On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 20:08:55 +0000, no-spam
wrote:
>
>Response I received from the White House cancerning President Bush's
>reported undocumented worker / legislation follows. Also being referred
>to as "Illegal Alien Amnesty" in news media.
>
>
>
>The White House
>Washington
>
>Dear Mr. _____:
>
>Thank you for writing to President Bush about United States immigration
>policies. We appreciate learning your thoughts and welcome your
>suggestions about this important issue.
>
>The President is committed to keeping America and our borders safe. He
>opposes amnesty for undocumented workers and believes that migration to
>the United States should be legal, safe, and orderly while addressing
>our economic, security, and humanitarian needs. The Administration
>continues to work closely with Mexico and Canada on shared border
>concerns, including enforcing immigration laws and facilitating
>legitimate travel and trade.
>
>Without jeopardizing the livelihoods of American citizens or control
>over our borders, we can make our immigration laws more rational and
>more humane. For this reason, the President recently asked the
>Congress to develop legislation that would match willing foreign
>workers with willing employers
>when no Americans can be found to fill the jobs.
The big flaw: How would this be tested and validated? The method use
dfor H1Bs is laughable. You would have to be sure that it wasn't
interpreted as no American can be found at the substandard wages the
empoyer is offereing.
>The President
>proposed that the Federal Government offer temporary worker status
>to undocumented men and women employed in the United States at the
>time he announced his proposal, January 7, 2004, and to those in
>foreign countries who have been
>offered employment here. The workers living in the United States and
>signing up for temporary status would pay a fee to register in the
>program, abide by the rules, and return to their home countries
>after their worker visas expire unless they have another form of
>lawful status.
How would you enforce the return? Like you do now for visas? Why
wouldn't they just stay on illegally? All this does is make entry
easier for those who would be willing to stay illegally.
>
>The President’s proposal would help deter illegal immigration by
>increasing enforcement against employers who hire undocumented workers.
Any enforcement would be an increase. People now come on TV and admit
hiring illegals and nothing is done.
>The proposal would also include provisions allowing those aliens holding
>temporary worker permits under this program to travel between their home
>countries and the United States. The President also remains committed to
>working with other nations to allow foreign workers to receive credit in
>their home countries’ retirement systems for time worked in the United
>States, and he supports the creation of tax-preferred savings accounts
>that workers can
>collect when they return to their native countries.
>
>President Bush respects and values the role that immigrants continue to
>play in building our Nation, and he believes this temporary worker
>program reflects our country’s heritage as a welcoming society. If
>enacted by the Congress, his proposal will strengthen our economy and
>make our homeland more
>secure.
BS
>
>Thank you again for writing.
>
>Sincerely,
>Heidi Marquez
>Special Assistant to the President
>and Director of Presidential Correspondence
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