Bush Immigration Plan Would Allegedly 'Destroy the Middle Class'

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush is moving forward with his plans to create a "Temporary Worker Program" that would allow millions of illegal aliens to remain and work in the U.S. for a minimum of three years with no fear of deportation or other punishment. Advocates of tougher immigration policies believe the president is ignoring the costs and potential dangers posed by illegal immigration.

In his final, scheduled, formal press conference of the year, the president criticized current U.S. immigration policy.

"The system we have today is not a compassionate system. It's not working," Bush said Dec. 20. "And, as a result, the country is less secure than it could be with a rational system."

Any proposed changes to immigration policy must take into account what the president calls "reality.""

\ldblquote There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and others are willing to do," Bush said. "We ought to have a system that recognizes people are coming here to do jobs that Americans will not do. And there ought to be a legal way for them to do so."

According to a White House fact sheet entitled, "Fair and Secure Immigration Reform," the president's "Temporary Worker Program" would allow new immigrants to the U.S. and those currently here illegally to accept employment "when no American worker is available and willing to take a job.""

Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Cybercast News Service that Bush's proposal is, "a great plan if your objective is to destroy the middle class in the United States.

"If you are going to offer employers the opportunity to bring in unlimited numbers of guest workers then there is never going to be any incentive to increase wages in this country [or] to improve working conditions," Mehlman said. "Upward mobility will become a thing of the past if such a plan is enacted."

The program would last three years, but would be renewable. Bush insists he is not proposing amnesty, or an easier road to citizenship, for illegal aliens.

"Now, one of the important aspects of my vision is that this is not automatic citizenship. The American people must understand that," the president stressed. "If somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizen in a legal manner."

"Even he would have to recognize that a program that allows millions of people, who have broken the law, to gain legal status in this country is an amnesty," Mehlman insisted. "Even though he swears it's not an amnesty program, that's exactly what it is; it is rewarding people who have broken the law.""

Supporters of tougher immigration laws also doubt, according to Mehlman, that there will be anything temporary about the "Temporary Worker Program."

"He's talking about a three-year temporary worker visa, renewable for three more," Mehlman observed. "And at the end of the six years, these people will, of course, all say, 'Thank you very much. We really appreciate the opportunity to work here and now we're going home.' Yeah, right."

The Bush proposal also includes provisions to allow participants to cross back and forth from their country of origin to maintain family ties. President Bush said U.S. Border Patrol agents need to focus on more important duties.

"[W]e want our border patrol agents chasing crooks and thieves and drug runners and terrorists, not good-hearted people who are coming here to work," Bush argued.

Mehlman complained that recommendations by the 9/11 Commission to tighten immigration policy were removed from the legislation passed by Congress due to pressure from those lobbying to protect illegal aliens.

"Special interest politics and greed seem to even trump homeland security," Mehlman concluded, "despite the fact that we've seen what the potential consequences are from not enforcing immigration laws."

Mehlman believes security must be the primary concern in immigration policy and that it is lacking in the proposal to allow for millions of "temporary workers."

"The idea that they are going to do thorough, comprehensive background checks on all these people to make sure that we're not letting in criminals or potential terrorists is preposterous," Mehlman said. "They couldn't even do a decent background check on their own nominee for Homeland Security secretary."

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerrick withdrew his nomination for that post after allegations surfaced that he had ties to companies that have business dealings with the Department of Homeland Security and that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny and did not pay his portion of her payroll taxes.

The president also argued that his plan would "take the pressure off of employers." Mehlman believes that is a mistake, as well.

"What we have to do is create disincentives against illegal immigration," Mehlman said. "Right now, we're creating incentives. We don't enforce the laws against employers."

Mehlman acknowledged that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents cannot arrest every illegal alien or catch every employer who knowingly hires them. He believes effective immigration law enforcement means applying "leverage" to selected companies.

"You go after some of the employers that have been hiring illegal immigrants with impunity, even though it's against the law. You fine them sufficiently to send a message, the same way that the highway patrol enforces the speed limit on the freeway when they want to," Mehlman said. "They don't stop every single speeder. But, if you're driving along at 80 miles an hour and you see somebody else being pulled over, you slow down."

"If you go after enough employers to give the rest of them the idea that we're serious about enforcing the law, they will then refrain from hiring illegal immigrants," Mehlman said. "The word gets back, 'Don't come to the United States illegally because nobody's going to take a chance on hiring you.'"

Mehlman believes such a policy would have a similar effect on illegal aliens currently living and working in the U.S.

"Many who are already here [illegally] would leave and go home," Mehlman continued. "The objective is to encourage more people who are here illegally to go home. If you cannot get access to a job, if you can't get access to anything but emergency social benefits, there's no incentive to remain here."

Mehlman also dismissed the common argument that reducing the available pool of illegal immigrant labor would drive up food prices.

"The labor cost in agriculture is about 10 percent. So, a dollar's worth of produce today would cost you about $1.10 tomorrow if they doubled everybody's wages," Mehlman said.

What little savings consumers reap from lower labor costs are multiplied in other areas, Mehlman argued.

"Maybe you do save a few pennies here and there because there are low-wage illegal immigrant workers doing jobs in this country that Americans would demand a higher wage for," Mehlman explained, "but in return you are providing education for the children of these illegal immigrants, you're providing the health care because these employers are not providing a Blue Cross/Blue Shield (health insurance) program for them. All sorts of social costs are being added on."

But President Bush described his proposal as a more \ldblquote compassionate way to treat people who come to our country." Mehlman wondered about the president's compassion for unemployed and underemployed U.S. citizens.

"What we're wrestling with here is the impact that it has on this country, the impact that it has on people struggling to make a living and make a decent life for themselves and their families, the impact on schools and social services," Mehlman said. "The president didn't tell us who's going to pay to educate all the kids of these 'guest workers' he wants to bring here. Who's going to pay for all the health care needs that they're going to have when they get here?"

If you want to come here, work hard, become an American and do it through legal means--I am all for it.

My issue is--I don't think it is wise to take in some many immigrants from one single country or even ethnic group. I would not care if it was Sweden that they were coming from. It is about preserving our way of life and system of governement or what is left of it.

A total lie is being foisted on the middle class.

You're 100% correct. In California the construction jobs, gardening jobs, cement mason jobs, tile jobs, plumbing jobs, nanny jobs, service industry jobs, hospital worker jobs, housekeeping jobs, others than I can't think of right now, have been overwhelmingly taken over by illegal aliens who bring American wages down by working for less while we, the taxpayers, pay for their medical care and everything else. All these jobs have always provided a living wage to American workers. Now many of these Americans are losing their homes because of wage undercutting by illegal aliens.

I believe the President's idiotic answer to this problem was to tell these Americans to go back to school. He is so out of touch with America that it's bordering on treason. He is dancing with Mexico, and one has to wonder why an American president would do this when he knows it's not in the best interest of his own countrymen.

Let's be honest here - supply is merely catching up with demand when it comes to labor. If FAIR/CIS/Malkin/Tancredo and others complaining about the President's guest worker program are positive that there are Americans willing to do these jobs, why don't they try to get folks who are currently on the welfare rolls to do them?

Are you suggesting the welfare rolls aren't an option at all?

To whatever extent they aren't, Tom Tancredo's BE REAL act has provisions which address the deficiencies of our immigration procedures while meeting our labor needs with a generous guest worker program that doesn't legalize a single illegal alien. See Subtitle B, about 5/6 of the way down the page for specifics on Tancredo's guest worker program.

On every immigration thread we see the same old pign lists of depressing people whining and moaning about immigrants taking all the jobs and depressing wages.

If they opened their eyes and looked up for a few minutes they might discover that we aren't in the midst of a great depression, but instead are enjoying unprecedented prosperity.

Take a look at a different type thread such as Job Creation In US Strong and see what's going on with the rest of the FReepers.

Some people will always be chronically unemployed and underemployed. They will never be able to compete with other employees, regardless of their citizenship.

If the GOP does nothing about this serious problem in the next two years, they can forget about retaining the White House in 2008. Faithful Republicans who came out and voted in droves and even worked hard on campaigns this year won't even bother to show up in 2006 and 2008.

I suspect that's how it's going to work.

I happen to think that AgJobs or Senator McCain's proposals work far better with much less red tape for businesses in this country. I'd much rather not give Tancredo any credit at all, particualrly given his decision to work with the likes of Buchanan.

My issue is--I don't think it is wise to take in some many immigrants from one single country or even ethnic group. I would not care if it was Sweden that they were coming from. It is about preserving our way of life and system of governement or what is left of it

And the same was said in political rhetoric almost verbatim a century ago about those "dirty" Italians, Irish, Poles, and Jews.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

No it won't. It never has before.

We've never had such a large and homogeneous, non-English speaking population, including millions of illegals, from a contiguous country, with a growing non-English mass media market inside our borders before.

Accurate historical analogies don't need to be such a struggle for you, but you'll need to acquire some intellectual honesty to be up to the task.

The lie about the jobs being ones that Americans don't want is more pronounced in rural areas where jobs are more scarce. At the Farmland meat processing plant in Monmonth,IL, workers are 50% immigrants. Farmland won't comment any further on it.

I'm sorry to see Bush in the spin cycle! Gags me.

One thing: Yes, this issue of the supposed jobs that no American wants is NOW affecting more middle class workers, which will get the issue more exposure. But, I think the real tragedy is that it has ALREADY negatively impacted the lower class workers.

The dadgummed government ought to make it easier for all businesses to hire American workers -- employer paid taxes, OSHA bull crap, labor laws, insurance, etc. are all contributing to the problem. Who can blame a small construction company for wanting to circumvent all that crapola! NOT THAT I CONDONE IT.

BTW, it is politically incorrect to say "lower class????"

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When did everybody in the country become a JanetGreen? And don't give me some unscientific online poll saying such as a rebuke.

Maybe instead of shouting and whining about your one issue incessantly, maybe you should look at the fact that Bush is the first President in trying to deal with a problem that has been festering for 40 years.

So is your daughter going to work on your ranch the rest of her life or would you like to see her get a good white collar job?

You know of course that you can't have white collar jobs without blue collar laborers don't you.

What do you tell a young person who studies hard in school to get an MBA only to find that all the companies in America have closed or moved over seas because the anti-immigrant crowd made operating in the US impractical?

If your daughter does eventually move away who are you going to get to replace her doing the dirty work on your ranch? American industry can't be based on owners' children doing all the work.

But honor students, maids, nannies, janitors, and even folks serving in the armed forces (one of the first Marines KIA in the liberation of Iraq was an illegal immigrant) - hey, I'll take those folks over a Michael Moore, a Barbara Streisand, or a Natalie Maines any time.

I wasn't aware of the option of letting you decide whether some illegal aliens are more acceptable than some Americans. Has this legislation been introduced?

I see your point. But, you see you are listing various groups of people each with their own customs, beliefs, etc. we are importing the Mexican way of life. I personally do not want to live in a watered down version of Mexico. I can drive three hours from my house and see Mexico in all it's glory and it aint pretty.

We seem to think that because we have this democratic tradition others will naturally gravitate toward it. I think they simply gravitate to what they know. Especially when the left in this country will not allow American tradition and history to be taught in public schools. The combination of this influx and the left in this country is baaad news, IMO.

Also, I would like to add--I have a good friend, mother of my daughter's friend--who is Mexican. Her father came here illegally and became a citizen under Reagan's amnesty. So, she is a first generation American citizen. Even so, Spanish is the language spoken in her house and she is Mexican first. Her loyalty is to Mexico and (love her to death but) she is one of the most racist people I have ever come across. Most Mexicans are.

If you look at the cost of these illegals on the localities, the property taxes have risen exponentially. The result has been less and less younger families can afford a home or middle class people staying in their homes.

I live in NY. The results of these illegals have been disastrous.

The dadgummed government ought to make it easier for all businesses to hire American workers -- employer paid taxes, OSHA bull crap, labor laws, insurance, etc. are all contributing to the problem. Who can blame a small construction company for wanting to circumvent all that crapola! NOT THAT I CONDONE IT

Uh if you haven't noticed, Bush has been trying to do that(i.e get rid of onerous liberal govt. regulations from years gone past), but for some reason the people bitiching about Bush on this thread are never on those threads praising him for taking on the liberal press, when he does try to take on the onerous regulations that have been passed in the last 30 years.

"If they opened their eyes and looked up for a few minutes they might discover that we aren't in the midst of a great depression, but instead are enjoying unprecedented prosperity."

Don't get excited over Fool's Gold, rod.

The "prosperity" you see in the corporate sector is where Americans are being displaced by those working for lesser wages/benefits, therefore corporate "profits" are higher, which increases shareholder value.

But, to the average American, their cost of living increases disproportionally to their wage increases, making their "living wage" less and less. It is "undocumented workers", felon employers, and corrupt politicians who are equally responsible for that downward spiral trend. Compare IT wages of six years ago with today's; compare construction workers' wages of ten years ago with today's. It is glaringly apparent they have lost ground.

Some are not so easily fooled by smoke and mirror images of corporate or Wall Street prosperity in comparison to the real world of daily life.

"Teenagers have never done the hard dirty manual labor that adult immigrant males and blacks have done."

When I was 12 y/o my dad got me a job with a fence contractor and I mixed cement, dug post holes all day. It was hard labor, and paid well.

I made more than as a 13y/o than they pay illegals. Its exploitation. The businesses don't care because after these people can no longer work, they will just try to go on disability or welfare.

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