Long Live the "People's House"!
Our last line of defense against inaction, collusion and outright irresponsibility by the Executive Branch.
Posted on 01/27/2005 7:15:50 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 - The battle within the Republican Party over immigration policy was joined Wednesday as President Bush vigorously promoted his proposal for a guest worker program and conservatives in Congress introduced an alternative proposal to tighten immigration restrictions.
At a news conference, President Bush said again that he considered his guest worker proposal "a priority" even though Senate Republicans left it off their list of top goals. "A program that enables people to come into our country in a legal way to work for a period of time, for jobs that Americans won't do, will help make it easier for us to secure our borders," Mr. Bush said, adding: "I know there is a compassionate, humane way to deal with this issue. I want to remind people that family values do not end at the Rio Grande border."
Party conservatives, however, have strenuously opposed a guest worker plan since Mr. Bush introduced the idea in 2001, even staging a losing revolt over its inclusion in the party platform at the 2004 Republican convention. Many conservatives call the president's ideas "amnesty" - a term Mr. Bush disputes - because his plan includes ways for currently illegal immigrants to obtain temporary worker permits.
On Wednesday afternoon, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the Wisconsin Republican who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, again introduced a measure to block illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses.
At a news conference, he said the committee would not consider other immigration proposals, implicitly including the president's, until his own measure passed. A similar measure was removed from a bill to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission last year. Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, is expected to introduce a driver's license restriction this year.
Mr. Sensenbrenner said his bill was primarily directed at border security, distinguishing it from other changes in immigration policy. "Immigrants are not terrorists, except a few of them," he said. "The legislation that was introduced today is designed to get the bad apples out of the barrel before the barrel was spoiled."
He said a group of House Republicans had written a letter to Mr. Bush urging him to provide full financing for provisions in last year's antiterrorism bill doubling the number of border patrol agents and tripling the number of beds for detaining illegal immigrants over the next five years. The Department of Homeland Security said recently that it was planning a smaller increase in financing, drawing the ire of advocates of tighter immigration laws.
Asked about the president's proposal, Mr. Sensenbrenner said his committee was "going to be plenty busy with other priorities, a lot of which are the priorities of the White House."
In an interview, Representative Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican who supports the president's plan, said a guest worker program would not amount to an amnesty because it would include a monetary penalty for currently illegal immigrants. "The people who want to kick them all out are not reasonable people," he said.
But Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado and chairman of the Congressional immigration caucus, vowed to defeat any program that in his view would reward lawbreakers, even questioning the president's motives. "Could it be just the corporate interests, the money interests that rely so heavily on cheap labor?" he asked
Too f-ing bad, Mr. President. It 'aint gonna happen.
You have expressed interest in this subject in the past, please let me know if you want off this illegal immigration ping list. Thanks!\
So much for protecting our borders.
And protecting our cities that are overrun with them already.
Here's an idea let states deal with the problem as they see fit!
It isn't that American workers don't/won't do those jobs. Employers realize they can pay an illegal alien under the table, and without paying the added Social Security tax, at a much lower wage than those (lazy) American will work for. Until there are real penalties for corporations and others who employ illegals, it won't be stopped. There is no incentive to hire Americans. When the big three auto companies figure out a way to do away with the unions, the whole thing will go down the drain. We've lost 75%+ of manufacturing already.
Long Live the "People's House"!
Our last line of defense against inaction, collusion and outright irresponsibility by the Executive Branch.
I would normally agree with federalist ideas, but this is definitely an idea which won't do what you're hoping it will at the state level. Texas and New Mexico and Arizona and California are all very different, and what they would and could fund as far as border control would be very different. And once illegals are inside the U.S., they're in, whereever they want to go.
I think we need to make Congress and the President do what they swore to do, to defend the Constitution and the U.S.A., instead.
That's an over the top statement you've made. I'm not one bit happy with this so called "guest worker" program either but to label this President a jackass makes no sense at all on balance with all the good he's done. Argue your point and don't sling mud. You'll look better that way.
Absolutely. And when business that otherwise would not hire Illegals CAN hire "guest workers" at lower wages, it's so long Joe, hola Jose!
well he is not a jackass cause you disagree on one issue, but he is DEAD wrong on this one....I could take a look at some type of guest worker if and only if we controlled the borders with an iron fist but barring that, then it is a no go.......this is my hot button issue.....
MR. PRESIDENT WE VOTED YOU IN...now please repay us by at least enforcing our border security.
Truer words were never spoken.
But Representative Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado and chairman of the Congressional immigration caucus, vowed to defeat any program that in his view would reward lawbreakers, even questioning the president's motives. "Could it be just the corporate interests, the money interests that rely so heavily on cheap labor?" he asked
Keep it up Tommy Boy. Soon you'll find yourself with your mentor Buchanan. Relegated to the political trash heap with only your .1% following left to stroke your ego. Oh, and keep moving to the left with comments about the evil "corporate interests". Sounding more like a Democrat every day.
Do you really think that is going to stop people from crossing the border?
Get the rope!!!!!
ping
Maybe we'll get a healthy dose of gridlock..............
Nooooo! Bill Richardson is our governor and he's already giving illegals NM driver's licenses. He's practically opened the border to them. He's met with Fox and other businessmen from Mexico about working together. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he is half Mexican, nor do I think it's because he's a globalist pig. < / sarcasm >
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