March 06, 2006

Bush "Gold Card" would open borders to cheap labor

From Dan Stein of FAIR comes this:

The Stein Report has learned of an secret briefing for Senate staffers by the Bush administration today. In a move to build support for Bush's guest worker amnesty plan, administration officials talked about how they would actually implement the program. Jaws dropped as the administration reps explained the centerpiece of the program, a "Gold Card" that would enable illegal aliens to enter the U.S. at will, and work at any job with no labor market or other tests needed but would deny them citizenship. "Gold Card" would be valid forever, similar to current "Green Cards" but illegal aliens holding a "Gold Card" would not be able to adjust their status through naturalization.

Note that as described the card doesn't entitle them to stay here indefinitely. While there's no independent confirmation of this report, FAIR is in close contact with Congress about this issue.

For the odious, un-American details of the first version of Bush's "guest" worker scheme, see this.

Please contact your Senators and stress your opposition to any form of amnesty or "guest" worker scheme.

UPDATE: The "gold card" may be a Bush invention, or it might be from Arlen Specter. From this:

...Senate Judiciary Committee staff members who explained key provisions of Specter’s bill on Monday said that the measure would create a "gold card" program for illegal immigrants who entered the United States before Jan. 4, 2004. It also would create a guest-worker program to bring in more foreign laborers.

Applicants for the gold card would undergo a background check by the Homeland Security Department, then be eligible for two-year work visas that could be renewed indefinitely, committee aides said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging their boss. The workers wouldn’t participate in the Social Security system but would contribute to future savings through worker investment accounts.

One top committee staffer described the gold-card proposal as "a reasonable compromise" in dealing with illegal immigrants, many of whom have lived in the country for decades. The undesirable alternative, he said, would be an unworkable massive roundup, which administration officials have said would cost billions of dollars...

If the reporter were doing his job he would have called that staffer on his strawman argument.

Posted to Immigration at March 6, 2006 08:28 PM

Comments

A mass roundup at one go, or gold carded amnesty; how's that for a false dilemna? The roundup would cost billions, no doubt. Or, rather, each year's roundup would cost billions. But an illegal costs thousands in net public subsidy each year he stays, on average. A public investment in people, in removing bad people, which returns 100% a year is the best the government can do for the net taxpayer. What if the net taxpayer, and not the illegal alien, were the sacred monkey of our society, who could do no wrong? Would this be good for the power dreams of officials and professoriate, and does that explain anything relevant here, or not?

Posted by: John S Bolton at March 6, 2006 11:55 PM