Border Patrol union calls plan 'a slap in the face'

By Joe Cantlupe
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

January 13, 2004

WASHINGTON – President Bush's proposal to grant temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants has many U.S. Border Patrol agents grumbling and bracing for a possible surge in illegal immigration.

"Everybody thinks it's a slap in the face," said T.J. Bonner, a San Diego-based agent and head of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents 10,000 agents.

Bush's plan would create a temporary worker program for undocumented immigrants already in the United States and for people in other countries who have been offered jobs here. Bush said they would not receive special consideration for permanent residence or citizenship.

The Border Patrol union, which doesn't like the proposal, has sent a letter to its members urging them to speak out about it.

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20040113-9999_1n13border.html

They should be fired not slapped in the face. If we had effective border patrols we wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

Its probably unfair to blame the employees in this case but I still feel they have no cause to take much pride in the work they had done.

been to the southern border states. alot of miles of desert-you going to station a border patrol agent every few feet? the best solution is to go after the people who employee these people and the chamber of commerce and other organizations that won`t back tougher laws.but then the rich and the corporations couldn`t get their landscaping done cheaply or there meat packing plants filled with laborers,or the sweatshops that sew on "made in USA" labels behind the locked doors of their companies..

This administration has never wanted the Border Patrol to succeed in doing its job effectively, or they would need 50,000 agents to patrol the thousands of miles of often desolate border between Mexico and the U.S. Not only that, but they'd have to go after the people and companies who exploit the flood of illegal immigrant labor. But that would be flying in the face of the very constituency that contributes so much money to Republican coffers.

They will hire anyone who even has a crude forgery of a green Card and then say "Oh I didn't know it was a forgery."

Disgusting--- Meanwhile their (the rich) children go to exclusive schools and attend private universities.

the SEC for Enron, Arthur Andersen and others? This is
much the same. Like hiring a firefighter and failing to
appropriate funds to buy a fire-hose. There are interests that
influence Congress for just such purposes.

to the Founding Fathers and to ever American who ever died for the Liberty these Bushevik assholes are stealing in addition to the vast sums of money.

and stop illegal immigration. Bush, OTOH, love illegal immigration, because it gives his buddies a pliable, easily exploited workforce.

This is why the hypocracy on the issue - if they were fully legalized, the immigrants would not be so easily exploited, and might actually use all the social services to which they are entitled. They might move here with their families, take up residence, become citzens and VOTE.

BUT, if there were effective border controls, the "cheap labor Republicans" would not have a source of compliant easily exploited labor. They would have to hire Americans with an attitude instead ("you can't treat me like that - I'm an American, not a slave").

We can export the work much cheaper than we can import then workers.

That is why there really is no one that supports bringing in these alliens. It really makes no diference if they are legal or illegal. They are not a necessary part of our economy. Legalizing them helps only them, not the economy or the special interests.

Or service jobs (landscape maintenance, janitorial work, etc.). And in a few cases there may be regulatory hurdles still left, or it's just cheaper to leave the work here and import the workers