Posted on 10/16/2005 11:43:28 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
WASHINGTON President Bush's ambitious plan to give millions of undocumented immigrants a shot at legal temporary work in the United States is dead in Congress.
Two hurricanes, two Supreme Court nominees, Republican in-fighting and the president's own slump in the polls have put Bush's "guest worker" initiative on the shelf for this year.
Instead of rallying behind the Bush temporary worker proposal, conservative Republicans are about to head in the opposite direction with legislation to crack down on undocumented immigrants and companies that employ them.
"Political momentum has changed in our favor," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who leads a group of more than 80 House lawmakers who generally oppose expanding immigration.
Conservative Republicans have vowed to block any initiative that would give work visas to immigrants in the country illegally even if the permits are good only temporarily.
In any case, lawmakers say they are just too busy to pay any attention to the Bush proposal.
"I think Katrina and Rita knocked it off the fall Senate calendar," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is sponsoring a bill modeled after Bush's guest worker initiative. "Given the crunch caused by two Supreme Court nominations, and Katrina and Rita, it's looking like January" will be the earliest the Senate will consider comprehensive immigration bills, Cornyn said.
But in 2006 an election year many Republicans won't be eager to wade into a contentious fight over immigration while also confronting rising gas prices and growing concerns over the war in Iraq.
The administration's guest worker proposal is the latest item on Bush's second-term agenda to go on life-support, joining now-stalled plans to overhaul the tax code and the Social Security system.
For Bush, the immigration debate is personal. He confronted the issue head-on as governor of Texas, which contains much of the nation's roughly 2,000-mile-long border with Mexico.
As governor, he also developed a friendship with Mexican President Vicente Fox.
As president, Bush has made revamping the nation's immigration laws a priority as part of Republican efforts to court the nation's Hispanic voters.
Corporate America particularly agricultural businesses and the service industry also has pleaded for a way to legally hire more foreign workers.
When Bush outlined his broad vision for rewriting the nation's immigration laws in 2004, the president said he wanted qualified undocumented immigrants to get temporary work visas that would be good, initially, for three years and possibly renewable for a total of six.
Bush said his initiative was designed to "allow willing workers to enter our country and fill jobs that Americans are not filling."
But the vague proposal Bush said he was leaving the details up to Congress immediately provoked widespread criticism from the left and the right.
Conservative Republicans said the president's plan would reward lawbreakers who had crossed U.S. borders illegally.
Democrats complained the initiative would give more than 10 million undocumented immigrants false hope by encouraging them to come out of hiding and seek visas guaranteeing them a one-way ticket home after six years.
The debate was so polarizing that Bush largely stopped talking about the issue altogether. But now, conservative Republicans driven by the complaints of angry constituents who say the nation's borders are under siege are preparing to push legislation focusing on stepping up the enforcement of immigration laws.
They say the federal government isn't doing enough to stanch the flow of immigrants across the nation's borders, leading some state and local government officials to take matters into their own hands.
In recent months, Arizona and New Mexico have declared states of emergency, citing the high costs of a surge in immigrants illegally crossing.
Hundreds of people have signed up as "Minutemen," voluntarily patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border.
Similar groups in Texas and California have recruited members to scout for undocumented immigrants.
"We have lost control of our borders and endangered the lives of Americans by not enforcing immigration laws," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio.
In Congress, proposals to revamp immigration laws range from those that would make it easier for undocumented immigrants to become residents to plans to seal off the borders altogether. Among them:
Legislation by Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., dubbed the "enforcement first" proposal, which would impose stiffer sanctions on companies that employ undocumented immigrants.
Under his bill, companies could face up to five years in jail and fines of up to $50,000 for each undocumented worker. His legislation also would end the practice of granting citizenship to any child born in the United States, unless at least one parent is in the country legally.
A proposal being drafted by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who heads the powerful House Judiciary Committee. His legislation also is expected to focus heavily on enforcement.
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I don't disagree (as I consider these sorts not only criminals but traitors) but it's probably more effective to hit them where it hurts... in the pocketbook. That should put a quick end to the under-the-table employment opportunities the illegals are streaming across the border for.
You (and J.D. Hayworth Rep. R-AZ) have got it right. Get tough on employers of illegals and no one will employ illegals. With no jobs to work illegals will deport themselves, at their own expense and they will do it quickly.
Good riddance...
No doubt the punishment should fit the crime. In the least instances a $50K fine should do. Repeat offenders, large corps and those who act as suppliers of the illegal labor pool can do 5-10 in state big houses. On top of escalating fines.
Thanks...I will print a couple of dozen to mail back to all the GOP hopefuls trying to get into my wallet.
This is out of the Congress, not the white house, Nachum.
Problem is, you're thinking like a patriot. If you were thinking about how much money you could make, you need to change your thoughts.
Hmm, I have a business, I can employ illegals with less pay and no benefits, no FICA or unemployment taxes on my part, they sure aren't going to complain if they get hurt on the job (no workmans comp), heheh, more money for me! I can still charge the prevailing rate to the consumer. Sounds like a win/win situation to me!
I gotta admit, if I was an employer, I can't find a problem with that. I wish I was less patriot and more greedy. Politicians are greedy and money hungry so they don't see a problem with a third world economy, as long as they aren't part of it.
I've never been a fan of unions, they needed them in the 30's and 40's but I think that time has come again.
You put the CEO (and possibly other EOs and managers) in prison. What's so hard about that?
Thanks for the correction.
I'm hep to that. A greater will among the people to have the law enforced would go a long way towards making it happen. That brings us back to education and publicity which seems to be coming about.
This is so absurd. My local law enforcement officers have been ordered by the feds to let all ilegals go unless ther is a specific felony warrant out for one of them.
You go after the greedy rat that owns the company, the one that hires these criminals. Make an example out of a few hundred of them, and before you know it, America no longer has millions of illegals pouring into our country.
Works for me quite well. And it's way past time to do this.
The following is from my last newsletter from my US Rep. John Culberson. I apologize in advance for the lengthyness.
Here is another article that illustrates the seriousness of the emergency along our border. You do not need to go to Iraq to see the war on terror, you can go to Laredo. Ask any law enforcement officer who serves along the Rio Grande and they will confirm that there is a full scale war going on down there. I have just returned from a tour of the area, guided by border county sheriffs, and I am now convinced that the battle for Laredo is as important strategically as the battle of Gettysburg was during the Civil War.
The sheriffs are dismayed by the lack of attention from the national media and the lack of support from the federal government. I intend to do everything in my power to educate the American people and Congress on the severity of this problem. Nuevo Laredo is a ghost town and Laredo will soon become one unless we get serious about dealing with this threat.
During my visit, the Sheriffs gave me the following information:
· A large, but unknown, number of al Qaeda terrorists and Chinese nationals are infiltrating our country virtually anywhere they choose from Brownsville to San Diego.
. One al Qaeda terrorist was held for several weeks after being captured on our border and is currently under FBI custody.
. Paramilitary training camps run by Special Forces officers trained in Nicaragua and Guatemala operate in the open near Matamoras. Terrorists, drug smugglers and killers are trained here within walking distance of Matamoras.
· A large number of Islamic individuals have moved into homes in Nuevo Laredo and are being taught Spanish to assimilate with the local culture.
The border county Sheriffs are the only law enforcement officials capable of responding immediately and effectively to this security threat. They are locally elected and they know the terrain better than anyone, but they are constrained by a lack of federal funding and they do not have the authority to assist the Border Patrol. Volunteers can play a role in this battle by joining neighborhood watch programs, but the narcoterrorists and guerillas have the best weapons that money can buy, so the area is not safe for volunteers. Next week, I will introduce a bill with Congressman Silvestre Reyes that will provide authority and direct federal funding for border county Sheriffs to assist Border Patrol agents in securing our border. Full scale war is underway on our Southern border, and our entire way of life is at risk if we do not win the battle for Laredo.
Yes. And it's a beautiful thing to see...:-)
"Volunteers can play a role in this battle by joining neighborhood watch programs, but the narcoterrorists and guerillas have the best weapons that money can buy, so the area is not safe for volunteers. Next week, I will introduce a bill with Congressman Silvestre Reyes that will provide authority and direct federal funding for border county Sheriffs to assist Border Patrol agents in securing our border."
How many months or years will it take to be effective, John?
The Minutemen are on the border now, while you catch up!
HUH??!
On the contrary! We would like LESS Big Brother government, LESS crippling taxes, and LESS overbearing regulations so private businesses can afford to stay in the U.S. and hire legal Americans!
We don't need to grow the government at all. We just need to enforce the laws that are already on the books. By the way, it is illegal for a company to knowingly hire an illegal alien. Any company that violates federal immigration laws by knowingly hiring illegal aliens deserves to be punished.
Thanks...I've printed this off and will be sending them to the RNC as a response to all those Republican fund-raising letters I've been getting.
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