Immigration, Bush proposal divides Republican Senate candidates

Mercury News ^ | Feb 1, 2004 | AP

[yonif]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - It's not often that a Republican Senate candidate runs ads criticizing a popular Republican president, but that's what Jim Oberweis is doing when it comes to immigration.

President Bush proposes granting legal status to millions of immigrant workers who are here illegally. He would offer three-year "temporary worker" status but not a chance at citizenship.

[Missouri]

Ping.

[kenth]

"I don't think you're going to solve this with barbed wire and National Guardsmen," he said.

What?

[Pubbie]

"It seems to me that before we start offering discounts to illegal immigrants, we ought to take care of U.S. citizens first," said Ryan, a businessman and teacher.

Hey! Ryan is against the Bush Amnesty plan!

What a great conservative candidate - Go Jack Go!

[Missouri]

Should be an interesting primary in Illinois this year.

Link to Oberweis for senate

Link to primary

[Missouri]

Mercury News? Now we're hearing about the Ill. primary from a California newspaper. I guess the leftist newsprint here in the Mid-West don't want to wake anyone up.

[SandRat]

"I don't think you're going to solve this with barbed wire and National Guardsmen,"

In a sad sense he's right. You need defense in depth first the wire then come the land mines (I prefer the Bouncing Betty and ButterFly toe popper) followed up with a second use of barb wire to channelize the survivors to where the troops are with fields of fire. Unfortunately no one in the POLIs has the stones to publicly admit that they even have these thoughts.

[JohnnyZ]

Someone remind me, is Illinois one of the must-win states for Bush?

No, it's more of an outside shot. Though I think they'll keep it in play this year to help out the senate nominee.

[chicagolady]

Just the facts.



Rauschenberger, for instance, calls the president's idea "courageous" and says it is unrealistic to think illegal immigration can be stopped by sealing the borders

[jpsb]

Bump! Way to go Illinois GOP!

[chicagolady]

Where's is your...... rah-rah-rah -go-Ryan?

Are you not feeling well?

[chicagolady]

Let me give you a couple of problems facing Illinois and YOU Right now.
What is going to be done by our politicians is the question to ask.

(I have the Johnny Cash song "Ring of Fire" going around in my mind right now.)

Illegal Residents:
432,000 illegal aliens resided in Illinois as of 2000, according to INS figures. This is 49 percent higher than the previous INS estimate in 1996 and 123 percent higher than the estimate for 1990.25

In 1994 (the latest year for which figures are available), the Urban Institute estimated that public services for illegal immigrants cost Illinois $136 million: $112 million for public education, $6.2 million for incarceration, and $17.4 million for Medicaid. During the same year, illegal immigrants in Illinois paid only two-thirds that amount in federal, state, and local taxes, the study found.26

The large population of illegal aliens is straining the state’s health care systems. Many illegal aliens lack health insurance and rely on the local emergency rooms and public health clinics for routine care.27

The Chicago police and public service authorities operate under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” order with regard to illegal aliens, adopted in 1989.28 Other areas, however, have been frustrated by their inability to work with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS angered Greenfield Mayor Don Chapman in 2002, when it declined to take custody of two illegal aliens pulled over in a traffic stop. An INS spokesperson said that the agency had to be focused on other priorities. Two years earlier, INS agents told the Carrollton Police Chief Mike Kiger to release illegal aliens arrested by his department, saying they didn’t have the manpower to send an agent to take the aliens into custody. Kiger said he was so upset that he even offered to transport the illegal aliens to an INS detention center but was told to simply let them go.29

Illinois authorities requested compensation of $36.4 million from the federal government for the incarceration of illegal aliens in state and local jails and prisons in FY’99 (under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP), but it received only $14 million in compensation, leaving $22.4 million in uncompensated costs to be borne by Illinois taxpayers.


The current INS estimate indicates that Illinois has the fourth largest illegal alien population in the country.

Based upon the new 2000 Census data, the Migration Policy Institute issued a May 2002 study that estimated Illinois' illegal alien population at 500,000.


Want more of the grueling numbers?
visit www.fairus.org

[JohnnyZ]

Where's is your...... rah-rah-rah -go-Ryan?

Where's YOURS? You have yet to explain your irrational hatred for Jack Ryan, although I have asked several times, nor have you chosen another candidate to support.

Looks like you're left with Jonathan Wright.

[chicagolady]

Shouldn't you be at church?

[Missouri]

Four out of the seven canidates have spoken out against GWB's plan also opposing any amnesty supported by the democrats. Lets just hope the four don't divide the pro-border enforcement vote up and let one of the others sneak in.