Reform Immigration for America
Written by Catherine Mullins
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 01:15
The National Council of La Raza is launching a new campaign pushing for immigration reform that would grant illegal aliens in the United States a “path to citizenship” and get it passed before the end of 2009.
Imagine this scene: A store owner is robbed of all the cash in his register. The burglar is apprehended, but, instead of being forced to return what he has stolen to its proper owner and be sufficiently penalized, the robber is allowed to keep his ill-gotten gains, then use the windfall as capital to set up a store in competition with the one he just robbed. Outrageous, right? And yet this is essentially the picture of what illegal immigrants, from any country, do in America.
By virtue of being “illegal” they break United States law entering the country without permission, take money from tax payers by sending their children to schools funded by taxes they have not paid, and get their medical needs met in an emergency room paid for by money from taxes. So after essentially robbing the American public of these and other precious resources they are granted Americans’ jobs.
Now the National Council of La Raza, “la raza” — translated as “the race” or “the people” — an organization dedicated to the Latino community, wants illegal immigrants already in the United States to be given a “path to citizenship.” “NCLR supports comprehensive immigration reforms that combine reasonable enforcement with reduction in family immigration backlogs … and a path to citizenship for those living and working in the U.S.” At the same time NCLR opposes entering the U.S. illegally. “Just don’t get caught” might as well be NCLR’s motto.
Enter Reform Immigration FOR America (RIFA). NCLR sent out a press release June 1, 2009, announcing: “Leaders playing a central role in promoting immigration reform, including NCLR (National Council of La Raza), will officially launch the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign. This groundbreaking, momentum-building effort organizes supporters of immigration reform into a stronger, more effective, and politically savvy national campaign which will help support President Obama and ensure that his promises of addressing comprehensive immigration reform become legislative reality.”
RIFA’s almost conservative-looking homepage states: “Our broken immigration system is hurting our economy, American families, and all American workers. Comprehensive immigration reform is the solution.” Sounds like something every American can agree to, until one looks a little bit deeper. On its “About Us” page, RIFA states boldly: “We must address the more than twelve million undocumented immigrants living in this country by creating a rigorous registration process that leads to lawful permanent resident status and eventual citizenship.”
It’s La Raza’s same old game: fix the problem by rewarding law-breakers. How this is supposed to help discourage people from crossing the border illegally, or promote justice for the thousands of people who wait patiently to enter this country legally, and utilizing the already-in-place legal path to citizenship, is unknown. The site continues by suggesting that deportation and detention for illegal passage is cruel, and that “people are forced to take life-threatening risks because they cannot enter legally.”
Perhaps the other motivation for this group is a more stealthy one: to foist immigration reform on the American people as fast as possible, the same way president Obama has tried to foist healthcare reform. “In 2007, millions marched” states the RIFA’s news page. “ Now, those millions are moving beyond the streets to swamp switchboards, email accounts, fax machines and the halls of Congress. ….The President is clear that he wants immigration reform to move forward this year so that we can pass a bill early next year … We hope to see detailed congressional proposals shortly after recess.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, a bill is currently being drafted to do just that. Written by Catherine Mullins Tuesday, 25 August 2009 01:15