How Hillary Clinton would deal with U.S. illegals

[sherib]

I've just watched a 30 minute MSNBC video interview by Brian Williams of Hillary Clinton which might be of interest to people with 'illegal' relatives in the U.S. Towards the end of the interview she was asked to talk about immigration. The video can be watched here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22690079#22690079
Full transcript here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22688801/page/4/

From the transcript here are some excerpts of what she had to say:

MSNBC Interview
.....And then we’ve got to deal with what is 12 to 14 million people here illegally. And I hear the voices on the Republican side. I hear them in the broadcast media calling for deportation, round them up. And whenever I hear that, Brian, I say, “Fine, you tell me how we will do that.”........

It would take more than $200 billion to fund that kind of intrusive privacy shredding event that I think Americans would never stand for. And what I wanna do is to say let’s get real here. These people need to be brought out of the shadows and registered. If they’ve committed a crime here or in the country they came from, they should be deported immediately, no questions asked.

If, however, the vast majority who have worked hard, their kids are in school here, if they wish to have a pass to legalization, they’ve got to meet some tough conditions. They do have to pay a fine because they came here illegally. They did break the law. They have to pay back taxes. It might take years but they’ve got to make amends there. They have to begin to try to learn English. And we’ve got to do more to help them to try to learn English......

But once they are registered and once they sign on to these conditions we have imposed, they will become legal so that employers will not be able to exploit them or, frankly, undercut the job market and prevent Americans who are here legally from having these jobs. I don’t see any alternative. And that’s what I will work for immediately upon becoming President.

 

[redstar]

Sounds reasonable enough to me.

Deportation is just populist rhetoric which might go down well with the mob, but totally impractical in reality and would damage the US economy.

 

[madisona]

perfectly reasonable. strange however that nothing much was done during the eight years that her husband was President. having large numbers working illegally suits big business. much easier to exploit them and deprive them of normal civil, social and legal rights

 

[rmelly]

How Hillary Clinton would deal with U.S. illegals

Are you concerned she's not being harsh enough or something? Because I would take this to be very reasonable.

 

[shesells]

And let's face it, she'd actually do something. W has done nothing, bar the unofficial gestures made post 9-11 which saw some illegals working in or around the WTC gain green cards.

It's about time America did something to deal with the issue instead of ignoring it and hope it would go away.

 

[rmelly]

as an earlier poster says, what did her husband do in his 8 years? why pick out Bush?

 

[shesells]

Her husband was busy sorting out the US economy.

Under Bush the US has become a security fixated nation (not by choice) but while those of us legal visitors are fingerprinted, photographed etc, millions of illegal immigrants are living unofficially. Thus it's a bigger issue now than in 1992 IMO

 

[soy]

as an earlier poster says, what did her husband do in his 8 years? why pick out Bush?

I am no fan of Bush, but he did make several efforts to pass an immigration bill that would have led to an amnesty for existing illegals.
It was shot down by a large group from both Republicans and Democrats.

FYI - Illegal immigration was the top issue in a poll of Iowa voters during the recent caucus.

 

[sherib]

Originally Posted by Madisona
strange however that nothing much was done during the eight years that her husband was President

I wasn't aware that the President of the U.S. consulted his/? spouse when making decisions. I've omitted her since there hasn't been a male spouse as yet! In the 21st C it's hard to believe such antiquated notions still prevail to take down any woman with the ability above all else, plus the guts and gumption to stand up and be counted. If she's weepy - she's 'emotional' and if she's tough she's 'an iron lady'. How can a woman win against that kind of bias? BTW I don't wear rose coloured spectacles when it comes to objectively assessing or criticising any woman who stands for election or public office.

Originally Posted by redstar
Deportation is just populist rhetoric which might go down well with the mob,..

Agreed. Hillary has a plan so here's hoping she gets the chance to implement it.

Originally Posted by shesells
And let's face it, she'd actually do something.

I think she would too. It's obviously a much bigger issue for people from Mexico and Cuba. Seasoned politicians tend to steer clear of the thornier issues in general I think. Hillary says she'll "roll up her sleeves" and I think "no better woman" even though she hasn't got the sex appeal of Bill or Obama and isn't a smarmy type either. When, if ever, was a male politician required to "soften his image"?

I can't quote chapter and verse but my memory is that there have been quite a few "amnesties" for Irish illegals e.g. Donnolly Visas and maybe other lotteries; so, we haven't done too badly playing the "Irish" card and likely will again if a Democratic President is elected in the U.S.

 

[REMFAN]

That sounds like a very reasonable way to deal with illegals, although the people in low paid jobs with children would struggle to repay taxes and a fine.

 

[stir crazy]

the people in low paid jobs with children would struggle to repay taxes and a fine.

Is their system anything like ours where employers have to pay taxes towards revenue such as prsi etc ? What about the employers who knowingly hired illegals therefore being just as guilty under American law, also repaying their taxes or also paying a fine ? Just curious.

 

[REMFAN]

Is their system anything like ours where employers have to pay taxes towards revenue such as prsi etc ? What about the employers who knowingly hired illegals therefore being just as guilty under American law, also repaying their taxes or also paying a fine ? Just curious.

I'm sure their system is like us and the employer should face justice.However America does not have a mininum wage. The illegal pushing carts around Walmart making $3.75 an hour is gonna have problems paying Government fines.

 

[madisona]

I wasn't aware that the President of the U.S. consulted his/? spouse when making decisions.

I can't quote chapter and verse but my memory is that there have been quite a few "amnesties" for Irish illegals e.g. Donnolly Visas and maybe other lotteries; so, we haven't done too badly playing the "Irish" card and likely will again if a Democratic President is elected in the U.S.

If her time as first lady is irrelevant then why is she constantly droning on about experience. She has only been in the Senate for a short two years longer that her "inexperienced" opponent.

saying that she helped the Irish illegals is a backhanded compliment even if it were true, although I don't think that is is. It is saying she discriminated in favour of one group based on their ethnicity rather than their skills and abilities

when Bush tried to bring in legislation that would provide a path to citizenship and a worker program to help illegal immigrints earlier this year she opposed it strongly She called instead for immigration changes "based on strengthening our borders in order to make us safer from the threat of terrorism." The legislation failed and millions remain illegal. In a debate earlier this year she said that while she was in favour of giving driving licences to illegal immigrints, she was of course "opposed to this becoming a practical option"

There is a minimun wage in the US, although of course the millions of illegals don't qualify.

 

[Purple]

There is a federal minimum wage in America but most states have a minimum wage which is higher.

The more I see of Hilary Clinton the less I like her. To me she seems to be a cold manipulative political animal. She trades on the experience she acquired by osmosis when her husband. This just doesn't wash.
I don't get why illegals in America are poor exploited souls whereas illegals in this country are scumbags who are screwing the system, or (shock!) do we pontificate too much? Our double standards never fail to amaze me...

From our perspective the critical policy that any US president has is on US overseas investment. On this score the Republicans are our friends and the Democrats are most definitely not. The Democrats oppose the current laws which allow transfer pricing, basically the mechanism where we conspire with US companies to allow them to rob tax revenue from the American people as long as we can get our cut. Our economy was built on this cosy little arrangement, we need to keep it going.

 

[REMFAN]

There is a federal minimum wage in America but most states have a minimum wage which is higher.

The more I see of Hilary Clinton the less I like her. To me she seems to be a cold manipulative political animal. She trades on the experience she acquired by osmosis when her husband. This just doesn't wash.
I don't get why illegals in America are poor exploited souls whereas illegals in this country are scumbags who are screwing the system, or (shock!) do we pontificate too much? Our double standards never fail to amaze me...
.

What is the federal minimum wage in America? Most of my friends there work in bars/cafe part time and they are paid a couple of bucks an hour (tips are split).

I liked Bill but I'm not sure she'll get elected. A female running the Whitehouse? It would be a first..Although they did have a monkey there for the past eight years so anything is possable

Mike Huckabee has enlisted Chuck Norris (Walker,Texas Ranger himself!) to help with his media campaign. I guess he figured a Z list actor can help him get elected!

 

[Purple]

Federal minimum wage rates in USA:
Current $5.85
07/24/2008 $6.55
07/24/2009 $7.25

 

[madisona]

however Employers are allowed to pay workers who receive tips $2.13 an hour. part of the reason tipping in so prevelant in the US as most waiters , bar staff etc do no receive a living wage as salary.

 

[Sherman]

To me she seems to be a cold manipulative political animal.

I love the idealism of people when it comes to attacking her of all politicians (and believe me, I'm no lover of Hillary Clinton, I believe in attacking them all equally ).

Get real. There is not a leading politician alive today, nor has there ever been, who has not been a 'cold manipulative political animal'.

These people don't just 'fall' into high office, they usually spend their lives targetting it and using all means necessary to get there. Perhaps others have been better in the past at disguising it though.

 

[Purple]

I love the idealism of people when it comes to attacking her of all politicians (and believe me, I'm no lover of Hillary Clinton, I believe in attacking them all equally ).

Get real. There is not a leading politician alive today, nor has there ever been, who has not been a 'cold manipulative political animal'.

These people don't just 'fall' into high office, they usually spend their lives targetting it and using all means necessary to get there. Perhaps others have been better in the past at disguising it though.

The thread is about Hillary, that's why I commented on her. She is trying to project a JFK like image. I don't buy it.
I would tend to be a Democrat supported (if I lived in America) but I don't see any of their candidates as real contenders. None of them have the experience and personal qualities to do the job. Pity.

 

[sherib]

Originally Posted by Sherman
Get real. There is not a leading politician alive today, nor has there ever been, who has not been a 'cold manipulative political animal'.

Cynical but probably true. Seems to me all the candidates are playing the Martin Luther King card. So contentious was colour 40 years ago that both MLK and BobbyK were assassinated, so let's get real on that issue too. At that time in a lot of states, schools were segregated and the same applied on buses. Black children had to be bussed to schools under armed guard. On that basis aren't the non-white U.S. citizens best qualified to judge whether or not Hillary C. is jumping on a bandwagon? I'm happy to leave it to them to decide.

It's curious too that only black U.S. citizens are referred to as "African-Americans" - that tag isn't applied to the white immigrants. Is that P.C.?

Prior to Angela Merkel's election in Germany I was amazed at the bias against her as reported on TV news channels. "She's not married" and "She hasn't got any children"! In fact she was divorced and re-married but what either of those tags had to do with her abilities I am still waiting to discover.