James Carafano: Amnesty Proposal Gets "Everything Exactly Wrong"

Statements


Feb 15, 2018


The Heritage Foundation's Dr. James Carafano, vice president of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, released the following statement Thursday regarding the policy implications of the "Immigration Opportunity and Security Act:"

“Compromise is not about getting everything exactly wrong. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the misnamed ‘Immigration Opportunity and Security Act’ does. Amnesties are bad immigration policy –they undermine the rule of law and create a magnet for further illegal migration.

“This legislation would likely result in a greater amnesty than the 1986 amnesty, which created a massive stimulus for further illegal border crossing and unlawful presence. This act offers toothless border security and internal enforcement promises, and fails to address key public safety issues, like sanctuary cities. What weak promises are made offer little hope for improvement, however, as we all know both parties have shown no hesitance in breaking promises of future enforcement time and time again.

“It is far past time to put teeth into existing enforcement measures, secure our southern border, end chain migration and diversity visa programs, and take a meaningful step to restoring Americans’ faith in the rule of law.”

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McCain: ‘They Call Me Amnesty John’

July 9, 2014 - 4:03 PM

By Penny Starr



Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2014 National Migration Conference on July 9, 2014 in Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that while the majority of people in his state approve of his support for comprehensive immigration reform which includes a pathway to citizenship, those who oppose it have dubbed him “Amnesty John.”

“The 30 percent view [illegal immigration] as the compelling and only and most emotional issue to them,” McCain said. “They’re the ones who come to my town hall meetings and call me Amnesty John.”

McCain was one of the “Gang of Eight” in the Senate to sponsor the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Bill, or S.744. The Senate passed the bill – which called for a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal aliens – in June 2013, but the House has not taken it up or alternative immigration legislation this term.

One of the attendees at the conference – which focused on advocating for migrants and refuges, even those in the country illegally – asked McCain how they could get immigration legislation efforts “back on track” in Congress.

“I think first we have to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible,” McCain said, referring to the more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America who have streamed across the U.S. border with Mexico in recent months. “And then I think – to be very candid with you – we have to activate those people politically that support comprehensive immigration reform.

“My friends, even in my home state of Arizona, 70 percent of my constituents support comprehensive immigration reform,” McCain said. “The entire business community in Arizona does, but the 30 percent view that as the compelling and only and most emotional issue to them,” McCain said.

“They’re the ones who come to my town hall meetings and call me Amnesty John,” he added.

But while many conservatives have criticized McCain for his pro-amnesty stance in the Senate, at the conference McCain repeatedly called for securing the border.

“I will support many things, but I will not support an unending flow of people coming across our border, and I’m sure that there are compelling cases,” McCain said. “I’m sure that there are threats, but to have an open border is not something my constituents will stand for, and I have to represent them as well, and I happen to agree with them.”

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Criminal Illegal Aliens to Receive Amnesty

April 19, 2013 By Michael Volpe

An obscure portion of the new immigration bill authored and negotiated by the bipartisan so-called “Gang of 8″ will allow illegal aliens with multiple misdemeanor convictions to still qualify for immediate legal status and potentially even citizenship down the road.

According to the pertinent portion of the text, those with three or more misdemeanor convictions no longer qualify for immediate legalized status under the new bill. Grounds for ineligibility status include anyone with one or more felony convictions along with three or more misdemeanor convictions. As the text states, only those with “3 or more misdemeanor offense (other than minor traffic offenses or State or local offenses for which an essential element was the alien’s immigration status or violation of this Act) if the alien was convicted on different dates for each of the 3 offenses” will be ineligible.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama (R), whose office released this portion of the text, slammed this directive stating that it will lead to criminals being able to gain legal status in a press release.

Alarmingly, the bill leaves intact the single greatest obstacle to immigration reform: the Administration’s abuse of prosecutorial discretion to prevent the enforcement of federal law. It will also provide safe harbor to those who have committed a variety of offenses—ranging from identity theft, to multiple immigration violations, and even those with criminal records.

Front Page Magazine reached out to the offices of Senators Marco Rubio and Chuck Schumer for comment as well, but no message was returned as of the publication of this article.

In December 2012, the Obama administration first reclassified the definition of a dangerous criminal illegal alien as an individual convicted of three rather than one misdemeanor. In that case, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive to all ICE agents redefined priorities for all agents to only focus on investigating individuals with at least three misdemeanor convictions.

If passed, this bill will immediately legalize all those illegal aliens who qualify, including those with two misdemeanor convictions or less. The bill further provides a pathway to citizenship which should take a minimum of ten years and presumably will include a number of triggers for border security. The bill also calls for a number of border security measures, including full implementation of the E Verify system, money to build a border fence for the Southern border, as well as extra resources to hire more border patrol agents.

While analysts have focused on the dynamic between the enforcement portions of the bill and how they will interact with the amnesty portions, most observers have assumed that dangerous illegal aliens will all be deported. This latest revelation puts that assumption into question, and that should also be considered and fully explained before any votes on this bill are taken.

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