Posted on 06/02/2006 3:46:47 PM PDT by kellynla
President Bush yesterday rejected House Republicans' stance that illegal aliens must return home, calling it "wrong and unrealistic" and saying many will have to be allowed to stay.
Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a block from the White House, Mr. Bush also directly challenged businesses to hire only legal workers, and said those that don't should be prepared to face increased fines. In addition, he said both the House and Senate will have to compromise, but said voters expect a bill and he said that bill should tackle both enforcement and a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
"The difficulty of this task is no excuse for avoiding it," he said.
Mr. Bush was making his first in-depth comments since the Senate passed its broad immigration bill last week, setting up a showdown over immigration policy with the House, which passed an enforcement bill in December.
Last Friday, and again on Sunday, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he cannot accept any approach that allows illegal aliens to stay in the country with the government's approval.
"The words 'path to citizenship' is a buzzword for amnesty. We ought to be honest -- it is amnesty," Mr. Sensenbrenner, a key House negotiator, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. He contends that more enforcement against employers would make it hard for illegal aliens to get jobs, encouraging them to go home. But Mr. Bush dismissed that argument.
"Listen, I appreciate the members are acting on deeply felt principles. I understand that. Yet I also believe that the approach they suggest is wrong and unrealistic," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
This is an interesting take. If SCOTUS upholds use of RICO, it could be just as good as tougher employer sanctions. Hence we don't need any bill. Just kill the present one and pray SCOTUS does the right thing. That's not a bad strategy.
Does anyone have a feel for how SCOTUS is like to come down on this? Having to rely on two Bush appointees makes me very nervous.
GW presented his first attempt at amnesty before 911 and it got derailed by it.
I remember that!
So he bided his time. Lay in wait for millions more illegals to cross our Mexican borders, for millions more visa over stayers to plop themselves down here, for the stars to line up for a new illegal immigration bill that would be based on our inability to "deport 12 million hard working people". Never mind that 20 million is more like it.
GWB and Karl worked this out quite nicely.
But they have made one big mistake...They can't do it without his BASE. Thank God the House did the right thing last year.We may still be able to keep our country... the United States of America!
What county do you live in? Texas is being overran and you want to increase the invasion.
Welcome to a one party Dim state in the next few years. Sheesh!
Wrong. The US population growth rate is .91%. The fertility rate is 2.09 children born/woman.
Soruce: CIA Factbook.
Excellent point! You should write an article and send it to the national review. If they don't want it, send it to the Center for Immigration Studies or FAIR.
I read these websites and publications on a regular basis, and it seems all the enforcement activisits are under the impression that we need a new law to have effective enforcement. You've just made a convincing case that it's not necessary.
Please, write an article. It'e desperately needed. I'll post it.
JD,
I'm interested in why you think the supreme court is going to uphold the lower opinions. Have the held oral arguments on this yet? If so, I'd sure like to read it.
Well, I think we were just disagreeing on a minor point: whether existing law is sufficient to get employers to stop hiring illegals. You've made a very convincing case that it is, contrary to what just about everyone, even pro-enforcement people, are saying.
In the end, we want the same thing: tough enforcement.
Thank you spellin Knotsy!
Bush allows the illegals to stay in the country with a permanent residence status, which makes them eligible to receive full federal benefits including SS, food stamps, Medicaid, and EITC. The idea that they are "going to the back of the line" for citizenship is nonsense. The real line is outside the US, where most of the people are waiting for their turn to come in legally. The illegals are being rewarded by being allowed to remain in the US to live and work. They also can bring in family members while in a permanent residence status, i.e., a green card. This is amnesty.
The Senate Reps voted 32 to 23 AGAINST this bill. The Dems voted 40 to 4 FOR it. The House bill was supported by 92% of the Reps, i.e., 203 out of the 220 Reps who voted. The Dems voted 164 to 36 AGAINST the House bill. Preisdent Bush is aligning himself against the majority of his own party and supporting the Democrats and RINOs. What's wrong with this picture?
Replacement rate is 2.1
the article originally cited is correct.
The senate bill not only decrees no punishment for illegals, but allows them to profit from breaking our laws. I have backed Bush on just about everything until this, but flaunting the rule of law so shamelessly puts me on the other side.
Pat Toomey is President of Club for Growth.
A general wide ranging informative immigration rant serves up the bushbot corner okay as a side discussion; but for many of us its rule of law that counts for something more.
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