http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/O_Malley_s-weak-pander-to-illegal-immigrants-as-_new-Americans_-1246937-105140239.htmlDid I hear Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, D, right during his second debate with former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich? Did O'Malley call illegal immigrants "new Americans"?
Good thing I recorded that debate on a DVD. I replayed it Saturday night, and O'Malley's exact quote was this, part of his response to a question about illegal immigration.
"There is this nativism rising up and this desire to blame new Americans for the problems in our economy."
Yeah, he said it. And Ehrlich was quick to pounce on the gaffe.
"If somebody breaks in my house, is that a new member of my family that night?"
At another point in the debate, Ehrlich aimed this salvo at O'Malley: "I think we have finally focused on the problem: The governor doesn't understand the fundamentals of state government."
O'Malley sure as heck doesn't understand how people who immigrate to this country get to be "new Americans." Sneaking into the country illegally -- or staying put after a visa has expired -- isn't part of the process.
Those interested in knowing what that process is need only Google the three simple words "naturalization," "process" and "American." They'll immediately see the topic "Naturalization Process, How To Become A U.S. Citizen" on the Web site uscitizenship.info/ins-citizenship-process.
Once searchers click on the link, they'll come to a page of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS for short. (In simpler times, this was the government agency known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service.)
The USCIS page lists the four steps immigrants need to take if they want to become "new Americans." Those steps are:
1. Submit a complete application.
2. Get fingerprinted.
3. Attend a USCIS interview and take tests.
4. Take the oath to become a "new American."
At least three steps of that four-step process are relatively easy for those immigrants who've entered the country legally: submitting the application, getting fingerprinted and taking the oath.
The third step has two parts, which might present a difficulty for some. Even if immigrants wishing to become naturalized citizens ace the interview, they still face the hurdle of passing the English and civics tests. But at least they have the comfort of knowing that many native-born, English-speaking Americans probably couldn't pass the darned tests either.
Illegal immigrants, almost by definition, can't participate in the four-step process. For the interview, they would have to bring identification "and any other documents that the USCIS may have requested." To even begin the process -- the application -- they would need supporting documents and two passport-size photos.
So how, as O'Malley suggested, would we "create a pathway to citizenship" for illegal immigrants? Why, by having all 12 million of them bypass the four-step process, of course.
That's precisely what those who support a "pathway to citizenship" are proposing. That's why Americans should reject such foolishness out of hand.
The phrase O'Malley should have used in lieu of "new Americans" is "new Marylanders." The nation's leading sanctuary state east of the Mississippi has created its own criteria for state citizenship. And it also has four steps:
1. Enter the country, preferably illegally.
2. Whine about being a victim even though you've broken our nation's laws. In fact, make no reference at all to your breaking the law. Talk about your "rights" instead.
3. Pin the racist tag on anyone who opposes your flagrant breaking of the law.
4. This is the most important step of all: Vote Democratic.
"New Americans" indeed. If there were an award given for the most craven display of caving in to an interest group, O'Malley would win it hands down.
Examiner Columnist Gregory Kane is a Pulitzer-nominated news and opinion journalist who has covered people and politics from Baltimore to the Sudan.
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