Latest News

Politics

The next immigration fight

Mike Huckabee

January 9, 2018

The next big battle over immigration looks to be not illegal immigration but sending back foreign nationals who are in America on the TPS program (“temporary protected status”).

Groups involved include Haitians, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and first to be affected, over 200,000 Salvadorans who could be sent back to El Salvador in 2019. They were granted TPS entry to the US in 2001 after El Salvador suffered two devastating earthquakes. But critics of lax immigration enforcement complain that they’ve been allowed to extend their stays in 6-to-18-month increments until they’ve been here for 16 years with no end in sight, making a mockery of that whole “temporary protection” concept.

What seems like a pretty straightforward legal correction gets more complicated when you add in other factors: Opponents of sending them back argue that they’ve been here so long, they’ve had kids who are US citizens, and it would break up families. Also, while the earthquakes are long past, El Salvador has a weak economy and a high crime and murder rate and isn’t safe.

Commentary continues below advertisement

Immigration enforcement advocates counter that El Salvador has absorbed 39,000 repatriations in the past couple of years; that they knew it was a temporary, not permanent, status; and that their defenders seem more concerned about dangers to Salvadorans from gangs in El Salvador than they do about the danger to Americans from violent Salvadoran gangs here, some of which are reported to have thousands of members within miles of Washington, DC.

With elections looming this year, expect this thorny issue that deserves serious and thoughtful debate to be exploited and twisted into a black-and-white, “you hate immigrants/you love criminals” cartoon argument. At its root, the real problem is the way politicians rush to “solve” problems without giving any thought to the consequences. Or as Ronald Reagan said it so well decades ago: there’s nothing more permanent than a “temporary” government program.

READ MORE

Leave a Comment

Note: Fields marked with an * are required.

Your Information
Your Comment
BBML accepted!
Captcha

Permalink: https://www.mikehuckabee.com/2018/1/the-next-immigration-fight

More Stories

Politics

Schiff can't keep hiding Ciaramella and the coup

Nov 13, 2019
As we head into the farcical public “impeachment inquiry” hearings starting Wednesday, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff is doing everything he can to keep the name of the “whistleblower” (I prefer “Democratic operative/spy”) from becoming a part of the official record, let alone from being questioned live and in-person by Republicans such as John Ratcliffe and Jim Jordan. T
Politics

The fight over "crying baby Trump"

Nov 13, 2019
I always thought the “crying baby Trump” balloon was a moronic thing that said more about the people who keep inflating it and floating it around than it does the President.
Politics

The fight over "crying baby Trump"

Nov 13, 2019
I always thought the “crying baby Trump” balloon was a moronic thing that said more about the people who keep inflating it and floating it around than it does the President.
Politics

Schiff can't keep hiding Ciaramella and the coup

Nov 13, 2019
As we head into the farcical public “impeachment inquiry” hearings starting Wednesday, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff is doing everything he can to keep the name of the “whistleblower” (I prefer “Democratic operative/spy”) from becoming a part of the official record, let alone from being questioned live and in-person by Republicans such as John Ratcliffe and Jim Jordan. T

Comments 1-3 of 3

  • Mark Klemkosky

    01/12/2018 12:57 PM

    It would be interesting to see the statistics of how many TPS immigrants have bothered to learn to speak English after being here a few years? That might be an indicator as to how many embraced the opportunity that was given to them.

  • Linda Pratt

    01/11/2018 12:35 PM

    Anytime you talk about immigration it becomes sticky. One says, "send them back home, they don't belong here anyway." The other says, "they've lived her for 17 years." This is their home now and their nation isn't safe." But it's really a combination. This isn't their nation. Why haven't they looked at options to make it their permanent home? Why haven't they tried to go back home? They've been here 17 years and the children should not be factored into the equation of staying here when "temporary" policies are made. If they leave they take their children with them. Pure and simple. Families should be together. This should be spelled out clearly when such policies are made. My brother was born in France while my dad served at a U.S army base there. He's not a French native because he was born there. He is an American citizen by virtue of his parents being born here. This is an area that really needs to be cleared up and spelled out in the new immigration laws. The U.S. hasn't done a very good job in thinking these things through.

  • Shirley Milford

    01/09/2018 10:09 PM

    So, these foreign nationals who are in America on the TPS program (“temporary protected status”) have been here _for 16 years_, but some think they should not be sent back because their home lands are not safe ... well, guess what ... America is NO LONGER SAFE with all these illegals here who hate America!!

Mike Huckabee

Signup to Receive Updates