Bush Would Give Illegal Workers Broad New Rights

The New York Times ^ | January 7, 2004 | ELISABETH BUMILLER

[B4Ranch]

Fact: What was supposed to be a one and only time amnesty by Reagan has resulted in 10 to 14 million criminals living in America. They were waiting for the 2nd and last amnesty.

Questions: Ask our deceptive President when will we have the 3rd and final amnesty. What will the numbers be and what color flag will be flying over the White House when it happens?

[William McKinley]

I don't support this plan, but I have to say that almost all of the voiced opposition I have seen to it here on FR has been misguided, I think.

His proposal is brilliant except for one flaw.

The brilliance? The part that says anyone wanting to take part in this must get their employer to show no Americans wanted the job.

That will cause the cost of those involved significantly higher. Companies will be forced to show that they tried to find Americans for the job. They will have to be prepared to defend lawsuits from out of work Americans and the ever rabid trial lawyers if they want to rely on these workers. This cost will make it so that the jobs which the people are coming across the border to get won't be there, which removes the incentive for crossing the border, particularly if the benefits only go to those who have jobs and are paying taxes.

Further, for those who do manage to get their employer to vouch that no American wanted the job, so that they can get into the program, we now know who they are and where they are, two things we don't now know, all in exchange for involvement in a program which could be legislated away at any time. Some would be skeptical that it ever would be, but in an economic downturn, ending a guest worker program so Americans could get the jobs would be very politically doable.

And of all the illegals who are out there now, there are some who are harmless and those who are not. Those who sign up for this would more often than not be in the harmless side; they are the ones who really would rather not be hiding and don't mind us knowing they are here. This would make the pool of those who are here completely illegally smaller, which would lessen the burden on our security agencies.

As specified, the proposal is worlds, worlds, worlds better than I had feared based on the initial reports and the initial debate here.

So it is brilliant in that it would put a damper on further illegal immigration, pressure companies to not hire illegals, would get many illegals to tell us who and where they are. I am pretty sure that as this debate rolls on, almost all of the leftist leaning immigration groups are going to come out hot and heavy against these proposals. That should tell us something.

But it has a fatal flaw which means that we really should be opposing it anyway- namely that the courts would very likely find some reason to strike down that one very provision, stating that it is an impossible standard to meet (you know liberal judges). And if that one aspect of the plan is removed, then the whole thing is garbage.

Relying on a single beam of support in a very large structure when there are sledgehammer weilding Judges all over the place is a very bad idea.

[DLfromthedesert]

Did you see where the Labor Dept. has sent memos to businesses telling them how to get out of paying OT to low wage workers that just became eligible through their new policies?

Methinks it's time to find a party that has principles!!

[JustPiper]

Seeing REDPing!

[JustPiper]

"WE" are being terrorized with this Ping!

[Regulator]

The Bush Family needs to be cut loose from the Republican Party

We won't get fooled again.

[tubavil]

Bush will not survive this filthy backstabbing of conservatives and America.

Tancredo says the reasons are clear, and he's right:

-Rewarding illegal behaivor to gain votes.
-Rewarding corporate campaign donors with cheap labor.

I will not compromise my principles in November for a man who said nothing while the 10 Commandments were dragged out of the courthouse, who wants to reward the world's biggest terrorist and Jew-killer with his own terror state, and now proposes a blanket amnesty for illegals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outrageous!

[Paul C. Jesup]

(saracasm) Welcome to the United States, where Illegal Immigrants have more rights than Native Born Citizens.

[tubavil]

Uh, yeah, That's the law...

[hedgetrimmer]

We citizens ought to be doing our civic duty and making sure this does NOT happen.

Recall campaigns are a start for any politician who expresses support for this.

Put the heat on the multinational corporations that are pushing this legislation. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, CitiBank to name a few. And we know about WalMart, Tyson foods, home depot and the scores and scores of hotel and restaurants around the country.

Let some of this anger be directed at the people who are hiring them.

[tubavil]

ONE-TERMER

[ought-six]

"Wow. Bush may manage to piss off both Conservatives and Hispanics with this brilliant move."

Well, he certainly managed to piss me off, anyway.

[ought-six]

My God, can you imagine the massive flood of illegals pouring across the border just so they'll already be here when this goes into effect? We will have what amounts to 25 million illegals in this country by that time (I get my number from the comment some politico said about the number of illegals "doubling" in order to qualify for this amnesty, and current estimates of illegals in this country range between 8 million and 14 million, so I figured 12.5 million was a nice round number, and likely accurate).

[RightWhale]

While I don't like this and it is probably no solution at all to the problem, I don't see a quick solution. At least there is now an official admission in the Admin that there is a problem.

[ought-six]

The Bush proposal is national suicide, pure and simple.

[ought-six]

"Do any of you have friends/relatives who have been waiting years for an immigrant visa?"

My mother. She came to this country legally, obeying all the rules and regulations, and what the Bush proposal basically does is say she was a chump for playing by the rules.

[Redleg Duke]

I smell another disinformation campaign! I have a hunch the President is about to blind side the bashers on both sides of the aisle...again!

[ought-six]

"I am a conservative Republican but I've just about had enough of Bush giving away the farm for his re-election."

He's quickly losing my vote. I won't vote for any of the Dim candidates, though, and I will vote for other offices. But I'll likely be sitting out the presidential vote.

[ought-six]

It's funny, but great nations usually commit national suicide. Rome did it; Greece did it; France (and at on time France WAS a great nation) did it; Britain did it; and we are now doing it. The only nation that has not done it, in its long history, is China.

[ought-six]

"Bush was the worst choice I ever made in the voting booth."

Jimmy Carter was mine, in 1976. And then George Ryan in Illinois, in 1998.