Do you agree with the President on border enforcement and illegal aliens?

[BCP1928]

The US has many programs.

HOWEVER, there is a H2A program for businesses to hire temporary foreign farm workers which takes about 75 days.

H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers | USCIS

The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. A U.S. employer,

www.uscis.gov

Before she retired, my wife was into hog farm management, farms in which most of the heavy lifting is done by Mexicans, some US citizens or green card holders, most on H visas. Seems to work fine, some of her people had been on the farms for years. If there really are jobs here that only Mexicans want to do, it's easy enough to arrange, and the workers are not exploited like illegals. I notice that Homan, bless his stoney heart and thick skull, has started to get edgy about child trafficking and exploitation, wanting to attack that problem directly rather than just picking up minors when he happens to run across them and throwing them back over the wire to the cartels that brought them here. I expect the administration will soon be rid of him.

 

[rjs330]

Yea, that's reasonable. Ask a 20 year old to go back to a country they never knew and wait 8 years to get their green card.

Dont care. You aren't here legally. You are illegal. Go back to your countey and come here legally. This is what happens when people come illegally.

 

[mark46]

Dont care. You aren't here legally. You are illegal. Go back to your countey and come here legally. This is what happens when people come illegally.

and you and your friend pick the apples and be our waiter at our restaurants?

 

[rjs330]

some would put affordable and accessible food, lodgings and health care higher on our list of priorities

Food is more plentiful and cheaper here than most parts of the world. Its plenty affordable. Yes we had some serious inflation and that does affect people. But no one is starving in the US. There is a TON of assistance here.

Housing is another matter all together. It IS expensive. But I dont know of any way for the government to get involved to lower costs unless they wanted to eliminate building fees.

Healthcare, yeah that's expensive. Too expensive in my book.

some would put treating others with kindness and dignity higher

You can treat others with kindness and dignity without allowing them to break rhe law and create lots of problems.

Feed them, water them, give them necessary health care, then send them home, encouraging them to come back the legal way.

and yes, some would be selfish enough to put higher the need to have workers available in our hotels and restaurants and to pick our food each season.

If that truly is a NEED, that we NEED foreign workers to come and work in our hotels and pick our food then we should create a program for that which makes it easier to some and do.

 

[rjs330]

and you and your friend pick the apples and be our waiter at our restaurants?

Are those the only jobs foreigners are good for? Why is it whenever this discussion is had that everyone starts talking about picking crops and making beds?

I actually dont believe rhat Americans won't do those jobs. Pay them a decent wage and make those that are out of work do those jobs instead of collecting unemployment.

Create a worker program where businesses can sponsor foreign workers to come and work. But then you'd have to pay them fair wages.

 

[BCP1928]

Are those the only jobs foreigners are good for? Why is it whenever this discussion is had that everyone starts talking about picking crops and making beds?

I actually dont believe rhat Americans won't do those jobs. Pay them a decent wage and make those that are out of work do those jobs instead of collecting unemployment.

Create a worker program where businesses can sponsor foreign workers to come and work. But then you'd have to pay them fair wages.

Careful--you're beginning to sound like Bernie

 

[rjs330]

Careful--you're beginning to sound like Bernie

Nah. When I say fair wage it doesn't mean the same thing as Bernue and others like him.

 

[mark46]

I actually dont believe rhat Americans won't do those jobs. Pay them a decent wage and make those that are out of work do those jobs instead of collecting unemployment.

Create a worker program where businesses can sponsor foreign workers to come and work. But then you'd have to pay them fair wages.

1) American workers will not do these jobs. I recall a Washington company putting ads everywhere for seasonal workers to pick apples. He posted in every newspaper, ever grocery store and at every college. He spoke to guidance counselors. The wage was $25 an hour for workers with no experience.

The crop rotted without sufficient labor. The total number of applicants was ZERO.
================
2) There are programs and should be more.
==========
3) The economy cannot afford to deport all the undocumented. I agree that all those who have come under Biden should be deported, as well as those who have been convicted of a violent crime.
========
4) The bipartisan Dignity Act is a good tiny step forward. I would note that no path to citizenship is provided.

The Dignity Act: Bill Summary

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) introduced the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2023, a bipartisan effort to strengthen border security in the United States, provide undocumented individuals with an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet...

immigrationforum.org

 

[BCP1928]

1) American workers will not do these jobs. I recall a Washington company putting ads everywhere for seasonal workers to pick apples. He posted in every newspaper, ever grocery store and at every college. He spoke to guidance counselors. The wage was $25 an hour for workers with no experience.

The crop rotted without sufficient labor. The total number of applicants was ZERO.
================
2) There are programs and should be more.
==========
3) The economy cannot afford to deport all the undocumented. I agree that all those who have come under Biden should be deported, as well as those who have been convicted of a violent crime.
========
4) The bipartisan Dignity Act is a good tiny step forward. I would note that no path to citizenship is provided.

The Dignity Act: Bill Summary

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) introduced the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2023, a bipartisan effort to strengthen border security in the United States, provide undocumented individuals with an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet...

immigrationforum.org

Why those who came here under Biden, particularly?

 

[mark46]

Why those who came here under Biden, particularly?

There needs to be starting point. For many of us, the best starting point is before Biden opened the border and was totally ineffective in dealing with those that he allowed in.

Some would start as of today. However, I do believe that millions took advantage of Biden and should not be allowed to benefit from that. Ideally, those who came undocumented under Biden should be allowed to apply for asylum but given Biden's policies those who could have already done that.

The Dignity Act allows us to take a breather and set a line in the sand. With a secure border, and having given legal status to millions, we can start again. And THIS TIME, we will start with a secure border.

Given this first step, Congress can work on further solutions, for example, a point system to encourage more legal immigration, especially of tech workers. In the meantime, the government could speed up the process of securing legal temporary workers and also force companies to abide by our current laws.

The open question is whether Trump will allow any of this. IMO, such steps forward (in attention to a secure border) would make this a huge plus for Republicans in the 2026 and 2028 elections.