Posted on 12/29/2004 6:21:51 AM PST by Ginifer
(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."
Bush says program would not provide 'automatic citizenship'
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."
Mehlman disagreed.
"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.
'Preposterous' plan fails to address security concerns
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."
Such an enforcement strategy would have a ripple effect, according to Mehlman.
"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."
FAIR disputes economic argument for illegal immigration
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?"
"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."
The Open Borders Lobby is determined to create a legal supply of cheap labor. This should bother liberals, especially union workers, whose wages and living conditions would be undermined by Mexican competition subsidized by the federal government. Instead the Left is as committed to Hispandering as parts of the Right. And in the process, the interests of the American people is ignored in the rush to make sure a potent voting block is appeased.
Viva la Raza
Viva Aztlan
Viva los mojados
Viva Jorge Arbsusto El Presidente
All your burros are belong to nosotros
"Hispandering" - I love it! Did you think that up?
I can't claim credit, sorry. I think it was Don Feder who first coined it as an adjective for the unseemly way our bipartisan establishment has competed to make life easier for illegal immigrants even if that's antithetical to American values and hurts our national security in the long run.
According to the Wall Street Journal:
"FAIR, NumbersUSA, Project-USA and more than a half-dozen similar groups that Republicans have become disturbingly comfy with, were founded or funded (or both) by John Tanton, a retired doctor in Michigan. In addition to trying to stop immigration to the U.S., appropriate population-control measures for Dr. Tanton and his network include promoting China's one-child policy, sterilizing Third World women and wider use of RU-486. "
There were 4 roofing jobs in my outer suburb cul-de-sac. 3 of the 4 had hispanic crews who didn't speak english.
These are not jobs that nobody wants.
A total lie is being foisted on the middle class.
...Bush's proposal is, "a great plan if your objective is to destroy the middle class in the United States...
The truth hurts, eh?
I hate to criticize the President, but lets face it--the current system was NEVER DESIGNED to work. The whole point is to let these illegals in so the US has a huge source of cheap, hardworking labor willing to do marginal jobs. The GROW AT ANY COST business community loves it & any why shouldn't they?--its a great deal for them (in the short term anyway). The problem is that (a) costs for these folks are absorbed by the average taxpayer (not the businesses that use the labor), and (b) it degrades the quality of life for the rest of us. In the long term, these businesses will suffer along with the rest of us.
The US population is now at 300M--I'm not sure I see the advantage of going to 400M, with the extra 100M being largely illegals. I really don't care if my building rennovation costs less (due to cheap labor) I have to commute 1+ hours each way to my job. Or if half the kids in my son's school don't speak English.
There a lots of ways we can stop this--and the President knows it. First, he can handing out REAL fines to companies that hire workers with bogus SS numbers. Second, he can set up detention centers for illegals who are caught through routine means (e.g., traffic stops). Thirdly, he can crack down on giving these people Government aid when they ask for it. Lastly, he can push legislation prohibiting drivers licences for illegals. There is a lot that can be done by applying existing law to the problem.
Unfortunately, neither party will do anything. The Dems want the voters. The Republicans want to keep business happy and want their slice of the Hispanic vote too. As a result, America will change for the worse in the next 50 years. Hopefully I'm wrong about this, but I doubt it.
The unchecked illegal flood is already eroding the middle class. All anyone has to do is open their eyes to see it.
That's about as stupid an argument as I have ever seen.
You must be a converted Democrat, you don't address the policy but dig up dirt on those espousing an idea.
Then you obviously don't understand the arguement, because it's completely sound.
Somebody wanna explain wny the law of supply and demand should not apply to employers? If Americans don't want those jobs, pay more until they do.
95% of outstanding felony murder warrants in Orange County California are for illegals. Nearly 30% of all prisoners are illegals. I guess it is compassionate to make sure we have more of this.
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