He has never called for the deportation of all illegal immigrants, but Lou Dobbs believes the U.S. could pull off such a feat if it really wanted to. The CNN anchor, whose stance against illegal immigration has helped raise his ratings but also fueled criticism, speaks to Lesley Stahl for a profile to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, May 6 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
I agree...and why not. We DONT want to do it, and that is why it is not done...
It sucks that we even have to debate if we should enforce our laws
Thursday, May 03, 2007
CNN'S DOBBS: U.S. COULD DEPORT ALL ILLEGALS
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I agree. What can't be done if we truly want to get it done? There really hasn't been any discussion on how it might be accomplished, but only assertions that it can't be. It's a challenge to be sure. But there needn't be any deadlines for completion. We only need to get started. As I've stated before, if we confiscate their property, if we heavily and painfully penalize companies that hire illegals, eventually, those who've been deported with next to nothing to show for their efforts will spread the word. The word will also spread to those not yet caught and they will in many cases sell off their assets and head home before they, too, have lost all. So we may not need to deport all twelve million if many are too scared to stick around.
This all seems harsh and unChristian or unAmerican. But I really don't see how we benefit by not enforcing our borders and maintaining order in our immigration process. If changes in that process are desired, they must wait until the borders are secured, and most, if not all illegals currently here are sent back to stand in line. Some speak of mere monetary penalties for those who have become productive. But any pass given will still be considered worth the risk to the next guy. It must be known that deportation is the only possibility if caught.
I also don't think the loss of all these people will be too much for our economy. Thus far during the Bush administration, just to use a period of time, we've dealt with a hurricane or two, a major terrorist attack, a war, we've given aid to those struck by a tsunami, and our aid to AIDS victims in Africa has been raised. Yet despite all this, our economy is cookin'.
Deport them. Let them come back the proper way. Invite Mexican officials to come and learn from our economic experts so that they can mirror our actions to become a prosperous country as we are. The best way to slow or curtail illegal immigration is for Mexico, or any other place like it, to improve their own situation.
Lou Dobbs is an idiot.
His explanation for why we can deport illegals? If I read the article correctly, "this country can do anything it sets its mind to." Forgive me if I'm not convinced. That sounds like that great magic socialist principle called "somehow."
Then there are three more aspects -- the economic question, the moral question, and the political question.
One, deporting 12 million people, which would require massive resources effectively turning America into a police state, will also blow a huge hole in the economy. 12 million people is more than many countries have-- a loss of 4% of our population.
Secondly, I would argue it *is* unAmerican to let people stay in the country for 20 years and not put them on a path to citizenship.
Third, the Republican Party will never win elections for decades if it pursues this hardline path. The Republicans were able to dominate in the early 00s in part because they had better support than normal from Latinos. Throw that down to almost zero, plus the loss of supports from moderates like myself, and winning elections anytime soon will not be in the cards. The RNC leadership knows this, though the unhinged base does not.
Something like the Bush plan is probably pretty close to the best we can do in a tragic situation. I will vote for the Democrats before I turn America into a police state, however.
The important fact is the word ILLEGAL!!! I would love to see some stories about immigrants who are becoming citizens the right way---- LEGALLY!!What do they think
of the hypocrasy of it all.
Jason
As to your “three more aspects…”
The third intrigues me the most but I’d like to touch on the first two also.
Dobbs stated he “never called for their deportation…but…”.
I think (I’m just guessing) he’s trying to make the case that we (the anti-open boarder people) can “bargain” from a position of strength on this issue, after all does anyone think it’s actually feasible to deport all of the illegal immigrants – even though we could make a helluva dent.
I agree about the 20 years statement – if they’re not repeat criminals and they are “earning they’re own keep”. But what would be a good cut off point? 7 years? 3 years? 1.4892 years? 6 months? (You get the point.) And of course at some point – at least most agree – you have to try and stop the flow of illegals and establish a “cutoff”, i.e. “any illegal who can not prove residency before X date will be deported, no exceptions.”
Finally as to the political question, it seems to me that the Latino community isn’t going to be happy with anything less than a porous border policy and an amnesty program.
Is the current political policy to promise something will be done to please Americans who care about sovereignty while knowing full well nothing will be done just because both parties want the Latino vote?
I suspect this is indeed the case, because I think it’s a calculated political strategy, this talk of amnesty from one side of the mouth, while talk of toughening the consequences to illegals and securing our boarders from the other side of the mouth. That way the Republicans can get a little of both groups.
If this is the case, and I suspect it is, then maybe its high time we throw down the gauntlet and let the chips fall where they may. At least we will have tried, instead of going through decades more of deceit.
And of course most of the Democrat leadership are actually being honest (except for those facing tough challengers at election time) about this issue. They don’t give a damn about our boarders, and love to pander to any group that may need (want) something from the Gov’t. Hell if you catch them in a really honest moment they’ll inform you the whole concept of borders is antiquated.
If we do decide to “throw down the gauntlet”, why not go ahead and start with at least some deportation – say for instance do away with all “safe zones” and deport the criminals and leaches? Or has everyone basically given up on the illegal imig issue altogether?
I guess everybody's given up on the illegal immigration issue.
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