Posted on 06/02/2007 10:22:51 AM PDT by nj26
President Bush’s advocacy of an immigration overhaul and his attacks on critics of the plan are provoking an unusually intense backlash from conservatives who form the bulwark of his remaining support, splintering his base and laying bare divisions within a party whose unity has been the envy of Democrats.
It has pitted some of Mr. Bush’s most stalwart Congressional and grass-roots backers against him, sparking a vitriol that has at times exceeded anything seen yet between Mr. Bush and his supporters, who have generally stood with him through the toughest patches of his presidency. Those supporters now view him as pursuing amnesty for foreign law breakers when he should be focusing on border security.
Postings on conservative Web sites this week have gone so far as to call for Mr. Bush’s impeachment, and usually friendly radio hosts, commentators and Congressional allies are warning that he stands to lose supporters — a potentially damaging development, they say, when he needs all the backing he can get on other vital matters like the war in Iraq.
“I think President Bush hurts himself every time he says it is not amnesty,” said Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, referring to the bill’s legalization process for immigrants. “We are not all that stupid.”
This week, in discussing Mr. Bush’s recent comments accusing conservative critics of the immigration legislation of fear-mongering, Rush Limbaugh told listeners: “I just wish he hadn’t done it because he’s not going to lose me on Iraq, and he’s not going to lose me on national security. But he might lose some of you.”
Such sentiments have reverberated through talk radio, conservative publications like National Review and Fox News. They have also appeared on Web sites including RedState.com and FreeRepublic.com...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Doesn’t W get it? He needs to back a new, tougher bill and scrap this one. Why can’t he do that? Get those same senators in a backroom and get tougher. All our angst would go away.
“Doesn’t W get it? He needs to back a new, tougher bill and scrap this one. Why can’t he do that? Get those same senators in a backroom and get tougher. All our angst would go away.”
“W” doesn’t WANT enforcement of the border. Shouldn’t that be clear by now to all?
Well-said. This is exactly what I have been hearing from friends and family members, conservatives and moderates. They foresee the death of the middle class in America. The family men are already struggling to make ends meet and take care of their wives and kids. Second and even third jobs have become common for many.
Why? Because WE the PEOPLE receive the brunt of the administation’s largesse in flinging open wide the doors to our homeland. WE pay for the increased taxation at every level of government, for the building of new schools; for free hospital care and free medication for indigent illegals; for free food and milk for their children; for more police and more courtrooms and more judges; for more prison space and more guards, etc.
President Bush, Karl Rove, and other administration honchos should go on a “listening tour” of America and find out what the common man and woman think.
Say NO to Amnesty! Close the Southern Border!!!
From the office of the white house press secretary; will someone dissect the below facts vs myths for me?
Immigration Fact Check: Responding to Key Myths
White House News
In Focus: Immigration
1. MYTH: The government is going to give permanent legal status to 12 million illegal aliens before securing our borders.
* FACT: Temporary worker and Z visas will not be issued until benchmarks for enforcement are met. These triggers include: o Increasing border fencing. o Increasing vehicle barriers at the Southern border. o Increasing the size of the Border Patrol. o Ground-based radar and camera towers along the Southern border. o Resources to maintain the end of catch and release. o DHS establishment of worksite enforcement tools, including an electronic Employment Eligibility Verification System.
* FACT: As we work to meet these triggers, we must provide a mechanism for undocumented workers with clean records and steady jobs to come out of the shadows and be accounted for in a regulated system, on a probationary basis. This will allow immigration enforcement officers to focus their resources on apprehending violent criminals and terrorists.
* FACT: To obtain probationary status, illegal immigrants must come out of the shadows to acknowledge they have broken the law and pass a preliminary background check.
* FACT: Probationary status may be revoked at any time if a worker is found ineligible for the Z visa, fails to maintain a clean record, or fails the background check required for obtaining a Z visa.
* FACT: The Administration has already seen progress in securing our borders due to increased investment and other deterrence factors - the number of apprehensions for illegally crossing the Southern border is down 27 percent from this time last year. The Administration has: o Expanded the Border Patrol from approximately 9,000 agents in 2001 to more than 13,000 agents today. o Built 78 miles of permanent vehicle barrier and 86 miles of primary fencing. o Put in place four Ground Surveillance Radars and one Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), with another (UAS) coming on line in July of this year.
2. MYTH: Under the guest-worker program, guest workers will be able to bring spouses and children into the United States. Children of guest workers will be entitled to free education in public schools, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
* FACT: Temporary workers can only bring their families if they show that they have the financial means to support them and that their family members will have health care insurance while in the U.S. In addition, the number of family members that may be brought into the U.S. by temporary workers is capped.
* FACT: Temporary workers are required to pay taxes on the income they earn while working in the U.S. They must also pay a State impact fee of $500, plus $250 for each dependent (capped at $1,500 per family), to cover costs of public services used.
* FACT: Temporary workers are not entitled to welfare, Food Stamps, SSI, non-emergency Medicaid, or other programs and privileges enjoyed by U.S. citizens and some Lawful Permanent Residents.
3. MYTH: This bill, through mandates with the Employment Eligibility Verification System, gives the federal government the authority to force national ID cards on all American citizens.
* FACT: There is no provision in the bill that requires the creation of a national ID card. The Employment Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) requires workers to present a limited range of highly secure government-issued or government-authorized IDs. These include: o U.S. Passport (for U.S. citizens only). o Document issued by DHS or the State Department containing photo, biometrics, other such personal identifying info needed to ensure identity (for non-citizens). o State-issued, REAL ID compliant license presented along with a Social Security card, or for a limited period before implementation of REAL ID, a State-issued license with a photograph that can be verified by DHS, presented along with a birth certificate and Social Security card.
4. MYTH: The bill allows dangerous gang members access to the Z visa program if they renounce their gang affiliation.
* FACT: Any gang member convicted of any of a wide range of criminal conduct is not permitted in the Z visa program, whether he or she has renounced his gang affiliation or not. The range of crimes that disqualify applicants from the Z visa program extends into the thousands and includes: o Any felony o Any three or more misdemeanors o Any serious criminal offense o Crimes involving moral turpitude (with narrow exceptions for certain misdemeanors such as those committed before age 18) o Violations of a law relating to a controlled substance
* FACT: Even if a gang member or other applicant has not been convicted of a crime, he or she is ineligible for the Z visa program if the Government concludes that he is sufficiently dangerous. This is true for all applicants, including gang members who have renounced their affiliations. For example, among those ineligible is any gang member (or other applicant): o About whom there are “reasonable grounds” for regarding as a danger to the security of the United States; o Who the Government knows or has reason to believe seeks to enter the U.S. “solely, principally, or incidentally” to engage in unlawful activity; or o About whom there are reasonable grounds for believing has committed a serious criminal offense outside the U.S.
* FACT: The bill would, for the first time, give the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice (DOJ) tools to keep certain aliens out of the United States solely on the basis of their participation in a gang. No conviction is required - if an individual has associated with a gang and helped “aid” or “support” its illegal activity, then he or she is not allowed to remain in the country - even if he renounces his gang affiliation.
5. MYTH: The bill contains a new category of visas for family members that includes a waiver for “family members in hardship cases,” which will exponentially increase extended-family chain migration.
* FACT: The bill would end chain migration - preferences for siblings and adult children would be eliminated. In addition, visas for parents of U.S. citizens would be capped.
* FACT: After the family backlog is cleared in the first eight years after enactment, the bill will eliminate about 190,000 extended family visas per year. By contrast, the category of “extreme hardship” cases is capped at 5,000 visas per year.
* FACT: The number of family members that could qualify for the waiver is exceedingly small - such individuals could migrate only if they would otherwise experience “extreme hardship” that cannot be relieved by temporary visits. For example, the category might extend to families that have a member with a disability.
6. MYTH: Illegal workers who remained in the country after they were ordered deported by an immigration judge are eligible for Z visas.
* FACT: Illegal workers who ignored deportation orders are not eligible for the Z visa program, except in exceedingly rare cases in which they can demonstrate their departure would “result in extreme hardship.”
* FACT: The determination of what constitutes “extreme hardship” lies entirely within the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, who has no interest in allowing this exception to be abused.
Savage can see further down the road than some conservatives. Many ripped Savage when he went after Bush. Now they are finding out the good Doctor was correct.
Stop making excuses for Bush. He meant every word that he said.
I am extremely offended by his attitude towards those of us who oppose this terrible amnesty. I have great-grandchildren, and do not want to hand them, as a legacy, an out-of-control lawless land populated by ignorant Third World masses. Millions of lawbreakers, whom they will have to support with ever-increasing and burdensome taxation that will fall upon them, the fifth-generation American citizens.
I do not always agree with everything he says, but I agree with him about 90% of the time. I notice that Rush, Hannity, and Boortz all listen to him too. Its obvious because Savage is the first one that brings up whatever they begin to talk about.
BTW, I like Rush and Hannity, but they are Bush-Bots. Yes I know they have said some things about Bush, but they both go lite on him. Boortz is a little tougher on Bush and the Republicans. Savage rips them apart. However, at the same time he believes that the DNC are basically European Socialist and Communist.
The reason why the Republicans get torn to shreds is because they pretended to believe in Conservative principles, and they are not. The Dems everyone knew what to expect. So can I just say that Savage and conservatives like me resent what Bush has become. He is a liberal with the exception of the Tax Cut and the War on Terror.
* FACT: Any gang member convicted of any of a wide range of criminal conduct is not permitted in the Z visa program, whether he or she has renounced his gang affiliation or not. The range of crimes that disqualify applicants from the Z visa program extends into the thousands and includes: o Any felony o Any three or more misdemeanors o Any serious criminal offense o Crimes involving moral turpitude (with narrow exceptions for certain misdemeanors such as those committed before age 18) o Violations of a law relating to a controlled substance
This is pure BS! Will there be a neat little space on the visa application, where the aforesaid gang member can write down his affiliation? And a larger space wherein he can state all his crimes?
I, Ricardo Suarez, hereby testify that I am now:
(check one):
Former Pachuco gang member
Former Mara Salvatrucha gang member
I have been arrested for: Stealing a loaf of bread for my sick grandma
******
Yes, of course, gang members who are harderned criminals are going to tell the truth on these applications. They rape, murder, toture, pillage, and murder.
But they do not lie.
/ sarcasm
I don’t understand the President. Why can’t he proceed logically and speak out loudly on his own in support of secured borders. Instead he takes the tack of a worker program as a primary goal and even uses the rhetoric of the Democrat party. This is just as unnecessary as the Harriet Myers debacle. These self inflicted wounds just don’t make sense. There is nothing being gained for his party or America. Does he really believe in turning a blind eye to a growing slave class so that some corporations who utilize illegals can continue to have cheap labor? Do corporations have a right to cheap labor?
I have a friend who came illegally and now has legal status. I hung sheet rock with him when he needed some help one weekend. He seems a decent guy and speaks excellent English.
I still think he views himself as a Mexican even though he has an American wife and family. Recently a son of his crossed from Mexico illegally and now is working a construction job. The wife told me the owner of the construction business is letting him drive a vehicle of his.
I do not yet know which construction company here in Chesterfield County VA is doing this but I will report them when I do find out. I hate to do it but I can’t look the other way...I think people who are getting construction or home improvement done should demand a guarantee of legal status from the companies.
Because he doesn’t support secured borders. He never did.
You have go tot be kidding, decide for yourself on your mega cut and paste post, do you expect others to do your homework for you all the time?
You have got to be kidding, decide for yourself on your mega cut and paste post, do you expect others to do your homework for you all the time?
I will say that the “Z visa” is ongoing, there is no need to try and becoem a citizen, and “benchmarks” mean nothing a President can basically ignore them and “certify” that they have been met, and there is nothing that can be done about it.
If Bush signs, then kiss the Republican party goodbye. However, but worst kiss the USA as we know it goodbye.
HELL NO WILL I EVER SUPPORT THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR GREAT NATION!
BTW, I’m not sure for whom would I be stuck to vote instead of him.
Thanks for posting that...very informative....
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