Thread: US Sen Wyden offers fix 4 illegal immigration problems(OR)

http://www.newsreview.info/article/2005 ... /104030037

Wyden offers fix for illegal immigration problems
JOHN SOWELL, jsowell@newsreview.info
April 3, 2005

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden told a Roseburg audience he has a solution for the nation's problem with illegal immigrants. However, he said he's not sure Congress or the nation would step in line behind him.

Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Douglas County Church Annex on Friday evening, Wyden suggested setting a date whereafter anyone who was in the United States without proper documentation would be subject to criminal prosecution.

Under his plan, foreigners who had lived and worked in the country before that date would be given the opportunity to "earn" American citizenship. That would involve showing they had maintained a good work record and that they had not been involved in criminal activity, Wyden said. He said he opposes blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The topic came up following a question from a woman in the audience. She criticized the nation's lax policies in allowing undocumented workers to slip into the country from Mexico and other nations.

There are an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States, according to a study released last month by the Pew Hispanic Center. Of those, 6 million have come from Mexico. Oregon has an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 undocumented residents, the Washington, D.C.-based center said.

In conversations in coffee shops across the United States, no one says they're in favor of illegal immigration, Wyden said. However, in the real world, a large number of farm jobs, restaurant positions and other low-paying service jobs are filled by illegal immigrants.

"We say we're against illegal immigration, but we look the other way the rest of the day," Wyden told the audience of about 100 people who attended the forum. "With my plan, we'd no longer have this two-faced policy on illegal immigration."

The Portland Democrat said he would also like to see the nation improve its monitoring of people in this country on nonimmigration visas. He said the United States has done a poor job of "tracking the Mohammed Attas of the world."

The leader of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists, Atta was the hijacker who flew a jetliner into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. He obtained a six-month nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States legally, but no one tracked his whereabouts as he moved from place to place and attended flight school.

It's obvious that current immigration and tracking policies aren't working, Wyden said. However, he's not sure he could win support for his idea.

"I don't know whether Congress would go for it. I don't know if the country would accept it," he said.

Wyden, who voted against sending American troops to Iraq, said he'd like to see the soldiers brought home but he opposes calls to set a date for troop withdrawal. Now that we're there, the United States has a responsibility to bring stability to the nation before leaving. Otherwise, it could make the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attack, he said.

"If Iraq just completely falls apart, at a time when we're trying to set up a stable government, it could be a much more serious threat to our country than it ever was," Wyden said.

Wyden said he opposes the plan by President George W. Bush to privatize Social Security. Echoing comments made by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio at a recent forum in Roseburg, Wyden said it wouldn't be fair to jeopardize the stability of the system by allowing workers to remove a portion of their money and invest it in the stock market.

"Under this proposal, you would have to do pretty well just to reach the status quo," Wyden said.

Investments would have to earn at least 3 percent above inflation just to break even with benefits offered through Social Security, he said. If those investments tanked, the American people would be stuck making up the difference.

Wyden praised a group of more than a dozen students who came to the forum and sat in the front row waving small flags in support of the federal educational TRIO program. The students came to criticize administration plans to drop funding for the program, which seeks to encourage and support high school and college students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Wyden said he supports the program, but said some of his congressional colleagues were more interested in pushing for continued tax breaks for the rich. He suggested the students start a campaign to write letters to congressional representatives informing them of the importance of the program.

Autumn Wilson, 17, a senior at Douglas High School in Winston, said a TRIO program at her school has benefited her greatly in preparing to go to college.

"I knew I would go, but I didn't know where to start," Wilson said.

Counselors surveyed her interests and identified suitable schools for her. She ended up deciding to enroll this fall in a certified nursing assistant program at Umpqua Community College.

She and her boyfriend, Franky Valenzuela, 18, also a Douglas High senior, also received information on scholarships, how to prepare a resume and were encouraged to do volunteer work to increase their chances of obtaining scholarships.

Valenzuela, who also plans to go to UCC, said they would not have known what opportunities were available without the information provided by the TRIO program.

So in other words Wyden is offering another shameful and woefully inept shamnesty for foreign lawbreakers. I say blow it out your sphinter Wyden. No amnesty for illegals under any circumstances. I for one am not falling for this one time shamnesty before law enforcement crap ever again. Been there, done that back in 86. Why should we the people accept yet another amnesty for foreign criminals just so these bureaucrats can write phony laws in the books that we all know will never get enforced and we'll end up with an illegal immigrant problem that's even worse in a year or two?

If anyone believes that our government will crack down after yet another amnesty needs to go check themselves into a mental institution immediately.

Originally Posted by dman1200

...I for one am not falling for this one time shamnesty...

Hey dman, you forgot to say "again." I remember falling for this logic when Reagan was president. Our government promised then that it would be the last time. Since then, illegal alien populations have exploded in our faces to bankruptcy levels in every border state and most other places. What're we to do with them? It's simple. Round them up and deport them. Until we catch them, I'd propose we cut off every farthing -- NOTHING! No tuition, no foodstamps, no medical, no education, no translation service, no tolerance. They must go. Hell, if Canada is so progressive, do what Mexico did. Herd them across the northern border. ABH! (anywhere but here)

Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Douglas County Church Annex on Friday evening, Wyden suggested setting a date whereafter anyone who was in the United States without proper documentation would be subject to criminal prosecution.

Under his plan, foreigners who had lived and worked in the country before that date would be given the opportunity to "earn" American citizenship. That would involve showing they had maintained a good work record and that they had not been involved in criminal activity, Wyden said. He said he opposes blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Sounds good to me.

Let's set the date at January 1, 1900 . . .

That late????

I have a plan that will work...and people will be behind it 100%. Just enforce all the federal, state and local laws that are already on the books.That will do it nicely. (Sanctuary cities, areas, etc known to be against federal law are also included)

RR

I think this immigration problem is stupid. We should have more security or something keeping watch of whats going on at our borders. i mean these eligal immigrants are out of controle and we now have over 12 million immigrants in our country. Ok sure maybe they have lived here for a while but why are more and more comeing in. I agree with the republicans and say that they should build 700 mile fences.