Frist outlines GOP strategy to change immigration law

[norml]

Oct. 25, 2005, 11:03PM

Frist outlines GOP strategy to change immigration law

But Senate wants comprehensive bill, which differs from House's plans for separate measures

By SAMANTHA LEVINE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist presented a blueprint for changes in immigration law Tuesday and said the Senate will begin work on the divisive issue in January as soon as it returns from winter break.

The Republican strategy is to build comprehensive legislation, Frist said, starting with proposals to strengthen border security and enforce existing immigration laws — issues where there already is wide agreement.

Then the Senate will take up trickier elements of the issue, including a guest-worker program and ways to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, the Tennessee Republican said.

Frist was flanked at a briefing by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and John McCain of Arizona, who have introduced competing immigration bills.

"It's clear that a country that cannot control its own border is going to have a hard time controlling its destiny, and therefore it is time to act," said Frist, who as majority leader determines how and whether legislation is debated on the Senate floor. "We will address it very early on."


snip


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3416239

[applegrove]

1. Looks like they are afraid of a few 10 Million new democratic votes.

What a bunch of assholes. The USA is in grave need of workers in 2014 - to care for and run the businesses of all the baby-boomers. America is desperate for workers to come behind the boomers.

But they do this. You can live here - if you pay your bills - but you can never go on welfare or vote.

ASSHOLES!

[Ally McLesbian]

2. Immigrants not necessarily Democrats

I wouldn't make such a conclusion.

Immigrants are not necessarily Democrats. They see welfare and healthcare as luxuries - after all, they did live without them back home. They would rather take a tax cut and drive a Lexus, instead of paying for welfare programs for "lazy" blacks. And they are socially conservative, strongly opposing abortion and gay marriage.

In other words, ripe Republican material.

Trust me, I live in a heavily immigrant-populated neighborhood, and it's Republican here BECAUSE OF - not DESPITE - the immigrants, who hail from India, China, and Korea.

[applegrove]

3. Immigrants are often young? Perhaps there will be ways for "guest

workers" to become U.S. citizens if they get rich enough. Then they'll be able to vote. When they are rich. But not very old and dependant on government handouts.. or young and idealistic. No - those people will not be allowed to vote.

[Frances]

4. I agree

I tutored a Vietnamese immigrant who was strongly Republican. I doubt he knows that most of the people who died fighting in his country were Democrats, not Republicans.

I have been to two fast food restaurants here in Northern California run by Hispanics. I noticed that the owners' vehicles at both places had Viva Bush stickers on them.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Democrats?

Where do you get that? Most of the undocumented workers here (Central CA) register Republican. They're told (in Spanish) that the Democrats favor killing babies (i.e., abortions) and that the Republicans are against abortions therefore, in order to keep with the Church, they must register and vote Republican.

[applegrove]

9. You assume people are going to vote against their best interests

and the USA voters will stay frozen in the 2004 election.

Come on! The people who don't own businesses or are rich will be encourage to move back as soon as they "take out of the system". The people who are rich will not be encouraged to take all their millions home - they will be given citizenship. And because "guest workers" will be competing with all the workers in the world for USA jobs - wages will keep going down and that will fight the inflation cause by oil.

And markets will roar. But the American worker - who could be facing a "worker's market" for the first time in a while - will not face that. They will have to compete too with "all the workers in the world for jobs". Companies will just say "hey - we cannot afford to pay more and Americans do not want the jobs so open the "spits" and let us import some working willing to work for $3 an hour.

Do you honestly think that when American is finally and totally divided up into the have & the have nots... that the have nots will be voting repuke?

[Ally McLesbian]

10. Nevertheless...

The Republicans, by using the strategy you outlined, are pitting immigrants against unions. Unions will be fighting tooth and nail to prevent immigrants from bringing down the wage levels. Immigrants will then be told that unions are "inherently xenophobic," and since unions are Democratic, immigrants are "better off voting Republican."

This has worked wonderfully even among the working class immigrants, and even more effectively among the entrepreneur-level immigrants.

Once that is done, lumping us with the abortionists and the homosexuals is just the icing on the cake.

In fact I am so fed up with the current immigration status that I favor completely banning certain nationalities (i.e. Cubans, Koreans) that have proven to be especially pro-Republican.

[applegrove]

12. Sorry. But you cannot go back to bannign nationalities. Oh - except -

Haitians apparently!!!!!!

[Blaq Dem]

13. I'm Black, and this is what happened to us....

Late 1960's, early 1970's. Republicans tolerated affirmative action for one reason: to interfere with unions. Yes, unions didn't always get along with black people. That's why Nixon pushed "quotas." It wasn't something we asked for. It was fine and dandy as long as we didn't ask to be paid fairer wages. When that happened, the honey moon for affirmative action ended.

See, if we open the eyes of undocumented workers to the idea of basic human rights, liveable wages and better quality health care, I'm sure they're jump at it. They have to fight for it themselves. Then we'll see the GOP try to ship any illegal out of the US.

There are two choices: either pay undocumented workers fair wages OR send them back at the expense of companies who had no business hiring them.

[leesa]

5. No mention of monetary penalties for corporations hiring

these illegal aliens, of course. Just force...."come and get a job", then bash their heads in at the border.

[norml]

6. Headline should read "Frist outlines GOP strategy to change the subject"

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=frist+hca&tab=wn&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

[MountainLaurel]

8. You're right, norml

They want to draw attention away from the forthcoming indictments by baiting their base: There's a huge split within the Repuke party between business interests who want as many illegal workers as they can get and the other sector who see immigrants as a brown-skinned menace.

[madmark]

11. Hey look at all those Mexicans (and away from those insider trades

I just did)

[ECH1969]

14. They won't do a thing