Posted on 11/10/2004 12:51:19 PM PST by VU4G10
(Washington, DC—November 10, 2004) It wasn't quite "Read my lips," but in the last presidential debate in Arizona, George W. Bush clearly stated that he would not support amnesty for illegal aliens. One week after being narrowly returned to office, the president has reneged on that pledge. Bush has dispatched Secretary of State Colin Powell to Mexico City to open discussions with the Mexican government about the size and scope of amnesty for illegal immigrants and for a massive new guest worker program.
"President Bush and Karl Rove have seemingly missed the message of their own, and the Republican Party's, success at the polls last week," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "In spite of a poor record on jobs, further erosion of the middle class, and staggering budget deficits, the people returned the GOP to office because they believed that the Republican Party was more in tune with them on values and respect for the law. One of those gut issues that led voters to ignore the administration's poor record in other areas was the belief that Bush and the Republicans would enforce laws against illegal immigration, not reward illegal immigrants and auction off every job in America to the lowest bidder."
The immigration plan being dusted off in Washington and Mexico City is essentially the same one the administration introduced last January, which proved to be so wildly unpopular among voters that they were forced to shelve it. "Who is the president seeking to reward by reintroducing his amnesty/guest worker proposal?" asked Stein. "Not middle class workers who made it very clear that they are feeling squeezed. Not the millions of families who have lost their health insurance benefits because their employers no longer feel that it is necessary to offer such benefits to attract American workers. Not Hispanic voters, whom polls indicate do not consider this to be high priority and who voted in significant numbers in favor of an Arizona ballot measure that bars illegal aliens from receiving most public benefits.
"The only interest group, besides the estimated 10 to 12 million illegal aliens and their families who could be in line for legal U.S. residency, are cheap labor employers who have come to believe that it is their right to have workers who will work at whatever wages they wish to pay," Stein said.
The latest White House announcement will touch off yet another surge in illegal immigration and further compromise homeland security, predicted FAIR. Last January, when the president first proposed this plan, the U.S. Border Patrol reported a marked increase in the number of people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally in order to benefit from the proposed amnesty. "Aside from betraying the interests of millions of people who voted for him because they believed the president shared their core values, this irresponsible renewal of talk of amnesty will betray those who voted for him because they believed the Republicans were the party that could be entrusted to protect homeland security. You cannot have homeland security and chaos at the border. You cannot have homeland security while granting amnesty to millions of people with only minimal background checks. And you certainly cannot have amnesty and unlimited guest workers, and preserve a solid middle class," asserted Stein.
Nooooooooo...they all want him to pull ALL of our military out of Iraq and Afghanistan and place them on our Southern border and shoot to kill...they don't care,at all, about our border with Canada,nor the illegals who fly here.LOL
One could almost think that they were just "waiting" for an issue, any issue, to come back out in force, wouldn't you?
And bank robbers have to give the money back too.......Oh the humanity........
"Haven't they already been penalized by paying into Social Security, often under fake SSNs, with money that they will never be able to use?"
Some have paid in as you describe. I would not call that a penalty per se...by going around the system, they have lowered their benefits. The wages they acrue over the time that they are employed...as opposed to the time they would have to wait legally...may make up for it. Also consider the cost benefit associated with defacto free health care while they are here.
But I am convinced that most illegals, particularly those working for construction and other service jobs are paid in cash off the books.
If a company is going to evade the law by hiring illegals, they are NOT going to pay one half of the federally required payroll tax, if they can avoid it.
This is one of my main contentions with guest worker programs which dont address reality as seen by the EMPLOYER.
"All over, education programs for top students are being cancelled so ESL students can be attended to. "
Did you vote for your school board to do this ?
"Every time I call a company or read directions, I have to ignore all of the Spanish gibberish."
Do you have a problem figuring out which one you can read or listen to ?
"Even cable TV wastes channels (which I have to pay for if I get cable) on Spanish stations."
Is suppose we should legislate what private companies sell now ?
"My taxes subsidize "low income housing" as much housing in down towns is filled with large numbers of foreigners per apartment."
So you want to toss out all foreigners ? or just all poor people ?
Amnesty: a general pardon for offenders by a government.
The Bush plan allows illegal aliens to pay a one-time fee and thence avoid the normal legal sanction - deportation. They will suffer no other legal disabilities connected with having broken US immigration law. They will be allowed to apply for green cards and eventually citizenship. You can argue all you want what the meaning of 'is' is; that's amnesty.
As someone who immigrated and became a citizen legally, I must say I resent that people who have deliberately broken the same laws I was careful to obey get the same result.
If Clinton had proposed this you would be having a coronary.
LOL! Find an amnesty that ever met your definition.
Thank you! I'm not trying to "trash" Bush - I just feel angry and betrayed by this sudden return to his unpopular amnesty proposal. I'm thrilled that Kerry lost and I'm happy with most of Bush's positions - he's a great guy and a great President who restored dignity to the White House and the office of the President. He's doing a good job - overseas - with the War on Terror. He's (crossing my fingers) going to put pro-life, conservative justices on the Supreme Court and judges in federal judicial positions. He's for the constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage. I know his strengths.
I also know what happens down here in Cochise County, AZ when he or his administration starts talking like this. I can see with my own eye the consequences of this kind of talk. The laws are not being enforced and talk like this gets them enforced even less.
I'm not against a guest worker plan either. It just has to be done in the right order and in the right way. And the first elements must be securing the border and providing for real interior enforcement.
Shhh... you're supposed be quiet unless asked to celebrate diversity.
That is a fact. A brutally ugly fact.
Ok, state your plan to accomplish this.
of course the children of non-citizen residents here lawfully -- as guests, are permitted to go to school. They should be.
We are talking about people here illegally.
Now -- doesn't it seem strange that a school district can stop a child from another town from using that town's schools, but it is powerless to stop a person who is here unlawfuly from using its schools. That is the law under Plyler.
Why do you feel angry and betrayed? Presidnet Bush isn't returning to anything, his position is unchanged. He made speeches about it during the Summer and reaffirmed his position in the debate that Bob Schieffer moderated.
But if there were no illegals available wouldn't such a company pay other workers off the books as well in order to reduce costs by not having to pay payroll taxes or benefits?
That's why I voted for Peroutka this time.
Where's this written down or been cited by someone in the admistration?
Are either of you aware of the fact that thousands of Mexican citizens cross the border to attend US schools daily?
Just curious.
"No. I think we can maintain a good idea of what kinds of jobs Americans want to work and what we're unwilling to."
Go ahead: Name some of those jobs that Americans are unwilling to work.
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