Thread: Pence & Hutchison Immigration plan addresses security, e

They are still pitching this propaganda.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... -1/ZONES04

August 6, 2006

Our view: Mike Pence & Kay Bailey Hutchison
Immigration plan addresses security, economics
August 6, 2006


It is imperative that Congress find a responsible solution and enact comprehensive immigration reform. Separate bills on this issue have passed the House and Senate but are miles apart. Many small groups are meeting in an effort to jump-start the negotiations.

We are putting forth a proposal that we hope can be used as the basis for new discussions. Our plan is tough on border security but recognizes the need for a temporary-worker program that operates without amnesty and without growing into a huge new government bureaucracy.

It begins with border reinforcement. The millions who come to our country seeking jobs are not a security threat, but weaknesses in the nearly 7,000 miles of international border and 95,000 miles of shoreline have given terrorists, drug dealers and human traffickers an opening that is being exploited; this is a risk we cannot allow to continue.

Part two of our plan is a temporary-worker program that is essential in order to fill jobs that are in high demand. This program would commence only after the borders are fixed. Here's how our plan works:

Before any new temporary-worker program can begin, our plan requires the president to certify that all mandated border-security measures are completed. The Hutchison-Pence proposal embraces the tough border-security measures of the House and Senate bills. It would add Border Patrol agents, drug enforcement agents and port-of-entry inspectors; end catch and release; add security fences and other physical barriers at critical points; and employ technology, such as unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles.

When the border has been declared secure, the Good Neighbor SAFE (Secure Authorized Foreign Employee) Visa program would begin. This offers non-citizens opportunities to fill jobs that employers attest to not being able to fill with Americans at market wage.

Under our plan, the estimated 12 million people currently residing illegally in America could return to their home countries to apply for this visa. This does not give amnesty to those currently in our country illegally.

Our plan would set up a system of private employment placement agencies outside the United States licensed by the federal government to match willing temporary workers with jobs that employers cannot fill with American workers. The private agencies would also perform health screenings, fingerprint the guest workers and provide that information for federal background checks. Successful applicants for this visa could enter America legally.

The program would be limited to countries that currently enjoy a positive trade relationship with the U.S. in our hemisphere. Visas would be issued for two years, with the option to renew them in two-year increments for up to 12 years.

Visa participants are not eligible for welfare, Social Security or Medicare. All paycheck deductions will be made as for American citizens. Workers' Medicare contributions will go into a fund to compensate hospitals for emergency medical expenses incurred while treating foreign workers. Worker Social Security deductions will be returned when a participant exits the program and returns to the home country. Employer Social Security contributions will remain in our country's system.

At the end of the visa period, visa holders who have been gainfully employed with no violations may return to their country of origin or apply for a new X-Change Visa with an employer sponsor and continue working in the United States under the same conditions with no further renewals required. There is no automatic path to citizenship in the Hutchison-Pence plan. After five more years, the X-Change Visa holder would have the option of continuing to hold an X-Change Visa, returning home or applying for permanent adjustment of status.

For the system to be effective, it is necessary to implement a nationwide electronic employment verification system through which employers confirm the legality of each employee. Those who continue to hire unverifiable employees will be subject to stiff fines.

Two years after the date of enactment, employers would be required to verify the eligibility of all new employees, including temporary workers. After six years, verification would apply to all employees. While this may be unsettling to some, we will never have complete knowledge of everyone who is in our country and their legal status without some capability for verification.

Good Neighbor SAFE Visas will provide businesses seeking to hire foreign workers with a secure method of confirming their legal status. If a temporary worker is fired, convicted of a crime or just disappears, the card will be canceled, preventing someone else from hiring the worker.

Congress owes it to the American people to solve this crisis. We are attempting to protect our national security while providing benefits to our country for generations to come. We urge our colleagues in Congress to come back to the table and produce a workable system. The future of our country depends on it.

There is no automatic path to citizenship in the Hutchison-Pence plan. After five more years, the X-Change Visa holder would have the option of continuing to hold an X-Change Visa, returning home or applying for permanent adjustment of status.

There is a path to citizneship and it is called amnesty. Not adjusted status or automatic path.

Amnesty is Amnesty and Pence Hutchison is Amnesty.

Also, Bush Baby will lauch the auto destruct amnesty.

Dixie