Schwarzenegger - Amnesty is 'Anarchy'

Since 03-29-06

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/28/151305.shtml?s=et
The "first order of business” for the federal government in dealing with illegal immigration is to secure the nation’s borders, Arnold Schwarzenegger declares in an Op-Ed piece.

And the California governor says that granting amnesty to illegals is "anarchy.”

"We learned on 9/11 that not all those who cross our borders want to share in the American dream,” Schwarzenegger writes in the Los Angeles Times.

"A few want to replace it with a nightmare. If we don't know who is coming over our borders, we won't know what they might do. And in a post-Sept. 11 world, that is a risk we cannot take. Congress must strengthen our borders.”

Criminalizing immigrants for coming into the U.S. – as some have called for – is not an answer, according to the governor.

"Instead, I urge Congress to get tough on those illegal immigrants who are a danger to society. If an illegal immigrant commits a serious crime, he must leave the country — one strike and you're out. No excuses, no delays.”

Schwarzenegger also said the U.S. should pass "a common-sense temporary worker program so that every person in our nation is documented. We can embrace the immigrant without endorsing illegal immigration.

"Granting citizenship to people who are here illegally is not just amnesty … it's anarchy. We are a country of immigrants, yes. But we are also a nation of laws.”

Finally, he said, "We should assimilate immigrants into the mainstream. We want immigrants to not just live in America but to live as Americans.”

Schwarzenegger, who said "I don't just talk about immigrants — I am an immigrant,” concludes: "This is the time for a permanent solution to our broken immigration system. This is the chance to again become a country of immigrants and a nation of laws.”