Cross-posted from
MN Campaign Report and
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In a currently-running advertisement, incumbent Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) makes several claims about his opponent's positions regarding illegal immigrations. The facts asserted in the ad are, shall we say, somewhat spurious.
The Gutknecht ad accuses Walz of supporting "a plan to give amnesty to 11 million illegals already here," and cites an article from the New Ulm Journal from July 8th, 2006. This claim appears to twist the text and intent of that article:
...Yet, Walz finds "mass deportation or imprisonment for the 12 million undocumented workers currently in the United States is infeasible. Estimates put the cost of sending all undocumented workers to their countries of origin as high as $230 billion, a burden that is unnecessary for taxpayers to bear."
Walz believes there needs to be an "increase in the number of visas issued annually to law-abiding people of all skill levels who desire to enter our country. It is only fair that those whose only offense is immigrating without authorization are allowed to get in line for citizenship, but only after returning to their country of origin."
As a point of historical accuracy, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) (cited on Wikipedia) gave amnesty to over three million immigrants currently living in the U.S. Under IRCA, those immigrants were allowed to stay in the country indefinitely, for better or for worse. This, however, does not match Walz's proposal, which would require those seeking legal status in the U.S. to return to their country of origin and come back through a processing center with the necessary paperwork. In fact, if you watch this clip from from a Rochester Chamber of Commerce debate, you'll hear Walz tell Gutknecht directly that he is against the amnesty Gutknecht accuses him of supporting.
The Gutknecht ad also alleges that "Tim Walz says increasing border security is a waste of money," and cites yet another news article, this one from the Pipestone County Star from January 5th, 2006. That article is, in fact, an op-ed piece authored by Walz himself. Far short of calling increased border security a waste of money, Walz makes a comparison to China's historical efforts to control its borders:
China is a country that tried to solve its border control issues by building a wall. I've lived in China - I can tell you their wall didn't work. Dumping money into border enforcement is the American equivalent of building a wall and I won't stand by while taxpayer dollars are wasted on a solution we already know doesn't work.
In the short term we must come up with a comprehensive guest worker program...In the long term, it is in our interest to work for the economic stability of our region and poverty stricken countries across the world so that people feel [they] have opportunities for success in their homelands. It is also in our interest to create a safer and simpler process for visa and citizenship applications.
This appears to be a difference in nomenclature - while Mr. Gutknecht may believe that the triple-layer-wall solution may increase border security, Mr. Walz does not. While Mr. Gutknecht's allegations may not technically be false, this is still a coarse misrepresentation of Walz's positions. Nevertheless, witness yet another case where Walz told Gutknecht directly and in person that he supports increasing border security.
As if this weren't enough, the ad takes liberties with the issue of social security benefits for illegal immigrants. There's one problem with this - according to the Annenberg Political Fact Check, a non-partisan think tank, nobody is proposing paying benefits to illegal immigrants. Not Tim Walz, not some mythical man behind the Democratic curtain, no one.
In the run-up to this crucial election, it is one thing to bring your opponent's positions and statements into relief for the electorate. It is another thing altogether to play this fast not just with your opponent's words, but with reality. This problem appears to be endemic in today's Republican Party, and Gil Gutknecht is no exception.