Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Guest help "welcome"
The Denver Post ^ | 3/24/06 | Anne C Mulkern

Posted on 03/24/2006 7:17:47 AM PST by Millee

With the U.S. Senate starting debate soon on immigration reform, President Bush pushed Thursday for a program to allow illegal immigrants to work legally in the country.

"Part of enforcing our borders is to have a guest-worker program that encourages people to register their presence so that we know who they are and says to them, 'If you're doing a job an American won't do, you're welcome here for a period of time to do that job,"' Bush said during a meeting with representatives of groups that support the idea, including Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput.

The president's latest push came as it appeared increasingly likely that the bill the Senate will consider next week will contain a guest-worker provision, setting up a future collision with House Republicans who reject the proposal.

The Senate's Judiciary Committee has reached tentative agreement

WHAT'S NEXT IN THE SENATE? When the Senate returns Monday, the battle over immigration reform will begin in earnest. Once debate on a bill starts (scheduled to be Tuesday), it's expected to last two weeks.

If it appears there will not be enough agreement in the Senate to pass legislation, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist might block a vote, which could delay action on the immigration issue until after the fall election.

on a guest-worker plan opposed by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and others. No consensus was reached in earlier talks between Tancredo, R-Colo., and committee chairman Arlen Specter, a long-shot effort to find common ground.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., plans to set aside immigration legislation he introduced without the guest-worker plan and let the Senate vote on the committee's bill if it can be finished early next week, his spokeswoman Amy Call said.

Some on both sides of the issue predict Senate approval of a guest-worker plan.

"I think the whole Senate will cheerfully pass something close to what the president wants," said Grover Norquist, a liaison between Bush and Congress.

Tancredo, of Littleton, agrees.

"I think the Senate will pass some legislation, and it will have a guest-worker provision in it. I don't think they can get a bill out of the Senate without that."

But no one calls Senate passage a certainty. It's likely there will be numerous amendments offered in an attempt to strip out a guest-worker plan and other controversial elements.

If it appears there will not be enough agreement in the Senate to pass legislation, Frist might block a vote, which could delay action on the immigration issue until after the fall election.

Even if a bill with guest- worker language passed the Senate, it would face major hurdles. The Senate bill would have to be merged with one passed by the House in December. The House bill would beef up border security and toughen immigration laws but does not have a guest- worker provision.

The author of the House bill, Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would exert pressure to have guest-worker provisions stripped out in conference committee, leaving only a border- security bill, Tancredo

said.

That could be tough to accomplish. Congressional leaders - who are the president's allies - get to choose the lawmakers who craft that final bill. That would set up a confrontation with Republicans in the House who have vowed to vote against any legislation with guest- worker language in it.

The push to pass a bill that could be signed into law was so strong that Specter, R-Pa. - known for his pragmatism - reached out to Tancredo more than two weeks ago.

"His purpose was trying to see where we were on it," Tancredo said. "We explained to the folks that came over (that) I can't imagine there's a way to compromise on it."

Specter's Judiciary Committee will meet Monday in an effort to quickly approve immigration- reform legislation that includes a guest-worker plan and possibly a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

Though

KEY PROVISIONS OF IMMIGRATION BILLS Bill passed in the U.S. House:

# Makes it a federal crime for illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S.

# Makes it a crime to shield or support an illegal immigrant.

# Requires the Department of Homeland Security to build five fences along 698 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico.

# Contains no guest-worker plan.

Bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist:

# Makes it illegal to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant without verifying his or her legal right to work.

# Provides for new border-control facilities, checkpoints, fences and barriers on the border in the Tucson and Yuma, Ariz., areas.

# Increases the number of Border Patrol agents and other workers handling immigration matters.

# Contains no guest-worker plan.

Under development by the Senate Judiciary Committee:

# Authorizes the secretary of state to grant visas to otherwise ineligible foreign citizens who can show they have a job in the U.S.

# The visa is good for three years and renewable for another three.

# Requires participating foreign workers to pay $500 and have a medical exam.

# Requires workers to return to their home country after six years.

Frist introduced his own bill last week, focusing solely on border security, that was done to get the issue on the debate calender, said Call, his spokeswoman. Frist intends to substitute in the Judiciary Committee bill if it's finished in time, she said.

Debate is scheduled to start Tuesday and last two weeks.

If the committee doesn't finish the bill in time for debate, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to try to block debate on the Frist bill with a filibuster, Reid spokesman Jim Manley said.

"It's going to be a messy fight," said Tamar Jacoby, research fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in New York.

Lobbying on both sides continues. Each day this week, Tancredo has sent out news releases calling on senators to reject guest-worker proposals.

Even the Mexican government has entered into the debate. It took out ads in large U.S. newspapers Monday advocating a guest-worker program here and offering to do more to secure its side of the border.

Thursday, Bush called for advocates on all sides of the immigration debate to be "civil."


TOPICS: Government
KEYWORDS: amnesty; guestworkers
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-33 next last

1 posted on 03/24/2006 7:17:49 AM PST by Millee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Millee

Here's a civil question.

Why does Michigan need "guest workers" when we have one of the worst economies in the country?"

We've already got plenty of illegal aliens.


2 posted on 03/24/2006 7:21:40 AM PST by cripplecreek (Never a minigun handy when you need one.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee
KEY PROVISIONS OF IMMIGRATION BILLS Bill passed in the U.S. House:

# Makes it a federal crime for illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S.

# Makes it a crime to shield or support an illegal immigrant.

# Requires the Department of Homeland Security to build five fences along 698 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico.

# Contains no guest-worker plan.

Would like to see this passed. Welcome mat should be pulled and in it's place a huge flashing sign, No socialists allowed! You are NOT welcome!

3 posted on 03/24/2006 7:22:40 AM PST by stopem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee

Thursday, Bush called for advocates on all sides of the immigration debate to be "civil."

Have ya ever noticed that every time he thinks he is not gonna get his way he resorts to name calling? Minutemen = vigilantes, Dubai Port Deal = racists, Illegal immigration = uncivil.

Well if civil = guest worker/amnesty he can stick it! The illegals are not civil why do we have to be?


4 posted on 03/24/2006 7:28:32 AM PST by sheana
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee

Illegal aliens march in the streets or our major cities without fear of arrest demanding rights that they most definately are not and should not be entitled to and the a-holes in the senate want to cave in and grant them amnesty.

Not only no but HELL NO!!! ANY type of amnesty/guest worker plan will sound the death knell for the GOP in November.

And to those who ask if I want dems in power, absolutely not. But I've always found it easier to fight those that are your enemy than to have to worry about your friends stabbing you in the back when you aren't looking. At this point those GOP members in the senate that are pushing the guest workers plan are traitors to the principals of the party.

Specter should have been shown the door when the chance presented itself in 2004. We are now reaping the "rewards" of having that rat in republican clothing remain in office.


5 posted on 03/24/2006 7:39:31 AM PST by Bikers4Bush (Flood waters rising, heading for more conservative ground. Vote for true conservatives!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Bikers4Bush

Yep. Nothing gets fixed if we only fight when "our" side is in power. If the democrats take power I have no intent of sitting on my butt crying about them being in power. I intend to continue the fight.


6 posted on 03/24/2006 7:45:49 AM PST by cripplecreek (Never a minigun handy when you need one.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

VOTES lots of votes even if they don't vote you have a name


7 posted on 03/24/2006 7:46:55 AM PST by Vaduz (and just think how clean the cities would become again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Bikers4Bush
"ANY type of amnesty/guest worker plan will sound the death knell for the GOP in November."

You err seriously in running these two things together. Nothing wrong with a guest worker program as long as 1) it doesn't apply to any illegal currently in the US, 2) can only be applied for from the prospective guest worker's home country, 3) is for a limited time period, 4) "birthright citizenship" does NOT apply to any children born to the "guest worker" during that time, and 5) offers NO path to citizenship.

The thing that is anathema is any sort of amnesty that offers any kind of path to citizenship or permanent residency.

8 posted on 03/24/2006 7:58:26 AM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Wonder Warthog

You may think I err seriously but anything other than the plan you detailed would be a form of amnesty.

Since we all know that the plan you detailed is not one they'd ever have the guts to pass I don't consider myself in error.


9 posted on 03/24/2006 8:06:17 AM PST by Bikers4Bush (Flood waters rising, heading for more conservative ground. Vote for true conservatives!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Millee; HiJinx; gubamyster

QUISLING: a synonym for traitor, someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country.

10 posted on 03/24/2006 8:17:47 AM PST by Travis McGee (--- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com ---)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee
Free Republic members, if you're against the effort to legitimize criminals you can make your wishes known at the following links with minimal effort on your part:

FAIR's Oppose Amnesty Page

NumbersUSA's Contact Congress Page

If you're pleased with the results of the 1986 amnesty please continue enabling this socialist mob that is skewing population numbers in favor of the Democrat Party everywhere they settle. Far better to accept our leadership's plan and avoid being called a racista. Abrace la diversidad. La economía se derrumbará sin ellos...

11 posted on 03/24/2006 8:24:56 AM PST by NewRomeTacitus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee

we have 4.8% unemployment rate hire americans that is why I was aginst the Dubai ports deal. Americans should deal with americans stuff not the other way around. I know that soem foreign companies are running some ports in the east and west coast and I am against that as well.


12 posted on 03/24/2006 8:55:06 AM PST by ziggy_dlo (freedom security:give up a little of either, you deserve neither liberalcracks)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee; 1_Inch_Group; 2sheep; 2Trievers; 3AngelaD; 3pools; 3rdcanyon; 4Freedom; ...


Civil Ping!

13 posted on 03/24/2006 9:01:59 AM PST by HiJinx (~ www.proudpatriots.org ~ Serving Those Who Serve Us ~ Operation Easter/Passover ~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Millee

Please call them INVADERS and don't compare them to people who are legal aliens!


President Bush has been great on most things except for our border.
He has been great on the war on terrorists.
But on the border he is a gross failure.
He acted fast and correct on the 3,000+ people murdered at the world trade center.
He ignores the many rapes, murders and robberies which might be larger than the murders and money loss at the world trade center.
More Americans are abducted on the border of Mexico than in Iraq!

Start building the fence.

It should be made a felony for Criminals who overstay their visas and Invaders.

I believe we should give amnesty to these poor CRIMINALS or INVADERS.
This should be a 2 week amnesty to get the heck out of our Country.
The ones who ignore this amnesty should be buried in a tent city jail and fined $10,000 or buried elsewhere.
All aiders and abettors of these CRIMINALS or INVADERS should get 1 year in a tent city jail and a $10,000 fine for each CRIMINAL aided.
Those in government should be the first ones charged.


14 posted on 03/24/2006 9:17:31 AM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran ("The EU is proof that two or more heads are thicker than one.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Travis McGee
QUISLING: a synonym for traitor, someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country.

The shoe fits!

15 posted on 03/24/2006 9:56:30 AM PST by planekT (<- http://www.wadejacoby.com/pedro/ ->)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Millee

This is unbelievable. Give the jobs to AMERICANS. Not the people that are invading our country!!!!!


16 posted on 03/24/2006 10:37:41 AM PST by ziggy_dlo (freedom security:give up a little of either, you deserve neither liberalcracks)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Millee
"If you're doing a job an American won't do, you're welcome here for a period of time to do that job"

Mister President,

Shame on you! There is NO job that Americans won't do provided it pays the bills and keeps the family fed. Just because you're too lazy or effete to do them yourself, gives you no right to speak for your countrymen.

These jobs are often the only source of income for American citizens lacking a college education. Not every man and woman in this country WANTS or NEEDS to go to college. Quit taking food out off the plates of American citizens and giving it to foreigners here ILLEGALLY to advance your crack-brained scheme for ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.

There. I said it.

17 posted on 03/24/2006 10:56:49 AM PST by CowboyJay (Rough Riders! Tancredo '08)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: CowboyJay

"Mister President,

Shame on you! There is NO job that Americans won't do provided it pays the bills and keeps the family fed. Just because you're too lazy or effete to do them yourself, gives you no right to speak for your countrymen.

These jobs are often the only source of income for American citizens lacking a college education. Not every man and woman in this country WANTS or NEEDS to go to college. Quit taking food out off the plates of American citizens and giving it to foreigners here ILLEGALLY to advance your crack-brained scheme for ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.

There. I said it."

Your post was so good it needed to be repeated!


19 posted on 03/24/2006 11:31:48 AM PST by EagleMamaMT ("Uncle Sugar: Handle it at the border or Uncle Winchester will handle it at the porch." Squantos)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: sheana

Bush was calling for civility because of what Hillary said.


20 posted on 03/24/2006 12:45:58 PM PST by Ben Ficklin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-33 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson