Posted on 02/20/2002 10:58:49 PM PST by Sabertooth
Immigrant licenses debated
State lawmakers hold hearings on allowing illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses.
Eagle Topeka bureau
TOPEKA -- A federal immigration official disagreed sharply with some state lawmakers and a Kansas police chief Tuesday over whether the federal government is enforcing immigration laws.Federal agents will respond to any report from local police about people who are not in the country legally, said Robert Visnaw, a special agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
His statement to a panel of lawmakers was met with skepticism and disbelief.
"If you want to find undocumented workers in this town, I can find you a thousand tonight," said Rep. Rick Rehorn, D-Kansas City. "If you're willing to enforce the immigration laws, you better spread the word."
The issue pending before state lawmakers is whether to issue Kansas driver's licenses to people who are not in the country legally.
Hispanic groups are seeking to reverse a law passed two years ago that requires proof of legal residence for a license. They contend that workers who have obtained a federal tax identification number from the Internal Revenue Service should be allowed to drive legally.
Visnaw, assigned to the Kansas City immigration office, conceded that the federal government is sending mixed signals -- collecting taxes from workers who are in the country illegally while insisting that they should be deported.
The IRS, he said, does not share names and other information from the tax ID numbers with the federal immigration agency.
Many lawmakers say the state is left to deal with the reality that thousands of illegal residents are living in the state, holding jobs and raising families.
"Right now, the tendency is to pretend that undocumented workers are not living among us and it is not a problem," said Rep. Tom Klein, D-Wichita, whose district is heavily Hispanic.
John Douglas, chief of the Overland Park Police Department, said the majority of illegal residents have started the lengthy process to obtain legal status.
In the meantime, he said, a driver's license with a photo, linked to a federal tax ID number, would help police even if the name was false. Police could at least link the photo and number to past crimes committed under the same name, he said.
He warned against trying to ignore the presence of illegal residents.
"They will create a shadow society like we've seen in places like Los Angeles," he said.
Visnaw, however, showed members of the House Judiciary Committee samples of a federal tax ID card that he said he created on his computer with a color printer.
Outside the hearing room, Visnaw conceded in an interview that most illegal residents were unlikely to be deported. He said the district office, with 14 agents to cover much of Kansas and Missouri, concentrates on illegal residents who have committed serious crimes.
Rep. Mike O'Neal, chairman of the committee, said he was interested in creating a separate driver's license that clearly states that the holder is not a legal resident.
He asked Visnaw if the immigration agency would object --"other than the philosophical problem of 'they shouldn't be here anyway'; let's get over that." Visnaw did not object.
Sheila Walker, director of the state's motor vehicle division, said her agency could implement a separate card. However, she remained opposed to giving any kind of license to illegal residents.
A license is used as identification for such things as opening bank accounts and applying for credit cards, she said.
Walker asked lawmakers to consider guidelines developed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. After the Sept 11 attacks, the group called for a standardized process to get licenses and ID cards, including proof of legal residence under federal law.
I am sick of hearing the argument that the ILLEGAL immigration problem is being ignored because these people (criminals) are good for the economy - providing cheap labor and doing all of the jobs that nobody else will do. I do not believe that the cheap manual labor for landscaping, construction, fast food, etc. outweighs the longrun costs and problems that come with it. I would like to have some way of presenting the whole picture to people who support illegal immigration (or even are indifferent because they don't realize the extent of the associated problems) and I need facts and figures to do so. Can anyone help?
Absolutely! This would benefit both the US and Mexico!
I'd further refine your definition to "economic republicans" who's conservatism extends only as far as it puts $$$ in their pocket. Some call 'em RINOs.
How about Americans being able to take these jobs while being paid a living wage? (Just like it used to be - before the invasion)
Guest worker programs tend to devolve into constructive Amnesty over time. The reality is that our government has never shown a wit of disciple on immigration ever. Remember that 1986 Amnesty bill that Reagan signed? By the time Reagan's proposed legislation got out of Congress it was stripped of most of the controls he had asked for. Yet, instead of vetoing it, he signed it. Looked what happened. Also, with a change of administrations a Guest Worker program can be changed to straight Amnesty with the stroke of a pen.
No, the time has come for our government to respond to the will of the people "for once" and do the right thing by enforcing all our immigration laws and truly protecting our borders. The illegal labor shops have had it too good for too long at the expense of the citizens of America.
That is a good idea. I still can't fathom the reasons why America would want to import so much from a Communist nation that by all appearances is positioning itself as a long-term threat to America's security. Like many of the trade deals of the past few decades, it doesn't add up.
That time period in America does not exist to the neo-cons. They start out with the premise that any kind of immigration (legal or otherwise) is good then look for reasons to keep the insane immigration free for all going.
What a clever plan.
Good grief!
If it truly was "the will of the people" it would have been done by now. It has been handled abysmally and now it's going to take some doing, and some stepped on toes (on both sides of the issue) to set it right. But it needs to be done. We need to secure our borders, north and south, our ports and every airport in between.
In the long run, it's one or the other.
Then watch the illegal immigrant issue just fade away because there will be jobs to be had in Mexico.
Let me tell you, I'm beginning to understand this whole reclamation agenda.
Let's see if we can bump up vote fraud in a new way!
How much more of our tax monies are being thrown away because our government refuses to address this problem?
I think the only ones ignoring their presence are those that should be escorting them back across the border.
I called my state reps weeks ago on this. Thanks!!!
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