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?"
It has been proven that with cheap (basically slave) labor, one takes away the motivation for ingenuity. Technological advances in strawberry picking, say, will only come around when the pickers must receive a decent wage and benefits. Suddenly someone will invent the mechanical strawberry picker.
Just as your ancestors did. Back in the early 20th century all they had to do was buy a ticket of passage to Ellis Island, pass the health test, and enter to survive the golden streets of the lower East Side.
JMO, the immigration laws of your ancestors, Yaelle, had more lax immigration laws that they are now.
I do believe they're too busy gang-banging with MS-13 and the Latin Kings, among others.
Sorry...
The Mexican immigrants I have known love America and have no desire to overthrow our government and subject themselves to Mexican rule. That's just kook talk.
To no one's surprise, you've completely missed the point. Previous models of immigrant assimilation aren't adequate for what is occurring now, and your premise that they are is false.
That reality has no impact whatsoever on the scrumptiousness of Mexican cuisine.
Or did you fall for Buchanan's "fear commercial" that you could choke on a meatball if the 911 operator is bilingual?
LOL! Do you check under your bed and keep a night light on, in case Buchanan might get you?
How do you define "completely change the demographics?"
Recall what I said in the other thread? A perfect example above.
They dropped 25% in FY 2001. They again dropped 25% in FY 2002 for a 50% decrease in 2 years. In FY 2003 the drop was only 3%.
In FY 2004 they jumped 26%.
Some blame the Presidents amnesty / guest worker proposal to this increase, but 2 of the years biggest increases came in November and December, prior to his first announcement of the guest worker program.
Those same folks point to a survey, taken by the border patrol, asking illegal aliens why they entered. The survey states an overwhelming majority said they came because Bush promised illgal aliens amnesty.
I've spoken to dozens of BP agents, and not one has seen or heard of this survey.
While there is no doubt in my mind, some entered specifically for this new amnesty/guest worker program, most came for the same reason they always come. Work.
The increase in apprehensions, IMO, is due to many factors, with the economy being number 1. As the economy is recovering and jobs are being created, more illegals are heading north. After 9/11, fear of being thought a terrorist was a major reason for the decrease in illegals crossing the borders. As that fear decreases over the years and the economy recovers, the numbers of crossers will inevitable increase.
If it were not for 9/11, I doubt there would have been any decreases during FY 2001 and FY 2002.
If the rhetoric that you are now proclaiming now were taken when the rehtoric was at a same low level fever pitch a century ago, you may not have been able to post on FR, now. Your ancestors could have been sent back to Germany, Poland, or Russia.
Why, that is not true. My grandparents had to wait and always at great risk until they could receive legal visas to come here. It was hard when they were Displaced Persons with no country to claim them. But eventually they were accepted, with sponsors here, and with promised jobs.
I am absolutely in support of legal immigration. It does make this country great.
You are accusing me of being anti-Hispanic. That is false. I don't care from which corner of the world any of our legal immigrants come. My corner of the country will always be very Hispanic and I am glad.
To refute my stance on ILLEGAL immigration you had to insult my Judaism, my family's history, and call me a racist. Those ad hominem debate "skills" are really not putting your argument forward, if you have one.
Deserves to be repeated again and again until the OBL types finally get their heads out of their fourth points of contact. Not only is this Econ 101, but it's Common Sense 101 as well.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
"The result has been less and less younger families can afford a home or middle class people staying in their homes."
As a result, they move away. Who does those "menial jobs" after that happens?
I'd love to see a study comparing (1) average income, (2) median price of housing with the "unwillingness" of American workers to do those "menial jobs" in that particular area.
Probably because they don't wear signs telling me which is which? If they did would I notice a difference in skin color? Religious preferences? Fertility rates? Language? Family values? Work ethic? Cleanliness?
When an immigrant's visa expires does he suddenly become a rapist, murderer, drug dealer and litterer?
If the difference between a good immigrant and a bad one is simply the technicality of legal status, then we should support President Bush's guest worker plan and make as many as possible legal.
POT/KETTLE
Didn't you earlier say that "teenagers have never done the hard dirty manual labor that adult immigrant males and blacks have done?"
Turns out you're as wrong about that as you are about most things.
Why do you suppose we have child labor laws? To stop the practice of having pre-teens doing "hard dirty manual labor." Of course American teens have done hard dirty jobs.
I suspect that the "worthless, lazy kids" are the offspring of that certain type of person that the RINOOBLS are most likely to associate with on a daily basis.
It's all they see, and they think that the rest of America is the same way.
Would you KINDLY lay off my family?
I am not discussing the laws on legal immigration then and now. If you wish to change the legal immigration processes, tell us about it.
My argument against Bush's plan is that he is setting a huge precedent of promoting illegal immigration. Most of us on FR think we should be doing MORE to combat illegal immigration, to preserve our middle class and to protect against terror. What is your actual argument, anyway?
All in a Dane's work!
I have a problem with people who seem to have no trouble working with folks who are bigots.
And I think Pat Buchanan is a bigot. Just take a look at the stuff he's said on issues in the past. This is a guy who once said he wanted to "get clear of" folks with darker skins.
I guess Tancredo doesn't have a problem with folks who are bigots. Well, I do.
I am absolutely in support of legal immigration. It does make this country great
My Grandmother came here on a ticket and hope in 1919(she did have distant reletives here at the time). My Grandfather came here by himself with only a hope and a prayer in the mid 1910's and went back to the old world and came back.
I'm sorry to buttress your rhetoric, but there was no rhyme or reason to immigration before 1920. If you could pass the health test arriving at Ellis Island, you were allowed in to fend for yourself in America, and a lot of us are now enjoying the fruits of their hard work.
That's why I chuckle at those on FR who wish for a neo-porgrom of new immigrants, when the vast majority of these peoples ancestors, also faced the animus that these people on FR spew now.
Do you have problems with Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon? Pat Buchanan worked for both of them.
What's the connection between Tancredo and Buchanan?
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