Zuckerberg in Disguise Returns with New, Misleading TV Ad

He’s back! Multibillionaire Mark Zuckerberg is back using a tiny portion of his vast $20 billion Facebook fortune to lobby for a blanket amnesty. Both personally and through FWD.us, Zuckerberg has been pushing hard for months. This time, Zuckerberg has disguised his agenda under the benign sounding group, Americans for a Conservative Direction, in reality a FWD.us-backed organization.

Recently, ACD launched a $750,000 television ad that echoed House Speaker John Boehner’s so-called, step-by-step immigration principles. The ad (watch it here) shows three of the steps that Republicans allegedly will address before amnesty is granted. As ACD describes them, they’re false.

Step One: “Secure the border”

Wrong! The Senate bill which passed last June and the House bill under consideration only require that the Department of Homeland Security submit a plan to Congress to secure the border before the legalization process begins. Step One also refers to mandatory E-Verify, another deceit. In 2011, the House refused to call a vote on the Legal Workforce Act that called for nationwide E-Verify. It didn’t happen three years ago, and it won’t happen now.

Step Two: “Criminal Background Check”

No way, no how. Neither the White House nor Congress has the political will to check illegal immigrants’ backgrounds. Excellent programs like Secure Communities and 287 (g) that would help remove dangerous criminals have been undermined at every turn. Furthermore, Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn’t have the personnel to perform checks on millions of illegal immigrants or the budget to hire additional staff to do it.

Step Three: “Pay Fines, Pay Taxes and Learn English”

Equally as improbable as Step Two and for the same reasons. Assuming that an illegal immigrant has the money or the motivation to pay fines and back taxes on income, possibly undeclared, is blue-sky thinking. As for learning English, take it from someone who taught adult ESL during the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. That won’t happen. Although immigrants were required to attend class as a condition of their legalization process, they rarely attended. Nonetheless, most received permanent residency.

During the last few seconds of the ACD ad, the voice-over insists that the House plan isn’t amnesty. But it’s exactly amnesty. Almost immediately after President Obama signs an immigration bill, millions of illegal immigrants will be granted permanent residency and receive work authorization. Eventually, they’ll be granted citizenship.

Promises to secure the border, check criminal histories, collect fines and taxes or learn English will soon evaporate. Then, the U.S. will be back to where it was in 1986. Illegal immigration will continue unchecked, just as it did between 1987 and 2013. Before long, another amnesty drive will be underway.

Tell your representatives, No Amnesty!