Posted on 02/20/2004 10:33:52 PM PST by JustPiper
Says rift among Republicans could be mended if proposal scrapped
President Bush's plan to overhaul immigration policy with a temporary worker program has little chance of passing this year, a congressman said.
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, told the San Antonio Express-News the reform proposal has created a worrisome rift among Republicans that could be fixed if the plan is substantially changed or scrapped.
As WorldNetDaily reported, on Jan. 7, Bush proposed allowing illegal aliens working in the United States to remain in the country for three years if their employers vouch for their jobs. During that period, the worker essentially would be given the rights of a worker with permanent-resident status, including Social Security benefits and the right to bring family members to the United States. In addition, a "temporary worker program" would permit foreigners to come to the U.S. if they can prove they have secured a job.
A House Immigration Subcommittee member, and former chairman, Smith views the guest-worker plan as a veiled call for amnesty despite the president's insistence to the contrary. He also expressed the concern of many Republicans that it will allow terrorists to come into the country on a worker visa, the San Antonio paper said.
In January, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said on Joseph Farah's WorldNetDaily RadioActive program he did not think Congress would pass the Bush plan, but feared a bill more to his disliking would be proposed.
Democrats want to make it even easier for illegals to stay in the United States, and many Republicans would support them, he said.
Smith believes any plan that encourages illegal immigration will further depress wages, and he fears a voter backlash against Republican candidates.
"Some Republicans support the president on this issue, but they're in the minority," he told the Express-News. "The president is going to have to convince the rest of us or risk having a lot of Republicans opposed to him."
Smith said Republicans need to communicate to Americans they are not against immigrants, as long as they enter the country legally.
Many GOP members find the plan far too extensive with its inclusion of workers in any industry, not just agriculture. Also many object to employees with illegal workers already on the payroll not having to offer jobs to U.S. citizens first.
The congressman said, however, he would be open to testing the idea with a geographically limited guest worker program, the San Antonio paper reported.
Meanwhile, U.S. Border Patrol officials have confirmed the worst fears of opponents, reporting a 15 percent increase in the use of fraudulent documents at the world's busiest land border crossing since the proposal was announced.
Of course, wait till after the election. The GOP base will have 2 years to cool off before the next election.
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>Democrats want to make it even easier for illegals to stay in the United States, and many Republicans would support them
Sounds like a majority here.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Short answer: never. They will simply find more creative ways to contort words and torture logic to make their appeal for amnesty more pallatable to more gullible Americans.
Good for you. I applaud what you did!
(You raise a very good point, too. We're not saving money because of illegals. Employers might be saving money by hiring them, but they're not passing on those savings to us. I'm convinced of it.)
Now, will we hear about a change in job title for Karl Rove? I don't think there will be much hope of mending relationships within the Republican party until there is some explanation or understanding about why this platform was brought up in the first place.
Just a a thought.
This is a good start.. and IMO they still have time to fix this mess, but the clock is ticking.
In other words, Mr. President, you want to give employers the power to grant de facto citizenship???
Wonder how many employers "ready to vouch for these illegals", can also produce 3 yrs. proof of all federal & SS taxes having been paid ???
This is what I have been saying for weeks.
This requires much complicated and long debate and legal wrangling.
The current code must be dissected and redone.
Surely not this year.
And what about the 14th amendment?
Those three words that create problematic anchor babies.
Codes can be written to modify the effect. It can be done!
but it will indeed take time and efforts of many.
A centerpiece of the proposal.
"Defacto citizenship" is pretty shabby rhetorical prose.
That is not what was meant by the reform proposal. Not at all.
Gee, I wonder why that is?
Heck, everyone is calling it amnesty except for Bush.
What do you expect when ignorant people read the crap or hear it from someone else equally ignorant of the facts.
No body expected that the rhetoric would emerge this way. Bush did not intend it to be so.
The use of the term is what is causing the increase in crossings.
The use of a faulty descriptive rhetorical term.
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