Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (5150)	3/4/2004 9:36:32 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Bush 'guest-worker' program faces critics from all sides President Bush's plan to ease immigration laws is dead on arrival in Congress, doomed by opposition from Republicans who think it goes too far and Democrats who think it doesn't go far enough. Although White House officials had hoped the plan would boost Bush's standing with Hispanics, it's turned out to be a flop. Some of the strongest opposition comes from the president's fellow Republicans, especially in California and other states with large immigrant populations. The hostile reaction will put Bush in an awkward position when he welcomes Mexican President Vicente Fox for a two-day visit to his Texas ranch starting Friday. Two months after Bush announced his intention to ease immigration laws, he has little to show for the effort other than criticism. The White House plan would let an estimated 8 million workers who are in the country illegally gain legal status as part of a new guest-worker program. Immigrants would get temporary work visas for up to three years at a time, with a still-to-be-determined number of extensions. "It was an absolute flop," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., an outspoken opponent of the president's plan. "His proposal is going nowhere." Even those who are sympathetic to Bush's approach agree that it won't pass Congress this year. Frank Sharry, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an organization that favors less-restrictive immigration laws, said the president needed a second term to have any hope of pushing his idea through Congress. Even so, Sharry said he was convinced that Bush fundamentally shifted the debate toward a more lenient policy on illegal workers. "It was a pretty bold move. In the long term, what will be remembered is that Bush took on a vocal minority in his party that says, 'Enforce the law and everything will be fixed,' " Sharry said. "We're as effective on this as we were on Prohibition." Democrats and leading Hispanic organizations criticized the plan for failing to put illegal workers on a fast track to citizenship. Instead, the president insisted that the workers eventually return to their home countries. The temporary visa proposal also failed to calm critics at the other end of the ideological spectrum, who see it as an open-door policy for illegal workers. The issue is particularly sensitive in California, the top destination for illegal immigrants. Republicans opposed to the plan vented their frustration at a state Republican convention last month, chanting, "Enough is enough!" at an anti-immigration rally. Conservative activist Barry Fellman, 51, who owns a construction and roofing company in Millbrae, Calif., near San Francisco, said he was unlikely to vote to re-elect Bush. "I want to send him a message. ... We need him to change his mind," said Fellman, who views immigration as a threat to American culture. "It's breaking down the culture. It's breaking down our language. ... I just want to keep our immigration laws the way they are and enforce them." Mike Spence, the president of the California Republican Assembly, which bills itself as the state's largest Republican volunteer organization, said many California Republicans considered the proposal an amnesty plan for illegal workers. "There's a lot of dissatisfaction about it. It has been damaging," Spence said. The opposition isn't limited to California Republicans. A nationwide Gallup poll conducted shortly after the president announced his plan found that 55 percent of Americans opposed it. Hispanics were more receptive, but hardly unanimous in their support. A poll by Zogby International found that a bare majority of Hispanics favored the proposal. Another poll, by Bendixen & Associates, a Miami-based firm, found Hispanics evenly divided: 45 percent in favor, 45 percent opposed and 10 percent undecided. Pollster John Zogby called Bush's proposal "a trial balloon with lead in it." Tancredo, a leading advocate of tougher immigration laws, said some Republicans in Congress were flooded with phone calls and e-mails denouncing the plan. "I've never seen anything like it," he said. "They were saying things like, 'I'm never going to vote for him again,' or 'I'll never vote Republican again.' That's the thing that was sort of scary from a Republican point of view." White House aides said Bush wouldn't back down. "It's an important priority for the president," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "This is about addressing an important economic need. It's also about bringing about a more humane migration policy. He remains firmly committed to it." (3/4/2004) - Knight Ridder Newspapers, Arizona Business Gazette, AZ Central zogby.com