I am all in favor of enforcing labor laws, and making sure companies are not hiring illegal immigrants. In this sense, I am in agreement with Tancredo. What concerns me is that Tancredo is taking an extreme, on-sided position that ignores the reality and needs of immigrants who have come into this country illegally. I am not saying we should give amnesty, but I am saying there is more to the problem of illegal immigration than supply & demand. I believe the government needs to address the issue of immigration quotas, and the completely inefficient methods being used to process legal immigration requests.
Tancredo needs to show compassion, American hospitality towards the world's poor and needy, and include provisions that provide for an increase and quicker processing of legal immigration applications. There needs to be a two-pronged strategy to fixing the problem of illegal immigration. Enforce our current laws by prosecuting companies that hire illegals, by effectively deporting any individual found to be in our country illegally, and by fixing our border and immigration process to safely allow more law-abiding, hard-working immigrants to come into this country if they so desire.
Until he stops acting like a good-old-boy, and behaving like a racist anti-immigrant white politician, he is going to find himself losing a lot of ground in the mainstream, where people know how to balance the issues. Please make a note--I believe Tancredo is not a racist, and that his motives for controling illegal immigration are in the right direction. The problem is that this subject and issue requires tact and care. We are talking about the lives of millions of individuals, women and children. Compassion needs to be evident.
President Bush and House conservatives are on a collision course over the contentious issue of immigration reform, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R.-Colo.) said Thursday.
Tancredo, chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and author of the REAL GUEST Act (HR 3333), said he expects Bush to embrace legislation drafted by Senators Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) and John McCain (R.-Ariz.). Conservatives strongly oppose the bill, which Tancredo said is tantamount to amnesty.
Tancredo’s bill instead focuses on enforcement, particularly on companies that employ illegal immigrants. He said once illegal workers are denied jobs, they will no longer flood into the United States.
“If you stop illegal employment in this country—some big, high-profile cases with some large fines and maybe even one or two people go to jail—that would have a chilling effect on employers who are presently involved in that,” Tancredo told reporters Thursday.
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