Do you support the current immigration bill currently in the Senate?

I listened to a C-SPAN Washington Journal segment this AM on this Bush-McCain-Kennedy sponsored Illegal Immigration Amnesty Bill currently in the Senate. Unlike the Senate and the President let's call bills as they are, not as the supporters wish to spin them (i.e Clear Skies Initiative, Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind).

I did not hear a single caller on any of the telephone lines (D's, R's or I's) actually support this bill. I did walk away from the set for a minute or two so it is possible that one supporter/caller may have slipped through. This is not an anomaly as every time C-SPAN has topic up, the calls are overwhelmingly against any form of amnesty.

Most callers were outraged because they felt their Senators weren't listening and were going against the wishes of the American people. Most callers said this will end up being 1986 all over with far worse repercussions. Most callers said just enforce existing laws.

The travesty of this bill is that it is non-partisan and unfair and screws all US citizens equally except the rich.

But most importantly it is unfair to those immigrants that abided by our laws. It is unfair to US workers because it will increase labor supply thus lowering wages. It is unfair to the middle class taxpayers who will have to pay the increased tax bill for healthcare, education, social services of these minimal wage unskilled workers. It is unfair to US workers who have paid many quarters into a Social Security fund that will now be made acessible by millions who have paid little into it..............but our elected officials don't give a damn.

what we're doing right now isn't working. It's broken". At least that's what Harry Reid said on NPR this morning. That's what he said, but what he meant is "It doesn't work, it's broken, so we have to concoct some piece of shit -- any old piece of shit -- to make it seem like we're actually doing something useful".

WE used to enforce these laws for many years until the NAFTA gang came on the scene. As Sen McCaskill has stated, there is a present law allowing for employers to be fined a locked up for hiring illegals. But being that our leadership lacks the guts to impeach our AG, they continue to disregard the laws.(Bush &Co.) Let's face it. These Democrats in the Senate are owned by the big corporations and don't answer to any of us.

I know, stop hiring illegals and they will all go back to Mexico, employers will be forced to hire Americans and they will pay a living wage to Americans.

Seal the border and no one will be able to cross it.


In your dreams!

I really think that you are a xenophobe and lacking any ability to see this issue rationally. You are like the majority of Americans. Your solution is no solution at all but a cop out.

Illegal immigrants from Mexico take our jobs and lower our wages. China exports goods that are too cheap making our factories close. India takes our service jobs through outsourcing.

If we could just keep all the people, products and services from the Third World out of our country, life in the US would be ideal. What we need is walls and laws that will keep all of those things out. I hope I have summarized the xenophobe view of the world accurately enough. ;)

When I was young it seemed that liberals and progressives viewed the world differently than the predominant DU view of the world. The reason I joined the Peace Corps was to bring the world closer together and help bring about a more equitable distribution of income and opportunities regardless of where you were born. Not saying I made much of a difference, but the sentiment seemed more common back then.

Now we progressives wish Mexicans would stay home, endure their poverty and, if they can't change their society, tough. We wish Mao would come back to life. China had so many problems back then that they did not affect us in any way. India was easier for us to live with when it was mired in hopeless poverty and had nothing to export other than a few spices.

All those who want to "enforce current laws" (repeat that about a hundred times) don't seem to want to deal with what happens if, in the unlikely event, that actually happened and worked. You would have 12 million increasingly destitute largely Hispanic immigrants who would eventually, by force or voluntarily, cross the border going the other way. I think Kennedy is trying to deal with that compassionately by legalizing them so that they are not forced to return to the abject poverty they fled when they came here. The sight of million of Hispanics crossing the border would be an image that I do not care to see and hope we can blame on the repubs, if it happens.

It is very heartening to read what you posted. I hope that the majority of Americans some day come around to agree with you.

I really would not be proud of our country if we turned our backs on these people.

You're like all the other pro-amnesty, pro-open borders advocates. Since you have no real argument, you label everyone a racist or xenophobe who opposes your point of view.

As you amnestiacs have seen by now, the majority of Democrats, and the majority of DU'ers, do NOT share your point of view.

Prosecuting employers would be VERY effective, and everyone knows it. The problem is, it's never been done to any extent. If it had ever been even attempted, we wouldn't have an illegal immigration problem, because few illegal immigrants would have ever been employed, and fewer would have come here looking for those "jobs no Americans will do."

The Dems in the Senate (for the most part) are controlled by big Corporations. And big Corporations want cheap labor, so they're lobbying hard for complete amnesty for all illegal immigrants AND their employers.

But that's only my opinion. I'd like to hear rationale from Democrats who do support this bill too.

I'd like to hear Ted Kennedy who was a strong proponent of the failed 1986 bill, that only made things worse, tell us how this bill is going to be different and make things better for all US citizens.

This is just another example of the worthless "representatives", ours and theirs, pretending to "do something about this very serious problem" without actually doing anything about this problem.

for this bill is that the R base hates it far more than we do, they are really upset by this bill, much as we were about their cave on the last funding bill. *'s numbers have gone down even more since this bill, he (they) are losing their base. This could be a political move. Or you could be right they just don't care anymore what voters want.

Sounds good to me. For once, I hope he is right.

"Amnesty", "legalization" as Kennedy calls it, is tearing their party apart. The only options to it are massive deportation (forcible or voluntary) or leaving them here with no legal status. Deportations would result in millions of Hispanics flowing across the border the other way. That is an image for which, I hope, we can stick the Repubs with the blame. (I know there will be some, perhaps even here, who will say, "Who cares what the rest of the world thinks?" That does sound vaguely familiar.)

Isn't it interesting that people from the left and the right object to the bill and yet they continue with it?

People on the right object to this as amnesty - as rewarding those who broke the law.

People on the left object to this because it threatens the middle and lower classes by putting pressure on wages.

My objection is - in addition to the above - is that, as we've heard by many DUers last year during the marches: most of them are not interested in joining us as citizens. They are here for the jobs, and will gladly move back and forth if they could.

Thus, while some on DU object to the guest programs as "solidifying" them as second class group of people, I am all for it.

The "strength" of the immigrant wanting to be on the Guest Worker Program comes before their family ties.

The Guest Worker Program is a way of "out-sourcing" our service labor jobs here within the States.

The US Chamber of Commerce and the CEOs on the Business Round Table have been pained because they had no legal way to outsource well paid American jobs. Some jobs just can't be outsourced and that pained them seriously.

Now with Sen Kennedy and other disconnected Democrats in Congress's help that pain will be alleviated. There will be glee in the boardrooms.

If not for the abundance of cheap illegal labor these non-outsourceable jobs would have their labor rates pushed far higher from demand (remember supply and demand?). It would require that companies such as Wal-Mart compete for unskilled labor and offer higher wages and benefits. Without the unending flow of illegal immigration unskilled workers may have found their labor rates pushed higher than more skilled workers.

It outrages me to see the party of FDR buy into the DLC wing of rich corporatists and support this continued squeeze on working US citizens. Then they have the audacity to put forth a token minimum wage bill laden with special interest pork as a show that they support working Americans. Hell if it wasn't for non-enforcement of continued illegal immigration, the real minimum wage would likely have far outpaced the phony government inflation rate and a minimum wage law boosting it a dollar in 15 years would have been unnecessary.

... is 100% to blame for the current conditions ... and this legislation is nothing but a tribute to traffickers in human labor. It's disgusting and appalling ... but more appalling is the general failure to comprehend that our failure to ensure that our laws reflect our BEST democratic collaboration with which we're willing to comply and will insist is enforced leads to bullshit charades like this.

The only two significant impacts of this 'legislation' is to grant AMNESTY to SCOFFLAW EMPLOYERS - businesses that exploit and traffic in human labor - and grant those same businesses with a HUGE increase in 'legalized' NON-IMMIGRANT (non-voting and non-members of our communities) labor force that cannot vote, is not vested in the interests of our nation, and is threatened with preemptive deportation if they engage in ANY on-the-job activism of any kind.

Make no mistake ... we're exploiting many people whose own nations have failed them - failed to educate them, failed to provide minimal welfare for them and their familes, and failed to provide opportunities for even minimal equity. They are seeking employment with the same interests which have conspired to keep their nations colonialized banana republics ... and are thus serving to perpetuate those conditions. It is ESSENTIAL that we reverse a century-long policy of intervention on behalf of corporate colonialism. All it does is reduce humanity to a commodity - a discardable source of labor for the wealthy elite.

Let's get a good overall turnout on this poll.

Not only do I not support anything making the lives of illegal aliens easier, but it's not as if these pie-in-the-sky promises of more enforcement are going to lead to anything anyway. The fines will be dropped, then the rules will be as ignored as that joke of a 700-mile fence. It will cost us trillions.

Damn everyone involved in this bill for making me agree with the Repugs in my office.

Corporations are pitting working class Americans against the undocumented immigrants. We could do something about that. Deportation of 12 million people will not happen. At least I hope it does not happen.

If working class Americans would unite with the working class undocumented immigrants to form a super working class we could change things. If the undocumented immigrants became citizens with the right to vote that would add 12 million voters to the party that supported them.

The Hispanics are very good at organization and getting what they want. They have had rallies with over 1 million people in Los Angeles alone. They have gone on strike and won a living wage in Santa Monica and other parts of the hotel districts in Los Angeles. What they win through unionization accrues to all of us.

Rather than see the illegals as your enemy why don't you change your paradigm and see them as allies in the fight against the corporate take over of our government and our way of life?

And while there is alot wrong with this, it is better than what we have now...

Hopefully, the amendment Jim Webb is sponsoring to eliminate the ridiculous "touchback" provision will pass...