Ron Paul is For Amnesty and Has a Terrible Record on Illegal Immigration by Gregory Hilton

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was first elected in 1976 but has never authored any legislation to stop illegal immigration. This has occurred despite the fact he represents Texas which has the nation’s longest border with Mexico.
He is against the E-Verify program to stop employers from hiring illegal aliens. In fact, he is against all laws prohibiting employers from hiring illegal aliens. He opposes Arizona’s get tough policies and the deportation of people who are here illegally. If a state wants open borders that is fine with him. NumbersUSA gives him an “F” rating on immigration.
When he ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian, Paul advocated the official policy of his party. He said, “As in our country’s first 150 years, there shouldn’t be any immigration policy at all. We should welcome everyone who wants to come here and work.” At the same time he advocated the complete elimination of the Border Patrol, which he said was unconstitutional.
He has since changed his mind and now has strong rhetoric against illegal immigration on the campaign trail. This is not supported by his voting record or other actions. He claims to be against amnesty but his new book advocates it. He claims to be against birthright citizenship but his book supports it. He voted for the 2006 Secure Fence Act and claims he supports the Border Fence, but he also voted against it on numerous occasions and always says it is not needed. He claims sensors at the border are enough. He also says the military is not needed on the border, and the Border Patrol is sufficient. Some of Paul’s votes against using the military on the border include:

• 2006: H. Amendment 206 to H.R. 1815
• 2004: Goode Amendment to H.R. 4200
• 2003: Goode Amendment to H.R. 1588
• The Goode Amendments authorized the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the military, under certain conditions, to assist in the performance of border control functions. It passed the House by a vote of 231-191.
• 2002: H. Amendment 479 to H.R. 4546
• 2001: Traficant amendment to HR 2586
• 2000: Traficant amendment to H.R.4205
• 1999: Trafficant Amendment to H.R. 1401.
• Rep. Paul voted against authorizing the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to request that members of the Armed Forces assist the INS with border control efforts. The Traficant Amendment passed by a vote of 242-173.
• Paul voted against H.R. 418 in 2005 to strengthen border control by requiring completion of the last 3.5 miles of the San Diego border fence. The legislation also broaden the terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and deportability of aliens. It passed by a vote of 261-161.
• Paul voted in 1997, 2001 ( H.R. 1885) and 2002 (H RES 365) to grant, extend or continue under 8 USC Section 245-i amnesty for illegal aliens. This qualified as amnesty by “allowing an illegal alien to remain in the US legally” for a temporary period rather than permanent. This was seen as a loophole in the 1996 IRCA that barred illegal aliens from receiving visas for 10 years. By paying a “fee,” illegal aliens who applied for legal status could remain in the US while their application was reviewed and evade the usual investigation done in their home countries. The 245i program has since ended, but Ron Paul voted for its continuance in 1997, 2001 and 2002, and voted against ending it later.
• Paul voted NO on extending the voluntary Basic Pilot Workplace Verification Program (H.R. 2359)
• Paul voted NO on the border fence in 2005 (Hunter Amendment to HR 4437). The legislation passed by a vote of 260-159. Rep. Paul changed his position when he decided to run for President and voted for the same measure, the Secure Fence Act, in 2006. The legislation authorized an additional 700 miles of double-layered fencing between the U.S. and Mexico. The Congressman changed his mind because he wanted “enforcement of the law.” He said it was not because he supported the construction of a border fence.
• After Paul changed his position he was interviewed by John Stossel of 20/20 on January 3, 2008 and said he finds a border fence “rather offensive.” He described his vote as symbolic, and he has never explained how he would secure the border.
• Paul voted YES to increase H2-B (HR 763 in 2005) and H-1B visas (HR 3736 in 1998). In 1998, he voted to allow US firms to lay off Americans to replace them with foreigners.
• Paul received a “C” rating from the anti-illegal immigration group ALIPAC, Americans for Legal Immigration.

The Congressman was in the forefront of those who stopped the real ID program, which is not a national ID. It was designed to make sure we did not give ID’s to illegal aliens.
TOM TANCREDO SAYS PAUL IS PRO-AMNESTY
I regret having to quote WorldNetDaily, but this where former Rep. Tom Tancredo’s (R-CO) May 23rd article appeared. Excerpts are below.

“I served with Ron Paul in Congress for 10 years. He was a member of my Immigration Reform Caucus, and I consider him a friend. . . Unfortunately, it appears that Paul’s views on immigration have now shifted into the pro-amnesty camp. Last week, Rep. Paul released his latest book, ‘Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom.’
“One of those 50 issues is immigration, and Paul gives a more detailed explanation of his views in the book than I have ever seen before. The result is not pretty. Ron Paul’s book misrepresents the views of immigration-control advocates and then insults their motivations. He insinuates that patriotic Americans who oppose mass immigration are lazy and motivated by race. . .
“According to Paul, deporting illegal immigrants would be “incompatible with human rights.” That is an off argument for any true libertarian to make, since the protection of true human rights begins with the U.S. Constitution and our ability to enforce the rule of law.
“The truth is that we do not need to deport all illegal aliens to make them go home. If we simply prevent employers from hiring illegal aliens by using E-Verify and step up interior enforcement as Arizona, Oklahoma and other states have done, most illegal aliens will go home on their own. Paul comes out against both these policies. . . He absurdly calls the idea of fining employers for hiring illegal aliens ‘involuntary servitude.’
“Paul comes out against Arizona’s popular SB 1070 law using absurd arguments of the type normally heard only from America-hating leftists: ‘Arizona-type immigration legislation can turn out to be harmful. Being able to stop any American citizen under the vague charge of ‘suspicion’ is dangerous even more so in the age of secret prisons and a stated position of assassinating American citizens if deemed a ‘threat,’ without charges ever being made.’
“I am still scratching my head trying to figure out what supposed secret prisons and political assassinations have to do with enforcing our immigration laws. The Arizona law’s definition of ‘reasonable suspicion’ is the same standard that applies for federal immigration officials and local law enforcement for non-immigration violations, so the law does not expand police powers.
“So if we can’t enforce the law, what does Paul want to do with the 12 million illegal aliens here in this country? While he says he opposes amnesty, he argues, ‘Maybe a ‘green card’ with an asterisk could be issued.’ This ‘asterisk’ would deny them welfare and not grant them immediate ‘automatic citizenship.’ Both these qualifications are meaningless because every amnesty proposal makes illegal aliens jump through some symbolic hoops before they get amnesty. I have no idea why he has changed his position on illegal immigration, but one thing is clear: Asterisk or not, Ron Paul now supports amnesty.”

PAUL DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ALL ISOLATIONISTS
Many isolationists disagree with the Congressman. They agree with him that all U.S. troops should “come home,” but unlike Congressman Tancredo, they want these soldiers deployed on the border. Even if that did happen, it has been demonstrated many times it is impossible to establish perfect border security. That is why Republicans believe it is vital to clamp down on employers and eliminate the reason illegal immigrants are in the United States.
America has a 5,525 mile border with Canada, a 1,969 mile border with Mexico, and 12,383 miles of coastline. Thousands of Chinese immigrants have arrived illegally by ship. Searching every container on every ship has proven to be impossible.
The real answer is E-Verify and restrictions on employers who hire illegal immigrants.