Thread: New Republican immigration plan breaks with W House

http://today.reuters.com

New Republican immigration plan breaks with WHouse
Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:53 PM ET

By Alan Elsner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential Republican Senator introduced legislation on Tuesday that would allow many of the estimated 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens in the United States to eventually gain legal status in a proposal that broke with the Bush administration.

Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel, who is considering running for president in 2008, put forward four separate bills to address border security, employment security, create a guest worker program and encourage those in the country illegally to apply for legal status.

"Immigration reform is an urgent national security priority. We cannot continue to defer making tough choices about our nation's immigration policy. It is not in our interest to have 8- to 12-million people undocumented and unaccounted for in our country," he said.

Hagel's bills represent the third major proposal making the rounds in Congress. Additionally, the Bush administration has been fleshing out its own plan, under which illegal immigrants and foreigners could apply under a guest worker program to work in the United States for up to six years. After that, they would have to return home.

All the bills that have been put forward include measures to enhance border security and create some form of guest worker program. But they differ on the key points of how and whether illegal aliens could eventually gain citizenship.

Nobody knows exactly how many people are in the country illegally. The 2000 Census estimated the number at 8.7 million and said it was growing by half a million a year. Others put the number much higher.

But the fact that hundreds of thousands of people continue to cross the Mexican border each year is fast becoming a major political and security issue.

In a CBS poll this week, just over half of respondents disapproved of the way President George W. Bush was dealing with immigration; 21 percent said they approved, and 26 percent said they did not know.

Three-quarters all respondents said they did not think the United States was doing enough along its borders to keep illegal immigrants from entering the country.

Under Hagel's proposal, illegal aliens who had been in the country for at least five years and had worked three of them could pay a $2,000 fine and apply for permanent legal status which they could get eight years later.

But Hagel acknowledged that immigration divided Republicans and might be difficult to move forward in the runup to what is expected to be tight and bitter election campaign to control Congress next year.

"It may well be that leaders of both parties will want to play it safe and not deal with it," he said. "But I will tell you that there is some momentum out there on all sides of this issue forcing all of us to deal with it."

Article:

"Under Hagel's proposal, illegal aliens who had been in the country for at least five years and had worked three of them could pay a $2,000 fine and apply for permanent legal status which they could get eight years later."

Same deal - an amnesty.

Enforcement should be laid down first and illegal Aliens told they will have to leave to their country of origin. No excuses. Mexican/Latino illegal Aliens can easily walk home just as they walked in -- the Border could be opened FOR EXITERS ONLY. Then you can talk about the laws of LEGAL entry.

Don't be fooled --- more word mashing/splicing ("Guest-worker" means Border Security lies) by a sold-out careless Senator. Chuck Hagel time and again has worked to aid and facilitate illegal immigration. Nebraska's meat packing plants are a testament to Hagel's work. Chuck Hagel needs blacklisting along with several others

Chuck Hagel needs to abandon any trek to the White House in 2008. Get a real job Chuck. No man or woman will enter 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that speaks the words:

Immigration Reform

Debate the Problem

Willing Employer/Willing Worker

Guest Worker

Secure and Orderly Immigration

Pay Fines and Apply for Legal Status

Reduce Fines on Employers

Land of Immigrants

Who will pick the Veggies, Fruit, Nuts and Berries

Hugely Dependent on Immigrants (Frist tonight on Hannity and Colmes)

Just Looking for a Better Life

It's really the dangerous OTMs

We can't just send millions of people home

We need immigrants to Grow our Economy

Prices will go Up

It's not Amnesty



Blah, Blah, Blah

Please add to the list if I've missed any of these OBL rehearsed one-liners.