[Peach]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

[sissyjane]

But can't they come right back? I may have missed something.

[FloridianBushFan]

And people who have been here longer breaking the laws get rewarded for their crime.

[EternalVigilance]

So, the longer you've broken the law, the more we're going to reward you?

Please explain to me how that isn't insane?

Also, explain how they are going to verify how long an illegal has been in this country?

[bordergal]

You mean the more successful criminals get a "get out of jail free" card?

Nice, I'll apply that to paying my taxes.

Also, ICS can't keep up with their workload now. The GAO said there is rampant fraud...and this is going to work with millions of people?

I've got a bridge in Arizona if you're interested.

[IndyTiger]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

In theory, yes, but what illegal alien will admit to being here less than 2 years, though? They will all simply say they have been in this country longer, and will use this loophole to stay. This is a defacto amnesty bill, IMO.

[pctech]

That's not enough, THEY ALL NEED TO LEAVE!!!!!!

[warsaw44]

As near as I understand it people here for 5 years or more get to stay and will get amnesty. All those below 5 years have to leave.
How are they going to enforce this? This is nonsense! How will anyone be able to double check if someone has been here at least 5 years??? None of them will voluntarily leave, they'll all come up with some BS proof they have been here long enough, they'll all be eligible for billions of dollars of support and they all be voting in 2008.
What the hell has happened to the Republican party?

[beaureguard]

Are they going to be deported by ICE? Or, will we be asking people who have ignored the law in the first place to obey this law and leave?

[NRA2BFree]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

Riiiiiight....Like they're upstanding, law abiding citizens and they're just going to obey our laws and go back to Mexico. They're NOT going anywhere, and we have NO WAY to enforce this new law. We couldn't even enforce the old laws. It's ridiculous to think we can enforce this new law!!! This is no more than SHAMNESTY!

[JamesP81]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

A provision which is totally unenforceable.

[SuzyQue]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

Well, it may sound good, but if we don't have the will to enforce current long-standing laws, how and why will we suddenly start to enforce a less-than-two-years law? How do they even plan to determine who has been here and how long? Because they say they've been here for over 5 years? BOONDOOGLE! Betrayal!

[DoughtyOne]

What about the other ten to who knows how many million Peach? For crying out loud, this is digusting!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

If we don't know who or where they are or how long they have been here, how can we possibly enforce this?

11 million will claim to have been here for over 5 years.

This is bad. It is backdoor amnesty to law-breakers.

The Republicans betrayed the middle class again.

[RockinRight]

Fine, but how do you prove it? They're already here illegally, do you think they'll tell the truth about how long they've been here?

[flashbunny]

you are delusional if you think they're going to leave, or if they're going to be honest about how long they've been here.

This bill is bullshit, pure and simple.

This country is going down the tubes fast. They'll put law abiding citizens in jail for years for moving dirt on their property ('wetlands' idiocy) but they'll look the other way when someone has been breaking our most basic laws for years.

[lqclamar]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

If ALL of these people entered in illegally and thus have no record of when they crossed the border, exactly how are the feds going to prove that they were here for less than 2 years?

A guy from Mexico who arrived just last week could lie and claim to have been here for 5+ years. The feds couldn't prove otherwise since he obviously didn't "check in" when he crossed the border, and no doubt there are thousands of ACLU/LULAC/MALDEF/National Lawyers Guild/La Raza/Southern Poverty Law Center attorneys out there whou would immediately take his case and challenge the feds trying to deport him in court.

The ONLY thing this compromise bill does is amnesty - and it's amnesty with such a glaring loophole based on trust that it actually makes things worse than they are now. If this passes I guarantee you that it will shift the burden of proof ENTIRELY onto the immigration agents, requiring them - not the illegals - to prove that the people they are trying to deport were here for less than 2 years.

[elfman2]

"People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step. "

Nonsense. It’s no step at all. It’s exactly where we stand now. They’ve always had to leave.

[doc30]

People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step.

In other words, nothing will happen to you. You will just stay working and hiding as an illegal alien because Immigration won't do anything to find you and deport you. No different that today.

[Revel]

"People here for less than 2 years have to leave. That's a good first step."

Nah...I heard it was anyone who was not here before November 1998.