Barr starts his op-ed with the tired old "nation of immigrants" line, There are bad proposals, but good ones too. Here are some excerpts:
America is a nation of immigrants, but the process of assimilation has broken down. Although immigration provides economic benefits, it also affects America´s cultural and national identity. Immigration reform must begin with securing the border. Our primary obligation is to protect American citizens.It's good Barr is talking about the country's cultural and national identity. However, I wish someone would educate him about economic problems caused by mass immigration.
..the U.S. government has lost control of its borders.Right, but look what he says after that:
While too many people come illegally, we accept too few legal immigrants.No we don't Bob. We should reduce legal immigration.
On the good side though, Barr knows about Plyer v. Doe:
...a mistaken 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyer v. Doe held that states and localities must pay to school the children of illegal residents. Those who drafted the 14th Amendment would have been astonished by this conclusion.And, Barr knows about the emergency room problem:
Federal law requires hospitals to provide care irrespective of ability to pay, so emergency rooms across the American southwest are filled with Mexican citizens. Pregnant women come to have their children born in American hospitals. Both California and Texas spend substantially more than $1 billion a year to treat illegal aliens.Barr is open to plugging the anchor baby loophole, which absolutely must be done as soon as possible:
We must reconsider birthright citizenship. The result of another poor interpretation of the 14th Amendment, citizenship is conferred upon anyone born in the U.S., even if here illegally. This peculiar policy demands no connection or commitment to America in exchange for citizenship. Congress should address the issue, though a constitutional change might be necessary. Americans should choose upon whom they want to confer citizenship, rather than have the choice determined by an accident of birth.Also, Barr favors Official English:
Another imperative is to strengthen the forces of assimilation. For instance, English should be America´s official language. It is not the government´s business what people speak at home. But government business should be transacted English. Congress should scrap bilingual ballots. American citizens should learn enough English to vote. A common language is an important national foundation.That's good, but not this part:
While sharply reducing the number of people who enter the U.S. illegally, we should expand legal immigration, especially of those who would contribute the most to America.No Bob no, we shouldn't expand legal immigration . But this part is real good:
Finally, there should be no amnesty.But then there's this part:
While there should be no intrusive round-up of illegal immigrants, anyone hoping to get a green card or citizenship should have to register and get in line with everyone else.So what's wrong with "intrusive" round-ups of illegal aliens?
To summarize, Bob Barr has some some good proposals and some bad ones. You might consider writing the candidate here to educate him further.
