Ten reasons Marco Rubio's amnesty isn't conservative (immigration, legalization)

Florida senator Marco Rubio recently described the outlines of his amnesty plan that would legalize millions of illegal aliens. As previously discussed, Rubio is either delusional, or he's trying to deceive. If you think his plan has any validity, make sure and see that link.

This post will list the ways that Rubio's plan is not in any way conservative:

1. Rubio's plan would be a massive, unprecedented operation. Legalizing 12 million or so illegal aliens has not been tried before; only three million or so were involved in the 1986 amnesty. It would take five to ten years to do FBI-level background checks on most illegal aliens in the U.S. So, either it would take years for most illegal aliens to get into the process, or we'd end up skimping on background checks and make it easier for criminals and terrorists to get legalized (see immigration crime, immigration terrorism, and the 9/11 report). It doesn't matter if Rubio would phase in his amnesty in pieces: there would be very little difference between that and the version of comprehensive immigration reform favored by the Democrats. Rubio's is a radical plan with huge potential downsides. Radical plans with huge potential downsides aren't conservative.

2. Rubio's plan will give more power to far-left organizations: groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens, MALDEF, NALEO, the Service Employees International Union, the Hugo Chavez funded Casa de Maryland, and on and on will all see an increase in their power base (see all those links for extensive coverage of them). Those groups to varying degrees partly represent illegal aliens now; after Rubio's amnesty, those they represent will be legalized. As discussed in the previous post, most of those who will be legalized will eventually get on the "path to citizenship", even if Marco Rubio wants you to think that won't happen. Thus, the ACLU, NCLR, LULAC, MALDEF, NALEO, SEIU, Casa and all the rest would eventually get hundreds of thousands to millions of new citizen supporters. Needless to say, giving more power to far-left organizations isn't very conservative.

3. Likewise, Rubio's plan will give more power to far-left and Democratic Party politicians. That includes not just racial demagogues like Antonio Villaraigosa, Gil Cedillo, and Bill Richardson but almost all other Democrats: Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Jared Polis, and on and on and on. As with the far-left organizations, those Democratic politicians will see an increase in their power base. Giving more power to Antonio Villaraigosa and the rest is not conservative.

4. Even worse, Rubio's plan will give more power inside the U.S. to the Mexican government. There are hundreds of posts at that link explaining all of the actions that government takes to encourage and enable illegal immigration and to flex their power inside the U.S., so if you aren't familiar with what they do see the link. It should go without saying that giving a foreign government more power inside the U.S. is not conservative.

5. Rubio's plan will result in a great diminution in the GOP's power. That's great if you're a Democrat, not so great if you're a Republican. Most of those legalized will be Hispanics, and Hispanics have mostly voted for Democrats for decades. Even with all of George W Bush's pandering (which included making a pledge to the Mexican government), he was only able to get 40% of the Hispanic vote. The numbers just aren't there: does anyone in their right mind think the GOP would emerge from amnesty having gained more voters than the Democrats?

6. "Take a snapshot of Los Angeles and in 25 or 30 years so will go Topeka". Illegal aliens are currently clustered in a small number of states due to sanctuary cities, public benefits, etc. However, once legalized they would be more likely to move to other areas: they wouldn't need to live in a sanctuary city anymore and so on. Due once again to the numbers, that might result in some red states turning more towards the purple side of things. That's great for the Democrats, not so great for the GOP. Even Ted Cruz has stated: "In not too many years, Texas could switch from being all Republican to all Democrat. If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House." Amnesties like Rubio's would hasten that process.

7. Rubio's plan would give one racial group an outsized influence on our immigration policy, no matter what everyone else wants. Rubio and his supporters would capitulate to a quest for racial power and would give in to identity politics. That's not conservative.

8. Rubio's plan and other amnesties simply aren't needed: there's a far better alternative known as attrition. While some still try to engage in the deportations false choice, there really is an alternative to mass deportations or an amnesty. Rejecting a better plan in favor of a worse plan isn't conservative (or liberal for that matter). Attrition is not included in any amnesty plan, even if some might be confused. Any amnesty would give more power to those who'd oppose any attrition-like provisions in the very same amnesty (see the previous post).

9. Rubio's plan would reward massive public and private corruption: all of those who've turned a blind eye to or who've tried to profit from massive illegal immigration. Rubio's plan wouldn't just reward those who came here illegally, but it would let thousands of corrupt illegal alien employers off the hook. It would reward those corrupt politicians who've encouraged, supported, or enabled illegal immigration for personal gain. Rewarding massive public and private corruption isn't conservative.

10. The GOP would be in better shape if they strongly opposed amnesty and did it in very smart ways. Obviously, that's a tall order, but it is possible. For instance, instead of giving Dick Durbin a major victory and more power with amnesty, the GOP could help discredit Durbin using the plan on the DREAM Act page. Durbin and others support an anti-American plan that would harm U.S. students, yet Rubio and other amnesty supporters can't and won't call them on it because they're on the same basic side as Durbin. Needless to say, ignoring or supporting an anti-American plan isn't conservative.

For the reasons above and more, Rubio's plan is something that any uncorrupted conservative should oppose. If someone claims to be a conservative and supports Rubio's plan, they don't know anything about immigration or they're doing it for some other reason besides it being a conservative plan. Likewise with Republicans: due to the damage Rubio's amnesty will do to the GOP, those Republican leaders who support it have some motivation other than helping the GOP.

If you still support Rubio's plan or any other amnesty, leave a detailed comment below and I'll provide even more information.