"The issue of a guest worker program is completely separate from the issue of illegal aliens."
Not really. Illegal immigration exists due to a supply and demand. Simply enforcing will not end the supply nor demand, based on Mexico's excess labor (due to their badly managed economy) and other 3rd world labor pools, and our job generation machine.
Guest worker is an attempt to fill the employment gap.
Here is an even simpler solution - END CHAIN MIGRATION. by ending family/chain migration, more migration can be employment based.
They are different groups of people, regardless of their country of origin, and the political issues that concern them are different in their effects and needs. Confusing the two may be lethal to our society, economy and sovereignty.
We already have a guest worker program, which may indeed need to be reformed. But illegal aliens are those who have not applied to be guest workers. There are 11 million of them by some estimates, 20 million by others. The only thing needing reform concerning illegal aliens is to enforce the existing laws respecting their presence and their employment here. Our sovereignty and rule-of-law demand it.
Border security is the number one problem in this debate. The flood of illegal aliens is a major factor in relation to our lack of border security but it is only one factor. There is also a matter of national security in a time of war and in an age when terrorists have set their sights on inflicting mass destruction on our society.
After the issues of border security and millions of illegal foreign nationals on our soil the matter of guest workers is very small in comparison. Until the first two problems are thoroughly and firmly addressed the guest worker issue should not even be discussed.
The President and the Senate need to get that message with unambiguous resolve.
The best methods to control the border have been studied and debated for a long time now. There are many good ideas and proven solutions. What is lacking is only the will to do it. The cost of controlling our borders will be insignificant compared to the price we will pay, both in security and economy, if we do not.
It would be nice to help everyone in the world lift themselves up out of poverty. But we cannot take that responsibility upon ourselves especially if we ignore our own welfare to the point that we are no longer prosperous.
Other nations of the world have an obligation to help their citizens every bit as much as we have to help ours. It is one thing to help other nations prosper it is quite another to relieve them of their own responsibilities. Beyond that it is simply not realistic to think that poverty can be ended around the world. We still have some in this great nation.
We must stop pandering to American employers who criminally employ illegal foreign nationals. Dry up the jobs and illegal foreign nationals will go home. Home where they can do what they must to put their houses in order just as we must put ours in order.
There is no compassion in filling a man's stomach or his pocketbook by relieving him of his responsibilities in life. Illegal aliens have abandoned their own house in order to be comfortable in ours. By so doing neither can be the master of his own house and both will be enemies in the street. This is our house, the U.S. of A., and it is our responsibility to set the rules in it.