* Conservative St. Louis radio talk show this morning…
FREY: “What do you think about this migrant caravan that’s coming to our southern border and how does it affect Illinois? And where’s your position on that?”
RAUNER: “That’s very important, that question, Annie. Illegal immigration is very destructive of America. And we’ve have an illegal immigration problem for decades. Illinois in particular has a massive illegal immigration problem. We have hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants here in the state of Illinois and that lowers wages, it hurts union workers. It takes away union jobs, factory jobs, farm jobs. It keeps wages low and causes higher unemployment for American citizens. It’s wrong. I support comprehensive immigration reform. As part of that what we need to do is get E-Verify. I don’t know if you’ve talked about that with your listeners Annie. I’m pushing E-Verify with Congress right now. The way to end illegal immigration is to mandate that in every state across America, I’m working with President Trump and Congress right now on this issue, we need to mandate E-Verify for all employers. So that digitally everybody who is looking for a job can be checked in the federal database whether they’re citizens, or whether they have the proper visas, and so they can be prevented from taking a job that should go to an American citizen. This is something I’ve recommended for a long time. I’m working to get it done in Congress right now and it’s the single best way to stop illegal immigration, to raise American wages, and to protect American jobs for American workers”
* In Chicago this afternoon when pressed by a Latino reporter…
REPORTER: “Talking about the migrant caravan. A lot of people coming from Guatemala and Honduras and El Salvador. President Trump has said he plans to close the border if this group continues advancing as a solution to not letting them in. Do you share his views on this particular issue?”
RAUNER: “Well I’ll say this. We have a process to help refugees, evaluate refugees, and understand requests for asylum. We have a process. We should respect that process and pursue it. America is a welcoming place for refugees, who are truly refugees, and who truly are seeking asylum for legitimate reasons. And I hope that anyone who’s seeking refuge in America can be properly evaluated and assisted if it makes sense. I personally believe we need comprehensive immigration reform in America. Our immigration system is broken. We make legal immigration far too difficult, far too difficult. We should streamline it, support legal immigration, as we should end illegal immigration. And I don’t believe that the most powerful way to do that is necessarily at the border. I believe the best way to end illegal immigration is by mandating E-Verify. E-Verify, it’s not high cost. It’s already a program that exists with the federal government. Mandate that in states across America so that we can know who’s really a citizen or has the proper visas to be hired. That will do the most that we can to end illegal immigration.”
REPORTER: “Should the border be closed though?”
RAUNER: “Thanks very much, everybody.”
Since he mentioned E-Verify yet again, I used the “participating employer” search function at the E-Verify website and the only state-related participating agencies I could find were the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (not under his control), the Illinois National Guard, the Illinois State Police Forensic Sciences Command, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (not under his direct control), Illinois State University (not under his control), the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission (not under his control).
So, maybe he could start here?
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 3:54 pm:
Has Rauner ever simultaneously taken opposing sides on a controversial issue before?
How’d that work out for him?
- I Miss Bentohs - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:00 pm:
He gave the same answer with just a different tone/spin.
- illini - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:03 pm:
My niece is in a professional medical related residency - actually pharmacy. She volunteered ( and paid her own way ) for a three week Habit for Humanity work mission to Guatemala. She could have gone with some friends to Florida in January, but she didn’t.
She fell in love with the country and the people and understands why some of them may want to move to the US under any circumstances.
And, honestly I am seeing many more “foreign” farm workers here in Southern Illinois. The local farmers pay food wages and benefits and could likely not be in business on the scale that they are without this willing labor force. The locals will not milk the cows or do much of the menial labor that must be done.
- Cheryl44 - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:07 pm:
Did his Swedish grandparents come here legally?
- Henry Francis - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:09 pm:
He said “President Trump” (exclamation point)
- BenFolds5 - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:14 pm:
Something has to be done. Private business that hire illegals get huge fines and must use e-verify to avoid. Our government allows illegals in and even employees them. That same government fines the businesses. Let that sink in.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:15 pm:
Four years, never learned a thing.
Can’t say one thing one place, another thing at another place on the same subject.
No one trusts someone who can’t keep their story straight.
- Nacho - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:16 pm:
==Has Rauner ever simultaneously taken opposing sides on a controversial issue before?
How’d that work out for him?==
Maybe if he were in charge he’d have had an accurate whip count and it would’ve worked out for him.
- OneLittleCherry - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:16 pm:
Of course Rauner actually fears running e-verify at DoIT.
All those non union personal services contracts. But maybe not. Maybe the spigot got shut off so all the contractors are out.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:22 pm:
“We have a process to help refugees..”
Does the governor support the process that separates children from their parents?
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:24 pm:
The walking Honduran men, women and children still 1,100 miles from Brownsville ain’t “illegal” anything yet. They’re just being used by bigots and cynics to whip up hysteria among the easily frightened.
There’s a difference between seeking asylum and an “invasion,” don’t you think?
And if you were looking to sneak into the country, maybe publicizing weeks-long marches and inviting in cable news to tag along ain’t the way to go.
- OneLittleCherry - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:27 pm:
There is no excuse for Rauners agencies not to have done this. It takes about 20 minutes to sign an agency or company up. How about an executive order Bruce? All agencies are instructed to immediately register on everify.
What stopped you Bruce? You could have done this a long time ago.
Would everify have slowed you down in a labor dispute maybe? You might have needed to hire a lot of people fast?
A lot of non union foreigners lined up by contractors?
(Pinky to the corner of the mouth)
Maybe?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:32 pm:
How many more of these people will the tax payers of Illinois be forced to pay for. Sanctuary Cook County and Chicago already are costing the tax payers in this state billions.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:32 pm:
===We have a process to help refugees, evaluate refugees, and understand requests for asylum. We have a process. We should respect that process and pursue it.===
Isn’t this the same guy who adamantly refused to accept refugees for resettlement in Illinois? What “process” is he talking about?
- Roman - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:35 pm:
== still 1,100 miles from Brownsville ==
Yep, like walking from Des Moines to D.C. Plenty of time to get a plan together, but there’s no political advantage to that. Never pass up a chance to take advantage of a good non-crisis.
- supplied_demand - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:39 pm:
==Sanctuary Cook County and Chicago already are costing the tax payers in this state billions.==
Source?
- XDNR - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 4:55 pm:
Rauner simply changes the narrative, costumes, etc. depending on who he is selling his snake oil to resulting in contradictory statements and lies, or refusing to answer the tough questions. Nothing new and nothing will change that’s his MO.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 5:02 pm:
===Supplied, Read the expenditures in the state budget. Denial is your problem.===
No.
Please cite specifics. That’s how it works here. You want it, cite it.
Thanks.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 5:50 pm:
Rauner is always telling us that everyone is leaving Illinois. Sounds like there are a lot of people moving here. Rauner is wrong again.
- illini - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 5:57 pm:
Details, please on the plausibly believable, but questionable verification, of the “facts” that you purport as being true.
As Willy says - “You want it, cite it.”
Details and specifics DO matter. Get with the program. Or don’t bother us with your trivial, inconsequential and nonsensical postings.
‘
- JoanP - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 8:56 pm:
Q: What’s your position on that, Governor?
A: That depends. Who am I talking to?
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 18 @ 10:08 pm:
–Isn’t this the same guy who adamantly refused to accept refugees for resettlement in Illinois? What “process” is he talking about?–
Yeah, wasn’t that amazing, when Rauner and 29 GOP governors, overnight, pretended they knew that two years of vetting by the UN, State, Defense, CIA, and FBI wasn’t good enough to bring in any refugees seeking to escape the butcher, Assad.
No cynical, amoral, RGA coordination there.
They gave it a real deep think, I bet, even though the body count from Syrian, or any, refugee “terrorist” attacks in the United States remains zero.
Good thing the Egyptians weren’t such self-serving political hacks, back in the day.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A13-23&version=NIV
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/us/politics/gop-governors-vow-to-close-doors-to-syrian-refugees.html
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Oct 24, 18 @ 7:06 am:
I think it’s appropriate to this post about Rauner’s ever-changing messaging to echo Thomas Friedman’s plea to in the Times:
“One day I hope the truth will be enough again. One day I hope great journalism will be enough again. But today only a lever of power — the House or the Senate — will make it so. Facts, science and truth — without power — are just leaves floating through the air in the age of Trump, scattering aimlessly without impact.
So, this year: No third party, no Green Party, no throwing up our hands and saying, “They’re all bad.” All of that’s for another day. For today, in these midterm elections, vote for a Democrat, canvass for a Democrat, raise money for a Democrat, drive someone else to a voting station to vote for a Democrat. It’s the only hope to make America America again.
Nothing else matters. Pass it on.”
- Thomas Friedman
NYT Columnist
10/24/2018