A Marriage Not Made In Heaven
There have been two major forces behind the attempts to encourage illegal immigration into this country. One is the desire to gain votes from a permanent underclass, the other is to secure a source of cheap labor from that underclass. Today, the Politico is reporting a marriage of the two interests in yet another attempt to secure an amnesty bill.
The legislation that Goldstein and Hughes are pushing, called AgJOBS, shorthand for the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act, has attracted broad support, including from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 800 other organizations, such as church groups, as well as state agriculture officials.
“Without AgJOBS, there will be shortages, crops will rot and American agriculture could face significant disruption,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.
The California Democrat has been busily schmoozing her fellow senators, including sympathetic Republicans, to build support for the bill.
She may try to add it to the farm bill or an omnibus appropriations bill, according to her staff. “We must get to 60 votes and ensure that there is a stable and reliable source of labor for American agriculture,” Feinstein said.
On Oct. 16, the chamber sent a letter to members of Congress warning that the current “enforcement-only approach” to immigration policy is causing American businesses, and jobs, to move overseas, not only in the agricultural sector but also in the economy that surrounds it, such as equipment manufacturers and distributors and financial services.
Despite the bill’s broad backing from business and labor, however, stiff opposition remains.
“That’s the same group that supported [immigration reform] last summer,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said in an interview, referring to the comprehensive immigration overhaul that contained a version of AgJOBS and that was defeated despite strong support from the Bush administration. “I don’t believe AgJOBS has any chance of passing.
“You have to have a lawful system and not reward those who came illegally,” Sessions said. The Alabama Republican claims the bill would lead to citizenship for 3.3 million farm workers and their families.
In an attempt to allay the accusations by Sessions and others, such as Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), that the AgJOBS legislation would provide “amnesty” to people who broke the law, the bill would require illegal migrant workers to pay a substantial fine and to remain in U.S. agriculture for three to five years before they can earn legal status.
Essentially creating a serf class in the country, tied not to the land itself but to the businesses that control the land. Labor undoubtedly hopes to unionize the underclass, Democrats hope for a steady stream of new voters beholden to the Democratic party and the agribusiness sector cheerfully cooperates because it gets cheap labor. Never mind that they will also get the eventual redistribution of their wealth.
Again: A high fence, a wide gate and a hearty welcome for those who come here legally. It is a winning strategy. These continued attempts at back door amnesty are getting old. (And a farm bill is not the place to stick an immigration policy change.)
There's a nice trigger for the amygdalae here. "Democrats for Serfdom!"™
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Blue Crab Boulevard » Britain Reintroduces Slavery — Friday, 26 October , 2007 @ 9:32 pm
By Neo, Friday, 26 October , 2007 @ 2:41 pm
“NewD irection” is “Pathway to Hell”.