What would be a humane immigration policy?

[Cleita]

I’m not against immigration. Having worked in the restaurant industry for quite a few years, I met many Spanish speaking illegal immigrants from south of the border. I also met an equal amount of illegal aliens who came in from the other border, Canada. These illegals weren’t as visible because they were white, mostly, and spoke English. They also had more education and vocational skills than the Hispanics. They were from Europe, New Zealand and Australia and in recent years from the former Soviet Union.

All of them, though, whether white or brown, lived in a twilight world of deception. None were criminals in the sense that they stole, dealt dope or were murderers, but they had to deceive to survive. The first deception was acquiring a social security number. This was accomplished in many ways, however, one legal way was to open a savings account.

In this way the Social Security office waived any documentation ordinarily needed to provide that person with a Social Security number. It’s an avenue open to investors like Saudi Arabian sheiks and others who do business in this country, but many a penniless Aussie pulled the ruse off, with acting skills worthy of Russell Crowe to work in this country.

Usually, though, the Hispanics just made up a number. I worked in one restaurant where all the workers had the same number except the last digit was separate and different. They all took ten deductions. Since most of the workers were teenagers, I questioned one about who the dependents were. Quickly thinking, she said her brothers and sisters. I brought these two things up with the manager and he told me not to worry about it. It was his job not mine he said. So as you can see, the deception was institutionalized.

In those days, they got the minimum wage, FICA, SDI and FIT were deducted. These illegals would never collect their FICA and SDI benefits. They could get their FIT back if they filed a tax return and we actually advised them to do so because the IRS was in on it too. They didn’t care if they were illegal only if they didn’t file their taxes. Yes, the only agency who gave a rat’s ass about the illegal aliens were La Migra or the Immigration and Naturalization Services. No one, but no one else cared.

Every now and then there were raids and the illegal aliens got sent back to Mexico, never Canada, mind you because the white ones were never reported. But they would be back in a couple of days and working at their old jobs. So there is a need for these people and I think helping them do this legally is a step in the right direction. I am very wary of the Republican plan though.

Many of them do get exploited especially the nannies and housekeepers. So legally exploiting them becomes a conundrum. I remember the sad case of a gardener who was kept almost as a slave by the company who employed him. They gave him a ragged blanket to sleep on a concrete garage floor, and only a little money. It was one of the restaurant workers who befriended him when he found him rummaging through the garbage for discarded food. They rescued him, the other illegals did, giving him a place to live and finding him a job, as well as teaching him the ropes of surviving in this twilight world.

So, this is my idea how it could work. First, we have to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour. Yes, this is what the bare minimum to survive takes in this day and age. We need to bring back overtime and we need to offer health care. This would encourage Americans to work at those jobs that usually are usually filled by the aliens. If there are unfilled jobs then I think we could look south of the border. I believe we should encourage the Mexicans to start employment agencies at the border. If there is no job, there is no reason for them to cross the border.

If a worker gets placed, then they could give him the documentation he needs at the border. I also think the employer should be responsible to pay for his fare and making sure he has a place to live while he is a guest worker here. I don’t know what taxes I would make the worker pay, but probably would take income taxes, but not FICA or SDI as long as he didn’t have a legal resident “green card”. He would be required to go home when the job ends.

I worry about the way things always have been done. A change is needed but I’m not sure that Bush’s plan is the change that would work.

[La_Serpiente]

1. On top of that

we need to fund the INS programs that deal with getting citizenship more. They are already underfunded and INS now probably places more emphasis on enforcing immigration laws than helping immigrants.

Also, a young adult that was a valedictorian at their high school and whose parents are undocumented immmigrants would not be put on a fast track to US citizenship but a person who joins the military would be put on the fast track to US citizenship.

I think there should be more optioons than just the military for children of undocumented immigrants.

[sam sarrha]

2. A humane program would be to clean up the corruption in Mexico so the

people that left their homes to survive can go back home and help their own country.

I have been denied jobs by the state employment office because they said the ad was only to provide a reason to immigrate someone form another country so they could get a job here if someone didn't take the job in so many days.. i said i wanted that job, i was a qualified jeweler and i wanted to apply for it... they refused to send me to it so the job could be given to an immigrant.

There are 3 million EXTRA unemployed since Bush overthrew the government.. now he wants to give any new jobs to immigrants????!!! this will just lower the wages for all of us.

The Mars project is just an excuse to ship in foreign workers that get gov subsidized education in their country, they will drift to the private sector because the mars project is a bogus give away to big corporations and a lowering of American wages over all to compete with the ship ins

[Cleita]

4. This is very true.

Mexico and other Central American countries need real labor reform. So that the people will want to stay in their country and work there. I was always dismayed with the lack of education of the workers we got here. Most of them had been working from the age of nine or even less, so they were barely literate.

But I don't know how we could go in there an fix this unless we annex Central America as a territory and well that's plain imperialism, so instead we have to fix this problem from our side of the border.

I'm sorry about your job problems. I'm sorry for everyone stuck in this sorry place. I hope we can replace these robber barons before the destruction of our nation is irrepairable.

[QC]

7. So long as Mexico can export its poorest and most desperate people

it will have no incentive to deal with its extreme wealth concentration, overpopulation, lack of economic development, lack of educational opportunity, etc.

Doing things as we do now allows a very few people to improve their lives, at the cost of great danger and hardship, while leaving many millions more with no hope of better lives.

[sam sarrha]

9. Mexico is making its richest richer by exporting its poverty,

[sam sarrha]

10. Mexican immigration is the Largest MIGRATION in the history of the world

:wtf:

[doc03]

3. Here's one

You hire a illegal worker you pay $100,000 for each one. There will
be no jobs for them then. If you want to trade with the US you give your people a living wage, decent working conditions and you follow strict environmental standards.

[Cleita]

5. This would only make sense wouldn't it?

I really think they need to fine these companies heavily who outsource to cheap and exploitive labor and then expect to sell their product to us.

[doc03]

6. Thanks Someone finally gets the point

If a company had to pay a $100,000 fine for knowingly hiring an illegal worker, I don't think we would have a problem with illegal
workers for long.

[Cleita]

8. Kick for the East Coast.

:kick:

[Cleita]

11. I dunno.

Maybe a lot of people have me on ignore, but considering the number of disturbing posts about this issue, I will try to kick this up one more time.

Remember that the people considered illegal immigrants here are mostly Native Americans from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and other Central American countries.

They were reduced to peonage status by the Spanish conquistadors. They come here because the wages are better regardless of what we think. This is an underclass that is not illegal as much as those who came here and conquered them. Yes, we have to worry about wages being driven down by them.

Yet to the victor goes the spoils and possession is 99% of the law. Let's try to keep into perspective which immigrants are really the ones who were here first.