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."
He knows the left hates him and he alientates his own base, I really don't know what else to think.
True ... but how to deal with it and finding a solution ... not everyone agrees
The answer is to give every illegal alien a cow when they cross the border.
The president doesn't need any bills passed to secure the border - it's his constitutional duty.
If he can't fulfill his constitutional duty due to lack of funds, then why hasn't he asked congress to allocate more. He asked for $20 billion for Africa.
"If he can't fulfill his constitutional duty due to lack of funds, then why hasn't he asked congress to allocate more"
I suppose you missed this part of his speech
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-7.html
Since I've taken office we've increased funding for border security by 60 percent. Our border agents have used that funding to apprehend and send home more than 4.5 million people coming into our country illegally, including more than 350,000 with criminal records. Our Customs and Border Protection agents can be proud of the work that you're doing. You're taking control of this border. And we have more work to do, and that's what I want to talk to you about today. We're going to build on the progress we have made.
Fact Sheet: Securing America Through Immigration Reform
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-3.html
I see someone up the number from 11 million to 13 million..
the true number is nearly 34 million (I bet)
I didn't miss it - it's just typical politician doublespeak.
"I observe with dismay that "Stuffed Suits, Inc." (the GOP business lobby) cares only about profit and does not act in America's best interest."
There's nothing patriotic about screwing your countrymen for a buck.
this type of talk from our President is going to cause more illegals to move toward crossing the border...Mr. President please, remember you represent the American people not the Mexicans.
"Is it really that difficult to figure out"
Well .. you might want to ask the bleeding heart liberals that are blocking almost everything that is tried
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051128-7.html
We need to address the cycle of endless litigation that clogs our immigration courts and delays justice for immigrants. Some federal courts are now burdened with more than six times as many immigration appeals as they had just a few years ago. A panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declared that illegal immigrants have a right to relitigate before an immigration court as many times as they want. This decision obviously would encourage illegal immigrants who have been deported to sneak back into the country and to re-argue their case. Congress needs to put an end to this cycle of needless litigation and deliver reforms necessary to help us secure this border. (Applause.)
So basically .. regardless of what he says ... you aren't going to listen nor believe
No, blocking them from ever getting into the country illegal in the first place is what needs to be tried. Bush does not want to do this.
By trying to shift the subject to immigrants that are already here, he gets to pass the buck and act like an innocent bystander.
Exactly - I look at actions not words. I'm sure we could all pull up some Bill Clinton speeches where he praised what a good job he did too. That wouldn't make it true because I could look at his actions and see that he is just appeasing the sheep.
I could be wrong .. but wasn't there a fence in San Diego that the bleeding heart liberals have been trying to block in the courts??
This is shocking.....selective pampering of Mexican illegals is ridiculous.
LOL....still laughing.
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