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01/08/2004: "On the Guest Worker Program"

I listened to the pundits on the radio and TV yesterday and was pretty upset at what seemed to be a purely political move on the President’s part according to them. But I wasn’t surprised that by reading the transcript of the Presidents announcement yesterday, my feelings were less negative. The Fact Sheet is also worth a look while formulating your opinion. But, I remain skeptical for several reasons.

The government has a history of unintended consequences whenever it does something. This has led a lot of people to believe that the best government is one that does as little as possible. In the 80’s, President Reagan granted a one-time, never to happen again, amnesty to illegal aliens. In theory, on the day that this occurred, our illegal alien population went to zero and our guest worker population swelled instantly. The message that went out around the world was that our immigration laws are a façade, come on in. And come on in, they did by the millions. No one seems to be able to pin down the size of this problem. The numbers estimate between 10 and 25 million illegal aliens are presently in the country. What will the message be this time? “Hey, why wait? Don’t lose valuable time on those immigration forms, get in here now and start sending the checks to the folks back home right away. A small fee wipes away the “illegal” in illegal alien.”

One of my major concerns is the protection afforded to the businesses and participants who choose to disregard the law to begin with. I can’t resolve this morally or philosophically. It’s like throwing your hands up and saying I quit. Some people are going to break the law, so why bother enforcing it? It just seems to fly in the face of the spirit of America. Is the message, “Hey all you businesses that spent time filling out those I-9’s and making sure your workers were documented, SUCKERS? You could have been paying these people under the table and saved yourself big bucks not paying the employer share of those payroll taxes or Workman’s Comp premiums or minimum wages we set. What an idiot you were to follow the law. Better think twice about that next time.”

Another concern is for our National Security. Does this help or hinder? The President outlines how this will help by allowing our focus to shift from everyone crossing the border to targeting those who may wish to do us harm with the use of a Guest Worker Card eliminating those who are just here working hard. How long till these cards are forged? If you flash this card and are allowed to cross the border without scrutiny, haven’t you just opened another hole in the security system? If you have to scrutinize these cards, where is the savings?

We do need a guest worker program in this country that works to eliminate the exploitation of the workers, meets the employer’s needs, and doesn’t further threaten our National Security. Here in Arizona, a shoot out recently occurred on a major freeway during morning, rush-hour traffic hours just outside of Phoenix between competing coyotes over a group of illegal aliens being brought into the country. The police chase that resulted in their capture went for miles into Phoenix. It was sheer luck that bystanders who were not involved in the incident were not caught in the crossfire. Like all other illegal activities, there is money to be made by the unscrupulous.

The President outlined some reassuring criteria with this program. There would be no blanket amnesty. Illegal aliens currently in the country would not cut in line ahead of those trying to immigrate legally. There is a time limit on how long a worker could stay. We would have a way to document those who are here now, as we presently do not have that capability. American workers would have first crack at these jobs. These are all well thought out criteria for the plan. The question that Congress must answer is, how?

How we will track this? How will we enforce this? How will we pay for this? How much will employers be required to contribute to healthcare needs for these workers and who pays the balance? How much will access to welfare programs be increased? Are they entitled to unemployment compensation? If they bring their family here with them and they have offspring during this tenure, will their children continue to automatically become American citizens?

I have many questions and lack the skill to come up with viable solutions but I remain skeptical and will believe it when I see it. But it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

Replies: 1 Comment

I think these immigrants should get paid their salary with no taxes taken out but then they don't get any benefits. They should also have a limited time before they have to go back, like a 3 month time limit.

Char said @ 01/09/2004 06:49 PM MST