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
That's the way a town should handle a nuisance. Attack the specific problem, don't just blame president Bush.
Example: Houston solved its gang problems in the 80s with oincreased law enforcemant. LA, has a severe gang problem which they blame on immigration. Both Houston and LA have similar immigrant concentrations, but LA which is several time larger than Houston only has a third the number of policemen. It's not Bush's fault.
So are the meat packing plants locating outside the city limits, or are those towns drying up like many rural towns. Are their hospitals closing?
Its amazing how many OBL types use Reagan as a prop, as if Reagan would've approved of their ethics(or lack of).
President Reagan was a very compassionate man. In person the compasion was far more apparent than on TV. That's where Bush got his "compassionate conservative" theme.
Bush's guest worker/increased enforcement plan is probably his attempt to accomplish what Reagan incorrectly tried to do with his amnesty program.
Reagan the marxist. Whoda thunk?
George Bush?
Sorry bayourod but I've yet to hear Bush talk about borders in a way that relates to sovereignty as Reagan did. To him it's only a barrier designed keep out drug dealers and thieves, the rest can come in because "family values don't stop at the Rio Bravo". It's two very different philosophies, which your cheap labor glasses are incapable of seeing.
TC you nailed his name perfectly. LOL!!
I've driven in Mexico before and what's worse, as a pedestrian I've crossed their streets. I learned that vehicles have the right away! We were almost run over by a taxi driver.
That's what the open border apologists would be calling him if he were around saying that today.
Wrong again. 'Compassionate Conservative' owes more to 'Kinder & Gentler' which was coined to be a positive contrast to the Reagan era.
"The security objective has been met so far"......that statement might come as a surprise to families who've had loved ones raped, robbed, maimed and murdered by illegals. Don't think all those thousands of illegals in our prisons sucking up billions of tax $ are there by accident!
I meant to ping you to #276
Sorry for the delay.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1330294/posts?page=276#276
She is more adult like than Boxer, that's for sure. After 9/11, she made a public statement that I can't remember. It got me thinking that maybe she was an American at heart.
Who knows. There is hope for everyone.
You're right.
They move their factories overseas to where the cheap labor was and they support open borders so they flood the labor pool and drive down the wages of the jobs that are left.
Even those that are in skilled professions are only given a temporary stay.
If they can replace machinist, pipe fitters,welders, mechanics,sheet metal workers who require extra schooling and a two to four year apprenticeship then they can replace the white collar skills as well.
A lot of the white collar jobs are easier to outsource, or offshore physically.
"Labor is already tight with unemployment below average and shortages existing in both geographical and industrial sectors.
If we don't increase the labor pool in the country we could face serious shortages in the near future."
Even if your seriously flawed assumptions were true....then we should cut funding for social services like schooling, housing, welfare, etc for these illegal trespassers. They would mostly "self deport" in 6 months time. Then, start a new "list" of LEGAL applicants for emmigration to the US.
Get the illegals out. Welcome new immigrants who abide by our laws and will be "team players".
But again....since the very foundation of your sensless claim of a labor shortage is false....everything else is just wishful thinking.
"An Opinion Research Corp. survey released last week showed the No. 1 priority of registered voters across the country is border defense and homeland security. It was – far and away – the top military or foreign priority for 43 percent of the respondents. A distant second, at 19 percent, was intelligence gathering. Just 17 percent thought international aid and diplomacy should be the nation's most important objective.
When voters were asked to choose their highest, second and third priorities from the list of issues, and their top choices were combined, defense of U.S. borders was the clear winner at 77 percent."
http://resultsforamerica.org/survey.html
I wish I could claim that, but Marine Inspector came up with that name.
Agreed.
Personally, I doubt the House will be able to stop the President for 4 years. They will try at first, but in time they will decide it's not worth it or they will take another compromise, which the President will renege on.
I suspect that the CBP is a little smarter than you give them credit for.
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