FReeper Amendments to the Immigration Reform Bill

Free Republic ^ | Thursday, January 8, 2004 | Free Republic

[Momaw Nadon]

On Wednesday, January 7, 2003, President Bush proposed a reform of our nation's immigration system. It is clearly obvious that the immigration plan proposed by the President has not been received well at all by most conservatives and Republicans.

The bad news is that the plan proposed seems to be a backdoor form of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The good news is that this is not an Executive Order. It is instead a request to the Congress to come up with a bill that addresses the problem of illegal immigration. The silver lining is that President Bush has put the illegal immigration problem on the table.

Our Founders wisely chose to form a government with the separation of powers, where the Congress writes and passes laws. It is not done just by a proclamation of the President.

President Bush has proposed an outline of an immigration plan to Congress. The bill has not yet become law.

Here are some highlights of the President's proposal:

• America must control its borders.

• Our borders should be open to legal travel and honest trade.

• Our borders should be shut and barred tight to criminals, to drug traders, to drug traffickers and to criminals, and to terrorists.

• New immigration laws should serve the economic needs of our country.

• We should not give unfair rewards to illegal immigrants in the citizenship process or disadvantage those who came here lawfully, or hope to do so.

• New laws should provide incentives for temporary, foreign workers to return permanently to their home countries after their period of work in the United States has expired.

• All who participate in the temporary worker program must have a job, or, if not living in the United States, a job offer.

• The legal status granted by this program will last three years and will be renewable -- but it will have an end.

• Participants who do not remain employed, who do not follow the rules of the program, or who break the law will not be eligible for continued participation and will be required to return to their home.

• Employers who extend job offers must first make every reasonable effort to find an American worker for the job at hand.

• Employers must not hire undocumented aliens or temporary workers whose legal status has expired.

• Employers must report to the government the temporary workers they hire, and who leave their employ, so that we can keep track of people in the program, and better enforce immigration laws.

• There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties for anyone, for any employer violating these laws.

• Undocumented workers now here will be required to pay a one-time fee to register for the temporary worker program.

• Those who seek to join the program from abroad, and have complied with our immigration laws, will not have to pay any fee.

• All participants will be issued a temporary worker card that will allow them to travel back and forth between their home and the United States without fear of being denied re-entry into our country.

• This program expects temporary workers to return permanently to their home countries after their period of work in the United States has expired. And there should be financial incentives for them to do so.

• The President will work with foreign governments on a plan to give temporary workers credit, when they enter their own nation's retirement system, for the time they have worked in America. The President will also support making it easier for temporary workers to contribute a portion of their earnings to tax-preferred savings accounts, money they can collect as they return to their native countries.

• Some temporary workers will make the decision to pursue American citizenship. Those who make this choice will be allowed to apply in the normal way. They will not be given unfair advantage over people who have followed legal procedures from the start.

• The administration will work with the Congress to increase the annual number of green cards that can lead to citizenship.

• In the process of immigration reform, we must also set high expectations for what new citizens should know. We must ensure that new citizens know not only the facts of our history, but the ideals that have shaped our history. Every citizen of America has an obligation to learn the values that make us one nation: liberty and civic responsibility, equality under God, and tolerance for others.

• Our homeland will be more secure when we can better account for those who enter our country, instead of the current situation in which millions of people are unknown, unknown to the law.

• Decent, hard-working people will now be protected by labor laws, with the right to change jobs, earn fair wages, and enjoy the same working conditions that the law requires for American workers.

• Temporary workers will be able to establish their identities by obtaining the legal documents we all take for granted. And they will be able to talk openly to authorities, to report crimes when they are harmed, without the fear of being deported.

• The best way, in the long run, to reduce the pressures that create illegal immigration in the first place is to expand economic opportunity among the countries in our neighborhood.

Above are the basic elements of President Bush's proposal for immigration reform, the good, the bad, and the ugly. NOTHING IS SET IN STONE.

When this Immigration Bill gets to Congress, it will need to be heavily amended.

I am asking my fellow FReepers to propose Amendments to the Immigration Reform Bill that will transform the bill from a disaster to a fine piece of legislation.

I am aware that several members of Congress, and their staffs, as well as members of the media read Free Republic.

Let us use our imagination and creativity to set forth ideas and Amendments that will guide our Representatives in Congress to crafting and passing an Immigration Reform Bill that we can all be proud of.

IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OR SUGGESTION THAT WILL IMPROVE THE IMMIGRATION BILL, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE THEM, AS THEY ARE WELCOME.

This is intended to be a constructive thread. Personal attacks, racism, insulting or flame baiting ARE NOT WELCOME.

[Momaw Nadon]

I will start off with a few suggestions:

The Immigration Bill must be enforceable. If an individual or a corporation violates the law, appropriate punishment MUST happen. This bill must be properly funded to ensure enforcement.

English must be made the official language of the United States. The ability to understand and read English must be a requirement for anyone applying for citizenship.

A baby born to an illegal immigrant should not automatically be granted citizenship.

Once the time has passed for guest workers to officially register to be in the United States legally, all other illegals who did not register must be deported immediately.

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[Momaw Nadon]

Ping! to creative FReepers who wish to suggest improvements to the Immigration Reform proposed by President Bush.

[Momaw Nadon]

Please ping.

[ArneFufkin]

Ping! to creative FReepers who wish to suggest improvements to the Immigration Reform proposed by President Bush

Bryan Adams should be arrested on sight, tortured in holding, and dropped onto a Baffin Island floe for "cruel and unusual hairstyles."

[GovernmentShrinker]

Employers who extend job offers must first make every reasonable effort to find an American worker for the job at hand.

And every able-bodied American welfare recipient must be on a list available to employers, ane be responsible for keeping their listed address current, and stand ready to accept any job offer. Any welfare recipient who turns down any job offer, anywhere in the country, must immediately and permanently be rendered ineligible for any federally funded benefits whatsoever.

Implement that, and there won't be a single foreign worker admitted under this program.

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[Quix]

After signed into law,

for every illegal alien known to have made it into the USA,

monetary remuniration shall be blocked to the home countries proportional to their representation among the illegal alien population according to reasonable and sound research estimates shall result in blocked funds back to those home countries double the individuals estimated to be in the illegal population.

That is, for every individual in the illegal population, funds to be sent back to that country sall be blocked for two individuals from that country--selected by lottery among those legally here and sending funds back.

Legals here who have had funds blocked can have their funds released by notifying authorities of sufficient information to gain the capture of at least one illegal (2?).

Legals here who still try and get funds out though ordered blocked will forfeit half those funds to be used in the illegals/border enforcement efforts.

In cases of low cooperation on the part of home countries, the USA may require a percentage of the USA funds remitted in that calendar year to be posted as a bond by the home country. Half that bond would be surrendered at the end of the following year for use in border control efforts if the home country had not done their part as measured by at least a 10% decrease in illegals from their country.

Raw ideas. Plenty room for adjustment, playing around with the ideas.

[Warhammer]

The borders must be sealed. All entry into the United States must be through designated ports of entry. The Border Patrol (and possibly U.S. Armed Forces) are required to defend the borders and stop illegal entry by any means possible, up to and including the use of deadly force. (Land mines are a possibility here).

All illegals entering the country will be given one chance to surrender. After that, no quarter will be given.

All illegals entering the country who surrender to the authorities will be photographed, fingerprinted, retinal printed and DNA-tested. These results will be cross checked with a nationwide database of illegals that have been previously intercepted upon entry to the United States. If no previous attempt has been made by the illegal in question, the results will be stored in the database and the illegal will be deported. If the database shows that the illegal has previously attempted illegal entry, the illegal will be imprisioned for no less than 5 years and up to 10 years, and/or fined from $10000 to $1000000.

[Stallone]

Now you understand!

Bush will deal with the illegals and those who fail to register, HARSHLY.

After the enactment of this policy, any remaining illegals will be considered to represent a potential security threat to our great nation.

Here's the plan, but remember, Bush inherited this mess, so while it isn't perfect, it is a great beginning. Follow along:

1. Provide a means for those aliens already working in legitimate jobs for American companies or private families, and who truly deserve an American future, to properly obey and respect our laws, and let us also be kind to their families too. These are the high-profile sympathy cases that could destroy the GOP presidency if lumped in with the worst of the aliens. These hard luck stories will otherwise fill the airwaves, and many GOP and independent voters will feel the legitimate pain and suffering of such refugees. Call them the "Elians";
2. Provide a more efficient means for the next wave of good people to apply legitimately for access before they too become illegals. Call them the "Pre-emptives";
3. Bear down HARD on the remaining illegals, and begin to treat them as that: ILLEGAL. Without remorse and without shame, get rid of them. Call them the "Osamas". For the first time, given the cover of a legitimate and efficient access pathway, THERE WILL BE NO EXCUSE FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR.

So, keep the Elians, work with the Pre-Emptives, and dump the Osamas.

Come now, Freepers, you can get there, if you try.

[KantianBurke]

I like your list. Not bad.

[Momaw Nadon]

Would you care to add anything to the list?

[Kay Soze]

All he has done is to add bravado to those wishing to enter the US Illegally.

"Illegally" violates his Points: US must control its borders, Our borders should be shut and barred tight to criminals.

It will not encourage any illegals from registering for three years with an end in sight to their eligibility to stay.

It does show clearly that politicians will cater now and in the future to ANY Nations with high numbers of illegals and US born Family members.

To make this plan better we should scrap it.

Use should just a fraction of the resources which have used to find the WMDs in Iraq to now secure our borders.

Saddam has moved the WMD’s to even more militant extremists in Syria and we are for some really weird reason not interested in pursuing them any longer.

We have the ability just not the will to secure our borders.

[A. Pole]

Any welfare recipient who turns down any job offer, anywhere in the country, must immediately and permanently be rendered ineligible for any federally funded benefits whatsoever.

Anywhere in the country? Who will pay for the relocation of him/her and family? And when this job end what next?

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[Visalia]

Bush to Americans: "Read my lips. No new illegals."

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[gooleyman]

I don't want to ammend it. I want to defeat it.

[MegaSilver]

Why not just end the welfare program altogether? Yes, there are some people who need assistance, but I don't believe the number of people welfare has helped outweighs the number it has encouraged to get lazy and successively ruin the economy by not working, nor its effect on the illegitimacy rate. I think leaving welfare work to private groups like the Salvation Army does more good.