And if we can make them go home if they don't get a renewal of their blue card, THEN WHY CAN'T WE JUST MAKE THEM GO HOME NOW? Why would we suddenly be able to do something, we not only claim we can't do now, but use as the basis for this policy: "we can't deport them all."
Furthermore, I see no reason to believe that the illegals here now are all going to sign up for this program. There will still be a black labor market, as there is now. There will still be employers who do not want to jump through the red tape to hire a payroll person to handle withholdings or an HR person to authenticate documents of new hires.
And, black market labor may pay more after taxes and SS are taken out, epecially if the guest workers are supposed to fill those jobs no other American's want, ie low paying.
I won't even get into the inevitable social program expansion that will be required to subsidize low-paid guest workers.
Because right now we don't know where all 8 million live and work, as well as due to the fact that it would take an enormous logistical effort to forceably round up all 8 million illegals.
On the other hand, *after* Bush's new immigration plan passes, illegals will *volunteer* to register for their new blue cards. Once registered, we will then *know* where they live and who they work for...simplifying our enforcement.
Moreover, most of those aliens will choose to return to their homes after 3 years rather than risk losing all that they've worked for while in Bush's program. That accomplishes our goal of convincing them to deport themselves, and it further simplifies the remaining scope of our enforcement problem because there will be fewer of them left to deal with.
Good question --- and the blue card will be good for 3 years --- as it is now many illegals actually do go home in between jobs --- it's too easy to be picked up and deported if you wander about looking for work ---- with a blue card, do they get deported between jobs or do they have a right to stay and opening seek employment?