The U.S. House of Representatives seems to get it, but the Senate doesn't have a clue. Since President Bush's Monday night speech on immigration, which sets forth a plan to create a temporary guest-worker program and offers a limited path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants now in the United States, it looks like the President doesn't get it either. When the National Council of La Raza says that the President's speech was "an important step," it might be time for President Bush to switch to Plan B.
Not only has Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, telephoned the President to give his two cents on plans to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, his government has also threatened to bring suit in U.S. Federal Court if the Guard takes an active role in seizing and detaining illegal immigrants.
In the meantime, ATMs still want to know if you'd prefer English or Spanish, tests for drivers licenses are bi-lingual, and Mexican flags are de rigueur at every rally for "immigrant rights" in American cities.
Back in 1907, when the U.S. was in the midst of a third wave of immigration, President Teddy Roosevelt offered this opinion on immigrants and their role and duties in our society:
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Oh for the good ole' days!
