Posted on 09/26/2002 11:22:30 PM PDT by hoosierskypilot
SAN DIEGO The question of amnesty for illegal aliens is a hot topic not only for politicians in Washington, but also among the thin green line of U.S. Border Patrol agents here and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border.
"What the hell are we doing out here?" asked one veteran agent. "Why don't we just pack it in? Amnesty? It's just an open invitation for more illegal aliens to come into the country, stay low for a while and, eventually, get their citizenship papers.
"Who's in charge here?" the agent asked, staring at a group of 11 Mexican nationals preparing to vault a border fence and head north.
It's a common theme among Border Patrol field agents from Texas to California, calling into question pending proposals by both Republicans and Democrats to grant amnesty or residency status to a growing number of illegal aliens.
Further undercutting their efforts, the agents complain, is the failure of the politicians in Washington to support a strategy for dealing with the illegal immigrants who get past the agents on the border and into the interior of the United States.
President Bush; Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat; House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, Missouri Democrat; and the House Republican leadership all have proposed now-pending amnesty programs that would grant permanent residency status to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens in the United States.
The proposals would allow certain illegal aliens to remain in the United States to apply for legal residency, under various conditions. The most popular proposal seeks to grant amnesty to immigrants who have been in this country since December 2000, have a qualifying relationship with a family member or employer and are willing to pay a $1,000 fine.
Students Spared Deportation-Dream Act that would give permanent residency to students who graduate
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/757034/posts
There is a very real concern among people (most surveys put support for controlling our borders and stopping illegals at numbers above 80%) for this issue. The Republican Party leadership seems to support those who want the cheap labor and larger markets that illegals provide.
Maybe the parties need to realign since the Republican Party is not concerned about these and other "way of life" issues. Maybe it finally is time to vote third party. The wedge is being driven by those who arrogantly continue to treat US borders as an inconvenient joke.
I'd like to see someone like Tom Tancredo successully challenge Bush in the Republican primary.
Failing that, third party would be the only way left to go.
I disagree with many Republicans on their policies on illegal immigrants, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let it keep me from helping Republicans control both houses and the Whitehouse.
There's more than one note to this song.
---
Compare the present Republican Party platform to those of the last 120 years and tell me the changes are for the better.
Take a look at the reasons that Hispanics/Latinos claim to be supporting Bush.
- 84% of Latinos approve of the Presidents plan to offer a $3,000 tax credit to uninsured workers.
- 73% of Latinos agree with the President that a prescription drug benefits plan should focus on assistance to low-income seniors.
- 83% of Latinos approve of President Bush's plan to normalize the status of 3.5 million immigrants through temporary workers program.
Do any of Bush's plans sound conservative?
Do any of these plans sound like they'll decrease the size of the federal government and reduce our taxes?
Doesn't all of this sound liberal enough to have come from the Democrat Party platform?
Is this the kind of Republican Party you want?
You'll actually vote for candidates that want to enact legislation like this, because they call themselves Republicans???
It's not a perfect Party to represent me, but no Party is. At this time thre are no viable 3rd party candidates for the Presidency, and probably very few for the U.S. House and Senate.
It is a much smaller task for us to change the Republican party than to bring a 3rd party to prominence.
Yeah, that's exactly what the RINOs are doing. They're changing the Republican Party.
They're not going to change back, if folks like you continue to offer them unconditional support.
'It's my Republican Party right or wrong' is the truly 'Johnny One-Note' refrain.
What do you think of those 3 new planks that George Bush suckered the rest of the party into adopting in order to pander to the Latino vote?
That's a brilliant political strategy. How would you like him re-elected with a Republican controlled Congress, so he can fulfill those liberal/socialist campaign promises to the Latinos that won't vote for him anyway?
We'd be headed towards a bigger, socialist federal government, higher taxes and open borders, but the socialists call themselves Republicans!
Whoopee, that makes it all better!
The Arbitrary Application of Justice is one of the most-compelling arguments for decreasing the actual number of laws on the books dramatically...and the Left makes it for us on a daily basis. That's also why Terry McAuliffe and Slick Willie must be brought to Justice...sooner rather than later, more rather than less!!
FReegards...MUD
How are the Republicans going to cut taxes and give the uninsured $3,000 tax rebates, make it possible for 3.5 million illegal aliens plus to qualify for welfare and give senior citizens free medication?
Oh, I get it. You're for the tax cut for the uninsured.
"Foreign policy"? Like doubling international assistance? Hmmm, maybe there's a way to view that as a tax cut? I guess, if you figure Bush could have quadrupled international assistance.
Sounds like the Democrats, again. We only had to raise your taxes half as much, so this tax increase is really a cut.
"Pro-life position"? Yeah, the amnestied, socially liberal, illegal aliens are going to allow you to reverse Roe vs Wade.
"Pro-2nd Amendment stance"? Ditto for your chances of holding on to your guns once those socially liberal, illegal aliens are all amnestied.
That sure doesn't sound like half to me. That's only about 10% of the loaf of the last 120 years of the Republican Party's platform that's left there for conservatives pardner.
That's half, of a half, of a half.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.