Posted on 12/15/2004 7:26:47 PM PST by nanak
If President Bush is going to keep his promise to spend political capital on a bold second-term agenda, he should include comprehensive immigration reform that offers deserving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
To do so, he'd have to face down a noisy, but not large, anti-immigrant claque in the Republican Party that's determined to use the threat of terrorism as an excuse to, in effect, erect "Stay Out!" signs at the U.S. border, even to restrict legal immigration.
In reality, creating a process to legalize illegals would help homeland security by allowing law enforcement agencies to concentrate on border security and tracking down criminals and potential terrorists — rather than chasing after millions of ordinary undocumented aliens, especially Hispanics.
This logic seems to have impressed border-state Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has told immigrant-rights groups that comprehensive immigration reform is his top priority for the next Congress.
McCain has begun working on reform with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who favors granting legal status — and, eventually, citizenship — to illegals who have been in the country for several years, have jobs, pay taxes, maintain clean records, learn English and pay a fine.
Bush has a record of favoring immigration reform, but it remains unclear how far he's willing to go with it. In 2001, he seemed to favor a process that would allow illegals to earn their way to citizenship. This year, he's advocated a worker-permit program that may or may not lead to permanent legal status.
It's a good sign that the administration worked to exclude language sought by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., from the intelligence reform legislation that recently passed Congress.
Bush will face a new test when Sensenbrenner's measure — which would bar states from giving drivers' licenses to illegal aliens — comes back for consideration next year. He and other restrictionists argued that, because some of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists gained access to aircraft using drivers' licenses as identification, all illegal aliens should be denied them.
But this is simply a device to make life more difficult for illegal aliens. The 9/11 terrorists, or any terrorists, just as easily could have used their passports — or could use phony passports, or drivers' licenses — to board aircraft.
The commission that investigated the 9/11 disaster specifically declared that its report called for "strong federal standards for the issuance of birth certificates and other sources of identification, such as drivers' licenses, to avoid the identity fraud that terrorists can exploit. We did not make any recommendations about licenses for undocumented aliens. That issue did not arise in our investigation, as all hijackers entered the United States with documentation ... (and) were therefore 'legal immigrants' at the time when they received their drivers' licenses."
To foster humane and effective immigration reform, Bush will need to re-educate the public, which tends to hold (according to polls) that America would be better off with fewer immigrants, both legal and illegal.
In fact, most serious studies show that immigrants are a net asset to the country. Illegal immigrants tend to take menial jobs that Americans won't. They pay taxes. But because they live in the legal shadows, they often get exploited by unscrupulous employers.
On Sept. 6, 2001, with Mexican President Vicente Fox at his side, Bush said, "There are many in our country who are undocumented, and we want to make sure their work is legal."
Soon after, in a White House briefing, officials told immigrant-rights groups that the administration leaned toward allowing illegals to earn their way toward citizenship.
But all work on immigration reform stopped after Sept. 11. It resurfaced this year as Bush worked to expand his support among Hispanic voters. At one point, he called for a work-permit system for illegals and told the League of United Latin American Citizens, "We will keep working to make this nation a welcoming place for Hispanic people, a land of opportunity para todos (for all) who live here in America."
On the other hand, apparently in a bid to appease restrictionists in the GOP, administration officials also indicated that workers would have to return to their home countries when their work permits expired. This provision almost surely would discourage illegals from signing up.
Though analysts differ on the quality of exit-poll data on Hispanics, the Election Day numbers do indicate that Bush gained anywhere from five to nine points among Hispanics. Future growth for the GOP in this demographic depends upon who calls the shots on policy — Bush and McCain, or restrictionists such as Reps. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., Elton Gallegly, D-Calif., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
Even though Tancredo and company get wide publicity — and have been aided recently by anti-immigration television and radio hosts, such as CNN's Lou Dobbs — their legislative power in Congress has actually been waning.
In 1995, by a vote of 257-173, the House passed an amendment offered by Gallegly that would have required public schools to expel the children of illegal immigrants.
By contrast, this May, the House defeated, by a vote of 331-88, a Rohrabacher proposed amendment that would have prevented hospitals from being reimbursed for medical care provided to undocumented immigrants unless they reported them to the Homeland Security Department.
On the other hand, this November, Arizona voters approved ballot Proposition 200, a measure designed to squeeze illegal immigration, by almost 60 percent. (Its implementation is being held up in court.)
McCain cited Prop. 200 — plus vigilante action by Arizonans against illegals and the deaths of illegal border-crossers in the Arizona deserts — as his motivation for making immigration reform his top priority.
In the 108th Congress, McCain sponsored, along with Reps. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., legislation similar to Kennedy's that would have granted a path to citizenship to qualified illegals.
Kennedy's legislation, however, also would have expedited citizenship for the spouses and children of legal immigrants, clearing backlogs of five to seven years, depending on the country of origin.
It's not clear whether Bush will propose his own legislation next year or wait for Congress to act and get involved, as he often does, when House and Senate conferees are hammering out final legislation.
On this issue, though, having Bush's leadership early on would be welcome. He could also order the Homeland Security Department to use judgment before it summarily expels illegals who are parents of small children or locks up asylum-seekers whether they present a terrorist threat or not.
Restrictionists will charge that "amnesty" simply encourages illegal immigration. Bush can respond that "earned legalization" recognizes the reality that 9 million illegal aliens are not leaving — and that authorities should stop chasing them and focus on terrorists.
The entire congressional delegation from Arizona - 8 Representatives and 2 Senators - opposed Propostion 200.
Losers.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Bingo. It's the "master mentality." Menial jobs are for brown skinned illegal aliens, who can be paid pennies and fired at will.
I hate that cheap little trick: "serious" studies yield results I like.
Serious studies prove that employees of MSM "news" organizations are fecal stains on journalism's clean underwear.
Anti-nation of laws people like the guy who typed in how he feeeeeeeeeeeeeels are a threat to our heritage. What laws do we laugh off next? Do we little citizen people get to choose? How about giving citizens a pass on document fraud, too -- that pesky little "equal protection" thingy. To be ILLEGAL means to be more equal?
"Many have said that illegal immigration didn't start inceasing until the labor unions got the guest worker programs abolished."
Can you elaborate on this..when did this occur?
Which labor unions...teamsters? I thought that they were in favor of amnesty and a guest worker program.
I believe Cesar Chavez started the movement to unionize migrant workers back in the sixties and seventies. I assume that the migrant workers were here under a work visa program at that time. How many are here now legally under the same program?
I do recall the last time I walked into Mexico at Tiajuana seeing lots of people moving freely both ways at the crossing, so there must be some sort of mechanism for people in Mexico to come work in the US legally.
Yep. Tomorrow is another great day to BLOAT.
If Bush pushes this then I am done with politics. It will be time to Burn the Frog.
They turn up the heat on the frog a little at a time and he doesn't notice that he is being cooked. Maybe we should give most of the sheeple what they want.
I am tired of the leadership of this country giving my money and my country away to anyone who can whine.
I still want to know who takes these polls?
To heck with Gallup and the lot....imho.
I see 'rod' continues with his racist defense for mexicans.(only)
Where in post 65 are mexicans even mentioned???
I'd bet this head makes half a million a year, lives in a guarded, gated, sanitized community.
These people are so far removed from reality, it's humorous.
DETER, DETECT, DETAIN, DEPORT.
In this case, the feds can deter illegal immigration by slamming the borders shut, enforcing existing laws that punish employers for hiring illegals and a halt to all government welfare payments to illegals.
Without detering illegal immigration, any hope of having success with detecting, detaining and deporting is an effort in futility and leads to perpetuating and exacterbating a serious problem.
That's exactly the kind of thought-bite that goes on in Mexico --- you'll never see the kids of the white Mexicans wait tables to work their way through college. In Mexico there are very clear-cut racist lines on which race does which job. No American comes up with this kind of thing --- bayourod --- you must be a wealthy Mexican. Middle class Americans often have started out with or turned to your "brown people" (mestisos and indians) kind of jobs working their way up or trying to stay middle class. In this country there are no "white" jobs and "brown" jobs.
1. Do you employ Illegal Aliens, as you've implied?
Not currently.
2. Do you have Illegal Alien gardeners, as you've implied?
Probably.
42 posted on 07/08/2004 7:25:44 PM PDT by bayourod (Kerry, the human downer, knows the words to "optimism" but can't quite get the tune right.) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
I'm rapidly losing the "humourous" part of this sellout.
"That's exactly the kind of thought-bite that goes on in Mexico --- you'll never see the kids of the white Mexicans wait tables to work their way through college."
That's 100% true. Mexican society is very unequal and racist. I have an acquaintance of "white" Mexican descent, and his family wants nothing to do with anybody that doesn't have pure Spanish or European heritage.
A lot of the children of wealthy "white" Mexicans can be found attending Harvard or Yale (filling up the affirmative action quota), working on Wall Street, and jet-setting around the world. Their wealthy Mexican parents typically pay lower taxes than we do. The top rate is 40%, but let's just say enforcement isn't quite up to IRS standards.
And they're more than happy to send their "brown" mestizo peasant neighbors across the border.
Too late. Most machine shop equipment is made in Japan and other Asian countries.
But many of the people in America operating those new computer controlled 5 axis mills are immigrants from Mexico.
The shop owner programs the machine and the operator feeds and lubes it for hour after hour.
It's boring, tedious, dirty work that you don't want your children to do all their lives, but which immigrants take great pride in being allowed to do.
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