During the past week, Rush Limbaugh has repeatedly told his radio audience that Republicans should ignore illegal immigration because the left and its mainstream media allies are using it to distract them from the key issues that will guarantee a Republican victory in November – jobs, stimulus spending, and higher taxes.
On September 2, Limbaugh instructed his listeners to ignore a U.S. Department of Treasury audit that found that (1) the IRS paid illegal aliens $4.2 billion dollars in Additional Child Tax Credits, (2) the IRS protects illegal aliens who are using the Social Security numbers of American citizens, and (3) the IRS's actions serve as an incentive for illegal aliens to enter, reside and work in the United States.
In an e-mail sent to subscribers following the broadcast, Limbaugh wrote:
Warning: Do Not Be Distracted from the Economy, Republicans.
The left is trying to lure you into debates on other things. (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen)
"Over the next six, seven months, you're gonna see ramped-up stories about social issues, as a means of distracting the Republican presidential field from jobs, stimulus spending, and higher taxes." -Rush
So, according to Limbaugh, in order to ensure a Republican victory, Americans should just suck it up when billions of taxpayer dollars go to illegal aliens, when millions of Americans have their identities being used by illegal aliens to get jobs, and when the IRS actively and deliberately encourages more illegal immigration.
What Limbaugh fails to recognize is that illegal immigration is a cross-cutting issue that directly impacts each of the three core issues that he identifies as being key to a Republican a victory in November. So, rather than being a distraction, when combined with jobs, stimulus spending, and taxes, it adds strength to Republican arguments and makes them even more compelling to the vast majority of American citizens.
For example, when eight million illegal aliens are in the workforce (5.2 percent of the overall U.S. workforce) at a time the unemployment rate for American citizens stands at 9.1 percent, that is a jobs issue.
When illegal aliens continue to be employed in construction, journalism, and other well-paying jobs that Americans will do while Americans continue to be laid off and cannot find work, that is a jobs issue.
When the unemployment rate of foreign-born workers is lower than that of native-born Americans and when the unemployment rate of foreign-born workers drops faster than that of native-born workers, that is a jobs issue.
When in the first quarter of 2011, the standard unemployment rate for U.S. born adults who have not completed high school was 22 percent and the unemployment rate for Americans with a high school diploma was 20.3 percent and illegal aliens continue to be hired ahead of these Americans because they will work for lower wages and are easily exploited by their employers, that is a jobs issue.
When Americans object to taxpayer dollars being spent on stimulus programs that include jobs for illegal aliens who routinely commit job-related felonies including Social Security fraud and identity theft, that is a stimulus spending issue.
When illegal aliens file income tax returns and get more money back in child tax credits than they pay in taxes, that is a tax problem.
When the minority of Americans who actually pay income taxes have to pay still more in order to provide illegal aliens with child tax credits and to cover the cost of taxpayer-funded benefits that illegal aliens and their American-born children receive, that is a tax problem.
And when government borrows 40 cents of every dollar spent on benefits for illegal aliens and their American-born children, that is a tax liability for future generations who will have to repay the debt incurred.
It would be helpful if Limbaugh would recognize the cross-cutting nature of illegal immigration and encourage Republican candidates to address the negative impacts that illegal immigration has on jobs, stimulus spending, and taxes. By including illegal immigration in the discussion of these and other key issues, it will make them even more compelling.