Amnesty

The overwhelming majority of the people in East Tennessee are strongly opposed to amnesty. This was tried after the Congress passed the Simpson-Mazzoli Act in 1986, and almost four million were given amnesty. The same arguments used in favor of that bill are being used in favor of an immigration "compromise" today. The 1986 law was supposed to bring illegal immigration under control, yet all it did was lead to a huge increase. The government now estimates 12 to 20 million are here illegally now, but most think there are probably many millions more. Some who do not want strong enforcement say sarcastically that you cannot line up buses clear from San Diego to San Francisco and immediately remove 20 million people. Yet no one has ever advocated that. But just because you cannot solve all crime overnight does not mean you stop trying to enforce the criminal laws.