BUSH PROPOSES IMMIGRATION LAW CHANGES

Associated Press | 01/05/04 | TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

[chicagolady]

[Moderator's note: threads regarding immigration issues and border issues have been spiralling out of control for some time on Free Republic. This is going to change. Fair warning: this would be a very poor thread to engage in flame warring, flame baiting, or otherwise being needlessly instigative. If you have not yet read this thread, you may want to before engaging in the debate on this or other similar threads. If there are any questions regarding the new scrutiny of these threads, please take them to that thread rather than cluttering up these threads.

Up until last night, people had been very cooperative with this effort, and for that I was grateful. Last night, I think there must have been a full moon or something, but we'll get that straightened out.

Thanks, and happy Freeping.]

Bush to Propose Immigration Law Changes 36 minutes ago Add White House - AP to Yahoo

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will propose immigration law changes to allow workers from Mexico to enter the United States if they have jobs waiting for them, officials said Monday in previewing an election-year measure intended to bolster support among Hispanic voters.

AP Photo

Advocacy groups were invited to the White House on Wednesday to hear details of the program.

"The president has long talked about the importance of having an immigration policy that matches willing workers with willing employers," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "It's important for America to be a welcoming society. We are a nation of immigrants, and we're better for it."

Immigration advocacy groups characterized Bush's move as a politically drawn effort to curry favor with Hispanics, a potent political force, particularly in key states like Florida, California and border states. Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Bush would outline a set of principles rather than a detailed piece of legislation, and that the policy statement would draw on bills already pending in Congress.

"It looks very much like a political effort and what they do with these `principles' is going to determine whether this is really a policy initiative or not," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza. "The Latino community knows the difference between political posturing and a real policy debate."

She said the initiative was crafted by Bush's political strategist, Karl Rove, and that the immigration policy community was excluded from the deliberations.

"We know of no one in the immigration policy community, business groups or Latino groups who has been consulted," she said.

Rove, with Bush at a campaign fund-raiser in St. Louis, deflected questions about Bush's proposal.

"Stay tuned," he told a reporter.

Bush's planned announcement comes five days before he meets in Mexico with President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, a meeting of the hemisphere's leaders.

Mexico is seeking a measure of legality for the approximately 4 million undocumented Mexicans living in the United States and wants a legal way for others to work in the country in the future.

Immigration talks between the United States and Mexico stalled when the Sept. 11 terror attacks prompted the United States to tighten border restrictions, and were set back further by Mexico's refusal to support the Iraq (news - web sites) war. Tensions also arose over Bush's refusal to stop the execution of a Mexican national in Texas.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, at a town hall meeting in Miami last month, hinted at a change of policy when he said the United States needs to "come to grips" with an estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal immigrants and "determine how you can legalize their presence." He also said that the immigrants should not be rewarded citizenship.

Bush, at a year-end news conference in January, said he was preparing to send Congress ideas about an "immigration policy that helps match any willing employer with any willing employee." He said he is "firmly against blanket amnesty," or a mass legalization.

Two guest-worker bills have been proposed in Congress: One from Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and two of McCain's Republican House colleagues, Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake; and a second from Sen. John Cornyn.

Cornyn, a Texas Republican, has proposed that illegal immigrants could volunteer to work for up to three years if a job exists for them. When they've worked three years, they could apply for legal permanent residence, but must return to their country of origin to do so.

Workers illegally in the United States would have 12 months to apply to the program and after that would no longer be eligible. Those accepted would be given a "blue card," allowing them to travel outside the United States.

The Cornyn proposal would give guest workers the same rights granted Americans under Labor Department (news - web sites) laws and would set up accounts for workers in which employers would deposit money drawn from workers' wages in lieu of withdrawing the money for Social Security (news - web sites) or Medicare.

The money would be held by the Treasury and would be refunded to the worker when the worker returns to his or her home country.

[chicagolady]

Here we go, IMMIGRATION PING! And go to www.numbersusa.com

Help stop this invasion of our Country!Make your voice heard through free faxes. It Works!!

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[chicagolady]

"It's important for America to be a welcoming society. We are a nation of immigrants, and we're better for it."


CORRECTION WE ARE A LAND OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!
NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS! QUIT THE PROPAGANDA!!

[rdb3]

President Bush (news - web sites) will propose immigration law changes to allow workers from Mexico to enter the United States if they have jobs waiting for them, officials said Monday in previewing an election-year measure intended to bolster support among Hispanic voters.

Immigration advocacy groups characterized Bush's move as a politically drawn effort to curry favor with Hispanics, a potent political force, particularly in key states like Florida, California and border states. Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Bush would outline a set of principles rather than a detailed piece of legislation, and that the policy statement would draw on bills already pending in Congress.

So nothing's actually proposed yet. I'll hold off my opinion(s) of said proposal until it is released.

[chicagolady]

officials said Monday in previewing an election-year measure intended to bolster support among Hispanic voters

The Long and Short of it!!! VOTES

Screw the American peolpe who built this country. Let's use their Social Security to fund Crimminals!

[chicagolady]

"We know of no one in the immigration policy community, business groups or Latino groups who has been consulted," she said.

Don't feel BAD.
The American People were not Consulted either. American do not want Illegal Aliens in this country , But who cares what they think!! It is only their money we are using.

[GrandmaPatriot]

Do you suppose Bush will lose more votes than he hopes to pick up by this mve?

[chicagolady]

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, at a town hall meeting in Miami last month, hinted at a change of policy when he said "

the United States needs to "come to grips" with an estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal immigrants "


(((NOOO! Tom Ridge Needs to "COME TO GRIPS" that 75% of the American People DO NOT WANT TO HAVE ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIMMINALS to have any welcome mat, no Drivers License, No tuition for their kids, And NO American Tax Dollars going to funding of Illegal Crimminals. You can Use our Tax dollars to send them Back HOME where they belong though!!)))

and "determine how you can legalize their presence." He also said that the immigrants should not be rewarded citizenship

No just give them Drivers Licenses That gives them the apperance of being legitimate!

[GrandmaPatriot]

mve = move

[rdb3]

Don't feel BAD.
The American People were not Consulted either.

Let's look at the sentence you quoted. It said, "We know of no one in the immigration policy community, business groups or Latino groups who has been consulted."

Well, I'd think that this would be a good thing. I can only imagine what the reaction would be if it said that these groups were consulted.

[rdb3]

Do you suppose Bush will lose more votes than he hopes to pick up by this mve?

What move? Nothing concrete is there for us to examine yet.

[chicagolady]

I do not know that. But I do know the American People who love this country and built it buy their own sweat and tears are sick and tired of getting screwed!

I pray this becomes another instance where voters get busy like they did in California with Gray Davis and realize we can make change happen.

I hope the "Million American March" Is a great success. I plan on attending and helping out any way I can!

P.S. I am of Mexican Heritage. And Right is Right.
Wrong is Wrong!

[Cultural Jihad]

Cool. Sounds like a great plan the President has.

[JohnnyZ]

Screw the American peolpe who built this country. Let's use their Social Security to fund Crimminals!

Actually, it's "let's use the money temporary immigrants pay into Social Security as an incentive for them to return whence they came and not stay illegally."

[Cultural Jihad]

Do you suppose Bush will lose more votes than he hopes to pick up by this [move]?

Here's a novel thought: What if the President is acting solely upon what is in the best interests of our nation, as he has been acting with all other issues? This charge of vote-pandering is scurrilous.

[chicagolady]

Ping

[JohnnyZ]

I would ask when you were planning to address my questions on the Borling/IL Senate thread, but I don't want to interrupt your diatribes against "crimminals".

[chicagolady]

PING PING PING

[Torie]

A note of caution: all the details in the article are about plans introduced into Congress already by Cornyn et al. There are no meaningful details published about the Bush plan, other than what has already been published, to wit, that Bush wants some kind of guest worker program. There may never be any further details, actually, since the article suggests only broad principles will be enunciated. The problem is that that issue is all about details. We shall see.