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
Bingo.
(Methinks that because someone has "spent hours on threads defending this administration" he feels like a proxy memmber of this administration. His premise that the WH is looking to FR for input it ludicrous. Thompson merely broadcasted the WH position toward its erstwhile base and left, never to be seen or heard from again, with or without our responses.)
We need a intervention with Bush, the same as is done with alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. We need an in-your-face demonstration of how his selfishness and bad decisions are destroying our "family," our nation. That intervention has already begun, on the Internet and talk radio. And since our President insists on continuing to "drink" from the open-borders well, our task to ramp up the intervention is clear.
Thank you, sir, for your able contribution to that effort.
Congressman Billybob
So your second post had more to do with defending your own name than the president’s policy? How do you think he would appreciate that? Your assignment was most probably to get the word out about how great this bill is supposed to be for Americans, and you’re more concerned about your own name than doing your assignment. That doesn’t generate a lot of confidence in either message.
All true.
What irritates me is the fingerprint checks required by state and federal regulations. They aren’t a ‘magic bullet’ politicians and the MSM would have you believe.
Your regs are the same I’ve encounter pretty much everywhere in that industry.
If you can't pick the low-hanging fruit, you're going to come home with an empty basket. And that keys directly to the issue of illegal immigration. I have done 15 radio interviews in the last week, on both local and national shows. The interviews have been on Hazleton, Pa., Farmers Branch, Tex,. New Haven, Conn., and Portland, Ore., to name a few.
I guarantee that the people on those talk shows -- the hosts, their call-in guests, and their listeners -- are now in Howard Beale mode. You remember, from the movie "Network," when he sticks his face in the camera and says, "I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take this any more."
If your job in the White House is communication, then COMMUNICATE for Pete's sake. That means both directions. Read this thread, report back to Mr.Rove. Tell him the fury that is out there and growing.
We WILL defeat this amnesty bill. If we don't beat it in the Senate, we will beat it in the House. And every single minute that President Bush continues to support this ill-gotten legislative bastard child, is another minute of taking a bulldozer to the walls of the Republic, and of the Republican Party.
If you want to do your job correctly, then take that message to Mr. Rove. If not, then God help you, because Republicans won't.
John / Billybob
AMEN!!! Also Bush MUST PARDON RAMOS. COMPEAN, Hernandez and now Aleman!!! And Sutton and Cardone should be forced to pay restitution!!!
Good for you!
The president and the gang pursuing this dreadful bill need to read what he thought about immigration. Very timely.
President Bush is not the President of Mexico; why does he put the needs of the Mexican people ahead of the needs of the American people?
Who stands to gain from the amnesty bill being passed, certainly not the American people. When will our taxes will be going up to pay for amnesty? Why do I have speak Spanish in my own country?
Why hasn’t the President insisted on reciprocity with Mexico as a condition of getting the bill passed; why don’t US citizens have the same benefits in Mexico that Mexican citizens have in this country?
LOL and BUMP! Did you listen to Laura Ingraham hardball Tony Snow {at WorldNetDaily today!} She spoke for me as I would wish and Tony just got wimpier and wimpier
| Laura Ingraham Takes the Gloves Off on Tony Snow |
||
| Posted by Lauren BaRecall On News/Activism 06/14/2007 12:21:54 PM CDT · 244 replies · 7,538+ views Laura Ingraham Show ^ | June 14, 2007 | Laura Ingraham Laura interviewed Tony Snow in the last hour of her show. In fact, she devoted the whole hour to illegal immigration. After her no holds barred interview with Tony (she wiped the floor with him!), she took phone calls and read emails that were generated in reaction to the interview. This is MUST HEAR RADIO!!! |
||
Sounds like quite an adventure.
Were those the most interesting places you went in your career or did you go all over the world too?
Reading all posts with interest.
It is unrealistic to think we could deport all illegals in the U.S. For one thing with the border open, they will simply return within hours or days. We could get the problem under control if we would do the following ASAP:
1. Secure the border
2. Cut off all social services for illegals (except true emergency items)
3. Crack down on illegal employment
4. Crack down on illegal documents and other things that enable illegals living in this country
5. Deport all illegals that come to the attention of LEO for any reason.
These steps should be implemented at the same time, and illegal immigration could be brought under control. Once we secured the border and began to enforce immigration laws many would return to their own country.
Stop the New World (B)order!
I had to e-mail. I couldn’t get thru. Busy.
Folks, it's time for a REVOLUTION!!
Our government in Washington, DC is out of control.
There ought to be some Secret Service jobs opening soon, I expect the senators will shortly demand SS protection from their constituents. (Maybe they can get the Mexican army to protect them in Washington, huh?)
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