Posted on 06/30/2007 4:02:33 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
No. I’d be happy to expand *legal* immigration, letting in the people who respected our laws and went through the proper channels to gain entry to the U.S. But in my perfect world, illegals would NEVER be allowed legal status here unless they went back home before being caught, and applied through legal channels.
That question is a little ambiguous, Eric. The senate bill was a POS from the beginning. So no, I'd never be in favor of a bill similar to that.
Now, once the wall has been built and the border is reasonable secure, would I be in favor of a bill that addressed the needs of business? Yes, I would.
It needs to offer temporary work visas (TWV) matched to demonstrated needs. These cannot be visas that lead to citizenship. There are other visas already in place for that, those can stay in place.
To get a TWV, you need to apply from your home country, and wait for approval. Once you receive your TWV, you are to enter this country through a legal port of entry; not through the back door. You may not bring family members into this country while on a TWV. The term of a TWV should be no more than two years.
When your TWV expires, go home and apply for another. Or, let's be generous, allow TWV holders to apply for a second term once from the US. At the end of that term, if they've kept their noses clean, let them apply for a permanent work visa. The PWV provides a path to citezenship. If denied, they go home. And they don't get a notice to appear at a deportation hearing - they are sent home.
Now, this is going to take a lot of effort, resources, manpower, oversight, integrity, etc. Some folks will tell you it's too expensive to do this. When the current crop of illegals bankrupts Social Security, we'll need to remind those fools about their short-sightedness.
FWIW - that's the kind of reform I'd accept.
Once the boarder is secure with a wall:
1. Must be able to speak and read english.
2. Must provide your own healthcare.
3. Must not have a criminal background.
They don't call you the best orator on FR for no reason baby! :-)
However, To have such a huge population predominantly from one country (Mexico) and for them to come so quickly, I believe I am beginning to see a Balkanization of America and THAT is a problem. You see it in the media right now in most parts of the country.
Having so many economically driven refugees from an adjoining country whose primary reason for coming is not to be part of America and enthusiastically adopt the mantle of “American”, it is to earn more money and stay Mexican at heart. This is a huge problem and one that most Americans intrinsically understand, even if it is seldom if ever discussed. (That would be insensitive and racist, naturally)
I had a good friend from Mexico when I went to college in the early 80’s. One night we were out at a local bar on the strip and after many drinks we got to talking about his home country. He said something that stayed with me until today: “Texas and California were stolen from us and that is why Mexico is in such bad economic shape. Take Texas and California, and what have you got left?” I was stunned and asked if he was serious, and he said yes. Then I said “what you have left is Mexico, I guess”.
We never spoke again after that evening.
NO, absolutely not. Why? Check my profile and you’ll understand why...and it has nothing to do with the southern border.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
It’s simple, but it says it.
Nope. That's what touch-back was all about. That's a rock-hard requirement.
No.
Secure the border, provide interior enforcement, stop the anchor babies, turn off the magnet, make it too costly for employers to get caught hiring illegals.
Then, increase legal immigration to numbers we decide we need. If some of the current illegals have gone home and want to apply for temp work visas or a path to citizenship, let them apply from home.
Sorry but that's just not true. Many of these same folk have committed document fraud. The fact that they are willing to both come in illegally and secure fraudulent documents does no speak well to their overall respect for our laws and our sovereignty. They largely come from a culture that is very corrupt. Many also show disdain for our culture and way of life. Why would we want to accept such a huge influx from a coutry whose culture is vastly different then ours? There are many other issues besides just crossing the border.
the only other "crime" many of these illegals have committed is mowing our lawn, landscaping our yard and picking our fruit.
Huh? Your choice of wording is interesting to say the least.
We don't hate anyone.
I don't know what this means or has to do with anything.
No Amnesty! Deportation through attrition. They can go home on their own or we can help them their choice.
I don’t care about fining the illegals for being here, as long as they’re sent packing. I want them out...all of them.
Secure the borders and take away the jobs/welfare magnet that draws the illegals to this country. Lastly, stop the incessant Spanish language intrusion.
No, a blanket amnesty makes a mockery of all the years, money and work that friends have put into becoming legal citizens. It would be a slap in the face to all that have followed the legal channel and succeeded.
No.
No. They are a problem, and will be until they are removed, not legalized.
Excellent points.
I guess we’re using different definitions of secure (like the old joke about what “Secure the building!” means to our different armed services :-). “Secure” to me means nobody gets through, and that didn’t happen even with the Iron Curtain. And of course I don’t advocate killing anyone who tries to cross!
I don’t blame illegal immigrants for wanting to come here. Where they come from stinks, and I’d want to leave, too. The problem is our government. They artificially drive up the wages of U.S. citizens (primarily through minimum wage laws, but there are other distortions).
Then they say there aren’t enough workers, and allow employers to use illegal immigrants as cheap labor, pushing the marginal cost onto the taxpayers through subsidized housing, medical care, education, food etc. etc., depending on one’s locale.
“Securing” (by any reasonable definition) the border won’t fix this. A labor vacuum will suck in needy workers from *somewhere*, as long as the jobs and the subsidies remain.
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