“I supported this bill. I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and have lived here even though some time back they may have entered illegally,” ... “I’m going to do everything I can -- and all of us in the administration are -- to join in again when Congress is back at it to get an immigration bill that will give us once again control of our borders.”
-- Ronald Reagan said in a 1984 debate against Walter Mondale.
[...]
In 1984, Congress had just killed an immigration bill that would have legalized up to six million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. President Ronald Reagan was one of its most prominent backers.
[...]
The bill, which finally passed in 1986, provided for three main reforms: legalizing the millions of immigrants already in the country, increasing border enforcement, and penalties for employers who hired unauthorized workers in order to stop the flow of new illegal immigrants.
Who knew? Certainly not the hate-driven
DHS ransom demanders in the GOP.
And NPR reminds us that this 1986 Immigration Law, which was championed by the none other than the GOP's favorite President, helped Immigrants.
Even though he was "over-stepping his Presidential authority" (by today's GOP standards) -- St. Ronald Reagan DID manage to accomplish the following, to make life a bit more bearable for America's invisible people:
[...]
The law granted amnesty to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants, yet was largely considered unsuccessful because the strict sanctions on employers were stripped out of the bill for passage.
[Wyoming Sen. Alan] Simpson says the amnesty provision actually saved the act from being a total loss. "It's not perfect, but 2.9 million people came forward. If you can bring one person out of an exploited relationship, that's good enough for me."
It should be "good enough" for today's GOP too. But sadly it isn't.
You see they still are the Party, that sanctions the exploitation of cheap labor.
Afterall that's what being the Champions of Greed is all about. That and embracing (or ignoring) their own glaring "double standards":
"If it was good enough for Reagan, it should be the 'gold standard' for any President."
That "double standard" -- which today is so conveniently ignored. Today trumped by their ideological hate and disdain, for any individual down on their luck.