DeLay Sees Chance of Immigration Deal(Time to Email DeLay!)

The New York Times ^ | 2/9/2005 | staff

[kellynla]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, said Tuesday that conservatives might be able to compromise with President Bush on his proposal allowing illegal immigrants to work in the United States legally.

Such a compromise could entail, for example, requiring illegal immigrants to return to their native countries to apply for the program, Mr. DeLay said.

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Mr. DeLay said he talked recently with the president, who has advocated a guest worker program that would be open to workers who are currently in the country illegally as well as to newcomers.

[taxed2death]

"Returning to their home country to apply." may appease the anti-Mexican crowd, but it won't make much difference to the illegals from Mexico. They go back to Mexico regularly anyway for Christmas, funerals, birthdays etc.."


ummmmmm...I hate to break the news to you....the whole universe does not revolve around the silly messicans.

[sinkspur]

...I hate to break the news to you....the whole universe does not revolve around the silly messicans.

I agree. So why do you spend your life on these threads?

[bayourod]

"a nation that we can no longer call sovereign....the deteriorated homeland awaiting them "

Hey, drama queen wake up and look around you. We are still as sovereign a nation as we have ever been and the homeland is better than ever. Of course nothing will satisfy the manic depressives.

The insult to our troops is those of you who want to pull them off the battlefield where they are defeating our terrorists enemies, to put them on the Mexican border so lazy incompetent union members don't have to worry about Mexican laborers keeping them from extorting exorbitant wages out of American companies.

[kellynla]

you reeeeeely don't believe this line of bull now do ya? LOL
this BS that W talks about "illegals doing jobs that Americans won't" routine is hogwash!
If employers would pay a decent wage Americans would be knocking down the doors...
we picked fruit and veggies for hundreds of years, long before the illegals came running over here...
I loaded and unloaded produce trucks and boxcars for years while going to school...
so don't try and tell me these clowns are doing jobs Americans won't do!!!

[taxed2death]

"The losers who now blame Mexicans for their inability to keep a job still won't be able to keep a job."

Choice words...your moron flag is proudly flying with no shame and out for all to see.

How about the tens of thousands of kids who graduate each year in trade tech high schools...
getting sandbagged out of a job they studied for for 4 years?

Are you REALLY this dumb?

So, I guess these "loser" American kids should just STFU and take it in their........

I guess it's ok for these "Mexicans" you constantly blab about to take these jobs in Carpentry, Heating HVAC, Plumbing apprentices, Automotive repair, autobody repair?

What a chump.

[Ron H.]

Not necessarily. I do believe this was one of the cornerstones of Tancredo's guest worker bill. This may be Delays way of pushing Tancredo's proposal as a 'compromise'.

I agree. At least DeLay has offered a starting point for compromise.

What we DONT want is Cornyns guest worker bill proposal. He is the Senate manager of Bushs 'proposal', is this coincidence?

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement also.

[taxed2death]

Nope, I do not believe this line of BS. But so far...this seems like one logical step in the right direction. We need to get the illegals across the borders back where they came from. Then if they want to come back in, we find willing employers who will hire them ON the BOOKS. Of course, this has to be coupled with strict enforcement of existing laws pertaining to the hiring of illegals. And then lets not forget border enforcement...With these three main points, we might actually have a chance to see an improvement.

[taxed2death]

....same reason you do....besides, I have a lot of fun poking holes in the pretzel logic of some posters here who are into self flagellation.

...like shooting fish in a barrel actually ;)

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Hi-b has already proven what guest worker programs do, they displace Americans from their jobs. Matching "willing employer with employee" will mean the end of the middle class as we know it so Delay and the GOP better make their plans ahead of time to get future votes from all the guest workers they allow in.

[KiloLima]

I wasn't speaking to you, I was speaking to kelly. And, if and when you speak to me again, which I hope is not, you can leave out the name calling.

[Pa' fuera]

Will putting some of them to a little inconvenience make you feel better? Is that what your sense of justice needs to satisfy your indignation over them violating immigration laws?

no, actually, I need more than that. They thumbed their nose at our laws, I'd rather have them deported and barred for life. We can get guest workers from elsewhere, including from among the ranks of those who have already applied and are waiting in line while the illegals trample in. There is no way you can give preferential treatment to the illegals to the detriment of those law-abiding applicants and say that the process is just and fair.

[Truth29]

Agree. If the will is not there to enforce current laws, what makes us think that new laws will be enforced any more rigorously?

[bobjam]

Vicente Fox strikes me as an opportunist; not an idealist. He correctly sees the large scale discontent with the status quo- most Mexicans realize that they are getting shafted; they just don't know how. He has used that widespread discontent to propel himself and his allies into political power. Once in power, they make enough changes to convince the voters that they are doing something to "fix things". Because most Mexicans don't quite realize what's actually wrong, they have no idea that Fox's "fixes" are fixes in the boxing sense and not the repair sense. If Fox makes the discontent go away, then he eliminates the rationale he used to convince people to support him.

In a nutshell, Fox will do enough to make people think he's a reformer but not enough to solve any real problems. The result: new sign out front; business as usual inside.

[kellynla]

Well the Mexicans can vote Fox out of office next year if he doesn't "get 'er dun" by then...
but it's time for Mexico to take off the "training wheels"!

[Dat Mon]

Heres another beef of mine.

Personally, I am opposed to all guest worker bills on general principle, as I feel that they can be misused by employers to distort and usurp natural labor market supply and demand.

We have already seen how this has been done in the tech sector using the H1b classification. Do some research, and discover how the IEEE-USA feels about H1b.

Although some try to advocate these policies from a libertarian viewpoint, I feel that they are actually contrary to libertarian principles, insofar as they allow the government to indirectly regulate the labor market, using legislative categories, exemptions and allocations, and thus give an unfair advantage to certain companies at the expense of the general public and other companies. This amounts to indirect government interference in private enterprise.

Now, immigration of desirable people with good job skills is another matter. I am not opposed to increasing immigration quotas, provided that strict criteria are met.

First and foremost, there has to be a demonstrated need for a certain labor classification, skill or aptitude.

Second, the applicant should express a desire to become a productive American citizen. They should also have some minimal facility with the English language, OR be willing to learn as part of their naturalization process.

Third, quotas should be assigned to countries across the board, not just one or two, with preference given to those who have stood by us as allies in the past.

Now, with all this talk of "family values" as they apply to immigrants, I say if we want that as part of our criteria, then we should also be assigning an equal number of slots to Poland, as well as to Mexico.

You will not find a more solid, Catholic country than Poland, with solid family values. Also, they have been a faithful ally in Iraq and elsewhere. I would also give preference to Britain and Ireland.

[Dat Mon]

Not to be picky...but also thank nodolli...the table and link originally came from her.

[Missouri]

Hey, drama queen

Now thats an insult to a fellow freepers.

Wouldn't you love to see those Hollywood leftist crying in front of a camera about their poor nanny and gardener having to go back to their country of origin to apply for this program? Seeing Martin Sheen in tears over this brings a smile to my face.

[k2blader]

requiring illegal immigrants to return to their native countries to apply for the program, Mr. DeLay said.

Could we do that and then just throw all the applications into the fire, er, file?

[stopem]

;) Colorado is passing a bill to pull all benefits the illegals are collecting now. YES!

[StarFan]

Ping.