In my personal e-mail box this morning is another letter from Newt G.  I am always impressed with his unpretentious smile, the banner promoting his book, and the summary of his political rhetoric.  I haven’t always agreed with Newt on everything he’s written, but enough to warrant quoting him now and again.  This is one of those times.

Today he is all fired up about the alleged immigration solution, and rightly so.  See for yourself.

“The announcement last week that the White House and a group of senators have reached an agreement on “comprehensive immigration reform” should have the same effect that the word “iceberg” had on the passengers and crew of the Titanic.

This proposed agreement is a disaster of the first order, and it would severely cripple America for the foreseeable future.

You can tell how bad this bill is by the Senate Democratic leadership’s announced goal of trying to pass it before the Memorial Day weekend.
Remember, this bill has not yet been finished. Senators and their staffs were still negotiating over the weekend and many key items were still in confusion. So here’s what we have to do:

TODAY’S ACTION ITEM:

CALL YOUR SENATORS AND LET THEM KNOW HOW ANGRY YOU WILL BE IF THEY PASS A BILL BEFORE IT HAS BEEN PRINTED AND PUT ON THE INTERNET AND EXPOSED FOR THE COUNTRY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND.”

Then he goes on to mention the 1986 Immigration Bill during Reagan’s term (the Simpson-Mazzoli bill) and he’s even more angry about THAT.

“In 1986, I voted for the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill. We were promised that in return for amnesty for far fewer than three million illegal immigrants we would get:
1.  Control of the border
2.  Enforcement of laws requiring employers to know someone is here legally before hiring them
3.  No more amnesty and no more tolerance of illegality.

The government broke its word on every one of those provisions.  We eventually amnestied three million people who had broken the law, and we sent a signal to the world that it is okay to break the law and come to America.

Now, 20 years later, we are told to trust Washington while we amnesty 12 to 20 million more people who have broken the law.”

I loved Reagan, but who knew??

I googled the Simpson-Mazolli bill and read through it chapter and verse.  Boring and confusing for someone who is not a political professional.  I scrolled down to Reagan’s statement and THAT was very clear.

“Distance has not discouraged illegal immigration to the United States from all around the globe. The problem of illegal immigration should not, therefore, be seen as a problem between the United States and its neighbors. Our objective is only to establish a reasonable, fair, orderly, and secure system of immigration into this country and not to discriminate in any way against particular nations or people.

The act I am signing today is the product of one of the longest and most difficult legislative undertakings of recent memory. It has truly been a bipartisan effort, with this administration and the allies of immigration reform in the Congress, of both parties, working together to accomplish these critically important reforms. Future generations of Americans will be thankful for our efforts to humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people: American citizenship.”

http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/110686b.htm

I wonder if Bush will use similar language…