The water cooler talk in my oh-so-conservative workplace this morning was about how “Obama is going to grant millions illegal immigrants amnesty by using and Executive Order so he has more voters in 2012”.
Aye, aye, aye…
So I whipped out my trusty Googles and searched and, sure enough, a bunch of GOPosaur senators, the usual list of suspects, has sent a letter to the president warning him to totally, under no circumstances, don’tchyoo even theenk about granting amnesty to those dirty, stinkin’ illegal aliens, no sir, no way, no how.
Here’s the letter (.pdf) they sent:
“Dear President Obama:We understand that there’s a push for your Administration to develop a plan to unilaterally extend either deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States. We understand that the Administration may include aliens who have willfully overstayed their visas or filed for benefits knowing that they will not be eligible for a status for years to come. We understand that deferred action and parole are discretionary actions reserved for individual cases that present unusual, emergent or humanitarian circumstances. Deferred action and parole were not intended to be used to confer a status or offer protection to large groups of illegal aliens, even if the agency claims that they look at each case on a “case-by-case” basis.
While we agree our immigration laws need to be fixed, we are deeply concerned about the potential expansion of deferred action or parole for a large illegal alien population. While deferred action and parole are Executive Branch authorities, they should not be used to circumvent Congress’ constitutional authority to legislate immigration policy, particularly as it relates to the illegal population in the United States.
The Administration would be wise to abandon any plans for deferred action or parole for the illegal population. Such a move would further erode the American public’s confidence in the federal government and its commitment to securing the borders and enforcing the laws already on the books.
We would appreciate receiving a commitment that the Administration has no plans to use either authority to change the current position of a large group of illegal aliens already in the United States, and ask that you respond to us about this matter as soon as possible.”
Emphasis mine.
Here’s the list of signatories:
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
David Vitter, R-La.
Jim Bunning, R-Ky.
Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
James Inhofe, R-Okla.
Thad Cochran, R-Miss
That’s a regular white guy Republican lovefest right thar, innit?
Meanwhile, a group called Numbers USA which is pushing hard for lower immigration levels is circulating a petition decrying what they call the “Comprehensive Amnesty Threat”. What’s their source for this super-secret plot to destroy Merka? “Sources close to the Democratic leadership” (sorry, that’s a FOX “News” link).
I’m thinking their source is the guy who cleans their bathrooms.
So, what’s the kefuffle really about? As Senator Hatch’s own press release about this says, it’s about talk to extend either deferred action or parole the millions of undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the US until the administration and Congress can finalize comprehensive immigration reform and allow them to work toward earning their citizenship. You know, so they can pick our lettuce & peaches and babysit our kids and cut our lawns and do all the other difficult jobs they do for us on a daily basis while everyone looks the other way because they work for such low wages.
From the Hatch press release:
Granted by the Department of Homeland Security, “deferred action” is a temporary form of relief that suspends deportation hearings for illegal aliens for a time and can also allow them to apply for an employment authorization card.
Or as one conservative pundit put it:
At least eight U.S. Senators believe that Obama is preparing to order DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide a defacto amnesty, through the use of massive deferred action or parole for the millions of illegal aliens now living inside our borders.
Or as FOX News puts it: GOP LAWMAKERS WARN OF ADMINISTRATION PLAN TO GRANT AMNESTY TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!!
Or as the comical BeforeItsNews.com site put it: RED ALERT! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!
Here’s the thing, though: besides the fact that they are misrepresenting and overblowing the entire issue, characterizing hitting the “Pause” button as wholesale amnesty, they have no proof of any of it. Notice all those “we understand”s in their letter? Notice how there’s no actual source for any of this hysteria? The Obama administration hasn’t talked publicly about it, for sure. The president himself has talked about demanding “accountability from both workers who are here illegally and employers who game the system” and he’s said “It means responsibility from people who are living here illegally. They’ve got to admit that they broke the law, and pay taxes, and pay a penalty, and learn English, and get right before the law — and then get in line and earn their citizenship.”
He also has said this:
What’s also been acknowledged is that the 12 million or so undocumented workers are here — who are not paying taxes in the ways that we’d like them to be paying taxes, who are living in the shadows, that that is a group that we have to deal with in a practical, common-sense way. And I think the American people are ready for us to do so. But it’s going to require some heavy lifting, it’s going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policymaking over short-term politics. That’s what I’m committed to doing as President.
So, to start that bipartisan ball rolling, the GOPosaurs are running around waving their hands in the air crying to the heavens that the president is going to issue an Executive Order automatically granting “amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants”. You know — so they can vote him back into office in 2012.
Typical.
This smacks to me of them trying to get out in front of a nonexistent “threat”, much like the whole fake/concocted/fabricated “Obama will take away your guns” meme. It’s red meat for the GOPosaur masses and it helps them to fill their campaign coffers during a time when they are struggling to raise monies and maintain positive headlines. Very typical, indeed.
I’m just sayin’…
