THE comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate yesterday would immediately legalize most illegal aliens. See this summary at NumbersUSA. Ann Manetas writes:

It’s hard to imagine a more wide-sweeping amnesty than the proposal the Gang of Eight [senators] has outlined. AgJOBS and the DREAM Act would be effective immediately. While other illegal aliens would have to get in line behind those waiting legally for a green card, they will eventually receive a green card. Legal status, jobs and other benefits will be available almost immediately. Virtually every illegal alien in the United States would benefit from Amnesty 2.0.

— Comments —

Diana writes:

I expected this, but it’s still a kick in the guts.

Immigration legal and illegal is something being felt everywhere, and dramatically, and when the amnesty bill passes, I think American society as we know it will be over. (That’s a dramatic statement, which I will amplify on.) Everyone I know has been affected by the downturn to one degree or another. Lots of friends are “underemployed” and are constantly trawling the ads, looking for jobs. Even now, in the legal fields, there is a huge demand for immigration lawyers, paralegals, and legal secretaries. The demand for “bilingual” help is taking over the market in many other fields as well — and in reality, I don’t think they mean truly bilingual — I think they mean Spanish (or Chinese, or whatever) native fluency, and if you have basic proficiency in English, that’s good. In other words, Americans need not apply.

I know that American society as we know it has been over for a while, but something that resembles it prevails. After the amnesty, even that small comfort will be gone. Perhaps that’s a good thing.

Diana adds:

I’d like to amplify on what I wrote yesterday. I was so upset, I left out the last paragraph, which is the “punch.” Here it is.

When the amnesty bill passes — and it will, in some form or fashion, no matter how the Congressional Republicans put up a show of resistance (which will make their eventual capitulation all the more ignominious), what is now a thriving alternative economy will engulf the so-called mainstream economy. Already we have a huge alternative jobs market which discriminates against native-born, English-speaking Americans. Tomorrow this alternative will become the mainstream.

C’mon Laura, disagree with me. I want to be disagreed with. I want my case to be disproven. And nobody does it better than you, so have at me. Tear my argument to shreds. Tell me I am being an alarmist.

Laura writes:

I’m sorry, I can’t disagree. And, jobs aren’t the only issue. As Senator Jeff Sessions said, this amnesty bill will “accelerate Medicare’s and Social Security’s slide into insolvency, and put enormous strain on our public assistance programs.”

Diana adds:

I rarely check out the Drudge Report — too depressing — but I did today. There was a link to an article, which recalled the furious 2007 reaction to the previous interation of this bill:

 I don’t think that will happen this time. People are stunned. They are exhausted. They are careworn. They are just waiting for the next blow to fall.

 This is how societies collapse.

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