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Ear to the Ground

Immigrants Protest Bush Proposal

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Posted on Apr 7, 2007

Immigrant rights groups are voicing their opposition to the president’s new migrant worker plan, which would allow undocumented workers to buy $3,500 permits every three years to remain in the country. Democrats and the Catholic Church have also criticized the proposed policy, which is harsher and costlier than a previous proposal supported by Bush.

AP via Yahoo:

Organizers expect several thousand people at an immigrant rights rally [in Los Angeles] on Saturday, saying many illegal immigrants are angry about a White House plan that would grant them work visas but require them to return home and pay hefty fines to become legal U.S. residents.

Immigrant rights advocates say many of the area’s illegal immigrants feel betrayed by President Bush, who they had long considered an ally.

“People are really upset,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, president of Los Angeles-based Latino Movement USA, one of several organizers of Saturday’s rally. “For years, the president spoke in no uncertain terms about supporting immigration reform ... then this kind of plan comes out and people are so frustrated.”

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By Kol Klink, April 8, 2007 at 4:21 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

There is another way to look at the ‘immigration problem.’
President Polk stole the US Southwest from the Mexican government with an American army and violent invasion of soverign Mexican territory.
Now, the Mexicans are taking back what was stolen from them by Polk but with little violence.
Hey, it could be worse! The Mexicans are not conducting an armed invasion of the US, as we are currently doing to Iraq.
What comes around goes around.

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By Margaret Currey, April 8, 2007 at 12:58 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

You can control the illegal population just make the women promise to use birth control or make the men use birth control, that way the health care system would not be overwelmed by pregnant women or children in need of health.

When I was young there was no health care system that was free, if you lived away from the city there was not any money for dental health at all, therefore people of a certain age had false teeth, in fact an adult of any age who had bad teeth, the solution was to pull them out and replace with false teeth, of course this was after World War II, the phrase poverty line was not used because a lot of people were in poverty, the lucky kids had fathers who got health coverage on their jobs and that only applied to nonseasonal jobs, the american people think not having health coverage is not acceptable but one must remember that the illegals do not get any heath coverage in Mexico and that is the reason they are here in fact the Mexican government encourages their poor to leave.

Until people realize that in Mexico there is no middle class and if these people come here we will also have no middle class.

I am liberal but I also realize that if people get a better deal here they will come.  But the good times will come to an end some day.

Also our own government hires illegals it is called subcontracting.

Madder than a wet hen from Vancouver Washington

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By vet240, April 7, 2007 at 10:32 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to be impressed by a demonstration attended by people, most of whom are in this country illegally or related to those here illegally.

Anyone in this country by any means other than legal immigration should be sent home. They can come back by using the same process those who enter the country legally use.

I fully understand why they came. I cannot and will not support the total disregard for the laws of the land.

I find it ironic that many of those coming in say they are doing so to escape corruption and crime in their own land but they show no respect for our laws.

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By Thomas Atarms, April 7, 2007 at 7:17 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

In the 2000 Republican Convention, then Candidate George Bush stated: “There are 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.” It’s amazing that number has not changed in 7 years.

Did is an estimated 5 to 10,000 illegals crossing the southern borders each and everyday.

Do the Math.  At some point in the very near future illegals will be the “MAJORITY”,,,,in this Country…

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By Rodney, April 7, 2007 at 3:44 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Bush will probably use the money to give more tax cuts to his rich friends.

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By vet240, April 7, 2007 at 2:35 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

There are about 11 million illegals in the country. Let’s say 8 million are of working age.

They make $1200 per month. they live in group houses 10-15 in each house. They eat cheap and send $700 per month back to Mexico or other Central American countries(if you don’t believe it, go to your local post office on the week-ends and watch the parade going in to buy money orders). That is 66 billion dollars each year leaving the country. I think I heard in Econ. 101 that a single dollar will turn 5 times in a community in a year. that means the money sent out, if it had been spent here would have generated 330 billion dollars in business.

Why does the business community think it’s good for their business to have this type of cheap labor? Sure the Illegals spend money to live on during their annual job pilgrmamge to America, but they take most of it out of the reach of these same businessmen.

Perhaps that’s the real push for Nafta and open borders. These businessmen want to go and get it back!

The $3500 bu$sh proposes is still short of the cost per Illegal. That cost includes education, health etc.

Am I a bigot? I would be doing the same thing they are doing if the situation were reversed. No I am not a bigot.

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By trantieungoc, April 7, 2007 at 1:16 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

A new way to save Bush/Cheney’s deficit national budget.

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By LonewackoDotCom, April 7, 2007 at 12:27 pm #

Now, for what the AP isn’t telling you, google the names above. Juan Jose Gutierrez has links to ANSWER and other groups, and he organized a march which featured an American flag… with ThirteenStars.

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By JohnDWoodSr, April 7, 2007 at 11:23 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Used to be that slaves didn’t have to pay for the “privilege” of being slaves, so this represents real progress. Bush is to be commended on finding an imaginative way to both grow the economy and pay for the border fence at the same time.
What the Hell, you can’t be upper class if you can’t keep an underclass to look down on.Ya gotta protect your status.

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