Ron Paul an interesting perspective on immigration

Anders Hoveland · Jul 2, 2012

[video=youtube;OfJFcSF80dE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfJFcSF80dE&feature=related[/video]

It is amazing how he manages to make his views on immigration conform to his Libertarian ideology. So what do you all think about his proposed policies? Could you support them?

Here is the thing that really stood out to me:

Get rid of the subsidies. If you subsidise immigration you get more of it.

There was a time when we had just workers coming across the border. That was when they didn't expect to get easy amnesty.

We put mandates on the states to compel them to have medical care. Then you say "well that's compassion", but what happens if the hospital closes and the people here in this country don't get medical care?
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Anders Hoveland · Jul 3, 2012

What I really find interesting is that Ron Paul has been able to gather such strong support from Hispanics in California and Florida.
Polls show that more Hispanics favor the Democratic Party of course, but what is remarkable is that a decent portion of this normally politically apathetic bunch has gotten so fired up. There is a not just a small number of enthusiastic Hispanic voters at the Ron Paul rallies. So what does this mean?

waltky · Jan 14, 2013

Immigration: Amnesty Vs Amnesty-Lite?...

Marco Rubio's amnesty-lite immigration plan vs. Obama's amnesty plan
14 Jan.`13 - Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has proposed a pragmatic amnesty-lite plan that would allow the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States to earn a pathway to legal residency (as opposed to a path to citizenship).

Rubio released some general points about his proposal Wednesday to the Wall Street Journal for a Saturday story -- a day after before Rubio spoke Thursday to the New York Times as it was reporting out a comprehensive immigration plan that President Obama plans to push. That Times story appeared Sunday. Obama's plan would give illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship. And it would be one big bill. Rubio, who says illegal immigrants should pay a fine and have clean criminal records, has called for a more piecemeal approach, although he told the Times that it's not a "line in the sand." He's working on at least three or four bills. Note: Rubio is not opposed to people earning citizenship once they're on the pathway to legal residency. "Under Rubio's approach, qualifying undocumented immigrants would be given visas to stay in the US," spokesman Alex Conant said. "Then, after a certain amount of time and after doing a bunch of other stuff (like paying back taxes, etc.), they could then earn ability to apply for permanent residence, just like any other legal immigrant. They would have to get to back of line, but permanent residence is first step towards naturalization."

Just how this would all work is unclear. There's no legislation. That's a reflection of Washington's culture, which rewards talk more than action. Rubio is a good talker. Relative to that, Rubio's record as a doer is more wanting (but then he's in the minority and has been in the Senate for two years). Meantime, Rubio has garnered favorable, national attention for his proposals in the past without having to provide anything on paper. So there's little incentive for him to change now. Also, putting something on paper before you build consensus is a good way to lose on an issue. In some ways, Rubio's latest proposal is a replay of his DREAM Act alternative for illegal immigrants who raised in the United States who were brought here as kids. Rubio released no formal plan or bill there, either. The Obama Administration aped the measure via executive action. And then Rubio dropped the measure with little fanfare. He got the good press and no blowback. Welcome to DC. Conant said that Rubio plan was "tabled.... since it had no chance of passing after Obama's EO removed urgency and inflamed partisan politics"

The politics are more toxic for Rubio. Despite what Republicans will say, it's members of their party who have stopped immigration reform in 2006 and with the scuttling of the DREAM Act, which Rubio essentially voted against. Still, Democratic-leaning unions aren't big fans of immigration reform. But things could be different now. More galling than amnesty: losing major elections. And Republicans, after seeing Hispanics flock to President Obama, have probably had enough of losing on this issue. Alex Leary at The Buzz made this hand-dandy bullet list of Rubio's plan culled from the journal story: Any overhaul, he says, needs to "modernize" legal immigration. America caps the number of visas for skilled workers and favors the relatives of people already here. "I'm a big believer in family-based immigration," he says. "But I don't think that in the 21st century we can continue to have an immigration system where only 6.5% of people who come here, come here based on labor and skill. We have to move toward merit and skill-based immigration."

He says the U.S. can either change the ratio of preferences for family-based immigration or raise the hard cap on people who bring investment or skills into the country. He prefers the latter, noting that the U.S. doesn't produce enough science, math and engineering graduates to fill the open posts in high-tech. He says this number can be adjusted to demand: "I don't think there's a lot of concern in this country that we'll somehow get overrun by Ph.D.s and entrepreneurs." At the other end of the skill and wage scale, most of the 1.6 million agricultural laborers in America are Hispanics, the bulk of them illegal immigrants. American produce couldn't be picked without them. The number and type of visas provided through a guest-worker program would have to be sufficient to address this pressing need. From Georgia to Washington state in recent seasons, unpicked fruits and vegetables have rotted in the fields. He'd look to increase the number of visas for permanent or seasonal farm workers. "The goal is to give American agriculture a reliable work force and to give protection to these workers as well," Mr. Rubio says. "When someone is [undocumented] they're vulnerable to being exploited."

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nake...esty-lite-immigration-plan.html#storylink=cpy
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waltky · Jan 28, 2013

Shaping immigration reform so it'll be a brain drain for other countries...

Immigration overhaul? GOP, Dem senators vow action
January 28, 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) — Side by side, leading Democratic and Republican senators pledged Monday to propel far-reaching immigration legislation through the Senate by summer providing a possible path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people now in the U.S. illegally.

The senators acknowledged pitfalls that have doomed such efforts in the past, but they suggested that November's elections — with Hispanics voting heavily for President Barack Obama and other Democrats — could make this time different. Passage of the emotionally charged legislation by the Democratic-controlled Senate is far from assured, and a taller hurdle could come later in the House, which is dominated by conservative Republicans who've shown little interest in immigration overhaul. Obama will lay out his own proposals Tuesday, most of which mirror the Senate plans. Besides the citizenship provision, including new qualifications, the Senate measure would increase border security, allow more temporary workers to stay and crack down on employers who would hire illegal immigrants. The plans are still short on detail, and all the senators conceded that months of tedious and politically treacherous negotiations lie ahead.

But with a re-elected Obama pledging his commitment, the lawmakers argued that six years after the last sustained congressional effort at an immigration overhaul came up short in the Senate, chances for approval this year are much better. "Other bipartisan groups of senators have stood in the same spot before, trumpeting similar proposals," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "But we believe this will be the year Congress finally gets it done. The politics on this issue have been turned upside down," Schumer said, arguing that polls show more support than ever for immigration changes and political risk in opposing it. "Elections. Elections," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens. And we realize that there are many issues on which we think we are in agreement with our Hispanic citizens, but this is a pre-eminent issue with those citizens."

Obama got 71 percent of the Latino vote in November compared to 27 percent for Republican Mitt Romney. The president will endorse the Senate process during an event in Las Vegas Tuesday, administration officials said. He will outline a similar vision for overhauling the nation's immigration laws, drawing on the immigration "blueprint" he first released in 2011. The blueprint focuses on four key areas: a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., improved border security, an overhaul of the legal immigration system and making it easier for businesses to verify the legal status of workers. Seeking to ramp up pressure on lawmakers, the White House has prepared formal immigration legislation that it could sent to Capitol Hill should the Senate process stall, administration officials said. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal strategy.

Like the president's blueprint, the Senate proposals also call for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here. But lawmakers want the creation of that pathway to be contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people in the U.S. on visas. The Senate's five-page framework also calls for overhauling the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain certain advanced degrees from American universities, creating an effective high-tech employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants in the future and allowing more low-skill and agricultural workers.

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Fraud Concerns Follow Illinois' Decision to Grant Licenses to Illegal Aliens
January 27, 2013 — As Illinois becomes the fourth and most populous state to give illegal immigrants permission to drive, nagging concerns remain about whether there are enough safeguards to avoid the identity fraud and other pitfalls other states faced.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed Illinois' measure into law Sunday in Chicago. Backers, including Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and some of the state's top Republicans, tout it as a public-safety measure. They argue that required facial recognition technology is reliable enough to prevent fraud.

They hailed it as an important step for immigrant rights in Illinois, which approved its own Dream Act in 2010 to create a privately-funded scholarship program for immigrant students. President Barack Obama plans to discuss his plan to overhaul the immigration system during a trip to Las Vegas on Tuesday. "This was a bipartisan effort to pass an important law," Quinn said. "When the president speaks on Tuesday, he can say about his home state of Illinois ... we not only passed the Dream Act last year, we passed driver's licenses for those who are undocumented."

However, the law's opponents have pointed to hundreds of fraudulent cases in New Mexico, Washington and Utah after those states began giving illegal immigrants permission to drive. Illinois will not require applicants to be fingerprinted, for fear that would discourage immigrants from applying. "How many people would apply for this document knowing that fingerprints will be going to (federal authorities)? Probably not all that many," said Fred Tsao, policy director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a driving-force behind the measure.

Proponents say it will allow an estimated 250,000 people unlawfully residing in the state to apply for a three-year temporary driver's license and require them to get training and insurance. The Illinois secretary of state's office said the licenses will be available starting in October. Those ready for the change include 45-year-old Victoria Chavez. "I need to get my driver's license because I have two kids," the Chicago woman said. "They need my support. This is a victory for all of us in the immigrant community."

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waltky · Feb 15, 2013

Senate takes up immigration reform...

US Senate Focuses on Immigration Reform
February 13, 2013 - The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony about immigration reform, hours after President Barack Obama called for immigration reform in his State of the Union address to Congress.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told senatorsmany changes need to be made and sustained for comprehensive reform. She said our immigration system is "broken" and "hurting our country." "Our immigration system is not working," she said. "Our communities, workers and employers are all frustrated by a system that treats a drug smuggler the same as a high-achieving student."

Napolitano's testimony was interrupted by screaming protesters who entered the chamber with signs that said "No more deportation." Police quickly restored order in the room. Others testifying include Jose Antonio Vargas, the founder of Define American, and Chris Crane, the president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council. Latino activists have criticized Obama for failing to make immigration reform a priority of his first term.

Last month, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a plan under which illegal immigrants would register with the government, pass a background check, pay fines and back taxes, and complete other steps to earn a probationary status to legally live and work in the United States. They would then be placed at the back of the line for those seeking a so-called green card as a permanent legal resident.

The plan includes exceptions for those who entered the country as children, as well as for agricultural workers who play a role in maintaining the nation's food supply.

http://www.voanews.com/content/senate-focuses-on-immigration-reform/1602926.html
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waltky · Mar 3, 2013

Granny says, "Dat's right - if dey don't seal the border, dey ain't gonna have any immigration control...

Mexican border key to US reform on immigration
Mon, Mar 04, 2013 - Immigration reform is one of US President Barack Obamas priorities for his second term, but for a wide-reaching package to pass, lawmakers need to be convinced that the border with Mexico is secure, and this will be no easy sell.

Apprehensions of undocumented aliens at the frontier have dropped 50 percent since 2008, falling to 365,000 people last year, which the Obama administration cites as evidence that border security measures work. Deportations of aliens without residency permits, particularly those with criminal records a key government goal stand at about 400,000 a year.

However, the investigative arm of US Congress, the Government Accountability Office, dampened the governments optimism one week ago with a report submitted to the US House of Representatives. The report said that the number of apprehensions at the US-Mexico border provides some useful information, but does not position the department to be able to report on how effective its efforts are at securing the border. The Border Patrol is in the process of developing goals and measures; however, it has not yet set target timeframes and milestones for completing its efforts, it added.

Marc Rosenblum, an immigration policy expert with the Congressional Research Service, said that the size and diversity of the US border mean that no single, quantitative, off-the-shelf indicator accurately and reliably provides a metric or a score for border enforcement. Another report found that southern US cities in particular El Paso, Texas just across the border from violence-plagued Ciudad Juarez, are the safest in the country, with constantly dropping rates of all types of crime. That study was based on FBI figures.

So far, the Republicans, who control the House, have been adamant that they will not approve major immigration reform until they are convinced the border is secure. US authorities estimate there are 11.5 million illegal aliens in the US, most of them Mexican and Central American, though the flow from Mexico has practically dried up. US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says a 100 percent secure border is impossible and now she has to deal with her slice of the so-called sequester, or deep cuts in public spending, which means her funding will be slashed by an amount equivalent to the salaries of 5,000 border agents.

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waltky · Apr 3, 2013

Granny says, "Dat's right - it just gonna end up bein' another subsidy program...

Immigration bill envisions new farm worker program
April 3, 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) Sweeping immigration legislation taking shape in the Senate will aim to overhaul the nation's agriculture worker program to create a steady supply of labor for farmers and growers, who rely more than any other industry on workers who are living in the country illegally.

Farm workers already here would get a speedier path to legal status than other immigrants here illegally, and a likely new visa program would make it easier for foreign workers to come to the U.S. Policymakers aim to install such workers in place of the half or more of the nation's farm labor workforce estimated to be in the country illegally. Negotiators have been working to finalize an agreement in time for the measure to be included in bipartisan legislation expected to be released next week, but disagreements on wages and numbers of visas are proving tough to solve.

Labor groups are accusing growers of pushing to lower farmworkers' wages, while growers dispute that and say they want to pay a fair wage. Meanwhile, labor is resisting growers' attempts to increase the potential numbers of new workers who would come in, as growers argue their industry's viability depends on a strong new labor supply. "It comes down to either we're importing our labor or we're importing our food, and if we don't have access to a legal supply of labor we will start going offshore," said Kristi Boswell, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The issue has gotten little public attention in an immigration debate focused on securing the border, creating a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally, and designing a new visa program for low-skilled workers outside of agriculture. But for states from California to Georgia to Florida with booming agriculture industries, it's a critical part of the puzzle. At least 50 percent and as much as 70 or 80 percent of the nation's farm workers are here illegally, according to labor and industry estimates. Growers say they need a better way to hire labor legally, and advocates say workers can be exploited and need better protections and a way to earn permanent residence. "One thing that we know is that there's not an industry that will benefit more from a new immigration program than agriculture," said Giev Kashkooli, United Farm Workers vice president. "The problem is industry needs people who are both willing and able to do the work. And it's difficult work."

The reason agriculture uses so much illegal labor has to do with the need for workers, but also the inadequacy of current immigration programs. There is a 10-month visa program for farm workers, called the H2A visa, but growers argue it's so hard to use that once they've completed the paperwork whatever crop they needed picked may well have withered. There were about 55,000 H2A visas issued in 2011, representing a small percentage of the nation's approximately 2 million farm workers.

More http://cnsnews.com/news/article/immigration-bill-envisions-new-farm-worker-program
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Ron Paul an interesting perspective on immigration

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Ron Paul an interesting perspective on immigration

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Ron Paul an interesting perspective on immigration