Should the new bill on illegal imigration pass?
404040
The bill should pass, this is a country of law which is be ruled by law. There should be no way for anybody to break those laws because you want to survive? The law is not prohibiting migration to America, but those who want to come in illegally. If you want to come to America, do the right thing, ask for permission from the US consular and get here legally. The argument of, immigrant doing the job nobody want to do is not correct and should not be entertain. If they want to survive they focus their energies in developing their countries and enjoy the fruit of their labor for their mother land. Or should come in legally and be documented, pay their taxes so that I will not end up paying for their education and health care needs. This is is a sovereign country of Law and these Laws must be respected and by all.
482893
The USSenate passed a bill today that would allow illegal aliens--even if they committed a felony--to receive Social Security benefits and others--All but 5 Democrats voted for the passage. My only hope is that it will not pass the House!!!  THIS is ridiculous legislation--since Social Security is in trouble already!!!!
334869
I think that a bill needs to be passed to help curb illegal immigration.  There are plenty of opportunites for people to legally immigrate.  Do it legally.  Then there won't be this problem.  I applaude the independant people who stand along to US/Mexico border to help stop the illegal immigration.  I don't think that the illegal immigrants realize how much of a strain they place on the US economy.  They can't get health insurance, driver's licenses or any of the things that they need.  Everyone else is forced to pick up the tab for them.  I feel bad for the kids of illegal immigrants who are US citizens but that's the chance that their parents tooks when they chose to move here illegally.  They need to go!  I know that sounds mean but that's how I feel.
781194
No they have applied for amnesty. It's one of the bills supported by the Democrats who now contol Congress. Perhaps a wall.............. a very high wall between our borders might be the solution to this horrible crisis that we now face.
972423
Congress will reassemble for a lame duck session, but nothing on immigration will happen.\n\nThere is no one bill, and no broad consensus among the many bills. Republicans and Democrats both would like the issue to go away.\n\nWhat's happening is that the states are imposing rules regarding illegals, and the Feds are being pushed into the position of objecting to the enforcement of existing Federal law. It's an issue that is turning into a metastatic cancer on Republican politicans.
1077296
I hope so, and I hope it does die.  Let's start by giving our exsisting immigration laws a shot instead of repassing the same failed immigration bill that was passed in 1986.
507683
As I understand it the compromise was that the pro-illegal immigrant sponsors of the Senate Bill would allow there to be a vote on amendments, which they were refusing to do before.  For example, they refused to allow a vote on an amendment which would restrict a guest worker program only to people who are not convicted felons.  In the face of that refusal to consider amendments, Republicans would have fillibustered the Bill to death.\n\nIn return for the agreement to consider amendments, the Republican Majority Leader agreed that a specific number of people whose biggest concern was relief for currently present illegal immigrants would be on the committee that negotiates the Senate Bill (whatever it turns out to be) with the House Bill (the strict one you have heard most about.)  The Senate Bill is expected to have a path to citizenship and guest worker program, whatever other amendments occur, but then it will need to be negotiated against the House Bill which has neither of these things.\n\nPersonally, I think that without SOME form of legalized path for current, qualified illegal immigrants, no bill will get out of Congress this year.  However, the exact shape of that is still on the table.\n\nOnce the two bills are 'conferenced' together, the whole congress needs to vote 'yes' or 'no', without amendments.\n\nThe deal so far just moves the status quo forward to the next step, as far as I can tell.  The big push will be over the next two weeks, so if you have something to say, you should be saying it to your representatives.
568772
I think we should break down the question into three parts, and address the overarching themes (since we do not know what the final shape of the immigration bill will be).\n\nFIRST PART:\nShould there be immigration? The answer is a resounding yes. America is a nation of immigrants, and unless you're the great grandson of Sitting Bull, you are of immigrant origin. Immigration is what gives strength to this country: where do you think George Washington and Lincoln came from, spontaneous combustion? What about Einstein? \n\nFurthermore, while many sit around and complain about immigrants, the US is the country with the most transnational corporations in the world, which means we derive a great portion of our wealth from doing business abroad--so I think we can take a few immigants from those countries in which we do business. Mexico happens to be our fourth largest trading partner which means a lot of Americans have jobs because Mexicans are buying our products. \n\nAlso note that a lot of Americans are staffing the branches of US transnational corporations in other countries. For instance, Japan is the country with the second largest population of Americans (after the US, evidently, and excluding Iraq and Afghanistan were American populations are in theory temporary) and Mexico is the country with the third largest population of Americans (besides businessmen and women, note that a lot of Americans retire in Mexico, upwards of 1 million retirees, which is about 1% of the Mexico's population).\n\nIt's true that it would be good if Mexico could provide enough work for its own citizens, but the fact is that it cannot do that yet; as neighbors the US and Mexico need to sit down and work together to find a solution. Building a fence will not even help; we'll probably have to hire immigrants to help us build it! \n\nSeparately, someone claimed that immigrants come here to take advantage of Social Security and our welfare state. In fact, statistically speaking, it has been proved again and again that immigrants work hard enough to earn their Social Security, just like any other worker in America. In addition, it's also a statistical fact that there are more Americans on welfare than immigrants; illegal immigrants do not really have access to it, since they are not US citizens and cannot receive it.\n\nHaving said that, you might say, "OK, but there ought to be a legal process to allow immigrants". Fair enough. Which leads me to the second part of my answer.\n\nSECOND PART: \nShould there be a temporary guest workers program (which President Bush has proposed) that will eventually allow immigrants to become citizens?\nBy all means. Immigration is actually good to oil the global economy and the American economy. As economies develop, such as the US economy has, the citizens become more wealthy and better educated, which leads them to look for better paying jobs. If you are well educated, you are not going to apply for a fruit-picking job, you'll try to become a lawyer, businessman or a college professor, for example. Immigrants are the ones who help us do the jobs in sectors that suffer from labor deficits.\n\nThere are those who argue that if immigrants didn't come to the US, the minimum wage would be higher and therefore US citizens would be more willing to do those jobs. That's nonsense, because of what I just explained: a better educated population does not want to work in agriculture, work as house maids or delivery boys! If Mexico and the rest of Latin America fell of the face of the Earth, other immigrants would come from other countries to take up the jobs that nobody else is doing. In fact, that's what happened when most people came from Europe over the last 200 years. Do you think my or your great-great grandaddy was the Duke of Earl? He was likely as uneducated as any immigrant you meet on the Texas border!\n\nHaving said that, I understand the frustration that many people feel wh
739611
It should be paid for by the government but at cost.  Then laws should be passed only allowing the minimum emergency healthcare to those here illegally.   This brings up the need for immigration trained social workers, or National ID cards.
1133804
I agree with the House version of the immigration bill and strongly disagree with the Senate's bill and the President's proposal.  This "comprehensive" immigration reform championed by the Senate and the President is really a code word for amnesty.  Bush and the Senate care only about appeasing the big business interests that want a steady supply of cheap labor and the lawbreakers who are demanding that we allow their disregard for the laws of this country.\n\nIllegal immigration strains our social services and our environment.  Immigration driven population growth puts more cars on the road creating more pollution, contributes to the housing shortage as well as the paving over of open space and farmland to provide housing for the growing population.  Perhaps most important to a lot of people is the fact that illegal immigrants depress wages and allow employers to pay low wages and give no benefits.  I strongly believe the House should be steadfast in its opposition to those who want to give amnesty to the criminals who flagrantly disregard our immigration laws.
388870
I think it's fan-dam-tastic! Some of it doesn't go into effect until July 2007, but at least he DID something! Here's one report:\n\nATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue on Monday signed a sweeping immigration bill that supporters and critics say will make Georgia's laws among the toughest in the nation.\n\n"I want to make this clear: we are not, Georgia's government is not, and this bill is not anti-immigrant," Perdue said Monday at a signing ceremony.\n\n"We simply believe that everyone who lives in our state needs to abide by our laws."\n\nThe Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act will verify that adults seeking many state-administered benefits are in the country legally. It sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and mandates that companies with state contracts check the immigration status of their employees.\n\nThe law will also require police to check the immigration status of people they arrest to see if they face deportation orders.\n\nThe measure is believed to be the first comprehensive immigration package to make it through a statehouse this session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\n\nMany of the new law's provisions will not take effect until July 1, 2007.\n\nTisha Tallman, Southeast regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said she was studying potential legal challenges to the bill\n\nTallman said she was "incredibly disappointed" that Perdue signed the bill, rather than waiting for the federal government to act.\n\nThe bill drew protests at Georgia's state Capitol and prompted a daylong work stoppage by thousands of immigrants.\n\nThe new law will not affect emergency medical care and education for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, which federal courts have said must be provided regardless of immigration status. Exemptions were also added for some other services like prenatal care and the treatment communicable diseases.\n\nThe move to tighten up rules in Georgia comes as lawmakers in Washington wrestle with competing proposals to shore up controls at the border, create a guest worker program and create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States.\n\nOutside the Capitol on Monday, a few hundred supporters of the legislation roared their applause when word came that Perdue was planning to sign the proposal.\n\nThe crowd waved American flags and cheered as state Rep. Melvin Everson, one of the Georgia House's two black Republicans, denounced illegal immigration as a cancer and proclaimed: "The last time I checked, America was the land of English - not Spanish."\n\nAnd they hollered as Republican state Sen. Chip Rogers, the bill's author, called it "the strongest single bill in America dealing with illegal immigration - bar none."\n\nBut perhaps the greatest applause came when Catherine Davis, a black Republican running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, was introduced.\n\nIf Davis is elected, she vowed, "I'd tell all the illegal aliens to go home."\n\nAt the bill signing on Monday, Rogers said he has been approached by state lawmakers from South Carolina and Colorado who were interested in crafting similar proposals for their states. And Rogers said he hoped to introduce legislation next year tackling document fraud, which he said undermines efforts to enforce immigration law.\n\nRogers acknowledged the bill Perdue signed on Monday is not a cure all, but said the state was acting where the federal government refused to.
1129162
It might sound good to an illegal criminal, but not to LEGAL USA Citizens:\nSenate Bill-- the rights illegals will get:\nCurrent Bill:\n\n1. grants amnesty to the MILLIONS of illegals already here!\n2.grants amnesty to illegals FAMILYS,who live OUTSIDE the country\n3.admits HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of unskilled "guest workers",through a new "guest worker" program,with a direct path to permanent resident and citizenship!\n4.admits 1.5 MILLION\nagricultural "guest workers" with a direct path to citizenship!\n5.increases the number of employment based, immigrants admitted to the U.S. each year,by 400%!!\n6.gives the Dept.of Homeland Insecurity,the discretion to waive fines for employers who knowingly hire illegals!!\n7.allows states to give ILLEGALS,in-state tuition benefits that they can DENY to citizens who live in other states!\n8.requires consultation with the MEXICAN government,before we begin construction of a fence along OUR border!\n9.creates new student visa programs,with direct path to citizenship!\n10.allows ILLEGALS to claim Social Security benefits,for work performed ILLEGALLY!!!!\n11. Adds a 10 year 'statute of limitations' to give amnesty to illegals coming in in the future if they provide documentation saying they were here for 10 years at any future point. (This to people who have been using false documents all along.)\n12. Each of the guest workers in each of the 1.5 million person PER YEAR and 200,000 unskilled person PER YEAR program would, upon obtaining residency or citizenship be able to bring their families as well. This includes indigent parents at a time when we already don't know how we will fund old age requirements for the baby boomers.\n\nThe Wall Street Journal just touted a poll saying Americans are beginning to prefer Bush and the Senate's view to immigration reform. However, I've read the questions they asked. Had I not actually read the Senate Bill and had I been asked those questions, I'd have ended up being counted as supporting Bush and the Senate in this. People only approve of the Senate Bill if they don't know what it says.\n\nThey are not looking out for legal American Citizens. They don't listen to us. They are listening to freeloading illegal immigrants. If enough of the voting legal population will get their heads out of their butts and let their senators and representatives know how they feel about this atrocity to the American people they just might start to listen to us. \nThe laws on illegal immigration are already on the books, they just need to ENFORCE THEM.\n***********Americans Need to Get Their Heads**********\n*********Out Of Their Butts And Pay Attention************\n\nCredit goes to: DAR and yars232c Y!A members
698021
Yes I am for massive deportation and Texas is taking the firsr step!!!!\n\nTexas lawmakers preparing for the next legislative session in January filed bills this week to block state assistance to illegal immigrants and their children and to tax money transfers to Mexico, according to the bills.
341670
I'd say the House Bill is a good start...strengthening the punishment for illegally crossing our boarders may set examples out of these criminals.  This bill also increases the penalties against those who aid these criminals and anyone who hires them.  Once you hit employers in the pocketbooks, they will listen.  The only thing is that we need to do is enforce the law...to my knowledge, this bill doesn't really change any immigration law, just strengthens the penalty for the crime.
430492
As it stands, it would allow illegal immigrants become legal.  The biggest barriers appear to be in terms of enforcing our current and potential laws for managing immigration.
470300
Very stupid bill It is a copout. Why not enforce the laws already in place?\n\nMy issue is the fact that our borders are so insecure that this is still happening even after 911.\n\nAnd no we do not owe illegal immigrants anything
5669
its a new scheme yet to become law where people who are already illegal in USA can signup and then stay from limited period in USA under the scheme and go back to thier home country. it is also going to arrange for people for work which americans dont want to do ie mostly blue collor jobs but it is going to be a short term and nothing yet is finalised but debated