It looks like felons could be guest workers but not get citizenship under Senate program.  Did you see?
545864
It's bull--it, If you come to this country legally, GREAT..If you come here illegally why should we allow you to stay, you already broke the law...& to let felons come here to work? NO WAY !!!! This country was founded by LEGAL immigrants..............
317346
I think it's a total disgrace for an applicant to be refused employment after he has served his time. I can understand in the case of a child molester working with children or a robber working at a bank handling money. Something needs to been done to change those laws I agree fully. I believe it should be considered discrimination because after all you are locked up and your rights have already been taken away for a specific time period. Same thing for apartment housing , I'm not against background checks, people should know who they are hiring, but it should not prevent them from gettin a job or a place to live. I feel this is discrimanation also on felons. Apartments should have to provide apartment security because half of the criminals don't get caught anyway. They shouldn't prevent people from having housing and jobs. Probation officers require felons to go out and get a job if they don't they will have to go back to jail and the government will end up taking our tax dollars anyway to keep them up.
687921
At this point I believe it is a crime but a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.  It is commonly dealt with by fines to employers and immediate deportation.\n\nFrom what I see on news reports since the demonstrations, however, that is shifting to jail time prosecution.  Staying in limbo under current law isn't where you want to be.  \n\nThe current House Bill would make it a felony, but I think they are intending that to apply to coyotes.  Congressmen have already been saying they are flexible on that point going into discussions of how to blend the Senate Bill with the House Bill.\n\nIn any event, when laws are passed there is very often a 'grandfathering' provision so that people who committed an act before the law was effective can get the old penalty.\n\nAs a practical matter, I think qualified people already here will be given some sort of legal path to stay, assuming people are comfortable that the border will be secured.  I think any felony provision will only apply going forward, or to gang types or terrorists who are not offered the legal path.\n\nHowever, I think the provision will be dropped as to regular people.  I wouldn't mind if it were kept for coyotes, though.
1054620
Look on Pence's web page, it is his idea.  He doesn't have the important specifics there to my mind, though.  One problem is that it is UNLIMITED in the first few years and as far as I can see is not even limited to only those currently here so that these guest workers wouldn't be ON TOP of current legal and illegal immigration.\n\nhttp://mikepence.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=2146\n\nBy the way, it says they are guests and will return back home after a period of time, but says having a family here is a reason to stay, elsewhere.  \n\nI'd say any guest worker program should have the employer provide health care and at minimum 'impact fees' to impacted schools.  However, I suppose that could still be added, since discussion rages.
493636
I agree 100%. However, citizenship cannot be awarded to those who have entered illegally. That is the problem. My grandparents came in through ports of entry in Baltimore and Boston. They were able to obtain citizenship because they came into this country in the correct manner. Those coming in underground, etc. cannot be given citizenship. In fact, they should legally be deported back to their own country.
1000962
I like the last answer (above mine), and have some additional stuff to add.\n\nFirst: as a local cop, I have NEVER received training in what constitutes an illegal alien.  I have no idea what's allowed and what's not...work visas, travel visas, passports, green cards.  I don't even know where I'd find the laws on the subject, to try and educate myself.  I've never even seen any training that's available on this subject, and I'm the guy responsible for training at my department.\n\nSecond, I do have an awful lot of other things to worry about besides trying to deal with someone whose only offense is that he's here illegally.  Many of them work and support their families, and that's a hell of a lot more than most of the crackheads I deal with will ever do.  Sort of a matter of priorities.\n\nHaving said that, I would not hesitate to arrest an illegal alien if I knew how to work the case.  I arrest DUI's, dope dealers, and wife beaters all the time, because I know how to work those cases.  I don't know the first thing about working an illegal alien case.  \n\nAlso, our local jail is currently extremely overcrowded and I don't know that they would even accept someone for an immigration offense.  \n\nI would be very interested in knowing more about the entire situation, and how it would work in my jurisdicition.  However, the Feds aren't forthcoming with any training to educate me on the issue, so I suspect they're not especially interested in dealing with it, either.  \n\nBelieve me, I share your frustration.  I just don't know what to do about it.
496913
Has anyone been listening who is for amnesty?it's Ted Kennedy,Hillary Clinton,Harry Reid,Dianne Feinestein all democrats,Kennedy not only wants to give them amnesty but reward them with credit on the money that illegals put into some else's stolen social security number,and in the process ruined that legal citizen's credit record,no wonder the laws that are already in place against illegals are not applied,we have in our own American people, denials their party is guilty of giving our country away.wake up!!you senator is selling this country for votes right in front of your face
1029568
No...You don't reward people who break the law by giving them citizenship.  Let them go through the proper channels to become citizens like the millions of others did.
566754
Is Hispanic friends supposed to mean illegal immigrant friends?  I have a bunch of Hispanic friends. However, most Hispanics are here legally and most Hispanics are opposed to illegal immigration.\n\nIf I have any illegal immigrant friends, I am unaware of it.  \n\nI support legalization of qualified illegal immigrants who have real roots here.  I don't think it is fair to those who have been waiting.  However, after so many years of not enforcing the law and letting them get their roots so deep into this country, I would just feel bad deporting them.  \n\nI am not so sure about the way the guest worker program for future immigrants is shaping up on the Senate floor however.  They are billed by Bush as temporary, but the Senate is saying they (the ones yet to come under an increase in legal immigration rate) can become permanent residents with a path to citizenship.  I don't think that is good for anyone here, including most particularly the Hispanics or others performing low wage jobs.  There will be a perpetual 'race to the bottom' for wage levels, in my opinion.
1007317
why is your avatar brown? do u know the same proponents for these immigrant acts could turn on you by revoking your citizenship if you're 1st generation American. They are proposing that if your parents are illegal and you are born here, that you be illegal as well. It doesn't matter that you grew up here or speak perfect English and this is the only culture you know. I am not for less or more border protection, I am against non-sensical immigration laws that call it a felony if I help an immigrant by giving them food, water or a place to rest their head. What about the church helping these people? What about doctors for that matter? Racist legislators want to call it aiding and abetting a felon. Yes, make no mistake about it, it's pure unadulterated racism.
484071
I agree with you... it seems like the media likes to turn it into something more controversial than it already is.  You are right, we are not targeting Mexicans... we are targeting all ILLEGAL immigrants.  I don't get it.  Now, the Senate has reopened a bill that will allow this "guest worker program" that will grant all illegal immigrants citizenship.  It's a slap in the face for those who seek citizenship LEGALLY and had to wait in line.  \n\nCALL or email your congressman... or even the White House.  Looks like they want to pass this bill by Memorial Day.  What a tragedy for America.  This is going to lead to more illegal people coming over and eventually DEMANDING citizenship - why make laws if they are not enforced particularly ones that are meant to keep us safe?  We might as well make it a free for all and open our doors to anyone, regardless of who they are or what they have done.  I mean that is what we are doing now...
280169
I believe that Bush wants to offer blanket amnesty to all illegal aliens in the United States, as long as they submit to background checks and make their presence known in the country.  He calls this his "guest worker" policy, much like they have in Europe.  Foreign immigrants, he says, will fill the jobs that no one else will take.  Although this sounds racist and perhaps elitist, it is common practice in every part of the world, including Europe and Asia.  He doesn't want to kick anyone out, as I understand it.  It is one of the few Bush policies that I agree with.
573986
I'm not sure I'm reading your question properly:  Would refusing to hire illegals make Mexico better and be better for illegals?  \n\nTo be honest, I think the particular illegal must think his or her immediate future is better here and working.  However, as social policy, so long as we are a pressure valve for Mexico's poor and criminal (gee, thanks on that last, too) they have no need to reform.\n\nI did notice that Kennedy tried to put into the Senate Bill something about OSHA regulations having to be followed for the guest workers, too, and IT WAS VOTED DOWN!  I am not sure what that is supposed to mean.  Guest worker eyes, fingers and toes aren't important to protect?  Aliens thrive on lead based paint dust? \n\nI'm beginning to think we should go with clean border security now, then take a long hard look at how we want to handle the rest.
619820
I used to work at a place where there were very thourough backround checks. As the manager in charge of hiring, i found that there were many very good applicants that were automatically denied for that reason. I understand what you are saying. It must be very difficult for people who are trying to get their lives back on track to find opportunities, since this seems to be so common amoung many corperate and franchise businesses. What is ironic is that I often found that some of  those with no criminal backround, after being hired,  were much more of a risk to our company, where as perfectly good applicants with a smudge on their record, would have probably performed a lot better as employees. Now I'm not saying that I would have hired all ex- felons who had applied, due to the fact that some of them seemed to still have serious issues, but if it were my choice in the matter, character and ability would matter far more than a bad choice that was made before.   I feel that a person should not be denied an employment opportunity due to a past that they have already paid for. It is definetley a type of discrimination.
683969
Currently, illegal entry into the United States is a misdemeanor. Has been forever. The current House Bill, just passed, wants to make it a felony. The Senate Bill, also just passed, wants to keep it a misdemeanor. The two Bills will go to a Conference committee to be compromised. The Senate will probably get its way like it always does.
686955
It will still be the issue of enforcement. We have a guest worker program. If they enforced the laws we would not be in this situation.
603198
The problem is that in order to get a perpetual stream of low wage workers, big business has tangled the amnesty concept up in the guest worker program.  A Senator projected immigration under the guest worker program, including the increased legal immigration going forward, as bringing in an additional 217 million poor immigrants in the next 20 years on top of those already here.  There is no provision for employers to offset the impacts on schools or other services.  \n\nI think the guest worker plan in this form has to go.  I would be OK with legalizing current qualified illegal immigrants so long as I really felt the border was secure and employers could be held accountable.  I would combine the House Bill provisions on border security with the Senate Bill employer database and penalty provisions.  \n\nHowever, an increase in legal immigration assumes that we have really stopped the illegal immigration.  I think we need to make sure the border is actually secure before deciding whether and how much to increase legal immigration rates going forward.