Presidente Bush says: "Feliz Navidad!"
Presidente Bush says: "Feliz Navidad!"
Date: Thursday, December 25, 2003 2:48 AM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
www.ZaZona.com
For those of you that aren't bilingual, "Feliz Navidad" means "Merry
Christmas". I thought the title was appropriate because Bush has one
heck of a gift for America and it's not striped candy-canes in the
stockings, it's a big ugly lump of coal!
Bush's gift to the greedy corporatists will taste like a stale
fruit-cake to most Americans. That's because he intends to combine the
worst elements of the guest-worker amnesty bills of Rep. Tom Tancredo
from Colorado and the "Three Stooges from Arizona" - John McCain, Jeff
Flake, and Jim Kolbe. Note that all of them are Republicans.
The Washington Post article is wrong on some facts, so we can't use
what they have to say verbatim, but it does give us some glimpses at
Bush's strategy to destroy American jobs and to dilute our sovereignty.
The most glaring error the reporter made was to exhibit a lack of
understanding of the various guest-worker/amenesty bills that are
floating around Congress. That's a forgivable error because there are
so many of them it's easy to get confused.
Bush recently said that he wants an "immigration policy that helps
match any willing employer with any willing employee." This is
tantamount to saying that corporations have the right to subvert our
immigration laws anytime they want cheap labor.
Let's analyze what is going on here:
Bush will try to make the plan more palatable to
conservatives by including stricter entry controls,
including increased use of technology at the border
and steps toward better enforcement of current visa
restrictions and reporting requirements, sources said.
Conservatives have never trusted open-border policies but Bush isn't a
conservative - he is a radical globalist that doesn't believe that
immigration laws shoud be enforced if corporate profits are affected.
White House aides would not provide details of the
proposal, but the Republican officials said it draws on,
among other sources, a bill introduced by Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.). It would create a Web-based job registry, to be
run by the Labor Department. Employers would post job
opportunities that would be available first to U.S. workers
and then to prospective immigrants, who would be allowed to
come under a new visa for temporary workers.
The McCain/Flake bill never suggested this web-based registry. This
Orwellian idea was proposed in Tancredo's new guest-worker bill.
McCain's plan, which was introduced in the House by Reps. Jim
Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), tries to mitigate
that problem by creating a new type of visa for previously
undocumented workers who would be allowed to live in the United
States legally for three years. Then the workers could apply
for the temporary worker visa, which would be the path to a
green card, or legal permanent residency. That would amount
to a three-year advantage for those who entered legally.
If you remember, Bush proposed blanket amnesty right up to the 9/11
incident. Politicians like Bush and McCain will tell everyone that
giving Green Cards isn't amnesty, but guess what - it's amnesty.
The Republican officials said that rather than proposing specific
legislation, Bush may issue broad principles that would become
part of what campaign officials call the "compassion agenda."
This is so hilarious I don't need to comment, except I would like to
ask Bush when he intends on having compassion for American citizens.
The proposal is crucial to Bush's relationship with Mexican
President Vicente Fox,
Presidente Fox has told Bush that nothing short of amnesty will be
acceptable so Bush will obey Fox by tying a red ribbon around his
favorite cheap labor idea - guest-worker visas for all! Don't think
that Republicans are the only ones that are anxious to kowtow to
Vicente Fox, however, because the Democrats are falling over each other
to please Fox and to pledge that they want to give amnesty to everyone
on the planet Earth. Republicans and Democrats will do anything to
please the open border advocates like Vicente Fox as long as American
voters allow the betrayal to continue.
"This could be a very risky Christmas present for President Fox,"
said Rafael Fernandez de Castro, one of Mexico's leading
international relations specialists. "This is very welcome news.
But I am worried that we could end up getting more security on
the border without more legal channels for workers to go to the
United States."
This makes a mockery of the fact that we have a heightened security
alert for terrorism. What Castro really means is that's it's OK if a
few terrorists slip through the porous border as long as anyone in
Mexico can violate our immigration laws without fear of deportation.
Keep in mind that there are many aliens in Mexico that came from other
countries that also want to sneak across our border.
By now most of the techies that get this newsletter haven't read this
far. That's because they figure that Bush's guest-worker amnesty bill
doesn't hurt them. They are wrong of course, because all aliens will be
allowed into the U.S. in unlimited numbers - even the ones from China
and India. There is nothing to stop these new "guest-workers" from
taking technical jobs for less than an American could earn by being a
Wal-Mart greeter. This attack on the American way of life should be
opposed by everyone.
It's very late, so I better go to bed now or Santa Bush will never
deliver my lump of coal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25882-2003Dec23.html
Immigration Reform on Bush Agenda
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 24, 2003; Page A01
President Bush plans to kick off his reelection year by proposing a
program that would make it easier for immigrants to work legally in the
United States, in what would constitute the most significant changes to
immigration law in 18 years, Republican officials said yesterday.
Lobbyists working with the White House said Bush is developing a plan
that would allow immigrants to cross the border legally if jobs are
waiting for them. The sources said the administration also wants to
provide a way for some undocumented workers in the United States to
move toward legal status.
Bush will try to make the plan more palatable to conservatives by
including stricter entry controls, including increased use of
technology at the border and steps toward better enforcement of current
visa restrictions and reporting requirements, sources said.
Bush said at his year-end news conference last week that he was
preparing to send Congress recommendations for an "immigration policy
that helps match any willing employer with any willing employee." He
said he is "firmly against blanket amnesty," or a mass legalization. An
estimated 8 million undocumented people live in the United States. At
least half of them are Mexican, authorities said.
White House aides would not provide details of the proposal, but the
Republican officials said it draws on, among other sources, a bill
introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). It would create a Web-based
job registry, to be run by the Labor Department. Employers would post
job opportunities that would be available first to U.S. workers and
then to prospective immigrants, who would be allowed to come under a
new visa for temporary workers.
The other half of the program would be what Homeland Security Secretary
Tom Ridge referred to earlier this month as "some kind of legal status"
for undocumented workers in this country. The sources said White House
officials were more skeptical about this idea than about the
temporary-worker program, but they concluded that they needed a
response to the large population of undocumented workers for the plan
to be credible and for Bush to get credit from Hispanic voters.
The blueprint is the most ambitious of its kind since a bill signed by
President Ronald Reagan in 1986 that offered legal status to millions
of illegal immigrants who had moved to the United States before 1982
and imposed sanctions on employers who knowingly hired illegal
immigrants.
The White House plan is being designed by Bush's senior adviser, Karl
Rove, in consultation with the domestic policy staff. Sources said the
White House's biggest concern is that the new mechanism not penalize
people who had followed the law and reward those who had not. McCain's
plan, which was introduced in the House by Reps. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.)
and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), tries to mitigate that problem by creating a
new type of visa for previously undocumented workers who would be
allowed to live in the United States legally for three years. Then the
workers could apply for the temporary worker visa, which would be the
path to a green card, or legal permanent residency. That would amount
to a three-year advantage for those who entered legally.
The Republican officials said that rather than proposing specific
legislation, Bush may issue broad principles that would become part of
what campaign officials call the "compassion agenda."
Administration officials said Bush will present his proposal, which is
still being refined, in the second week of January, shortly before
traveling to Monterrey, Mexico, for a two-day summit of leaders from
throughout the Americas.
The proposal is crucial to Bush's relationship with Mexican President
Vicente Fox, which was warm in Bush's first year in office but soured
after he postponed any relaxation of immigration laws and Fox opposed
the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The two leaders began repairing the
relationship during a meeting in October at an international economic
summit in Thailand.
Bush, who said during his campaign that "family values don't stop at
the Rio Grande," had been heading toward seeking an overhaul of
immigration laws during his first year in office. On Sept. 6, 2001, Fox
said during a White House visit that he wanted broad changes in U.S.
immigration law within a year, and Bush said he hoped to "accommodate
my friend."
But the plans were scuttled after the terrorist attacks five days later
turned the government's attention toward restricting access to the
country rather than easing it. Bush said in October 2002 that some
noncitizens had "taken advantage" of America's "generous" immigration
rules.
Some conservative lawmakers remain adamantly opposed to any changes
that could be portrayed as encouraging immigration, and some members of
the Republican congressional leadership are leery of the idea, making
its outlook on Capitol Hill uncertain. But presidential advisers said
they believe that Hispanic voters, one of the targets for Bush's
reelection campaign, will give him credit for pushing for the changes
even if nothing is enacted before the election.
Kolbe said in a telephone interview that "there's a mood for the first
time since 9/11 that we have to take a look at this problem rather than
just hardening the borders." He added, "The president's involvement
will be critical."
A House GOP leadership aide, who insisted on anonymity, said the
leaders are willing to work with Bush but think it will be a hard sell
for rank-and-file members who are concerned that the plan could take
jobs away from constituents. "The economic piece of it is now much more
of a problem than your traditional xenophobia-type objections," the
aide said.
Cecilia Muqoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of
La Raza, a civil rights organization, said the danger is that Bush will
propose something "that's going to sound vast and historic but that he
knows can't get enacted next year."
"If what the White House proposes is credible, there's likely to be a
warm response," Muqoz said. "As long as we get results, we're not
going to be picky about the motive."
The proposal planned by the White House has much in common with plans
that have been offered by some of the Democratic presidential
candidates, most of which provide for a route to legalization for
undocumented workers who have been in the country for five or six
years, have a work history and can pass a background check.
Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) calls his the Earned Legalization and
Family Reunification program. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) has
called immigration reform "another broken promise" by Bush. Former
Vermont governor Howard Dean told the Arizona Republic's editorial
board that he favors earned legalization for undocumented workers who
have been in the country for some time and have committed no crimes,
but he sounded a note of skepticism about a guest-worker program like
that proposed by McCain.
The Democrats have frequently highlighted their immigration plans in
debates. A leading Bush adviser said that, given the crucial swing vote
Hispanics could provide next November, "the White House feels it's got
to get its irons in the fire now."
) 2003 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28837-2003Dec24.html
Bush Immigration Plan Hailed
Some Mexicans Fear Proposal Is Tactic for '04 Campaign
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 25, 2003; Page A20
MEXICO CITY, Dec. 24 -- Mexicans reacted with cautious optimism
Wednesday to reports that President Bush planned to propose immigration
reforms more than two years after the United States shelved the issue
-- Mexico's top priority -- to focus on combating terrorism.
Analysts said they worried that Bush's plan, which officials said Bush
would present before he traveled to Mexico in mid-January for a
hemispheric summit and private talks with President Vicente Fox, could
be little more than a campaign tactic in the election year.
But whatever the motivation, many also said they hoped Bush's interest
in Mexico and immigration reform were genuine and that relations that
had soured over Mexican opposition to the war in Iraq were on the
rebound.
"This could be a very risky Christmas present for President Fox," said
Rafael Fernandez de Castro, one of Mexico's leading international
relations specialists. "This is very welcome news. But I am worried
that we could end up getting more security on the border without more
legal channels for workers to go to the United States."
Republican Party officials said Tuesday that Bush planned to propose a
program that would make it easier for immigrants to work legally in the
United States, while at the same time stepping up security and
enforcement along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.
They said the plan would include a new program of temporary work visas,
as well as an effort to grant legal status to some of the immigrants
already in the United States. Most government and private studies
estimate that at least 8 million immigrants live in the country
illegally, more than half of whom are Mexican.
"To do immigration reform, he is going to need Congress and it's going
to be a tough battle in an election year," Fernandez de Castro said,
noting that since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S.
politicians have been more interested in closing borders than opening
them. "But in 2000, the Republicans lost a lot of votes by keeping
their mouths shut on migration. They won't make that mistake again."
Political analyst Gabriel Guerra called Bush's plan "very impressive if
it's really half of what they say it is.
"We have to wait and see what all the qualifications are, and how they
respond to all the reactions to this trial balloon," Guerra said. "I
don't see this as something feasible to get through Congress before the
election."
Immigration reform was the talk of Mexico three years ago, when Bush
and Fox took office within a month of each other, and Bush's first
foreign trip was to Fox's ranch in February 2001. Both men portrayed
themselves as common-sense ranchers who wanted to improve the deadly
situation along their shared border. An estimated 300,000 to 400,000
Mexicans every year cross illegally into the United States looking for
work. Thousands have died trying, often by drowning or from exposure in
the deserts and mountains in their path.
For months after that initial meeting, officials in both governments
worked toward a scheme that would have created mechanisms to make
immigration, in Bush's words, more "safe, orderly and legal." Mexicans
were excited that an issue that affects millions of families seemed to
be getting personal attention from a U.S. president.
But by the time Fox made a state visit to Washington in early September
2001, it was clear that opposition in Congress meant there would be no
immediate breakthroughs. A week later, terrorists attacked New York and
the Pentagon, and immigration and Mexico dropped off Bush's list of
priorities.
Then Fox's vocal opposition to using military force in Iraq, and his
refusal to vote with the United States at the U.N. Security Council,
sent relations into a deep freeze. Fox and Bush seemed to begin
repairing the damage when they met in Thailand at a meeting of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in October.
Guerra said he saw the reported immigration plan as "a domestic
political initiative. It's not being done to try to salvage the
relationship with Fox and become good buddies again."
"Of course this is all political; he's trying to appeal to the Hispanic
vote, two-thirds of which is Democratic," said Rossana Fuentes,
managing editor of the Spanish-language edition of Foreign Affairs
magazine.
Fuentes said the Mexican government should take a pragmatic, realistic
approach to Bush's proposals. She said Mexican officials should insist
that the United States also contribute development money to Mexico to
help alleviate the poverty and joblessness that leads to mass illegal
immigration.
"Then we will have a safer continent," she said. "It's in both
countries' interest to develop Mexico."
Support this Newsletter and ZaZona.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Subscribe or Unsubscribe send an email to
Back to archives