Guest-worker program on Bush radar
The five sentences President Bush devoted to immigration in his State of the Union speech show that the White House remains committed to pushing for a guest-worker program this year.
As the Senate prepares to debate immigration-reform bills this spring, Bush and other Republicans are weighing their desire to overhaul the system against concerns that doing so would create a rift within the ranks of the GOP a few months before the midterm elections in November.
Public anger over the increase in illegal immigration means Republicans stand to gain if they can convince voters that they're working to fix the problem. But conservatives hoping to crack down on undocumented workers and employers who break the law by hiring them say what Bush wants wouldn't do that.
Grass-roots conservatives and many lawmakers are agitating for more barriers along the U.S.-Mexican border and more raids at job sites to find undocumented workers.
At the same time, business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a strong GOP ally, want a temporary-worker program, saying they need immigrant labor.
There is a divide here. Bush does not agree with the grassroots (aka "the little people" aka the electorate aka the true government) on this issue.
12 comments:
Pres. Bush will lose this fight.
As VP of Oregonians For Immigration Reform, I would share with all of you that ANY Foreign Worker program is uneccessary and a form of Amnesty. We already issue over 960,000 Visa's per year, over 140,000 are for workers. History shows that these Temporary Visa's are a joke because most of these Temp "Immigrants" stay forever. Records show that over 14 MILLION Americans are un or under- employed. Yes, some of these are bums (dignity village?) but if only 1/3 do want to work, that is over 4 MILLION Americans, not working. My Brother builds homes and I have friends that are blue collar workers. Why should they have to compete with millions of third world workers who consider $7.oo/HR. so much money, that they sent back, just to Mexico, $20 BILLION in 2005.
If this "program" (another gov't program?) allows current illegals to stay or not doesn't matter, they will STAY forever anyhow.
What Government employee is going to call them up (15-20 Million?) and say "It's been 3/6/9 years now, time to leave". ICE won't even show up at a Carousel.
JASON was NOT prepared for Lars?!, it tells me this is NOT a priority. I met his wife at TalkFest 3. I tried to explain to her that Jessic's Law IS very important and so are 7,000 "Immigrants" who have molested children, that get deported (operation predator), only to come back. She was not interested in listening. Jason does NOT realize how important this is too many people or he would have been prepared.
DANIEL, Thank you for sticking to the truth, we don't need a guest worker program and I will have nothing to do with any politician that supports any NEW GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.
I will NOT shake Vincente Fox's hand and tell him his big plan is working.
Build a Wall & enforce the Law, they will leave on thier own.
Rick Hickey-VP-OFIR
p.s. Carousel in Eugene? This Sat. @ 8:30. Location? Still looking, they are being sneaky. OFIR will send an e-mail alert when we know and I am sure Daniel will also post it.
p.s.s. Want to argue? WHY THE HELL WON'T TED K. STOP THE CAROUSEL?!
WHY THE HELL WON'T ICE DO THEIR JOB AND DETAIN ILLEGALS THIS SAT.?!
CNN today, BUSH budget over 1/4 $BILLION for "Temporary guest worker program"
Instead that could build an Isreali type wall!
R.H. VP-OFIR
Washington Times
Request falls short of full funding for border agents
President Bush's new budget again fails to fund the entire number of Border Patrol agents mandated by Congress but for the first time includes funds for his proposed guest-worker program. -- The budget calls for 1,500 new U.S. Border Patrol agents and 6,700 new detention beds for illegal aliens awaiting deportation...
via www.Americanpatrol.com
R.H. VP-OFIR
Oregonians for Immigration Reform will soon send out a questionnaire to all the candidates for governor.
We will then make an endorsement based soley on their stance on immigration and our perception of their electability.
We are very pleased that all three Republican candidates have have went on record in opposing driver licenses for illegal aliens and in opposition to state agencies providing services to individuals illegally in the United States.
Unfortunately Governor Ted Kulongoski has continued to advocate for driver licenses for illegal aliens and the continuation of state services to them.
We are hopefull that Kulongoski's policy will be opposed by his Democratic challenger Pete Sorenson.
Let me state once again that OFIR's endorsement is based only on how candidates stand on illegal immigration and their electability. It will be up to the public to weigh that endorsement against other issues.
Jim Ludwick
President Oregonians for Immigration Reform
Noone should be surprised by Bush' plan. It's nothing new for him. Hopefully it is squashed, and hopefully Tancredo's bill will pass and we can get a fence up.
This from the Pres. of Federation for American Immigration Reform out of Washington DC. www.fairus.org
RE: President's Budget Spends More for Guest Workers than Worksite Enforcement
Yesterday the Bush Administration issued its budget request for the upcoming fiscal year that will begin on October 1. In it he has asked Congress to approve $247 million to implement a guest worker amnesty program that is strongly opposed by many members of Congress. This represents nearly $100 million more than he proposed for worksite enforcement and expansion of the voluntary worker verification system combined.
For the border patrol, who work to secure our porous borders, the President asked for funding to support only 1,500 new border patrol agents in the fiscal year that begins next October. While this sounds significant, this number is 500 border patrol agents less than authorized in the intelligence overhaul legislation enacted into law well over a year ago and for the two fiscal years covered since enactment of that law it is a Border Patrol shortfall of 1,000 officers.
You and I know that over the last few months the President has made a point of calling for tougher actions to control our borders and enforce laws against illegal immigration. I'm sure you have doubted the President's sincerity just as I have, fearing that the new tough talk would disappear once he got his guest worker amnesty program through the Congress. Well we were wrong. The President has not waited for Congressional approval before putting on full display his real intentions to put enforcement in the back seat and his more passionate desire for a guest worker amnesty proposal behind the wheel. You and I get run over by the bus.
How Congress will respond to this budget remains to be seen. The House is already on record passing tough enforcement legislation without any guest worker program while the Senate will begin work on its version in early March. At this point the Senate is expected to be far more receptive to the President's proposals than the House.
We intend to do everything we can here in Washington, D.C. to prevent passage of a guest worker amnesty program of any description. We need your full and active participation to convince Congress that amnesty has been tried and failed in the past and that an open-ended guest worker program will drive another stake in the heart of American middle and lower income workers.
Dan Stein
President
via R.H. VP-OFIR
Maybe now we can actually get some support from the other half of America for impeachment come November.
Kaelri, if a WMD goes off on our soil and it was smuggled across our southern border then you and me are going to stand side by side demanding impeachment!
Thanks to Rick, Jim, and the anonymous's who have reiterated what most of us already know: GUEST WORKER = AMNESTY!!!
....you and me are going to stand side by side demanding impeachment!
Very Interesting.
Good to see that OFIR is not compromising their principles. Too bad Jason Atkinson doesn't have the common sense to do the same.
He won't because despite how much he talks about getting rid of "special interests", he is beholden to them (like the Farm Bureau, for example).
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