"I'm not sure that a guest worker program that forced illegal immigrants to come forward and identify themselves, combined with a stiff deportation program for the remainder wouldn't make sense."
Do you really believe that Bush has any intention of deporting anyone? After he went on tv and called them "good hearted people" just looking for work?
He'll legalize some of the illegals, the remaining illegals will stay, and the prospect of amnesty will just increase future illegal immigration.
Enforcement has to be the FIRST step in this process. Not a vague promise of enforcement after legalization.
Bush has a soft spot on illegal immigration. He just doesn't have the backbone to defend our borders.
I don't believe I've ever heard more than a few words out of Dubya on enforcement. Weasel words at that. Catch & release is the border mantra and actions against employers are even lower than when Billy Jeff Clinton was befouling the Oral Office.
Okay, so we got the great Arizona Border Control Initiative with its $10 million funding. We also got a program to fly illegals back home in comfort that cost $13 million -- paid to a Mexican airline.
Sound like a lot? It ain't. That $23 million is still less than 10% of the cost of a single F-22 Raptor (currently $258 mil per copy).
I don't think he's going to ignore the provisions of a bill that includes some of his objectives. This is an opportunity for Congress to tackle an issue that they have been content to complain and do nothing about for longer than Bush has been in Washington. This is also an opportunity to put this issue front and center in a national debate because despite the passion here, illegal immigration was not a top 5 issue to voters in November.
I agree with you that enforcement should be the first step, it should have been the step years and years ago. Now we have multiple million person problem. It seems to me that we have to consider how to best recover from the years of failure and how to best go forward. There will be a price to pay to recover (eg guest worker program) but is that worth more years of doing nothing?
The goal is to ultimately manufacture public consent for a immigration reform bill that includes "earned legalization".
The final bill will be similar to the Ag Jobs bill except that it will cover not only ag workers, but also those in the hospitality industry, manufacturing, and construction.