Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom And this from US Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina <a href="http://demint.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=380" target="_blank">http://demint.senate.gov/index .cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=380</a> <<Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Senate Amnesty Bill†May 25th, 2006 - Washington D.C. - Today, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C) announced his intention to vote against the Senate immigration compromise that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Senator DeMint also released his “Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Senate Amnesty Billâ€. “We will never solve the problem of illegal immigration by rewarding those who break our laws,†said Senator DeMint. “We must stop illegal immigration by securing the border and creating a temporary worker program that does not reward illegal behavior with a clear path to citizenship and voting rights.†“This bill fails to do that. Instead, it guarantees amnesty with only the promise of border security and enforcement. We tried the same formula in 1986, and it only made the problem worse. This puts those here illegally in front of those waiting to enter the right way, and that’s the wrong message for a nation of laws to send.†TOP TEN REASONS TO OPPOSE THE SENATE AMNESTY BILL 1. Rewards Illegal Behavior with Clear Path to Citizenship and Voting Rights – Amnesty As noted by former Attorney General Ed Meese in the New York Times on May 24, 2006: “Like the amnesty bill of 1986, the current Senate proposal would place those who have resided illegally in the United States on a path to citizenship, provided they meet a similar set of conditions and pay a fine and back taxes. The illegal immigrant does not go to the back of the line but gets immediate legalized status, while law-abiding applicants wait in their home countries for years to even get here. And that's the line that counts. In the end, slight differences in process do not change the overriding fact that the 1986 law and today's bill are both amnesties.†2. Creates Temporary Worker Program That is Neither Temporary Nor Work-Based The bill’s guest worker program would allow millions of illegal immigrants to qualify for permanent green cards within four years. Additionally, the Senate approved Senator Kennedy’s amendment that each year would allow up to 200,000 immigrants who cross the border illegally and work just 6 days a year (including self employment) to qualify for a permanent green card. 3. Unprecedented Wave of Immigrants - 66 Million Over 20 Years This bill is estimated to skyrocket the number of immigrants, from its current level of 19 million over the next 20 years, to an unprecedented number. Heritage Foundation: “...[O]ur estimate of the number of legal immigrants who would enter the country or would gain legal status under S. 2611 … [would be] 66 million over the next 20 years.†4. Insufficient Border Security The Senate rejected an amendment by Senator Isakson that would have prohibited the implementation of any guest worker program that grants legal status to those who have entered the country illegally until the Secretary of Homeland Security has certified to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation are fully funded and operational. While the Senate adopted Senator Sessions’ amendment to increase “real fencing†by 370 miles and add 500 miles of vehicle barriers, the House passed a bill requiring at least 700 miles of “real fencingâ€, a more likely needed amount to secure the 2,000 mile long border. 5. Terrorist Loophole Disarms Law Enforcement Heritage Foundation reported May 24, 2006: “The Senate’s immigration reform proposal … would restrict local police to arresting aliens for criminal violations of immigration law only, not civil violations. The results would be disastrous. All of the hijackers on (9-11) who committed immigration violations committed civil violations. Under the bill, police officers would have no power to arrest such terrorists.†6. Social Security Benefits, Tax Credits for Illegal Work The Senate rejected Senator Ensign’s amendment that would have prevented Social Security benefits from being awarded to immigrants for time that they worked illegally in the United States. If the immigration compromise bill before the Senate were enacted into law, an estimated 12 million illegal workers would be able to use their past illegal work to qualify for Social Security benefits. Provisions in S. 2611 would require newly legalized immigrants to file tax returns for work they performed while in the U.S. illegally. And while some would be required to pay back taxes, many others could qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which has a maximum payout of $4,400 per year. 7. Costs Over $50 Billion A Year to Federal Government; States Foot The Bill for Immigrant Health Care Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation described the bill as a “fiscal catastrophe,†and has said the measure would prove to be the largest expansion of government welfare in 35 years. According to Rector, the bill would increase long-term federal spending by at least $50 billion a year. The Senate bill does not reimburse state and local governments for health care and education costs related to the millions of undocumented immigrants. While the underlying bill creates a state impact assistance account for future temporary workers, it is an unfunded account. 8. Hurts Small Business The Senate approved an amendment by Senator Obama extending Davis-Bacon “prevailing wage†provisions for guest workers, but not American citizens, in all occupations covered by Davis-Bacon (currently limited to federally paid work). Small businesses would be forced to pay inflated wages to guest workers above the pay American citizens receive for performing the same work. 9. Gives Some Immigrant Workers Greater Job Protection Than American Workers As reported by Robert Novak of Chicago Sun Times on May 24, 2006: “The bill supposedly would protect American workers by ensuring that new immigrants would not take away jobs. However, the bill's definition of ‘United States worker’ includes temporary foreign guest workers, so the protection is meaningless… Foreign guest farm workers, admitted under the bill, cannot be ‘terminated from employment by any employer ... except for just cause.’ In contrast, American ag workers can be fired for any reason.†10. Weak Assimilation/English Requirements The Senate approved Senator Inhofe's amendment to make English the national language and require those seeking citizenship to demonstrate English proficiency and understanding of U.S. History. However, a far weaker amendment by Sen. Salazar gutted the Inhofe amendment, leaving it in doubt, and also giving immigrants the right to demand the federal government communicate with them in any language they choose.>>
Originally Posted By cmpaley Translation: it is humane, reasonable and not from the extreme wing of the Republican Party. I wonder if requiring the sacrifice of the firstborn of an illegal immigrant to Bush's war machine would still be considered "amnesty."
Originally Posted By avromark Although amnesty of illegal's makes it harder for those who legally wish to immigrate to the US. They'll fill all the "jobs". Why reward illegal behavior? Will there be amnesty for rapists next?
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Originally Posted By cmpaley >>Although amnesty of illegal's makes it harder for those who legally wish to immigrate to the US<< Not so. The laws don't work that way. Illegal immigration does not in any way affect legal immigration or the process for those immigrating through the long, arduous and completely irrational and broken system we have now. What illegal immigration DOES do is create an underclass, which the mammonite Republicans want. Those who are here illegally do not have access to the same services most of us do, so they go to more costly emergency services, creating a fiscal problem. Also, those who ARE criminals are more likely to continue in their enterprises of evil because the vast majority of illegal immigrants, who are decent people, are afreaid to report criminals to the authorities for fear of being deported. FInally, it also serves to divide the Republican party (which, right now, is a GOOD thing) as well because the supremacist wing is in opposition to the mammonite wing, >>Why reward illegal behavior?<< The fines and requirements are hardly a "reward." Then again, for some, nothing less than the humiliation and deportation of all illegal immigrants, ESPECIALLY latino ones, in a "trail of tears" scenario would be sufficient. >>Will there be amnesty for rapists next?<< This is a straw man and reductio ad absurdum. One is not even CLOSE to the other, except for those who ARE rapists. Do I have a problem with deporting criminial immigrants? Nope. None whatsoever. Deport them after they are punished for their crimes.
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Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Translation: it is humane, reasonable and not from the extreme wing of the Republican Party<< Oh please. This is exactly what the Neo-Cons want: endless cheap labor.
Originally Posted By Dirk_D_from_Oregon Lets just do away with laws. If everybody cannot agree on a speed limit to heck with it. Drive however fast you want. Who cares if narcotics such as heroin are illegal. Junkies like using and darn it, if they want to rob innocents to get money for a fix they should have the right! Next time I need some cash I think I will rob a bank. Dont I have a right in America to get money for my family? Who needs laws?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Next time I need some cash I think I will rob a bank.<< No, no, you got it all wrong. You would just be making an undocumented withdrawal.
Originally Posted By jonvn "If everybody cannot agree on a speed limit to heck with it. Drive however fast you want." That seems to be what happened with the 55 mph speed limit. It was ignored, and it went away. "Who needs laws?" If the law is not followed, is not enforced, or generally causes more trouble than it is worth (such as prohibition), then those laws do generally go away.
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Originally Posted By Dirk_D_from_Oregon Sneaking into this country and forging documents to get a job and use taxpayer funded services such as schools, hospitals and jails is breaking several Federal Laws. The way we usually do things here is get the law repealed. Why follow any laws then?
Originally Posted By jonvn "Great. Lets all rob banks. Do herion. Abuse kids." If: 1) Everyone was robbing banks doing heroin, and abusing kids, and 2) Laws against these things were not enforced, and 3) Enforcement of said laws was actually making things even worse, then Yes, those laws would be gone.
Originally Posted By cmpaley *Walks in* Sees more straw men and reductio ad absurdum arguments. *Walks out shaking head*
Originally Posted By woody >>How about drowning kitties?<< You gotta be kidding!!! Animals will have more rights than humans if PETA gets its way. If the amnesty bill is passed as law, illegal aliens will have more rights than American citizens and legal immigrant residents.
Originally Posted By Dirk_D_from_Oregon Thats it. I am going to marry my next door neighbor who is a bank robbing, document forging man. He will be my second "wife". Who cares about laws. Lets just do whatever the heck we want!
