Bush Doesn't Get It on Immigration

Human Events ^ | Febuary.1, 2006 | Congressman Tom Tancredo

[raybbr]

I will not tolerate skinheads, neoNazis, Nazis, or ultranationalists.

Define 'ultranationalists' if you will?

[Chena]

You implied in your posts that the President has done "nothing" and that is simply not true. I found through a quick search that he was trying to make changes clear back in 2004 and continues to work with Congress today (as if THAT'S an easy job). LOL

I get as frustrated as anyone about border security and illegal immigration. I've spoken out on threads before about this topic. But I cannot join the "it's all Bush's fault that things aren't fixed" or the "Bush has done NOTHING" crowd either. How is that crowd any better than the crowd that wants to blame President Bush for anything and everything that may have gone wrong in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

You say there should be 100,835 border patrol agents. Between the money it would cost to pay the salaries of these agents, and the cost to train them, and the time involved to train them, and the housing issues that stationing 100,000 agents and their families along the entire length of the border....well, perhaps a wall would be less expensive.

I think we both can agree that the number of illegal aliens in this country and the lack of adequate border security is appalling and something has to be done about it. I think we also agree that the employers of illegal aliens need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Anyhow, I know folks get riled up about this issue, and rightfully so. But hey, don't take your anger out on me. LOL

[jackbenimble]

A big issue is immigration. It's important for us to get this issue solved so that we can be competitive as we go out into the 21st century. First of all, the obligation of the federal government is to enforce our borders, is to make sure that -- (applause.) And I want to thank Leader Frist for passing a strong appropriations bill to provide resources necessary for more Border Patrol technology along the border. Listen, the border is long, and it's not easy to enforce. But with proper use of technology, some physical barriers, I think we'll be able to do a much better job.

The second issue along the border, by the way, is that when we catch somebody sneaking into our country illegally, we just can't release them out into the system. We've got to have more detention space -- (applause) -- we've got to have more detention space so that -- it used to be they'd catch them, a lot of the folks, they'd say, all right, check back in with your immigration judge here in 45 days. And the guy would say, yes, you bet. (Laughter.) See you later. So we're changing that along the border.

I do want to talk about the worker issue. A lot of people here in America have come to do jobs Americans won't do. And they're here because they can make money for their families. I used to tell people in Texas that family values didn't stop at the Rio Grande River. If you're a mother or a dad and you want to put food on the table for your children, and you had the choice between $5 and $50, you'd head for $50 if you could.

I believe a very significant part of enforcing our border, make it easier for our Border Patrol to do the job, is to end this system that encourages smuggling and pressure on the border by people sneaking across, and saying if there is somebody that's willing to do a job an American won't do, let's give him a fool-proof pass so they can be here on a temporary basis.

Now, I'm against amnesty, and the reason I am is I believe if you grant amnesty to people that are here, it will cause another wave of people to want to come. (Applause.) But I am for recognizing reality and saying that if you're doing a job, if you're an employer and you're looking for somebody to do a job an American won't do, then here is a card for a temporary worker. That's a humane way to treat the issue. I can't stand a system that has caused people to get stuffed in the back of 18-wheelers and they're driving across the desert. We have -- because of our policy, we have caused there to be a whole smuggling industry, and a forgery industry. If you're out there working and somebody shows up and you can't find somebody to find work, and they show up and you say, show me your card -- you don't know whether it's real or not real. There are people forging cards in order to help these people find work.

The above is from a speech that the President gave today in Nashville as a followup to last night's State of the Union speech.

Note the first sentence of the last paragraph. He says he is against amnesty. Now note the second paragraph of the last paragraph. He proposes giving illegals a temporary worker card. He says he is against amnesty and then in the very next sentence he proposes it. To say his plan is NOT amnesty is bull. He does not even go as far as McCainneddy. At least they propose a fine as part of their Shamnesty. Bush just rewards the lawbreaking with legal status and no punishment what so ever. That IS AMNESTY! He has used this same formulation in numerous speeches on this topic. He proposes amnesty but thinks he can fool us by calling it something different. His contempt for our intelligence is stunning.

[WatchingInAmazement]

The 911 hijackers did not come in from Mexico. They came here mainly 100% legally. People also should stop conflating this issue with terrorism as well.

They came here legally, perhaps, but overstayed their visas. They sure took advantage of our disfunctional system. We have 3.1 million visa overstays "somewhere". Everyday we hear of a green card holder who commits a crime. This government can't handle the situation now and you are willing to allow another 15 to 20 million become "guest workers"?

Remember now, these new guest workers are "undocumented", right? That means they'll apply for their amnesty (er...guest worker)with NO documents. Just pick a name! THAT will be the name this government will issue a visa to. What a way for a criminal to gain a new identity with all the priveleges of a "guest worker". Many municipalties allow them to vote, get welfare.

What a country!

[Chena]

If there is to be a guest-worker program, I would hope that it will be clearly spelled out. The President has clearly stated that he is against "amnesty" for illegals.

As for your concerns about how we will get all these people to leave when their visas expire, I assume there is the technology to deal with it. Afterall, what do we do with people who HAVE visas NOW and their visas expire?

You posed a good question, "If we can't get 300,000 to leave then how will we get 11 million to leave?" Yes, how do we round up 11 million illegal aliens when we do not have a papertrail, nor any other information, including the most basic of all, their names? A rather daunting task, wouldn't you say? What do you suggest? I'd love for someone to come up with a plan that can work. It'd make my day!

While people are trying to figure out how to handle the situation of 11 million illegals already in our country, we need to be securing our borders so that no more illegals can enter.

[GarySpFc]

Deeds not words is what makes the difference.

Exactly! I love what President Bush has done in the GWOT, but what he has done in outright encourging illegal immigration is a travisity. Our society is being turned upside down by these criminals, they are bringing many formerly cured diseases into the country. crime is rampant due to illegal aliens and they are filling our prisons. Our hospitals are going broke due to uninsured aliens. This has got to stop, and the only two answers I see are twin 15 foot steel fences, and the Guard on the border.

[Melas]

but learn Brazilian first

Honestly, just quoting the above is the all the criticism necessary.

[Chena]

He proposes giving illegals a temporary worker card. He says he is against amnesty and then in the very next sentence he proposes it.

You just found an answer to the people who ask the question, "just how are we going to round up the illegal aliens?" Or I should say, perhaps President Bush gave you the answer but you don't even see it.

What better way to find the illegals and create a papertrail with their names and other personal data, than to offer them a "temporary worker card". It's not like the illegals would get one out of a magazine insert. They would have to APPLY for one. And perhaps they will even get a photo I.D. of them. Sounds like this could be a huge step in the right direction.

And you want to call this "amnesty"?

[raybbr]

Where does the American Indian stand in this equation, or Black (African)Americans.

I notice you don't ask where Americans stand? Is it too much for you be an American? Do you have to be an hyphenated American? Is that why Bush's watering down of our nationality doesn't bother you?

I am an American who wants to maintain our soveriegnty. It is a very liberal mindset to want to allow foreigners free reign in our country.

[Reagan Man]

>>>>You implied in your posts that the President has done "nothing" and that is simply not true.

I implied nothing. I expressly stated, since taking office Bush has done nothing to SOLVE the problems of illegal immigration and open borders. Even though immigration reform has been a growing issue over the last 20 years, Bush is only responsible for his time in office. Bush has had five years to address his issue. Katrina was a natural disaster and isn't in the same catagory with illegal immigration. Although conservatives were rightfully upset with Bush for promising to spend whatever is necessary on the Katrina aftermath. That was fiscally irresponsible to say.

In my book, adding 750 more BP agents is the same as doing nothing. Arresting 1030 and indicting 774 is the same as doing nothing. Using rhetoric in speeches and issuing press statements is as good as doing nothing. You want to give Bush a pass. I will hold his feet to the fire.

If we hired an additional 100K BP agents at $50K per year, that would cost $5-billion. I've seen cost analysis to build a wall and/or fence barrier ranging from $1-1/2-billion to roughly $8-billion. $13-billion to secure our borders is a drop in the bucket. Especially when you consider the cost to the feds and state govt`s running at $100-billion annually.

>>>>But hey, don't take your anger out on me. LOL

Just trying to get the facts out to people and advance the debate.

[Politicalmom]

Yes. Allowing lawbreakers to benefit from it is flat out wrong, and is totally unfair to those who follow the law.

[colorcountry]

Nice bait and switch...but I'm not playing. It was you who posted a review that said we only have cultural backgrounds with Europeans and Canadians.

It was YOU who pointed out the difference. I was asking you to clarify. Can you?

[jwalsh07]

While people are trying to figure out how to handle the situation of 11 million illegals already in our country, we need to be securing our borders so that no more illegals can enter.

I basically agree with this. We can't sweep Iraq clean of 5000 deadenders, how can we sweep the US clean of 11 million illegals.

Having said that President Bush has been MIA on Americas southern border and he better get up to speed soon or the democrats will take the house in '06.

And just because we can't round up every illegal doesn't mean that we should have a catch and release policy. Congress needs to pass and fund a law making states responsible for turning illegals over to INS under penalty of law rather than releasing them back onto the streets.

[WatchingInAmazement]

So if we get guest workers,will the unions be able to organize them to demand more pay and benefits? If so, it kinds of defeats the purpose for cheap labor.

BINGO!!! Buy the man a drink!

The people that use and abuse illegal aliens will still need them to undercut legal wages. When these illegals are given guest worker cards, they will be legal and be standing around with way too many other "legal" guest workers now who complain that the illegals took their jobs! And yes, the Unions want them. Many unions contribute to Maldef, LaRaza, etc.

[raybbr]

It was YOU who pointed out the difference. I was asking you to clarify. Can you?

Not really. I posted an excerpt from an article regarding Bush's "New America" speech. Did you read the whole article? If not maybe you should - there is a link provided.

The reason we are so close to Britain and Canada is that we share with them a common historical culture, language, literature, and legal system, as well as similar standards of behavior, expectations of public officials, and so on.

Nowhere does it say we "only have cultural backgrounds with Europeans and Canadians". It is you that are defensive to the point of seeing something that isn't there.

Also, do you deny the commonality of "culture, language and literature" that we have with Britain and Canada almost to the exclusion of others? What do we have in common with spain and France re: language and literature?

[Chena]

I am not giving Bush a "pass" nor do I think he gets an "A" on this issue. However, am I incorrect in thinking that in order to hire enough border agents, or build a wall, President Bush has to have the approval of Congress? Unfortunately we have Senators who do not want to deal with this issue, or they want to deal with it in a way that will not solve the problem. Just look at the childish behaviour of the Dems last night when the President spoke about Social Security. They are proud of not doing anything to solve S.S. issues, and they are proud that they are fighting the Patriot Act and the security of our nation.

I want more from President Bush on this issue, but like I said, I do not fault him entirely for why we haven't solved the problem. This is such an enormous problem and anyone who tackles it needs all the help they can get.

I appreciate that you want to get the facts out there and advance the debate. I don't have all the answers because.....read my tagline. ;)

[jackbenimble]

You posed a good question, "If we can't get 300,000 to leave then how will we get 11 million to leave?" Yes, how do we round up 11 million illegal aliens when we do not have a papertrail, nor any other information, including the most basic of all, their names? A rather daunting task, wouldn't you say? What do you suggest? I'd love for someone to come up with a plan that can work. It'd make my day!

While people are trying to figure out how to handle the situation of 11 million illegals already in our country, we need to be securing our borders so that no more illegals can enter.

I agree 100% on securing the borders. That is an essential element of the solution.

As far as making the 11 million leave, I don't think it matters at all if we know who they are or where they live or anything else. We have that information for the 300,000 Central Americans and it is totally useless as far as making them leave.

My idea is to have tough consistent interior enforcement that makes it very very expensive for employers to get caught with illegals on the payroll. This should include mandatory on line Social Security Number verification for every job applicant which takes away any excuse for having an illegal on the payroll. Illegals are not hard to find on the job site and their names and addresses are totally irrelevant to this process. Each of the 5,000 ICE Agents should be expected to cite at least one employer for hiring illegals each week (or forego their bonus) and these busts should range from the street-side hot-dog vendor to construction sites to farms to major publicly traded meat cutting plants. That would work out to be 25,000 immigration enforcement actions in one year and that would send a powerful message. (As contrasted to the 3 employment enforcement actions performed by the Bush Administration last year which sent the opposite message). Employers would be firing illegals in droves. To deal with the day labor problem we would dress up a few ICE Agents as illegal workers and when they got hired it would be a lot like a prostitution bust. Employers would be afraid to hire day laborers. I don't advocate any immigration sweeps or mass roundups although each and every illegal encountered by ICE should be detained and deported.

America is an expensive place to live and when illegals found they could not get work they would start leaving the same way they came ... on their own two feet and at their own expense. And meanwhile, on the border as word got out, the problems there would disappear because people would see no reason to come.

[Serenissima Venezia]

ditto here. I live in S. Cal., but it looks more like little Mexico. I am having to homeshcool because the schools are filled with kids that can't/won't speak English and have lowered the standards so much, there's no point sending any kid there.

As far as I'm concerned, illegal immigration covers many issues: education, health care, economy, taxes, national security, and our culture. It doesn't affect any of these issues in a positive way! Nobody will be getting my vote unless they are sincere about stopping illegal immigration and punishing employers that hire illegals.

Looks like I probably won't be voting for a long time! (I don't live in Colorado, darn it!)

[Dustbunny]

The President clearly said no amnesty.

[A.Hun]

People so driven by a sense of nationalism that they will tolerate anything to preserve their "heritage".

Thats the best I can do.

Nationalism is a good thing, but in the wrong hands or taken too far, it spells doom for a nation. The Germans and the Japanese learned that lesson the hard way, and it cost the world millions of deaths. My father spent six months in a German POW camp watching it, and his own German mother refused to believe what he told her.

I am proud to be an American, and I welcome immigrants that are willing to become Americans. They have to learn english to prove to me they are serious.

A lot of people underestimate the power of our country and the effect on the people that come here. Who wants to be a Mexican (or anything else) when you could be an American?

Punishing people for chasing a dream is hard for me to do.