Bush to Give Illegals Social Security Benefits

United Press International via Cox.Net ^ | 6 January 2004 | United Press International

[Spiff]

Bush to Give Illegals SS Benefits January 06 2004 03:29:00 PM EST

President Bush is set to present his immigration proposal Wednesday. WASHINGTON, Jan 06, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- President Bush wants to let some of the eight million illegal aliens in the United States move toward legal status without penalty -- but with benefits. His proposals, part of a sweeping change in U.S. immigration policy, will be revealed Wednesday, the Washington Times reported.

Bush will propose that illegal aliens from Mexico, and possibly other countries, who pay U.S. Social Security taxes, but provide false identification numbers, be allowed to collect benefits.

"The president has long talked about the importance of having an immigration policy that matches willing workers with willing employers," said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan Monday.

The plan is expected to be opposed by Republicans on Capitol Hill, but it will be embraced by Mexican President Vicente Fox when he meets Bush during a Jan. 12-14 meeting in Monterrey, Mexico.

The changes have long been advocated by Fox, whose close relationship with Bush has been strained since border security efforts were beefed up after the Sept. 11 attacks and since Mexico refused to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Fox said the plan would allow Mexicans "to go and come each year as many times as they want, without problems, so that they can work with documents in the United States."

Copyright 2004 by United Press International.

[LaurieB]

It would seem that is the plan.

[warchild9]

be = bet. I'm going to go have supper. It's almost 7 here.

[nicmarlo]

I'm OUTRAGED! What is WRONG with Bush?

[international american]

America at least as far as I see... it will be lost in 10-20 years. Their is no political will to stop the balkanization of America.It deeply saddens me, but that won't change the stripes on the Zebra. I have other homes, and if it gets too bad I have an alternative. But what about the rest of our Americans who, for reasons of family or finance do not have my options?

[spectre]

BUSH!!!!!

sw

[FredTownWard]

Few topics are more likely to cause conservatives to approach (though of course not to actually reach) Dean-supporter levels of lunacy than immigration reform, which is a shame because the subject cries out for some lucid analysis. The problem is quite simple: Americans call for more restricted immigration than they are willing to enforce. Lots of people talk about rounding them all up and deporting them or putting troops on the border (for the purpose of shooting them though this is rarely admitted) but most lack the stomach for the Gestapo-like or East-German-border-guard-like tactics necessary to even ATTEMPT something like this and with good reason. If we will just be honest with ourselves, we know from our own experience that MOST illegal immigrants are decent, hardworking folk so desperate for an opportunity that they broke the law to get here and give their families the chance at a better future and that they'd probably turn out to be "better" citizens if given the opportunity than the 7th generation Americans currently putting together "Bush=Hitler" ads for MoveOn.com.

Well, if we are unwilling to shoot them, sow minefields in their paths, poison water supplies, and sic some massive secret police force on them, what do we do about them? Logic suggests that we try to find some way to legalize the status of the best of them (and the bulk of them) so that we can realistically deal with the hard cases that can too easily hide at present. In addition we need to increase legal immigration opportunities enough to reduce the pressure on what will certainly need to be beefed-up immigration enforcement, which is more likely to have the support of most Americans if it doesn't involve mass roundups of domestics, busboys, and farmworkers just trying to better their children's lives. It wouldn't hurt to tighten up our entitlement giveaways as well and not just for immigrants. The argument that most illegal immigrants DON'T come here for the entitlements makes sense when you realize that lazy foreigners would tend to stay home.

I don't know if Bush will come up with the right solution or not, but I salute him for trying to deal with a problem ignored for too long. As for the reaction, one expects this sort of paranoid screaming from the lunatic left, but I would have thought that conservatives were better than this. After reading these posts, for the first time in a very long time I have been embarrassed to call myself a conservative.

[Ann Archy]

You need to get a grip! These people have PAID INTO the SS system...should we just confiscate their money???

[Alissa]

My caveat was 'popular with Hispanic in heavily Democratic districts.' I think Bush is smart enough to have seen what happened to Gray Davis and not repeat the error just for votes (that's Rush's theory).

My own theory is that Bush thinks the illegals are good for the economy and he genuinely has a favorable opinion of Hispanics. Being from San Antonio, I can understand it. Hispanics moving into the middle class is good for everyone.

[Kevin Curry]

I'm embarassed to call you a conservative, too.

[expatguy]

President Bush wants to let some of the eight million illegal aliens in the United States move toward legal status without penalty -- but with benefits. His proposals, part of a sweeping change in U.S. immigration policy, will be revealed Wednesday, the Washington Times reported.

If Bush does this, then he loses my vote which he apparently now takes for granted.

Something like this will just push me over the edge.

If Bush betrays you, there is an alternative.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

"We are about immigrants...people who want to come here, be Americans, and be a part of contributing to America and doing it legally. Rewarding illegal activities in this manner is a big mistake as regards our soveriegnty and ability to safeguard the very culture that made our shores desirable in the first place."

This is so true. This is another sad day, and another bitter pill to swallow.

[Rome2000]

MOST illegal immigrants are decent, hardworking folk so desperate for an opportunity that they broke the law to get here and give their families the chance at a better future and that they'd probably turn out to be "better" citizens if given the opportunity than the 7th generation Americans currently putting together "Bush=Hitler" ads for MoveOn.com

Har Har!!

This initiative, coupled with a credible border protection policy, will serve to make America safer and ensure a GOP majority for many years to come.

I would like to see an adjustment of the ratio of Europeans allowed to legally immigrate to balance the illegals, and the Administration would be wise to use this opportunity to reverse past RAT policy of decreasing the Caucasian immigrant population.

[FredTownWard]

Well, Kevin, I certainly cannot accuse you of a mindless, knee-jerk response. Oh, wait, I guess I can.

[billbears]

The GOP has had some conservatives in it; They're just not in power.

I can see Rove wondering in November where his dependable base disappeared to. WG, that bar better be stocked ;)

[oreolady]

The only thing I can say to this news is WHY???????

[Born in a Rage]

Lets say someone steals a car and changes the vehicle ID. They then proceed to get insurance on the vehicle - a couple of months later they total the car and tell the insurance company they want the money on the value of the car - even though they didn't pay for it and it was stolen. Is that right? Do you think the insurance company would payout money to them on a car found to be stolen? This whole thing is wrong. These people are getting rewarded for breaking the law. Other people come here legally, do they get any special treatment? No!

[Revel]

A couple of old posts on this subject when Bush was going to do this in the past:

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b69972c0f64.htm

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/628679/posts

"Bush Mexican plan resurfaces
washingtontimes.com ^ | Feb.15, 2002 | August Gribbin

Posted on 02/15/2002 9:40:26 AM EST by healey22

The Bush administration is pushing Congress to act on the president's plan for granting amnesty to millions of Mexican workers living and working illegally in the United States.

Amnesty and the related "guest-worker" issue have surfaced anew partly because Mr. Bush is preparing once more to take up the matter with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 22.

Mr. Bush has previously declared his commitment to "make sure that [illegal workers´] labor is legal" and to "consider ways for a guest worker to earn green-card status."

Administration officials insist that, although the subject faded from the minds of many after the September 11 attacks, it has remained a priority for Mr. Bush.

James W. Ziglar, commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, for weeks has been insisting the issue is alive.

"Some believe that our migration talks with Mexico have been forgotten in the wake of September 11. I assure you that is not the case," he told a gathering of pro-immigration organization leaders at the National Immigration Forum Conference earlier this month.

Rep. Christopher B. Cannon, Utah Republican, who serves as the White House point man on the issue, has been lobbying congressional opponents of the proposal.

"I can confirm that the White House is pressuring representatives to act," says an aide to Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, who is a leading opponent of amnesty.

Mr. Tancredo chairs the Congressional Caucus on Immigration Reform. Granting amnesty would reward lawbreakers, he says, and would be "a kick in the teeth to the thousands of individuals across the world who are legally attempting to enter the United States."

"Instead, the U.S. is saying, 'Why wait? Sneak on in.'"

Mr. Ziglar outlined the administration's goals earlier this month at the immigration forum conference, where he said that ranking State Department and INS officials have been meeting with "high level Mexican officials" on amnesty and related immigration issues.

"If we could find a way to move a substantial portion of the current illegal flow from Mexico into legal channels via some kind of temporary-worker program and combine that with new cooperative law-enforcement arrangements with Mexico, we could benefit the U.S. economy, [and] we could substantially reduce illegal immigration," the INS commissioner said.

Another administration goal is to "normalize" the status of a yet-to-be-determined number of the estimated 3.5 million illegal workers from Mexico living in the United States. However, critics say normalizing status is a euphemism for granting amnesty and evokes memories of 1986.

That year, in an attempt to cope with illegal immigration, Congress granted 2.7 million people the coveted "green cards" that denote permanent U.S. residency and the prospect of citizenship. But the flow of undocumented Mexicans did not stop after 1986 — it increased.

Basing their observations on INS statistics, researchers point out that by 1997 a new group of illegal aliens had entirely replaced the formerly illegal aliens and that the population of undocumented residents had again reached 5 million, the pre-1986 number. In the years after the amnesty, the number of illegal immigrants grew to more than 800,000 a year, as relatives of the newly legal U.S. residents joined them."

[spodefly]

President Bush wants to let some of the eight million illegal aliens in the United States move toward legal status without penalty -- but with benefits.

I will not vote for Bush in 2004. Period. This was the last straw.

[Revel]

"That year, in an attempt to cope with illegal immigration, Congress granted 2.7 million people the coveted "green cards" that denote permanent U.S. residency and the prospect of citizenship. But the flow of undocumented Mexicans did not stop after 1986 — it increased. Basing their observations on INS statistics, researchers point out that by 1997 a new group of illegal aliens had entirely replaced the formerly illegal aliens and that the population of undocumented residents had again reached 5 million, the pre-1986 number. In the years after the amnesty, the number of illegal immigrants grew to more than 800,000 a year, as relatives of the newly legal U.S. residents joined them.""

[Spiff]

We understand it only too well. At the conniving insistence of Rove, Bush is pandering to Hispanics and telling his base (I certainly supported him in 2000) to get stuffed if they don't like it.

Karl "Wormtongue" Rove conferring with President "Theodin" Bush. - Can we wake him up before it is too late? Will he respond to the beacons from the watchtowers announcing the invasion?