The New York Times
May 23, 2006
By RACHELL L. SWARNS
WASHINGTON, May 22 — Day in and day out, as the immigration debate boils, the halls of Congress are haunted by the specter of Senate Bill 1200, the failed amnesty legislation of 1986.
President Ronald Reagan signed that bill into law with great fanfare amid promises that it would grant legal status to illegal immigrants, crack down on employers who hired illegal workers and secure the border once and for all. Instead, fraudulent applications tainted the process, many employers continued their illicit hiring practices, and illegal immigration surged. …
Was the Reagan signed bill on illegal immigration OK for Arizona throughout the twenty-some-odd years of neocon rule of America? If Arizona was quiet about the illegal immigration bill all during the time that the neocons ruled, does it now look like “political opportunity”is driving Arizona’s actions against illegal immigration?
The Reagan signed bill on illegal immigration has been called a failure but most of what the neocons “accomplished” could be placed in that category.
Could political opportunity be the reason why Arizona is now making noise over a bill that was signed off on twenty-some-odd years ago by President Ronald Reagan. Why was Arizona quiet for twenty-some-odd years?
Could this be a reminder of the neocons view of the filibuster? How the neocons felt about the filibuster depended on where their political opportunities lay. They could either use or kill the filibuster. It just depended upon where the political opportunities lay. If the neocons were in the majority, they had one view of the filibuster. In the minority, they had a different view of the filibuster. It just depended on where their political opportunities lay.
Immigration seems to be in the same category. When the neocons were in power, there was one “take” on illegal immigration. But after they lost power, there is a different “take” on illegal immigration. Whatever serves the political cause?
Strange.
Tags: 1986, amnesty legislation, illegal immigration, reagan
