- (CNSNews.com) - Republican lawmakers who generally back
President Bush are not backing him on immigration. In fact, they want their
leaders to know they have "serious concerns" about President
Bush's proposed immigration policy.
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- In a letter addressed to House Speaker Dennis Hastert,
Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and several other members of the Congressional
Immigration Reform Caucus said they won't go along with the president's
plan because it "does not address the problem appropriately."
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- "In fact, in our view, it will further exacerbate
the problem and create discontent amongst the Republican Party," the
letter said.
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- Jones, in a press release, said he and other lawmakers
would consider alternative guest-worker legislation, as long as it does
not reward lawbreakers with amnesty.
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- Although President Bush insists his proposal does not
include amnesty, Jones said he thinks it does - because it would make illegal
aliens who work in the U.S. for a number of years eligible for legal status
and citizenship. That is de facto amnesty, Jones and the other lawmakers
said in their letter.
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- "Since the President's speech, our offices have
been inundated with calls from dismayed constituents expressing vehement
opposition to the Administration's proposal," the "Dear Mr. Speaker"
letter said.
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- "If we do not listen to our constituents on this
matter, our influence and effectiveness in Congress could be jeopardized.
Simply put, we cannot continue to allow our immigration laws to be violated
and ignored -- and illegal aliens are by definition criminals."
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- According to the letter, President Bush's immigration
proposal has left many conservatives "dismayed, angry and confused."
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- "Mr. Speaker, it is our hope that you will recognize
the problems the Administration's proposal has created for our constituents,"
the letter says.
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- It notes that "respect for the rule of law is a
core conservative value," and it urges the Republican leadership in
the House to find a solution to America's immigration problem "that
is more in line with the principles of our Party and our national traditions."
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- Earlier this month, President Bush proposed a new "temporary
worker program" that would offer temporary legal status to millions
of undocumented workers who have jobs in the U.S.
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- Bush said his program would "match willing foreign
workers with willing American employers when no Americans can be found
to fill the jobs."
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- Temporary workers would be expected to return permanently
to their countries after their work stint in the United States has expired.
Temporary workers wishing to seek American citizenship would be allowed
to apply in the normal way, according to the president's plan.
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- "They will not be given unfair advantage over people
who have followed legal procedures from the start. I oppose amnesty, placing
undocumented workers on the automatic path to citizenship," Bush said.
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- "America is a welcoming country, but citizenship
must not be the automatic reward for violating the laws of America,"
Bush added.
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- Bush's proposal drew immediate criticism from conservatives,
who see it as a threat to national security and an affront to the rule
of law.
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