Tom Tancredo for President 2008: “Our Last and Only Hope to Save AMERICA”
Posted on 12/20/2004 8:49:00 AM PST by TFine80
QUESTION: Mr. President, since early in your first term you've talked about immigration reform. But yet people in your own party on the hill seem opposed to this idea and you've got an opposition, even on the other side.
Do you plan to expend some of your political capital this time to see this through?
BUSH: Yes, I appreciate that question.
First of all, welcome. I'd like to welcome all the new faces -- some prettier than others, I might add. But...
(LAUGHTER)
Yes, I intend to work with members of Congress to get something done. I think this is an issue that will make it easier for us to enforce our borders.
And I believe it's an issue that will show the -- if when we get it right, the compassion and heart of the American people.
And no question, it's a tough issue, just like some of the other issues we're taking on. But my job is to confront tough issues. And to ask Congress to work together to confront tough issues.
Now, let me talk about the immigration issue.
First we want our Border Patrol agents chasing crooks and thieves and drug runners and terrorists, not good-hearted people who are coming here to work. And, therefore, it makes sense to allow the good-hearted people who are coming here to do jobs that Americans won't do a legal way to do so. And providing that legal avenue, it takes the pressure off the border.
Now, we need to make sure the border is modern and we need to upgrade our Border Patrol. But if we expect the Border Patrol to be able to enforce a long border, particularly in the south -- and the north, for that matter -- we ought to have a system that recognizes people are coming here to do jobs that Americans will not do. And there ought to be a legal way for them to do so.
To me that, is -- and not only that, but once the person is here, if he or she feels like he or she needs to go back to see their family, to the country of origin, they should be able to do so within a prescribed -- the card and the permit would last for a prescribed period of time.
It's a compassionate way to treat people who come to our country. It recognizes the reality of the world in which we live. There are some jobs in America that Americans won't do and others are willing to do.
Now, one of the important aspects of my vision is that this is not automatic citizenship. The American people must understand that, that if somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizenship (sic) in a legal manner.
And this is a very important issue, and I look forward to working with members of Congress. I fully understand the politics of immigration reform. I mean, I was the governor of Texas, right there on the front lines of border politics. You know, I know what it means to have mothers and fathers come to my state and across the border of my state to work.
Family values do not stop at the Rio Grande river, is what I used to tell the people of my state.
People are coming to put food on the table. They're doing jobs Americans will not do. And to me, it makes sense for us to recognize that reality and to help those who are needing to enforce our borders, legalize the process of people doing jobs Americans won't do, take the pressure off of employers so they're not having to rely upon false I.D.s, cut out the coyotes who are the smugglers of these people, putting them in the back of tractor-trailers in the middle of August in Texas, allowing people to suffocate in the back of the truck, stop the process of people feeling like they got to walk miles across desert in Arizona and Texas in order just to feed their family, and they find them dead out there, you know.
I mean, this is a system that can be much better.
And I'm passionate on it because the nature of this country is one that is good-hearted and compassionate. Our people are compassionate.
The system we have today is not a compassionate system. It's not working. And as a result, the country is less secure than it could be with a rational system.
VERY disappointed.
I thought Liberatarians & their open border policy only got 0.1% in November.
Full FNS transcripts availiable at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-122004bushtext_wr,0,842045.story?coll=la-home-headlines
and
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,142065,00.html
Vote for Hillary! She'll save us!!!
I almost read what I was hoping he would say.
The first priority is to control the borders...then do something about the 10 million or so illegal immigrants currently residing in the US.
You can't even begin to hope to have any success with internal controls if you don't first figure out how to control the borders - airports, seaports, and all land crossings.
Most of the people in this country are sick of being "compassionate" when it comes to illegal aliens and want our immigration laws and borders enforced. Bush is gonna lose big on this issue. Glad to see illegal immigration as an issue they are going to have to confront finally though.
I don't see how he can say that the Border Patrol should only be looking for terrorists and crooks and not economic migrants. They look the same!
Even if his initiative is passed, it won't stop illegal immigration. He's incredibly naive to believe this.
The President is right we have to find a legal way to help people who come here to do jobs Americans don't want to do without giving them automatic citizenship. And we've got to protect our borders from those who like don't have the best interests of our country at heart. With immigration reform we have to strike the right balance. I'm glad to see the President recognize the American people won't accept amnesty of any kind but the hard work of dealing with a tough issue is only beginning.
Heard a good line on that recently. Since Time Magazine estimated there are 10,000 illegals a day now crossing our borders.....are there 10,000 jobs a day being created that Americans won't do? Think about it.
He knows it won't stop illegal immigration, he's hoping the American people are naive enough to believe it will.
A very good line indeed, although, I very much doubt that 10,000 are getting by us each day. It's about half of that, but your still correct. Are 5,000 jobs being created each day that Americans won't do?
Really? Then why don't Americans take those jobs? Let's drop the hypocrisy and admit there are some jobs Americans consider beneath them that they would prefer to have others do for them. Its not fair to treat people who come here to feed their families all like they're criminals - its neither compassionate nor is it a good use of our law enforcement resources. We might as well admit we need them and provide a legal way for them to work here and also allow them to return to their country. As long as they don't get citizenship or rewarded for breaking our laws, I think its something we can live with. Let's not pretend they aren't here and let's not pretend the political will exists to deport them all.
Even if the numbers are inflated it still rings true.
Agreed.
I live surrounded by illegal immigrants in Queens, NYC.
Many of them wouldn't sign up for this program even if it was offered. The dirty secret is that they like being in the shadows.
They don't have to pay taxes. They can go where they want. Work where they want. The only reason they would sign on Bush's program is if they wanted to become citizens.
The illegals have run down wages well enough that Americans, especially in Cali, cannot afford to take them.
Yeah, and I was thinking what jobs is he talking about? Either legit jobs that pay the legal minimum or off-the-books numbers that pay 25 cents an hour. If this move is some way to legitimize ultra-low paid work then watch as the rest of us scramble to the bottom to compete with red China. Raise the walls and root out the ones already here. Decent jobs for Americans.
If they're all low wage jobs, then there are people who will see them as providing a better life than what they could make in their home countries. What an American would look down on, to a Mexican is maybe the equivalent of what it takes him several months to earn back home. So yes, Americans don't want to do those jobs and someone is going to do them. That means people who come here from Mexico or wherever to do them and they're not all lazy bums on welfare.
Well if they are here illegally then they are criminals. How many laws may I break? And it's not as though they are putting much back into our economy. Currently one of major fiscal supporters of the Mexican is monies being sent there by the illegals working here.
Der takin' our jabs!!!
Isn't that what you meant to say?
Dir tikin' r jeebs!!!
Exactly
Dir teekin r jiiibs!!!!
Well, if we're not going to deport anyone, isn't Bush's program functionally an amnesty? In all honesty, won't people already in the country get preference in this program?
I would even prefer a massive increase in legal immigration over Bush's plan. Why do we only want temporary migrants with no stake in the nation?
Tell me, are you even in favor of punishing employers who hire illegals? If not, are you a contractor or something? What's your stake in cheap, tax free labor?
Sell out.
Americans might be more willing to do the job if the payscale wasn't being depressed to Third World levels because of all the illegals!
COMPASSION BEGINS AT HOME Mr President. There are NO JOBS for our kids anymore, no jobs for people down on thier luck, NO JOBS for the unskilled. I hate the "free nannies for the rich" crowd that have taken over the once great GOP. Bush is so far removed from normal people that he actually believes this "Jobs Amricans won't do" crap. There are NO JOBS AMERICANS won't do. Americans just won't do them for slave wages.
Har Har. They are taking my tax dollars. I suppose that's ok with some people. If so, why don't you pay for them and their families, and let those of us who do not want to skip out?
Even if his initiative is passed, it won't stop illegal immigration. He's incredibly naive to believe this.
Vicious cycle at work...the lure of work makes acceptable the risk of crossing the border illegally...resulting in porous borders and the possibility of terrorists/criminals crossing undetected.
The way I read his program and his sound bites is this:
"If I can reduce the reason for crossing illegally, I can reduce the need for a massive build-up of border guards.
That means I have the ability to redirect the focus of those Federal agents to look for people we don't want in this country - the gang members, the violent felons, the people who have skipped out on felony warrants, and terrorists."
What I don't see specifically stated is the need to control the borders first. I suspect the President doesn't want to come across as an intractable xenophobe on this issue.
There are a lot of people to deport. And those we do deport come back. I keep thinking we're never going to jail or deport our way out of the problem. The answer lies ultimately in raising living standards in Mexico to the point people will stay there rather than look to us for a better life. And as long as people look to us for that, we're never going to turn the problem of illegal immigration around.
LOL, for many reasons. Americans have gotten lazy, employers won't pay a decent wage, when they can hire a slave for next to nothing, ect...
Do have any idea how many illegal aliens are making 6 figures? Are those jobs Americans won't do?
As long as they don't get citizenship or rewarded for breaking our laws.
Any illegal that gets a guest worker visa is being rewarded for breaking our laws.
Lets not pretend Americans are stupid and the President is not lying.
Name a Job, at 7/hour I will find you lots of Americans willing to do the job. At 5/hour I find you a few Americans willing to do the job at 3/hour there are no takers.
I know, unfortunately, there are those here on FR and in Washington that are blind to the reality of illegal immigration.
pfffftt The laws to control immigration are ON the books. They are not enforced. Fine the heck out of employers who hire illegals and cut off all the freebie benefits. Force emplyers to check the social secutity number of every new hire to make sure they are legal.
If they can't get jobs or benefits they will be forced to go home. With these 2 solutuions in place the need for border security would be much less. They would have no reason to come here unless they came legally.
Someone should have asked him if it's true that on the Texas/Mexico border there are and have been major concerns about South American and Mexian gangs being provided MANPADS by the IslamoZazis. And that for enough money they are willing to shoot down a few commercial airliners for the IslamoNazis. If the answer to this is that this is true then why don't we shut down the borders?
I've been a big George Bush supporter for many years. But his take on the South American invasion (it's not immigration) is totally wrong. While Gov. of Texas he never explained why people should be allowed to come here and break our laws. As president he has never explained it either.
I hear him talk about "compassion" when it comes to illegals. Sounds nice. Should this also apply to people that break into our houses? Or break other laws? How about people that prefer not to pay their income taxes because they their family would be better off? I don't think the federal gov has compassion for those folks.
And another thing. If someone crosses our borders and has a child they should have no rights to automatic citizenship. What kind of insanity is that? What an enourmously stupid thing to allow.
The only reason I think the president and politicians want to allow illegals here is that they hope to eventually make them taxpayers. Like the president said today many politicians will tell us "they will do jobs Americans won't do". My answer to that is "so what and who cares?" What's the worse than can happen? Some American has to get a little more exercise?
If the point in letting illegals in is to eventually make them taxpayers why wait? Just chuck the tax code and go to a national sales tax. Viola! All the illegals are now taxpayers!
The president's comments today make no practical sense at all.
Dang shoulda turned on my spellcheck ;p)
Mexico needs a bloody revolution. That is the only way they will fix their problems.
He's going to give these illegals a visa to take any job in the US and compete with American workers. The folks in the fields working for 25 cents an hour will find other, better paying jobs, once they have a visa and the employer will just hire another illegal for 25 cents an hour.
Bush is an idiot if he thinks this thing will work.
I don't have a stake in illegal immigration. I would like to see something done about it. The problem is that you have people here and people coming here and the United States by itself is not going to solve the issue alone. We can't ever discourage the phenomenon by making the U.S as poor as Mexico. We have to make Mexico sufficiently well off that the incentive for people to come here dries up. And we're talking about taking on illegal immigration in the long term. President Bush isn't going to going to solve it, the next President is not going to solve it but we can make a start in tackling it.
"Now, one of the important aspects of my vision is that this is not automatic citizenship. The American people must understand that, that if somebody who is here working wants to be a citizen, they can get in line like those who have been here legally and have been working to become a citizenship (sic) in a legal manner."
--- I would actually prefer it if Bush's program could be used for future citizenship. At least then they will have a stake in our country. Otherwise, they will abuse the society's generosity and send most of their money back to their country.
Blind to the reality or benefit from it somehow. Let's not mince words. There are members of our party here on FR and in Washington that benefit from illegal immigrant labor. They themselves are criminals as well for getting out of taxes and the like that way, but they'd never admit it.
Nice going Mr President.
Libertarians combine their open borders policy with a complete end to the welfare state.
President Bush wants to keep the welfare state, and open the borders to every parasite "yearning to eat free". A few anchor babies later, we have an instant expansion of poverty, racism and crime.
Tax the money going back to Mexico. Stop using tax dollars for bi-lingual education. Stop paying for their anchor babies. Dry up the incentive by making life here more painful then it was in Mexico.
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