Posted on 05/11/2007 4:47:24 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
(CBS) With protesters taking to the streets, and Americans looking to Washington for a solution, never before has immigration reform been tackled this way: Politicians at opposite ends of the debate collaborating in secret to devise a new comprehensive plan.
According to CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson, the group, which includes Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, has met for hours several times a week since March — with Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff acting as point man for the White House.
How unusual is it for Democrats, Republicans and White House Cabinet officials to be writing a bill together at the start? Sen. Graham said, "I've never done this before. I've been in the Congress now for over 12 years."
CBS News has been told the plan that could be announced next week attempts to please hardliners by spending billions to secure the border first. But all 12 million-plus illegal immigrants could stay. They'd have to register and pay fines for having entered illegally.
To become citizens, they'd go to the end of the line behind those who've already applied.
Under a new merit plan, points would be given for work skills and language: The more points, the faster they can become citizens.
And everyone — even U.S. citizens — would have to prove who they are when applying for a job.
The bottom line: An illegal immigrant here today could remain in the U.S., but would have to wait at least 13 years to become a citizen.
Negotiators agree some critics who call for mass jailings or deportations of illegals will call this compromise amnesty and oppose it, but with the House indicating it will follow the Senate's lead, it's still the last best hope for immigration reform any time soon.
"If we fail, if we cannot get this bill done, then this is it for years to come," Graham said.
That's because once this window of opportunity closes, all sides have said it'll be too close to presidential elections to tackle a subject that's such a lightning rod.
Absolutely right.....there's NO WAY business contributers to politicians are gonna be deprived of their foreign cheap labor. Those businesses that were worried about losing their "labor" pool have already MOVED to Mexico and off-shore, where they have cheap labor. The other businesses that rely on us to patronize them, are using the low-cost illegals everywhere.
The U.S. Constitution and the citizenship others had to EARN, are no more than toilet-paper now......
Once these illegals are granted amnesty, the “cheap labor” pool goes away. These new “aliens” now have rights and no longer have to work under the table for less than market wages.
You have not learned from NAFTA. Big business wants something badly they will get it even if there is a Democrat President and Democrat Congress. Clinton pushed for NAFTA and a Gringich Congress plus enough Dems pressured by Clinton ratified the agreement (despite the polls showing 65 percent of Americans and many were union dems were against NAFTA). Immigration is even easier to pass with GWB support and Dem controlled Congress. Big business wins again.
You're correct: make no mistake though, Big Labor is supporting this amensty, and the Democrats are gonna appease their base (the Unions have targeted all the cheap labor, and prepare yourself to pay through the nose when the former-illegals unionize and the prices for goods sky-rocket).
And, worse yet, once the 20 million or so who will be granted amnesty now are in place, another 20 million or so will follow, illegally, and we'll do it all again in a few years....(amnesty)....
comprehensive = convoluted
And who is going to enforce all of this? Announcing the illegals can stay before the border is secured will result in millions more trying to get in before it is secure. And it must be remembered that 40% of the illegals come in on legal visas and then just disappear. Are we going to have the administrative apparatus in place to control these illegals as well? Registering and paying fines was in Simpson-Mazolli in 1986. This is amnesty.
To become citizens, they'd go to the end of the line behind those who've already applied.
The back of the line is in there home countries. Just being allowed to stay here, live, and work places them in the front of the line. After registering, will they be issued driver's licenses, be entitled to welfare, unemplpoyment, and SS benefits? Will they be able to sponsor family members to enter the country? Will background/police checks and physical examinations be performed?
Under a new merit plan, points would be given for work skills and language: The more points, the faster they can become citizens.
We are rewarding illegal behavior. This system just competes one illegal against another.
And everyone — even U.S. citizens — would have to prove who they are when applying for a job.
And who is going to enforce it? The advantage illegals have for the employer is the hat they don't pay SS taxes, unemployment, hospitalization, etc. If illegals become just like Americans in terms of pay and benefits, they become less desireable as employees. Since they can stay, they can also go on welfare. The bottom line: An illegal immigrant here today could remain in the U.S., but would have to wait at least 13 years to become a citizen.
Remaining here is just as good as citizenship. They are not here to become citizens. And why should we reward people who have violated our laws whether it takes one year or 13 years with citizenhship?
Negotiators agree some critics who call for mass jailings or deportations of illegals will call this compromise amnesty and oppose it, but with the House indicating it will follow the Senate's lead, it's still the last best hope for immigration reform any time soon.
If we can't enforce the laws on the books now, who really believes that we can enforce them in the future, especially when it comes to processing 12 to 20 million illegals. I hope the Reps don't fall for this just because of the promise that the border will be secured. There is no reason to link our national security to this Faustian bargin with the Dems.
“If we fail, if we cannot get this bill done, then this is it for years to come,” Graham said.”
If? WHEN you fail, the American tax-payers (the WE THE PEOPLE) win ......
And all their 267 relatives per illegal alien...
Lindsay betrayed us on judges, and now he’s betraying us on Illegals. This is nothing but Amnesty. What idiots.
>>Politicians at opposite ends of the debate collaborating in secret to devise a new comprehensive plan.
According to CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson, the group, which includes Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham...<<<
Lindsey Graham is at the “opposite end” of the debate from Kennedy, according to the article? Shows how much CBS understands. They were not about to let any senator who wasn’t pro-amnesty into the secret meetings.
That's right, but they also receive other benefits including unemployment and welfare payments. It also makes those who don't register more attractive to employers, thus increasing the incentives for more illegals to enter. We gave amnesty to 3 million in 1986, and now we are granting amnesty to 12 to 20 million now. Amnesty doesn't work.
And once these illegals become equals in terms of market wages, will employers continue to employ them n the same numbers? If so, the costs will be passed on to the consumer. If not, we will have an unemployed underclass who will be sucking at the public teat or involved in crime.
Maybe so, but hopefully his sorry @ss will be kicked out of office by then. He's a traitor!
Yes, we do. Especially with the bunch of RINOS in there now. They're LIBERALS! I hope the good people of South Carolina boot that traitor Graham out of office.
I think in the 1986 amnesty they said approximately 1 million and it turned out to be 3 million. Guess they can just triple that 12 million to 36 million.
They have no clue how many are actually here just like they had no clue in 1986.
Nope, it’s not just you. It’s an accurate observation.
susie
When was it ever not a secret deal? When has immigration policy ever been a subject of public discourse?
We admit a million legal immigrants a year, year after year, which is fine with me. But how did they arrive at that number, and not, say, 2 million, or 200 thousand, or some other number? When were the citizens consulted?
Immigration policy should always serve the interests of the citizens. I have yet to hear any reasoned discussion on the part of any official, elected or otherwise, in which the reasoning behind their policy is explained to the public. If you have to get public comment before you can build a strip mall, shouldn’t you have to solicit public comment before admitting a million people? Or before legalizing 20 million illegals?
I’m generally pro-immigration, even sympathetic to illegals as people. Its the process that has me bugged, that no one in office thinks he has to answer to the citizen on this subject.
Lindsey Ping
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