Posted on 03/15/2006 9:59:05 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - A key provision in the Senate's main immigration bill would create a "gold card" for the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, allowing them to live and work legally in the United States -- but without offering them a clear path to citizenship.
The legislation, which calls for dramatic increases in the number of legal immigrants, is meant to placate those who want illegal immigrants sent back to their home countries and those who want them to become legal, permanent residents.
The problem is both sides oppose it.
"It says, 'We want your labor. Yes we think you're good enough to take care of our children, but we don't want you to be one of us,' " said Douglas Rivlin, a spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration organization in Washington, D.C. "It's a bad message for immigration policy."
The gold-card proposal is part of a far-reaching immigration bill introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began considering the bill last week and is expected to take up the gold-card issue today or Thursday.
A final version of the legislation is expected to go to the full Senate by March 27.
The gold card would be available to illegal immigrants who entered the United States before Jan. 4, 2004, the date President Bush first proposed establishing a guest-worker program.
Applicants would have to provide proof that they've worked in the country since then and also undergo a background check by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Those without criminal records would be eligible for two-year work visas that could be renewed indefinitely.
Gold vs. Green Card
Judiciary committee staff members, who briefed reporters earlier this month about the bill, said the gold-card proposal isn't amnesty because it doesn't offer direct path from gold cards to green cards, which reflect permanent legal-resident status.
Carl Shusterman, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles, said the gold card wouldn't provide enough of an incentive for workers to come forward because it doesn't guarantee that they'll be allowed to stay in the United States.
"It's like some guy coming up to you and asking, 'Will you marry me for a year?' " Shusterman said. "You'd say, 'What happens after a year?' He says 'You can decide to renew it or I could decide.' That's what the gold card is like."
"It's impractical, it's a nonstarter," he added.
Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio del Riego of the Diocese of San Bernardino said a gold card could work only if there is a provision for the person to become a legal permanent resident.
"Otherwise this would be like an underclass where they are neither here nor there," del Riego said. "I think they cannot be in limbo. If they are legally here, they should be protected."
Jim Rietkerk, owner of Kallisto Greenhouses in Fontana, which sells houseplants, said he could support a gold-card proposal or some form of guest-worker program for agriculture workers.
He said the California agriculture industry relies on immigrant laborers.
"Sending everybody back is ludicrous, and, as an employer, I need to know who I'm hiring," Rietkerk said.
In the post-Sept. 11 era, many fear that the porous borders could allow potential terrorists to enter the United States and do the country harm.
Proponents of the legislation say it makes the nation safer because the government would have information on illegal immigrants, such as who they are, where they live and work, bringing them "out of the shadows" and into mainstream society.
But Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that favors reducing illegal and legal immigration rates, said he doubts the Department of Homeland Security could handle the program and the vetting of potentially millions of immigrant workers.
"The notion that rubber-stamping illegal aliens is helpful to homeland security is absurd," Camarota said.
He said that if the provision passes, it will eventually amount to a kind of bait and switch. The nation is never going to allow a class of people to legally stay on an indefinite temporary status. Eventually they'll all get green cards, he said.
First Step
Specter has said that his immigration bill is expected to be a first step and will likely include many changes before the Senate votes on it later this month.
His legislation also includes border-security provisions, more visas for skilled foreign workers, additional green cards for legal immigrants, and a guest-worker program. Foreign applicants could work for three years, renew for another three years and would then be required to return home. They would have to wait a year before reapplying to the guest-worker program.
Unlike the gold card, which allows workers in various fields to remain in the United States, Sen. Dianne Feinstein wants to create a "blue card" just for agriculture workers, which would give legal status to up to 900,000 undocumented agriculture workers over three years.
Under her plan, the workers would be able to travel and their immediate families also would gain legal status. After three years, the workers could trade in their blue cards for green cards and switch industries.
"The industry depends on this immigrant labor force," Feinstein, D-Calif., said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this month. "It seems to me that this is the place to start, with people who have been here for a period of time, who have not committed a crime, who have worked hard, and who we know aren't going back to their country."
Mark Draper, who up until a year ago was a farm-labor contractor in the Coachella Valley, said immigrants are key to agriculture.
Draper estimated that in his 20 years of working in agriculture, fewer than a half-dozen men who were not Hispanic immigrants came looking for field work.
"We need some sort of program that allows people that are here now to qualify and work under some sort of legal status," said Draper, who now grows sod in Thermal. "I think they can be given the chance to work here and not be afraid."
Green Card: Gives you official immigration status (Lawful Permanent Residency) in the United States.
Gold Card: A work permit that would allow illegal immigrants to stay and work in the United States after they complete a background check. Does not include a special path to citizenship.
Blue Card: A work permit specifically for agriculture workers. As many as 900,000 undocumented agriculture employees would be eligible.
Whoever named it "The gold card" either wanted it to fail or was a moron.
Gold Card. I like the sound of it.
Kinda like "Outta the way, moron, I got a GOLD Card, I'm a V.I.P. Waiting in line to get into the United States is for suckers and peons. Now lemme in and which way to the hand outs?"
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
You left out Race Card - to be played against critics of the Gold Card and Blue Card plans.
Just why is it congress, that there is a legal way to enter the country, but not many want to use it?
What is the ratio between legal, and illegal entrants?
What is wrong with treating illegal immigrants, based on the laws of the land?
Why is it that our government chooses to completely ignore the illegal immigration into the country?
Just why is it that legislators waste their time and ours attempting to legalize in some paper shuffling way, the illegal immigrant?
More questions to come when these are answered.
It's amazing how "we want you to enter this country legally" becomes "we don't want you to be one of us."
Just why is it congress, that there is a legal way to enter the country, but not many want to use it?
What is the ratio between legal, and illegal entrants?
What is wrong with treating illegal immigrants, based on the laws of the land?
Why is it that our government chooses to completely ignore the illegal immigration into the country?
Just why is it that legislators waste their time and ours attempting to legalize in some paper shuffling way, the illegal immigrant?
More questions to come when these are answered.
out out damn double post.
The president's pet project, a massive guest worker program with six-year temporary cards, will be overseen by an agency already strapped with an alphabet soup of temporary worker plans, already impossible to enforce.
In fact, the new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Emilio Gonzalez, during his Senate confirmation process said, quote, "I don't think the system's -- in fact, I know the systems that exists right now wouldn't be able to handle it."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/06/ldt.01.html aired 2/6/06
Ping!
I like your screen name. Too bad we are held hostage by our politicians and will never experience freedom through truth. The prerequisite to being elected is to learn how to deceive and lie.
Red card: The card of the liberal free traitor gloabists like Jorge Arbusto.
It may simply be a means to register and identify illegal immigrants. That way, at a later date, the government can do somehting about it. But until there is sufficient bait, like this gold card, to get illegals to be identified by immigration, we can't do anything about deporting them. It's like firearms registration. First you register, then the government comes for your guns. In this case, first you register, then later, the government deports you.
Thanks. I joined when Clinton was President. It was a natural response to his perfidy.
what else is new and committing crimes and going to jail is a way of a giving them a handout. unbelievable
The president's pet project, a massive guest worker program with six-year temporary cards, will be overseen by an agency already strapped with an alphabet soup of temporary worker plans, already impossible to enforce.
In fact, the new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, Emilio Gonzalez, during his Senate confirmation process said, quote, "I don't think the system's -- in fact, I know the systems that exists right now wouldn't be able to handle it."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/06/ldt.01.html aired 2/6/06
Republicans want cheap labor and Democrats want votes.
HELL NO. If The Republican controlled senate passes this abomination, it will be a slap in the face to every legal immigrant that has jumped through the hoops that the INS and DHS have inflicted on us.
Swimming the Rio Grande at night-horrible
Eluding the minute men and border patrol-terrible
Almost dying in the Arizona desert-horrific
GOLD CARD IN LOS ANGELES-PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the 1950s California's seasonal agriculture labor needs were filled by the "Bracero" system. California is the nation's biggest agriculture producer.
In the town where I grew up there were two or three "camps" where these temporary workers lived. This area was mainly citrus and avocados.
Some obviously did not return at the end of harvest season.
People in California have been complaining for years, falling on deaf ears from most other states. But in recent years, the illegal immigrants moved in all over the country.
Anybody that thinks we can ship 11 million people back across the border is nuts. Anybody that thinks the people on welfare will do the farm work are nuts.
The main item of debate comes down to 1. citizenship (amnesty).
The other big problems are
2. Automatic citizenship if born in the US (to illegal immigrants; to immigrants; to visitors).
3. Government funded benefits.
4. Assimilation (or not).
Remember when Bush supported Spectors re-election? The two morons are still trying to screw America.
If this goes through, I'll be pretty close to calling for impeachment, myself. Two states have officially asked for emergency assistance. Our government is shirking its constitutional duty to protect against invasion.
"Remember when Bush supported Spectors re-election? The two morons are still trying to screw America."
If you mean that the President is a moron, then I cannot join you in that. If I misunderstood, then I apologize.
Anyone who thinks enacting this plan, without erecting a barrier at the border, will not accelerate the flow of illegals into our country is either nuts, was not alive during the last 'amnesty', or both.
How about a Gold Truck? We load 'em up, drive across the border, drop 'em off, and tell them good riddance?
DOn't blame this all on Bush. The REPUBLICAN PARTY has a large hand in what is going on in our elective halls of government today.
Start thinking 3rd party and contributing to third party candidates if you want to see a change.
There are only about 10,000 green card visas per year for unskilled workers and there are hundreds of thousands of unskilled workers who want to come. 10,000 is about 9999 too many because poor ignorant people from the third world inevitably impose a greater cost on taxpayers then they contribute to the treasury. There is no way that a minimum wage earner will ever pay enough taxes to compensate society for educating even one of their children at $8000 per year or over $100k for a K-12 education and the typical immigrant family has over 4 children.
What is the ratio between legal, and illegal entrants?
We let in almost 1 million legal immigrants legally every year and about 1 million illegals come every year. Of the illegals, about half that many leave so the net is about half a million annually. The ration would be about 2 to 1
What is wrong with treating illegal immigrants, based on the laws of the land?
Good question! Ask your Senator!
Why is it that our government chooses to completely ignore the illegal immigration into the country?
Because the Republican's are bought and paid for sock puppets for the Chamber of Commerce and the rest of the open borders lobby that wants cheap labor and because the Democrats want more poor ignorant people who will vote Democrat.
Just why is it that legislators waste their time and ours attempting to legalize in some paper shuffling way, the illegal immigrant?
Because they realize we are getting mad enough to throw them out on their butts and they want to give the appearance of doing something while actually maintaining the status quo.
It's all amnesty, they'll no more enforce "Gold Card" Rules than they do present laws.
You over estimate the power of the Prez - without the support of the Congress, his hands are really tied. They all carp about illegal immigration because they know it is a political winner to talk about it, but they stop any attempts the Prez makes to start taking even the smallest steps to correct it, then come up with a true amnesty plan because they know he will take the brunt of it. Short of declaring war and activating troops to the border, which will cause no end of problems and quickly be squashed after the initial timeframe where the Congress has to fall in to support it, the Prez can't do anything without them.
Congratulations - you are falling for the Dim-RINO-MSM version of things and must be swallowing it all up greedily to actually start touting the "Bush is a war criminal and a treasonist: party-line.
Someone has been leading our President around in self defeating circles which are destroying America. He is a moron for not listening to the people who voted for him, 80% of whom want illegal aliens removed and our borders secured.
"Of the illegals, about half that many leave so the net is about half a million annually."
And they return when the holidays are over!
Those without criminal records would be eligible....
But the mere definition of "illegal" means these admitted lawbreakers have been engaged in bonafide criminal activity for over two years, as have their employers. Who needs an official record when they admit their criminal guilt by applying for the gold card in the first place?
Big, big, big mistake, Mr. Bush.
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant!
I don't even know where to start with this steaming pile of misinformation.
The President has plenty of authority and plenty of resources under current law to do a much better job then he is doing. The budget for interior enforcement has expanded during his tenure yet prosecution of employers for hiring illegals has fallen from several thousand per year under his father to under 5 last year under President GW Bush.
What little improvement there has been in the situation has been rammed down the President's throat. For example, last year he reluctantly signed a bill authorizing the expansion of the Border Patrol by 2000 agents and then immediately submitted an annual budget only requesting funding for 210. Congress eventually forced him to hire about 1700 and made similar large upwards adjustments in his requests for detention beds.
And as far as talking about Amnesty it has been the President who has consistently pushed it and White House staffers are currently pushing the Sphinctor Gold Card Plan on Capitol Hill. The Sphinctor Gold Card Plan has become the defacto Bush Guestworker Shamnesty. Just last week his press secretary finally admitted that Bush defines amnesty differently from the rest of us. While most of us understand amnesty to mean a waiver of the penalties for committing a crime, the President thinks anything that stops short of giving criminals a path to citizenship is not amnesty. His redefinition of the word is positively Clintonesque.
BTTT
We're having the third world shoved down our throats whether we want it or not. WE DON'T!!
Black Card: Gets your illegal ass deported forthwith and removes you and your family from any consideration for future legal immigration. 
"Anyone who thinks enacting this plan, without erecting a barrier at the border, will not accelerate the flow of illegals into our country is either nuts, was not alive during the last 'amnesty', or both."
With or without a wall, employers need to be subject to significant punishments, too.
You didn't comment on the Bracero system, which was for temporary seasonal workers, and which did work. I guess in that era the worker/immigrant and the employer respected laws.
Today the employer is just as much the problem, as the worker. Perhaps a bigger part.
The employer has college graduates, lawyers and accountants to support his policies and practices. A wall surely won't block them.
The worker is from 2nd/3rd world poverty with perhaps a 6th grade education. He has seen the cash coming from the States from his cousins. $18,000 per year looks good to him. Good enough to risk his life, compared to the $1,800 to $3,600 he can make in Mexico.
He takes a chance for a better life. A wall may not block him, either.
Definitely agree there.
Agree that the Bracero system was from another era when there was generally more respect for law in this country.
A wall will be absolutely necessary. Will it stop everyone? Probably not. It will be a huge deterrent factor. We can't possibly police every employer in the nation to ensure compliance. That's micro-management, and as such, likely the least cost-effective measure possible.
We need a physical barrier, mildly beefed-up BP agent numbers, and a workable method of penalizing employers who illegally hire criminal aliens, IMHO. We can't afford another 20 years of open borders.
Please call them INVADERS!
President Bush has been great on most things except for our border.
He has been great on the war on terrorists.
But on the border he is a gross failure.
He acted fast and correct on the 3,000+ people murdered at the world trade center.
He ignores the many rapes, murders and robberies which might be larger than the murders and money loss at the world trade center.
More Americans are abducted on the border of Mexico than in Iraq!
Start building the fence.
It should be made a felony for Criminals who overstay their visas and Invaders.
I believe we should give amnesty to these poor CRIMINALS or INVADERS.
This should be a 2 week amnesty to get the heck out of our Country.
The ones who ignore this amnesty should be buried in a tent city jail and fined $10,000 or buried elsewhere.
All aiders and abettors of these CRIMINALS or INVADERS should get 1 year in a tent city jail and a $10,000 fine for each CRIMINAL aided.
Those in government should be the first ones charged.
How about giving them a gold visa card.
Congress has not allowed sufficient numbers to enter the country as legal immigrants and/or guest workers.
The quotas on the H2A ag worker and H2B non-ag worker visas are at about 300,000 combined. Plus, they are seasonal.
If Congress had allowed the quotas on these visas to rise and let them evolve to allow longer stays, there would be very few illegals.
And if Congress legalized drugs there wouldn't be an illegal drug problem either. I'll tell you Ben, you are a are genius! What crime problem should we solve next? Maybe we should legalize theft, rape and murder! That would go a long ways towards completely eliminating crime.
/sarc
Please stay awake during the movie.
The dicussion and the thread is about illegal immigration.
There is nothing illegal about guest workers.
Except in your feeble mind.
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