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| Home Front: Politix |
| Congress Takes Closer Look at Illegal Immigration |
| 2005-07-11 |
| WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress is again preparing to tackle one of the thorniest social issues in contemporary America — what to do about the thousands of illegal aliens attempting to cross U.S. borders every year as well as the millions who are already here. About fricken time! "It is affecting every member of Congress in their district back home, it is a top-tier concern," said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz. Shadegg said the issue is gaining so much attention from the public that border security trumped White House marketing of Social Security reform. "We were at home aggressively doing town halls on Social Security and people were saying 'Hey, wait a minute, what about illegal immigration?'" Shadegg said. Preventing illegals access to social security benefits would help An estimated 700,000 illegals entered America last year; the national total is nearly 11 million. California and Texas lead the pack of states, with nearly 4 million illegal aliens combined. Florida follows with 850,000, New York with 650,000 and Arizona has 500,000. Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina all top 300,000 while another 3.1 million are scattered among the other 42 states. "The big shift this year is that something has to be done. In the past, immigration has been one of those issues that politicians would just as soon That is no longer the case on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are boosting border patrol funding and drafting bills to penalize businesses that hire illegals. Can we penalize the ACLU for trying to apply laws for American citizens to non-americans? "If we aggressively go after the employer — the people who are creating the demand side of the equation — I assure you that in vast numbers people who are currently here illegally will return to their country of origin because they won't have a job," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. Politically, the White House is now playing catch-up. President Bush's plan to legalize millions of alien workers, giving them guest worker status, has fallen flat on Capitol Hill. A comment in March in which the president described the Minutemen, a group of volunteer civilian border monitors, as "vigilantes" only made matters worse. Gee, that whole paragraph is a "No Shit" moment. Days after the president's remark, more than 700 Minutemen (search) helped authorities dramatically reduce the number of illegal crossings on the Arizona-Mexico border. "I think on that one he missed the mark," Shadegg said. Missed? He was aiming for Arizona and hit Alpha Centari with that one! Senior Bush advisers are crafting a new immigration proposal — one with more emphasis on border control and less on legalizing illegal workers. Sometimes, politics DOES work. But that hasn't been easy. Nearly 7 million illegals hold down jobs in the United States, half in the construction and service sectors. Half? Here in Colorado nearly 90%. "You can say, 'Gee whiz, I wish they wouldn't come' or 'I wish they weren't here,' but the reality of our labor market is we need these workers for the new jobs that are being created in the service sector because we're sending our kids to college not to be busboys or housekeepers," Sharry said. Then issue more green cards after a background check and a health check to make sure they are not bringing in any pathagens. At least we know who is coming and if they are healthy. On top of that, almost no one favors mass deportations of employed illegal aliens They haven't been reading Rantburg apparently. "Rounding them up and shipping them back is not a possibility. Bullshit! Granting them blanket authority and rewarding them for having come illegally is not a possibility," Shadegg said. So, you are suggesting a catch 22? Congress will tighten border security, but two other issues remain — how to create verifiable documents that employers can use to separate legal from illegal workers, and how to grant legal status to millions of illegals with jobs, families and U.S. connections without granting blanket amnesty. Many lawmakers say they want aliens to go home before winning legal status in the United States. |
| Posted by:mmurray821 |
| #10 I dont like Amnesty - tried that and it only encourages more illegals (if you can survive for 5 years your home free!). Some legal immigrants have to wait longer then that. Here is an example (I just looked these dates up...): If you are a law abiding citizen - and you are petitioning your non-citizen brother or sister to immigrate the Vermont service center would just now be getting to your petition if you had filed in September 1999. If they are your son or daughter (married,over 21) its April 23, 2001 (in Texas its January 1999). Why should some law-breaker (who is here in VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW) get an advantage? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-07-12 00:04 |
| #9 About fricken time! Careful, Congress' idea of how to "tackle" the problem may turn out to have a surprise or two hiding in the creases.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-07-11 21:58 |
| #8 close the border now, then start tackling the expulsion of illegals on welfare, illegals doing criminal acts, actively seeking and jailing the employers of illegals (sorry Tyson chicken, you first), lather, rinse, repeat. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-11 21:14 |
| #7 Amnesty for illegal aliens? Absolutely NOT! I like the 6 months to leave... and then if you continue your illegal occupancy of the USA and get caught immediate - deportation and ban from ever becoming legal. I'm done with giving away our nation to invading 2nd worlders... they don't allow US to enter their countries and seize their jobs - why should WE allow the reverse? Steve... I don't have any problem with emergency medical treatment for illegals... as long as they are immediately deported after treatment. |
| Posted by: Leigh 2005-07-11 20:42 |
| #6 Solution ( because my forebears were immigrants): Employed illegals who can document continuous employment here over 3 or 5 years get amnesty and a green card. Those folks are the salt of the earth and want to be Americans. That honors how our country was built. Unemployed illegals get sent home. Want to come back? See next paragraph -- We figure out how many migrant/temporary workers we need and authorize that many temporary permits, with potential citizenship for a certain proportion who work hard and play by the rules. Temp workers get background checks. Middlemen make sure temp workers get matched up with employers and report all to INS. Employers who go outside the system get busted hard. Everyone gets minimum wage and obeys the labor laws. Tighten the border. Shoot the coyotes (the evil ones who ship the illegals in under horrendous conditions). Schools: English first, last, often, always. No bilingual ed. Nada. Health: no one is denied emergency medical care because of their status. Drivers licenses: citizens and permanent residents only. Legal migrant/temp workers can get a special license, clearly marked and colored. Citizenship: if born here with at least one parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident. There's my $0.0002. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-07-11 18:19 |
| #5 I find it amazing that the LEFT would want a higher minimum wage and, in the same breath, advocate illegal workers (who don't get minimum wage....) Speaking from personal experience, the Left are inherently a bunch of tight-fisted bastards. If they can get an illegal to work at 50% of going rates, they will. And then try to work the wage-level down, after the work is done. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-07-11 18:12 |
| #4 Solution: Fix the public schools so these kids become assimilated Americans faster. End welfare. Open the doors wider, especially for Europeans and Asians who suffer a transportation disadvantage versus the Mexicans. Build a wall with Mexico and admit Mexicans proportionately to the rest of the world. Our real problem is not immigrants, but commuters. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-07-11 17:52 |
| #3 "I find it amazing that the LEFT would want a higher minimum wage and, in the same breath, advocate illegal workers (who don't get minimum wage....)" Heck, that's a no-brainer: increasing the minimum wage makes legal workers' labor more expensive, and flooding the market with illegal workers who'll work for lower wages will end up putting the legal workers on the unemployment line-- right where the Democrats want them. The Democrats will then pretend to "help" the displaced legal workers with new social welfare policies, and in return the unemployed workers, now on the dole, will vote for Democrats out of deep gratitude for depriving them of their jobs. Piece of cake... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-07-11 17:52 |
| #2 ...the LEFT would want a higher minimum wage and, in the same breath, advocate illegal workers (who don't get minimum wage....) Excellent point, CFool! |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-07-11 17:34 |
| #1 Solution: Make it well known that all illegals have 6 months to leave (and perhaps apply under the LEGAL process and wait - in their homeland - like every LAW-ABIDING immigrant). Any found after that are deported (without appeal or request for asylem (sp?)) and their property confiscated and auctioned off (to pay for their deportation), *AND* the get a LIFETIME BAN on any visa/immigration. Grant citizenship only to newborns who's parents are *both* here legally. Give local governments 6 months to rescent any 'sanctuary' laws - after that they (or those officals who vote against such a measure) are held personally liable for aid-and-abeding, arrested, and thrown in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison for 3 months.). Hold all federal funds to local governments who have 'sanctuary laws' until they are removed. The same for states who grant Drivers Licenses without valid proof of legal residents or citizenship. If we need the workforce the CHANGE THE LAW to allow more LEGAL aliens to visit (after the approprate background check, etc...) from all countries - not just Mexico (which would be racist...). BTW: I find it amazing that the LEFT would want a higher minimum wage and, in the same breath, advocate illegal workers (who don't get minimum wage....) |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2005-07-11 16:42 |