Once again, today, I had someone try to tell me that the President’s proposal to grant amnesty to the millions of criminal aliens here in America is actually NOT amnesty.
According to the latest White House propaganda sheet on the Bush/Kennedy package, they make the following case as to why the proposal is not amnesty:
This Proposal Is Not Amnesty Because Illegal Workers Must Acknowledge That They Broke The Law, Pay A $1,000 Fine, And Undergo Criminal Background Checks To Obtain A Z Visa. To apply for a green card at a date years into the future, Z visa workers must wait in line behind those who applied lawfully, pay an additional $4,000 fine, complete accelerated English and civics requirements, and compete in the merit system based on the skills and attributes they will bring to the United States.
Apparently the folks at the White House aren’t familiar with the term proportional justice, which essential says, "Let the punishment fit the crime."
It would seem that the President and supporters of this bill equate criminal entry/occupancy of the United States equate illegal immigration as being on part with an infraction, which in a level of offense here in California where you can receive a fine and you get no jail time. Classic examples of an infraction here would be driving your car with an expired registration or a speeding ticket.
If President George W. Bush wants to say "look, I don’t think sneaking into America is that big a deal" — why doesn’t he just say so. Oh, wait, I think that this legislation says it for him.