President Reagan hailed it as the most sweeping immigration reform since 1952. But while the Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986 welcomed 2.7 million illegal aliens under the so-called “Reagan amnesty,” the portion of the law that was supposed to beef up America’s borders never amounted to anything.
In the years that followed, Washington showed little interest in the law’s border-enforcement provisions — to the point where border security under the Obama administration became a bad joke.
And three decades after the Reagan-era reform, illegal immigration in the U.S. has quadrupled.
Mr. Reagan’s experience is instructive for President Trump in what’s being presented as yet another quid pro quo on immigration: In exchange for citizenship for an estimated 800,000 “Dreamers” — illegals brought to the U.S. as children — Team Trump wants a 70-point immigration plan that focuses on reinforcing the U.S. border.
In the run-up to any meaningful reform — and before this football again is yanked away before the kick — immigration-law enforcement must come first.
That begins with realistic policies that define, instead of diminish, America’s borders. And rather than waste time and resources on a border wall that more than likely will be breached before it’s fully built, more attention should focus on fully implementing E-Verify, used to check the legal status of job applicants, along with harsher penalties for employers who hire illegals.
Trump can realize what Reagan envisioned if he sticks to his predecessor’s familiar dictum: “Trust, but verify.”
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I have one point of disagreement: Never, under any circumstances, trust a Liberal to keep its word. NEVER. If Trump signs any form of amnesty for even ONE person illegally in this country, he will be a traitor to America and he will hammer the final nail into our coffin. Enforcement of ALL laws first. Construction of the WALL. Anything short of that will end America.
I agree. NO AMNESTY ever again.
Instead of Trust but Verify, we should Verify Only.
You just can’t trust a liberal. That includes liberals of the RINO persuasion.
Physical border wall is a waste of money. Interior enforcement in all forms one being e-verify is the right way to go about it. Children born to illegal alien parents should not have birth right citizenship. No free education in public schools for children of illegal aliens. Churches and court rooms should not be off limits for ICE. Local law enforcement should co-operate with ICE for enforcement of immigration laws. No drivers license for illegal aliens. The list goes on, but all these will only be citizens’ dreams when Democrats get elected. CA & NY have already been taken over by illegal aliens, it only a matter of time for other states to have the same fate.
If a physical wall is so useless, why does most every ‘high price’ housing community have a wall AND gate? Why does every prison have large walls? Why does the white house have one??
Do all that PLUS the physical border. And it needs to be a wall, not a fence. There can be an extra fence in front of the wall and maybe one behind it too.
The wall serves several important functions:
Physical intimidation
Very capable road block for invaders
Protection for border personnel
Severely reducing the number of border crossings, so that border personnel aren’t overwhelmed by the volume
Blocking visibility
a. It makes it look like there may not be anything good over the wall
b. If someone does somehow go over the wall, their pals in Mexico won’t be able to see what happens to him. Did he make it? Was he shot? What?
And make that wall go at least 40ft DOWN into the ground to cut off those tunnels..
I am of the mind, deportation before amnesty.
I agree. Deport the lot of them, and then in say 5 years they can APPLY to come here LEGALLY and while legally here, they then can pursue a route to citizenship..