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Jeb Bush on Immigration Republican FL Governor; V.P. prospect

6-part proposal for comprehensive immigration reform

A Proposal for Immigration Reform
1. Fundamental Reform: Comprehensive interrelated approach because system as a whole is broken, and to achieve bipartisan consensus.
2. A Demand-Driven Immigration System: Replace overriding preference for family reunification with work-based immigration.
3. An Increased Role for the States: Share federal authority over immigration policy [such as] social services and providing benefits.
4. Dealing With Current Illegal Immigrants: We propose a path to permanent legal resident status for those who plead guilty to having entered our country illegally as adults and who have committed no additional crimes of significance.
5. Border Security: Broader immigration reform is an essential component of border security; we can't do one without the other.
6. Toward a More Vibrant Future: Getting immigration policy right will allow us to reclaim the prosperity that in recent years has eluded our grasp.

There is no realistic pathway to citizenship for most people

Of the many serious and legitimate criticisms that can be leveled against our current immigration system, two in particular stand out in terms of hugely detrimental impact:

• We are not bringing in highly skilled immigrants in sufficient numbers to meet our needs and to maximize future American prosperity.
• There is no realistic pathway for most people who simply wish to become American citizens.

Limit family reunification: no siblings nor parents

When parents & siblings are given immigration preference, their entry in turn creates an entitlement to other extended family members to gain preference as well--a phenomenon called "chain immigration."

In terms of cost/benefit analysis, extended family members typically do not produce the economic benefits that work-based immigrants do, and they impose far greater costs.

We propose limiting guaranteed admissions to spouses and minor children of US citizens. Reuniting married couples and their children is the essence of family reunification. By contrast, siblings and parents cause substantial chain immigration because their children, siblings, and parents then receive guaranteed admission preference as well.

Treat illegals with compassion but also rule of law

This time, we need to vindicate both core values On one hand, we should try to put ourselves in the shoes of people who have entered the country illegally: they often faced impossible economic circumstances in their native countries, with a bleak future for themselves and their families, yet had no realistic process of immigrating lawfully to this country. On the other hand, allowing people to immigrate illegally without consequence while millions of others wait to enter through lawful means in manifestly unfair.

Path to legal resident status: pay fines & no criminals

We propose a path to permanent legal resident status for those who entered our country illegally as adults and who have committed no additional crimes of significance. The 1st step in obtaining that status would be to plead guilty to having committed the crime of illegal entry, and to receive an appropriate punishment consisting of fines and/or community service. Anyone who does not come forward under this process will be subject to automatic deportation, unless they choose to return voluntarily to their native countries.

Secure border as component of reform, not as prerequisite

Demanding border security as a prerequisite to broader immigration reform is a good slogan but elusive on the details and measurements. What do advocates of such an approach mean by "operational control" of the border? That not a single immigrant will cross illegally? That no illegal drugs will cross the border? That no terrorists will enter our country? What exactly is the magic moment we must wait for before we can fix the broken immigration system?

To become citizen, pass exam in English and civic history

To become citizens, immigrants must demonstrate fluency in English and pass an examination on basic American civics and history. There are 100 possible questions, from which 10 are asked of prospective citizens. Answering 6 out of 10 questions constitutes a passing grade.

We believe that should not be enough to earn citizenship. Instead, aspiring citizens should be able to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of our nation's values and mechanisms of democracy. Thus we would expand the civic knowledge necessary for citizenship to include our nation's founding documents, the crucial role of a market economy in promoting freedom and prosperity, and the means and importance of civic preparation.

Illegals can't "wait in line"; there is no line to wait in

Emphatically, the best solution to illegal immigration is a viable system of legal immigration.

Objections to more multiracial America are misplaced

What the demographics mean is that Americans will grow increasingly multiracial. Reform opponents raise the same tired arguments their predecessors raised for centuries: that the newcomers will not assimilate; they won't learn English; they are disproportionately criminal, welfare-dependent, and subversive of American values. History repeatedly has proven those objections misplaced. Where would we be if we had allowed those arguments to prevail in the 19th century or at any time since then? Certainly, we would not be the most powerful, prosperous, and generous nation on earth. Nor will we continue to be if we allow those arguments to prevail today.

GOP wooed Hispanics in 2004; but alienated them by 2012

Education reform more critical than immigration reform

Pray for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, not AZ law

Jeb Bush, Conservative Leaders Call on Congress, President to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Hundreds of conservative grassroots advocates will join a nationwide strategy call with key business and Evangelical leaders to share convictions around the need for immigration reform this year and discuss plans for moving the issue forward.

Conservative leaders will provide an update on the fallout from last week's passage of Arizona's divisive immigration law and pray for a solution to the moral, economic & political crisis caused by our broken immigration system. Speakers will also share strategies for breaking the stalemate in Congress to move immigration reform this year.

1980s: Voter registration for 88,000 naturalized Hispanics

Between Dec. 1983 & Dec. 1986, the number of Republicans climbed from 150,651 to 238,520, a 58% increase, while the number of registered Democrats actually declined from 425,559 to 422, 205. Certainly, this was to an extent just taking advantage of existing conditions. Miami Cubans had been angry at the Democratic Party ever since President Kennedy had [abandoned] the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Still, Jeb deserves credit for following through with the grunt work part of the operation. His goal was to register all newly naturalized Hispanics, not just Cubans, as Republicans, and he was extraordinarily successful in this, helped by his by-then fluent Spanish.

Speaks Spanish; husband and father of Hispanics

In Miami, Jeb didn't need Columba's ethnicity to connect with the Hispanic majority. His ability to speak the language and, perhaps even more important, his long and deep support of Miami's virulently anticommunist foreign policy essentially made Jeb an honorary Cuban.

Share costs of legal immigration between states & federal.

The Governors urge Congress to consider the following principles regarding immigration policies.
• The decision to admit immigrants is a federal one that carries with it a firm federal commitment to shape immigration policy within the parameters of available resources we as a nation are determined to provide.
• The fiscal impact of immigration decisions must be addressed by the federal government. The states, charged with implementing federal policy, have shared and are sharing in the costs; however, there should be no further shift of costs to the states.
• A basic responsibility of the federal government is to collect and disseminate timely and reliable statistical information on immigration and its consequences for the United States.
• Federal immigration policies should ensure that new immigrants do not become a public charge to federal, state, or local governments.
• The federal government must provide adequate information to and consult with states on issues concerning immigration decisions that affect the states.
• States should not have to incur significant costs in implementing federal laws regarding immigration status as a condition of benefits.

The Governors urge the following regarding Legalization and Naturalization:
• States require maximum flexibility in determining and allocating resources to meet the needs of newly legalized aliens.
• The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) must be diligent in its efforts to ensure that felons are not naturalized and being given the benefits of citizenship rather than being deported.
• The naturalization process should be streamlined to be more efficient and accessible to eligible applicants wishing to become citizens, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof.
• The INS must take aggressive action to eliminate the backlog of naturalization applications, which is now approximately 800,000 nationwide.

Federal government should deal with criminal repatriation.

[Regarding illegal immigration], the Governors continue to call on the federal government to negotiate and renegotiate prisoner transfer treaties to expedite the transfer of criminal aliens in the United States who are subject to deportation or removal. The negotiations for such agreements should focus on:
• ensuring that the transferred prisoners serve the balance of their state-imposed prison sentence;
• removing any requirement that the prisoners consent to be transferred to their countries of origin;
• structuring the process to require that the prisoners serve the remainder of their original prison sentence if they return to the United States; and
• considering economic incentives to encourage countries of origin to take back their criminal citizens.

Additionally, the Governors believe the federal government should:
• increase the use of interior repatriation with countries contiguous to the United States;
• place INS officials in state and local facilities for early identification of potentially deportable aliens - nearer the point of their illegal entry - to ensure formal deportation prior to release; and
• upon the request of a state Governor, place INS officers in state courts to assist in the identification of criminal aliens pending criminal prosecution.

Import farm workers from Mexico.

• Whereas, agriculture, which has critical importance in the South not only to our economy, but to our regional and cultural identify and way of life, is facing rapid changes in technology and an increasing global economy; and,
• Whereas, the cost of government commodity programs has varied in recent years between $5 billion and $26 billion in nominal terms, and removed acreage from production thus reducing the cost effectiveness of the program; and,
• Whereas, global trade is crucial to the survival of American agriculture, calling for fair application and enforcement of current and future trade agreements to secure a level playing field for exporters of U.S. food and fiber; and,
• Whereas, agricultural labor shortages, complicated by U.S. federal immigration policy, continue to plague the South, now, therefore, be it
• Resolved, That the Southern Governors’ Association, with respect to the 2002 farm bill, urges Congress and the Administration to:
  • Make commodity program payments, production agreements, limitations, and quotas, belong to and follow the producer, rather than the landowner — taking care not to violate WTO agreements;
  • Continue Loan Deficiency Payments and marketing assistance loans to protect farmers against price levels below the Marketing Loan rate.
  • Enact agricultural federal tax incentives — reducing local property taxes for small producers in high tax areas — so farmers can continue to farm rather than sell land for other uses as well as other tax provisions for environmental/conservation improvements, agriculture research and donations of commodities to charitable organizations;
  • Work together to ensure fair application of current and future trade agreements that will open the door to new foreign markets;
  • Implement a farm labor system, based on the agreement between Canada and Mexico, which will provide an orderly, efficient way to import farm workers.