Posted on 01/27/2005 7:15:50 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 - The battle within the Republican Party over immigration policy was joined Wednesday as President Bush vigorously promoted his proposal for a guest worker program and conservatives in Congress introduced an alternative proposal to tighten immigration restrictions.
At a news conference, President Bush said again that he considered his guest worker proposal "a priority" even though Senate Republicans left it off their list of top goals. "A program that enables people to come into our country in a legal way to work for a period of time, for jobs that Americans won't do, will help make it easier for us to secure our borders," Mr. Bush said, adding: "I know there is a compassionate, humane way to deal with this issue. I want to remind people that family values do not end at the Rio Grande border."
Party conservatives, however, have strenuously opposed a guest worker plan since Mr. Bush introduced the idea in 2001, even staging a losing revolt over its inclusion in the party platform at the 2004 Republican convention. Many conservatives call the president's ideas "amnesty" - a term Mr. Bush disputes - because his plan includes ways for currently illegal immigrants to obtain temporary worker permits.
On Wednesday afternoon, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, again introduced a measure to block illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses.
At a news conference, he said the committee would not consider other immigration proposals, implicitly including the president's, until his own measure passed. A similar measure was removed from a bill to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission last year. Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, is expected to introduce a driver's license restriction this year.
Mr. Sensenbrenner said his bill was primarily directed at border security, distinguishing it from other changes in immigration policy. "Immigrants are not terrorists, except a few of them," he said. "The legislation that was introduced today is designed to get the bad apples out of the barrel before the barrel was spoiled."
He said a group of House Republicans had written a letter to Mr. Bush urging him to provide full financing for provisions in last year's antiterrorism bill doubling the number of border patrol agents and tripling the number of beds for detaining illegal immigrants over the next five years. The Department of Homeland Security said recently that it was planning a smaller increase in financing, drawing the ire of advocates of tighter immigration laws.
Asked about the president's proposal, Mr. Sensenbrenner said his committee was "going to be plenty busy with other priorities, a lot of which are the priorities of the White House."
In an interview, Representative Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican who supports the president's plan, said a guest worker program would not amount to an amnesty because it would include a monetary penalty for currently illegal immigrants. "The people who want to kick them all out are not reasonable people," he said.
But Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado and chairman of the Congressional immigration caucus, vowed to defeat any program that in his view would reward lawbreakers, even questioning the president's motives. "Could it be just the corporate interests, the money interests that rely so heavily on cheap labor?" he asked
I do tend to agree with everything you said except...
"Would proponents of a guest worker bill go along with the provision that only the worker himself was allowed in to work...NOT the family?"
For every illegal immigrant I know, and every immigrant I know even with a green card, 98 percent live alone anyway. Very few people take the risk of bring their wives and children across the border because it's dangerous, and it's a big chance to take. Therefore, I don't think many would be opposed to the plan as you and I see it. I think it's more about ending the fear that they will be deported, because they are in a sense, legally here. It also gives them greater access to certain ammenities if they can afford them, such as a cellular phone, land line, cable, etc. where their citizenship, or lack thereof, becomes an issue. All these people want to do is make money, and get back to their families as soon as possible.
If you require that the illegal immigrants get paid minimum wage, it would effectively level the playing field, and then an employer can choose who he wants to do a job that really shouldn't exceed minimum wages. While I'd like to think in many cases, the employer would choose the English-speaking American, over the Spanish/Arabic/Indian/Russian-speaking guest worker, that is sadly not the case, because nine times out of 10, the guest worker would be a better worker.
That's fine, but you did stil have the same immigrants from the early 1900s, and their children. These families would likely not rise to great education and prosperity until the second generation of Americans was born.
Oh, and by the way, Reagan, with amnesty programs and all, wuz the best. ;)
Those early immigrant families rose into prosperity precisely because of the immigration cutoff. The assimilation process alone which it encouraged was a primary factor.
After 35 years and 40+ million new immigrants it's time to let history repeat itself. We need a timeout, not an expansion of current failed policies.
>This must be a very scary world for you<
No, Once, I've just watched it coming for the past 50 years or so. I'm not scared, just hearbroken to see this evolving. Nothing would make me happier than to be wrong, but I have to believe "my lying eyes."
Have you ever driven in Mexico?
What a crock, its hard to believe a "republican" is advocating breaking the laws of the United States like this for cheap labor.
Jobs that Americans won't do = minimum wage or less and no benefits. If the President has his way every job in America will magically turn into these and Mexico can just take over!
Uninsured illegal Mexicans totaled my beautiful Audi station wagon years ago, but all that aside:
I can think of no rational reason why the President has a closed mind on his open border policy, especially during wartime, other than "he has a plan." And because we're already seeing the drastic results of this policy, only a moron couldn't connect the dots.
Homeland Security by any other name? The "mandate" given by his faithful constituents? NOT!!!! If he has a valid reason how this policy is for the good of America, why hasn't he told us?
Personally, I think Fox and the Mexican government has us over the barrel. I don't know why, I just know Bush is smarter than this. Imo, there is something rotten in Denmark, California, Arizona, Texas, and Washington DC.
For a good explanation of what the Pres. Bush "guest worker" plan would probably mean look at this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328393/posts
THE PROBLEM WITH "ANY WILLING EMPLOYEE" IMMIGRATION REFORM
snip--
"
[T]he primary consideration as to how many guest workers might be admitted into the country appears to be the willingness of the employers and their foreign-born employees to match up the ability of the program "to fulfill the employers' needs."
As the President's position currently stands, that means that every new job created in America could be offered at minimum wage, and if no American can be found to accept the eroded wage, the job would be up for grabs to any foreign guest worker who's willing."
http://thetarpit.blogspot.com/2005/01/president-bushs-any-willing-employee.html
Inquiring minds want to know!
The fact is there is not now, and never has been the slightest shred of evidence to support the Marxist/egalitarian view of human nature. It is sheer bunk. But they had enough people screaming the ideas that support the notion of an interchangeable humanity, that opposition to the present immigration policy collapsed in a weak-kneed Congress in 1965.
We need to reopen the debate. The mythical ostrich is not a worthy role model for a free people, who would remain so. See Immigration & The American Future.
Reagan and the Simpson half of Simpson/Mazolli called the 86 amnesty one of the biggest mistakes of the Reagan era.
It's a race to the bottom. And gone for good will be the middle class.
Feinstein? Over the last several years, she has made decisions and comments that make me think that she's an American. I especially approve of her attitude while introducing Condi Rice, before the attempted lynching. Can there be some decency in her?
dude........I'm addressing one issue here about illegal aliens.......you apparent hate for Calif can be addressed in another thread though I suspect like many here, all they know about CA is what they see in the news. This state for the most part transcends the politics but unless you live here or know more about it then all you have to go on is what is in the news which of course as you know is bias and only reports negative news. This state is huge area and power wise and is a country to itself......millions of things happen here every day that have nothing to do with politics
Everybody write your congressman.
All this freeper stuff is preaching to the choir.
" Bank on it...I sure as hell do."
There's your answer.
lol.....actually people who really know her or have seen her in action know that she is not nearly as bad as Babs. Don't get me wrong, I disagree with here on most things but when she was mayor of SF, she was actually a moderate mayor. She is more like an Evan Bayh who is Dem all the way but not an a**hole about it. Some outside of CA judge her just cause she is from CA but there are many many worse than her. She is not and acivist B**ch like Boxer
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