Posted on 06/14/2007 11:16:52 AM PDT by kristinn
A spokeman for the Bush administration sent an e-mail to Jim Robinson and myself confirming the authenticity of a post on Free Republic this afternoon regarding the immigration bill currently before the Senate as having been posted on behalf of the White House.
The spokesman, Nicholas Thompson, works for the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. The Politico reported yesterday that Thompson and Kerrie Rushton, associate directors in the Office of Strategic Initiatives who work under Karl Rove, would be engaging the blogosphere on the immigration bill.
Thompson's post is on the thread titled Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill, a vanity posted by philman_36. Thompson posted at comment #53.
Thompson's e-mail to Free Republic included a brief introduction and the text of his posted comment:
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I just posted a response to the post "Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill."
The White House appreciates the opportunity to respond on Free Republic.
Response:
I would like to point out that the Secretary is authorized to reduce or mitigate penalities against employers who in good faith are trying to comply with the law. Certainly, we understand that not all employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants; this will remain the case, especially before the bill’s new secure documentation requirements are fully phased in. We do not seek to wrongly penalize honest employers who unknowingly hire illegal immigrants, therefore we reserve the right to reduce or mitigate their penalties if the employer can show good faith compliance in following the law.
For those employers who do knowingly hire illegal immigrants, please know that we intend to penalize these employers strongly, and the Administration has already stepped up these penalties in the last couple of years. For example, a 2005 program, “Operation Rollback,” assessed $15,000,000 in civil fines to employers, an amount greater than the sum of administrative fines collected in the previous eight years and was the largest worksite enforcement penalty in US history. In the first quarter of FY07, criminal and civil forfeitures have totaled $26,700,000 for employers.
As a reminder of what’s in the bill, fines for hiring an illegal worker are $5,000 maximum per illegal worker for the first offense, $10,000 maximum per illegal worker for the second, $25,000 maximum per illegal worker for the third , and $75,000 maximum per illegal worker for the fourth. In addition, the bill increases the maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of unlawful hiring twenty-five-fold, from $3,000 to $75,000, and would impose a prison term of up to six months. This represents a significant increase in fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Nicholas Thompson
White House Office of Strategic Initiatives
O.K. Will he answer???
The administration is telling us the rule of law is gone.
The federal government has a Constitutional duty to protect us from invasion.
Why can't Americans do whatever the hell they want to since the Mexicans get a free pass?
Why do we have affirmative action in citizenship for Mexicans?
This sucks.
This immigration bill is nothing more than a DemocRAT scam to get as many illegals as possible registered to vote in the next Presidential election, and the country be damned. Failing to see this, the Bush White House is signing the death warrant for the United States of America.
Honorable Senator Specter,Sorry, myself and most (80%) of Americans are in no mood for some King's New Clothing of a"grand compromise". We remember that childhood fable. There were no magic golden threads and magic cloth -- the charlatan tailors only had a glib tongue. The King paraded naked, seen clearly to all a fool. Promises of substance are not substance.
What we want, Senator, is that the federal government, the executive especially, but the legislature and courts as well, to first show how they are dedicated to enforcing and carry out existing laws regarding illegal immigrants and persons who overstay visas. What we have seen so far -- since the last amnesty of 1986 -- is nothing, less than nothing -- it has been in all effect as if federal government has a policy of encouraging illegals, even of sometimes favoring them in the courts, in access to government services and grants.
In other words the Senate and the President have no credit with us in this matter -- in all fact, negative credit. You all have proven yourselves to be bad agents -- rogue agents -- of your agency to us in these matters.
It will take years of concerted action for you to re-earn any trust from us regarding immigration.
So no, do NOT attempt to pass this bill or anything like it, lest you draw a sure and long backlash from We, The People.
Thanks.
Yep. And Snow knows it, btw.
His only response was to say that he wasn’t affiliated with some organization.
I live in Georgia. I think I’ll send this thread to both of my Senators so they can see what the “real people” want. And, they can see that the Whitehouse will not respond to their constituents, even while saying they have come here to correspond with us.
They hope in vain then....(chuckle)
Same USC from that other site?
“So I would like to ask Nicholas Thompson directly, if the White House will absolutely and unequivocally state that it is committed to the Constitution and the sovereignty of the US, and that it repudiates any notion of forming a superstate composed of Canada, the US and Mexico, whereby there is free movement of peoples between all three countries. Would you be willing, as a White House spokesman, to state that for the record?”
I would also like to have an answer to that question!
How many of them are already back in the US?
‘Can you explain for those of us who have never verified a SSN of a job applicant, what it takes to do so?’
Until a couple of years ago (two or three) all three of the primary credit record providers issued software to employment screening companies (primarily) allowing quick access of their databases for pulling credit reports and running what Trans Union referred to as a ‘retrace’ - which was their product name for Social Security Verification.
You entered the full name (including middle name or initial) the SSN, and the Date of Birth, along with the ‘current address’.
You would get back either the full credit report, or a SSN verification, depending on what report you selected before entering the request online.
The SSN verification would come back within seconds and tell you immediately if the SSN was ‘valid’ what state it was issued in, if death benefits had been paid out to that particular number, any physical addresses associated with the SS number and any NAMES associated with it. It also would provide an ‘aka’s’ if known to the credit company’s.
In other words, its very very difficult - but not impossible - to defeat this method. Those that ‘work the system’ for a living might be able to come up with a SSN that would keep their real identity ‘secret’ for a time, but the average border jumper isn’t at that level of criminality or sophistication.
In short, this ‘employers can’t tell if they are illegal’ claim is 100% HORSE CRAP.
Whats more, the mainstream media KNOWS IT, but they don’t say a word about it.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if this Nick guy were a TEMP?”
...oh, he’s a temp, whether he knows it or not.
‘OK, but explain why is it my (being an employer myself) responsibility to detect illegal aliens?’
To me, its no different than ensuring a ‘safe working enviroment’ which as an employer, you and I both are required by law to do.
Second, your being an American should come into play here, don’t you think?
Third, as an employer, don’t you think its better you KNOW who it is thats actually working for you?
Fourth, if you have false information, you cannot determine if you are hiring a criminal. As an employer, thats a very big concern to me for the obvious reasons.
Then consider the drain on social services, the social security fund, medical services, and the impact on your companies various insurance policies illegals are having overall.
There are many more ‘reasons’ I can name, but I think you probably get the point.
As a small business owner, its my responsibility to do everything within my power to ensure the success of our various enterprises. Ensuring I’m hiring a person that is who they claim falls under that catagory Big Time.
Just my professional opinion.
I don't go to that "other" (you can't use the word "kook" here) site for the first time in months last week and boy, has it changed. Sad what it's become. It's been removed from my favorites, and I no longer bother. What's the point?
Very well said and a hearty Bump!
‘Add to that the fact that most Employers do a background/criminal check, plus a credit check. So there are multiple levels before hiring that a fake or stolen SSN become quite obvious. The bigger the Corporation, the bigger that lie becomes. Blackbird.’
Unfortunately, its the exact opposite, to this day most employers DON’T screen their applicants in this manner,. IN fact there is a direct coorelation between the amount of salary per year and the odds of a complete screening.
McDonalds, for example: They screen night managers, accounting positions, and the like. But they don’t do anything for the ‘line’ crews.
Temp firms: If the client requires a verification and criminal check, they do one. If they don’t, they don’t.
Any labor intensive job is less likely to have a check done in short.
Same here, although I get emails every day linking me to the insanity.....(chuckle)
Kooks r funny.
Mr. Thompson,
Simple question.
Later this year I am traveling internationally. Should I like it where I am going and decide to stay, do you believe there is any chance I could stay there unmolested by the local authorities? Well, not just stay there unmolested, but also use their services free of charge?
If we cannot do it in other countries, why can there people do it here?
Logical dissonance. You and Mr. Bush are woefully out of touch with the expectations of the American people. Simple expectations really- uphold the Constitution and defend our borders.
I think I’ll send this thread to both of my Senators so they can see what the “real people” want.
Then they can see this...
The Mexicans are just like the "Palestinians."You don't hear what I do in Spanish. Yo habla Espaniol mui, mui buen... (I don't write it well.)
You also didn't notice the Mexicans chanting "Osama" during a soccer match with the USA??? Or how about all those carrying signs that glorified Bin Laden during those protests last spring?
We have open warfare in the streets with Mexican gangs.
Mexico has never been and never will be a friend of the USA. They even oppose our war efforts to this day.
Screw Mexico...
“One other thing: They need to put on a hair-shirt and publicly apologize for demonizing anybody who questions this bill as nativist, racist, unpatriotic bigots who would have opposed civil rights for blacks.”
And then they need to resign.
This is a good list (but I would add some items):
1) BUILD THE FENCE (the fence in San Diego has stopped 90% of the drug trafficking for the county - plus it has reduced our crime rate by approx 50%) THE FENCE WORKS.
2) DEPORT ALL ILLEGALS (as you find them) But .. start with those already in our jails - because they are taking away services and funds the states need to house Citizens who have committed crimes.
3) FINE / PROSECUTE EMPLOYERS BREAKING THE LAW (and stop using that ridiculous statement “jobs Americans won’t do” - because that is a LIE! After raids are made public - those companies are inundated with LEGAL CITIZENS lining up to apply for those jobs.)
4) INCREASE BORDER PATROL (and stop arresting them and prosecuting them for doing their job):
(a) Release the two border patrol agents falsely accused of shooting an ILLEGAL in the behind.
(b) Stop listening to the MEXICAN GOVT (as well as LA RAZA) and start listening to our own officers. La Raza has one goal: restore the southwest of America TO MEXICO! Please stop helping them.
5) CONTINUE LEGAL IMMIGRATION (and increase those quotas if necessary)
6) Guests: As Thomas Sowell wrote - a guest is “invited” into your home - but a “home invader” is nothing more than a thug. These ILLEGALS have INVADED OUR HOME - and now we’re going to reward them ..?? This is backwards from inviting a guest to your home.
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