Too little, too late

I watched Bush's immigration reform speech last night and then reviewed the transcript this morning. While he succeeded in avoiding the jobs-Americans-won't-do excuse for not securing the border, I am dubious about the prospects for real success. I've outlined the highlights of last night's speech and my take on them here...

...So I support comprehensive immigration reform that will accomplish five clear objectives.

First, the United States must secure its borders.

The American people have been demanding that the borders be secured ever since Reagan granted blanket amnesty in '86 and the flooding began. It's infuriating that politicians only take action after it's almost too late. 10% of the Mexican population now resides in the U.S. and only now is a president bothering to do something and that' s only because of political pressure from the conservative base. Sickening!

We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors, and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. We will employ motion sensors, infrared cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings.

OK, maybe fences will work in urban areas but what good will new patrol roads, motion sensors, cameras and aerial vehicles do? These gate-crashers don't care of a camera or a drone sees them. Only a human with a gun or a honest-to-goodness barrier will stop them from coming over. The surveillance measures were inserted into the speech by Rove or Bartlett to appease the base. They want it to appear that Bush is getting tough on the border without it actually being effective.

...up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border. The Guard will assist the Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training. Guard units will not be involved in direct law enforcement activities, that duty will be done by the Border Patrol.

Not involved in law enforcement activities? What better use for battle-hardened war veterans than to enforce the law at the southern border? I'm sure Bush would cite the constitutional prohibition of using the military for domestic law enforcement, but there are two things here that don't wash about that: 1. well armed Guardsmen were deployed against civilians in New Orleans after Katrina when those idiots with guns were shooting at rescue operations and robbing citizens, and 2. preventing the illegal crossing of our border with Mexico does not constitute domestic law enforcement. The concept of "domestic law enforcement" implies military action against citizens...would-be border crossers are not citizens and are not protected by the Constitution.

The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend. We will continue to work cooperatively to improve security on both sides of the border ... to confront common problems like drug trafficking and crime ... and to reduce illegal immigration.

Begging pardon, but Mexico is not our friend. Vicente Fox vehemently opposes any measure which would stem the flood of his people into the U.S. He's actively exporting Mexico's poverty and criminal class into our country.

2. Therefore, I support a temporary worker program that would create a legal path for foreign workers to enter our country in an orderly way, for a limited period of time.

The only temporary worker program that I would support would be one in which the worker would have to originate in his/her own country...not one composed of illegals already here...that's still amnesty.

3. a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof.

A good concept but the counterfeiters are pretty good with ID documentation. It would have to be a state-of-the-art tamper-proof ID card.

4. I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law, to pay their taxes, to learn English, and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship, but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law.

I hope that "wait in line" means go home and get in the back of the line there. If it means that they get to stay and suck at the public teat while they wait, then it still amounts to amnesty.

5. Fifth, we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one Nation out of many peoples.

Not sure how this is a plank of his plan but who, other than the American Nazi Party and Klansmen, don't already embrace the melting-pot concept of America?

I sincerely hope this plan works but I'm afraid it'll get bogged down in bureaucratic red tape and nothing will actually get done and nothing will change. What really bothers me is the sneaking suspicion that the politicians know this will be the case already and are counting on Americans being easily distracted and not holding them (politicians) accountable at the ballot box.