Savage: Impeach Bush over immigration plan
Conservative talk-radio star, author says amnesty is betrayal of country

Savage: Impeach Bush over immigration plan
Conservative talk-radio star, author says amnesty is betrayal of country

Posted: January 12, 2004
10:42 p.m. Eastern
2004 WorldNetDaily.com

In the latest indication President Bush is having problems with his
conservative core political constituency, Michael Savage, one of talk radio's
biggest stars, tonight called for the impeachment of President Bush over his
plans to legalize millions of illegal aliens.

"This is the worst betrayal of our country in my lifetime," said Savage, whose
program is heard on more than 350 stations with an audience reaching some 6
million. His book, "The Savage Nation," last year was No. 1 on the New York
Times best-seller's list for five weeks. His follow-up, "The Enemy Within," out
just one week, is already No. 8 on the list. Both were published by WND Books.


President Bush

Tonight Savage called Bush a liberal and described him as part of the "enemy
within" that is destroying the nation.

Savage created the phrase "compassionate conservative" in 1994, a term picked
up by Bush during his presidential campaign – a campaign supported by Savage.


"This is much more serious than dropping your pants for an intern," said
Savage. "This is a policy that represents a danger to national security."

Savage is hardly alone in his strong feelings of opposition to Bush's proposal
to offer legal status to illegal immigrants. A new ABC News poll finds 52
percent of the nation opposes an amnesty program for illegal immigrants from
Mexico, while 57 percent oppose one for illegal immigrants from other
countries. Both results are roughly the same as when the administration floated
the idea two-and-a-half years ago.

But today in Monterrey, Mexico, Bush reaffirmed his support of the proposal,
despite its unpopularity at home. He said it could help illegal immigrants
"leave the shadows and have an identity."

At a joint press conference with Mexican President Vicente Fox, Bush warned
that his government will not allow the existence in the United States of an
underclass of illegal immigrants, but claimed again his proposal is not an
amnesty. Amnesty, he said, would only promote the violation of the law and
perpetuate illegal immigration.

Bush said his immigration proposal would benefit both the United States and
Mexico as it recognizes the contribution of thousands of honest Mexicans who
work in the United States.

For his part, Fox embraced Bush's proposal.

"What else can we wish?" Fox said at the news conference with the president.

In the U.S., the latest poll on the controversy shows at least twice as many
Americans "strongly" oppose the proposal as strongly support it.

Opposition peaks in Bush's own party: Fifty-eight percent of Republicans oppose
his immigration proposal for Mexicans, compared with 50 percent of Democrats.
For illegal immigrants other than Mexicans, 63 percent of Republicans are
opposed.

Bush reportedly will disclose more details of the plan in his State of the
Union address Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all 9,000 of
the Border Patrol's non-supervisory agents, has told its members to challenge
President Bush´s proposed guest-worker program, calling it a "slap in the face
to anyone who has ever tried to enforce the immigration laws of the United
States," the Washington Times reported today.

The agents were told in a letter from Vice President John Frecker that the
proposal offered last week during a White House press conference "implies that
the country really wasn't serious about" immigration enforcement in the first
place.

"Hey, you know all those illegal aliens you risked 'life and limb' to
apprehend? FAH-GED-ABOWD-IT," said Frecker, a veteran Border Patrol agent.
"President Bush has solved the problem. Don't be confused and call this an
'amnesty,' even though those who are here illegally will suddenly become legal
and will be allowed to stay here. The president assures us that it's not an
amnesty," he said.

Last week Bush proposed the sweeping immigration changes that would allow the 8
million to 12 million illegal aliens thought to be in the United States to
remain in the country if they have a job and apply for a guest-worker card. The
immigrants could stay for renewable three-year periods, after which they could
apply for permanent legal residence.

Savage cited a new report published in the City Journal by the Manhattan
Institute suggesting there is a major crime wave in the U.S. caused by illegal
immigration.

"Some of the most violent criminals at large today are illegal aliens," the
report charges. "Yet in cities where the crime these aliens commit is highest,
the police cannot use the most obvious tool to apprehend them: their
immigration status. In Los Angeles, for example, dozens of members of a
ruthless Salvadoran prison gang have sneaked back into town after having been
deported for such crimes as murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug
trafficking. Police officers know who they are and know that their mere
presence in the country is a felony. Yet should a cop arrest an illegal
gang-banger for felonious reentry, it is he who will be treated as a criminal,
for violating the LAPD’s rule against enforcing immigration law."

The situation is similar, the report says in New York, Chicago, San Diego,
Austin and Houston. These "sanctuary policies" generally prohibit city
employees, including the cops, from reporting immigration violations to federal
authorities, says the report.

"These people are destroying America," said Savage. "That's all I have to say
on the subject. But you can talk about it. Talk about it while you can –
while America is still a free country, because it's not going to last."