Bush Immigration Plan Would Allegedly 'Destroy the Middle Class'

www.townhall.com ^ | 29 December 2004 | Jeff Johnson

[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?"

[You Dirty Rats]

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."

So we have one story about failure to upgrade a 14-mile fence possibly leading to an Al-Qaida nucular [sic] attack, and now this. What utter nonsense. The mass immigration in the late 1800's and early 1900's did not destroy the middle class, but I'm supposed to believe that if we don't kick people already here out, the Middle Class is doomed?

I thought Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound" was going to remove all jobs from this country. Instead, the "giant sucking sound" is all of the people moving HERE (gee, what a surprise, America is the Land of Opportunity?) and finding work. We are adding population, and our unemployment rate is the envy of the world, particularly Europe.

There is PLENTY of room in America for workers -- none for leeches. Notice how the unemployment rate fell in the 1990's once welfare reform was passed? Get a guest worker program, cut back on benefits for people able to work and illegals who aren't guest workers, and we'll do just fine.

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

All the arguments we see or will see in this thread have been made many times over. It simply boils down to this -allowing vast numbers of uneducated, unskilled illegals from a single third world country will create an unsustainable economic liability, a vastly increased threat of gangs, a menace of cultural balkanization (e.g bilingualism), an easy path for terrorist infiltration and a political time-bomb waiting to erupt. GW is blind to this because in his heart he believes that inside every illegal who struggled to get into this country is a hardworking, loyal American ready to be born.

[HiJinx]

There is PLENTY of room in America for workers -- none for leeches. Notice how the unemployment rate fell in the 1990's once welfare reform was passed? Get a guest worker program, cut back on benefits for people able to work and illegals who aren't guest workers, and we'll do just fine.

I have a question for you, then. I'm not sure I know the answer. Why is it that the pro-illegal-immigrant groups like MALDEF and LaRaza are so adamantly opposed to Arizona's Propostion 200, which is supposed to limit public benefits to illegals?

[SAMWolf]

Bump.

[risk]

Because to them, migration is something that should never be illegal. It's their birthright or their privilege. To assimilated Mexicans, that sounds like nonsense, but what can they do except avoid those organizations? Actually, we need a Mexican immigrant who can speak up like Michelle Malkin does with a Filipino background.

[hchutch]

Well, I'm not quite buying that. 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? Or teenagers over the summer? Where is the demand for those jobs from those sectors? If they're not willing to take the job at the salaries offered, shouldn't the business owner have the option to offer the job to someone who WILL take it at that price?

You can't MAKE someone take a job they don't want. To be quite honest, the chickens of legalized abortion (to the tune of 1 to 1.5 million a year) and Americans thinking certain jobs are beneath them (except at exorbitant salaries) have come home to roost.

And what is the term "Hispandering"? I'd consider that to be race-baiting - which of course, those of us who point out the bigoted comments of people like Sam Francis and Pat Buchanan and groups like American Renaissance and VDARE get accused of. The concerns I have about racism from those folks are not race-baiting, they're backed up by comments and quotes from those people/organizations.

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. Or is that why Michelle Malkin is trying to defend the reprehensible internment of Japanese-American citizens? I have to wonder...

[bayourod]

"The US population is now at 300M--I'm not sure I see the advantage of going to 400M"

US population only increased 1% last year. The sky is not falling. Our economy is getting better all the time. There are more and better jobs for your children.

You can't have white collar jobs unless you first have blue collar employees.

[Uncle Vlad]

Isn't it interesting that we're expending so much in terms of life, resources, and money in order to bring democracy to Iraq. I don't think any reasonable person would deny Operation Iraqi Freedom must be done. But while we're at it, why can't we do something about the lack of democracy south of the border? If Mexico had an economic system that worked, we wouldn't have so many people jumping the border.

In the meantime, we need to close the borders and cut off the gravy train to all illegals. We're losing our country. California is already gone. 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.

If the Republicans insist on this insane policy of allowing illegal immigration, staying home may be the only option we have in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Maybe then they'll finally get the message, but I sincerely doubt it.

[Centurion2000]

What utter nonsense. The mass immigration in the late 1800's and early 1900's did not destroy the middle class

The diference is that those immigrants ASSIMILATED into the US culture. The current immigrants are bringing old Mexico with them.

That's a HUGE difference.

[bayourod]

"allowing vast numbers of uneducated, unskilled illegals from a single third world country will create an unsustainable economic liability"

No it won't. It never has before. Our economy is continuing to prosper. Our standard of living is rising.

That's just inane bumper sticker sloganism.

[Xenalyte]

The Open Borders Lobby is determined to create a legal supply of cheap labor.

We already have a legal supply of cheap labor. It's called "teenagers." Parents have known this for some time, I suspect.

[Leifur]

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I thought this was the very idea behind the USofAmerica, as written on your statue of liberty. But frankly, I understand your frustration with the system, we have conserns about immigration, although of different kind, and in comparison to most countries in our hemisphere, our system is rather good, efficient and tough.

You can read about them here:

Act on foreigners 96/2002

Icelandic Citizenship 100/1952

The system is essentially that an foreigner can´t get a work in Iceland, except there is noone willing to take the job from Iceland, or within the European Economic Area. There are other things, like that there must come a favorible degree from the Unions and the job must have been advertised within the country and in the EU for some time, and the job has to be paid according to Icelandic union contracts.

I could understand that such a system could not work in the US, specially as you would not like the Unions to get as much power as they have here. But one of the things that you could take up, is the responsibility of the empleyer, who gets the contract, not the individual himself, and if the employer breaks the law, he can be fined, like talked about in this article.

Although I like the basic idea behind our system, I would like it to toughen considerable, to have things like easier for better educated immigrants to come here, as they are more likely to adapt, maybe a quota on how many can come here each year, and from each country or cultural area, to prevent gettoization of ethnic groups, and maybe change it into some kind of guest workers program, so it would be more difficult to linger on in the country when the three years of employee contract is over.

But most importantly we must destroy the Unions, but yeat keep the system thus that foreigners can´t come and underbid locals, so there is a true competitive environment on the local job market, where the prinsiples of supply and demand can work.

[MikefromOhio]

But while we're at it, why can't we do something about the lack of democracy south of the border? If Mexico had an economic system that worked, we wouldn't have so many people jumping the border.

---

there is the root cause of the problem.

And I hope someone tells me that Mexico will be harder than Iraq. The Mexicans will dance in the street if we do happen to go in there...

[Leifur]

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I thought this was the very idea behind the USofAmerica, as written on your statue of liberty. But frankly, I understand your frustration with the system, we have conserns about immigration, although of different kind, and in comparison to most countries in our hemisphere, our system is rather good, efficient and tough.

You can read about them here:

Act on foreigners 96/2002

Icelandic Citizenship 100/1952

The system is essentially that an foreigner can´t get a work in Iceland, except there is noone willing to take the job from Iceland, or within the European Economic Area. There are other things, like that there must come a favorible degree from the Unions and the job must have been advertised within the country and in the EU for some time, and the job has to be paid according to Icelandic union contracts.

I could understand that such a system could not work in the US, specially as you would not like the Unions to get as much power as they have here. But one of the things that you could take up, is the responsibility of the empleyer, who gets the contract, not the individual himself, and if the employer breaks the law, he can be fined, like talked about in this article.

Although I like the basic idea behind our system, I would like it to toughen considerable, to have things like easier for better educated immigrants to come here, as they are more likely to adapt, maybe a quota on how many can come here each year, and from each country or cultural area, to prevent gettoization of ethnic groups, and maybe change it into some kind of guest workers program, so it would be more difficult to linger on in the country when the three years of employee contract is over.

But most importantly we must destroy the Unions, but yeat keep the system thus that foreigners can´t come and underbid locals, so there is a true competitive environment on the local job market, where the prinsiples of supply and demand can work.

[Torie]

There are sensible plans that do not involve mass roundups, and the availability of labor is a function of price. At the right price, the bodies will emerge. If the price of low wage labor increases, some of the products/services will cease to be done in the US, some will become more mechanized (like janitorial work), and for some services, they will just get considerably more expensive, like restaurants and old folks' homes perhaps. The cost of low wage labor, and whether it should stay the same or go up, is just one factor in the mix to consider.

[occutegirl]

Thank from Orange County the MOST REPBULICAN County in the US.

To to mention the terrorist cell here.

[hchutch]

Assimilated? Last time I checked, this was the United States of America, not the Borg Collective.

[lodwick]

"The system we have today is not a compassionate system. It's not working," Bush said Dec. 20.
***
It's not working because the law is not being enforced.

[Tacis]

Two axiomatic points. First, all Mexicans and the government that sends them are liars; nothing that any Mexican says can be accepted as truthful and must be presumed to be a falsehood. Two, evry time one falls for this "they only do jobs that Americans...." bunkum, it condemns blacks to more generations of unemployment and depedency.

And, there is no reason for it. Why is W bending over backwards to give things to foreign aliens? Why does he rate Mexicans above Americans?

I had somew cracked glass in some shower doors replaced by a very reputable local firm. They sent a Mexican who could barely speak English but had been replacing glass for 6 years. He did a fine job. But, he started from nothing and the skills he acquired are skills that no American will acquire so long as he is gainfully employed in this community. W isn't thinking straight on this one!

[dagnabbit]

A little pause between stammered repeated utterances.