[Age of Reason]

Sounds to me like they'll have to pay this new breed of documented temporary worker more money than your everyday illegal immigrant.

Which may mean that it will be more profitable for American employers to continue to hire illegals who sneak across the border without participating in this temporary worker scheme.

So, what's this all about?

Well, it makes Bush look good to liberal-leaning Americans (he's soooo compassionate) and to Hispanics, so he gains their votes.

Then again, the purpose of this may be the opposite from what we assume:

Maybe this guest worker program, by costing employers more, makes American labor more cost competitive, and so will result in more jobs, at higher wages, to real Americans.

And as for illegals who would sneak across the border without registering for this program, Bush can now say something like hey, I gave Mexicans a humane way to do this, now give me freedom to enforce our borders, after all, we need secure borders now more than ever.

[SunStar]

Bush can now say something like hey, I gave Mexicans a humane way to do this, now give me freedom to enforce our borders, after all, we need secure borders now more than ever.

This is exactly what Tom Ridge is saying...

[Age of Reason]

I finally found time to read the speech (instead of being too busy arguing here with pro-immigration crazies).

What do you think of my thoughts in my post, post number 142 on this thread here (especially the second part of my post):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1053502/posts?page=142#142

Perhaps there's more to Bush's idea than meets the eye: Might it be a very clever and good idea--all things considered?

Thoughts?

[Tempest]

I kind of like your assumptions in that post. Although I would speculate that employers attempting to hire completely non-documented workers in an attempt of trying to circumvent wage increases as being rather unlikely. There is too large of an established illegal workforce already in the farming community. And I don't suspect that some of these farm workers who would have just recently recieved a document that allows them the status to legally work within the US would take kindly to anybody trying to undercut them.

It's all rather ironically funny the more I think about it.

Here we are with illegal immigrants under cutting American wages in what is typically an undesirable job. Suddenly they'll recieve legal work status which will allow them more leverage and more freedom to voice their demands to their employers. Either (A.) Forcing the employer to increase wages making the job more competative (also making the produce more expensive) or (B.) Cause the employer to try to hire completely undocumented workers whom would most assuredly be retaliated against by their recently documented counterparts.

The newly documented worker will be trying to protect their new found interest while the program will subconciously allow them to understand the unfairness of people attempting to circumvent the system and of employers who try t undercut their employees.

A rather harsh yet sweet lesson.