Posted on 02/01/2006 12:04:11 PM PST by Icelander
Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate said President Bush missed an opportunity in his State of the Union address Tuesday night to direct Congress on immigration reform, weeks before Senate lawmakers begin to tackle the divisive issue.
Breezing by the issue in just a few sentences, Bush endorsed a program that would allow foreigners to work temporarily in this country, saying the nation needs orderly and secure borders but that the economy couldn't function without immigrants.
His brief mention drew a disappointed rebuke from Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who has led an effort to tighten the nation's borders and enforce immigration laws.
Bush could have "broken the Washington stalemate and secured the most significant immigration reform in a decade," Tancredo said.
Angela Kelley, deputy director of the pro-immigrant National Immigration Forum, also said Bush fell short. "It's really important for him to step up and provide some leadership on this issue," she said.
Senators are expected to take up immigration legislation in the coming weeks.
Immigration has featured heavily in Bush's State of the Union speeches in past years. But with his own party deeply divided over the issue, he devoted just over a paragraph to the subject Tuesday.
Still several lawmakers praised Bush.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said he was pleased Bush "called for an immigration system that deals with the influx of illegal immigrants realistically. Now it's time for both the House and the Senate to rise to the president's challenge and enact meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform."
How to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country now _ and the thousands crossing the border each year _ has divided Congress and is becoming an increasingly volatile issue at the state and local level.
Even non-border states are wrestling with how to provide government services, such as health care, to illegal immigrants and whether to restrict drivers' licenses and withhold benefits to illegal workers.
Jennifer Allen, who directs the Border Action Network, based in Tucson, Ariz., said immigrants she works with are watching anxiously as Congress talks about building walls at the Mexican border and increasing the penalties for being in the country illegally.
She and other advocates are loudly calling for Congress to fix the nation's troubled immigration system.
This summer, Democratic Govs. Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Janet Napolitano, of Arizona declared a state of emergency in their border counties to free up money for immigration-related needs.
Richardson said Bush's brief mention in the State of the Union was a signal the White House would not make it a major issue in the coming months.
"The message I received is that on immigration, we're going to leave the burden on the states like New Mexico and Arizona, and it's sort of like 'You're on your own,'" Richardson said.
In the Senate, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., have proposed programs that regulate when and how immigrants can come to the U.S.
Kyl said Tuesday that he would have liked to hear more from Bush about immigration, but he was glad "the key elements were there" in his speech.
"It is a very serious problem for Arizona," Kyl said. "I think everyone in the Senate wants to get something done ... whether the president mentions it or not."
Yeah, he's got it about right; that's about how high the stack of votes your candidates have gotten would be.
LOL...you're predictable if nothing else.
Here's my email to the President today -
TO president@whitehouse.gov
I'm a loyal Republican Mr President, but I have one word for you regarding your Guest Worker Program.
NO Hell NO!!!
You have to start listening to the people Mr President.
See this thread at the largest Republican Forum on the Internet.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569587/posts
Prediction doesn't have much to do with it.
That's just all there is to say.
Soitenly.
If you have time you might read Tancredo's plan as well. It's hr3333.
Hmm, I didn't hear any plans for incarceration or deportation or both. "Realistically" "deal(ing) with "illegal immigrants" should involve both. Hiring them as employees, giving them taxpayer dollars and various other gifts thanks to the largesse that exists because of citizens, is NOT "deal(ing) with the influx of illegal immigrants realistically."
I also think it's sad that Bush thinks the country "can't function" without illegal aliens. They're here illegally, they're violating the laws, and thus, he might just as well say that "crime pays, and we need it."
bayou was zotted months ago :)
There is just no.way someone who has been in the U.S. for TEN YEARS is going to "leave the country." They're not going to leave.
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO LEAVE. They will stay without benefit of "papers" and convert their lifestyles to yet more of an underground economy than exists now. They will not leave, AND THEY WILL BE EXTREMELY RESENTFUL AT THE IDEA OF BEING EXPECTED TO.
Thus, 'guest worker programs' are going to: increase and expand an underground economy and increase and expand by more millions the illegal alien population in the U.S. AND they will create increasing social disturbance because after being here in the country, they'll continue to amplify their demands for more goods, benefits and services. They are not going to "just leave" after ten years. Or even after two years, or one.
it's traditional for Mexican drywallers to poop in the wall before the last panel goes on....
That is soooooooo disgusting.
You got it!
I have no doubt he will. Surely he must know that, which makes it all the more confusing why nothing has been done. Americans have been screaming about closing our borders since 9-11 and have only gotten back excuses or silence.
Tomatoes were picked for a long, long time before illegal aliens appeared under with the ruse that they were doing the work that Americans won't do.
And corn was harvested. And fruit was picked and steps were swept and cars were washed and children were raised and meals were cooked and...still are.
I always ask when people say this as to who do you think was doing the work BEFORE illegal aliens arrived? Everyone was doing the work, each and every day.
A lot of highschool kids can't find summer jobs today because most of what they'd be doing is taken by illegal aliens. Same with parttime workers, retirees and such. A lot of people are available to work but most labor is now filled by illegal aliens. I know most clerks in the local Target stores don't speak English.
Howlin, you're forgetting how great it is to lose on principle. Incrementalism be damned - there is no more glorious feeling than to look around at the end of the day and realize that you have gained absolutely nothing.
That explains why I haven't seen him, thanks. I'm surprised he lasted so long. :-)
R O T F L M A O
: )
So, you're admitting that Bush hasn't done a thing about the border?
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