his 'Guest Worker' program aka the great Amnesty Lite scam
Posted on 11/29/2004 9:14:20 PM PST by Cableguy
Back in 2001, George W. Bush, a newly elected president from a border state, had immigration on his mind. Within weeks of his inauguration, Bush vowed to extend a hand to Mexico, making an ambitious guest-worker proposal a hallmark of his administration. The president's dream was dashed by 9/11; tightening border controls, not loosening them, became the priority. He must have been serious, though, because just weeks after winning a second term, Bush has embraced the guest-worker proposal anew. Secretary of State Colin Powell and White House counselor Karl Rove have called the initiative a high priority. And Bush pledged to renew his push for the legislation in a talk with Mexican President Vicente Fox at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference. advertisement
But Bush faces opposition in his own party--from border-state voters and House Republicans. In late November, conservatives derailed intelligence-reform legislation in part by refusing to get behind a bill that did not include strict immigration proposals. The president has made much of his willingness to spend political capital, but this issue may prove prohibitively expensive.
The introduction of the president's guest-worker idea dates back to January 2004, when Arizona, New Mexico, and Florida were swing states and wooing their Hispanic populations seemed a must. The president's proposal would allow the 8 million to 10 million illegal aliens in the United States to apply for temporary worker permits, three-year documents that could be renewed at least once. (After that, the workers could petition for permanent legal status.) Immigrants would also have access to a database of jobs that could not be filled by American citizens, and they could cross the border legally once they secured work.
The proposal ignited criticism. Democrats said Bush's plan would create a class of indentured servants, while Republicans felt it rewarded illegal behavior. One of the harshest critics was Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, who heads the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, a group that advocates a partial moratorium on immigration and the denial of citizenship to American-born children of illegal aliens. Tancredo argued that the president's bill would increase illegal immigration and open the border to terrorists. "Bush tried to send us a pig with lipstick," Tancredo says. "We told him it would be dead on arrival in the House."
Bush faces an even tougher crowd in the next Congress. Seven new con-servatives will join the Senate, and in the House, Tancredo's group will be 75 members strong. In mid-November, 22 House Republicans, led by California's Elton Gallegly, signed a letter urging the administration to give up the guest-worker proposal. On the intelligence reform bill, the House Republican leaders refused to back down until the 11th hour on proposals that would have made it easier to deport aliens and deny them driver's licenses. "These people looked the administration in the eye and said, 'Drop dead,' " says Mark Krikorian, who runs a conservative immigration reform group.
Crackdown. What's more, the conservatives appear to have the momentum. In Arizona, where residents feel under siege from illegal immigration, voters just passed Proposition 200, which effectively denies government benefits to illegal aliens. "I could take you on a tour of my neighborhood and show you houses where smugglers tortured immigrants and ruined buildings by veering off the road," says an angry Keith Koller, 36, a south Phoenix resident who voted for Bush. Conservatives are hoping to put initiatives similar to Proposition 200 on the ballot in Colorado, Georgia, and California.
Administration officials say Bush really believes in the guest-worker idea, and there is speculation that he wants to reward the estimated 34 to 44 percent of Hispanic voters who supported him. His ability to bring home a win may depend on how much he's ready to risk. Gallegly says he respects the president but adds that if Bush insists on peeving House Republicans early in his term, he could put his entire agenda at risk. "Washington," says Gallegly, " is a land of grudges."
What do you suppose is Fox's power over Bush? Vicente Fox stabbed Bush in the back over the war in Iraq. He demands and demands and demands --- but has Fox ever once offered to pay the huge costs of educating and providing health care to his millions of citizens he sends to the USA? Or reimburse us for the costs of incarceration? Why must that be the taxpayers' problem when Mexico actually is a very wealthy country?
Fox has little say-so back home but he's being given great authority over the laws of the USA --- the American people have little say in this issue it seems.
He lives in Madison, WI. No wonder he thinks Bush is a conservative! ;o)
That seems to be what we get out of this deal --- the portion of Mexico's population that it's elite class has decided must go --- nothing else in exchange to pay for them.
Obviously Vicente Fox doesn't believe these people are useful in building an economy or he would want some of his citizens to stay home and build that place up. And there is no limit to Fox's demands --- he brags that one-fifth of Mexico's citizens are already living in the USA --- yet that isn't nearly enough --- it's constantly more, more, more. Two-fifths won't be enough, one-half won't be enough.
We need one in Arkansas. They are soaking up enormous amounts of public resources, to the disadvantage of Americans. Our children are suffering because we can't deny these disrespectful parasites anything.
My last visit to ER, my insurance co owed 1200 bucks (costs me 700 a month). Pedro in cubicle next tome walked out owing nothing, had a beeeeg smile on his face. Try that in Mexico.
And getting rid of the whatever law allows babies of illegals to be American citizens. If mom is illegal, child is illegal. Maybe, since they love their children so much, if they knew their children would be punished, instead of rewarded, for THEIR (the parent's) illegal behavior, perhaps they would be a little less anxious to smuggle them over here in their bellies.
One big reason --- their employers who like to see them work don't like to provide them health insurance benefits or pay them enough to support their large families. What they really like is unlimited amounts of cheap tax-payer subsidized labor. If they had to actually pay for their entire costs, they wouldn't like them nearly as much.
Yeah, like jobs for actual Americans! What an idea.
Here's another result: I'm seeing many help wanted postings stating "bi-lingual a plus" or "must be bi-lingual".
Now I have to learn a foreign language to be a qualified candidate for these jobs. I'll do it, but until I master conversational Spanish I'm locked out of some jobs.
A problem in my area. Some of these rental units rent by the week.
Some of these transients have been known to visit local residents' homes during the day, while the homeowner is at work, then vanish to some other flop.
Really now. One party governments always end up serving themselves at the expense of their citizens. If anything we need more than two major parties since they have grown to resemble each other so much (at our collective expense). Checks and balances are vital because power corrupts without fail.
I see nothing wrong with looking at the past work history of illegals and letting them qualify for a work permit. That is one less illegal that has to found and sent back to Mexico.
How can one trust any "work history" concerning people who proactively hide their real identity, purchase the actual Social Security numbers of American citizens and obtain fraudulent documents for every other purpose? How can a work history be traced when an alien floats from community to community while changing his assumed personna at a whim? America's homegrown criminals would give their eyeteeth for this dual-standard "lookover" anyone remotely Hispanic enjoys (California's Special Order 40 and similar PD rules nationwide that effectively grant illegals free run).
When Dubya's immigration reform is enacted and the working illegals become legal many of your allies in this argument will continue to to complain because even though the law has changed their motivations were never about law but race.
Reform means improving with the intention of correcting past wrong. Under that definition what our President (Mexico's president - who's calling the shots here?) wants to do is not reform but "deform". When George W. yapped about the mere possibility last January the word spread to the tip of South America that he was talking actual amnesty, resulting in a huge surge of illegals from that action alone. That proved, to me, that ANY relaxation of what remains of our immigration laws and standards will bring in millions more while we can't even deal with the ones already here. The costs of actively deporting present illegals will be miniscule compared to the overall costs (not just money) any form of amnesty would bring on us. And it is ultimately us who pay the price for it; not the unethical employers nor the politicians who like the checks they palm to them.
To say it's about race is most Democrat of you, as the Republican party has done more for Americans of African heritage than anyone (though you couldn't tell by that demographic's voting habits since LBJ's time). Traditionally minority Americans are the ones most hurt by the illegal invasion as it's the jobs they used to be able to depend upon whittled away. Legal immigrants are in the same boat and suffer the added insult that those who get here the wrong way are being rewarded for it while they themselves adhere to strict standards and struggle for conformity. I love legal immigrants because most of them love our country more than liberal natives or today's generation of NEA-brainwashed students. Amnesty tells them that our country is no better than than those they were working so hard to get away from. We're better than that and should not abide anything that lowers our country. I'll happily pay more for meat, produce and goods if it means FAIR trade and scoundrels being held to the laws the rest of us abide. Illegals merely perpetuate a distorted economy for those pirate's benefit. The longer it's tolerated the more it becomes viewed as an expected standard.
Lord knows I've taken a lot of shocks lately over the price of gasoline - but learned to keep the tires aired up and the car tuned. If we don't see mass riots over that you can't expect one over the price of lettuce.
Finally - there's no reward for blindly following any politician but ultimately being betrayed. We "love" the president for his good qualities as positive reinforcement for the good things he accomplishes. We call him out for his mistakes because he's still Public Servant #1 and beholden to us all for his actions (and we still want him to be the best president he can be). When he hard-headedly believes that he can force the populace to accept a policy that we know is wrong we do have the responsibility to oppose him and thwart those designs. You mentioned Natoionalism like there was something wrong with that. If some other country has a better system than ours tell me about it. Until then I'm a proud nationalist.
Neither. There's something else driving this but I'm not exactly sure what it is. ($$$?)
Bush wants all of America to look like the multicultural utopia of Los Angeles.
Thats about the same percentage of hispanics that consistently poll as being against illegal immigration in CA as well as the rest of the country. I think its safe to assume Bush is gaining about ZERO by such crude pandering.
Now what made all those other international people run away? Obnoxious behavior, acceptance of public drunkenness, latin music cranked in the parking lot at all hours and guys out there wearing gang colors. Your's truly has faced them down (suicidal whim?) successfully just because I kept doing it. They know in their hearts that they don't belong here and a citizen having the cojones to step up and protest their actions sometimes does the trick. Amazingly, in the four years I've been raging on them all I've gotten was flattened tires because I didn't check behind them before driving out (strategically placed bottles or nails). You have to regain control of your communities and show your serious about it or they'll run you over. Gang colors and dealers are never seen here anymore, and a lot of the mothers give me a kind word occasionally.
Even the new complex owners heard about me - they had my car towed off ($75 ransom) despite it having a permit sticker, just because I had to park it outside demarcation lines one day (illegals live eight to an apartment, two to a vehicle and take up all the spaces). They could have called, knocked on the door - nooo, they had me towed while all these illegals park wherever (and they don't know what those lines are for). Sorry about the rant, but I'm seriously considering shorting them $75 on the next rent check (which has been faithfully paid on time for as long as I've been here). These owners accused me of racism when I told them that the guys across the hall were "campesinos" subletting to their transient buddies. Last week they had to replace almost everything in there because those guys trashed it, including messing on the carpet. Of course the guilty got away while owing rent. My car being towed for my warning tells me exactly where I stand. Aaargh!
I really don't get how we citizens are asked to provide all sorts of personal information, especially financial and employment history, in order to obtain neccessities like homes, apartments and vehicles while people who shouldn't be hear at all aren't held to the same standards.
That is happening everywhere and those who don't see it do live in gated communities. My dad stands up to them, only if our politicans did the same and stopped worrying about hurting illegal aliens feelings.
>>>>When Dubya's immigration reform is enacted ...
The President's immigration proposal will not become law. The American people don't support it and the Congress doesn't support it either.
As far as I can tell, you should have been nicknamed, "Rainman".
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