Posted on 11/29/2005 7:21:12 PM PST by 11th_VA
PRESIDENT George Bush has proposed offering the estimated 13 million illegal immigrants in the US three-year guest-worker visas.
Mr Bush said his plan did not amount to an amnesty for illegal migrants, almost 1 million of whom are estimated to enter the US from Mexico each year.
In a speech in Tucson, Arizona, near the Mexican border, he said illegal immigration was "a serious challenge and our responsibility is clear — to protect the border.
"The American people should not have to choose between a welcoming society and a lawful society," he said. "We can have both at the same time."
Under the proposal, the visas could be renewed for another three years if the migrants returned to their country of origin to apply.
Mr Bush announced his visa plan after saying that his Administration would beef up security along the 3200-kilometre border with Mexico and introduce the automatic detention of non-Mexican illegal immigrants, most of them from Central America, who in the past have been picked up, charged with immigration offences and then set free.
"When the date arrives for them to appear, 75 per cent of those released don't show up in court," he said.
"This practice of catch and release has been the government's policy for decades. It is an unwise policy and we're going to end it."
The Republican Party is divided over the issue of illegal migrants.
The vast majority of illegal immigrants enter the US from Mexico with the help of organised rings or family members and friends already in America. Hundreds die each year attempting the crossing from Mexico into Arizona, many of them from the harsh conditions in the desert.
The business wing of the Republican Party has lobbied hard for another amnesty on illegal immigrants, arguing that the economy would be badly damaged if there were a serious attempt to send back to Mexico millions of people who are prepared to do the jobs that Americans are not willing to do.
The illegal immigrants form the majority of America's 2 million farm workers and a significant proportion of construction labourers and service industry workers. They are mainly paid just above the minimum wage and generally do not receive health care or pension benefits. The US offered illegal migrants an amnesty in 1986 during the Reagan administration, when 3 million applied.
But the numbers arriving over the past decade have grown, leaving many Americans alarmed.
Polls have consistently shown that more than 65 per cent of Americans, most of them Republican voters, view illegal immigration as a top-ranking issue and a danger to US security.
With polls showing his support at a record low, Mr Bush has shifted ground on immigration since a key speech in January in which he said illegal immigrants were of fundamental importance to the US economy and deserved the chance to try to better themselves and their families and to become Americans.
The US Congress has spent much of this year battling to come up with an immigration bill that would receive majority support, but congressional leaders announced in October that the immigration debate would be adjourned until early next year.
Most conservative Republicans, especially in border states such as Arizona and Texas, are likely to reject Mr Bush's work visa proposal for illegal immigrants, which many see as a back-door amnesty.
Texas senator Kay Bailey, who represents the views of many Republicans in Congress, said illegal immigrants should be sent home before they could apply for guest-worker visas.
"We have to reward people who come legally and we do need certain types of workers," she said. "But we have to know who is in this country."
No, it would stop the bleeding. Note that I also wrote that pressure would should be put on employers. Those laws are already on the books but enforcement is lax.
That is the point I've been trying to make
The fixes are pretty easy. Secure the border and put pressure on employers. It doesn't get any easier than that. If only the war on terrorism were that simple.
....You have ducked my questions. How are the laws going to be enforced? Who is going to do it? Who pays the cost to business for compliance?....
I haven't ducked your questions. I told you how they would be enforced and the two first steps to enforce them.
....From your posts, I know a couple of things..You think that there is a simple slogan-type of solution and you have never owned a business that had to deal with the government....
You don't know anything about me. I own my own business in an area flooded with illegal and legal aliens. I have dealt with the government for years including the Immigration Service and have been involved with the immigration problem close to thirty years. I am in contact with lots of Agents on the front lines of the border in many different capacities. I lobbied Congress during the 1986 Reform Act and I know first hand they were bought off/influenced by the Farm Bureau. The amnesty was the carrot part and sanctions were to be the stick. They failed because Congress failed to fund the enforcement/santions provisions and shortly after employers became aware that they could weasel out of sanctions in many cases by having employees use false documents. Congress has never had the will to face this problem and neither have any of the presidents since the 1950's. The buck starts and stops at the top.
I addressed your points directly and without offense.
What is your big problem with the border patrol being considered a token force? If the border patrol isn't given the resources to do its job and millions cross the border every year then how could it not be considered a token force?
It's not like the job has to be complex like the war on poverty or anything. Somehow almost every other industrialized nation has found a way to secure it's borders but it is impossible for us. Why is that?
My point is that it isn't just an employers problem .. nor is it just the Presidents problem .. nor just a state or local problem
It's one big huge problem with no easy fix
The illegal problem cannot be fixed by just one person
Everyone has to work together and find a reasonable solution that will work and that we all can agree with
Yes .. I agree a fence would slow it down .. but it won't solve the bigger problem
Well it's been fun .. but I need to head out for the night
Sweet Dreams
No one should have to pay businesses to comply with the law.
And if they persist in breaking the law and perpetuating a situation that is hurting this country, then the funds we have to expend to enforce the law will be worth every penny.
Because there are many Border Agents that bust their butts to protect the borders
Some have lost their lives protecting it
Saying they need more resources is one thing
Calling them a "token force" ... imo is an insult
Golldarn it, we were trying to keep it a secret. Now the world will know, thanks to you, that GWB told the Border Patrol not to protect the border. Hope your happy
(Is it the water?)
Why on earth would anyone pay the "cost" of a company's obligation to hire legal workers? Who pays for your company's accountant to "comply" with tax laws? Who pays for your company to comply with OSHA laws? If there was a five-year jail term in the FedPen for the CEO of a business hiring illegals it wouldn't be a problem.
They know exactly who they are hiring, and routinely ignore fake documents. I worked for a company that hired them...they laughed about it. What a deal! Foist off a good portion of your labor cost onto the local taxpayers!
It's not an insult and it not clear why you are trying to make it one. In this context, "token" means "primarily symbolic". The agency has not been given the resources to do their job so they have been relegated to a classic "token force."
Being a member of a token force has no bearing on the members of that force. For example, if we sent only 15 Marines to defend the Korean border, they would be very brave men but still part of a only a token force.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/aboutus/history/sanctions.htm
Employer Sanctions
some statistics
http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=332
They have been given resources
Do they need more??? ... most likely
But to say they don't have them is not true
Millions of illegals cross the border every year. Either the agency hasn't been given the resources or it's employees aren't doing their jobs.
I'd suggest reading what the president said yesterday ...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-7.html
but you already admitted you won't listen or believe anything he has to say
They are obviously taking the problem very seriously.
BIG BUMP
"The answer is to give every illegal alien a cow when they cross the border."
ROFLMAO! Why not, we already give them free health care!
"...they get to stay three years, go home then come back for three more, sounds like a reward for lawbreaking to me."
You say that as if any WERE going home. They'll all have anchor babies before those three years are up, you can bet on that.
.....First, I`m totally for closing the border and want the illegals out. My problem is that, if we listen to the bomb throwers that often post here, nothing will get done.
If you own a business, you can`t be for more government interference. No way, especially if you have a small biz.
The Presidents proposals are a good place to start.Why not support them, give our imput on changes and get something done?......
I own my own business and adding a counterfeit/tamper proof id card for workers won't cost businesses a dime. It would be up to the employee to get the cards. Businesses are already required to check documents, so its no more workload. I'd rather my competitors who employ illegals at less cost complied, right now it is unfair competition favoring those that are willing to break the law. Currently Law abiding businesses loose out to those that break the law, that is wrong. I am for less government contol of businesses, but my nation comes first. I stand to loose financially if illegals are tossed out but I believe it is best for the future of this Nation. No I don't hire illegals but they have pushed up real estate and other prices because of demand.
....I wrote my Senators and GWB and thanked Bush for his proposal, advocated more fences, and local cops having to turn over illegals to the BP. Its a start.....
The amnesty is a dead end. In 1986 Congress promised a one time amnesty we have had something like 6 or 7 mini amnesties since then for various groups of people. By repeatedly granting amnesties, the law has no deterrence, it becomes a matter of well if I don't get caught I will be around for the next amnesty. That is the worst part of his proposal. It is a magnet for future violations it is a poor start. We also won't know what the market will bear for labor rates until all illegals are removed and the free market determines labor rates.
If we are going to let millions of illegals flood the unskilled markets, why not let in millions of doctors lawyers, accountants? There are millions of qualified people in Russia who would love to come to the USA and experience capitalism first hand, why limit ourselves to lower skilled workers? I bet we could bring down the cost of medical care with a few million doctors and nurses from foreign countries... Pressure on wages should not be depressed by an unfair oversupply of workers of any skill, but currently we are prostituting ousrselves and harming lower class Americans and helping illegal foreigners who depress wages.
I am concerned that a mass exodus could cause some economic problems, but it is time to bite the bullet and stop the bleeding before the problem kills us. Its like tax reform or SS reform, everyone knows something needs to be done but nobody has the guts to do it. Our leaders are failing us.
First step is for Presidente Bush to meet with Presidente Fox and have a serious talk and twist his arm, and then tell both nations that we are going to enforce our laws and there will be no amnesty, that he will not sign a bill with amnesty. The word has to come from the top. Bush speaks Spanish and can do a public service announcement telling everyone to go home. He certainly shouldn't be encouraging them by offering a 3 year visa. Its a leadership failure of the largest degree.
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.