutely critical job. But he was in error in suggesting mass legalization. We would urge the president to make it unmistakably clear that the concept is dead.
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.....not at all what I was hoping for.
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rainstorm
my feeling is neither party wants to enforce our borders because they want hispanic votes. there is one thing that could quikly bring down the bush administration. if a terrorist attack occurs before the election, and it is shown the killers came acroos the open mexican border, bush is history. he is playing a dangerous game with american lives.
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yeah....I have to agree. Mexico is a huge problem, but Canada is pourous too. Too many miles, not enough resources. We have to come up with a better strategy. Perhaps some sort of determent for crossing the border illegally. What a great idea.
How about we post signs all along both borders stating quite clearly that if you cross this border illegally, you do so at your own risk, as border patrol agents will shoot you. Case closed.
How about we post signs all along both borders stating quite clearly that if you cross this border illegally, you do so at your own risk, as border patrol agents will shoot you. Case closed.
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rainstorm
j wrote:yeah....I have to agree. Mexico is a huge problem, but Canada is pourous too. Too many miles, not enough resources. We have to come up with a better strategy. Perhaps some sort of determent for crossing the border illegally. What a great idea.
How about we post signs all along both borders stating quite clearly that if you cross this border illegally, you do so at your own risk, as border patrol agents will shoot you. Case closed.
you make a great point J, but just the opposite is happening. this is true. in the desert southwest the govt has set up water stations, so illegals crossing the border wont die of thirst.
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stormraiser
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I agree with a lot of what the President says and does, but come on. We might as well annex Mexico and put all of them on welfare.-
Guest
This is my last, I swear! But couldn't resist...
Don't you find strange that you have to go in Iraq to fight, be killed for freedom and be proud of it, and talk to kill poor immigrants that are looking for freedom?
Isn't it quite controversial?
I must be wrong... yeah, for sure I'm wrong.
So long, for good. I promise
Don't you find strange that you have to go in Iraq to fight, be killed for freedom and be proud of it, and talk to kill poor immigrants that are looking for freedom?
Isn't it quite controversial?
I must be wrong... yeah, for sure I'm wrong.
So long, for good. I promise
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mf_dolphin
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Obviously you've never heard of legal immigration Paolo. The majority of the people that immigrate illegally are already free, they just want the monetary advantage of living in the best country in the world! I don't understand why you insist on taking every pot shot at the US you can. I used to respect you but now you're just another hateful anti-american basher to me. Good-bye!
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AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH...
Ok I dont want to even get started here... we have spent a fortune, not to mention the stress and sleepless nights (and we still are not gaurenteed to stay here untill 2005) doing the immigration thing the Right way... reading that illigal aliens may be granted amnesty just makes my blood boil. The INS wont even allow my mother to come VISIT for the birth of my child...
We had to go through countless amounts of paperwork and money to prove we were law abiding, my husband would pay tax, I will not work because thats a stipulation of our immigration process etc... to hand it over to a bunch of people who are doing everything WRONG and not upholding the law just makes me wanna scream.. the word discrimination seems to come to mind here! Believe me.. people say Mexico is bad.. just open up an international newspaper and see what we had to live with everyday of our lives.. Yes we came here for freedom... but we are doing it the LEGAL and rather expensive way!!
My 2c worth.. sorry about the vent!
Ok I dont want to even get started here... we have spent a fortune, not to mention the stress and sleepless nights (and we still are not gaurenteed to stay here untill 2005) doing the immigration thing the Right way... reading that illigal aliens may be granted amnesty just makes my blood boil. The INS wont even allow my mother to come VISIT for the birth of my child...
We had to go through countless amounts of paperwork and money to prove we were law abiding, my husband would pay tax, I will not work because thats a stipulation of our immigration process etc... to hand it over to a bunch of people who are doing everything WRONG and not upholding the law just makes me wanna scream.. the word discrimination seems to come to mind here! Believe me.. people say Mexico is bad.. just open up an international newspaper and see what we had to live with everyday of our lives.. Yes we came here for freedom... but we are doing it the LEGAL and rather expensive way!!
My 2c worth.. sorry about the vent!
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rainstorm
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mf_dolphin
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rainstorm wrote:he wants the votes of hispanic citizens in this country, thats why he keeps the border wide open, and will give them "free" citizenship.
Another typical statement by Helen. The borders are wide open because it would cost too much to close them. Just look at a map if you want a clue. It has nothing to do with buying votes! The borders have been open for decades because there hasn't been enough justification to expend the billions it would take to close them and maintain them. The land borders with Mexico and Canada have to be close to 5000 miles. Get a clue Helen......
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