By Phil Kent
\nExperience is a great teacher. Ask U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
\nHe voted for the 1986 \u201cImmigration Control and Reform Act\u201d based on promises. But since it granted amnesty to illegal aliens first and promised border security and employer sanctions that never occurred, the senator vows never to be \u201cfooled again.\u201d
\nGrassley says the Senate \u201cGang of Eight\u201d bill backed by President Barack Obama is the same 1986 gimmick\u2014 immediate \u201clegalization\u201d for illegals coupled with new promises of fences, more border personnel and interior enforcement. Why should Americans believe it? Our past president didn\u2019t enforce many immigration laws and the current president \u201cwaived\u201d part of the law through executive fiat.
\nThe immigration system must be fixed. Yet this \u201cfix\u201d is a dagger pointed at the heart of our treasured concept of citizenship. Why should anyone who sneaks into our country to enjoy its benefits be rewarded with \u201ca path to citizenship\u201d?
\nConsider what the Senate bill does:
\n1) Eleven million-plus illegal aliens would stay permanently.
\n2) The \u201clegalized\u2019 illegals would get work permits to compete directly in the job market with Americans.
\n3) The number of legal foreign workers granted work visas would double. Add those foreigners to the legalized illegals and that totals over 33 million competitors for jobs.
\n4) Wages will be depressed, and the Congressional Budget Office warns unemployment will increase.
\n5) Repair of the broken entry-exit visa system comes later and Department of Homeland Security waivers can grant amnesty\u2014 even violent gang members can be waived. No wonder the immigration agents\u2019 union says this bill makes America \u201cless secure!\u201d
\nWhere is the concern for 20 million Americans who can\u2019t find a full-time job or for taxpayers who support them while over 33 million legal and illegal foreigners hold U.S. jobs? Uncle Sap, of course, would continue to pay for healthcare, education and welfare benefits for the legalized illegals.
\nWhat about guest worker programs, especially in the agriculture and restaurant sectors? Their visa process must be streamlined through separate legislation\u2014 and employers must prove they solicit American applicants first before foreigners.
\nThe Senate Budget Committee estimates Obamacare increases healthcare programs by $17 trillion over 75 years. Adding currently illegal immigrants via citizenship obviously ups this staggering cost. So with costs so incredibly high and border security just a goal why must this amnesty bill be passed? America mustn\u2019t be fooled again.
\n# # #<\/p>\n
Phil Kent of Atlanta is spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As appeared in the June 23, 2013 Savannah, Ga., Morning News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":75,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-251","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251\/revisions\/338"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philkentconsulting.com\/wp\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}