The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

OUR VIEW

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:21 PM

OUR VIEW: Amidst The Blank Storm, There Was A Real Debate This Week About DACA And Border Security

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which defers deportation for about 700,000 illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, was the key topic of intense negotiations between the President and members of Congress this week when things got ugly and I mean ugly fast!
Late Thursday, President Trump supposedly said, "what are we doing bringing people in from these S#$#hole nations?" referring mainly to the nation of Haiti and some other African nations that are not on the top ten places to visit in your lifetime in travel magazines.

Oh, the "outrage" that ensued.

After President Trump denied saying those exact words, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Arizona's Jeff Flake, two outstanding Trump-haters, quickly came out saying that was exactly what Trump said in insinuating as they always do, President Trump is racist.

Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia both claim that President Trump never said such. Guess you can decide who you believe.

Before I get to the DACA issue, I do want to briefly talk about Haiti here. We will write on Haiti more in a separate editorial soon.

Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States Paul Altidor issued some strong words for President Trump on Thursday night but did the ambassador even reach out to the White House to see if the report in the Washington Post was correct? No, he didn't.

Isn’t that what ambassadors do? At least when they aren’t covering up for millions of dollars in United States aid that likely is sitting in some offshore Clinton Foundation bank account.

Here is the tweet from Journalist Yamiche Alcindo:

@Yamiche
Ambassador Paul Altidor also said Haiti’s embassy in DC has heard from many US citizens of Haitian ancestry who are demanding an apology. He called President Trump’s comments an “assault” on Haitian people and the country’s history.

Let me tell you what was the real "assault" on Haiti's people and the country's history while reminding these two self-righteous pompous politicians, especially the Democrat Durbin, whose first name adequately describes his character. It was their Democratic Party's ring leaders, Bill and Hillary Clinton who raped and fleeced this same nation Durbin and others are so aghast about that President Trump seemed to describe in not so glowing terms.

President Trump wasn't attacking the people of these nations, he was slamming the corrupt politicians, like Altidor, who have allowed Haiti to become a swamp of poverty, despair, voodoo, and death.

There has never been a whimper from liberals or Durbin and his crew about that. When President

Trump acts like President Trump and makes a few rough comments, the mainstream media fakes tears, Congressmen say Trump is head of the KKK, and the world is coming to an end. Give me a break.

Let me remind the reader that in January 2015 a group of Haitians surrounded the New York offices of the Clinton Foundation chanting slogans, accusing Bill and Hillary Clinton of having robbed them of “billions of dollars.”

Two months later, the Haitians were at it again, accusing the Clintons of duplicity, malfeasance, and theft. And in May 2015, they were back, this time outside New York’s Cipriani, where Bill Clinton received an award and collected a $500,000 check for his foundation. “Clinton, where’s the money?” the Haitian signs read. “In whose pockets?”

Now we are being lectured by officials in countries where we’ve sent countless billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars and supplies in aid.

We have thousands on hungry children in this country too. They need clothes and running water as well. And doctors. Dentists. See Detroit. See Camden. See Newark. See Houston. See small towns you’ve never even knew existed.

They could have easily used the $700 million the U.S. shipped to Haiti in cash after the 2010 earthquake. And that doesn’t include the untold millions Americans donated from their own pockets. Or the supplies we piped into Haiti.

That totaled over $13 BILLION in earthquake aid.

Yet much of that money simply vanished. The kids in Haiti are still malnourished and living in squalor.

And we're upset that President Trump called Haiti a "shit hole." While he could have been more eloquent about it, what he said was right when describing the Caribbean nation's corrupt leadership as well as the basic message he was trying to convey about immigration from nations like Haiti.

Back to the DACA discussion. While it looked like early on this week the President may cave to amnesty loving politicians on both sides, he came out Friday AM slamming the supposed “DACA deal,” which a group of Senators were hammering out with the goal of extending protection for young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.

“The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressman was a big step backwards. Wall was not properly funded, Chain & Lottery were made worse, and the USA would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly,” Trump tweeted Friday.

"I want a merit based system of immigration and people who will help take our country to the next level. I want safety and security for our people. I want to stop the massive inflow of drugs." Sounds logical to me.

According to reports, the president wants to begin phasing out the existing DACA program in March – though a federal judge this week temporarily blocked ending the program while a lawsuit is pending. The Trump administration is challenging that order. But the possible end to the program in coming weeks has driven Democrats to seek legislation to change the law to allow DACA recipients to stay in America.

During an interview with Ann Vandersteel of "Your Voice America" we discussed this issue and both agreed we cannot exchange compassion for legality. Our country is filled with generous people. Each year we let over 1 million people legally immigrate to our country. More come legally for school and work.

But at the same time, hundreds of thousands enter our country illegally by crossing our southern border.

During the 2016 election season, President Trump committed to building a wall along our southern border to stem the tide of illegal border crossings with its attendant problems. In contrast, Democrats promised to grant legal status to DACA recipients – and urged even broader changes to immigration laws leading to amnesty for the estimated 11 million illegal aliens in our country today. In other words, 11 million new Democratic voters.

Before we start granting ANY amnesty to ANYONE, we need to enforce our internal immigration laws and remove the incentives to enter and stay in America illegally. Furthermore, before Congress passes any legislation on DACA or a broader amnesty bill for those who are in the United States illegally, we must fund, start, and complete building of the border wall.
The American people elected Donald Trump as president and Republican majorities in the House and Senate to do just that.

In 1986 under the late great President Ronald Reagan, amnesty was granted to 3 million illegal aliens. We were promised secure borders, strong enforcement, and a host of other immigration reforms in exchange for what was billed as a one-time amnesty program. The amnesty was quickly given – but we have been waiting for more than 30 years for the other promises to be delivered. This was probably one of the few low points of the Reagan Presidency. This cannot be repeated under the Trump Presidency or as Michelle Malkin said, "there will be hell to pay."

All DACA does is delay the appropriate legal action against people who are in America illegally.

According to research and data, DACA has a plethora of problems, and most recipients aren’t the valedictorians that the media would like the public to believe. Pro-DACA sources admit that more than 20 percent of self-described DACA recipients have already dropped out of school.

Insiders warn that there is a severe lack of vetting within the program. Further, a person receiving DACA benefits can be a criminal, committing up to two crimes without being disqualified, and can be up to age 36 when applying!

DACA distracts the public and fails to meet the objectives the American people expressed support for in the voting booth.

Moreover, permanent DACA status does not satisfy the DACA recipients I have talked to. Why? Because it is, ostensibly, only a benefit for these illegal aliens and is not citizenship.

Instead, DACA recipients want a pathway to citizenship – full amnesty – and all the benefits that come along with it for themselves, their parents (who brought them here illegally in the first place), and the entire group of people in the “chain migration” scheme – a long list of extended family members, their spouses and children.

As a result, the movement to provide a “fix” for DACA recipients has morphed into the passage of the clean DREAM Act – a plan to allow millions of illegal aliens to remain in the United States. DACA recipients have been dubbed Dreamers.

Even if Congress extends or makes permanent the DACA program, Democrats and Dreamers won’t rest until they achieve full amnesty with passage of the DREAM Act. They want illegal aliens to move ahead of the millions of people have been waiting to enter the country legally or who have been here legally for many years on temporary visas.

This is an insult to the millions who have become naturalized American citizens and come into this nation legally. Most have taken 10 to 12 years. They did it the right way. Is it humane to reward people who broke the law over those who have waited years and followed all the rules?

Extending DACA or passing a larger amnesty bill before we build the promised border wall, before we take other actions to improve border security, before we beef up internal enforcement of our immigration laws, and before we remove the incentives to come and stay in America illegally would be a slap in the face of millions. It would also be a slap in the face of the thousands killed by illegal aliens such as Kate Steinle.

President Trump has said it would only take a year to complete the wall, though others estimate it would take longer. It dosen’t matter if it takes five. There can be no amnesty of ANY kind before security measures are agreed upon by those wanting shelter for these "dreamers."
You want the America "dream?" Leave and come back in legally. Then we will celebrate you a true dreamer. Until then, you're just an illegal alien lawbreaker that we will treat with compassion, but not recognize you as a citizen. What a mess.
 

Christopher McDonald, Publisher, Editor in Charge

Great Smoky Mountain Journal