House bill: H.R. 4437

Focuses on border security.

Toughens laws against illegal aliens, including making illegal presence on US soil a felony.

Senate bill: S. 2611

Also contains border security provisions.

Sets aside a path for qualified illegal aliens to apply for guest worker visas, permanent residence, or citizenship.

Creates a temporary worker visa that allow a set number of unskilled workers to fill job positions in the US.

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Which do you support and why?

I support the house bill. We must secure our borders before we even think of setting up a new plan to allow the illegals to stay here.

I don't beleive that we really need new laws, just enforce the ones we have. If we need more INS agents, then we need to hire more.

Can I be annoying and Europian and ask what the difference between a house bill and a senate bill is?

I mean one is passed in the senate and one in the house of reperesentives, but what is the difference between the two?

__________________
Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life.
- Cecil Rhodes

All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.
-Edmund Burke

The house bill provide no concessions to illegal immigration. They argue that allowing illegals to become legal will result in more illegal immigration and punish legal immigrants. The emphasis is overwhelmingly on border security. The motivation is the possibility of terrorists entering the US, along with drugs and illegal immigrants.

The senate's bill deals with the root of immigration- the economic vaccuum created by jobs that Americans dont do, combined with border security. They recognise that a lot of illegal immigrants have been in the US for a long time, otherwise law-abiding, hard-working and tax-paying. A large number also have relatives that are US citizens, including children. Because of this, they propose legalising certain illegals and providing some of them a path to citizenship. Additionally they also provide for a guest worker program so that industries that depend heavily on foreign workers can survive.

My problem with the house bill is that it will require us to deport each and every illegal alien in the US. Is it appealing to our emotional anxiety over terrorism and xenophobic elements? Yes. Is it practically applicable? Not very.

Happiness it is a double edged sword. On the one hand your toughen border offences on the other you justify a below average minimum wage. What does the second do for the future of workers in America when other businesses want cheap workers and so the cookie crumbles. As far as making it a felony to be an illegal that is strong but if the punishment is justifiable then thats ok. Does it mean that being convicted of a felony prevents you ever being allowed back and if so do you alow leniency for those that have family and so how do you determine a line that can't be crossed.

America has put itself between a rock and a hard place.

We dont want to deal with poverty and lower standards of living. But we cant deny that certain jobs are just these kids of jobs- they are back-breaking, low-paying menial jobs. They are too menial for most Americans to even consider.

But which American will do these kinds of jobs when they can work at Mickey D's or study for a couple months and get a certification? Thats right- nobody.

Can we make dish-washing a job that pays reasonably well? Or lawn-mowing? Or produce-harvesting? Or meat-packing? Construction?

The only way you will get Americans to do these jobs is if you make them pay well, like we did to waste-collectors. Because you will never get Americans to accept poverty when they can fill in an application at McD's.

If you force these industries to hike wages the industry will fall apart- they will lose money and people will move onto more profitable industries and we will face a crisis.

I dont like the idea of depending on foreign workers, on losing our sense of self-sustenance and creating an underclass either, which is why we need a serious alternative. Perhaps providing incentives for Americans to work these jobs? We've done it for the Armed Services, so why not for these jobs?

I know it is harder in the States than it is in Australia. But I am a dish pig that moved up the ranks to a cook, a labourer that is now a bricklayer, having ten years of each for two of them as the latter. I am currently putting myself through univesity as a hobby for God knows what. These are the lucky chances anyone gets where I am. Would you become an illegal for the opportunity at this either fo yourself or your children and would you think that felony would become a detterant at all. My father was an immigrant, my mums father was an immigrant and my wife is an immigrant, so I am the result of immigration, my opinion is fuck the boudary if you get across lucky you. I don't expect the same considerations by you and that isn't an insult it is just I shouldn't have a say even in my own country about closing any borders.

House,it's tougher and more common sense!