[Sabertooth]

The key is to get the Illegals to leave our country on their own initiative."

Of course, this is precisely what Bush's new immigration plan *does*, except of course that it accomplishes this key goal in a non-obvious manner (hence, unnecessary and hostile reaction to said plan).

No, it doesn't.

The President proposes that the Federal Government offer temporary worker status to undocumented men and women now employed in the United States and to those in foreign countries who have been offered employment here. The workers under temporary status must pay a one-time fee to register in the program, abide by the rules, and return home after their period of work expires. There would be an opportunity for renewal. In the future, only people outside the U.S. may join the temporary worker program, and there will be an orderly system in place to address the needs of workers and companies.
Fact Sheet: Fair and Secure Immigration Reform
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 7, 2004

The legalized-Illegals of the Bush Amnesty would only be required to go home if they don't get a renewal of their blue cards. Do you honestly believe that if the President won't make Illegals go home to get into the so-called "guest worker" program, that he'll make them go home for renewal, after they've been legalized?

Furthermore, this President doesn't deport many Illegals now, and still releases Illegals with standing deportation orders on OR. That's why we have 100,000 more absconders now than we did two years ago.

There are upwards of 400,000 individuals who have received final deportation orders that are hiding in our communities. Their appeals have run out, and those orders tell them, “it’s time to go.” But, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement can’t find them! What’s worse, 80,000 of those people have criminal convictions, just like Miguel Angelo Gordoba! They were in the hands of our law enforcement. Can you imagine opening the doors of our prisons and letting 80,000 criminals run back into the streets? Well folks, that’s exactly what has happened with these 80,000 criminal aliens.

What’s more, 3,800 of those people with final deportation orders are from countries with a known Al-Qaeda presence.
Statement of the Honorable Charlie Norwood
The CLEAR Act of 2003
July 9, 2003

Compare these figures to those of two years ago...

The Justice Department's decision to track down and deport 6,000 Middle Eastern aliens who've been ordered to leave the country attracted howls of protest from all the usual places earlier this week. The government has a list of more than 300,000 deportable immigrants.
Deportation Disorder
National Review Online
John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru | January 10th, 2002

These are Illegals who've lost their deportation hearings, and the President still hasn't recognized that they are flight risk.

Why would the President's lackluster approach to enforcing the law against Illegals suddenly change after their legaliization?

[dirtboy]

Why would the President's lackluster approach to enforcing the law against Illegals suddenly change after their legaliization?

And, looking at Bush's proposal from the viewpoint of illegal aliens, the ones who might register are the ones who come here for a short time period and plan to leave after making some money for their family back in Mexico. The ones who have lived here illegally for years, who are trying to bring their entire family here, aren't about to tell the government where they are and set the clock ticking as to their eventual departure. They'll wait for a full amnesty to be proposed.

[Southack]

"The workers under temporary status must pay a one-time fee to register in the program, abide by the rules, and return home after their period of work expires. There would be an opportunity for renewal."

"The legalized-Illegals of the Bush Amnesty would only be required to go home if they don't get a renewal of their blue cards." - Sabertooth

No, that's not how I read it. Yes, there are "opportunities" for renewal, but they have to FIRST go home to get said opportunity. See above.

[diotima]

The legalized-Illegals of the Bush Amnesty would only be required to go home if they don't get a renewal of their blue cards. Do you honestly believe that if the President won't make Illegals go home to get into the so-called "guest worker" program, that he'll make them go home for renewal, after they've been legalized?

And if we can make them go home if they don't get a renewal of their blue card, THEN WHY CAN'T WE JUST MAKE THEM GO HOME NOW? Why would we suddenly be able to do something, we not only claim we can't do now, but use as the basis for this policy: "we can't deport them all."

Furthermore, I see no reason to believe that the illegals here now are all going to sign up for this program. There will still be a black labor market, as there is now. There will still be employers who do not want to jump through the red tape to hire a payroll person to handle withholdings or an HR person to authenticate documents of new hires.

And, black market labor may pay more after taxes and SS are taken out, epecially if the guest workers are supposed to fill those jobs no other American's want, ie low paying.

I won't even get into the inevitable social program expansion that will be required to subsidize low-paid guest workers.