Journal pudge's Journal: Immigration Reform Failure Hurts Republicans? 11
I've talked to a lot of Republicans who have been energized by their victory in blocking the immigration reform bill. A former independent angry at both parties, Jim Gilchrist (founder of the Minuteman Project) said on Saturday that he became a Republican late last year, shortly before the 2006 elections.
I see this as helping the Republican party. Sure, some mdoerates aren't pleased about it, but few if any of them will leave the party over this one issue. It was the right wing that was in danger of being alienated from the party over this, and it seems to have had the opposite effect. If the bill had passed, then that might have hurt the party, but
Damn You, Karl Rove!
Yes, it did hurt... (Score:2)
Yes, but only the jerks that supported that abomination.
Count me among the highly annoyed conservatives that hated that bill and are jubilant at it's defeat.
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Yeah, I was just expanding.
P.S. Go vote for Bonderman.
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1. Increasing penalties and enforcing current laws against hiring illegals
2. Allowing illegals access to medical care - but treat them, then deport them when they are healthy enough to be transported.
3. Add law forbidding rental or sale of housing to illegal aliens, and laws against harboring of illegal aliens - in other words, treat them like the criminals they are - they have broken the law entering this country illegally.
4. With no place to work, no health care, and no place to stay,
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I'm in favor of:
1. Increasing penalties and enforcing current laws against hiring illegals
Agreed.
2. Allowing illegals access to medical care - but treat them, then deport them when they are healthy enough to be transported.
Disagreed. This will discourage illegals from seeking health care, and their own poor health is sometimes a hazard to me and you. For (real) emergencies and for vaccinations or treatment for dangerously communicable diseases, I say we should treat them without repercussion.
3. Add law forbidding rental or sale of housing to illegal aliens, and laws against harboring of illegal aliens - in other words, treat them like the criminals they are - they have broken the law entering this country illegally.
I don't think it should be required to check someone's citizenship to allow them to rent a house. And I will get to the "criminals" thing in a moment.
4. With no place to work, no health care, and no place to stay, they'll leave on their own accord. The ones that don't can be deported.
Agreed, but I think simply taking away jobs and MOST welfare is sufficient
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Good point, and one I will concede.
False, actually. There is no criminal statute, either felony or misdemeanor, that makes it a crime to be in the United States "illegally." It is an immigration violation, similar in law to an infra
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There is no criminal statute, either felony or misdemeanor, that makes it a crime to be in the United States "illegally." It is an immigration violation, similar in law to an infraction, and NOT a criminal violation. Illegal aliens, by virtue of being here illegally, are, by definition, NOT criminals.
Maybe one should be added, then?
This was the major thing that caused those pro-illegal-immigrant rally things last year: the House passed a bill that a. upped the crime for illegal entry from misdemeanor to felony, and b. made it apply to people who are HERE illegally, not just those who enter illegally. Interesting, the Republicans -- though they included it in the bill -- tried to remove it, because the President said this would put too much of a burden on the system, it wouldn't be enforced, and would just be bad PR. Sensenbrenner a
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I agree with your points so far.
I disagree with Railgunner and possibly you in one way. I acknowledge these people did something wrong when they came here or stayed illegally. But many of them have been making new lives for themselves and their families for five, ten, fifteen years. After that much time, I don't think penalizing them with deportation is the fairest, or best course of action.
That much time having passed, many of th
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So is it a felony now to come in illegally? What about overstaying a visa?
No. If the House bill had passed the Senate and been signed by Bush, it would be a felony for both, I think. But no, it never got that far.
I disagree with Railgunner and possibly you in one way. I acknowledge these people did something wrong when they came here or stayed illegally. But many of them have been making new lives for themselves and their families for five, ten, fifteen years. After that much time, I don't think penalizing them with deportation is the fairest, or best course of action.
I am not in favor of deporting them. I want people who are here and established and OTHERWISE following the law beyond being here illegally to be able to stay. I don't even care about "touchback" so much, except that we have the problem of knowing who was here and when and this is a way to prevent more people from coming in without visas. But that's too far ahead: