The Bush guest worker proposal however doesnt address causes of illegal immigration and our failure at many levels to stop it. Ah, but it does. One of the major causes of illegal immigration, and the major political obstacle to stopping it, is the demand for illegal immigrant labor. Although it may not sound like it, Bush's proposal does deal with this, albeit in a rather sneaky way.
In a few placed, illegal immigrant labor might be competitive with the labor of citizens and permanent legal residents if it had to be performed on the same terms, but in most cases it probably isn't. The only reason illegal immigrants have a competitive advantage is that employers can rely upon them not to squeal about violations of labor laws. It is that inability to squeal that sets illegals apart from everyone else.
So what does Bush's proposal do? It subdivides the present group of "undocumented workers" into two subgroups: (1) those whose employer will go on record as hiring them; (2) those with no willing employer of record. People who take the first path won't have a competitive advantage over citizens and permanent legal residents, so there won't be much demand for their labor. And people in the second group may be regarded as freeloaders and deported as such, since they're unwilling to provide any evidence that they actually work.
"And people in the second group may be regarded as freeloaders and deported as such, since they're unwilling to provide any evidence that they actually work."
As my article points out, there is nothing in Bush's proposal to suggest that illegal aliens would be deported at any greater rate than currently. Hence, that part of your scenario falls flat. Without enforcement, both the demand and the supply of illegal aliens workers will continue, and the problem will remain uncorrected.
Lets talk about the CLEAR Act.
"The legislation would dramatically stiffen fines for illegal entries and add new provisions allowing the forfeiture of assets of noncitizens who fail to depart the U.S. pursuant to an order of removal and then remain in the U.S. for longer than one year. The current penalties for illegal entry violations under INA sec. 275(b) range from $50 to $250. The top end of that range would be increased to $500 and would reach $10,000 if the individual had three prior violations."
The legislation would authorize a billion dollars each fiscal year for immigration enforcement. State and local police departments would be able to apply for funds for technology, equipment, and administrative support for housing and processing noncitizens held for immigration violations. Only those agencies that instituted a policy and practice of enforcing immigration laws would be eligible for funds. A third of the money raised from the fees that immigrants pay in applying for benefits would be diverted to enforcement efforts. In addition, the legislation would authorize the attorney general or the secretary of the DHS to increase fees for immigration benefits in order to carry out immigration enforcement."
What the sponsor says about it:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ga09_norwood/CLEARActHearingAdvisory.html “Sadly, there are some 400,000 aliens with standing deportation orders and 80,000 criminal aliens that our broken immigration system has released back out onto the streets – these folks are living within our borders and simply cannot be found,” added Norwood. “The hearing next week is a big step forward for the CLEAR Act, but more importantly, a step in the right direction towards finally giving some much needed assistance to the 2,000 out-manned folks in the field, getting the 80,000 criminal aliens off our streets, and ensuring the safety of our nation’s legal and peaceful citizens.”
http://www.numbersusa.com/hottopic/clearact.html Miguel Angelo Gordoba is a child molester and illegally in our country. "In August 2001, he finished a four-year sentence at Rivers State Prison for molesting a 2-year old girl in Alma, Georgia. On the day he finished his sentence you would think he would be picked up and deported. As unbelievable as it sounds, the INS, now the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, didn't have his paperwork done. Subsequently, Mr. Gordoba registered as a sex offender, but when the county sheriff went to the listed address to check in on him, all he found was a vacant lot. Mr. Gordoba is one of 80,000 criminal aliens with standing deportation orders that are on the loose within our borders."
http://www.actionla.org/ISN/ The Immigrant Solidarity Network gathers from leading Immigrant Rights sources such as the ACLU, MALDEF, NIF, AILA, CAIR, MPAC, SEIU, AFSC
This Amnesty Crowd hates the bill.
http://www.now.org/issues/violence/112103clearact.html NOW hates the CLEAR Act. NOW got a provision in VAWA II, an evil bill that has now destroyed the lives of men scammed by false allegations from alien women marrying/using men to get green cards then dumping them with false allegations of abuse. ...NOW says: "VAWA 2000's self-petitioning provision allows victims abused by a spouse who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident to obtain legal immigration status." ... in plain English - NOW got an AMNESTY that is on the books today for illegal aliens. So NOW hates this bill because it will crimp the style of the latest amnesty scam - (puke!).
http://www.amuslimvoice.org/html/clear_act.html The Muslim's want to keep their illegal alien middle-east men free from local law enforcement ... WHY?
The bill would also expand the scope of the National Crime Information Center database (which is accessed in routine situations by police to identify wanted criminals) to include individuals solely based on immigration status violations. "
Funny that could have gotten some of the 19 hijackers ... HMMMM.
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=12600 "People For the American Way is committed to the fundamental right of all Americans – indeed, of all those living within our borders – to the protection of their civil rights and civil liberties. H.R. 2671, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act, and S. 1906, the Homeland Security Enhancement Act, pose a very real threat to those rights as well as to the safety of our communities. Introduced in the House on July 9, 2003, by Representative Charles Norwood (R-9th GA), the CLEAR Act requires state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws in order to receive federal funding under the Immigration and Naturalization Act. The Homeland Security Enhancement Act was introduced in the Senate on November 20, 2003, by Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Zell Miller (D-GA). While it shares similar language included in the CLEAR Act, in some respects, S. 1906 goes much further and poses an even bigger threat to immigrant communities."
Are you with the Liberal pro-amnesty interest groups or the Conservatives on this bill????