Immigration Issue

Did you notice while listening to President Bush's speech last night on any one of the major television networks that his desk was absolutely barren of stuff? There was nothing on it. And, presumably, nothing in it either. That's how I've come to view Bush's mind. Uncluttered. Like the desk.

Generally, 98-percent of the content of Bush's speeches are hype and the other 2-percent are con. However, on the topic of immigration, I expected better from this president, as border patrol and immigration issues are backyard chatter for Bush who, as a longtall Texas pol with a 1200 mile Mex-Tex border, has been dealing with these issues for decades.

There was always the off-chance that Bush might be more sincere on this particular issue. And while more sincerity was expected, I didn't anticipate that I'd agree with him! After all, in six years he hasn't said anything I could agree with.

It was a strange state of affairs then, to find myself in agreement with the five objectives Bush seeks confirmation on in the House and Senate.

The first is that we must secure our borders.

The second objective is to create a temporary worker program which establishes a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time.

Yep. I agree with that. As Bush said, it would produce an honest way for immigrants to provide for their families while respecting the law.

Third, he suggested using biometric technology to implement a new ID system which uses tamper-proof digital fingerprints. There would be no excuses then, for employers of illegal workers to say they were fooled by false documentation. These employers would be accountable for their hiring choices.

The fourth item? W...ell, a rose by any other name is still . . . amnesty. But heck, I agree with amnesty. With or without Bush's refusal to be up front about it. If those conservative religious leaders who helped get him elected to office hadn't taken him to task about the issue, Bush might not be afraid to call a spade a space. Come to think about it: why would religious leaders be against amnesty?

Bush's fifth objective isn't an "objective" at all. It's already a given part of our country's heritage: embracing the traditional melting pot concept. Scheesch. Bush wants credit for a lot, eh?

Even though I tried hard to fault Bush's proposals expressed in his speech last night, I found, much to my surprise, that I was in agreement with him.

There's just one small item he failed to include. I'm sure it's an oversight on his part and he'll get around to fixin it soon.

Additional funding for the National Guard. Bush was pretty free with his requisitioning of their services as substitute border patrollers in his proposals. Previously, he called pretty heavily upon their services overseas in the Iraq fracas . . . all the while schlepping their equipment and cutting their funds. It's time he rectifies this mistake, don't you think?

As for his immigration speech, it was nice to hear Bush back on track with the rest of the country. Hopefully, he'll be able to maintain the pace and not go traipsing off on another wild tangent like the Iraq skirmish.
Immigration Issue © 2006 Chaeli Lee Sullivan