Spokesman for President Bush Posts on Free Republic About Immigration Bill

Thursday, June 14, 2007 | Kristinn

[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

[gidget7]

wall was an error, should have read fence!

[Deo volente]

Memo to White House:

WE DON’T WANT YOUR NEW WORLD ORDER, MR. PRESIDENT!!!

[pillut48]

I also wonder who is paying for their travel expenses to go back home (wherever that might be) and to pay their govts charges for paperwork, etc. Since the odds are pretty high that they won’t be allowed back into the USA, call me skeptical, but I’m just not seeing illegals going home to their native countries to follow this new law—rather, I see illegals retreating even farther into the ‘woodwork’ (not like a bunch of them aren’t out and about and proud of it). That’s not fair to anyone, is it?

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Well, that's one White House operative finally out in the open.

I wonder how many more there are still working here under cover?

Oh and while I'm at it...

Since you won't enforce laws already on the books, we would have to be fools to believe you'll enforce these shiny new ones now.

[jedward]

“What price do you put on Your Country?”

Bump!

[truthkeeper]

You can let the President know he needs to apologize to 80% of this country for implying that they are racist yahoos because they don't wish to see their country collapse under the weight of illegal immigration.

Then he needs to dump this hair-brained proprosal and stop pushing his slave-labor agenda. YESTERDAY.
His time and efforts would be better spent concentrating on this war, which seems to need some attention as well.

[pillut48]

ROFL!!! :-)

[surely_you_jest]

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.

Mr Thompson

Please be advised that the Administration's stated intentions regarding future actions are not only irrelevant, for many of us they are in fact a contrary indicator. The Administration has no remaining credibility upon which to draw. So, please, make no more meaningless pledges of future action.

Further, the increase in penalties upon which you seem to place such great stock would be addressed far more simply by amendments to the existing statutes. The only thing new addressed by an omnibus bill is to grant amnesty to millions of undeserving criminal aliens. And this, to be blunt, is abhorrent.

Thank you for your interest.

[1035rep]

It’s nice to see the stepped-up enforcement over the past two years. Not much of that has made the news (surprise, surprise)

It’s also nice to see penalties increased against employers who knowingly hire illegals.

 

I didn't know this until now. 

[Labyrinthos]

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.

Oh bullcrap. This is just a way to make the sheeple think that the law is tough yet fair, when in reality, it allows an out to scum employers who hire illegals with willful blindness. Employers should be guilty or a crime or at least civially liable without regard to actual knowledge of an employee's legal status. Its called "strict liability" and it is used all the time to impose criminal and civil fines in the absence of intent to violate the law. For example, if a 20 year old has consensual sex with a 16 year old, he is guilty of statutory rape, even if she looks 25, lies about her age, and produces three forms of fake ID. The same rule should apply to employers.

[SE Mom]

This may interest you:)

[Kozak]

Tell the President this lifelong Republican who campaigned for Goldwater and Nixon and has voted for every GOP candidate since Ford, who voted for, who donated $$$, volunteered time, attended the 2nd inaugural for GW Bush, is disgusted and furious over this immigration bill. I WILL HOLD THE GOP RESPONSIBLE IF THIS MONSTER PASSES. I WILL BE DONE WITH THE PARTY IN EVERY WAY.

Tell him I am not alone. His “legacy” will be to turn the OP into the Whig Party.

[southernindymom]

Ditto!

[SmithL]

We don't need to deport all the illegals IF we deny ANY benefits to people that are here illegally, including:

• Financial assistance of any kind,
• Public Education,
• Public Medical Care,
• The right to sue,
• Citizenship,
• and Birthright citizenship for their children.

  They'll deport themselves in order to come back legally.

[WhiteGuy]

Oh yeah,

Mr. Thompson, while you’re at it, tell your boss that we’re all pretty pissed about his plan to dump thousands of iraqis into our communities as well.

Thanks,

[jedward]

“American Sovereignty is NON-NEGOTIABLE”

Not Now and Not Ever!

[Sicon]

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

Would that the government could show such sympathy and understanding when it comes to taxes and the I.R.S.!

[Red in Blue PA]

Bump to post 153......PARDON RAMOS AND COMPEAN!

[Antoninus]

Bad news, guy. I am a big proponent of legal immigration and I think that hard-working Mexicans can make great Americans if they are allowed to flow through the system the same way most immigrants did prior to 1965.

But the fact is, I don't trust your boss, the disgraceful cowards in Congress, or most of the mediocrities currently running for president to actually enforce the borders the way they need to be. As a result, I am against ANY new immigration bills that will take an unenforced system and replace it with another unenforced system.

To regain my trust, here's what you have to do: Build a border fence. Enforce the current laws. Stop the flow of illegals to a trickle for 20 years.

THEN you can talk to me about a path to citizenship for those illegals who remain. Until then, stuff it.

For the record, I intend to spend money to defeat any politcian who votes for this travesty and will work hard to see Republicans who line up in favor graced by a strong primary challenger.