The Ted Kennedy Memorial Immigration Act?
05/23/2008
A+
|
a-
Print Friendly and PDF
I would not be surprised if some patriotic immigration reformers privately feel some schadenfreude over Ted Kennedy’s terminal cancer. Kennedy, of course, was the chief sponsor of the 1965 Immigration Act where he falsely promised, ”First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same… Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.” In recent years, he has been one of the loudest and most prominent amnesty advocates.

I do not wish any harm to anyone due to their politics, but there is a more practical reason why we should not be happy about Kennedy’s turn for the worse. The 1965 Immigration Act was first introduced by John F. Kennedy in the summer of 1963. After his assassination, the bill was pushed as a memorial to the slain president. In the foreword to the 1964 edition of JFK's book A Nation of Immigrants, Robert Kennedy wrote, ”I know of no cause which President Kennedy championed more warmly than the improvement of our immigration policies.” This helped mute much opposition to the Bill and it was passed with little debate.

With the surviving Kennedy brother now faced with an impending natural death, I would not be surprised if we are faced with two possible scenarios. The first would be an ailing Kennedy pressing to get his long sought after ”immigration reform” before his passing.

The other would be if he dies and there’s  a call to pass amnesty as a form of memorial to the late Senator, just as there was with his brother and the 1965 Immigration Act. For this reason, I hope for two miracles: for Teddy to survive cancer and a quick, painful, and permanent death for his amnesty.

Print Friendly and PDF