Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

[RINO] Kolbe Introduces Foreign Worker Bill
The Sierra Vista Herald ^ | 27 July 2003 | Bill Hess

Posted on 07/29/2003 8:19:24 PM PDT by Spiff

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.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: borderintruders; cochisecounty; hb2899; illegalimmigration; immigration; rino; stealthamnesty
"It is not an amnesty program," Kolbe said during a telephone press conference Friday afternoon.

No - not yet. But you and I both know that is what it will become.

1 posted on 07/29/2003 8:19:25 PM PDT by Spiff
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Spiff

Published Letter to the Editor

Note: AThis letter was published in the July 29, 2003 print edition of the Sierra Vista Herald. The letter pertains to a story published online on July 27, but this letter correcting the story does not appear online. Go figure.

Re: Kolbe introduces foreign worker bill AP Internal Use Only
By Bill Hess -- Sierra Vista (Arizona) Herald -- Sunday, July 27, 2003 -- CLICK TO READ STORY

The referenced story contains the following: "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." If I really said those things, I would be soliciting tax deductible donations to American Border Patrol under false pretenses because the purpose of the organization is, among other things, to show how the flow of illegal aliens can be stopped.

There are many things that can be done now to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, including the use of high technology to identify each and every border crosser, the use of the National Guard for support duties, sophisticated barrier systems, and effective prosecution, to name just a few.

As to the Kolbe proposal, I have fought against amnesty for years and would never support the his bill because that is what it is. I told your reporter that before any such proposal could be considered, the government must shut down the border for six months. Why on earth would I say, in effect, "...it (sic) does not appear to be anything that will stop the flow of illegal immigrants..."? It doesn't make any sense, because it isn't true. This is very disturbing. Since your reporter has demonstrated a keen ability to get the facts straight, I am concerned that this may be a deliberate attempt by someone to distort my views.

In the coming weeks, American Border Patrol will be demonstrating that high technology can find and identify border crossers and provide the data upon which an effective border control system can be based. When we begin to report the data from our sensors and UAVs live on the Internet, there will be no opportunity for "spin" or misinterpretation, and that's the way it should be.

Glenn Spencer
President
American Border Patrol
Sierra Vista, AZ


2 posted on 07/29/2003 8:20:06 PM PDT by Spiff (Have you committed one random act of thoughtcrime today?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HiJinx; Marine Inspector; JackelopeBreeder; madfly; janetgreen; Joe Hadenuf
Ping!
3 posted on 07/29/2003 8:27:21 PM PDT by Spiff (Have you committed one random act of thoughtcrime today?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
The White House has not indicated if it will support the bill or oppose it, Kolbe said.

Of course the White House won't indicate support, pro or con. They know this is an important issue and are willing to waffle on it. If no commitment is made then no foul. Just ignore the problem. Nothing to see here, move along.

If that's the way they play it then they don't deserve our support in 2004.

4 posted on 07/29/2003 8:35:21 PM PDT by BeerSwillr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
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...
5 posted on 07/29/2003 8:40:18 PM PDT by CaptIsaacDavis
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
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.
6 posted on 07/29/2003 8:40:59 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BeerSwillr
If that's the way they play it then they don't deserve our support in 2004.

Bush and the other RINOs lost my support when they forgot to close the border after September 11.

7 posted on 07/29/2003 8:42:33 PM PDT by janetgreen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
three Arizona Republicans

I'm not sure that when one speaks of elected officials that the words "Arizona" and "republican" can actually be used together.

8 posted on 07/29/2003 8:45:01 PM PDT by tbpiper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
"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.
9 posted on 07/29/2003 8:48:56 PM PDT by Those_Crazy_Liberals (Ronaldus Magnus he's our man . . . If he can't do it, no one can.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: janetgreen
It's absolutely insane what is NOT going on along the southern border. The same thing applies to the northern border, but we don't have people violating it on a daily basis x1000.

Illegals OUT of the US NOW!

10 posted on 07/29/2003 8:51:27 PM PDT by BeerSwillr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: BeerSwillr
Bump that Bro. There are no bigger issues......
11 posted on 07/29/2003 9:06:06 PM PDT by Joe Hadenuf (RECALL DAVIS, position his smoking chair over a trapdoor, a memo for the next governor.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Spiff
"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???

12 posted on 07/30/2003 5:03:05 AM PDT by BayouCoyote (PORK AKBAR!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson