That’s Alex Conant, Sen. Marco Rubio’s press secretary. The same guy who likened immigrants to slaves.
Up until now, of course, Team Rubio was telling anyone who would listen that its shamnesty bill would ensure “the toughest enforcement and border security law in American history.”
Here’s a tweet from Cesar Conda, Rubio’s chief of staff:
http://twitter.com/#!/CesarConda/status/322302170881986560
(If you can’t view that tweet, it’s because Conda protected his Twitter account. The tweet says “If enacted, Senate #immigrationreform will be the toughest enforcement and border security law in American history.”)
Now, Team Rubio is singing a somewhat different tune:
Rubio is likely to advocate for some amendments making changes to the border measures, including requiring double-fencing along certain sections of the Mexican border, and toughening restrictions against allowing anyone with a criminal record to seek legal status.
Why, if the bill was so gloriously tough on border security a few weeks ago, does Rubio suddenly feel the need to amend its border-security provisions?
Why, if new double fencing legislation is so necessary, wasn’t it included in the original bill?
That’s not all. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies notes something else:
.@alexconant 2X fencing is ALREADY THE LAW: govtrack.us/congress/bills… Why would @marcorubio think more laws are needed?
— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) May 8, 2013
Whoa. Great question.
Krikorian elaborates:
Hey, double-fencing, that’s a great idea. In fact, it’s such a great idea that Congress mandated it seven years ago. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 requires that “In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing” and then goes on to spell out more than 600 miles’ worth of border where that double fencing is to be placed. But of the nearly 2,000-mile-long border with Mexico, only about 30-something miles has double fencing.
In other words, the point of any requirement to build double-layer fences that might be added to the Schumer-Rubio bill is to make it appear tougher, with no real expectation that the Obama administration will implement it any more than it is implementing the existing requirement. This is the same with the entry-exit tracking system the bill mandates, which is actually weaker than what Congress required to be built 17 years ago.
In short, it’s all kabuki.
Even by the low standards that prevail among politicians, the level of deception by Team Rubio is remarkable.
