Bush to propose immigration law changes to allow Mexican workers in U.S.

SanDiego.com ^ | 5:11 a.m. January 6, 2004 | Deb Riechmann

[healey22]

A federal database would have to be a must, however the burden of reporting should be at the employer level.

Excellent point!

[lucidloony]

What gated community do you live in?

[politicalwit]

One incentive to return home could be a federally maintained saving account for each guest worker. (Employee and employer contributions) Guest workers would qualify for savings disbursement only after returning home under favorable circumstances.

[politicalwit]

One other point is that I feel that the sponsoring employer should assume the financial and legal responsibilities of each guest worker. That would include healthcare expenses, legal expenses and even the cost of incarcaration if necessary. If that means that the employer has to post a bond for each guest worker...so be it.

[Texas Federalist]

Yeah, don't vote for the SOB. And tell him so. When he thinks you won't have anywhere to go this November, prove him right... Don't go the polls.

If you want to send a message, not going to the polls is the worst thing to do. The best way to clearly send a message is to vote for a third party candidate. It would send more of a message that Bush has lost his conservative base if right wing third parties get 7-10% of the vote than if those unhappy voters do not show up in the election results.

[StoneColdGOP]

If you want to send a message, not going to the polls is the worst thing to do. The best way to clearly send a message is to vote for a third party candidate. It would send more of a message that Bush has lost his conservative base if right wing third parties get 7-10% of the vote than if those unhappy voters do not show up in the election results

I am, even still, a loyal Republican, even if the elected leaders of my Party are not. I am loyal to the conservative principles of my Party that have been abandoned by Bush, Schwarzenegger, and the host of devotees that follow them. I will vote Republican still: I will probably write-in Tom Tancredo's name.

[CA Conservative]

What is it that doesn't allow us to do that now?

The fact that most of these people are in the country without official knowledge; how can you monitor someone if you don't know he/she is even here? By allowing these workers to enter legally, after getting a visa, being registered and having a background check, you know who they are and where they are.

I think any guest worker program should require the worker to keep a current address on file. If the worker moves without notifying their employer or the INS, that would be grounds for revoking the visa, denying a new visa for 5 years, and immediate deportation.

[CA Conservative]

One incentive to return home could be a federally maintained saving account for each guest worker. (Employee and employer contributions) Guest workers would qualify for savings disbursement only after returning home under favorable circumstances.

Good point!

[optik_b]

"The bottom line is for President Bush to win in November."

So the only thing that matters is politics. That explains everything from the massive prescription drug entitelement program to get the votes of seniors to the gigantic Farm Bill subsidy...now we have this immigration proposal that will increase the mexicanization of states like California that are already overflowing with massive immigration.

[ClintonBeGone]

So the only thing that matters is politics.

The fight for the heart and souls of american are fought on the battlefield - the political battlefield. If you are too scared to get in the game, stay on the porch.

[ClintonBeGone]

I will vote Republican still: I will probably write-in Tom Tancredo's name.

Why not McClintock?

[StoneColdGOP]

Tom unfortunately, has said he has no desire to go to Washington. "I'm over Potomac fever", as he put it.

But I doubt he'd turn down the job if he won it!

[ClintonBeGone]

But I doubt he'd turn down the job if he won it!

He's certainly got a Potomic sized ego. :)

[riri]

In English?

Good question. At some point, it is just not going to make sense to do the speeches in English.

McCain was on local talk show today. Claiming they will only take the jobs that have been advertised and rejected by Americans.

Does he really believe we are that naive? I've been on the other side of this having moved to another country for a job my husband took with his company. They, too, had to advertise for the job in that country's papers, search firms etc. They carefully worded it so no German could qualify.

Another thought I had, at some point in time will we see quotas that need to be filled? A certain amount of guest workers per so many employees?

This is hardly going to fix the problem. People who hire illegally want cheap labor. Cheap labor doesn't equate to $5 an hour plus all the other expenses that pile on. There will still be border crossers and still be people who hire them for $4 an hour off the books.

Lord knows, we won't be deporting anyone.

[FrontlinesofFreedom]

Howard Dean's position on immigration

http://beta.deanforamerica.com/site/cg/index.html?type=page&pagename=policy_statement_civilrights_immigration

America is an immigrant nation. As President, I will recognize and respect the vital role immigrants have played in building the American community.

Candidate Bush promised that he would be a different kind of Republican, supportive of immigrants and their desires to achieve the American Dream. Candidate Bush promised to revamp the naturalization process so that immigrants who met the requirements could obtain their citizenship in six months or less. In 2001, President Bush said he would work with President Fox of Mexico to develop a new immigration policy that recognized the economic contribution of immigrants, particularly those from Mexico, and that would respect the human rights of these migrants.

Unfortunately, President Bush has not kept these promises.

While he made these promises and invited mariachis to play at the White House, his Attorney General, John Ashcroft, was deputizing local police authorities as junior INS agents to track down undocumented immigrants. Instead of exercising leadership to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush has turned his back on Mexico and other Latin American countries. He has ignored the dreams of millions of immigrants to become a legitimate part of our society, and not simply its unseen workforce. Instead of revamping and streamlining the immigration agency and its processes, the President has allowed the agency to be swallowed up into the Department of Homeland Security, where immigrants are routinely treated as terrorists until proven otherwise.

We need a White House that will lead Congress to enact real immigration reform. As President, I will work tirelessly to achieve that goal.

*
I will work to ensure that people who work hard, pay taxes, and otherwise obey the rules can become full participants in our society, including becoming citizens.
*
I will work to regularize the inevitable future migration of labor in a way that makes economic and humanitarian sense. Deaths in the desert do neither.
*
I will propose reforms that ensure we can meet our economy’s need for workers at all skill levels, without pitting foreign workers against U.S. workers and while respecting workers' rights including the right to organize.
*
I will work to forge stronger partnerships with countries from which immigrants migrate -- especially Mexico -- so that in the long run, fewer people will be driven by desperation to break laws and risk their lives for basic opportunities that every human being deserves.
*
I will work to ensure that immigrants who are detained by the Department of Homeland Security are afforded their basic civil rights and that our concern for national security does not become another excuse for racial profiling.
*
I will build on our country’s long history of welcoming immigrants in ways that reflect our need for security but do not sacrifice the basic ideals upon which this nation was founded.

[oceanview]

its all talk, I don't expect any of this to actually materialize.

[putupon]

its all talk, I don't expect any of this to actually materialize.

Jorge talked about giving 15b of our hard earned money to African Dictators, but I think only 7b actually materialized in their Swiss accounts.

[William McKinley]

Dean's Statement on Bush Administration Immigration Proposal

BURLINGTON--Governor Howard Dean issued the following statement in response to President Bush's immigration proposal:

"I share the disappointment of millions of hardworking immigrants who had hoped the President would show true leadership in addressing the difficult issue of immigration reform.

"The President's proposal will help big corporations who currently employ undocumented workers.

"But it does nothing to place hardworking immigrants on a path to citizenship and would create a permanent underclass of service workers with second-class status.

"President Bush's decision to raise immigration at this juncture appears to be little more than a cynical gesture in an election year."

Governor Dean believes:

We need earned legalization for undocumented immigrants in the US who work hard, pay taxes, and otherwise obey the rules, so that they can become full participants in society, including becoming citizens. We also need a temporary worker program that responds to US labor demands but ensures US workers are not displaced, and that offers family unification, the right to organize, and a clear path to citizenship.

And we need strong, enforceable labor standards in our trade agreements and should target development assistance to areas of high migration. This will help create strong middle classes in other countries so that people will not need to migrate to the US in search of work.

Source: Dean Press Release on Immigration (Needs Your Comments)

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[usnret99]

I don't have a problem with a Guest worker program at all and I do like the idea of the amendment about being born in the united states while in a migrant status sounds good, I would go farther and state "illegal status = No US Citisenship" what I have a problem is legalizing illegal activity.