Kolbe introduces foreign worker bill
BILL HESS -- Herald/Review - 7/27/03
WASHINGTON -- In what will be a long process, three Arizona Republicans introduced bills Friday in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to open borders to people seeking jobs in the United States as long as companies say they have shortages of workers.
House Bill 2899, Border Security and Immigration Improvement Act, was jointly introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake with a companion bill presented to the Senate by Sen. John McCain.
The bill is designed to reduce the increasing number of illegal immigrants entering the county by taking care of labor shortages as well as offering incentives to millions of undocumented immigrants already in the United States, allowing them to seek legal status, Kolbe said.
"It is not an amnesty program," Kolbe said during a telephone press conference Friday afternoon.
Glenn Spencer, an opponent of any proposal that can be construed as being an open borders program, said what the federal government must first do is prove it can control the border by shutting down the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
As the bill seems to be written, "it will lead to a rolling amnesty and then a general amnesty," Spencer said.
The federal government should have a six-month minimum program to demonstrate it can control the borders, something it is not now doing, said Spencer, who heads the American Border Patrol, a nonprofit organization that watches the international boundary with Mexico using in-ground sensors, small unmanned aerial vehicles and individuals.
From his headquarters in Sierra Vista, Spencer informs the U.S. Border Patrol, which is not affiliated with his organization, when illegal immigrants are spotted so they can be apprehended.
If the U.S. government can prove to him that the border can be controlled, he said he possibly could support the proposed bill. Right now it does not appear to be anything that will stop the flow of illegal immigrants from coming into the U.S., Spencer said.
On the other hand, Jim Cooper, chairman of the Cochise County Democratic Committee, said that while it is a little too early to say if bill will help, he is hopeful it will end the deaths of illegal immigrants who are crossing the border.
"It's the right step in the humanitarian direction to stop the death rate," Cooper said.
Kolbe said the bill allows for the special work visas to be transferable from one company to another, as long as the business has vacancies. Also, the visa holder can transfer from one business to another under the program.
"Our new visa programs will allow a safe and accessible way for the United States businesses, which are desperate to find individuals to fill their job openings, to find employable and hard working foreign workers," the congressman said.
There will be no quota limitations for any country, Kolbe added.
The American companies has to advertise job opportunities to U.S. workers for 14 days before hiring a foreign individual who has an approved visa, Kolbe said.
A small business owner, with no more than 500 employees, will have to pay a $500 fee for each hire. A large business owner's fee is $1,000 per person hired from outside the United States.
A H-4A visa is for people who went through the process of obtaining a work visa in their home country and crossing the border when they were hired to fill a job vacancy in the United States, according to the proposed bill.
The H-4B visa is designed for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. who want to obtain legal status, according to a synopsis of the bill.
An illegal immigrant who wants to achieve legal status will have to pay a $1,500 fine, and while the visa is being processed the individual will not be deported.
A visa for an illegal immigrant can be denied for a number of reasons to include if they have committed a felony or misdemeanor.
Spencer said he has problems with some of the bill's hiring proposals, noting the situation in California, where he once resided and fought against open border problems which he said were caused by the federal government.
In Los Angeles there are authorized day-labor centers, "which are legal illegal hiring places," and there will be someone who may still want to save money and hire people who enter the country illegally, Spencer said.
Kolbe admitted there will be a lot of work to get the bills in the House and Senate approved There are those who want to open the border doors wide, others want them shut tight, Kolbe said.
"We are trying to strike the middle ground," he said.
There will be a full debate and it may take a few years to get the bill passed but Kolbe said he and others are dedicated to working on the bill.
The White House has not indicated if it will support it the bill or oppose it, Kolbe said.
Many businesses in the United States who need help and jobs are not being filled by Americans, the congressman said.
The bill will help fill those jobs and the foreign workers will have the same rights as American citizens, Kolbe said. They will pay Social Security and receive health benefits that companies give, he said.
Labor unions are opposed and are pushing Democrats to not support the bill, the congressman said.
Speaking of an Arizona initiative being supported by some to ensure illegal immigrants do not received state benefits to required by the federal government, Kolbe said the bill he, Flake and McCain support will end the need for such an initiative.
The border issues and how it is controlled and who are allowed to cross the international boundary are the responsibility of the federal government not a state, Kolbe said.
DISGUSTING...When is a Republican or Dem going to introduce a bill to subsidize relocation and training for AMERICAN workers to fill any identified "shortages." The very concept of labor "shortage" is PREPOSTEROUS. We have a free market economy -- if companies really, really, need someone they can raise their salary levels to attract workers (or train them). If they don't, and claim they need to import labor, well then they are demanding the economic benefits of parasitism...
I could deal with this if we simultaneously slammed the door on ALL able-bodied welfare recipients, and made issuance of these work visas contingent on there being NO able-bodied welfare recipients in the U.S. at the time the visas are issued. It strains credulity past the breaking point when we're handing out welfare payments to able-bodied people who "can't find jobs", while admitting hordes of immigrants to fill jobs we're told Americans "won't take". They'll take 'em if they get hungry enough.
"jointly introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake with a companion bill presented to the Senate by Sen. John McCain."
A fruit, a flake and a nut. These three make better breakfast cereal than law makers.
Bump that Bro. There are no bigger issues......
"A visa for an illegal immigrant can be denied for a number of reasons to include if they have committed a felony or misdemeanor."
Wouldn't that include breaking the law to get here in the first place???
