THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Senate leaders
introduced revised legislation on comprehensive immigration reform. I
thank leaders from both parties for their bipartisan effort to fix our
immigration system so it can meet the needs of our Nation in the 21st
century.
LIBERTARIAN RESPONSE: Everyone who signed the U.S.
Constitution would be appalled by the "Comprehensive Immigration
Reform" package being pushed by the President. It is a blueprint
for a totalitarian police state. It is unChristian in its treatment of
those who wish to flee corrupt governments and live in a land of
"Liberty Under God."
| THE PRESIDENT: Good
morning. This week, Senate leaders introduced revised legislation
on comprehensive immigration reform. I thank leaders from both
parties for their bipartisan effort to fix our immigration system
so it can meet the needs of our Nation in the 21st century. |
The President has used his
Saturday morning address four times in the last seven weeks to
push his immigration reform package. |
As the Senate takes
up this critical bill, I understand that many Americans have
concerns about immigration reform -- especially about the federal
government's ability to secure the border. So this bill puts the
enforcement tools in place first. And it means
• more Border Patrol agents,
• more fencing,
• more infrared cameras and other technologies at the border.
• It also requires an employee-verification system based on
government-issued, tamper-proof identification cards that will
help employers ensure that the workers they hire are legal. |
It is physically impossible to
"secure" our borders without turning the United States
into East Berlin. It is un-American to propose a new Berlin Wall
around America. The President's concept of a "secure"
border is a nightmare where every salesman who wants to sell his
products in America, every tourist who wants to visit America,
every student who wants to attend an American school, and every
human being who wants to work in America, must be personally
checked and have the individual permission of the federal
government to cross the border. This one bill alone creates
government intrusion more vast and oppressive than the entire
British deployment of "red coats" in the American
colonies. It completely negates the essential ideal of America as
enshrined in the Statue of
Liberty.
There are thousands of miles of borders between the U.S. and
Mexico and Canada, and thousands of miles of coastline. What are
the costs of "securing" these borders? How do these
costs compare with the benefits? What kind of America will be
created by an army of border patrol agents, fences, and
Identification Papers required not just of immigrants, but of all
Americans? Why should employers be required to act as border
patrol agents in their businesses?
|
| Only after these
enforcement tools are in place will certain other parts of the
bill go into effect. To make sure the government keeps its
enforcement commitment, the bill includes $4.4 billion in
immediate additional funding for these border security and
worksite enforcement efforts. |
$4.4 billion is a lot of money
that could be better spent by voluntary
associations designed to assimilate
immigrants.
"Immediate funding" means the total cost of the program on down the road will be vastly more expensive. |
| The bill also
addresses other problems with immigration enforcement. Right now,
our laws are ineffective and insufficient. For example, crossing
the border illegally carries weak penalties. In addition,
participation in illegal gangs is not enough to bar admission into
our country. And when we cannot get other countries to accept the
return of their citizens who are dangerous criminals, in most
cases our government can only detain these aliens for six months
before releasing them into society. |
Alexis de Tocqueville, when
visiting the United States in the early 1800's felt that our laws
regarding immigrants were ineffective and insufficient. He said
armed forces would need to be created to counter the rising number
of immigrants. History shows he was wrong.
Schools and "the means of
education" taught immigrants the values of "Liberty
Under God" and "the
laws of Nature and of Nature's God." America's Founding
Fathers understood that Christian education, not
armed forces, is what creates a peaceful and orderly society.
The Bush Administration has ramped up federal
control of education, diverting billions of dollars away from
Christian education into atheistic education which virtually
encourages immigrants to join "gangs." |
| This is unacceptable.
The bill before the Senate addresses these problems. Under this
bill, those caught crossing illegally will be permanently barred
from returning to the United States on a work or tourist visa.
Under this bill, anyone known to have taken part in illegal gang
activity can be denied admission to our country. And under this
bill, we will be able to detain aliens who are dangerous criminals
until another country accepts their return. |
When millions of people are here
"illegally," and are denied access to gainful
employment, they become a subculture. The best economists -- those
committed to the ideals of America's Founding Fathers -- have
shown that if immigrants are allowed to come out of the shadows,
obtain employment, and integrate with our culture, they provide massive
benefits to our economy and culture. |
| These enforcement
measures are a good start. Yet even with all these steps, we
cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the
border. Hundreds of thousands of people come here illegally
because our current work visa program does not match the needs of
a growing and dynamic economy. To discourage people from crossing
our border illegally, this bill creates an orderly path for
foreign workers to enter our country legally to work on a
temporary basis. |
The quickest way to take
"pressure" off the border is to return to the
Constitution, which gives no authority to the federal government
to obstruct free flow of people and goods across borders.
The Return to
a Global Economy
|
| With this program in
place, employers will have a practical system to fill jobs
Americans are not doing -- and foreign workers will have a legal
way to apply for them. As a result, they won't have to try to
sneak in. And that will leave border agents free to chase down
drug dealers, human traffickers, and terrorists. |
If we want to allow employers to
fill jobs at wage rates that benefit American consumers and
immigrant workers, this program should not be passed and laws
which hinder employment of immigrants should be abolished. |
| Once the border
security and worksite enforcement benchmarks are met, the bill
will resolve the status of 12 million people who are now in our
country illegally. Under this bill, these workers will be given an
opportunity to get right with the law. This is not amnesty. There
will be penalties for those who come out of the shadows. If they
pass a strict background check, pay a fine, hold a job, maintain a
clean criminal record, and eventually learn English, they will
qualify for and maintain a Z visa. If they want to get a green
card, they have to do all these things -- plus pay an additional
fine, go to the back of the line, and return to their country to
apply from there. |
God has endowed both Americans
and foreigners with "unalienable rights," according to
the Declaration of Independence. These rights include the right to
travel and the right to work, which does not mean the right to
receive travel stipends from the government, or the right to have
the government fire a competing worker so you can be hired. But
the government is not allowed to erect barriers to travel and
labor. Since such laws should never have existed, those who are
accused of violating unconstitutional laws should be given
immediate amnesty. |
| This bill provides an
historic opportunity to uphold America's tradition of welcoming
and assimilating immigrants and honoring our heritage as a Nation
built on the rule of law. We have an obligation to solve problems
that have been piling up for decades. The status quo is
unacceptable. We must summon the political courage to move forward
with a comprehensive reform bill. By acting now, we can ensure
that our laws are respected, that the needs of our economy are
met, and that our Nation treats newcomers with dignity and helps
them assimilate. |
Bad laws should not be honored.
Lots of bad laws do not constitute "the
rule of law." |
| I urge members of
both parties to support comprehensive immigration reform. By
working together, we can pass this good bill -- and build an
immigration system worthy of our great Nation. |
This "comprehensive
immigration reform" bill moves us away from the ideals that
made America great. |
| Thank you for
listening. |
|