"The [immigration] system is broken"

Summary (posts follow):

A popular and misleading talking point from supporters of comprehensive immigration reform goes something like this quote from Barack Obama:

"We have a broken immigration system. Nobody denies it."

That's misleading because the problem isn't with our rules and laws so much as the fact that they aren't enforced. There wouldn't be a problem with illegal immigration if politicians would simply allow our laws to be enforced. If you consider "system" to including not just our laws but the enforcement of those laws, then the statement isn't misleading. However, since it's almost always said in the context of supporting changes to those laws, it is misleading.

Last modified Aug 10, 2009

Discussed in (click each link for the full post):

Doug Hoffman might be weak on immigration; do his supporters know he might cost them money? - 10/28/2009

... answer is the standard (and false) system is broken line used by hacks from San Diego to Lake Champlain; see the link for more. The second sentence is a false choice: few people are calling to "stop all immigration", and even those who are only want a moratorium and not a permanent cessation. The final sentence is almost assuredly code for some sort of guest workers program and probably...

Immigration Policy Ctr: U.S. lost Olympic Games bid due to "anti-visitor policy", "broken immigration system" - 10/02/2009

... to Chicago is absurd. 2. The system is broken canard and the rest aren't usually used for issues relating to tourism but for actual immigrants (and illegal aliens); the IPC is repurposing it for their argument (such as it is) or just has it as a macro. UPDATE: This story has also spread to other supporters of massive/illegal immigration, and it appears to have started at least in the MSM wit...

Obama puts off immigration "reform" until 2010 at SPP summit - 8/10/2009

Barack Obama is continuing a proud George W Bush tradition: holding a "North American Leaders Summit" with the leaders of Mexico and Canada as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP.gov) effort. In a Feb. 2008 editorial that apparently no one else read, Obama promised to continue that Bush effort. And, in a move that his allies in far-left and racial power groups probably w...

Michael Dukakis mindlessly spouts massive immigration talking points (Michael Bendetson) - 5/24/2009

Remember Michael Dukakis? You know, former Massachusetts governor? The tank photo you see to the right? Ran for president in 1988? In case no one still remembers, raid a game of Trivial Pursuit, he's probably in there somewhere. Anyway, university student Michael Bendetson [1] has scored an interview with him and printed it at the Huffington Post [2]. And, this momentous event allows us to in...

Obama will bring back amnesty this fall (immigration "reform"). What you can do about it. - 4/08/2009

... acknowledged to be broken"; see system is broken for other examples of that being used. The answer to both of those stock talking points is the same: amnesty won't fix the problems, which boil down to politicians being too corrupt to simply enforce our current, highly-enforceable laws. And, consider this incredibly lame talking point: Administration officials said that Mr. Obama's ...

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand immigration stance: tough or just for show? - 1/23/2009

... comments follows: Our immigration system is broken and hard-working Americans often bear the brunt of the federal government’s failure to secure our borders and provide adequate protections for the American worker and the shrinking American Middle Class. I believe the first step to fixing our immigration system is to stop the flow of illegal immigration. This can be accomplished by securing th...

Mexico's Calderon meets Obama, proposes "strategic alliance"; immigration; NAFTA - 1/12/2009

... they've been trotting out "the system is broken" for years. And, like Bush, Obama is vilifying those who support our laws by falsely accusing most them of vilifying people. And, the last line is simply an indication that they would prefer mass legal "migration", even if - as the millions of illegal aliens in the U.S. show - they'll take the illegal variety if they ca...

David Leonhardt/New York Times: illegal immigration supporting hack - 5/30/2007

... this country's immigration system is broken. The bottom line here is the bottom line: some people profit from illegal immigration, either monetarily or through obtaining political power. And, they're quite willing to defend their bottom line through lies and smears. More to come, including Dobbs' response and a list of those who helped retransmit Leonhardt's smears. UPDATE: Do...

Senate immigration amnesty bill: the supporters - 5/21/2007

... point: Everyone agrees that the system is broken; in fact, that's about the only agreement to be found. * In the subbasement, Dafydd ab Hugh shows how little he knows about this issue and continues to support some form of "regularization" (the same word the Mexican government uses) [3] UPDATE: NAU apologist Michael Medved comes out in favor of it (link): the bi-partisan Senate bill...

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