Time to bury a bad immigration proposal
July 13, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward
Though Congress seems to have lost interest for the time being in solving the immigration problem, The Heritage Foundation is working hard to remind the American people of the importance of real reform—and the dangers of bad reform.
Heritage’s Robert Rector, who several weeks ago explained that the Senate’s proposed immigration bill would allow more than 60 million new legal immigrants, writes in The New York Daily News that one “reform” proposal would be no end of trouble.
Twenty years ago, Congress passed immigration reform granting amnesty and citizenship to 3 million illegal immigrants. In exchange, future illegal immigration was to be stopped and employers were to be prohibited from hiring illegal workers. The deal was a debacle; amnesty was granted, but the hiring ban was ignored and the border was not secured.
Today, the U.S. Senate is proposing a similar deceptive immigration deal dubbed “enforcement first.” Allegedly, the border will first be sealed. This will be then followed by another mass amnesty and, inevitably, a huge flood of new immigrants.
His conclusion: “The Senate’s immigration plan deserves burial in a very deep grave.”
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Responding to the Indian train bombings
“It is very likely, given the recent history of the region, that Islamic terrorist groups are responsible” for Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on commuter trains in Mumbai, India, Heritage’s Dana Dillon reports.
He explains why al Qaeda, and not a terror group linked to Pakistan, is the probable culprit:
The style of multiple bombs is very reminiscent of the Madrid and London bombings, both of which were the work of al Qaeda affiliate organizations. Further, al Qaeda has been trying for many years to recruit operatives among the India Muslim population. This attack could mean they finally have a cell operating in India.
Pakistani involvement is unlikely, he says, since the country would risk losing its American support and since the country is in no position to battle with India. Though no evidence links Pakistan directly or indirectly to the attacks, Dillon continues, the United States should work to “ensure the Pakistan-India border dialogue continues productively despite the attacks.”
Rep. Hoekstra: Plug the leaks
Speaking at The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the American intelligence community should find and punish those who leak classified national security information to the media. The leaking, he said, “has definitely had an impact on our ability to keep America safe and on our ability within the intelligence community to actually connect the dots.”
Helping build a civil society in Afghanistan
Mike Mannina, at left, poses with a local university professor.
Heritage staffer Mike Mannina recently volunteered to travel to Afghanistan to help that country rebuild after decades of war. He tells his story on MyHeritage.org:
I had volunteered to join three other men to help Afghans establish sustainable businesses. Specifically, we would help establish a business that would employ Afghan women and allow them to use skills they already possessed to generate much-needed income in the heart of what remains a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. We laid out the full business plan, from product offerings and designs, to supply and distribution channels, to the employment structure. Since men are very protective of women in Afghan society, we had to navigate very tricky waters. It didn’t help that foreign organizations are often viewed with great suspicion.
Read more about Mannina’s trip to Afghanistan—how he blended in, the constant dangers he faced, and the lessons he learned.
How television harms children
FamilyFacts.org, Heritage’s new web site that catalogs social science findings on the family, society and religion, reports on new research about the negative effects on children of watching too much television:
Individuals who watched more weekday television during their childhood and adolescence had lower levels of educational attainment and were less likely to have earned a university degree by the time they were 26 years old when compared to peers who watched less weekday television.
This is all the more reason parents should be involved with their children. Using the television as a babysitter is never a good idea.
Taxes and spending in the states
Reducing tax rates to allow economic growth doesn’t work only on the federal level; the laws of economics are universal. As Heritage’s Dan Mitchell told The Washington Post, “Lower taxes on work, saving and investment leads to more work, saving and investment.” Ohio State Rep. Bill Coley (R) wrote in response to Tuesday’s e-mail on the success of federal supply-side tax cuts that “it’s also not rocket science that the ‘cut taxes, enjoy growth’ model also works in states with balanced budget requirements.”
Abandon the Founders?
It’s no surprise that liberals don’t much like the Founding Fathers, seeing as they favored limited government, federalism and would certainly take a dim view of the increasingly intrusive welfare state that liberals support. But it’s not every day that a major newspaper like The Los Angeles Times runs an article condemning the Founders for bringing about “the most backward democracy in the West.”
“I am sick and tired of the founding fathers and all their intents,” author Mark Kurlansky writes. He argues that instead of heeding the age-old wisdom of the Founders (Kurlansky dismisses them as “a bunch of sexist, slave-owning 18th century white men in wigs and breeches”) we should abandon their timeless principles that have served America for centuries and “allow our minds to progress.”
In other news
- Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut’s airport this morning, continuing the offensive against the Hezbollah terrorists who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers earlier this week. Hezbollah is backed by Iran and Syria, and maintains effective control of parts of Lebanon. President Bush said that Israelis “need to protect themselves,” adding that Syria “needs to be held to account” for its involvement with Hezbollah.
- The United States will allow China only a few more days to convince North Korea to return to negotiations. Japan is pushing for a resolution threatening international sanctions over North Korea’s recent provocative missile tests, and the United States is expected to back the measure.
- Columnist Robert Novak has revealed unsurprising new details about the Valerie Plame investigation. Novak reported yesterday that “I learned Valerie Plame’s name from Joe Wilson's entry in Who’s Who in America.” Special Investigator Patrick Fitzgerald has charged only one person in the investigation, for perjury.
- Parts of a brand-new highway tunnel collapsed in Boston on Monday, killing a woman. The tunnel was part of the gargantuan and scandal-plagued “Big Dig” public works project to bury the city’s highways.
- Several readers noted that the headline of Tuesday’s e-mail was somewhat confusing. It should properly have read “Tax rates are down, revenues are up.”
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Friday, July 14 at 11 am, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Paul McHale presents his vision of a robust strategy for defending America.
- On Wednesday, July 19 at 10:30 am, Heritage hosts a panel discussion on the future of American relations with Russia. Panelists include American and Russian diplomats and experts on Russian affairs.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
