Posted on 01/27/2005 7:15:50 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 - The battle within the Republican Party over immigration policy was joined Wednesday as President Bush vigorously promoted his proposal for a guest worker program and conservatives in Congress introduced an alternative proposal to tighten immigration restrictions.
At a news conference, President Bush said again that he considered his guest worker proposal "a priority" even though Senate Republicans left it off their list of top goals. "A program that enables people to come into our country in a legal way to work for a period of time, for jobs that Americans won't do, will help make it easier for us to secure our borders," Mr. Bush said, adding: "I know there is a compassionate, humane way to deal with this issue. I want to remind people that family values do not end at the Rio Grande border."
Party conservatives, however, have strenuously opposed a guest worker plan since Mr. Bush introduced the idea in 2001, even staging a losing revolt over its inclusion in the party platform at the 2004 Republican convention. Many conservatives call the president's ideas "amnesty" - a term Mr. Bush disputes - because his plan includes ways for currently illegal immigrants to obtain temporary worker permits.
On Wednesday afternoon, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, again introduced a measure to block illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses.
At a news conference, he said the committee would not consider other immigration proposals, implicitly including the president's, until his own measure passed. A similar measure was removed from a bill to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission last year. Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, is expected to introduce a driver's license restriction this year.
Mr. Sensenbrenner said his bill was primarily directed at border security, distinguishing it from other changes in immigration policy. "Immigrants are not terrorists, except a few of them," he said. "The legislation that was introduced today is designed to get the bad apples out of the barrel before the barrel was spoiled."
He said a group of House Republicans had written a letter to Mr. Bush urging him to provide full financing for provisions in last year's antiterrorism bill doubling the number of border patrol agents and tripling the number of beds for detaining illegal immigrants over the next five years. The Department of Homeland Security said recently that it was planning a smaller increase in financing, drawing the ire of advocates of tighter immigration laws.
Asked about the president's proposal, Mr. Sensenbrenner said his committee was "going to be plenty busy with other priorities, a lot of which are the priorities of the White House."
In an interview, Representative Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican who supports the president's plan, said a guest worker program would not amount to an amnesty because it would include a monetary penalty for currently illegal immigrants. "The people who want to kick them all out are not reasonable people," he said.
But Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado and chairman of the Congressional immigration caucus, vowed to defeat any program that in his view would reward lawbreakers, even questioning the president's motives. "Could it be just the corporate interests, the money interests that rely so heavily on cheap labor?" he asked
>>California would be broke and destitute without it's Hispanic population.<<
Would you care to explain why they are broke and destitute with it's Hispanic population?
What ever happened to conservative values here?
"Old hospitals in declining areas go out of business because people with good health insurance (or wealthy) go to new modern better equipped hospitals to have their surgery."
And why don't "old hospitals" have the funds to upgrade? Could it been that the rooms are full of uninsured patients INCLUDING illegal aliens ... you know, those that don't pay?
I doubt if you've ever been to a US hospital on the border? You'll see that your statement is an outright lie.
He has yet to prove one thing he professes to be an expert on!
I'm for Christian compassion.
Providing it's coupled with Holy Spirit wisdom.
And, I have had for some time a growing impression that there's something really ugly and probably from the puppet masters connected with the skullduggery involving Mexico and our border.
Thanks.
Most of bayoufraud's statements are outright lies.
You can expect the "proof" to come from his beloved CATO Institute or the Wall St. Journal. If they released a report that the earth was square and the moon made out of cheese he would call anyone a "racist" or "xenophobe" who disagreed with them.
Maybe it's the same moderator who just warned me to knock it off! :^)
I know, were all supposed to take his word as gospel on all issues.
From now on, he will always be known as bayoufraud.
That is exactly where I expect bayoufraud to get his propaganda. It just proves he is a liberal.
Maybe it's the same moderator who just warned me to knock it off! :^)
Well hells bells, that just about explains it. Bayorod routinely comes on here with his vile race baiting, open border, party before country crap, and you get warned?
Something is very, very wrong with this picture.
Ah yes. Just quietly read his profound teachings and agree with everything he blathers about.
Or ignore him as much as possible. That seems to work also.
It seems to be working...
All's quiet on the Western Front!!
That's fair, I agree with that. We should start fixing the problems within our own country among our own citizens, in the rampant corruption and blatant abuse of these Disability/Unemployment/Welfare/Medicaid/Any other Entitlements of modern America. I'm astounded by the things people get away with using these systems to their advantage.
But the number one priority is definitely the border, and few can argue with that. In a somewhat related story, President Bush is sending our border patrol overseas to seal the Iraqi borders and prevent the influx of terrorists for Sunday's election. If they are as effective there as they are here... it should be a massacre on Sunday.
I had a little tiff with Barlowmaker on another thread, and we BOTH got warned (a first for me)...
As well as other things that can't be said in prime time.
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