Pirate's Cove

Morning, y’all, Jebediah here, and I just gotta say, who knew shamnesty would get this much opposition?

(Washington Post) Democratic leaders across the country say their town hall meetings found voters angry over the Iraq war, while Republicans face wrath from those who think the immigration plan amounts to amnesty. However, Republican campaign staffers point out that Democrats are far from united on immigration — when the bill died this month, more Senate Democrats voted to block it than Republicans voted to advance it. 

"There are a certain number of people here in this country who have put down roots because of the lax immigration laws over the past 20 years and deserve a path," Sen. James H. Webb Jr. of Virginia told CNN. "But this idea of saying every single person who was here as of the end of last year should be accorded … legalization, is not in the concept of [the] American sense of fairness." 

Mr. Webb was one of the Democrats blocking the bill, and he said on CNN earlier this month that he is trying to "bring reason into the process."

There are many, many, of these junior Democrat Senators and Representatives who are against the shamnesty bill. They get what it is about

"Congress needs to prove to the American people that it can control the borders, and that comes with addressing border security first and only until that trust can be restored," said Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas) spokeswoman Shanan Guinn. "Until you take care of that problem, talking about anything else is not going to satisfy rebuilding that trust."

Howie "I have a scream" Dean disagrees

A fair bill would have "a path to legalization for hardworking immigrants who are here … willing to pay taxes and obey the law, so that they can eventually earn the rights and privileges of citizenship," he said.

Yup, like all those who broke the law in coming to the USA. They sure seem willing to obey the law. Perhaps Dean can explain that to the family of George Smith, killed by an illegal alien, who came across the border illegally three separate times.

Switching over to the Washington Post, we get a different perspective from those who attempt to do it the right way

The Amtrak trains arrived at Union Station yesterday afternoon, and out streamed an Iraqi refugee, a former circus performer from Chile, a nurse’s assistant from Haiti and nearly 100 others at the last stop of a cross-country tour to press for new immigration laws.

Along the way, the travelers — from nations on nearly every continent — held rallies to tell their stories of run-ins and hassles with the U.S. immigration system and about their hope that change would come soon.

There is no doubt that the immigration system is a nightmare, and needs to be redone, particularly when it comes to tracking those with visa’s, of whom 1/3 overstay them, as well as bringing those in the immediate family over. And legal immigrants are muy welcome to our wonderful country. They only thing we ask is that they make the attempt to learn English and become part of our great country, not just people who reside here but want to be separate.

Dreams Across America may have more of a focus on the legal immigration system, but it indirectly highlights the fact that the shamnesty bill will jump people who broke our laws ahead of those that were trying to do it the right way.

As a sidebar to the WP, it doesn’t help the issue of legal immigration problems when you end the story discussing illegal immigrants escaping capture.