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.
This talking point is like a shady mechanic removing all the spark plugs from your car's engine and then saying, "see, your engine doesn't work."
Last modified Jul 16, 2010
... recognizes that our immigration system is broken, and is committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform to build a 21st century immigration system that meets our nation's economic and security needs. The President's vision for reform includes continuing to make border security a federal responsibility; holding accountable businesses that break the law by exploiting undocumented workers;...
... misled, such as by using the system is broken canard. He also promoted the anti-American DREAM Act, a bill that would let the illegal aliens covered by it deprive some U.S. citizens of college. And, of course, he promoted comprehensive immigration reform and blamed the GOP for not cooperating with him on that and the DREAM Act.
Regarding jobs, he said:
...And we're still climbing out of a...
... other hacks have done - used the system is broken canard [2].
5. Vilsack also ran down the eVerify program, at least as a standalone solutiion, saying: "The E-Verify system creates a potential difficulty, particularly for smaller businesses... That's because they'd have to invest resources in equipment and training to participate."
Vilsack was accompanied by Bob Stallman, the president of the...
... talking points he used were: system is broken, immigration wage floor, immigration tradition fallacy, and secure the border. How many more can you spot?
A (360kb) screengrab of my Twitter feed where I pointed out in real time additional ways he was misleading or promoting bad policies is here.
If anyone believed anything Obama said in his speech, leave a comment on this post and I'll try to...
... fundamentally broken. (NOTE: see system is broken. And, those at the meeting were not a "broad cross-section" but only represented a small number of Americans).
For those of you who aren’t familiar, the DREAM Act is -- deals with a particular portion of the population, kids who were brought here when they were young by their parents; their parents might have come here illegally -- the kids didn'...
... system" which uses the misleading system is broken canard.
Those involved in the Compact would encourage more illegal immigration and create more problems for Utah and the U.S. Don't fall for their false compassion.
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[1] From sutherlandinstitute.org they're a "conservative, non-profit, state-based public policy group".
[2] Others involved are listed at
utahcompact.com/sign-the-...
... system for that, a variant of system is broken.
He then states we need to "affirm our immigrant traditions"; see immigration tradition fallacy.
He then states, "yes, let's secure our borders"; see secure the border.
Making a false claim about policy, he thinks if we made legal immigration easier we'd reduce illegal immigration. He ignores the fact that there are about 6.5 billion people outside...
... seems fundamentally broken.
See system is broken for why the last bit is misleading.
Of course, the tensions around immigration are not new. On the one hand, we’ve always defined ourselves as a nation of immigrants -- a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts. Indeed, it is this constant flow of immigrants that helped to make America what it is. The scientific...
Video of the first part of Barack Obama and Felipe Calderon of Mexico speaking earlier today at the White House is at peekURL.com/vogmji4 and the second part is at peekURL.com/vcwo6we
Obama issues his stock speech in support of comprehensive immigration reform; see this for some of the components. Then, he says:
... Reid offers "Our immigration system is broken, and only bipartisan work will fix it" (link). If you've already read a few editorials in support of comprehensive immigration reform, everything he says will be very familiar, right down to his use of trite talking points like system is broken, secure the border, immigration line, and the (more rare) immigration wage floor.
However, American workers...
... 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 is code...
... 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 with...
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 won't like...
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...
... 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 plan would not...
... 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 the...
... 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 can get it.
Others at the...
Professors Kevin Johnson (lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration), Jennifer Chacon, and Bill Hing of UC Davis have scored a true coup for the blogosphere: an interview about immigration with Barack Obama! Of course, it probably helped that all three of them "have served as members of an Immigration Policy Group for the Obama campaign". Another help was that the questions are complete puffballs and...
... that 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: Dobbs responds...
... 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 makes a point...
"Bush Conservative" is the new, not-nearly-as-pejorative name for what is refered to in the literature as "Bushbotism". One of the chief symptoms of this affliction is a very strong ability to believe strongly in an idea despite massive contradictory evidence: Bush is a down-home Texas cowboy despite being a part of the Northeast liberal elite, Bush has secured or will secure the border despite...