His plan?
Make illegal immigration less illegal.
Here's an excerpt from the article:
President Bush said Monday he wants to crack down on those who enter the country illegally but also give out more visas to foreigners with jobs, a dual plan he hopes will appease the social conservatives and business leaders who are his core supporters.
So, we nail the folks who aren't succesful in America and reward those lucky enough to find work.
What's next? Legalizing pot, so long as you don't enjoy smoking it?
What about cracking down on car theft--making it OK so long as you plan on giving the car back?
Illegal immigration is just that illegal. If we soften the laws then what's the point of having them at all? I've got nothing against Mexicans or immigrants, period--but the US already makes it easy (compared to most other countries) for foreigners to come in to the US and get work or even become a citizen. Why is it our responsibility to make it even easier?
And responsibility is where this comes down. Allowing folks to come and go across the border just because they have a job is removing the responsibility of their home countries to provide jobs and a workable economy for their own citizens. America supports not just the illegal immigrant, but the alien's home country, too.
Now, I understand that many illegals pay taxes--they pretty much have no choice. However, wouldn't those tax dollars be better spent in their home countries? Perhaps thanks to jobs in said countries?
Here's more from the above-linked article:
Texas and Arizona are home to GOP senators who have been vocal on the need to change immigration laws but who aren't entirely sold on Bush's vision.
The idea for temporary worker visas has been especially divisive and is stalled in Congress. Bush said he does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants, but he does want to give workers a way to earn an honest living doing jobs that other Americans are unwilling to do and issue more green cards.
AH, now we get to the real issue here. Ultimately this isn't about immigration or giving our poorer neighbors to the south a way to make an honest living--it's about filling jobs that Americans are unwilling to do.
First, let's examine why Americans would be unwilling to do such jobs. In my neck of the woods, Los Angeles, most Mexican day-laborers do menial tasks, like cleaning houses or offices. Others work on farms or construction sites. In short, these are all shit jobs. At least, that's what the average American would call them.
Why are they shit jobs? Because they are hard jobs and pay shit.
This is why Americans aren't willing to do the jobs. If the pay was better, I bet more Americans would want to do them.
Right here is where we get to the source of the problem--it's all about pay. In short, Americans just aren't desperate enough to take jobs like these. Work on the farm for eight hours making less than minimum wage? Ha--yeah right.
No, to fill these jobs at these wages, you need a far more desperate person. This is where our brown friends from the south come in. They are the exploited worker class. The new Chinese railroad workers.
Think of it as inverted outsourcing.
Instead of paying an American citizen what he or she is worth, employers/businesses/companies/corporations pay foreigners who are willing to make much less than US workers. This effectively turns these types of workers, whether they're from Mexico or Southeast Asia, into high-paid slaves.
Illegal Immigration isn't about people sneaking across the border, it's not about giving folks in other countries a chance to make a living--it's about keeping things cheap and easy for employers.
It's about letting employers shirk their duty to their fellow American people--their duty to support the American people by providing us jobs and fair wages. Employers, business or corporations that hire foreign companies or workers for less money than they'd pay American counterparts are nothing short of un-American. No, they're worse. They're anti-America.
There should be a law banning foreign workers until every American has a job that keeps them above the poverty level. If our country can't do that, isn't it time to consider a country, a society that can?
From a November 29, 2005 article by AP.org available at News.Yahoo.com:
Bush Vows Crackdown on Illegal Immigrants
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago
TUCSON, Ariz. - President Bush said Monday he wants to crack down on those who enter the country illegally but also give out more visas to foreigners with jobs, a dual plan he hopes will appease the social conservatives and business leaders who are his core supporters.
"The American people should not have to choose between a welcoming society and a lawful society," Bush said from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base about an hour from the Mexican border. "We can have both at the same time."
The touchy issue of immigration has divided lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he will bring up the issue early next year. The House hopes to tackle some border security measures before adjourning for the year, but little time remains and it has other issues on its plate.
Bush also pitches his plan in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday. Texas and Arizona are home to GOP senators who have been vocal on the need to change immigration laws but who aren't entirely sold on Bush's vision.
The idea for temporary worker visas has been especially divisive and is stalled in Congress. Bush said he does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants, but he does want to give workers a way to earn an honest living doing jobs that other Americans are unwilling to do and issue more green cards.
"Listen, there's a lot of opinions on this proposal," Bush said. "I understand that, but people in this debate must recognize that we will not be able to effectively enforce our immigration laws until we create a temporary worker program."
Also Monday in Phoenix, Bush sought to counter calls by some in Congress for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces. "We will stay until the job is done, not a day longer. We will get the job done in Iraq," Bush told 1,300 people at a fund-raiser that was expected to bring in $1.4 million for Republican Sen. Jon Kyl's re-election campaign.
The president also promoted his plans to make tax cuts permanent, praised his Supreme Court picks — new Chief Justice John Roberts and associate justice nominee Samuel Alito — and pitched his immigration and border security proposals.
Earlier in Tucson, Bush spoke to a supportive audience that included border patrol agents and military troops. He was flanked by two black Customs and Border Protection helicopters and giant green and yellow signs that said "Protecting America's Borders."
He said he is providing border agents with cutting-edge technology like overhead surveillance drones and infrared cameras, while at the same time constructing simple physical barriers to entry.
The president's push on border security and immigration comes a month after Bush signed a $32 billion homeland security bill for 2006 that contains large increases for border protection, including 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents.
Bush has been urging Congress to act on a guest worker program for more than a year. Under his plan, undocumented immigrants would be allowed to get three-year work visas. They could extend that for an additional three years, but would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., along with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has proposed providing illegal immigrants in the United States visas for up to six years. After that, they must either leave the United States or be in the pipeline for a green card, which indicates lawful permanent residency.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Kyl support an alternative proposal that would require illegal immigrants to return to their home country to apply for a temporary worker program.
McCain and Kyl appeared with Bush, while Kennedy issued a statement criticizing the president for talking about immigration reform without acting after nearly five years in office. And it wasn't just Democrats saying that — Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said Americans "are tired of talk and ready for action."
And, she added, "We have no business discussing guest worker programs until we can actually prevent illegal entry."
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