[Richard Kimball]

We're already supplementing illegal aliens. Actually, what we're doing is supplementing the businesses. The wages for illegals may be below what a US worker would make, but they cost significantly less because the employer isn't paying health care, workers comp, vacation or sick leave time, or employer's part of SS or medicare. The illegals are wrecking the health care system by showing up at hospitals, which are legally required to treat them, whenever they need medical care. Also, the illegal, at least in Texas, isn't going to be suing the employer if he or she gets injured on the job. It probably costs over twice as much to hire legal US citizens and pay them the same salary that the illegal receives. I don't know what the actual results of Bush's plan will be, but I do know that part of his strategy is to get this underground economy out in the open. Hiring from outside of the country might not be as tempting if the businesses don't get the perks of treating the employees like slave labor.

I also agree with the point of the article that people are just too mobile now. It's too easy for them to travel. There's over 1500 miles of border between the US and Mexico. The Great Wall really was never a success, except as a tourist attraction, and I don't think one will work any better in the southern US. Most of the hispanics I know are good folks. There are jerks, of course, but having lived in Texas my whole life, I'm pretty comfortable around Mexican culture. There are some problems, of course. The voodoo prevalent in Mexico is frightening, and the corruption of their police officials is legendary. I knew who Bush was when I voted for him, and this move doesn't surprise me at all.

[Richard Kimball]

There's a point in my previous post that isn't clear. When I said people are too mobile, what I meant was that they're too mobile to restrict their movements effectively, not that people are too mobile and we need to figure out a way to nail them down so they can't travel.

[garandgal]

You have hit the nail on the head...it is all about supplementing business at our expense. My question is, aside from the millions already running towards the border in hopes of making it in time to be part of the amnesty, what assurances do we have that another five or ten million will not arrive later...to be part of an entirely new underground culture?

If the first bunch has some type of legal status, and consequently has some of the protections afforded citizen employees...what is to stop the thieves that now employ them illegally, from hiring the new batch of arrivals...thus compounding the problem?

Are we going to actually enforce laws against it? We haven't yet.

[tickles]

This move doesn't surprise me, since I was aware of his feelings on the issue. He was just the better of a couple crappy choices.

If he puts restrictions on all the freebies ,makes our welfare programs unavailable, low cost clinics that they have to fork over some of their own hard earned cash to pay for...no freebies in the er, make them pay there to, I had to, encourage urgent care at 40 bucks (that's cheap) double it for er. No rent assistance, no ESL classes, fines and deportation for crime. makes sure that going to the polls during elections results in the whole family going back etc.etc. then perhaps it might be the right way to go.
but if all the freebies are available, we continue to finance them and the businesses at the expense of our own elderly and vulnerable populations not to mention our schools............Nope not the right way.

I'm really concidering sitting this presidential election out. And I've voted in every one since I turned 18 way back when. (and I'm sure the demos are jumping up and down with joy at the number of us who are actually concidering something they've never concidered before)