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Newt apparently riled some conservatives with his comments on illegal immigration during the last Republican debate. Specifically he said that deporting illegals who have been in the country a quarter century, working and paying taxes, being members of churches and having put down roots in their communities would not be compassionate. I hope he elaborates on that train of thought and I have a suggestion for him.
I would go even further and offer a special green card to all illegals currently in the country who are not criminals (beyond violating immigration law by entering the country illegally). The green card would specify that they can never become U.S. citizens unless they go back to their country of origin and apply to immigrate to the country legally. I'd make an exception for those who enlist to serve in the armed forces.
That would do a number of things. It would allow these people to work and pay taxes like everyone else. It would take the burden off employers to verify the immigration status of hirees. It would prevent employers from exploiting immigrants by holding their illegal status over their heads. And it would deny the Democrat party a steady stream of voters.
All this would be contingent on securing the border once and for all and would not apply to anyone who came into the country illegally after a set date.
I think some conservatives are just expressing their initial reaction but once they listen to all the facts and details on Newt's plan I think most who currently disagree will come along. Newt is correct on the issue and making these bold statements in the debate shows leadership and guts.
He's right, People have done worse things than cross the border illegally, and after 20 or 25 years if they have not been a problem to society they are considered to be absolved of their crime.
Newt apparently riled some conservatives with his comments on illegal immigration during the last Republican debate. Specifically he said that deporting illegals who have been in the country a quarter century, working and paying taxes, being members of churches and having put down roots in their communities would not be compassionate. I hope he elaborates on that train of thought and I have a suggestion for him.
I would go even further and offer a special green card to all illegals currently in the country who are not criminals (beyond violating immigration law by entering the country illegally). The green card would specify that they can never become U.S. citizens unless they go back to their country of origin and apply to immigrate to the country legally. I'd make an exception for those who enlist to serve in the armed forces.
That would do a number of things. It would allow these people to work and pay taxes like everyone else. It would take the burden off employers to verify the immigration status of hirees. It would prevent employers from exploiting immigrants by holding their illegal status over their heads. And it would deny the Democrat party a steady stream of voters.
All this would be contingent on securing the border once and for all and would not apply to anyone who came into the country illegally after a set date.
I fully 100% agree with you and have advocated the same type of thing except that I would also extend the citizenship path to people who were brought here as children. I agree fully that we must and should stop illegal immigration but we need to combine that with a compassionate legal amnesty that would offer permanent residency (not citizenship) for those who are here, working, paying taxes and have not been in trouble with the police. If we could combine that with a hard nosed take no prisoners approach to further illegal immigration- including jailing and civil seizures of businesses that employ them, we could solve this problem pretty much quickly.
I think some conservatives are just expressing their initial reaction but once they listen to all the facts and details on Newt's plan I think most who currently disagree will come along. Newt is correct on the issue and making these bold statements in the debate shows leadership and guts.
Don, I think you are right. Before Perry said he sees nothing wrong with allowing children of illegals who have been here for years to attend Texas colleges as in state students, I was one of those who was outraged at the thought. When I listened to him and yes, Newt I changed my mind. The thing we have to accept, like it or not, we are not going to deport 20 million people. It is time we start realizing this and figuring out a way to help those who are helping themselves and get rid of the rest..I wonder how many of us have families that actually arrived here illegally?
Nita
He's right, People have done worse things than cross the border illegally, and after 20 or 25 years if they have not been a problem to society they are considered to be absolved of their crime.
Surveys show the vast majority of Americans think the same way. Sadly, though, the Republicans don't care what the majority thinks and are dancing to the tune of the far right. This will hurt Newt's chances just like it did with Perry. Pretty much locks things up for Romney, I think. He doubtless feels the same about the issue as Gingrich but has the good political sense to lie about it.
He's right, People have done worse things than cross the border illegally, and after 20 or 25 years if they have not been a problem to society they are considered to be absolved of their crime.
Surveys show the vast majority of Americans think the same way. Sadly, though, the Republicans don't care what the majority thinks and are dancing to the tune of the far right. This will hurt Newt's chances just like it did with Perry. Pretty much locks things up for Romney, I think. He doubtless feels the same about the issue as Gingrich but has the good political sense to lie about it (and his true position on most issues). It is one sick party that requires its candidates to lie and deceive to win a primary.
Newt apparently riled some conservatives with his comments on illegal immigration during the last Republican debate. Specifically he said that deporting illegals who have been in the country a quarter century, working and paying taxes, being members of churches and having put down roots in their communities would not be compassionate. I hope he elaborates on that train of thought and I have a suggestion for him.
I would go even further and offer a special green card to all illegals currently in the country who are not criminals (beyond violating immigration law by entering the country illegally). The green card would specify that they can never become U.S. citizens unless they go back to their country of origin and apply to immigrate to the country legally. I'd make an exception for those who enlist to serve in the armed forces.
That would do a number of things. It would allow these people to work and pay taxes like everyone else. It would take the burden off employers to verify the immigration status of hirees. It would prevent employers from exploiting immigrants by holding their illegal status over their heads. And it would deny the Democrat party a steady stream of voters.
All this would be contingent on securing the border once and for all and would not apply to anyone who came into the country illegally after a set date.
I can tell that you have never lived in the immigrant hellhole of southern California. Immigrants have completely taken over many jobs that americans WILL DO. Construction jobs, plumbing, drywall, restaturant, etc are all jobs that americans would do. Even if they work, their children still qualify for free school, free healthcare, food stamps, etc. Just how much taxes do you think that an immigrant pays to compensate the local and state governments for this largesse? Newt is wrong and is merely pandering. There are too many immigrants in this country, period.
Don, I think you are right. Before Perry said he sees nothing wrong with allowing children of illegals who have been here for years to attend Texas colleges as in state students, I was one of those who was outraged at the thought. When I listened to him and yes, Newt I changed my mind. The thing we have to accept, like it or not, we are not going to deport 20 million people. It is time we start realizing this and figuring out a way to help those who are helping themselves and get rid of the rest..I wonder how many of us have families that actually arrived here illegally?
Nita
Nobody thinks that we are going to deport 20 million ppl. But we could at least make it much more difficult for them to qualify for the free goodies that most Americans don't qualify for, yet we must pay for thru our taxes. Ariz seems to have done a good job at it. There was an Az Pei Wei restaurant that hired all illegals, and then turned right around and hired american citizens for those jobs after it was raided by INS.
First of all, you cannot just say, 'you get to stay because you have been here 25 years, you go to church and you are good at a trade or you are skilled at something we need', or 'you have to go back, because you have only been here 10 years and you don't go to church and you're not really good at anything... you just pick peaches or mow yards or something. That would be such a discrimination mess, it would be unreal. It is illogical to think for a minute that would work.
Now, there could be some program for those who have been here and not been in trouble to work toward citizenship while they are productive, but no one that came here illegally should be granted full amnesty or citizenship just because. That is rewarding illegal behavior which is very out of hand. That only contributes to more people coming here illegally and until we secure and seal the border, the whole argument is counteproductive anyway.
There are people from other countries...other than Mexico, who are waiting to get into this country right now that we need in this country to fill jobs that they have expertise in and they can't get in. If we stop all of those crossing the border illegally and slow that train down, we might actually be able to allow more of a diverse population to come here and contribute.
Last edited by dixiegirl7; 11-24-2011 at 11:41 PM..
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