Robert Neeld
Democrat for Congress
The Issues
University of Virginia Law Professor David Martin
has it right, and I fully agree. The Bush/GOP immigration plan
will only add to the problems facing our country. Furthermore, the Bush/GOP Immigration Package is poorly conceived.
If it gets past Congress, it could ultimately depress U.S. workers'
wages.
If you elect me to Congress, I will vote against the Bush/GOP
package in its present form. I support measures to make our borders safer and to reform our
immigration laws. But I don't think that the Bush/GOP "quick
fix" on a short timeframe is the best way to remedy this
important national issue for the long run. Quick fixes will only
compound an already complex political and social problem posed
by illegal immigration.
The Bush/GOP plan calls for current undocumented immigrants working
in the country to receive temporary-worker status for three years.
Employers could then hire foreign workers if they cannot find
U.S. workers for jobs through what Bush calls a "quick and
simple process."
According to Professor Martin, of the estimated 9 million illegal
immigrants in the country, 6 million are currently in the workforce.
In fact, a vast majority of these people are now working in regular
jobs and they are not in the so-called "underground"
or in off-the-books labor -- as the Bush/GOP stereotype would
have you believe.
Please also keep in mind that the typical, undocumented migrant's
job is not one of unending oppression and poverty, as the press
tends to indicate.
In 1986, Congress offered a one-time amnesty program covering
most undocumented workers in the country. Congress also tried
to strengthen enforcement of legal migration by requiring employers
to verify a potential employee's legal work status -- or face
serious legal consequences.
But the 1986 legislation did not require employers to probe for
further information if they merely suspected that workers supplied
forged documents to get a job-they only had to reject such applicants
if documents were obviously fraudulent. Furthermore, employers
could have been confronted with a discrimination lawsuit if they
rejected a potential employee's application for work based on
fraudulent document suspicions.
I believe that the Bush/GOP plan is an election-year ploy to
gain support from Latino voters. It also proposes tougher enforcement
of our borders in response to September 11th. Remember, Bush flip-flopped
on immigration reform between now and when he took office nearly
four years ago. Back then, Bush made statements about opening
commerce and jobs between our borders during his much-publicized
meetings with Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Bush even floated a notion that he might grant amnesty to Mexican
immigrants.
But it must have dawned on Bush and the GOP that they apparently
have bitten off more than they can chew regarding this crucial
issue. And by the summer of 2001, Bush began to backtrack on his
policies. And when Bush met with President Fox early in September
2001, he was clearly in a backtracking mode.
And then came September 11th. This tragic event seemed to have
provided a convenient context for Bush to step back away from
statements made earlier during his Administration and during his
campaign.
Bush and his GOP allies are trying to sell us on the proposition
that this new plan will help track down potential terrorists entering
the country. I want to caution against this assumption. Remember:
the terrorists who make the most exploitative use of an underground
status are the ones least likely to come forward.
In general, I see the Bush/GOP immigration proposal as quick-fix,
fuzzy, and half-baked.
It only serves to appeal to the Far Right, falsely raise the expectations
of undocumented immigrants, and provide certain unscrupulous employers
with another way to discriminate against their employees and hold
them hostage to pitifully poor wages.
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