Sensenbrenner's forked tongue spews poison on immigration bill

Rep. F. Jim Sensenbrenner, Pride of Wisconsin, certainly has a way with words.

First he dismissed the demonstration and show of strength by Milwaukee's Latino community as an "illegal alien rally."

Now, he calls the Senate version of the immigration reform bill "amnesty," although it clearly is anything but.

"It is amnesty," Sensenbrenner said, "because it gives someone who broke the law the same rights as someone who obeyed it. We should not let lawbreakers jump the line."

A persuasive argument, with words chosen to tilt public perception against the Senate's reasonable proposal. Amnesty is a word that sparks strong reactions.

But if amnesty is "giving someone who broke the law the same rights as someone who obeyed it," this ain't amnesty.

The Senate bill would allow immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally before 2004 to become permanent residents if they pay a $2,000 fine, pass a background check, learn English and work for six years. They could apply for citizenship five years after becoming a permanent resident.

That's hardly giving them the same rights as someone who comes to the US legally. It is making them jump through a series of hoops. Many would never make it.

Those in favor of the senate judiciary committee's bill call it "earned citizenship," an 11-year path to becoming an American.

"That's not amnesty," said Arizona Senator John McCain. "Amnesty is forgiveness. This is a payment of a fine. This is admission of guilt. This is working for years. This is learning English."

The bill would also require illegal immigrants to pay back taxes and pass a background check.

The NY Times editorial explains:

It Isn't Amnesty

...Attackers of a smart, tough Senate bill have smeared it with the most mealy-mouthed word in the immigration glossary -- amnesty -- in hopes of rendering it politically toxic. They claim that the bill would bestow an official federal blessing of forgiveness on an estimated 12 million people who are living here illegally, rewarding their brazen crimes and encouraging more of the same.

That isn't true. The bill, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 12-to-6 vote on Monday, is one the country should be proud of. Four Republicans, including the committee's chairman, Arlen Specter, joined eight Democrats in endorsing a balanced approach to immigration reform. The bill does not ignore security and border enforcement. It would nearly double the number of Border Patrol agents, add resources for detaining illegal immigrants and deporting them more quickly, and expand state and local enforcement of immigration laws. It would create a system to verify workers' identities and impose tougher punishments on employers who defied it.

But unlike the bill's counterpart in the House, which makes a virtue out of being tough but not smart, the Specter bill would also take on the hard job of trying to sort out the immigrants who want to stay and follow the rules from those who don't. It would force them not into buses or jails but into line, where they could become lawful residents and -- if they showed they deserved it -- citizens. Instead of living off the books, they'd come into the system.

The path to citizenship laid out by the Specter bill wouldn't be easy. It would take 11 years, a clean record, a steady job, payment of a $2,000 fine and back taxes, and knowledge of English and civics. That's not "amnesty," with its suggestion of getting something for nothing. But the false label has muddied the issue, playing to people's fear and indignation, and stoking the opportunism of Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader. Mr. Frist has his enforcement-heavy bill in the wings, threatening to make a disgraceful end run around the committee's work.

The alternatives to the Specter bill are senseless. The enforcement-only approach -- building a 700-mile wall and engaging in a campaign of mass deportation and harassment to rip 12 million people from the national fabric -- would be an impossible waste of time and resources. It would destroy families and weaken the economy. An alternative favored by many businesses -- creating a temporary-worker underclass that would do our dirtiest jobs and then have to go home, with no new path to citizenship -- is a recipe for indentured servitude.

It is a weak country that feels it cannot secure its borders and impose law and order on an unauthorized population at the same time. And it is a foolish, insecure country that does not seek to channel the energy of an industrious, self-motivated population to its own ends, but tries instead to wall out "those people."

It's time for President Bush, who talks a good game on immigration, to use every means to clarify the issue and to lead this country out of the "amnesty" semantic trap. He dislikes amnesty. Mr. Frist dislikes amnesty. We dislike amnesty, too.

The Specter bill isn't amnesty. It's a victory for thoughtfulness and reason.