Posted on 01/07/2004 6:12:00 PM PST by VU4G10
Proposals for a massive new "guestworker" program would: The politicians pushing a guestworker amnesty know that Americans staunchly oppose amnesty, and so they shy away from calling it what it really is, instead cloaking it in terms like "earned legalization" or "normalization of status." They are deliberately misleading the American public. THEY SAY that the overwhelming majority of people entering the country illegally pose no threat to our country and that if we allow them enter in a lawful manner, we will enhance our homeland security. THE TRUTH is that there are an estimated 8-11 million illegal aliens in the United States, and it only took 19 to perpetrate the attacks of September 11. Our immigration system has become overburdened and unmanageable due to mass illegal immigration. As a result, there is little reason to feel confident that, absent a massive infusion of new resources, which is highly unlikely given current fiscal realities, anything approaching thorough background checks can be conducted on applicants for a guestworker program. Even without the added burden of an amnesty, people like Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric who masterminded the first World Trade Center bombing, and Mohammed Atta, the leader of the September 11 attacks, managed to slip through the screening process. There is every reason to believe that adding new responsibilities to an overtaxed system will make us less safe. No one has yet explained how the millions of applicants would be given security checks or whether that’s even remotely feasible, given an already overburdened immigration enforcement system. Immigration officials would have to deal with hundreds of thousands of more applicants a year, to say nothing of how we would verify eligibility for any of the eight million potential applicants already here illegally, particularly with many of them armed with false identity documents. When the immigration system can’t adequately perform its most essential mission, adding in the responsibility for security checks, tracking, and removal when necessary for millions of participants in a guestworker program will guarantee disaster. THEY SAY that the legislation is not an amnesty, but that guestworkers who participate in the program will be eligible for permanent resident status. THE TRUTH is that the proposal would be an amnesty with an “apprenticeship” provision. Illegal aliens who are already in the U.S. would be eligible to apply. Thus, they would be excused for having violated our immigration laws in the first place, and then be rewarded again with permanent residency--thus making the law, in effect, a double amnesty. Calling it something else does not change the reality that this proposal is a massive amnesty program. THEY SAY the program will help regain control of the borders and stop illegal immigration. THE TRUTH is that the proposal does nothing to discourage future illegal immigration or enforcement of our immigration laws, ensuring that any guestworker or illegal alien who wants to remain in the U.S. can and will. In fact, about one-third of illegal aliens in the country right now arrived on legal visas and simply never went home. In addition, it does nothing to strengthen border security to ensure that only guestworkers, and not terrorists, are being admitted. THEY SAY that spouses and children of illegal aliens may also be eligible to participate in the visa program. THE TRUTH is that this would be an amnesty not only for those who qualify for this “guestworker” program, but a simultaneous amnesty for their dependents, whether or not they are workers. Aside from expanding the amnesty to include non-workers, it also grants a benefit to the dependents of illegal aliens that is not afforded to the families of other guestworkers who never violated the law. Moreover, it undermines the stated – if flawed – purpose of a guestworker program: that foreign workers come temporarily and then return home. Employers would be able to utilize a virtually limitless supply of guestworkers at low wages, while the expense for services like education and health care for dependent family members would have to be picked up by taxpayers. THEY SAY that an electronic job registry operated through the Department of Labor will allow employers to post jobs and American workers would have the first chance to apply. Moreover, the jobs would have to be offered again at the end of the three-year period, and that workers’ visas would be renewed only if no Americans are willing to take them. THE TRUTH is that in the estimation of the General Accounting Office and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the provisions in existing guestworker programs that are intended to ensure that American workers get first crack at jobs have been a complete failure. Even if the political will existed to prevent employers from bypassing American workers in favor of foreign guestworkers – which there doesn’t – the Labor Department does not have the resources to monitor the hiring process. A federal government that managed to fine a grand total of 13 employers nationwide in 2002 for violating employer sanctions laws cannot be counted on to enforce the provisions of a guestworker program either. THEY SAY that BSIIA would be a market-driven program that will negate the reasons why employers hire illegal aliens. THE TRUTH is that under BSIIA, there would not even be a prevailing wage requirement, meaning that employers will be able to offer wages far below what most Americans would be willing to accept, thereby creating an artificial need for guestworkers. In effect, the law would grant legal sanction to employers who want to hire workers at low wages and limited leverage. One of the primary purposes of our immigration laws is to prevent employers from undermining wages and working conditions of American workers. THEY SAY that the program would prevent abuse of foreign workers by affording them mobility and the ability to file grievances against abusive employers. THE TRUTH is that the mobility of guestworkers would still be very limited and their ability to change jobs would depend on finding another employer who was willing to go through the procedure of posting a job and wading through the bureaucratic red tape. The primary interest of the workers would be to hold a job for six years in order to qualify for permanent residency. Moreover, at the end of the “apprenticeship” period, when the guestworker would be granted permanent residency and would gain bargaining power, there is no reason to expect that the employer would not seek another guestworker who is willing to work at below-market wages. THEY SAY that the program would prevent deaths along the border. THE TRUTH is that U.S. immigration laws are not responsible for the deaths along the border – it is the violation of our immigration laws that is responsible. If there is any culpability on the part of the American government, it is in its failure to deter illegal immigration by aggressively enforcing laws that prohibit illegal aliens from working here or accessing public benefits. Sending a clear signal that illegal entry to the U.S. will not be rewarded would have the desired effect of dissuading people from placing their lives and safety into the hands of unscrupulous smugglers. Besides, when the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE) adopted a measure that demonstrably cut down the likelihood of border deaths – by repatriating illegal alien crossers who were apprehended in Arizona to border towns in Texas – the open borders lobby protested, charging that the program was unfair to illegal aliens. THEY SAY the program will provide workers when and while they’re needed. THE TRUTH is that when the economy takes a downturn, there will be millions of guestworkers in the U.S. without a job, without a home, without health care, and with no intention of returning to their home countries. The guestworkers’ unemployment problems become the public’s burden.
The problem which no one wishes to tackle is a hard one: I.E. The law (or stupid custom) granting automatic citizenship to the children of illegals must end. If we are to have gastarbeiter on the German model, as our leader is actually proposing, the whole damn family has to return to Mexico in three years. And of course, for GWB's proposal to work, the border must be tightly controlled. No one wishes to state the ugly truth ... we don't want "guest workers" on the citizenship track ... and they want to stay forever.
And as usual, official sources understate the numbers involved at about a factor of 10. The former Foreign Minister of Mexico opined on the radio that, as the Mexican population ages, we can expect "only 750,000 or so" migrants from his country every year! Nice try. That's probably the number that snuck in last month!
In truth, we are looking at becoming a majority hispanic (mostly Mexican) country within the next century. Can't wait to see what congress does with GWB's plan. Keep your sense of humor ... but make sure the kids learn Spanish.
BTW, there is no way most Republicans would be willing to set this up so it can work. Their fear of the press labelling every sensible detail as xenophobia and racism is real ... and accurate.
A very good point.
As far as I can tell, the anti-Bush comments miss the boat on 2 levels: First, like the proposal or not, the status quo aint that great. second, have you looked at the Democrat viewpoint? Open borders, full amnesty, and a full end to the concept of citizenship entirely. If you want to hyperventilate over the destruction of our culture, save it for the Howard Dean. he really deserves it. He's that bad.
And as usual, official sources understate the numbers involved at about a factor of 10. The former Foreign Minister of Mexico opined on the radio that, as the Mexican population ages, we can expect "only 750,000 or so" migrants from his country every year! Nice try. That's probably the number that snuck in last month! Actually, that # is probably accurate. They have also said that demographics would change in Mexico so that by 2015 this would subside. What is the Mexican interest in this issue? Simple, they are exporting their unemployment! Well, if we took the workers without taking their 39 other relatives, we would still have some workers but not the flood of immigrants. Therein lies the 'compromise' imho. A small guest worker program, vigorous enforcement of law, and end chain migration and anchor babies. then we would have a saner policy: more space for the 'workers only' migrants, no flood of illegals, and a manageable labor situation that doesnt hurt American workers.
Upon continuing reflection, I actually do see how GWB's program might well be the lesser of two evils. However, and it's a big however, there is no administrative infrastructure anywhere that I can see, which can run the program. My real fear is that this program, or some high-sounding version of it, will be put in place and the border will remain wide open!
The other sticking point for me is the lack of exact details of the plan. If handled properly, this could mean that wages paid for the jobs offered might have to meet market rates for Americans. Hopefully, this could do away with the inane argument that the Mexicans are taking jobs no one wants to do!
Also, the plan says nothing about the illegals already here and gumming up the works in California, Texas, Colorado, and other venues. IMHO, If the Feds ain't gonna patrol the border, they owe the states some kind of subsidy ... and if tax money had to be diverted for this purpose, it just might wake up the majority of Americans who have yet to notice the problem.
Finally, I supect that sufficient demographic 'damage' has already been done, to the extent that if all Latino immigration were to end tomorrow, it would merely take those already here just another couple of decades to assume majority status in many states. Pardon my xenophobic sentiments, but having worked all over Latin America and being at home in the language and culture as a visitor, I just don't happen to think that's a great idea.
What the hell good is 'diversity' if the population is 50% Spanish-Speaking?
That might be true. A lot of them never got to do farm work such as picking fruit when they were in high school ---- which many of us did --- along with plenty of other whites. I used to see families of Southerners as migrant workers coming to work the seasonal jobs up north --- and to see them out shopping, you'd never guess they were farmworkers --- they just looked like regular middle class so unless you actually did some of those jobs, you might not realize how many Americans are actually doing them.
Those who obey civil and criminal laws are being told that some folks are more equal than others. If you are a segment of the population whose kid glove treatment will get votes for the powers-that-be, then you will be treated differently. You will be "accomodated". Politics as usual. The ends justify the means. Social and political skullduggery. It is no longer "illegal" to cross our borders without a passport or visa.
In my state, it's illegal to cross the border to another state to buy a bottle of wine that may be cheaper. Undercover and unmarked state police sit in wait for Pennsylvania license plated vehicles to patronize discount liqour stores, then "bust" them once they cross back into PA. Failure to pay your freaking taxes! Yet, in another part of this nation, an illegal alien can cross the border and get away with it. Heck, he/she can even get government permission to stay, without fear of prosecution. Citizens treated like crap. Non-citizens treated like royalty.
People are pissed off. The sooner Bush realizes this, the better his chances of retaining the White House come November.
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