Immigration 'Reform' and Background Checks

FYI...it appears the Shamnesty Bill (Part 2) isn't going to be brought up until the current energy bill is finished. That's good, because it gives the public more time to dig into this new version and figure out what's actually in it. It'll likely be in the next few days, though, so keep in touch.

Speaking of the shamnesty bill, as I've mentioned in previous blogs, one of the more choice provisions of the shamnesty bill is that of background checks for everyone applying for a Z-visa. The bill requires a background check, but also states that an applicant will be granted a Z-visa unless a compelling reason is found to deny them in 24 hours. That's right, we're supposed to buy the fact that our federal government can run a comprehensive background and criminal check on 12-20 million people in less than 24 hours. Fat chance!

To put things into perspective, here are two stories you may or may not have heard about. The first is a story in the Washington Post about how a second run of new dollar coins were minted without the phrases 'In God We Trust', 'E Pluribus Unum', and the year/mint mark on them. Now, how many coins does the goverment mint in a year, and how many changes are actually made from year to year on these things? A lot, and almost none. Plus, did you catch the part about the 'second run'? They even had a chance to correct the problem after the first run, but it didn't happen! This is government efficiency at its finest...

The second story is especially appropriate since it talks about the current massive backlog in the passport system, which includes background checks for each passport issued. The government just implemented a new policy this year that would require passports for travel to/from the US and Canada, Mexico, and other North American locations. The problem is that this new policy completely swamped the system just with legitimate American citizens trying to travel for the sake of leisure! Depending on where you look, the backlog is anywhere from a few hundred thousand to several million strong, but in any case, the delay is now around three months to get a passport.

So, given these examples of government (in)efficiency, I ask you again: do you really think that it's a good idea to dump another 12-20 million background checks onto this already-drowned system? Do you think there's any realistic chance that any of them will do any good in just 24 hours?

This is just another thinly-veiled attempt to sucker the American people into buying an empty promise on this shamnesty bill, and another reason that this shamnesty bill must not pass.

There's my two cents.