Replies

Then they are in their same boat as today; ineligible for government benefits, amnesty, blue cards, green cards, social security, as well as representing increased penalties to any employer who would hire them over one of their fellow illegals who did register.

I'm certainly no expert in this area, but I don't think the penalties that you mention today are actually being dealt to illegals today. That seems to be the crux of the problem to me. Just this morning I heard that there are already States that are required by law to provide a number of "basic services" to illegal aliens.

Also, what if illegals opt to ignore this new initiative altogether and continue the status quo? What does this new program do to reduce the number of illegal aliens already here?

I totally understand that up to 8 million souls are involved in this issue and dealing with them is no walk in the park, but at the same rate, it makes me uneasy that the proposal leans more on the "let them in" side, than it does the "we've got to protect our borders post 9/11" side.

Folks, There are a lot of Democrat sympathizers here. It is well known nationwide that freerepublic has a significant voice in defining GOP activism. They know they cannot win in November if we marshall forces as we did in 2000.

A few weeks ago there was a brief surge of hope when the head of the 2001 commission erred in a quote that suggested he was going to blame people in the administration for 9/11. The Democrats surged with joy. It offered them their only chance -- because 9/11 defines life in America now and for the forseeable future, and America finds the Democrats too soft to trust to defend the country. The next day, the quote was retracted and the Democrats were devastated.

There has been desperate talk by them of late about creating a right wing Nader situation. Much of this has focused on excessive federal spending and now immigration. It is their only hope. They have to do this.

You can let them succeed, or not. There is too much federal spending. Bush will be better at either reining it in or spending it more on acceptable things than on midnight basketball. There is too much illegal immigration, but there would be more if a Democrat were in charge, and he'd orchestrate it to emphasize immigrants with parasitic liberal leanings. Bush's plan rewards only those who work.

"Also, what if illegals opt to ignore this new initiative altogether and continue the status quo? What does this new program do to reduce the number of illegal aliens already here?"

This program creates competition between those illegals who accept this plea bargain by paying their fine and registering with the government versus those who choose to try to remain employed here illegally.

Employers running even marginally serious businesses are going to opt for the legal blue card worker 4 out of every 5 times over the illegal worker, especially with increased fines and jail terms for those who continue to employ illegals.

Thus, there is a carrot/reward for those illegals who register, and there is a punishment/stick for those who continue to do business without registering. This creates incentives from all angles to pay the fine and register for the blue card.

Then, if they don't commit any felonies and manage to likewise remain employed, they get to stay here for 3 more years before returning to their home countries (where they would be able to apply for legal re-entry).

I get the impression that it falls more on the protect-our-borders side because it's a first step in tracking who's here. This will give us information about millions of people who are here and lessen the burden quite a bit in separating the good guys from the bad guys. Also, it will hopefully give a good starting point to the INS to be able to start deporting lots of people -- those who are here for reasons other than finding work.