Four Words to Watch in the Immigration Debate – The Foundry
Amy Payne June 7, 2013 at 7:16 am
The Senate will begin debate on the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal next week. Here are four words to watch out for as the Senators make their case—and warnings about what they might mean.
1. COST “Cost” is one word that should come up in the immigration debate, because the Gang of Eight’s amnesty proposal has a cost that is simply too high for Americans to bear. Heritage analysis found that amnesty would cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. Amnesty means that illegal immigrants become legal—and become eligible for Obamacare benefits, Social Security, welfare, and Medicare. But they won’t pay enough into the system in taxes to cover the cost of all these benefits, meaning the rest of the taxpayers will have to bear the burden. This simply isn’t fair to hard-working Americans.
2. BORDER Despite claims of security—and talk of amending the bill—the Gang of Eight immigration bill doesn’t secure the border. Instead, it “delivers nothing new—other than the promise of spending a lot more money and running up our debt.” As James Carafano, Heritage’s E. W. Richardson Fellow, explains: “Amnesty immediately creates an incentive for illegal border crossings and overstays. Thus, the bill’s strategy would drive up the cost of securing the border.”
3. AMNESTY Heritage President Jim DeMint has said that it’s a false choice for people to say that amnesty is necessary to immigration reform. Amnesty encourages more illegal immigration, and that is not what immigration reform is supposed to do. Former Attorney General Ed Meese, Heritage’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus, reminds us that America has tried this before, and it didn’t work:
Today they call it a “roadmap to citizenship.” Ronald Reagan called it “amnesty.” And he was right. The 1986 reform did not solve our immigration problem—in fact, the population of illegal immigrants has nearly quadrupled since that “comprehensive” bill.
4. “COMPREHENSIVE” Beware the word “comprehensive.” As Meese notes above, the amnesty of 1986 was also called a “comprehensive” approach to immigration reform. It doesn’t work, and it’s not what we need. We need a separate, step-by-step approach to immigration reform. An approach that works—that the American people can trust—would start with reforming the legal immigration system and enforcing the security measures that are supposed to be in place.
Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.
Quick Hit: Jose Aldana, an immigrant who came to the United States in 1997 and is still working to become a citizen, explains why he opposes the Gang of Eight amnesty bill.
Morning Reading: Acts 4.13-22 NLT – can’t stop telling
Reading: Acts 4.13-22 NLT
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred among themselves.
“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Give me the boldness and steadfastness of Peter and John who, under threat of the authorities, remained obedient to God. Holy Spirit – Give me the words to speak truth to power in a way that is clear and unequivocal . Heavenly Father – Work your wonders in me and through me… that the world may know Jesus is Lord. Amen.
Hymn: “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart” – Rufus H. McDaniel (1914)
D-Day: June 6, 1944
Morning Reading: Acts 4.5-12 NLT – no other name
Reading: Acts 4:5-12 NLT
The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.
They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed?
“Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.
“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’
“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – You alone have the power to heal… you alone have the power to save. You alone are the way, the truth, and the life…. no one comes to the Father except through you. May the whole world know that you are Lord. To you be all honor, glory, wisdom, power, riches and strength. Amen.
Spiritual Song: “There Is No Other Name” – Robin Mark
Morning Reading: Acts 4.1-4 NLT – growing church
Reading: Acts 4:1-4 NLT
While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees.
Rossi, inaugurated on Friday the massive new Roman Catholic church that will hold about 20,000 worshippers when complete. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.
They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.
But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children.
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Fill your church with your Spirit. Guide and direct your servants to seek and save those who are lost. Baptize them into your family and make them spirit and truth worshipers. Teach and train them to become more like you and send them out to tell others of your mercy and grace. And may you receive all the glory. Amen.
Hymn: “We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations” – H. Ernest Nichol (1896)
The Peanut Gallery 