Timeline of Immigration - I Mean, Attempts to Control Trespassing

In recent times:
The 1965 Ted Kennedy Bill - Major Provisions

• Limit of 300,000 visas/year, 170,000 reserved for Eastern Europeans.
• NO country got more than 20,000/year
• Unlimited family reunification - which has since shown to be a HUGE mistake

How did Ted, a freshman Senator, sell the bill?  From Wikipedia:

Kennedy, speaking of the effects of the act, said: "First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same.... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia.... In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think.... It will not cause American workers to lose their jobs.

The next major piece of legislation, in 1986, attempted to keep illegals from taking jobs from Americans (but, wait..., weren't we promised - see above bolded part...that would NOT happen?).  Major provisions:

• The Act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants (immigrants who do not possess lawful work authorization)
• Required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status
• Granted amnesty to certain illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982 and had resided there continuously.
• Granted a path towards legalization to certain agricultural seasonal workers and immigrants who had been continuously and illegally present in the United States since January 1, 1982.

WELL!

That should have solved things for all time.  I mean, when a COMPREHENSIVE bill is passed, it clears up the situation entirely, and for all time, doesn't it?

As Sarah Palin has said, "how's that Hopey-Changey thing working out for you?"

Not well.

According to the New York Times (a well-known bastion of Right-Wing, Fascist Thought), it's been even worse.  Funny, isn't it - the more the politicians try to clean up messes, once and for all, the bigger the mess gets?


What has happened since 1986?

But supporters and critics agree that the immigration system created by the current bill, like the one created in 1986, may be vulnerable to fraud, and they raise concerns about the government's commitment to maintaining adequate financing for border security and employee verification. They also warn that the burden on the Homeland Security Department, which would carry out the program, would be enormous.
Two decades ago, about three million illegal immigrants were eligible for amnesty. This time, roughly 10 million people are expected to be eligible for legalization.

The original program didn't result in illegals losing out on jobs, it also created a boom in illegal documents. 

Hmm.  5 times the people, and still resistance to E-Verify or other measures to verify that Americans are the only ones to be able to legally work and reside in this country.  What could go wrong this time?

AZ knows.  That's why they stepped up to the plate, when the Federales wouldn't.

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