Posted on 01/18/2005 12:35:55 AM PST by gubamyster
REP. David Dreier was in the district last week, pitching his plan to put faces and electronic signature strips on Social Security cards to help employers stay on the immigration straight and narrow. His proposed Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act, however, have some folks crying "Big Brother.' Indeed, while the Glendora Republican denies the card is a national ID, it would eventually be required for every American and would identify that person at least to prospective employers. Dreier notes that the card doesn't qualify as identification because it won't have to be carried at all times. That seems a good compromise.
However, the cards will be backed up by a national database that will track the citizenship of all working-age Americans. It can be argued that the card will also track the whereabouts of those on work visas and green cards as well.
If it's as tamperproof as the congressman says and if it's at least as difficult to counterfeit as the California driver license with its holographic images and "water marks,' or even newly issued U.S. currency with its embedded threads and images, we don't see why it shouldn't at least be given a trial run.
California seems ripe for a pilot plan with the daily influx of Mexican nationals and others from Central and South America using the border between the state and Mexico as a gateway.
Dubbed the Bonner Plan after T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the plan's intent is to curb illegal entry into the United States by reducing the availability of jobs.
It sounds good, but will it work? Won't those employers who now break the law by hiring illegal aliens continue to do so? Probably. We already know that there's no enforcement of existing laws. Fifty-thousand-dollar fines on businesses that hire illegal labor ought to cause unscrupulous employers some second thoughts. Dreier's proposal includes $100 million for enforcement. Seems like these get-tougher measures could be implemented right away, without the new cards.
Our central criticism remains: The Bonner plan fails to address the hundreds of thousands of people already in this country illegally and already employed. Some even have their own businesses. We'd like to see a comprehensive plan for these folks. Perhaps legal status will have to be granted for those who have been here for a number of years and are working, but it ought to be coupled with tax payments and either a limited amount of time, such as regular visas for those who do not desire to become Americans, or a means to citizenship.
It's time Congress facilitates legal migration from Mexico and devises a plan to allow cross-border employment. Because nothing short of electrified fences and an army of border patrol agents will stop the steady stream of folks coming across our southern border.
It's simple, really: There's work here, however grueling or low paying. There's little work in Mexico or other Latin American countries. Until those labor scales balance, we're the lifeline. The Bonner Plan in conjunction with a guest worker program and economic aid to Mexico ought to be given a chance and it's success rate tracked.
ping
What is wrong with having your SS card being a national ID, part of your proof of citezenship? It can also be used to ensure one vote per person during elections. Vote, swipe, done.
Nobody could vote twice. Crybaby looser democrats could easly verify their claims of voter fraud.
But who is objecting this? Democrats! they NEED to have room to cheat on election days!
Couple those with bounties paid for those who report those successfully prosecuted for breaking the new laws and we may be getting somewhere.
The more eyes watching...
Gee.....Why wasn't this idea put into law 15 years ago???maybe both republican and democrats did't give a damn???...Yeah...I think so.....
Pop a few of those guys driving those trucks that pick up day labor and the word will get out and quick.
Here's the root of the whole thing- Mexico is sadly corrupt, and the poor have slim to no chances of making it to middle class status. The entire Mexican leadership needs to be replaced with a representative government.
If we can attempt it in Iraq, we Mexico should be a walk in the park.
Sadly, that isn't on anybody's radar screen.
Go for them.
"It's simple, really: There's work here, however grueling or low paying. There's little work in Mexico or other Latin American countries. Until those labor scales balance, we're the lifeline. The Bonner Plan in conjunction with a guest worker program and economic aid to Mexico ought to be given a chance and it's success rate tracked."
Let Mexico fix their own problems rather than shipping them off to the USA.
Mexico will never fix their problems...only export them...
Which is why "option 1" is there. GET CONTROL OF THE DAMNED BORDER!!!!
I've got no problem whatsoever with LEGAL immigrants, but anyone who enters this country illegally should be deported immediately on discovery. Not "detained for a hearing"---put on a plane back to their country of origin.
Copy that!.......The Mexicans have armed military on their southern border with orders of shoot to kill anyone who attempts to cross........
Living in NC, I'd love to visit Charlotte, have an ex-Loomis Fargo van and pull up to Home Despot, load up with "day laborers, and haul them to Tyvola Drive - to the regional ICE office.
Heck, I'd even offer to drive them non-stop to the Mexican border if they'll just do the paperwork and offer an escort!!
How come we are not doing that??
The U.N. would scream human rights violations.
...Indeed, while the Glendora Republican denies the card is a national ID, it would eventually be required for every American and would identify that person at least to prospective employers. Dreier notes that the card doesn't qualify as identification because it won't have to be carried at all times. That seems a good compromise...
Yes, we are going to set the last nail in the coffin of the Republic, but we aren't going to drive it all the way in...yet.
The greedy Mexican oligarchs are devising a plan to tax the wages of the illegals working in the USA ---- they'll manage to find where they all are --- even though our own government has been very inept.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.