New Immigration Report, Same Old Call for Amnesty
Jena McNeill /
On July 8, 2009, the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy, chaired by Jeb Bush and Mack McLarty, released a report which attempts to give a solution to America’s immigration problem. The report starts off well, emphasizing that immigration has been positive for America and citing the need for more legal immigration avenues and a market based temporary worker program. But then it dovetails, recommending legalization of those illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Legalization is a fancy term for an amnesty. We gave amnesty in 1986—and it did nothing to solve the problem. More and more folks saw an incentive to come here illegally, and they did, in droves. The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. was around 11 million in 2008. While the economy has certainly decreased the numbers here illegally, the fact is that millions remain, and the numbers will increase when the economic gets better (even the CFR report confirms this is true). (more…)