Meet me at the border

There’s good news at the national, state, and local level on illegal immigration. These items are from FAIR’s Legislative Update:

• Last week, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated that the hearings held so far by the House have made it clear that the Senate bill would undermine border security. “I think the hearings have been an absolute success, and they’ve put us in a stronger position to craft a responsible bill that secures our borders and strictly enforces our immigration laws,” Boehner said. No language from Boehner about amnesty, guest workers, relieving the plight of illegals, enhancing our diversity. Just securing the border and enforcing the law. Honey to my ears.

• The Colorado legislature passed and the governor signed a law that requires individuals to demonstrate their legal presence in the U.S. before receiving state and local benefits. The reincarnation of Prop. 187.

• The city council of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, passed one of the nation’s strictest ordinances to fight illegal immigration last week. The ordinance requires city documents to be printed in English, landlords to be fined for renting to illegal aliens and businesses to be denied licenses if employing illegal aliens. Mayor Lou Barletta said in an open letter posted at the Hazelton government website (and be sure to read the whole thing): “The City of Hazleton is empowered and mandated by the people of Hazleton to abate the nuisance of illegal immigration by aggressively prohibiting and punishing the acts, policies, people and businesses that aid and abet illegal aliens. That is why I proposed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act.” Barletta for vice president!

(At the Hazelton city website they are asking for e-mail support for the mayor.)

There was some bad news too. The U.S. Senate, by an overwhelming vote of 71-29, refused to provide funds for the border fence that the same U.S. Senate voted for last month by 83-16. But folks, this is not really bad news, it’s good news. It demonstrates beyond the shadow of a cavil what restrictionists have been saying all along, that the “border security” part of the “comprehensive package” is a total fraud. The more GW Bush, Sen. McCain and the rest of that crew assure us that this time, they’re really, really serious about border enforcement, the more they’re lying, lying through their teeth, telling the biggest lie in American history. The lie is out there for all to see and should never be believed again.

Open borders people are like jihadists: they may engage in taqqiyah (the hiding of one’s true purpose), but they’re so deeply committed to their goal, and so disdainful of their opposition (i.e., us), that they can’t conceal for long what they really are and what they really want.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 17, 2006 04:12 PM | Send