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To: Poohbah
My idea would consist of ending welfare benefits to non-citizens, tighter labor law enforcement, cross-checking Social Security and IRS records to weed out the ones using someone else's SSN to work, implementing a bracero program for nonresident guest workers (time spent in the bracero program would not count for citizenship residency requirements), and tightening up border enforcement by transferring officers from other federal law enforcement agencies to the Border Patrol. The bracero program would require the worker to apply in Mexico on a seasonal basis. Braceros would not be allowed to work in licensed trades.

I feel that your proposal is both sensible and workable. I've always felt that the one area that "guest workers" would be fairly important is in agriculture. The reason that I say this is because many of the jobs in agriculture are seasonal, and American workers tend to not like seasonal jobs. Americans like to have a steady job with a set work schedule. We don't want to have to move every 3-5 months to "follow the crops" as a lot of Mexican laborers do who work in the fields picking our produce.

326 posted on 05/17/2002 11:35:22 AM PDT by usadave
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To: usadave
Glad you like the idea.

Basically, I want to use the stick and the carrot--if you make it easy and profitable to work within the law, most people will do so. Those apprehended in this country illegally would become ineligible for the bracero program for varying lengths of time or permanently, depending on the egregiousness of the offense. The big effect of this would be to get a LOT of folks out of America, because they'd want to be squeaky-clean before the bracero program started up.

Also, if you make it so that the braceros can make enough money to support themselves here and support their family in Mexico, the family is less likely to be up here--the mass illegal immigration problem didn't start until AFTER Congress killed the bracero program in 1965, because whole families started crossing so that the father wouldn't have to risk recrossing the border.

327 posted on 05/17/2002 11:43:40 AM PDT by Poohbah
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