Heritage Foundation Misdefines ‘Amnesty’ When Slamming Council On Foreign Relations Report
Heritage Foundation Misdefines ‘Amnesty’ When Slamming Council On Foreign Relations Report
In an article posted yesterday, the conservative Heritage Foundation slammed the Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy for releasing a report that supports a legalization program for undocumented immigrants as part of comprehensive immigration reform. The Heritage Foundation refers to CFR’s legalization plan as “a fancy term for an amnesty.”
Jena McNeill of the Heritage Foundation writes:
“We did an 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…This report is not the first to tout legalization, and it probably won’t be the last. And while its ‘bi-partisan’ nature is certainly attractive, it doesn’t make legalization anymore than a costly amnesty.”
However, had anyone from Heritage actually attended last week’s panel event at CFR, they might have heard Mack McLarty specifically point out the difference between “earned legalization,” and “amnesty.” The panel affirmed that anyone who confuses the two terms needs “a course in remedial English.”
Obviously, the Heritage Foundation didn’t even read the report which explicitly states:
“Language matters a great deal in the debate over immigration, but it matters here particularly…By any reasonable definition, however, the use of the term amnesty to describe the proposed reforms was a gross misstatement. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines amnesty as the ‘act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals.’”
CFR is careful to distinguish the difference between amnesty and “earned” legalization which would require undocumented immigrants to pay substantial fines, pass criminal and national security checks, demonstrate English competency, and prove a long period of gainful employment. CFR acknowledged the failure of the 1986 legalization program, but also emphasized the need for any successful legalization plan to be accompanied by more realistic immigration quotas and stringent enforcement measures which were not part of the 1986 bill.
The Heritage Foundation believes that rather than implement a legalization program, the U.S. should “rely on law enforcement and market forces to stop undocumented labor.” If only it were that easy. Dragging local police into immigration enforcement has created a climate of racial profiling and community insecurity. The deputization of immigration law has distracted police from protecting their communities and has contributed to an increase in violent crime rates and budget deficits in many cities and counties. The 287g program which allows state and local police agencies to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration laws cost taxpayers approximately $1.1 billion in its first year alone. The “market forces” the Heritage Foundation recommends are backed by error-ridden employee verification programs that could also lead to the accidental unemployment of 600,000 or more American workers.
Legalization supporters argue that it would increase government revenues and boost the national economy by bringing more workers and consumers into the tax system. Had the 2007 immigration reform bill which included a legalization program been implemented, it would have generated it would have generated $48 billion in new revenue from 2008-2017.
11 Responses to “Heritage Foundation Misdefines ‘Amnesty’ When Slamming Council On Foreign Relations Report”
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Ummm most words have more than one definition. Here is the second definition offered by Dictionary.com:
“2. Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as a whole.”
Any “path to legalization”, or whatever Orwellian phrase you cook up, will necessarily entail forgiving those illegally here now for their past illegal entry. There is no way around it. All such plans are correctly identified as “amnesty” no matter what other hoops you make people jump through.
July 14th, 2009 at 3:15 pmWe should ask the linguists over at the Heritage Foundation what part of “earned legalization” they don’t understand.
July 14th, 2009 at 4:36 pmIs that the Heritage Foundation’s “fancy term” for doing nothing? While its ‘simplistic’ nature is certainly attractive, it doesn’t make continuing failed policies any less costly.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:09 pm@Conn Carroll
You mean like we ‘forgive’ people with parking tickets after they pay their ticket? If so the parking dept has given me amnesty a couple times already.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:12 pmA “law enforcement only” approach to immigration is what we currently have, not allowing those that want to work hard and contribute to this country to migrate here legally, and it is not working. That’s why we need immigration reform.
I feel like the Heritage Foundation might only be a step above these people.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:25 pmA (CFR) Council of foreign relations document calls for creating a “North American preference” so that employers can recruit low-paid workers from anywhere in North America. No longer will illegal aliens have to be smuggled across the border; employers can openly recruit foreigners willing to work for a fraction of U.S. wages. So it’s no wonder CFR is pushing for the Obama administration to almost immediately enact Immigration Reform. To understand what the CFR is up to the reader to–GOOGLE IT– and you will uncover the the devious Bush agreement with Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin on March 23, 2005. The three adopted the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America” and assigned “working groups” to fill in the details. It is an ominous agenda to remove any restrictions on moving foreign labor between the 3 nations. Obviously is the start to rescind any laws relating to immigration enforcement, including a path to citizenship for the 13 to 20 plus million illegal workers and families already here–better known as BLANKET AMNESTY. Then millions more will try to settle in our country?
We are continuously lied to about the numbers and costs for these unfortunates, that is a massive strain on Americans economy and the taxpayer who foots the bill. You can believe what our government states or you can surf the net, or search out The Heritage Foundation that has calculated the AMNESTY will cost $2.5 TRILLION dollars out of your pocket. My feelings are that the unceasing bombardment of public anger on our–PUBLIC SERVANTS–elected politicians, has caused them to re-think E-Verify. But obviously the Libertarian open border, free traders that is headed by US Chamber of Commerce has used their money and influence, so the comics in Washington dropped the NO-MATCH LETTER. In other words Every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) informs thousands of employers via a “no-match” letter that certain employees’ names and corresponding Social Security numbers provided on Forms W-2 do not match SSA’s records. Which obviously uncovers illegal labor in the workplace.
For many decades we have been subjected to higher taxes to educate the children of foreigners, approve free health care, wick, food stamps, low income housing and many more handouts, that are undisclosed. The left wing extremists, business elitists have used the courts, trying to undermine E-Verify. These entities however, intentionally failed to convey that by immediately going to the Social Security office, the discrepancies can be quickly corrected. Whereas illegal workers are not going to step foot into this federal building. Since the beginning of the Democratic reign of the leadership in Washington, have almost killed E-Verify, part of the Save Act, weakened the local police detainment (287(g) law, the Real ID Act. KEEP UP THE RIGOROUS BOMBARDMENT ON WASHINGTON SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN 202-224-3121. Cannot emphasize the consequences for cheap labor, which will lead to irreversible–OVERPOPULATION. Find out the facts on the Internet, not what our government or newspapers dubiously feed us? Learn the truth also at NUMBERSUSA, CAPSWEB & AMERICANPATROL.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:37 pmI’m not a fan of CFR in general, and I’m sure they have dubious reasons for supporting immigration reform – namely, the influx of legal non-unionized low wage workers.
However, I agree wholeheartedly with the differentiation between amnesty and earned legalization. It seems that any plan that would provide a path of legal status for teh nation’s undocumented is branded as amnesty by opponents of immigration reform. They love to turn the debate back to the question of laws, just like the first commenter on this thread did.
To those people, I ask:
July 15th, 2009 at 8:59 amWhat about LEGAL immigration don’t you understand?
Ok for the last time people: IMMIGRATION REFORM IS NOT AMNESTY!!! Immigration reform beneficiaries would have to pay fines, be fluent in English, and have no criminal record! Since I already know you will fire back with your oh so tired response “coming here illegally constitutues a criminal record”. No it is not! It is merely an attempt for a better life that was taken away from us many years ago. Stop trying to say we are a burden and handout freeloaders as Brittancus argues…if anything this country is rich BECAUSE of immigrants! It is an ignorant assumption to say that immigrants come and take handouts such as welfare, wic, healthcare, etc. I interned for a while at the social services office and the numbers I saw of American Citizens requesting welfare benefits was astonishing. On the other hand, my family which is composed of immigrant hard workers, has NEVER requested any of those services or as you like to call them “hand outs”. Stop making ignorant remarks…it’s like they say…”don’t bite the hand that feeds you!”
July 21st, 2009 at 11:59 amCome on. So we continue the dysfunctional raid system no matter how much it costs us. These undocs …work. They demonstrate highcharacter what has Gingrich ever done but grandstand for one political party and cheat on his cancerous wife
July 21st, 2009 at 4:15 pmLots of folks throw bombs at proposals like legalization, but don’t have an answer for the question: “So, what would you do about 12,000,000 immigrants in the country illegally?”
What we are doing doesn’t work, mass expulsion is silly on its face, and waiting out 12,000,000 people to go back to other countries is essentially the same as doing nothing.
Paying fines, making amends, and getting into the tax system is a win for all of us across the board and the type of enforcement that will actually work.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:39 pmEarned legalization is a great idea. This is what the DREAM Act aims to do. Earned legalization will greatly benefit this country and the beneficiaries. With many government programs losing funding, more tax money is needed. This can be done by raising taxes or getting more people into the system. I’m sure that Americans do not want the former. Not only will earned legalization bring in tax money, it will also add to innovation, which has been severely lacking in the USA. Bill Gates and many other CEOs have been pressing the government to increase the skilled work force. The current system is failing the country. USA was built on being adaptable to changing times. It is now time to fix the immigration system. The DREAM Act and earned legalization are the first steps.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:05 pm