What Bush got right on immigration

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

What is different about Bush's stance on immigration is that the president is, at long last, dealing with a subject he actually knows something about -- as opposed to his failed war of words against terrorism, Iraq, nuclear weapons proliferation and even Social Security. On this subject, the former governor of a state with a 1,200-mile border with Mexico grasps that the problem is complex, the solution elusive and that fact and logic do matter.

[...]

What Bush got right about serious immigration reform is the need to join two apparently irreconcilable but inevitably co-dependent goals: control of the border and amnesty for most of those already here illegally. While shunning the explosive A-word, he does propose legalizing the status of millions of illegal immigrants if they pay back taxes and fines.

[...]

Bush also knows from his days as Texas' governor that simply sealing the border through military means is also neither wise nor realistic.

[...]

The jobs that draw the immigrants will continue to exist and it is in his failure to deal forthrightly with that magnet that Bush's immigration proposal dramatically fails.

[...]

What is needed is a free market in labor in which workers with clearly defined and protected rights bargain for full payment for their worth. If the working conditions and pay rise to the level that they become attractive to workers here legally then the market for undocumented workers will dry up and border controls can function relatively efficiently.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...EDGHTISPQG1.DTL

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

in essence, breaking the law and getting away with it.........

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

in essence, breaking the law and getting away with it.........

Fact of life. If enough people break the same law for a long enough period of time, the law loses value. Eventually, governments don't bother enforcing it because they no longer can.

[iceyspots 0]

got a point there... no resources to enforce it..

[SteveLaura 0]

in essence, breaking the law and getting away with it.........

Fact of life.

Indeed. It's what my old boss used to call a "grown-up solution".

[usarandyo 0]

and for Bush's next parlor trick he will make the world a safe place for everyone!

[almaty 19]

much ado about nothing..why now? why not 6 years ago, when bush held the gop and congress and senate under his control?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

much ado about nothing.. why now?

12 million undocumented workers is not 'nothing'.

"why now?" -- now THAT is a good question.

[almaty 19]

much ado about nothing.. why now?

12 million undocumented workers is not 'nothing'.

"why now?" -- now THAT is a good question.

his polls suck...iraq is a clusterfuck..medicare sign up and changes not appreciated..econopmy sucks and gas prices highesrt ever....aw, let's see...what help me improve my image...

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

much ado about nothing.. why now?

12 million undocumented workers is not 'nothing'.

"why now?" -- now THAT is a good question.

his polls suck...iraq is a clusterfuck..medicare sign up and changes not appreciated..econopmy sucks and gas prices highesrt ever....aw, let's see...what help me improve my image...

so the answer to draw everyone's attention away from the above is to turn congress, a self serving bunch if there ever was one, loose with this time bomb? no thanks.

[Mirorgate 0]

much ado about nothing.. why now?

12 million undocumented workers is not 'nothing'.

"why now?" -- now THAT is a good question.

his polls suck...iraq is a clusterfuck..medicare sign up and changes not appreciated..econopmy sucks and gas prices highesrt ever....aw, let's see...what help me improve my image...

so the answer to draw everyone's attention away from the above is to turn congress, a self serving bunch if there ever was one, loose with this time bomb? no thanks.

Sure.. cause when they blow it all to hell... and they will.. he can point the attention elsewhere.. even as he signs the bill into law.