President Signs the Secure Fence Act
President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006 today which authorizes the building of over 700 miles of fence between the United States and Mexico. In his signing speech the President once again discussed the need to do something about the 12 million illegal aliens already living in this country. Only this time instead of asking for a bill that is tantamount to amnesty, he says he is willing to work with Congress that focuses on some obscure middle ground between deporting 12 million illegals and giving them a free pass. It sounds very much like Bush is obfuscating. This country either accepts the illegals or doesn’t. They are sent back home or they are welcomed. I am just not sure where the middle ground is on this issue, but at least he has dropped his demand for a comprehensive immigration bill. The House Republicans rightfully blocked all attempts at giving amnesty to the 12 million illegal aliens.
The MSM view the President’s signing of this bill as another political stunt by Republicans.
President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they’re tough on illegal immigration.
“Unfortunately the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise,” Bush said at a signing ceremony.
“We have a responsibility to enforce our laws,” he said. “We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious.”
He called the fence bill “an important step in our nation’s efforts to secure our borders.”
The centerpiece of Bush’s immigration policy, a guest worker program, remains stalled in Congress.
And a handful of House Republican are at the brakes, blocking negotiations with the Senate for a bill that includes the president’s proposal. (emphasis by TRS)
The AP in telling this story ignores years and years of illegal immigration into the United States by millions from Mexico. The South has been begging for help for years. The issue of illegal immigration has been a pressing issue of the South for many years. President Bush has talked about a comprehensive immigration bill for years. This is not an election year ploy by the Republicans to ensure the House and Senate remains in conservative hands. The border will continue to be a problem until illegal immigration is halted or at least greatly curtailed.
When President Bush proposed his bill, the Senate led by Democrats and several liberal Republicans, passed the President’s bill. The House led by a majority of the Republicans defeated the bill insisting on one step at a time approach wanting to focus on border security first and rightfully so. The 1986 amnesty plan during the Reagan administration was supposed to be comprehensive. The only problem is the plan stopped at amnesty. Knowing this history, Republicans in the house insisted on securing the border and then work on other issues.
As far as a being a political issue, border security is a platform of the Republicans and not the Democrats. The Republicans want to secure our borders and allow legal immigration. The Democrats want open borders seeing potential votes and want to ignore the law which makes illegal immigration a crime. But if the Republicans want to use this issue for political gain, more power to them. Most Democrats do not want to secure the border and that is a political issue.
Posts
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment