TCTI: Too Crazy Too Ignore
 Dave Ross
AP: 4e1b1244-a97c-4e3b-9a11-3345366cfb6d
People make their way to a naturalization ceremony at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in Irving, Texas. Key Democratic and Republican senators are pledging to get a wide-ranging immigration bill through the Senate by summer even as they point to numerous pitfalls ahead. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Who could possibly be against this?

BY Dave Ross  on January 29, 2013 @ 5:42 am (Updated: 8:08 am - 1/29/13 )

A group of senators is proposing immigration reform - real comprehensive immigration reform.

There's a framework with stuff that appeals to conservatives.

"We have to have a real enforcement mechanism to insure we're never here again in the future," said Senator Marco Rubio.

And stuff that appeals to liberals.

"People who are here living in the shadows would get a legal right to stay here and work," said Senator Charles Schumer.

Senators were so determined to appeal to Hispanic voters - they started acting as their own interpreters.

First, Senator Marco Rubio started making his proposals in in Spanish. And after hearing Rubio, of course Democrat Bob Menendez decided maybe one more question needed answering - in Spanish. Even John McCain translated his trademark straight talk, simply saying "vamonos."

But there are clouds moving in on this rainbow because the bottom line of the compromise, is that most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants will get to stay here legally while they wait for green cards, which prompted a question for Senator McCain on FOX.

"Won't we have a flood of illegal immigrants coming across the border trying to beat the clock? Saying 'I have to get there, because if I just get there I'll be able to stay'?"

And ABC's Nightline featured a pro-wrestler the Mexican themed Lucha Libre Tour. RJ Brewer whose real name is John Stagikas is a star among Hispanic audiences. But you ask him about immigration, "I refuse to be an immigrant and a minority in my own country - enough is enough."

Get ready America - it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Dave Ross, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dave Ross is co-host of The Ross & Burbank Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 9-Noon) and never too far from the spotlight.
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Comments (35)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Your mocking is uncalled for, Dave.
    January 29, 2013 5:20 am
    This immigration plan is reasonable and answers most of the problems we need to deal with - like what to do with 11M people - that are just not otherwise going away.

    And, no, Dave. We won't have a sudden rush to 'beat the clock'. It's jobs that attract our neighbors. And we still have a ways to go there.

    .

    Of course, a real resolution to the immigration problem - especially one endorsed and pushed by Marco Rubio and John McCain, is not what a lot of your 'progressive' friends want. ... Once a solution is agreed, the Hispanic community just might actually start voting for a party that also believes in family, religion and hard work.

    But let that all work itself out. Right now we are dealing with people. And people do not need to be confined forever to a nether world in constant fear that they might be sent 'home' to a home they haven't seen in 30 years.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsualumn wrote...
    Who?
    January 29, 2013 5:22 am
    The R.W.N.J. will be against this proposal. Anybody that is worried that this will look good for the president will also be against it. The Tea Party won't like it. Who will be in favor of it? Most of the country.
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  • cdbtx wrote...
    Ever try reading before opening your mouth wsualumn?
    January 29, 2013 5:31 am
    Try reading the original Immigration bills proposed in the past by the Republicans.. this is almost a mirror image... And seriously.. I hope that wsualumn is just a joke and that your post was not a result of a college grad.. jeeeeeeeeeeezzz.
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  • wsualumn wrote...
    cbdtx
    January 29, 2013 6:14 am
    The bill that Bush previously proposed was overwhelmingly rejected by who? Hint: not the dems.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    Amazing what can happen when...
    January 29, 2013 6:11 am
    There is a little compromising and we look above the politics.....only thing left is to see who wants credit for re-election.
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  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    "and stuff that appeals to liberals"....
    January 29, 2013 6:14 am
    masses of government dependent, low information Democrat voters.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    It doesn't matter what Congress does
    January 29, 2013 6:33 am
    The Lord of the Flies selectively enforces laws at it's convenience or writes Executive Orders to suit it's purpose....Congress provides only bread and circuses for the masses while the media plays fiddle. None will challenge Ba'al Zebub, they bow at his feet in awe of his magnificence.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Renewing my call for a "free market" solution.
    January 29, 2013 7:19 am
    The entire problem with low skilled or semi-skilled Hispanics immigrating to the US (Doctors from India are a different consideration)has to do with market imbalance.

    There are X-million jobs available each year in the United States. Many of them are so undesirable, underpaid, or physically demanding that we cannot find domestic workers to fill them. Whether it's mucking out toilets in a motel, washing dishes in a restaurant, picking apples in Wenatchee, or working on a hot roof in 100-degree temperatures- nobody with even one option to do anything else will apply for a lot of the dirtiest and lowest paying jobs.

    So there is a legitimate market demand for workers who won't demand benefits, will be grateful for minimum wage (or maybe a little less, if it can be arranged), won't form a union, won't ever expect or demand a raise, etc.

    We have artificially restricted the supply of this labor. The vast majority of illegal immigrants in this country would have come across the border legally if it were at all possible to do. Our ridiculously low "quota" system has people waiting in lines quite literally for *years* to get a work visa. Mexican laborers, for example, often find they must hire an attorney to even participate in the visa process. The typical cost for such an attorney is about one year's wages for a Mexican farm laborer.

    The solution: Scrap the quota system altogether.

    The better way: Admit anybody into the US who has a written job offer from a legitimate US employer and who does not have a criminal background. Admit them for 6 months, and renew the visa every six months thereafter as long as the immigrant is working. After the current statutory period of time for legal residence in this country (five years?) the immigrant would then be able to apply for citizenship. Once a citizen, no more visa required.

    Dependents: Anybody coming to the US with a written job offer from a legitimate US employer would only be allowed to bring as many dependents as the wages from promised employment can reasonably support. If a guy has a job washing dishes in a restaurant for $800 per month (plus all he can eat, circumventing minimum wage laws), he can't bring Mama and 5 kids across the border as well.

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  • mnpat wrote...
    "There are X-million jobs available each year in the United States. Many of them are so undesirable, underpaid, or physically demanding that we cannot find domestic workers to fill them."
    January 29, 2013 7:54 am
    The are the jobs that are least desirable, add to it the fact that current entitlements, safety nets for your average citizen and it makes sense in today's world to stay unemployed and not take those positions. In today's world everyone wants to have a six figure salary, including those that just graduated from a college or university.
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  • irony wrote...
    if they're underpaid then why are they allowed to hire.
    January 29, 2013 7:51 pm
    there's a thing called minimum wage to keep from slave labor of the past. what do we want for our society, get every job down to poverty wages as fast as we can?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JohnQEveryman wrote...
    hmm.
    January 29, 2013 8:19 am
    I'm all for amnesty... with some conditions. 1- To gain citizenship, they have to pay back income taxes for all years here and there would be thorough investigation to ensure that was done. 2- There would be a modest penalty assessed, based on the number of years illegally in the country; there are plenty of people trying to get here legally, so those that want amnesty need to 'pay' for the advantage they took from others. 3- Any federal/state aid taken while illegal would be repaid to the state/fed. I don't think it's out of the question to expect some repayment to the American people for breaking the law; you want amnesty? You repay your debt to society for breaking the law. If you can't or won't pay that debt, go back where you came from. I'm sure some will disagree with that terse language, but my grandparents sat on Ellis Island for weeks after they fled the Nazis and followed the rules to be here legally; I think the same should be expected from our neighbors to the south who weren't under the same pressing conditions (and please don't try to make some parallel to cartels or fiscal conditions).
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    John Q
    January 29, 2013 9:23 am
    Sorry BUT NO ONE could afford Amnesty under the program you outlined.In order for a GOAL to work it MUST BE realistic.Someone who is put into the position of paying $100s of $1000s of dollars in order to stay legally in this country will continue on the way that they have lived in secret in the shadows. Wouldn't you?
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    John Q
    January 29, 2013 9:30 am
    By the way your Grandparents stay at Ellis Island (where they charged room and board?)was because that was a controlled entry point. Do you have any doubt in your mind that if the USA was the next country over from Germany that legal or not they would have fled to the USA and lived illegally if they had to?Remember that responsibility to their familys is a HUGE reason for many workers crossing to the USA in order to feed their family.Hunger is a HUGE motivator.
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  • JohnQEveryman wrote...
    really?
    January 29, 2013 9:56 am
    You mean like Switzerland or Luxembourg? They lived in Bavaria and could have easily fled to either, but chose to come to the US *LEGALLY* because is was a better option. I have zero sympathy for illegals that come here from places like Mexico under the guise of hunger or poverty. If Jews could go through the legal process under the threat of concentration camps, I think we can expect the same from those under far less lethal conditions. As for my amnesty repayment.. THAT'S THE POINT!!! They broke the law when they came here illegally. Period. Normally, we deport or jail someone for that, but this offers them the option to repay their debt to society financially. I realize some might see it as an insurmountable expectation, but that's the price to pay for breaking the law. The fact that they are criminals seems to be lost on the Liberals and Dems of this country. Violent criminals? No. But I find immigration law breaking to be a violation of my country and a disrespect to American people.
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    John Q
    January 29, 2013 3:58 pm
    Your Grandparents likely fled as far from Germany as they could.Why would they risk Luxenbourg or Switzerland that Hitler would have taken over at one time or another if his side won. Of course you have no sympathy for someone who came to the USA for economic reasons because you have no soul.Oh and your plan is no plan at all because its simply not reality. WE are looking for possible solutions not the garbage you threw on the table.Your a no idea TWIT.Your whats wrong with the GOP and why they are a diminished party in our Country
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  • JohnQEveryman wrote...
    lol
    January 30, 2013 11:21 am
    Name calling and assumptions, eh? No wonder you're a laughing stock here. For the record, I'm a LIBERTARIAN, so I believe in personal responsibility. Expecting people to take responsibility for their violation of US law is right in-line with that ideology, but evidently you believe it means I have no soul and I'm a twit. Do tell. Keep the insults and strawman arguments coming... I enjoy a good laugh.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    messiah, Ellis Island was A controlled entry point, but.......
    January 29, 2013 4:13 pm
    as late as 1930 entry from Canada and Mexico was pretty much uncontrolled and unenforced. My own family came to this country in the 1880's simple by crossing the Detroit River.

    And it was populist reaction during the depression (oh, and that was democrat populists, then) that deported Mexicans for fear they were taking the few jobs still available. `

    But, you're right. Need is a fantastic motivator. And, contrary to some beliefs, undocumented workers do not get welfare.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    people groups of the past didn't come here illegally
    January 29, 2013 7:53 pm
    they went thru the proper authorities.
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  • irony wrote...
    i agree there has to be a penalty.
    January 29, 2013 7:52 pm
    they did not immigrate here, they illegally crossed the border.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Somebody wrote: "there are plenty of people trying to get here legally, so those that want amnesty need to 'pay' for the advantage they took from others."
    January 29, 2013 8:25 am
    Not so. The number set for the quota doesn't go down by the number of illegal immigrants estimated to have crossed the border the previous year.

    Scrap the quota, and you won't have any significant number of illegal immigrants. People will come here legally, if that option is open to them and it is practical to do so.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    You Rightys have no attention span
    January 29, 2013 8:52 am
    Just 4 Months ago SELF DEPORTATION was the answer.How do you spell WAFFEL? 1 or 2 Ls
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    OFF TOPIC
    January 29, 2013 9:06 am
    But be aware that as of today merchants in Washington can add up to a 4% SURCHARGE to purchases made with Mastercard and Visa,users of Discover or AMEX will not receive this added surcharge.THe 4% is not going to the Feds ,State,or City but to the merchant.And yes the Obama administration has been blamed by the Rightys.I spoke with a Righty 3 days ago who stated it was ALL Obamas fault,of course I told him Obama does not have the power to have set this fee.
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  • MarinerDaddy wrote...
    No power huh...
    January 29, 2013 9:14 am
    There's lots of things Obama doesn't have the power to do. Just issue and executive order and no one will even question it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    it's not a surcharge.
    January 29, 2013 7:55 pm
    payments are processed not by the credit card company but payment processing companies that are the go between banks. credit card companies charge retailers for that processing and until now retailers had to jack up the price to cover that cost. if nobody can be charged for it then credit card companies have to raise interest to cover it. that's where the phrase cash is king is all about, saving you money.
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  • Seattle Dad wrote...
    Unions
    January 29, 2013 10:31 am
    Unions will not be happy about legal workers coming across the border to work. As a conservative I have no problem with it.
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  • cigarfan wrote...
    @Seattle Dad
    January 29, 2013 1:23 pm
    Nothing could be further from the truth. AFL-CIO is on the front line of fighting for immigrant's rights and worker solidarity, uniting workers and raising the standard for ALL workers.
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  • cigarfan wrote...
    Time Magazine article on why Unions fight for immigrant's rights
    January 29, 2013 1:27 pm
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,999040,00.html
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  • irony wrote...
    as long as it stands as a penalty for being here illegally...
    January 29, 2013 7:48 pm
    they did not immigrate here like many people groups of the past, they illegally crossed the border and took jobs they were not legally allowed to take for sub minimum wages. they brought TB, drugs, prostitution, child sex trade, gang violence and now they want citizenship...
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