Posted on 01/26/2004 3:57:19 PM PST by yoe
Republican lawmakers who generally back President Bush are not backing him on immigration. In fact, they want their leaders to know they have "serious concerns" about President Bush's proposed immigration policy.
In a letter addressed to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and several other members of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus said they won't go along with the president's plan because it "does not address the problem appropriately."
"In fact, in our view, it will further exacerbate the problem and create discontent amongst the Republican Party," the letter said.
Jones, in a press release, said he and other lawmakers would consider alternative guest-worker legislation, as long as it does not reward lawbreakers with amnesty.
Although President Bush insists his proposal does not include amnesty, Jones said he thinks it does - because it would make illegal aliens who work in the U.S. for a number of years eligible for legal status and citizenship. That is de facto amnesty, Jones and the other lawmakers said in their letter.
"Since the President's speech, our offices have been inundated with calls from dismayed constituents expressing vehement opposition to the Administration's proposal," the "Dear Mr. Speaker" letter said.
"If we do not listen to our constituents on this matter, our influence and effectiveness in Congress could be jeopardized. Simply put, we cannot continue to allow our immigration laws to be violated and ignored -- and illegal aliens are by definition criminals."
According to the letter, President Bush's immigration proposal has left many conservatives "dismayed, angry and confused."
"Mr. Speaker, it is our hope that you will recognize the problems the Administration's proposal has created for our constituents," the letter says.
It notes that "respect for the rule of law is a core conservative value," and it urges the Republican leadership in the House to find a solution to America's immigration problem "that is more in line with the principles of our Party and our national traditions."
Earlier this month, President Bush proposed a new "temporary worker program" that would offer temporary legal status to millions of undocumented workers who have jobs in the U.S.
Bush said his program would "match willing foreign workers with willing American employers when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs."
Temporary workers would be expected to return permanently to their countries after their work stint in the United States has expired. Temporary workers wishing to seek American citizenship would be allowed to apply in the normal way, according to the president's plan.
"They will not be given unfair advantage over people who have followed legal procedures from the start. I oppose amnesty, placing undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship," Bush said.
"America is a welcoming country, but citizenship must not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America," Bush added.
Bush's proposal drew immediate criticism from conservatives, who see it as a threat to national security and an affront to the rule of law.
That's way too difficult. It would be better to crack down hard on the employers and cause the jobs to dry up. Without a job, they'll go home, and other won't be encouraged to come here in the first place.
I was talking to a Border Patrol agent a couple of days ago and he told me that with the Bush announcement, the flood gates are open. They're apprehending children, women, and old people, which they seldom saw earlier, and many of them are asking for amnesty as soon as they're caught. Many of the people in Mexico think amnesty is already here or just about to be granted. The smugglers, who make lots of money bringing these people across, aren't discouraging that thinking either.
America has no stomach to deport 10 million illegals, no matter what those with blinders on on this website think. Therefore, a compromise is obviously to allow those in this country NOW to apply for guest worker visas.
And, the one year could become two, as a compromise.
The basics of Tancredo's and Bush's plans are the same, it seems to me.
Consider this:
Bush's proposal will have the greatest effect on California, even in proportion to Texas.
Bush has only an outside chance to win in California, even in light of Schwarzeneggers victory which spoke more to a focused, personalized hatred for Davis rather than a consuming love affair with conservative philosophies. A victory would be welcomed but his present strategy doesn't depend on California. Bush does however need the Hispanic vote in other key states.
It would not be wild speculation to assume that Rove doesn't, in fact, care if he losses conservative votes in California as long as he can swing the Hispanic votes in these key states.
George B. doesn't back off the agenda the trouble will be more immediate than we think.
Consider this... Bush announces plan.
The flood has already started at the border, the illegals are pouring in EVEN FASTER.
Bush's scamnesty does not make it through Congress.
The single apparent benefit of the Damnesty (IDing the illegals) does not occur.
The number of illegals has doubled in about a year, the border is STILL open, the illegals are NOT documented in any way.
I find it difficult to believe that the advisers to the President of the United States have not thought this through and told him there is a STRONG possibility that the scamnesty will not pass.
Yet GWB is still, in the face of overwhelming opposition, pushing the amnesty.
So, what's up with that?
Don't need to deport 10 million.
About 10 thousand, combined with shutting off the benifits to non-citizens would get the message across.
Deportation will not happen. Neither party will support it!
The question is where do go, given that situation.
Sure..
you can call it "good cop, bad cop" or "rope a dope".
Either way, Bush has fulfilled his promise to those he made promises to and now it's on the shoulders of those wascally wepubwicans.
I think he knew it didn't have a chance and hoped it would fall flat.
He's not going to make significant inroads on the Hispanic vote here in California by this amnesty idiocy---Hispanics don't vote based on who gives employers the cheapest source of labor---and certainly not enough to give him a shot at California's electoral votes.
It is going to cost him votes in crucial states where Bush is going to need the electoral votes to win, and which he carried by slim margins in 2000. Like maybe Florida.
Even at the cost of greatly increased illegal immigration that even the discussion of this plan has already prompted (as documented by the Border Patrol)?
Refreshing to see an (R) who speaks his mind. Hope it doesn't bite him in the rear (i.e. party pursestrings) next election.
No more so than an H1B visa makes one eligible for citizenship. It doesn't.
"Eligible for legal status" is a bit vague. The proposed "work visa" by definition offers "legal status", so I'm presuming he means "eligible for a permanent resident visa". But again, there's no reason that would be true, and it could be expressly written in legislation to prohibit any tie-in between this "work visa" and any other.
That said, I'm waiting for the WH to explain (a) how much it will cost to process 12 million new visas, (b) how they intend to deport the scofflaws who don't apply, (c) how they will make the INS ready to handle this 200 percent increase in workload, and (d) how they will do the above without affecting the 5 million *legal* immigrants now in the INS system.
Until they do that, assertions that these illegals won't go to the front of the line should be considered as outright lies (more properly stated, all *legal* immigrants will be forced to the back of the line).
There's no stomach for 10 thousand.
Deportation will not happen. Neither party will support it!
|
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.