The Senate’s massive immigration reform bill unveiled Thursday was immediately labeled an “amnesty” by detractors, but Americans should see it as the last best chance to solve this country’s immigration crisis.
Congress will wrangle over many details in coming weeks, but the bill’s broad outlines move the country toward a more secure border, an expanded guest-worker program and an effective worker-identification system. The bill also offers what could be a fair, practical resolution for the 12 million illegals now in this country — a new temporary visa for most illegals who came here before Jan. 1, if they pay fines and fees and have clean work and criminal records. The visa would have to be renewed every four years, and those seeking U.S. citizenship would have to go to the end of the line and return to their home countries to apply.
The measure isn’t perfect and won’t please everyone. There are valid concerns about family reunification issues, incentives for citizenship and many other potential sticking points. But as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
This has the makings of a historic, comprehensive solution on immigration. Congress should seize the opportunity.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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44 Comments
This bill does not end chain migration, it allows 3 generations to come in past the initial one.
This bill does not require the payment of back taxes.
This bill will cost the US Taxpayers $2.7 TRILLION.
SO, do not complain about how expensive the War in Iraq is, and turn your back on this cost, that would be dishonest.
This is a p[ig of a bill.
Well I am ready to throw Bush under the train. Here is what I have found out with a little surfing. THE GOP is selling us Conservatives OUT!!!!
Lincoln and Reagan must be spinning in their graves! They thought we were not looking! As a Republican I am OUTRAGED! I go to the GOP website to email the national party on how I feel about our Rouge Senators, and I get this:
http://www.gop.com/
Nothing NEW, nothing about “Comprehensive Immigration Reform”, Nothing. No one to contact.
However, I went to GOP ESPANOL and saw this:
http://www.gop.com/Espanol/
The G Damn Republican Party Has some explaining to do!!!
They took my money to elect this SOB and now they are selliong me and other conservtive CITIZENS DOWN THE RIVER????
It is all about the Davos party.
Word has been put out on the espanol site, border activity soon to pick up substantially, for all those wanting to get in on the latest deal, indefinite green cards.
This is all about revenue, folks.
Follow the money trail – do the math.
The amount of revenue generated by legalizing millions of criminals and drawing income tax from them – is the glint in the eye of every Congressperson that sits on their traitorous butt in our nation’s Capitol. Billions. Their eyes actually glaze over and they experience the equivalent of mass-voter orgasmic high.
And they are on both sides of the political scale.
Why?
Because it’s sooooooo much easier to suddenly have a windfall than deal with a budget.
They think it will make them look good to their constituents. And it will – short term, to the stupid ones.
But then, their spending will take up the slack and we’ll be right back to square one.
Meanwhile, we will have shot our industries to hell, by forcing lower wages across the board.
Oh, happy day.
Maroons.
Right you are, GS.Why is it that the only people I hear that have anything good to say about this stinker of a bill are talking heads on TV? (and of course the “Congressperson that sits on their traitorous butt in our nation’s Capitol”). I heard a couple of Libs on CNN discussing this the other night and I felt like kicking the screen in.
Nobody I know is for this POS. And I WILL remember when it comes time to vote.
I am for AMNESTY and I don’t have any problem with that word. But this bill stinks. First of all, it is not realistic to expect poor immigrant laborers to come up with a $5000 fine. That is probably more than their whole life savings and I am not going to take food from theiur children’s mouths so they can pay some stupid “fine”. Secondly, it provides for a “path to citizenship” and, as I have stated before, I am totally opposed to citizenship for people that sneak into the country and by pass the normal legal process. But I am for amnesty and a path to Permanent Residency for those who have snuck in. We do need a “probabtionary visa” for them and their families in which they can stay and work in the USA. If, after 5 years, they have worked, paid back taxes if they owe any and learned at least basic English, then we should allow them to become Permanent Residents. They can stay here for life and do everything a citizen can do except vote and sponsor more immigrants. If, however them or their children choose to serve in the armed forces, I would make an exception and allow those that serve in uniform, to become natuaralized citizens. But nobody else.
Oh and add to that the immigrants must stay out of trouble with the law- and that includes DUI. One violation and back they go!
I have often pointed to the open boarders as a sure sign that this country IS NOT at war. When the enemy uses the immigration process to sneak into the country and we have a Swiss cheese boarder. The major concern of the government is the effect of closing the boarders to illegal aliens whom provide cheap labor?It kind of makes one wonder whom the U.S. Government is really trying to protect!
Can they really be that stupid? Tax revenue from workers whom the whole system is build on paying lower wages because they are not legal workers. Is it not the same problem when you make a worker legal that employers have that makes them choose a illegal over a legal worker? I large portion of the illegals are already paying taxes they will never collect a return on. Income tax, S.S. and State taxes all go in the coffers, yet will not be drawn out.
How well and how long would it fly, to put into place a system where a worker can come to the United States and work as a guest worker? There will be screaming about legalized slavery, equal pay for equal work and the like. It will defeat the reasoning of those that employ the illegals to work along with increase the cost. Limiting the employment opportunities of the guest workers.
“But they take the jobs that no American want to do!”, really? I have seen it myself where an entire crew of electrical workers were Mexicans. These guys were not picking fruit or vegs in the hot sun, but wiring and rewiring lighting systems! Look at the construction crews the next time you drive by a site, drive slow and count how many are of Mexican origins and how many are black or white?
Our education system that teaches the children of the masses is geared more to prepare them for a future at Wal-Mart or other service industries. So much so that high Tec companies are hiring from over sea for qualified workers. Since the government only requires an employer to report on it if half or more of their employees are such workers. Most stay just under the half mark to keep from reporting and as such can pay less then they would a qualified American. That leaves the children of the masses to seek employment with companies that have lower education levels. Giving a guest worker legal status to work in this country will mean the last bastion such as Air Craft and the like, Will be free to hire these workers and why would Cessna or Spirit hire a American when they could hire a guest worker for fifty cents on the dollar?
So the price to be paid for securing the boarders is to undermine the U.S. economy, stagnate the future of the masses and legalize those committing a crime. I see…..
Something on the humorous side though about this, I have now hear both the left and right saying that both side are in favor of this because it will increase their voter pool! O Reiley is saying that the liberals wanted it because the immigrants will vote Democrat. And the Democrats are saying the conservative want it because the immigrant will vote Republican.
I don’t see anywhere in the bill where businesses that have hired illegals over the decades are doing their part ….. they are at least 50% responsible for the dilemma …..
With some refinement this appears to be a better solution:
An idea for a solution to the immigration problem:
Every company that has illegal on their payroll, gets to pick which ones (and their immediate families) they want to keep, (no criminal charges to the companies) and pays a fine / fee (5-10k ?? per person) to the local taxing agencies to provide support to the school districts and social service agencies needed ……. they also pay for English and citizenship classes (no immediate citizenship — they get in line like all the others applying for citizenship) for those folks …… …… they must agree to pay a minimum / livable wage and provide some sort of health benefit .. …. every one else is deported, even those in jail / prison —- then we need to get tough with Mexico, sanctions on them until they clean up their corrupt government and institutions —- (OK we have to work on ours too) ….. and close the border ………………….. you want to come here, get a visa or work permit authorized by a company hiring you .. that will force companies to recruit in Mexico and bear the cost of bringing in workers —— …. then maybe when wages are reasonable more American workers will be happy to take those jobs they say Americans don’t want to do ……
So much for the Democrat controlled Congress.
They prove that breaking the law is ok. You will be rewarded.
Someone said follow the money. Well that is partially correct because there will be money flowing for the welfare programs but the real thing to look at is to follow the votes. The Democrats have always felt that if they keep people on the welfare rolls they can get those same folks to vote for them.
SOthesaid, you need to go to the GOP site and look at the difference between the English and Espanol websites, my fellow Repukelicans have sold us down the river too, in the Names of McCain, Martinez (RNC Head), and Graham.
Businesses are much more than 50% responsible for this dilemma. Take away the jobs and there is no incentive for illegals to stay here in the US.
It is at least 15 years away that any of these folks could vote- and if I had my way, they would never vote because citizenship would be denied those that sneak in. Democrats might be looking at the votes of the LEGAL children of the illegal immigrants who are citizens because they were born here. Republicans only want it because big business wants it because they need the labour of the immigrants. Don’t think they care anything about the poor Mexicans.
Another thing I don’t like is that this whole thing was done in total secret and the Senate throws it up today and they plan to vote on it Monday before anybody can even read or debate the thing.
This is bad legislation, no matter how you look at it. It will encourage MORE illegal immigration, and proves that all they have to do is march and wave flags, and the US Congress will roll over.
Humanitarian reasons? Puhleeeze. There are over 2.8 BILLION people living in poverty throughout the world..are we going to allow all of them to ignore our immigration laws and come here as well?
We need immigrants and we will need millions more of them in coming years or we will face labour shortages that are unreal. We have an economy that is creating millions of new jobs and we are not having the babies in this country needed to fill the jobs we are creating which is why our unemployment rate is so low. BUT immigration has to be done in a legal and orderly way. This system of “you sneak in and we hire you” needs to end. And, yes, we need to issue tamper proof biometric ID cards to everybody legally in the country as well as those of us born here and we need to hold employers responsible for verification of the legal status of everybody they hire- and put them in jail and require civil forfeitures if the fail to comply. But to begin with we do need to grant a limited amnesty to those who have already snuck in- not for citizenship but for legal residency.
….. sharing opinions here on the blog is fine — send an email to our Congressional delegation voicing your opinions — our government / politicians are selling us out again ……….
Already have, Ken…nice reminder! I got a recognition response from Roberts, nothing from Tiahrt yet.
Rap
I always get a response from Robert’s (his letter [staff’s}) even tries to address my concern , but usually is just an attempt to dodge any specifics, B’Back usually sends a TY letter — In 15 months (5-6 times primarily about his votes on military issues) of writing Tanker Todd he has yet to respond —
….. I read somewhere that re-election rates for incumbents in Congress runs about 75 – 80% at each election —- that obviously needs to change ………
… as part of any email to your reps — include a statement that tells em to deny themselves their annual pay raises —- if they want to make more money on the outside world — so be it …… it really is time for a change …..
According to some of the staffers, the phones have been ringing off the hook!!! It seems as if the American Citizenry has indeed awakened.
From all intel, it seems overwhelming the staffers from those opposing this bill. That woudl be the anti Amnesty crowd. A couple hundred million AMERICAN CITIZENS that does not want this to go through, and NO path TO citizenship other that the one already in existance.
92% of AMerican Citizens want the border shut down BEFORE any debate on what to do with those that are here.
For the idiots in the crowd that state “We can’t deport them all, all 12-20 million!”
Well then we woucl not process them, get them to pay their fines, (they will pay no “back taxes” in this bill), and to give them all Z-Visas to all 12-20 million. Additinally this bill allows “Chain Immigration” to contiue for 3 generation.
Ten Key lies from the White house in promoting a bill that is stupid!!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070518-4.html
Bush and his Whitehouse are done for. They are now a lame paralized duck!!!
I too wrote to our lame whatevers in topeka, but I haven’t received a thing!Imagine that! Probably have been put on their ‘hostile’ list! LOLOLOLSoo I guess I shall give them a call.So should everyone else!
The immigration reform does tie into this, sorry but it is lengthy.
The politics of the global economy are currently the equivalent of a one-party system, dominated by a virtual network what is called the Party of Davos, after the now famous meeting place in Switzerland where the world’s political and economic elite have their annual “convention.”The platform of the Party of Davos is simple: enhance the bargaining position of corporate capital in the global economy.In the absence of global government, the transnational investor class represented by Davos depends on support from the elites running the major nation-states of the world, the U.S. superpower being the most important.Although there are some substantial differences between the core leadership of Democratic and Republican parties on domestic matters, and some tactical differences on foreign policy, the two have worked hand in hand to help so-called American corporations disconnect themselves from their obligations to the American people.Led by Robert Rubin, the Clinton administration used the economic instruments of free trade, financial deregulation, and the leverage of the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions to further the world strategies of transnational banks and manufacturers.Led by Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, the Bush administration continued these policies and expanded the use of the U.S. military to extend investment opportunities at home and in the Middle East.It is therefore not surprising that NAFTA, a joint project of the leaders of both parties, should serve as the template for, as the first head of the World Trade Organization, Renato Ruggiero, described it, the “constitution” of the global economy.Like all constitutions, NAFTA reflects an underlying political philosophy-in this case, what is known as throughout most of the world as Neoliberalism.
The Global Class War by Jeff Faux
To find out what real info and who is really pushing this here are some sites:They track the LULAC, Maldef,Azatlan, MS13 and your congresspersons speeches to some of the groups telling them completely different stuff than they tell you or on TV.
http://lonewacko.com/blog/
http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/
http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/
http://www.steinreport.com/
http://www.cis.org/
http://stopspp.com/stopspp/
Bill Kristol, who is a neo con, supports this bill. In fact he thinks it is too strict.
Us Democrats are closing in on you Republicans.
Now you are fighting about disenfranchizing the next HUGE segment of the voting population. The Mexican vote will make the Religious Right look like a minor blip with its measly 28%.
By the next election, the Democrats will have about a 70% majority.
You can thank your King George II for that!
Sections in the new bill have been leaking out…here is some parsing of the legalese into layperson terminology and what is really bad about this bill. Most of it can be waived at any time by most anyone in congress.
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/02c271e1-477d-4d1c-b229-2f6b34ed7452
Here is a complete copy with each paragraph to look over. Very scary stuff when read up close…
http://truthlaidbear.com/immigrationbill0518.php?page=1
Go to the website http://www.johnandkenshow.com
It’s a radio show in LA. They stay on top of the illegal alien issue.
They have a list of reps to call. Don’t just call KS reps, call all of them. Get the senate to filibuster.
click the link to http://www.johnandkenshow.com/blogimages/villaspanishspeech.mp3. You can right click it to save it. It is a speech by Antonia Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, done mostly in Spanish. This guy wants to be governor of California, then US President. It will happen if Bush, Brownback and all the other Mexican Socialists have their way.
Y’know, every time I think this country is making progress on racism, some issue like this rears it’s head and all you good ole boys get your white sheets out!
Yup Jed, it’s “racist” of us to want to protect our hard-won American sovereignty. Just like it was “racist” of us to fight the Japanese when they attacked our soil in WWII. The Japanese shouldn’t have wasted their money on ships and bombers and crap like that. All they had to do was send millions of peaceful “immigrants” who just wanted to “feed their familes” to our shores and scream “racism” if we objected. Dumbos like Jed would have said, “Oh no don’t call me ‘racist’, anything but that! Here, take my country, take my wife to be one of your ‘comfort women’ but please, don’t call me ‘racist’!”
Suzan,Y’know, every new batch of immigrants to land here were greeted with the same hostility you exhibit, and we’ve managed to absorb them all and turn them into red-blooded Americans that resent the next wave or two. Which equally despised group did your ancestors belong to? And why should the latest wave deserve such hatred any more than them? This is one good old American tradition we can do without!
Has nothing to do with race. There are people waiting in line to legally enter this country and become citizens. If you enter illegally, you should be deported immediately.
It seems absent in this bill any responsibility of those industries / companies that have been luring the immigrants here.
Why are they not part of the solution?
Todd,Of course racism is involved; why do you think all those people have been waiting in line for as long as 15 years, and paid upwards of $10,000 for their place in line, for a process that should only take a couple months and a couple hundred bucks at most? Our original quota system was based entirely and blatently on race, and while we’ve taken some measures to reform it, race is still a determining factor in who’s allowed in.
I am really tired of this notion that if you don’t agree with the open borders crowd, you’re automatically a racist.
I don’t have a problem with Mexican immigrants in and of themselves. As long as they go through the NORMAL immigration process that everyone else has to go through, I’m fine with that. No cutting in line.
Immigration has to be rationed, otherwise infrastructure like police, fire, military, roads, utilities, etc. won’t keep up with the demands placed on it.
There MUST be provisions to seal the border, punish employers who hire illegals, and punish the Mexican government for not solving its economic woes. If we don’t have these provisions there is nothing stopping 60 million Mexican nationals, most of whom are poor and uneducated, from taking residence in our country.
It is not enough to have these provisions either, THEY MUST BE FUNDED, HAVE THE NEEDED MANPOWER, AND FOLLOW THROUGH BY THE GOVERNMENT to be implemented. Otherwise it’s the same empty promises that we’ve heard before.
Until these provisions are in place to keep this country from being saturated with 60 million Mexican nationals, no guest worker, amnesty or amnesty with cosmetic restrictions (amnesty with a wink) should be implemented.
Chris,”Immigration has to be rationed, otherwise infrastructure like police, fire, military, roads, utilities, etc. won’t keep up with the demands placed on it.”
Nice rationalization, but don’t you have faith in the free market system to handle that? We’ve had massive waves of immigrants in the past and ended up none the worse for it. Why are you so sure this one’s different?
so since i am was born here in america if i go some where were i am not sapposed to be will i get a free pass like all the immigrants commong here and we keep telling them that they are breaking the law and now we will alow them to stay.it shows that our gov, is apush over. and that will alow eny one comming over here that break the law and we will grant you to stay but for our own people we will put in jail. for eny thing we do wrong. hmm how is this good.i am tired of double standerd.when will this stop.
March 6, 1836.On that fateful day, Davy Crockett woke up and walked from his bunk onthe floor of the Alamo up to the observation post on the west wall.William B. Travis and Jim Bowie were up there already. The three gazed atthe hordes of Mexicans moving steadily towards them.Davy turned to Bowie with a puzzled look on his face and said, “Jim, are we landscaping today?”
prizm,You wouldn’t be one of those English Only reactionaries would you?
Elements of the bill:
The illegal aliens do not have to pay back taxes.
The illegal aliens only have to pay a $1000 penality.
The $4000 (rest of the $5000) is to be paid for an application for a “green Card” which will take a decade to get.
The provisions for “Securing the border” only have to be 1/2 done. There is no “securing the border first” as required by 92% of the country.
This bill allows for entire families to come here, not the individual.
This bill allows 400,000 aditional low skill additions to our country yearly AND THEIR FAMILIES!!
So with the 12-20 million and that 400,000 per year all with families of 4 you see the falicy of this bill.
There is no provision to prevent these people from receiving welfare or social security.
There is no provision to secure payment for their services from country of origin.
There is n discussion about how to pay for the staffing needed to process that many peopl.
Even France just stated that “mass legalization” will not work in their country!!!!
This is bad. Those of you whom support this are idiots and ANTI AMERICAN!!!!
Those of you out there who actually work for a living, and who are concerned about the flow of cheap labor into the U.S., maybe you need to talk to your unions.There was a time when American workers suffered the same conditions workers from Latin countries are fleeing. Unions changed all that with organizers who often put their lives on the line to help working class people make this a better place.If there’s any of that old spirit left, if your unions haven’t got fat and complacent, they’ll get themselves to Mexico and points south and start organizing! And all you members should be willing to support them. When they finish there, there’s all of Asia to keep them busy.When, and only when there’s no place left in the world where people are exploited at slave wages and conditions, then immigration will no longer be a problem.
Jed,
>>Nice rationalization, but don’t you have faith in the free market system to handle that?
The free market system does not provide police, fire, military, roads and utilities.
We also do not live in a free market economy, we live in a bastardization of one. I don’t think it’s fair that I have to have Federal and State taxes, Medicare and SS taken out of my check and the illegals don’t.
Also go to California and see the effects of illegal immigration. Hospitals have closed down because they have had to provide free health care to so many illegals. The freeways are more clogged than they have ever been. Ten billion dollars of the California state budget goes to providing services for illegals.
>> We’ve had massive waves of immigrants in the past and ended up none the worse for it. Why are you so sure this one’s different?
Several reasons
This one is different because the risk of importing half of another country’s population is high and there is no mechanism to stop it. If you want to talk about what to do with the illegals that are already here, that’s fine, but unless you seal the border there’s nothing stopping 60 million Mexican nationals from saturating the economy once you enact an amnesty law.
One of the conditions of citizenship is that you assimilate into the society. The past immigrants did that, this group does not. They import their third world conditions into this country. Why should my quality of life degrade because the Mexican government is too lazy to solve their problems?
Chris,”One of the conditions of citizenship is that you assimilate into the society. The past immigrants did that, this group does not. They import their third world conditions into this country.”
You really need to read history, and learn of the waves of immigrants who came here to the slums of New York and elsewhere. Yeah, after a generation or two, they assimilated, and we adapted too. It takes time. What is it that leads you to believe that isn’t happening here? I know second-generation Mexican-Americans that are more assimilated than some fourth and fifth generation Irish and Swedish-Americans.
“Why should my quality of life degrade because the Mexican government is too lazy to solve their problems?”
If you’re so worried about the Mexican government degrading the quality of your life, what, may I ask are you doing to improve the conditions that cause these people to flee here? Seems like you’d have a vested interest there. Instead, you want to invest huge amounts in what adds up to another Maginot Line; we all know how effective that was!