Thread: Pence Again

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9922

Pence Again
By Quin Hillyer
Published 6/7/2006 12:08:41 AM


The U.S. Senate may have temporarily moved on to other matters after passing a truly hideous immigration bill, but the mess it has made will not go away any time soon. It's a mess the House of Representatives can't just ignore, because the need for added border security is so great. (Example: See Judd Slivka's action-packed article in the June Digital Spectator. To subscribe, click here.)

If the House fails to act, it will anger almost as many voters as it would if it passes the Senate's misguided version. (For reasons why the Senate bill is so misguided, see here, here, and here.) Millions of voters feel passionately that the exploding population of illegal immigrants, and the lack of control of our borders, is an issue of surpassing importance -- and tens of thousands of them will surely stay home on Election Day if nothing is done.

But because the Senate bill flaws are so great, the angry voters will stay angry if an amnesty bill such as that one passes -- even if, as is now the rage on some conservative sites, President Bush commits to certification of border enforcement success before any of the "guest worker" and "path-to-citizenship" provisions can take effect. The truth is that no matter what the timing of the unwise and unworkable provisions, those provisions will remain unwise and unworkable.

All of which is a long build-up to the conclusion that, as Brendan Crocker suggested on these pages last week, there is no better, politically viable solution available right now, and perhaps not ever, than the "no amnesty" bill by leading conservative U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. (Pence's original speech on the subject, given at the conservative Heritage Foundation, is superb.) The more that serious conservatives study the plan, the better they like it. American Conservative Union President David Keene, who has been hawkish for stronger border control, is saying nice things about the Pence Bill, and fellow hawk Newt Gingrich now writes this at Human Events Online:

One positive addition to the border-security and immigration debate is Rep. Mike Pence's (R-Ind.) bill, the Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act. This bill is as close to the right solution as I have seen. It sets up a four-step process starting with what is needed and universally agreed upon -- border security. Second, it does not provide amnesty for people in the United States illegally. It requires them to go home. Next, it sets up a work-visa program using electronic bio-metric security based on conservative market principles.

After an American employer can, in good faith, show that no American worker will fill a job offer, a work-visa holder may be hired. The key feature is that, in order for people who are here illegally to get a work visa, they must go home, because work visas will only be issued outside of the United States. Fourth, once the program is set up, companies that continue to ignore the law will be sanctioned severely. I hope the House will take a serious look at Rep. Pence's thoughtful and pragmatic approach to solving this issue.

What bears stressing is that the Pence plan incorporates almost the entirety of the existing, House-passed bill that everybody agrees is tremendously strong on border enforcement. (It leaves out only two controversial, and unnecessary, provisions: the one that would tie up our court system by treating illegals as felons and the one that some critics said would keep good Samaritans from caring for needy aliens.)

Repeat: The Pence bill would crack down on illegal border crossings.

Only in combination with this legitimate crackdown (unlike the Senate's fake crackdown) would the Pence bill establish a program for non-citizens to work in this country. The twist is, they could join the program only by first leaving the U.S.A. and registering outside our borders, and they could return only for a specified job.

And the employers who hire illegals rather than the readily available legal guests would be penalized severely. Furthermore, the employers would not have any reasonable excuse for being confused about whether somebody is legal or not, because the legal visitors would all have a standardized, biometric ID card. Unlike mere paper identification, biometric IDs cannot be faked.

The Pence plan says: No card, no job. And no exceptions.

In short, everybody involved would have major incentives -- incentives lacking in all other proposals under serious consideration -- to act within the newly established legal bounds in this country.

The big problem with similar ideas in the past is that they all require the already-overburdened Immigration and Naturalization Service, or the border patrol, or some other federal government outfit, to manage the entire program. Of course, INS and its federal agency brethren can't even manage enforcement of the current system, so how would they handle a complicated, multi-tiered additional system like the one Pence envisions?

Pence's answer, taken from a white paper of the Vernon K. Krieble Foundation (which promotes "democratic capitalism" and the ideals of America's founders), is that those agencies wouldn't handle any of it except for the computerized criminal background check that it already is handling routinely anyway. Instead, the program would be outsourced, competitively, to private bidders.

Repeat: Free enterprise -- the market itself -- would take care of the details.

How and why? Because the employers within the U.S. would pay them the same way employers now pay headhunters and employment agencies anyway.

As Pence explained in his Heritage speech:

Imagine for a moment asking millions of people to line up at the U.S. Consulate in Mexico City to obtain a visa to come to America and work as a guest worker. It would be a disaster. Now, imagine private companies competing against each other to process guest worker applicants and match the applicants with open jobs. Imagine the application of American business ingenuity to this process. That, my friends, is why this program will work.

There are plenty of other details to the Pence plan, but suffice it to say that as conservatives study the plan, they continue to find that just about every question is answered and every base covered, and all according to principles conservatives hold dear. Read it for yourself to see.

For now, these other details, in no particular order, bear highlighting: First, there would be an established limit to the number of visiting workers. Second, there would be a time limit on their stay. Third, they would have to pass an English proficiency test after two years. Fourth, they would be required to undergo a health screening before coming. Fifth, they must pay taxes just like American citizens. Sixth, they would not be able to be hired until after the employer could show it had made an effort to hire existing Americans.

And so on, in commonsense provision after commonsense provision.

In short, the plan is ingenious. Not only should conservatives rally behind it, but so should the White House. It provides the President with a near-perfect escape from the rock-and-hard-place dilemma of trying to please, all at once, Hispanics, big business, and the mainstream Americans who insist that the first requirement of a guest is that the guest abide by our society's laws.

Such insistence is absolutely the right thing. But it doesn't, by any means, require that Americans fail to exhibit our usual humaneness, nor does it require that we keep necessary jobs unfilled.

In sum, the Pence bill offers security and prosperity in equal measure. You can't beat that.


Quin Hillyer is executive editor of The American Spectator.

The proposal seems reasonable even to a fairly bent hardliner like me. It is still a match to a powder keg. Besides anyone who does not willingly leave can simply claim citizenship and will not need to present a funky ID card. Hey, it workes for them now.

And what about those that openly refuse to leave?

AI_BOT

There seems to be one glaring omission. Who will force them to go home to obtain green cards/work visas? Illegal aliens will not leave and no one is willing to deport them; ICE refuses to deport them now under the catch and release sham. What is so complicated about securing our borders and forcing employers to call the social security administration and verify ssn's presented by illegal aliens? This is just amnesty in disguise. I hope this doesn't fortell an unraveling of the conservative bloc within the House.

The Pence plan says: No card, no job. And no exceptions.

This just looks like more smoke and mirrors to me.

How about adding these things:

No child born to a "temporary worker" will be granted US citizenship.

Employers of "temporary workers" are fully responsible for their welfare and healthcare costs. Temporary workers who show up at hospital emergency rooms must have an employer ID card, so the employer can be billed for any and all services provided.

Employers of temporary workers will be legally and financially responsible for the actions of their workers.

Does someone have the Pence bill handy to post?

It needs to be checked with a fine tooth comb first in order to see the fine print.

IF, and only if it passes muster, this might be a GIFT HORSE to us in fighting the Senate bill!

After an American employer can, in good faith

After what we've seen in this country do we still believe in a "good faith American employer?" And what will govern the rate of pay that will be offered?

It leaves out only two controversial, and unnecessary, provisions: the one that would tie up our court system by treating illegals as felons and the one that some critics said would keep good Samaritans from caring for needy aliens.)

What needy aliens? I thought we would secure the border and everybody would go home?

Imagine for a moment asking millions of people to line up at the U.S. Consulate in Mexico City to obtain a visa to come to America and work as a guest worker.

Gee, I'm sorry, but how did ths get to be something I need to care about? Maybe this would give Mexico an idea to deal with their own economy.

There's going to be big problems with these Ellis Island Centers too. I've worked on both sides of employment agencies in my life. They just want a fee for supplying a "body." The "random" drug tests are a joke. They select the persons to test that seem like a safe bet, and I didn't see anything about supplying drug free workers. The background check in Mexico will amount to slipping a few hundred bucks into the hand of a recruiter. The document forgers will still just be able to work in Mexico.

I heard an interview with Tom Tancredo a few weeks ago and he didn't care for the Pence Bill and was worried the House would adopt it.


http://mikepence.house.gov

SUPPORT GROWS FOR PENCE IMMIGRATION PLAN


Washington, Jun 7 - The following are excerpts from recent articles covering Rep. Pence’s Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act:

(To access an Executive Summary of the Congressman's plan, please visit http://mikepence.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=2146)



Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the House:

“One positive addition to the border-security and immigration debate is Rep. Mike Pence's (R-Ind.) bill, the Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act. This bill is as close to the right solution as I have seen. It sets up a four-step process starting with what is needed and universally agreed upon -- border security. Second, it does not provide amnesty for people in the United States illegally. It requires them to go home. Next, it sets up a work-visa program using electronic bio-metric security based on conservative market principles.


“After an American employer can, in good faith, show that no American worker will fill a job offer, a work-visa holder may be hired. The key feature is that, in order for people who are here illegally to get a work visa, they must go home, because work visas will only be issued outside of the United States. Fourth, once the program is set up, companies that continue to ignore the law will be sanctioned severely.


“I hope the House will take a serious look at Rep. Pence's thoughtful and pragmatic approach to solving this issue.”

Human Events.com, June 6, 2006
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=15383


David Keene, American Conservative Union Chairman:

“Fortunately, there are some seeking solutions to these problems that neither surrender principle nor ignore real problems. Chief among them is Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who has put forth an alternative that could attract support from reasonable men and women on both sides of the debate. There is no more credible conservative in Congress today than Pence. He has proved himself over time as both a serious legislator and a principled conservative capable of resisting the temptations and threats emanating from within his own party.


“Since speaking out at the Heritage Foundation just before the recess, Pence has come under attack from those on both sides willing to accept the status quo unless they get their own way. Those attacks in themselves should force reasonable members of Congress to take a serious look at Pence’s proposal.”

The Hill, June 6, 2006
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/T ... 60606.html


Quin Hillyer, Executive Editor of The American Spectator:

"There are plenty of other details to the Pence plan, but suffice it to say that as conservatives study the plan, they continue to find that just about every question is answered and every base covered, and all according to principles conservatives hold dear. Read it for yourself to see.

"For now, these other details, in no particular order, bear highlighting: First, there would be an established limit to the number of visiting workers. Second, there would be a time limit on their stay. Third, they would have to pass an English proficiency test after two years. Fourth, they would be required to undergo a health screening before coming. Fifth, they must pay taxes just like American citizens. Sixth, they would not be able to be hired until after the employer could show it had made an effort to hire existing Americans.

"And so on, in commonsense provision after commonsense provision.

"In short, the plan is ingenious. Not only should conservatives rally behind it, but so should the White House. It provides the president with a near-perfect escape from the rock-and-hard-place dilemma of trying to please, all at once, Hispanics, big business, and the mainstream Americans who insist that the first requirement of a guest is that the guest abide by our society's laws.

"Such insistence is absolutely the right thing. But it doesn't, by any means, require that Americans fail to exhibit our usual humaneness, nor does it require that we keep necessary jobs unfilled.

"In sum, the Pence bill offers security and prosperity in equal measure. You can't beat that.”

The American Spectator, June 7, 2006
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9922


John Fund, Wall Street Journal editorial board member:

“That's why it's good news that the glimmer of a workable compromise surfaced this week, courtesy of Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, head of the Republican Study Committee, a group of 115 conservative House Republicans. Mr. Pence, proud grandson of an Irish immigrant, says the only bill that can pass in this year's hothouse environment may have to be one that couples stiffer border enforcement with a no-amnesty guest-worker program.


“His proposal (which can be found here) would have the U.S. government contract with gold-standard private employment agencies such as Kelly Services to establish offices called Ellis Island Centers in countries that supply the most illegal alien labor today. The centers would provide an incentive for illegals to leave the country and apply for guest-worker visas in the U.S. that would be granted within a week by matching workers with jobs employers can't fill with American workers. They would also make criminal and other background checks. Guest workers would be able to apply for citizenship, but they would have to follow current rules with no favoritism over those now waiting legally in line.”

The Wall Street Journal Blog, May 30, 2006
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110008446


Gary Bauer, President of American Values:

“Mr. Pence's ‘rational middle ground approach’ is a breath of fresh air in the immigration debate, because it recognizes the economic need for additional workers while also addressing the security issues at stake. This non-amnesty solution would be acceptable not only to conservatives, but also to American Hispanics who oppose illegal immigration and "reform" proposals that reward delinquency.”

The Washington Times, June 1, 2006
http://washingtontimes.com/functions/pr ... 5025-4419r


House Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner:

"(Rep.) Sensenbrenner said a proposal such as Pence's could have merit because it does not contain a special path to citizenship.

"'A guest worker program I think can be on the table if it does not contain an amnesty,' he said. "'I think the American public is entitled to having a vote on a compromise before the elections, so that the voters can go to the polls assessing how their representatives and senators have done on this issue before they decide who to send back.'"

The Boston Globe, May 27, 2006
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washi ... migration/



Michael Barone, U.S.News & World Report senior writer:

“Interestingly, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, who will dominate the House members in conference committee, says he is absolutely against any legalization proposal, but would consider a guest worker plan. This suggests that the Pence/Krieble proposal, or something like it, could emerge from conference committee.”

U.S. News and World Report, June 1, 2006
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/ba ... =rss:site1



Deborah Simmons, Washington Times Deputy Editor for Editorial Pages:

“Mike Pence, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, is seemingly perched on middle ground, proposing a four-step plan that puts border security right where Americans want it -- at the top of the immigration-reform to-do list. His plan also ‘offers a no amnesty solution,’ engages the private sector in the worker-visa process and, like the House bill passed in December, cracks down on employers who hire illegals.


“The Pence plan is a good starting point for House-Senate conferees.


“Why? Because of the bottom line: It is against the law to enter this country without our permission; it is against the law to work in this country without our permission; and it is against the law to stay in this country without our permission.”

The Washington Times, June 2, 2006
http://washingtontimes.com/functions/pr ... 5025-4419r



Brandon Crocker, The American Spectator contributor:

"I was surprised, for instance, when I heard local San Diego radio talk show host (and sometime Rush Limbaugh fill-in) Roger Hedgecock, who fulminates long and often over the Senate's 'guest worker/amnesty' program, express the opinion that Pence's view was 'reasonable.'"

The American Spectator Blog, May 31, 2006
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9887



Dallas Morning News editorial page:

“Some House conservatives indicate they could back a bill that doesn't completely mirror the get-tough-on-Mexico plan they approved in December. For instance, GOP Rep. Mike Pence recently presented a guest worker alternative.

“While we don't embrace the particulars of his plan, it's good to see a leading House conservative propose broader answers. Without ideas like his, House negotiators will stick narrowly to more agents, technologies and fences.”

Dallas Morning News editorial page, May 31, 2006
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... f7dd8.html



Indianapolis Star editorial page:

“Pence, Indiana's representative from the 6th Congressional District, argued in a speech at the Heritage Foundation last week for what he calls the 'rational middle ground on immigration reform.'

"Pence, like many fellow conservatives, calls for much tighter border security and a crackdown on employees who hire illegal immigrants.

"But what's different about his plan is that it would create a legal and realistic means for guest workers to match up with U.S. employers. Under Pence's proposal, the federal government would license private firms to set up 'Ellis Island Centers' in the nations most likely to supply labor to the U.S. Employers would contract with the firms to find workers, who would be required to pass a background check and health screening before receiving a visa."

Indianapolis Star editorial page, May 31, 2006
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 6441634560



TIME.com

"With the Senate headed toward a final vote on an immigration bill this week, a leader of House conservatives is asking his colleagues to support a free-market plan aimed at bridging the gulf between the versions in the two chambers.

"The proposal by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), provided to TIME ahead of an unveiling speech at the Heritage Foundation, is arguably less compassionate than the version being debated in the Senate and supported in principle by President George W. Bush.

"But it looks to be more palatable to House Republicans, many of whom have opposed creating a guest worker program before new border crackdowns have been given a chance to work.

"Pence, a rising star in the House, is suggesting a temporary worker program based on a data base run by private industry.

"And unlike the leading plan in the Senate and the blueprint sketched by Bush, his 'Border Integrity and Immigration Reform Act' would require all applicants to leave the country first.

"Pence tweaks a phrase from Bush’s address to the nation by calling the compromise 'a REAL rational middle ground.'

"Even though Bush has said his preferred solution 'ain’t amnesty,' Pence appeals to hard-liners by calling the compromise a 'no-amnesty solution.'”

Time.com, May 23, 2006
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 91,00.html



WORLD Magazine:

“Mr. Pence explains that in his bill illegal immigrants must leave the country and, moreover, actually will; the State Department only will issue visas (called "W visas" because of fortuitous bill drafting) to immigrants outside the United States. Private worker-placement agencies called "Ellis Island Centers" will then put guest workers in jobs reported to them by U.S. employers. This leaves little incentive to hire illegals, whose employment would carry a fine, over guest workers.

The Pence bill breaks a six-month dry spell in the House, where disagreement has made most legislators content simply to criticize the efforts of the president and the Senate. Still, it does not ensure any measure of support.”
WORLD Magazine, May 26, 2006
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/11907


Richmond, Indiana Pal-Item editorial page:

"He's attempted to find a middle ground in the increasingly polarized Congress.

"Those who favor full amnesty send a bad message. That's only further encouragement to those considering illegal entry in this country.

"And those who support full deportation are unreasonable. With much of our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, how will we deport 12 million people? The full-deportation people haven't offered a solution.

"Those on both sides of the immigration issue ought to look to Pence as an effective legislator and work with him, not chastise him."

Richmond, Indiana Pal-Item editorial page, May 31, 2006
http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 10335/1003

Originally Posted by CountFloyd

The Pence plan says: No card, no job. And no exceptions.

This just looks like more smoke and mirrors to me.

How about adding these things:

No child born to a "temporary worker" will be granted US citizenship.

Employers of "temporary workers" are fully responsible for their welfare and healthcare costs. Temporary workers who show up at hospital emergency rooms must have an employer ID card, so the employer can be billed for any and all services provided.

Employers of temporary workers will be legally and financially responsible for the actions of their workers.

Good catch! Count

http:// vdare. com/ misc/060607_henry.htm

June 07, 2006

Congressman Mike Pence and the Amnesty Lobby
By Marcus Henry*

Two days before the United States Senate passed S.2611, Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) delivered a speech on immigration policy at the Heritage Foundation. Pence to offer what he called a "middle ground" proposal, a "no amnesty immigration reform" in which "securing our border is the first step." [Renewing the American Dream: The Real Rational Middle Ground on Immigration Reform, May 23, 2006]

The timing of Pence�s speech and his position as chairman of the House Republican Study Committee combined to get his proposal the maximum media attention. So, what is the "middle ground" Pence wants to occupy?

The Krieble Foundation Genesis of Rep. Pence�s Plan

On December 13, 2005, the same day the House of Representatives passed the landmark Sensenbrenner bill HR 4437, the Heritage Foundation offered its stage to Helen Krieble, head of the Vernon Krieble Foundation, to outline her plan to allow all illegal aliens in the U.S. to stay by having work permits issued by private sector labor brokers stationed in border towns.

Krieble employs guest workers under the H-2A visa program on her horse farm and complains of the excessive paperwork and long waiting lines involved.

Doubtless Krieble speaks for many employers in the agricultural sector who would prefer a more streamlined process.

But those visa safeguards, documents and regulations were put in place for a reason�like the rule that says the temporary worker has to go home after ten months and reapply from his home country.

Lawmakers who enacted the H-2A program had the quaint notion that a temporary workers should be, well�. temporary. The new plan envisioned by the Krieble Foundation and now endorsed by Pence would eliminate most of those nuisances.

Pence�s proposal borrows heavily from the Krieble Foundation plan. Krieble�s Heritage Lecture used some bizarre logic to reach its conclusions, including opposition to fences and walls on our borders.

In her lecture, "Private Employers and Border Control," she made a remarkable statement about walls. She said that the former Soviet Union built walls "when there were enemies on the other side of the wall."

Krieble is ignorant of the Berlin Wall�s true purpose. Most people who lived through the Cold War remember that the Soviets built those walls to keep their own people IN, not to protect against invading Finns and Romanians.

Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to "Tear down that wall!" to liberate people INSIDE the Soviet Empire, not as a condemnation of all walls and fences. For that reason, it is disconcerting to see Pence chose Krieble as his border security mentor.

A wall between Mexico and the US is required because Mexico hardly qualifies as a genuinely passive neighbor. Consider its inability to control the drug cartels now running the billion-dollar people smuggling business throughout the lawless border regions.

Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Ciudad Juarez and other border towns are gang-controlled. Add to this the inconvenient fact that the Mexican government actively encourages its citizens to enter our country illegally. Mexico�s peaceful intentions are open to serious question.

The Temptation of "Statesman�s Disease"

Pence is not the first ambitious politician in Washington, DC to be seduced by the siren song of cheap labor, but his proposal is especially noxious because of its deceptive packaging.

Pence has now joined open borders advocates like Senators Larry Craig and John McCain. But because Pence wants to keep his conservative credentials he must label his plan a "no amnesty" immigration reform despite its stealth amnesty provisions.

The gambit is about as ingenious as McCain and Kennedy insisting their plan is not amnesty because the illegal aliens must pay a fine before getting their work permits and their path to citizenship.

By attempting to play statesman, Pence has legitimized defection from conservative ranks at the very moment conservatives need to unite behind the House�s enforcement-first plan, HR 4437, written by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner.

HR 4437 passed the House in December by a huge margin with support from 90% of House Republicans. By jumping ship from HR 4437 in favor of a "comprehensive reform," Pence undermines Sensenbrenner and House conservatives fighting to uphold the enforcement-first strategy. The details of Pence�s plan will not be known until he introduces his bill. But his May 23 Heritage speech offers an outline.

All of its key features depart from the enforcement-first principles of the Sensenbrenner bill.

If It Quacks Like a Duck

There are at least four reasons why Pence�s plan does not qualify as "no amnesty immigration reform" or as a solution to our illegal alien mess.

First is its sophomoric dishonesty on the amnesty issue.

Pence says he rejects amnesty and restates that several times in his Heritage speech, but like Bush, Kennedy and McCain, he proceeds to grant amnesty anyway. The Heritage Foundation defined amnesty in one of its 2005 papers as any plan that does not require illegal aliens already in the US to go home and apply for a work visa in order to enter the country legally. Pence asserts his plan meets this test by requiring all illegal aliens now employed to cross the Mexican border and then return one week later to the same jobs with their freshly minted work permits. Thus, he guarantees illegal aliens can keep their existing jobs and suffer only the inconvenience of a one-week trip to the border and back, but he insists this is not amnesty.

How this one-week-visa process is supposed to work for non-Mexicans from Peru, Pakistan and Ireland is not explained by Pence�another example of his plan's shallowness. The only criteria mentioned for being allowed to keep the same job is that the employer is satisfied with their work and welcomes their return if they pass a background check�a background check coordinated by the employer�s agent, a labor broker.

Pence says nothing about the more than 3.5 million visa overstays from over 100 countries or how they get certified for re-entry to their existing jobs. Do they get the same "no-amnesty" benefits as Mexican citizens who walked across the border?

According to the Krieble plan that Pence has now adopted, this one-week turnaround will be guaranteed by giving that task to private sector labor brokers who will coordinate background checks and match each worker to the same job they have been working illegally if their employers wants them to return.

Presto! The problem of 12 million illegal aliens is solved through the marriage of free enterprise and modern computer technology. Pence admits that this virtual guarantee of keeping the same job is essential to the plan�s viability because without that guarantee, none of the illegal workers would dare leave the job and cross the border to put his fate into the hands of a labor broker who gets his commission from the employer, not the worker.

It is anyone�s guess whether Pence really believes this nonsense or is merely throwing a hair brained idea into the policy mix in hopes of getting some credit for whatever compromise might eventually emerge from the sausage grinder of congressional legislation.

It is certain Pence�s idea of private sector labor brokers taking over the process of granting ten million work visas will not survive the laugh test much less close scrutiny by people attentive to national security.

Even Pence admits that illegal aliens who cannot pass a criminal background check will never come "out of the shadows" to submit to even this minimal scrutiny.

The Straw Man of Mass Deportation

Second, Pence cannot be taken seriously because of his use of Bush�s straw man argument about the impossibility of "mass deportations."

He presented his proposal as a middle ground between the "two extremes" of mass deportations and amnesty, yet no one who spoke in support of HR 4437 in the floor debates has proposed or suggested mass deportations as part of a solution.

In fact, it is widely known that HR 4437 is explicitly based on the attrition strategy and not deportations. If the jobs magnet is turned off through vigorous enforcement of our labor laws, illegal aliens will stop coming. Those already here will go home over time. Pence�s use of such flawed logic shows that either he has not studied the problem in depth or he is willing to be a Karl Rove stooge�or both.

No Concern about Lost Jobs and Lost Wages

Third, Pence ignores the job displacement problem created by hiring cheap foreign labor.

Like most such plans, his proposal does not require that employers demonstrate that no American will take the job at the prevailing wage, only that the job was posted at a worksite. But at what wage was the job advertised?

Pence shows no awareness or concern about the serious problem of wage erosion over the past two decades created by the availability of illegal workers. He assumes that a job now held by a foreign worker is one no American wants. The problem of unemployed dry wall installers and subcontractors who used to do that work for $15 an hour but can�t compete against illegal workers who do it for $8 does not concern him.

How to even calculate a legitimate prevailing wage in jobs where wages have been eroded for twenty years by illegal labor is an issue never addressed by any of the guest worker proposals. The Krieble Foundation, the Heritage Foundation or the CATO Institute have never discussed this critical issue.

Temporary Workers Have a Path to Citizenship

Fourth, Pence�s sleight-of-hand about the "path to citizenship" for temporary workers is a fatal flaw. Newspaper reports on the Pence plan mentioned it as a "compromise"� that is, it did not offer a path to citizenship.

But it does. In his Heritage speech, Pence says that the period of the worker�s stay in the U.S. is limited to two three-year terms. Then he adds this juicy morsel: After the six years, "the worker must choose" whether to return home or apply for legal residence as a citizen. It is only their term as guest workers that is limited, not their residence in the United States.

In Pence�s plan it is the worker�s choice to return home or not. There is no requirement that he apply for a green card from his native land. He might decide to stay and apply for a green card that leads to citizenship. (Memo to Mike Pence: This is called a "path to citizenship" and is the same option allowed under the Kennedy-McCain bill and the Martinez-Hagel bill passed by the Senate on May 25.)

White House Hubris vs. House Republican Survival

All of this would be a mere sideshow if it were not for the auspicious timing of the Pence plan.

Pence is entitled to propose anything he likes and to jump into the immigration debate with both feet.

Grover Norquist has been peddling the open borders snake oil among conservatives for years, and the CATO Institute and the Club for Growth have given cover to these rogue libertarians. But when a new stealth amnesty proposal is thrown on the table at the precise moment when House conservatives must unite against the Senate�s foolishness, something is rotten.

House Republicans basically have two choices in dealing with the Senate bill. They can attempt to fashion a face-saving compromise with the Senate by way of a conference committee�s negotiations, or they can say no to the very concept of another amnesty and require the Senate to bring an enforcement-first bill to the table.

Pence has made his choice. Like McCain and Rove, he thinks you can finesse away the issue of amnesty by redefining it. Allowing 12-15 million illegal aliens to become citizens is no big deal to them as long they can pretend we are securing the borders (wink, wink) against the next 15 million.

This passes for political shrewdness in our nation�s capital today and demonstrates why the Republicans are in such a mess.

Pence and a few others in House leadership are desperately trying to find some way to pull the president�s chestnuts from the fire of public outrage over our porous borders.

Bush has only himself to blame for the immigration blind alley he is in. He staked out his amnesty position in January 2004 and refuses to listen to the chorus of voices inside his own party telling him to change course.

The paltry 6,000 National Guard troops announced by Bush is a transparent ploy to disarm critics, not a serious plan to secure the border. Thus, it is an excess of hubris for the White House to suggest that House Republicans have some obligation to help restore the president�s poll standings by swallowing the Senate�s amnesty plan.

House conservatives� sole responsibility is to produce sound legislation that is good for the country and in tune with their constituents� values and interests. The Bush-McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill meets neither test, and Pence�s conservative credentials are now tarnished by his misguided attempt to help Rove engineer a stealth amnesty.

When sound policy and smart politics happen to coincide, it is incredibly stupid to run in the opposite direction.

Pence is not stupid so he must have had something else in mind. Perhaps a few congressmen in very safe districts can go slumming with the open borders lobby and show bravado by insulting their base.

But for most House Republicans that kind of thing is a luxury they cannot afford in 2006. It will lead to disaster

Great find, Brian!

That put's PENSE along with his plan in the shredder.

Can't trust these snakes one inch.

Must go after Pense now and let him know that the cat's out of the proverbial bag Gotchya Pense