Thread: The good, bad & unfortunate

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3106738

The good, bad & unfortunate
By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
San Diego Union-Tribune

In the Bush White House, immigration reform has long been on hold. Now all indications are that it is about to become a second-term priority.

It's about time. It's been nearly two years since President Bush suggested that the country needed a guest worker program to match foreign workers with American employers to "do jobs that Americans won't do" - at least not for the wages that American employers have grown accustomed to paying.

Bush suggested allowing millions of illegal immigrants to apply for a three-year work visa (with a single three-year extension) before returning to their native country. To increase the chances that the guests leave before they overstay their welcome, Bush proposed creating private 401(k)-type savings accounts that could only be tapped into once the worker returns home.

Critics in Bush's own party called that "amnesty" and blasted the idea - and the president for proposing it. The barrage sent the White House into hiding on the topic of immigration reform. Republicans in Congress opportunistically stepped in to fill the vacuum by proposing more than a dozen pieces of legislation ranging from the restrictive to the reactionary to the ridiculous.

Now Bush seems ready to take charge of the issue again, perhaps hoping to quiet the anti-illegal immigration zealots in the GOP before they give conservatism a bad name. White House political strategist Karl Rove has been quietly meeting with members of both parties to share details of an administration-backed immigration reform plan that could soon be headed to Congress.

To take the measure of what the administration seems to have in mind, it helps to think in terms of not just what is likely to make its way into the plan, but also what is likely to be left out. Before long, you find yourself with the good, the bad and the unfortunate.

What's good is that the president will likely call for more Border Patrol agents and more spending on technology to help agents detect border-crossers. It's also good that the plan will probably include a hefty fine - perhaps as much as $2,000 - on illegal immigrants who are already here, to drive home the idea that these people have committed a crime and have to make restitution.

What's bad is any plan to turn illegal immigrants into "guest workers." Amnesty is a terrible idea that absolves the individual of the responsibility to take the




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




steps to legalize his status. And guest workers are nothing but a glorified labor subsidy to farms, restaurants, construction firms and other industries hooked on illegal immigrant labor - one that often leaves workers abused and exploited.
That's because, if employers were willing to spend the money to create the reforms that protect workers' rights, it would negate the value of the subsidy.

And what's unfortunate is that one thing you're not likely to see in the president's plan is any mention of fining, prosecuting or otherwise punishing those U.S. employers who flout the law by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

If it goes down that way, then Bush will have squandered a valuable opportunity to do something really meaningful in the area of immigration reform.

Congress and the White House should institute a three-strikes law for anyone who hires an illegal immigrant. On the first offense, you get a warning. The second time, you get fined $25,000. The third time, you get 10 days in jail. Pass the law, and actually enforce it - against everyone from farmers to hotel managers to soccer moms. No exceptions, and no excuses.

I've never heard Bush refer to the individuals and companies that hire illegal immigrants, and what should be done about them. And I have no reason to suspect that he'll start now. Mark my words: Whatever he tosses into his plan, the last thing Bush will do is call for a new round of employer sanctions, or even stricter enforcement of the sanctions already on the books.

What a shock. After all, it's companies like these that help color in the red states by giving mightily to the political campaigns of Republicans, including the president himself. Going after them would mean biting the hand that feeds whole herds of elephants.

That goes a long way toward explaining why the U.S. has a problem with illegal immigration in the first place - and why this administration is probably not the one to solve it.

It's been nearly two years since President Bush suggested that the country needed a guest worker program to match foreign workers with American employers to "do jobs that Americans won't do" - at least not for the wages that American employers have grown accustomed to paying.
[/quote]

Southern slave owners grew accustomed to paying nothing for their labor, yet the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, stopped this practice even though it cost 500,000 Americans their lives. Bush on the other hand seems to be doing the opposite of what Lincoln did, and is thus pissing on his accomplishments and convictions.

Originally Posted by tms

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_31067

I've never heard Bush refer to the individuals and companies that hire illegal immigrants, and what should be done about them. And I have no reason to suspect that he'll start now. Mark my words: Whatever he tosses into his plan, the last thing Bush will do is call for a new round of employer sanctions, or even stricter enforcement of the sanctions already on the books.

Say Ruben,

I don't hear any Democrats jumping on the companies that hire illegal aliens either. Why don't you give them grief also?