Bush amnesty/nonamnesty proposal still a priority.

ITEM: "Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Tom Ridge, the secretary of homeland security, assured Mexican officials on Tuesday [November 9] that President Bush would pursue a temporary worker program that could free millions of migrants living illegally in the United States from legal limbo," the New York Times reported on November 10.

ITEM: Reuters reported on November 9 that "Powell said Congress may now be more favorable to the planned temporary workers' program." The news service quoted Powell as saying the night before, on his trip to Mexico City: "Now that the campaign is behind us and 9/11 is also three years behind us and we have done a lot with respect to securing our borders ... I sense that there could be a more favorable environment."

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: THE NEW AMERICAN has repeatedly stated that the Bush administration intends to push through an amnesty program for illegal aliens--without identifying the program as an amnesty. We also warned that amnesty would be part of a broader plan to effectively abolish our borders and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while stalling the administration's agenda, would not cause the administration to reverse course.

In an "Insider Report" story entitled "Bush Amnesty Looms for Illegal Aliens," published in the September 24, 2001 issue of THE NEW AMERICAN, we noted: "The Bush administration has been torturing the English language in an effort to craft a new amnesty for millions of illegal aliens without saying the dread word: 'amnesty.' Some newly devised euphemisms include 'regularization,' 'legalization,' 'permanent status,' and 'earned adjustment.' President Bush has repeatedly dodged the amnesty issue, refusing to use the term. Still, when recently pressed on the issue, he insisted that his soon-to-be-revealed immigration policy vis-a-vis Mexico will not include a 'blanket amnesty.'"

In the next issue of TNA, we published a cover story entitled "Abolishing Our Borders," wherein we warned: "Our nation's political Establishment seeks to eradicate the borders that separate Canada, Mexico, and the United States as part of a larger design to create a regional political and economic bloc duplicating the European Union. And the administration of George W. Bush is vigorously promoting this design."

The 9/11 terrorist attacks understandably put impetus behind the grass-roots demand to plug our porous borders, but little was actually done to solve the problem. As we reported in our July 15, 2002 issue: "In response to the outrage over revelations that many of the 9-11 terrorists easily traveled to and from the U.S., illegally obtained welfare and other benefits, and repeatedly violated their visas, even though some of them were on 'watch' lists, the administration has tightened up the visa and immigration process. It is still far from adequate, however, and our borders continue to leak like sieves.... Incredibly, the administration continues to support granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens already inside the U.S."

In our October 6, 2003 issue, we reminded readers: "On September 6, 2001, just a few days prior to 9-11, the U.S. and Mexico issued a joint statement summarizing discussions between President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox. According to the statement, 'Both [presidents] stressed their commitment to continue our discussions, instructing the high-level working group to reach mutually satisfactory results on border safety, a temporary worker program and the status of undocumented Mexicans in the United States.' The subsequent 9-11 attacks forced a widely expected amnesty program for illegal Mexican immigrants to be indefinitely postponed." But those attacks did not cause the expected amnesty program to be abandoned, as should have been the case.

On January 7, 2004, President Bush announced his so-called "new temporary worker program that will match willing foreign workers with willing American employers, when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs." He continued: "This program will offer legal status, as temporary workers, to the millions of undocumented men and women now employed in the United States, and to those in foreign countries who seek to participate in the program and have been offered employment here." Not surprisingly, he not only avoided identifying this proposal as an amnesty program but said that "I oppose amnesty." Yet even the liberal New York Times opined that Bush's proposal "effectively amounts to an amnesty program for illegal immigrants with jobs in the United States."

Just before Mr. Bush announced his nonamnesty/amnesty proposal, in our issue with a cover date of January 12, THE NEW AMERICAN forecast: "Get ready for a battle royale to save our borders. The Bush administration and pro-immigration invasion Democrats and Republicans in Congress are planning a big move this year to give amnesty to millions of illegal aliens now residing in the United States.... [T]he plan is back, along with a multitude of connected initiatives to deluge the U.S. with waves of legal immigrants, 'refugees,' 'temporary workers' and your standard variety of illegal alien border jumpers."

Fortunately, the political realities prevented the Bush administration from moving ahead as it would have liked. But according to Colin Powell, the administration may now have "a more favorable environment." Let us hope that an informed and aroused citizenry will prove him wrong!

For additional Powell quotes about "migration" issues, see page 27.