David Frum noted in The Atlantic last week, the actions taken by Reagan and Bush can hardly be compared to the one Obama announced Friday. “Reagan and Bush acted in conjunction with Congress and in furtherance of a congressional purpose.” Frum writes. “In 1986, Congress passed a full-blown amnesty, the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, conferring residency rights on some 3 million people.” In other words, Ronald Reagan signed a statute that had already been debated and passed by Congress, where as Obama is set to write and enact a law by himself. Frum also notes that “Reagan and Bush legalized much smaller numbers of people.” Only about 50,000 people ultimately gained legal status this way, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data as reviewed and re-reviewed by Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies. Given that Obama intends for some 5 million to gain legal status, it is misleading at best to compare the latest amnesty order to the actions of previous presidents. Frum also notes that the previous amnesties did not work and were “riddled with fraud” and led to an increase in illegal immigration. “The argument that ‘Reagan and Bush did it,’ is essentially an argument that future generations should not learn from the errors of previous generations.” Frum concludes, adding that “With the advantage of experience, it is clear that their decisions did not produce the desired result, and actually greatly worsened the problem they sought to solve. Let’s not repeat their mistake.”
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:30:22 +0000
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