Gray Davis Knows Difference between Legal and Illegal Immigration, but…

Shortly after Governor Jerry Brown issued his open invitation to Mexicans to come to the U.S. whether or not they have “permission,” Fox Business News host Neil Cavuto interviewed former California Governor Gray Davis. Cavuto opened by asking Davis if he distinguished between legal and illegal immigration. Davis immediately responded, “Yes, but…” and then listed several reasons why he supports Brown and agrees with him on illegal immigration outreach.

Davis began with “We’re all God’s children,” and “Each of us has a spark of divinity within us,” and “Each of us is entitled to respect and dignity,” all of which may be true but isn’t directly related to enforcing federal immigration law.

Then, droning on, Davis repeated the same tedious and discredited pro-amnesty arguments advocates have been unsuccessfully advancing since the Gang of Eight bill passed in June 2013: Our immigration system is broken (yes, because the law hasn’t been enforced in more than 25 years), aliens should be put on a path to citizenship because they’ve paid taxes and otherwise contributed to society (yes, but only because they’ve been unlawfully employed and have, in many cases, displaced American workers), and President Obama has deported more aliens than President Bush (no, the inflated deportation numbers are the result of combining returns from the border with interior removals, two categories that were previously counted separately under Bush and all other previous presidents).

Cavuto listened politely before he said that, “respectfully,” he thinks Davis is “naïve” and that Brown’s invitation could result in more illegal immigration which California can neither support nor afford. Davis’ classically inane reply was: “Not if we secure the border.”

Nothing Davis said surprises Californians who endured his illegal immigration advocacy during his four years in office. Still, to hear Davis – a Columbia Law School graduate, and member of the State Bar of California and the prestigious firm of Loeb and Loeb – show such disdain for federal immigration law is troubling.