Bill O'Reilly: Immigration reform is possible

freshh. · 07-07-2013, 02:10 PM

I found this article interesting since last week on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Matthew Dowd, a Republican Analyst, claimed that we will begin to see a shift in the anti-immigration rhetoric. The immigration discussion starts at the second commercial break (look for the lines on the bar). He said people at the forefront of the anti-CIR movement will begin to change their tune and that reform will pass this year because, privately, the GOP sees the need for it despite what is being said in public.

Even Bill O'Reilly is supportive of a Pathway to Citizenship.

Quote:

The intense debate over immigration reform in the USA has riveted many in this bucolic area in the west of Ireland. That’s because in addition to millions of Latino aliens, a significant number of Irish would benefit from immigration clarity. Just ask anyone in the Woodside section of Queens, New York.

The census estimates that there are nearly 35 million Americans of Irish descent living in America, and many of them had ancestors who fled to the United States to save their lives. The vicious Irish famine reached its height in 1847 as hundreds of thousands of starving people boarded so-called “coffin ships” to come to the USA. Many died on those ships —victims of disease on the long voyage. Their bodies were often thrown overboard into the sea.

In Ireland itself, more than a million people died from hunger and disease during the famine years. The British controlled the country and, incredibly, exported grain to London even as Irish children were dying in the streets. British soldiers actually had to guard the grain stores, killing the Irish who stormed the storage facilities.

Thus, there are still deep wounds in this country of fewer than 5 million. More than a few Irish noticed a visiting American news commentator and asked about the proposed immigration reform. All favored it because of the sensitivity to the suffering of poor people.

The United States today is a far different place from what it was in the mid-19th century, when our vast land needed folks to settle and expand into the west. Then, there was no such thing as an “illegal alien.” If you physically made it here, you were an American. Simply showing up entitled you to pursue the dream of prosperity.

But today our country is fragile. The economy is stagnant, and social problems dominate the landscape. Back when my people arrived from Galway, in the 1840s, there was little in the way of social welfare and entitlements. You either earned your way or wound up in the street. America did not support immigrants; it simply gave them a chance.

What has not changed is the humanity of most Americans. People without an agenda realize that most illegal aliens are here to feed their families, not to cause trouble. But we also realize that our federal government has allowed and sometimes encouraged immigration chaos, which has damaged the fabric of the nation. You simply cannot allow more than 10 million people to occupy your territory without any accountability. And that’s what has happened.

I told the good people in western Ireland who approached me that I hope a fair but tough immigration bill passes this year — one that will put an end to the porous southern border and make undocumented aliens earn their citizenship over an extended period of time.

The most powerful nation on earth should be able to pass a fair, effective immigration law that combines compassion with responsibility and does not injure hardworking Americans who are taxed up to here.

We SHOULD be able to do that. It will be shameful if we don’t.

Bill O’Reilly is a political commentator and host of “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News. Reach him at [email protected]

Pianoswithoutfaith · 07-07-2013, 02:13 PM

well, this is good for us I think right

Smarty · 07-07-2013, 06:53 PM

Fox news support is priceless! They're super influential in the Republican Party. I hope they continue to push!!!

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

They need you!

Forum links

Resources

Join our list

National calendar of events

August

Bill O'Reilly: Immigration reform is possible