Immigration Bill - A Closer Look

From here

Illegal immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years could receive legal status after meeting several conditions, including payment of a $2,000 fines and any back taxes, clearing a background check and learning English. After six more years, they could apply for citizenship without having to leave the United States.

So illegals just come forward and say, here I am - the check is in the mail. And I've been here for, how long should I say? What a freaking joke this is. Back taxes on what? Paid by whom, from what? They'll likely realize fewer dollars if they start paying taxes and they already send much of their money home. This makes absolutely no sense.

• Illegal immigrants in the country for between two and five years could obtain a temporary work visa after reporting to a border point of entry. Aides referred to this as "touch base and return," since people covered would know in advance they would be readmitted to the United States.

WHAT? Touch base? Why, for what? Does this accomplish anything at all? And if so, for whom? To give jobs to some ticket clerks? It makes absolutely no sense at all. What is touching base going to achieve? This is idiocy and they are attempting to sell it to you. What a farce. Let's put this here item in so we look like we're doing something. And how are these people supposed to get to the border and back? Public transportation? Is our Senate really this dumb? rhetorical question

• Officials said it could take as long as 13 to 14 years for some illegal immigrants to gain citizenship. It (sic) part, that stems from an annual limit of 450,000 on green cards, which confer legal permanent residency and are a precursor to citizenship status.

So, how much of the hi-tech talent we need isn't going to be able to get green cards because the agribusiness needs them? That's a super-highway to a third world economy.

• Illegal immigrants in the United States for less than two years would be required to leave the country and apply for re-entry alongside anyone else seeking to emigrate.

Oh, I get it - Hey you, pack up and go home! What a complete farce this is.

Separately, the legislation provides a new program for 1.5 million temporary agriculture industry workers over five years.

Huh? So the end result of the immigration bill is we get more of the same? And this deal benefits us? Not even close.

It also includes provisions for employers to verify the legal status of workers they hire, but it was not clear what sanctions, if any, would apply to violators.

That already exists - in spades. The problem is employers don't follow it. And this bill provides no incentive for them to start now.

To secure the border, the bill calls for a virtual fence — as opposed to the literal barrier contained in House legislation — consisting of surveillance cameras, sensors and other monitoring equipment along the long, porous border with Mexico.

Yay! Our virtual Republican majority is going to build a virtual fence. Good luck getting elected on my virtual vote you virtual cowards.

Update: More from Frist's blog. Good thing he has a third career path.

Enforcement, though paramount in this debate, must be balanced with compassion.

That above from the Majority leader on lawbreakers. Who writes his blog, Ted Kennedy? Why is it our job to take care of Mexico's problem? This man doesn't seem to understand who he works for.

Border Enforcement Specifics:

Add nearly 15,000 additional border protection agents to augment the 20,000 Customs and Border Protection agents already on the job

Which means the virtual fence is a joke, right?

Specifically authorize 1,250 border agents and 1,250 port-of entry inspection agents

They just added 15,000 above. What is this, for good measure? That raises the question of how these agents will be dispersed. It sounds like this includes ports.

Require Defense Department cooperation on the border, e.g. unmanned drones

Big deal, what are they going to do? Fire Hellfire missiles? The Minutemen were doing this and immigration did nothing. Doesn't the defense department having more pressing concerns overseas already?

Begin the process of securing every inch of our 1,951 mile border with Mexico by building walls and fences in high traffic areas and using sensors to let our Customs and Border Patrol Agents see and hear those who try and cross through low traffic areas

Okay, so there won't be enough agents to cover the border - great, they can watch them on TV and wave them in. Begin the process?? Are our pols planning on vacationing in the area and having their kids build a few sand castles? That's about how much there is to this bill by the time you add those agents and hope to enforce the ports, inspect containers AND go after employers, when a simple barrier would do it. And the costs would be less over time. This is economic silliness.

Require fingerprint database connectivity between FBI and Border Patrol
Interior Enforcement specifics:

Increase alien smuggling penalties with a mandatory minimum of 5 years
Add criminal penalties for various immigration-related document fraud
Mandate the use of expedited removal for aliens apprehended within 100 miles of the border and 14 days of entry

The above already exist in some form. And cities don't allow for identifying illegals, many even prohibit it. This is just smoke and mirrors.

Employer Enforcement specifics:

Establish nationwide, mandatory verification program for hiring workers
Limit the number of acceptable hiring documents with REAL ID standards
Authorize 2,000 new work site enforcement agents and 1,000 anti-fraud agents

All of these cumulative manpower and administrative costs versus building one solid barrier? This does not compute. And it tells you they are not really serious about immigration control. Some Senators will bring some jobs home to their states. Meanwhile, we get more of the same while they add 20-30,000 people to the Federal payroll.

I hope Cynthia McKinney doesn't beat one of them up, we might actually here about it in the news. With this compromise we'll get about six months of high profile border busts caught on film at eleven before we go back to business as usual and our grand kids go on shouldering corrupt Mexico's burden.

I hate communism. But at least the Chinese figured how how to deal with this issue 2,000 years ago. Meanwhile, in America, except for Republicans gaining control in the Senate in name only, nothing has really changed.

Comments

[splashtc]

How about no citizenship-no reward for criminal/illegal acts. Congress is so naive -this is just an open invitation for everyone!-to sneek into the country and lay low for awhile.

[annie]

This is just an open invitation to break the law, and not fair to those people who are trying to get to the US legally, though if they are quick on the uptake they will latch onto that solution, just come anyway, there is a good chance you wont get sent back.

It would be better to shore up the border, and arrest the people who are not in US legally whenever you come across them, and send them back. May sound a bit hard to some, but you can't take in half the earth and their dependents, including some who are not that friendly to the US.

[DoorMart]

Conservatives who vote GOP have been wasting their votes

GOP is just socialism in a different color

There is no reform without the deportation of all illegals. Yeah you wont deport all....but deporting will make illegals think twice about trying to break into the US

Otherwise, brush up on your Spanish

[coconuttree]

Otherwise, brush up on your Spanish.

It happened before when the Indians had to brush up on their English. Now it's your turn.

[Robert Teal]

I am 63 years old so I only have ten or fifteen year at most to hang around this damn country. It was once great because it stood for principles of law and justice but now it stands for a bunch of political pigs that only think dollars and power. It is a sad day when mob rule comes to America but we are seeing that mob in the streets to scare the politicians into action. What a change for the United States, lawbreakers demonstrating to break the law. Now tell me Jefferson would be for that. O for the days when people could vote for men of quality and not the lesser of two trash bins we have today. I often wonder what it would take to have the constitution read in the words it is written in rather than the babblings of Presidents Bush and Fox, the ACLU, and a bunch of black robed fools that see themselves a social engineers instead of judges. My ancestor froze a Valley Forge for this? Did he die so that people can break the law in mass and be rewarded for it? Well, I suppose we can all smile and pay up on April 15. It is wonderful to finance farce.

[Bill]

Actually those who believe politicians were any different in bygone days need to read Henry Cabot Lodge's book, _George Washington_, first published in 1889.

Next, As I keep asking, please point me to the grant of power in the Constitution for the United States of America where the federal government is given power to regulate immigration and/or naturalization beyond Article I, Section 8 wherein Congress is authorized to "make an uniform rule of naturalization..."

Immigration is and always has been a state power. It's just that state officials are too stupid/too scared to exercise it and the feds are always ready to steal power at the drop of a hat.

[lm Harrington]

I am not an active blogger, so I do not know if this had been discussed, but in regard to immigration "Send them all home and let them stand in line like the other good law abiding citizens back in their native country". America does not need anymore law breakers. Mexico loves having them here because we eliminate a lot of their welfare responsibility when they are here, plus they are not there embracing the Zapatista movement back home less money is being sent back to fund the movement. Vincente Pox, oops FOX, wants them here so they can become citizens and support the Aztlan Movement to take back the southwest US states. Aztlan Movement: (http://www.aztlan.net/nofa.html) Go to the site and learn more about their intentions and their embracing of the PLO.

[Althor]

People from all over the world want to emigrate to America, and it is this infestation of Mexicans coming out of the woodwork like roaches, which is screwing it up for everyone else! Is that fair and "politically correct" to all those others for whom this Mexican invasion makes it harder to emigrate?!?!

I say that we should be "politically incorrect" and send all the Mexicans back! They are the ones overrunning this country, and ruining it for everyone else!!!

And by the way, they don't "speak" Spanish, but a mixture of Spanish and Aztec Nahuatl words, which is hardly intelligible to anyone that does speak proper Spanish! And they are illiterate for the most part, most of them not even having a sixth grade education. Is this what we want to "enrich" the fabric of our society?!?! I say, SEND THEM ALL BACK!!!

Althor

[Jason Bourne]

Well, the U.S always taking action after the event has taken place. We knew that this was going to happen, we didnt take no action, like 9/11, no action. Until it already happened, so as far as the immigration bill goes, Im kind of stuck in between, yea illegal immigrants are draining our economy, our natural resources and increasing the crime rate in our society. So do we Americans, and on the other hand I think they deserve a chance to stay since they can break through our defenses, sneak into our country. Then yeah they have what it takes to live in our country, we need to sign them up with the army. We are all people, and Im not talking about your nationality, your race or any other ethical attribute/characteristic. We are just people, trying to live our lives to the fullest. But even though im saying this doesnt mean that they shouldnt pay taxes and other fees like us americans. They should not be excluded but to send them back to their country is not too bright. I guess I have to trust our government on their decision, even though it may not be a right one. and besides there's nothing we can do anyways, once they have their minds set, Democracy reigns is over.