Lies, Damn Lies and Amnesty Lies - Commentary by Randy Phillips

Lies, Damn Lies and Amnesty Lies - Commentary by Randy Phillips

A column by Thomas Sowell, of the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, appeared in the May 24th Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In the AJC, it was entitled “Untruths invalidate the immigration bill”, regarding the immigration "reform" bill which President Bush and others are trying to ram through Congress. On the Townhall.com website, the column was entitled "Amnesty Fraud, Part II." [ See links to Parts 1, 2 & 3 below. ]

Mr. Sowell writes “Every aspect of the current immigration bill, and the arguments made for it, has fraud written all over it.” As if to prove his statement, the next day’s paper had a guest editorial by Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss on the immigration bill Isakson helped write and which Chambliss eagerly signed on to.

The Isakson-Chambliss piece is titled “Proposal respects our values”, and almost immediately launches into a fraudulent statement. They rightly point out Georgians want to secure our borders without granting amnesty or new path to citizenship to the millions who have broke in the country. Then the lie: “That is exactly what we are trying to do.”

What? According to all we read about the immigration bill our Senators are trying to sell, it promises secure borders, it doesn’t guarantee or fund them. But the bill does grant the 12 to 20 million people illegally in the country the right to stay here forever as residents.

That’s amnesty!! If they want to become citizens they will have to go back home, get in line and pay $5000. There’s little reason to do that, since they will (if this amnesty bill becomes law) already have "legal" residence. Backers of the Immigration bill try to hide the truth with talk about fines and having to learn English, which will never be enforced. Isakson and Chambliss are talking amnesty for the 12 to 20 million immediately, and that is not the only fraud they are trying to sell.

“We are seeking to ensure that any reform ends the practice of 'chain migration,'" they claim, but the millions of new “legals” the bill creates will also be able to bring their parents, spouses, kids, brothers, and sisters over to join them. A new study claims one half of all families in Mexico have at least one member in the U.S. already. If the immigration bill becomes law, we are not talking about 12 to 20 million people but almost automatically allowing three or four times that many into the country.

Senator Chambliss, how can you claim that rewarding millions of people who have broken into the country by granting them amnesty “promotes the “values” of Americans? Senator Isakson, how can you claim rewarding employers who have broken the law by hiring people in the county illegally “promotes” American values? How can you claim amnesty is not amnesty? How can you expect the people of Georgia to continue to place their trust in you or anything you say?

We sure can’t trust the agencies of Government which have failed us since 1986. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff is a great example. He’s gone out on the campaign trail to sell the immigration fraud. His immigration office has staged a number of publicized raids on illegal workers and their employers recently, but apparently it’s not a sincere attempt to carry out the law.

On May 24, he gave his real reason for staging the raids, when he 'warned' there will be more if the workers don’t get a chance to become legal. “We’re going to enforce the law,” he said. “People all around the country will be seeing teary-eyed children whose parents are going to be deported.” Chertoff, by that admission, is “enforcing” the law in order to help create pressure for amnesty for illegals, not get them out of the country.

I have been in politics for a lifetime. I have known Johnny Isakson for years, and hold him in high regard. But our leaders are destroying our nation. This immigration bill is a great example of what is wrong with our government and the people we have elected to serve us.

While the President and Congress and functionaries like Chertoff are sending people to fight and die in Iraq, they bury their heads in Washington sand, perhaps encouraged by special corporate interests and allow an invasion of illegal immigrants to cross our borders and take our country without any resistance. Then they insult us with Lies, Damn Lies and Amnesty Lies to defend a so-called "reform" bill they say respects our values.

Randy Phillips is a former State Representative and member of GHC's Steering Committee.