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Once again, many Republicans are grateful to President Reagan for changing the debate on the role of Government

Revisiting the Reagan Revolution: Immigration



Everyone on the right, or at least in the Republican Party, loves the Gipper. He has become the standard bearer for the GOP, a populist who touched the hearts of many, the Great Communicator who appealed to this nation's desire to restore its former glory.
Yet his legacy has come under fire lately, among conservatives demanding rule cuts not just in taxes, but also in spending; not just humanitarians who support hand outs to illegal immigrants, refusing to hold them accountable for having entered the United States illegally. There is nothing humanitarian about opening the borders of a free country to unfettered illegal immigration. Immigration to work should be supported at all costs, but not immigration to welfare. People who have broken the law should not be rewarded for doing so, yet at the same time becoming an American citizen should not require decades of time and reams of paperwork. On the matter of immigration, Reagan's greatest (and most infamous) legacy was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, otherwise known as the Simpson-Mizzoli bill, which turned into a blanket amnesty for six million illegal immigrants without solving the more pressing issues of integration and border control. Even Edwin Meese, one of Reagan's stalwarts, admitted in the title of a reflective essay that "Reagan Would Not Repeat Amnesty Mistake."

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Rather than dealing with the problem for the long-term, Reagan treated the issue with a heartfelt "that's OK", and permitted the flagrant infraction of this nation's territorial integrity. With promises that were never kept, Reagan instituted an amnesty while demanding more security for the border and a guest-worker program, which never materialized. Such a policy is resurrecting today, and remains so unpopular with Americans that even after the governor of red-state, very conservative Utah suggested this complaisant policy, he faced a huge backlash from voters. Once again, many Republicans are grateful to President Reagan for changing the debate on the role of Government. Yet to excoriate government as the one problem, yet still permitting its growth, no matter how slow, did not prepare this nation for the painful cuts which we must now face. These fiscal problems were exacerbated by the rampant illegal immigration and lack of enforcement which has continued to bleed the state and federal government dry. Social services and public programs which rely on public money are losing necessary funds to support the growing demands wrought by an increasing illegal population, one whose members contribute nothing in the way of taxes and fees to shore up the economic offset of their demands. Government plays a crucial role in securing the borders of our nation. Rather than expending billions in an arms race with the near-defunct Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan and his committed caucus in the Congress could have invested time, money, and manpower toward streamlining the naturalization process and border security. Even though it is not too late, future Republican Presidential candidates must not just present but prosecute a reasonable immigration policy, one that realistically metes out consequences to law-breakers, protects our borders from further encroachment, and simplifies the naturalization process for future immigrants seeking to join this nation the right way.


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Arthur Christopher Schaper -- Bio and Archives

Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A life-long Southern California resident, Arthur currently lives in Torrance.

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