Is this legislation you would support?

[Flopper]

No. I wouldn't support the legislation. Because we don't have a lack of legislation problem. We have a lack of enforcement.

Enforce the law. But then that requires the politicians to stop thinking they will legalize the illegals here and get the votes. Enforce the law and prevent more illegal immigration and the illegals will leave on their own.

The only way you are going to get the law enforce, is to provide the needed resources, make it harder for illegals to find jobs here, and prosecute more. I think this bill does provide that. However there are still a lot of details missing.

There are some things that legal immigrants want to see in the bill and they will get some of them. You can bet that there is going to be penalties for hiring undocumented immigrants. These plus the path to legal status will be controversial.

 

[Flopper]

Lose line 8 and we have a starting point.

I think the path to legal status will be the most hotly contested part of the bill. We need to get these these people out of the closet into legal jobs paying taxes, however do we want to reward them for breaking our laws and how would we actually accomplish this.

 

[California Girl]

We don't need more legislation, we need to enforce the legislation that exists. I wouldn't support any legislation that includes a path for illegals to become legal. You do not reward people for breaking the law, you punish them. They go home.

 

[GilbertArizona]

I think the legislation lacks a much needed #9, giving illegals milk and cookies for coming forward to register. Okay, I'm not big on government programs. Not that they don't contain some good ideas in my view, but for me it is more a question of the government's ability and willingness to execute their big ideas.

For example, about point number 1, hiring more Border Patrol:

Since the fall of 2004, a total of 103 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been arrested or indicted on corruption charges such as drug smuggling, alien smuggling, money laundering and conspiracy, said James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner in the office of internal affairs for the border agency.

"There is a concerted effort on the part of transnational criminal organizations to infiltrate CBP through hiring initiatives and compromise our existing agents and officers," Tomsheck told a Homeland Security subcommittee.

A big part of the problem is that the agency has added 20,000 employees in the past five years as Congress has moved to beef up border security. There are not enough people to properly screen job applicants and ensure that they take polygraph tests before they are hired, Tomsheck said.

Read more: As Border Patrol expands, corruption concerns rise

 

[Flopper]

I think the legislation lacks a much needed #9, giving illegals milk and cookies for coming forward to register. Okay, I'm not big on government programs. Not that they don't contain some good ideas in my view, but for me it is more a question of the government's ability and willingness to execute their big ideas.

For example, about point number 1, hiring more Border Patrol:

Since the fall of 2004, a total of 103 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been arrested or indicted on corruption charges such as drug smuggling, alien smuggling, money laundering and conspiracy, said James Tomsheck, assistant commissioner in the office of internal affairs for the border agency.

"There is a concerted effort on the part of transnational criminal organizations to infiltrate CBP through hiring initiatives and compromise our existing agents and officers," Tomsheck told a Homeland Security subcommittee.

A big part of the problem is that the agency has added 20,000 employees in the past five years as Congress has moved to beef up border security. There are not enough people to properly screen job applicants and ensure that they take polygraph tests before they are hired, Tomsheck said.

Read more: As Border Patrol expands, corruption concerns rise

Because some police are corrupt is not a good reason to forgo hiring more police. Possibly we need to police the police better. I agree more screening is needed.

Maybe not cookies and milk, but there is going have to be one heck of an incentive program to get illegals to step forward and register.