Anti-Immigrant Forces Said to Gain Strength in U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans who want to slow immigration to the United States and crack down on illegal immigrants believe they are gaining political strength and public backing, which may pose a problem next year for President Bush.
Bush has already signaled his intention to push a major proposal to allow some of the estimated 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants in the country to gain legal work visas for up to six years as part of a "guest worker" program.
But he may face growing anti-immigrant sentiment, not only his own party but in the country at large, several opponents claimed.
"Public opinion is unquestionably on our side," said Paul Egan of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington group that seeks to limit legal migration and strengthen U.S. borders.
"Americans are saying 'no' to Bush's guest worker program and 'no' to amnesty for illegal immigrants. Legislators are beginning to get the message that people are fed up of illegal immigration," Egan added.
Led by powerful Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, anti-immigration conservatives recently defied the White House by insisting that a bill to reform the nation's intelligence services include anti-illegal alien provisions.
For the record, I am one of the Republicans who stands against Bush when it comes to immigration. I voted for him because I think he's got the right ideas in other places, but on this issue I think Bush is wrong.
That being said, I don't think its fair to label me and others on the right who feel like I do "anti-immigration." That is an inflammatory tag being used by Reuters to jab at the right.
It is not "anti-immigration" to be for the enforcement of current immigration laws. It is not "anti-immigrant" to be for sending people who are in this country illegally back to their place of origin. People like me do not want to "slow" legal immigration, but we do want to halt illegal immigration.
To hear Reuters tell it we're all a bunch of school-yard bullies sitting up in our tree-house telling everybody else that they're not allowed in. That's just not true. We want legal immigrants. I think you could make a fairly good case for the idea that we need legal immigrants. Its just those ones who flout the law and sneak across the border that we don't want.
Update:
Apparently I'm not the only one to pick up on this new label being applied to those of us against illegal immigration. Michelle Malkin and La Shawn Barber have more.