Thread: Bush says guest workers could not stay

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200 ... -4900r.htm

By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 24, 2006


President Bush yesterday said illegal aliens who take part in his guest-worker program would not be allowed to stay permanently.

"I do not believe that any guest-worker program ought to contain amnesty because I believe that, if you granted amnesty to people here working now, that would cause another 8 million people or so to come here," he said in response to a question from the audience at a speech at Kansas State University.

Mr. Bush said illegal aliens could join the guest-worker program, but they would have to go home just like future temporary workers from overseas.

"The length of stay here will be dependent upon the actions of the Congress. It's conceivable you could have a three-year period with a renewal period," he said.

The immigration debate is heating up in Congress, with the House having passed an enforcement bill last month and the Senate expected to make immigration one of its first major issues this year.

Last week, the Republican National Committee voted overwhelmingly to back Mr. Bush's call for a guest-worker program, with just one member voicing opposition.

Mr. Bush has steadfastly defended a guest-worker program, but what that means for illegal aliens appears to have changed over time.

In announcing his plan in January 2004, he said, "Some temporary workers will make the decision to pursue American citizenship." And in his State of the Union address later that month, he said his plan would "preserve the citizenship path" for those in the guest-worker program.

But last October, his secretary of labor, Elaine L. Chao, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that illegal aliens "would not have a legal pathway to citizenship." In November, Mr. Bush himself said his program "would not create an automatic path to citizenship" and followed that with his comments yesterday.

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and author of a temporary-worker plan, said Mr. Bush has become more specific as the debate has crystallized.

"When he made that first announcement on immigration, there were very few actual plans," Mr. Stewart said. "There is more specificity now over here, which allows the president to have more specificity. We know certain things are off the table."

Mr. Cornyn is sponsoring a plan with Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, that would require temporary workers -- both newcomers and illegal aliens -- to return home after their time is up. It goes further than Mr. Bush has in saying illegal aliens would have to return home even before entering a guest-worker program to finalize their applications.

Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, said that even though he supports a path to citizenship, temporary status may be the most he can win right now.

"If in the end, if they say let's just kick this can down the road and give people a temporary visa and decide after six years what to do, that may be the best we can do. I don't know, in this political environment," he said.

But he said if that happens, it will just be delaying the inevitable.

"It would be with a wink-wink, nod-nod, figure things out in six years," he said. "If we want to pretend, whatever gets us to a point where we can have a legal status for people, because otherwise we're promoting lawlessness and pretending these people aren't here."

President Bush yesterday said illegal aliens who take part in his guest-worker program would not be allowed to stay permanently.

Does anyone really beleive that he would enforce this law, given that he hasn't enforced current law?

"It would be with a wink-wink, nod-nod, figure things out in six years," he said. "If we want to pretend, whatever gets us to a point where we can have a legal status for people, because otherwise we're promoting lawlessness and pretending these people aren't here."

This is more twisted and tortured logic. If you give any legal status, whether temporary or permanent, aren't you rewarding lawlessness and pretending that the law was never broken in the first place. How stupid do they think we are, or are they stupid.

Mr. Bush said illegal aliens could join the guest-worker program, but they would have to go home just like future temporary workers from overseas.

Is he say that only tempoary workers from overseas would have to go home? Last time I looked, Mexico wasn't overseas just over the border.

Is he say that only tempoary workers from overseas would have to go home? Last time I looked, Mexico wasn't overseas just over the border.

I wouldn't be surprised. When Bush stood cheek to cheek with Vicente Fox in the White House in 2004 to propose his Guest Worker program giving legal status to illegal migrants, he took great pains to promise that they would not be placed in line ahead of those attempting to immigrate legally from Mexico.. No mention was made of those pursuing legal immigration from China, India, Poland, Philippines, or anywhere else on God's green earth. It's always about Mexico.

Yes Yes, someone else will make them leave after I have left office.

Yes, yes, you can expect these illegals to leave just like the several million that are still in the US with expired visas.

It's all very believable. Don't you think?

W

President Bush yesterday said illegal aliens who take part in his guest-worker program would not be allowed to stay permanently.

That is a bold face lie. Nobody believes this. The inept federal government doesn't even keep track of the millions of visa overstays they have now. What should led us to believe that they'll keep track of millions of new guest workers? I've said this before, this is what will happen. The guest workers will come here, establish their families here and after 3 to 6 years, the government is going to say, oh they worked so hard, lets give them all a green card. Seriously if they already have families established here, why would they want to leave? If they can get paid more here than in Mexihole why would they want to leave?

Mr. Bush said illegal aliens could join the guest-worker program, but they would have to go home just like future temporary workers from overseas.

Either Bush has no concept of how to read a map or this is a new way of double talking the public into buying his snake oil. Last I checked, Mexico is across the borders, not overseas.

Mr. Cornyn is sponsoring a plan with Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, that would require temporary workers -- both newcomers and illegal aliens -- to return home after their time is up.

How do they plan on enforcing that?

"It would be with a wink-wink, nod-nod, figure things out in six years," he said. "If we want to pretend, whatever gets us to a point where we can have a legal status for people, because otherwise we're promoting lawlessness and pretending these people aren't here."

Uh Mr Bush promoting lawlessness and giving a wink-wink, nod-nod is exactly what you've been doing since day one. When was the last time you tried to enforce our laws or secured our borders? When was the last time you punished an employer who hired an illegal for that matter? Maybe you ought to try doing your job first before you wave the white flag of surrender while trying to convince us your lying a## is not.

Mr. Bush said illegal aliens could join the guest-worker program, but they would have to go home just like future temporary workers from overseas.

Would that be like those temporary workers from Saudi Arabia who overstayed their visas and finally departed on 9/11?

What a moron this man is, and what morons he must think we are to believe this crap.