Posted on 12/20/2004 7:43:46 AM PST by television is just wrong
Conservatives critical of President Bush's "liberal" stance on immigration are praising Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's position on the issue.
Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Bush and Mexico President Vicente Fox were working together on a plan to legalize the millions of foreign workers who sneak into the country across the 1,900-mile border with Mexico.
Since Nov. 2 when Bush increased his support in both red and blue states, Sen. Clinton has been staking out a conservative position on immigration.
Evidently, her plan is to tap into a feeling by most Americans that illegal immigration is a sizable national problem that should not be ignored.
"I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants," Sen. Clinton said during a radio interview.
When Clinton said, "People have to stop employing illegal immigrants," she could have been giving advice to Bernard Kerik, Bush's nominee to be Secretary of Homeland Security.
Kerik, tapped by Bush to be one of the top law enforcement and security officials in the nation, had hired a housekeeper who was in the United States illegally. Not only was Kerik's housekeeper breaking the law, so was Kerik for hiring her.
It is illegal to hire illegal immigrants. The law is seldom enforced because Congress has been too timid to establish a reliable method for employers to identify citizens from noncitizens or legal from illegal workers.
Illegal immigrants have no problem becoming documented workers. It is easier for illegal immigrants to obtain some form of false identification sufficient to let employers off the hook than it is for underage college students to get phony IDs to buy booze.
Sen. Clinton's husband experienced an embarrassment similar to Bush's when he nominated Zoe Baird to be attorney general only to discover that she had hired an illegal immigrant to be a housekeeper and nanny. The same happened to Bush in 2001 with his nominee for labor secretary, Linda Chavez.
There has been talk about the need for the IRS to simplify the forms so employers can file and pay taxes for illegal immigrant workers. That might eliminate the tax problems but not the status of workers illegally hired.
The key to enforcing employer sanctions against hiring illegal immigrants will have to be some form of national standards to reliably identify citizens from noncitizens. That is the same key needed to implement and enforce Bush's proposed guest-worker program. If we can't reliably tell who is legal and who is illegal, then the U.S. immigration laws will remain an unenforceable joke no matter how many Americans think illegal immigration is a serious problem.
It is on this point that Congress goes wobbly even when the obvious answer is presented to it on a platter as it was in four reports between 1994 and 1997 when Barbara Jordan, chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, testified that her commission's unanimous recommendation was for a standardized, counterfeit-resistant identification system.
Jordan's bipartisan and diverse commission concluded that this nation must enforce its laws. To do so, Congress had to authorize a national identification system.
Sen. Clinton has hinted at the same solution. She has talked about an entry and exit ID and "a move towards an ID system even for citizens."
There's no question that the United States needs and depends on the labor of foreign workers. And there's no question that many illegal foreign workers are taken advantage of.
What needs to be done is to protect foreign workers and also restore America's rule of law. Since 9/11 there's also national security to consider. Maybe Sen. Clinton has a winning issue.
-- Rowland Nethaway writes for The Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald.
Never forget, Hillary is the one who tried to socialize medicine.
The Republicans better get hip on this immigration thing. Hillary will say anything on this to win.
On the other hand, the anti-American Michael Moore is trying to snuggle his fat butt up to Hillary on her 2008 Presidential efforts.
Now since Cokie Roberts has blamed M.M. for Kerry's loss (see Newsmax.com), Moore is beginning to be purged by some Dems.
I wonder when Hillary decides to tell him to get lost, to stay away from her campaign, how long before he finds a horse's head in his bed.
We already have such a program, with no legalization of illegal aliens required.
S. 1685, the Basic Pilot Extension Act of 2003, was signed by President Bush on December 3, 2003.
By December of 2004, every business in America will have a nearly sure-fire way to verify if a new employee is an illegal alien or has the right to work in America.
Most importantly, no business in America will have an excuse for hiring illegals.
Right now , the job of trying to figure out if the ID shown by a new employee is a counterfeit or not is just daunting. That is sometimes a legitimate excuse and sometimes a smokescreen for why so many businesses have illegal aliens working for them. But with the new system, businesses merely use existing documents (social security cards and alien identification cards) and existing databases (SSA and BCIS databases) to verify employment eligibility. An employer using the system simply calls an 800 number, provides the name and the Social Security number or the alien ID number, as presented by the new hire, and then he receives either a confirmation indicating that the worker is authorized to work in the US or a tentative non-confirmation if the number and name provided do not match SSA or BCIS data. In the case of a tentative non-confirmation, the new hire has the right to contact SSA or BCIS and try to fix the problem BEFORE the employer may fire the new hire.
Dreier Delivers Floor Statement Regarding Illegal Immigration and the Bonner Plan"In fact, Mr. Speaker, T.J. Bonner, a 26-year veteran of the Border Patrol, and President of the National Border Patrol Council, estimates that we can eliminate as much as 98 percent of illegal border crossings if we can give employers access to verifiable identity information on prospective employees and if we crack down on employers who hire illegal workers. 98 percent is a remarkable number, and it would allow the Border Patrol to focus on targeting criminal aliens and terrorists.
"Because of this, Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 5111, the Bonner Plan, to improve the security of our Social Security cards and provide a method by which employers could immediately verify the authenticity of that Social Security card. My bill would also increase fines for hiring an illegal worker by 400 percent, and provide for prison sentences of up to 5 years per count.
If Hillary wins Conservative on any one issue or even two issues, we all lose on all the other issues.
Drier was a real fluzie on this topic til he found religion thanks to John and Ken's radio show here in Los Angeles.
IMO both parties should come together on this vital issue, and not play smarmy politics. For the good of the country.
Hillary Clinton has said very little in regards to illegal immigration, and I doubt she will say much more. Conservatives who vote for Hillary Clinton because of one issue are really not conservatives! We need to control our borders and we need to do so rationally.
Unfortunately, the new world order types want illegal immigration. It furthers their needs to complete the task of one world government.
It will only be a winning issue for Hillary if people believe she is serious about it. To most in the democrat party, who cannot run on their real agenda, picking a right wing issue and speaking out for it is done with the fingers crossed. Democrats believe that their side gets votes from these immigrants, and will continue to do so if amnesty is granted again, or if we don't tighten the restrictions of non-identified voting.
My vote IS for sale in the election - ANY politician that will deal with illegal immigration will get my vote. Else, I may sit the next one out.
Hillary is an opportunist. She sees illegal immigration as an unaddressed item, and she is addressing it as she feels most Americans want to hear so she can advance her cause.
It's a way to keep the blacks on the plantation pure and simple.
After all hispanics are now the largest minority meaning they yeild more clout than blacks now and they are not abortion mill fodder as blacks are.
...Hillary will not be of help on this issue. She is only taking that stand to further her cause. (SOCIALISM)
She is the used car salesman of the Dems.
In four more years (hopefully two for the Senate and HOR) it is going to be the winning issue for anyone who cares enough about the people they represent to support their priorities.
I hope it becomes a consensus, no-brainer issue that both political parties embrace. Otherwise, Hillary will see some conservative votes, people who put the US first, and are sick of seeing our way of life, our job security, and the value of US citizenship and residency trashed.
I agree with you. Hillary however is a wolf in sheeps clothing on ALL issues pertaining to Republicans.
We've already seen Hillary gain supporters on FR.
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