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?"
Please stop throwing around the "Nazi" rehtoric as candy.
What I was stating is that President Bush is not for open borders, but I get thrown inults as being an(OBL, open border lackey) with impunity, when I put out facts that he is not.
My neo-Nationalist Socilaist label is just that. Most of the people who post pro-Buchanan, Tancredo posts, have an inate animus towards people who work hard cleaning toilets, etc. and their employers(i.e the good people who make this country work).
JMO, the neo-American Nationalist Socialists and the Hillary wing of the Democrat party, have a common personality trait. They are both total control freaks.
Home construction costs in my area typically run $100+ psf, unless you get a contractor who wants to make a career out of your project. Mobile castles will cost you about half that. Land price is low, many former farmers want $10-12g /acre or more for land with no amenities.
I've not had any clients of less than 2000 sf in a LONG time, but like your area's tilted to the high end, mine is tilted to the other extreme and wages are low.
As we say here, "If you need anything larger than a big Cocola, you've gotta go out of the county to get it."
Everything we get in this county is "imported"...;-)
Who wishes to be tyrannical? Do you want no borders? Say so. Mexicans coming here are escaping poverty, and I don't blame them. However, they are being used like burros by their oligarchy in Mexico, a country which will not do anything to modernize its social system and provide for its people, why? Because it doesn't HAVE to. WE can do that for its citizens: school, feed, give medical care, even imprison the criminals. Do you think that will last forever? When heavy burdens are placed on the innocent, they will shrug.
JMO, it seems that President Bush has gained the trust of these hard working, God Fearing people,...
How would you ever know? If you are referring to the Hispanic vote, do remember that the voters are AMERICAN CITIZENS. And they are against illegals too!
... and thus hillary's pandering to the, IMO, neo-American Nationalist Socialist faction in American politics.
Hillary did learn from Dick Morris. Bill went far when he could co-opt from the other side of the political spectrum. She is not dumb. However, we who see illegal immigration for what it is are closer to the little boy who saw the Emperor's dingdong than to Nazis.
You should be ashamed of yourself, comparing anti-ILLEGAL immigration to genocide.
For the same reasons you pay for those things for citizens. Should we have tax supported public schools? Should people without children have to pay school taxes? Do we all benefit from an educated society?
Why should we require hospitals to provide emergency medical service without regard to ability to pay? Why don't we let all poor people die on the steps of the hospital?
If we weren't running out of land because of immigrant population growth, real estate would be more affordable.
Since you concede the model is inadequate, it's intellectually dishonest of you to continue to use it. If you want to make a case that concerns over assimilation of the current wave of immigrants are unfounded, you should make the case on its merits, on substance, using anecdotes only as illustrations and not primary evidence.
re: post 69.
You are such an a$$.
Speak for yourself, you lazy, spoiled ingrate.
Can you direct the forum to what you claim are my "neo-National Socialist views?"
Do you ever complain about racist comments made by groups such as La Raza, LULAC, MALDEF, and MEChA? Or do you just complain about comments made by white Americans?
This is before we even get to the logistics end of this - and short of cattle cars and mass round-ups, I don't think it is possible to deport 8 million illegal immigrants.
No cattle cars or mass round-ups are needed. Cut illegal aliens off fom ALL taxpayer funded services while at the same time crack down HARD on companies that hire illegal aliens. With no jobs and no taxpayer funded freebies available to them, illegal aliens will begin to "deport" themselves.
You care to accuse me of it?
For the same reasons you pay for those things for citizens. Should we have tax supported public schools? Should people without children have to pay school taxes? Do we all benefit from an educated society?
Why should we require hospitals to provide emergency medical service without regard to ability to pay? Why don't we let all poor people die on the steps of the hospital?
Oh, Bayourod, I had no idea you were so giving and generous with other people's money. How compassionate you are at the taxpayer's expense ! Why, just when I had dismissed your position as self-seeking greed your magnanimity puts me to shame, oh, Father Cheap Labor Christmas !
If American workers weren't having to move away to places where they can afford to live, there wouldn't need to be an immigrant labor force to do those jobs.
As it is, however, American workers will neither live 20 to a house nor commute 40 miles to do those jobs.
While you continuously post your La Raza propaganda on Free Republic.
I too have written till my little fingers are nubs and I will keep writing until someone finally listens. The only way we can change things is to keep writing and making our "elected" congress members finally do what they were elected to do.
http://www.usbc.org
http://numbersusa.com
http://capwiz.com
http://alipac.us
Look, I told you what I prefer.
I also have outlined a number of reason why I don't like the folks Tancredo has associated with. These were close aides to Buchanan, and it is safe to assume they shared his views.
I think Buchanan is a bigot, and I think that Tancredo has no problem with Buchanan's bigotry. Those are my reasons. I can't help it if you don't like them. I can't even help what you think about me.
But I don't think you can escape the bigotry that has found no complaints from the "immigration hawks" that are out there. Look over the stuff Jonh Tanton has been connected with. Look very closely at some of the stuff that others have said. And note that some folks who ought to be complaining aren't.
Well, I have a problem with that, I have no problem saying so, and I'm sick of seeing these concerns dismissed as race-baiting.
And exactly WHO are those who'll buy those homes, rod?
Are they what the Fedgov calls "middle income" Americans? I seriously doubt it. Or are they among those who've feloniously gained off the backs of illegal immigrants because they're too crooked and stingy to pay decent wages?
I've also been to countries where magnificence was next door to the squalid.
Then the solution is simple: Update the 1965 rules. Then pass and most importantly enforce them.
No, that's YOU who is doing it; you did it twice in your current post.
I think I get your argument as explained in your post, finally.
You think that people who agree that illegal immigration, since it is illegal, should be stopped and the current laws enforced, are haters of Mexicans who clean toilets.
Your argument is patently ridiculous. I wish that anyone working in America is given a decent wage and benefits and not abused simply because they are not on the books.
And that belief is not mutually exclusive with wanting illegal immigration to be prosecuted. I'd be fine with hitting the employers with heavy fines and just sending the workers back.
re: your post #123.
You are so ignorant in how things REALLY work....when I read your poats, it's like watching a slow motion car wreck. I don't know wether to keep watching or to turn away.
Go to a technical high school. Ask the US CITIZENS (American kids) who is taking all the entry level positions in blue collar jobs.
Hint :
(illegals)
You should try not to think without knowledge. Posts that advocate violence against illegal aliens don't last long in my experience. I push "abuse" and their gone in minutes.
I don't think anyone can doubt that there is a fair amount of racism among certain immigration hawks. I also think that it is tolerated by other immigration hawks. So trying to call in a moderate on Dane seems to me to be an effort to hide the truth.
LOL! I hit abuse when I see racism, which I suppose is a super tricky way of hiding it?
Dane's already stooped to calling people neo-nazis and neo-pogromists. If you and he have the goods on posters of those sentiments, make your own cases to the moderators.
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