Here's one way to kill a cow: It Isn't Amnesty

[rodeodance]

They have a good point here and I agree---it is not amnesty as we know it.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/opinion/29wed1.html?hp

March 29, 2006
Editorial
It Isn't Amnesty

Here's one way to kill a cow: take it into the woods in hunting season, paint the word "deer" on it and stand back.

Something like that is happening in the immigration debate in Washington. Attackers of a smart, tough Senate bill have smeared it with the most mealy-mouthed word in the immigration glossary — amnesty — in hopes of rendering it politically toxic. They claim that the bill would bestow an official federal blessing of forgiveness on an estimated 12 million people who are living here illegally, rewarding their brazen crimes and encouraging more of the same.

That isn't true. The bill, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 12-to-6 vote on Monday, is one the country should be proud of. Four Republicans, including the committee's chairman, Arlen Specter, joined eight Democrats in endorsing a balanced approach to immigration reform. The bill does not ignore security and border enforcement. It would nearly double the number of Border Patrol agents, add resources for detaining illegal immigrants and deporting them more quickly, and expand state and local enforcement of immigration laws. It would create a system to verify workers' identities and impose tougher punishments on employers who defied it.

But unlike the bill's counterpart in the House, which makes a virtue out of being tough but not smart, the Specter bill would also take on the hard job of trying to sort out the immigrants who want to stay and follow the rules from those who don't. It would force them not into buses or jails but into line, where they could become lawful residents and — if they showed they deserved it — citizens. Instead of living off the books, they'd come into the system.

The path to citizenship laid out by the Specter bill wouldn't be easy. It would take 11 years, a clean record, a steady job, payment of a $2,000 fine and back taxes, and knowledge of English and civics. That's not "amnesty," with its suggestion of getting something for nothing. But the false label has muddied the issue, playing to people's fear and indignation, and stoking the opportunism of Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader. Mr. Frist has his enforcement-heavy bill in the wings, threatening to make a disgraceful end run around the committee's work.

edited

[rodeodance]

1. seems most agree--(not liking 'amnesty")

......The alternatives to the Specter bill are senseless. The enforcement-only approach — building a 700-mile wall and engaging in a campaign of mass deportation and harassment to rip 12 million people from the national fabric — would be an impossible waste of time and resources. It would destroy families and weaken the economy. An alternative favored by many businesses — creating a temporary-worker underclass that would do our dirtiest jobs and then have to go home, with no new path to citizenship — is a recipe for indentured servitude.

It is a weak country that feels it cannot secure its borders and impose law and order on an unauthorized population at the same time. And it is a foolish, insecure country that does not seek to channel the energy of an industrious, self-motivated population to its own ends, but tries instead to wall out "those people."

It's time for President Bush, who talks a good game on immigration, to use every means to clarify the issue and to lead this country out of the "amnesty" semantic trap. He dislikes amnesty. Mr. Frist dislikes amnesty. We dislike amnesty, too.

The Specter bill isn't amnesty. It's a victory for thoughtfulness and reason.

[existentialist]

2. A side note

As I recall, and found of interest, most of the Republican Senators who voted with the Democrats on this one are facing difficult election challenges, including Ohio Senator DeWine.

I'm not pointing this out in defense of DeWine, but perhaps as a sign that the turmoil in politics is giving vulnerable Republicans second thoughts and that they may have an inkling where the popular support lies on this issue.

[rodeodance]

6. thanks, i had not thought of that. Perhaps.

[elehhhhna]

3. Why has noone mentioned that the 6 year work visa ensures that

the workers don't invest their pay HERE. No buying a house, etc.

Other coutries that depend on immigrant labor have found this out the hard way. Duh.

[rodeodance]

5. not all want to be citizens.

[elehhhhna]

8. but those who do?

[mzteris]

4. they need to concentrate their efforts

on the employers.

Higher fines. ?Criminal charges, maybe? At the very least civil charges.

If you make it unprofitable for them to pay under the table and take advantage of illegal immigrants, then they'll stop hiring them.

I'm not anti-immigrant, I'm anti-mistreatment of illegal immigrants because they can get away with it.

Decide to not pay overtime? Decide to short 'em a little? Decide to not provide any type of sick leave or holidays or anything? ok - they can take a hike.

You don't pay the taxes, SS, FICA, etc. because you're paying under the table. You're saving $$ so who cares about some "illegal", eh?

No need to safety train or provide safety equipment, because if they get hurt on the job - so what? You don't have to worry about worker's comp, you just tell 'em to take a hike.

[rodeodance]

7. nice post.

[napi21]

9. Part of this bill is OK I guess, but I still think they're approaching the

problem the wrong way!

The EMPLOYER is actually breaking the law by paying under the table and paying less than min. wage. THEY should be heavily fined for the first and second offense and jailed after that! If there were NO JOBS available, the problem would go away.

The second thing that they should be looking at is the immigration system itself. I'm not exactly sure what all has to be done to immigrate legally into the US, but I keep hearing it's terribly bogged down in red tape and so severly understaffed, the process takes many years longer than it ever should. If we really want to promote LEGAL IMMIGRATION, we should streamline the method to do so!

WHY the hell doesn't ANYONE in Wash. ever think logically?????