The Post Millennial reports that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to pursue an immigration bill that would guarantee citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.
Schumer made the remarks during an appearance on Morning Joe on MSNOW, where he was asked what kind of immigration agreement he hopes to advance in the Senate. He pointed to a 2013 “bipartisan” framework that had the support of then-Senator John McCain as a model.
Schumer said that he would back a similar bill that “toughens up the border” while also providing a “path to citizenship” for “11 million people who are here.” He added that such a bill would also allow high-tech workers needed by industries to enter the country.
We've been through this before. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, signed by President Reagan, granted legal status to an estimated 3 million illegal aliens who had lived in the U.S. continuously since Jan. 1, 1982. As part of the deal for obtaining an amnesty, Democrats promised to increase border security and crack down on illegal immigration and the employers that hire them. The border security never materialized and the "crackdown" on employers was so watered down to be meaningless. As to its effectiveness, the Wikipedia entry states: "Despite the passage of the act, the population of undocumented immigrants rose from 5 million in 1986 to 11.1 million in 2013."
I seem to remember that the IRCA's 3 million illegals turned out to be more like 10 million amnestied illegals. So, it is reasonable to expect that Schumer's amnesty would benefit in excess of 30 million illegals.
ReplyDeleteThat would be on the low end.
Delete