Posted on 02/09/2013 6:21:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Worth noting now since it’s potentially another sticking point between Rubio and the rest of the Gang of Eight who desperately need him to sell immigration reform to the right. By now, everyone knows the main bone of contention between him and Schumer et al. Rubio wants the path to citizenship implemented only after border enforcement increases; Democrats want it implemented concurrently with — and independent of — the new security measures. (Both sides agree that probationary legal status will be granted immediately, though. Ahem.) Read the fine print on their proposals, though, and you’ll find another disagreement. Namely, once the path to citizenship is in effect, how long will it/should it take for a newly legalized illegal to become eligible for permanent resident status (i.e. a green card)? Here’s what Rubio told Red State:
First, those who have violated our immigration laws must come forward and undergo a background check. If they have committed a serious crime, they will be deported. If they have not, they will have two choices. They can avail themselves of the current law which requires them to return to their native country, wait ten years and then apply for a green card. Or if they decide to remain in the United States, they will do so under the equivalent of a non-immigrant work permit by paying a substantial fine and back taxes. If they choose the non-immigrant work visa, they will not qualify for any federal benefits, including ObamaCare.
Those who choose the non-immigrant work permit will not be allowed to apply for a green card for a substantial period of time. And they will not be allowed to apply until the enforcement mechanisms outlined above are in place. Thereafter, once these conditions are met, and if they have not violated any laws while holding the work permit, the only thing they will be allowed to do is apply for a green card using the same process everyone else uses. That is, they apply, they wait in line behind everyone who has applied before them and when their turn comes up, they have to qualify for one of the existing green card programs.
I noticed the “substantial period of time” language last week and speculated that “substantial” must mean “more than 10 years.” Otherwise, there’s no strong incentive for an illegal immigrant who wants citizenship to choose the first option offered by Rubio, leaving the U.S. and applying for a green card through normal channels after waiting, er … 10 years. Granted, you could avoid the “substantial fine and back taxes” that are a condition of obtaining a work visa by going that route, and if — if — Rubio gets his way on using enforcement as a trigger for citizenship, you’d avoid whatever extra small delay is involved before the border is officially certified as “secure.” But if they’re serious about punishing illegals by sending them to the back of the line behind law-abiding green-card applicants, how can the wait time be roughly the same for both groups?
And yet, if Durbin and Menendez have their way, it will be:
The process “is likely to be in the range of 10 years, I say in the range because we have not nailed this down,” Durbin said. He said various factors go into the timeline, including the need to establish border security first, something Republicans have insisted on…
“If you think about it, under current law there is a 10-year bar, so the bottom line is you would have to wait anyway,” Menendez said. “The difference is you would get the opportunity to be here, to come forward, to work, to travel, and in doing so to earn your pathway” to citizenship.
Surely immigration advocates must be pleased that illegals will face approximately the same time frame for permanent residency as other applicants, right? Wrong:
A green card is the crucial first step toward citizenship although it takes up to five years for a green card holder to become a citizen under current law. So if it takes 10 years to get a green card, the total wait time for citizenship could be closer to 15, advocates fear.
“We understand that bipartisan lawmaking requires compromise. But we think waiting 15 years for a chance to become a citizen is too long,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “We will continue to fight for a clear, direct and inclusive path to citizenship that has achievable requirements and a more reasonable time frame.”
Translation: Democrats don’t have a lot of leeway with immigration special-interest groups to make the “substantial period of time” much more substantial than 10 years. Which is ironic, because the group they’re ostensibly fighting for here — illegals — might very well accept Rubio’s longer time frame for citizenship in exchange for the right to work legally in America immediately. That’s been Raul Labrador’s point all along: Most illegals he’s encountered as an immigration lawyer don’t care about becoming citizens, he claims, they care about jobs. Democrats, of course, care about the opposite; they’re willing to supply cheap labor to business even if it depresses wages for U.S. citizens in the expectation that they’ll net millions more Latino votes a decade or so from now. (And big labor is happy to support them in the expectation that today’s illegal worker is tomorrow’s legalized dues-paying union member.) So the 10-year timeline for green-card eligibility may budge a little among Schumer and crew but it won’t budge much. Will Rubio?
So for a little bit of a fee, they can stay here, ahead of the line and after committing multiple crimes, living like a regular American until they receive their citizenship—which we know won’t be long at all.
Disgusting.
Until the borders are secure, all the talk is a waste of time.
What's good for Americans?
Any legislation that legalizes the status of those who broke our laws by entering our country illegally and allows them to stay and work here is amnesty. We must not only prevent the Democrats and some moderate Republicans from hijacking the meaning of the word amnesty, but the public must be made aware about the true impact of an amnesty. The Heritage Foundation concluded that the cost of amnesty would be $2.6 trillion just for increased entitlement program costs. And the number of additional LEGAL immigrants who would join those who were the recipients of amnesty through chain migration, i.e., family reunification, would approach 70 million over a 20-year period, assuming there are only 12 million illegal aliens. We cannot assimilate such numbers. An amnesty would destroy the United States of America with the stroke of a pen.
Citizenship is really not the issue. Conferring rights and privileges upon illegal aliens has a corrosive effect on the Rule of Law, the very foundation of our Republic. It is also a slap in the face to legal immigrants who have followed the rules and obeyed the laws. There are over four million intending immigrants waiting their turn overseas to enter the U.S. legally. They have done the requiremed paperwork, background checks, physicals, and paid their fees. When you reward something you get more of it.
Trumka is working to HIRE them and make them union members.
THAT way, when brought before a magistrate or judge, they can say, "Yes your honor .. with the _______________ at 22 bucks an hour"
Oh .. well ... in THAT case, I fine you $5,000. Go and sin no more"
Our current legal immigration system does not import talented skilled people. Most of the 1.2 million legal immigrants who enter this country annually are unskilled, uneducated, and poor. We are importing poverty, which is why 56% of immigrant-headed households with children tare on welfare. 25% of adult legal immigrants lack even a high school degree. Each year we are importing hundreds of thousands of high school dropouts.
This should be the deal. We will give illegals a green card, but they will have no voting privileges in the U.S. because they broke the law by sneaking into the country. They are felons, living here under false pretenses, ofter guilty of identity theft and accessing social services that are forbidden to illegals.
Voting is not a constitutional right. States do not have to let felons or the mentally ill cast ballots, even though in some states, these groups are Democrat base voters.
RE: but they will have no voting privileges in the U.S.
At this point in time, I am not even sure that non-citizens aren’t voting in our elections. Remember this — there many places where showing one’s identification is not required ( mine for instance ).
Why should we even consider giving illegals green cards?
No court would ever uphold two different classes of Legal Permanent Residents (green card holders.) They pay taxes, have SS numbers, qualify for welfare programs, are eligible for the draft, etc.
But the larger question is why would you reward them with the objective of their crime, i.e., to stay and work here? This is amnesty pure and simple whether they can vote or not. And they will be joined by their families thru chain migration, i.e., family reunification. Once they get their green cards, are you going to prevent them from being joined by their wives and children or aged parents?
Words have meanings. The Democrats and the mainstream media have hijacked the language surrounding the immigration issue to the point that we had Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of Homeland Security and our nation’s top immigration official at the time, testifying before Congress using the term “undocumented workers” to describe illegal aliens. John McCain and Barack Obama studiously avoided the term “amnesty” to describe their comprehensive immigration reform plans and despite the evidence, baldly declared that it was not an amnesty. Instead, they used such euphemisms as “getting to the back of the line,” “an earned path to citizenship,” and “coming out of the shadows.” The Democrats and pro-amnesty crowd know full well that the American people are against amnesty, hence the avoidance of the “A” word. Republicans need to develop their own immigration lexicon that cuts through this Orwellian use of language
I like Rush’s idea- no immigrants are allowed to vote for 18 years.
It is not like they have ‘skin in the game’ anyway.
The process “is likely to be in the range of 10 years, I say in the range because we have not nailed this down,
Then they can wait in their home countries.
C’mon, Rubio,,,stand up to these jerkwads...
Yeh, border enforcement right after Obama has just announced they are cutting back on border security. Gee I wonder how thats going to work?
Exactly!...or at least it should be, but in the wacko world of lib-think..... “fairness” is the watchword no matter how bad it hurts the country....They want equal numbers of rapists...robbers....handicapped....queers and God knows what else....it's all about making themselves “feel good”....... the selfish ba$tards
These fence jumpers should be finger printed and DNA samples. Collected and sent back to where they came from along with any kids they illegally created here and NEVER be allowed to return.
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