A compromised plan.REP. MIKE PENCE Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (born June 7 1959) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's At-large congressional district (see map). Early life and family Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana. of Indiana and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Kathyrn Ann Bailey Hutchison, usually known as Kay Bailey Hutchison (born July 22 1943), is the senior United States Senator from Texas. She is a member of the Republican Party. of Texas, both Republicans, are making a last-ditch effort to bridge their party's divide on immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. and pass a bill this year. We agree that the country, and the Republican party, would benefit if a sensible immigration plan were passed soon. The Pence-Hutchison plan isn't one. The pro-amnesty Republicans have responded more favorably to the plan than the enforcement-first Republicans, and both sides are reading the plan correctly. Its central component is to allow illegal immigrants illegal immigrant n. an alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa. (See: alien) to continue their jobs legally. All they would have to do is briefly leave the country and then return. As Pence himself puts it: "An illegal alien currently employed in America will be willing to take a quick trip across the border to come back outside of the shadows and in a job where he does not fear a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement." This provision may stimulate the restaurant business in Tijuana, as illegals cross over for a quick lunch before their return, but it is hardly a serious immigration-enforcement idea. When our illegal immigrant comes back, he will become a "guest worker." As a guest worker, he will be able to keep renewing his "temporary" status and exploiting other features of the plan so as to remain here for 17 years. At that point, he can go through the process of getting a green card. Any children he has while here will be American citizens, which will make it more difficult to deport de·port tr.v. de·port·ed, de·port·ing, de·ports 1. To expel from a country. See Synonyms at banish. 2. To behave or conduct (oneself) in a given manner; comport. him should he overstay Overstay The act of holding an investment for too long. It often occurs when traders attempt to time the market by identifying the end of a price trend and the beginning of a new one, but, due to greed and fear, tend to overstay their positions. his welcome. The plan's supporters advertise its "trigger" mechanism: The guest-worker program/amnesty would supposedly not go into effect until after enforcement was shown to have worked. But the triggers would be the achievement of bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu objectives such as personnel targets. The amnesty would go into effect even if there were no evidence that the illegal population was shrinking. We aren't persuaded that the country needs a guest-worker program to begin with. Economic growth does not require a constant increase in the number of uneducated laborers. The worthwhile portions of the plan are borrowed from the House Republicans' enforcement bill. Almost everyone can agree that we should step up enforcement, at both the border and the workplace. So let's enact that consensus and defer action on the issues that continue to divide us. That's the compromise we favor. |
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