Posted on 01/06/2005 12:57:18 PM PST by LouAvul
WASHINGTON — The year's immigration reform debate started with a bang Wednesday, led by conservative lawmakers emphasizing law enforcement over legalization.
Striking early in the new Congress, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is introducing a tough package that includes stronger national standards for driver's licenses and stricter rules for granting asylum. It's a measure with highlevel support.
"We need to strengthen our borders, reform our asylum laws, and improve national standards for driver's licenses," House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Tuesday in his inaugural speech of the 109th Congress. "The terrorists who attacked us did so by exploiting gaps in our border security system (and) by abusing our immigration laws. We must fill those gaps."
Upward of 100 lawmakers, including Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, have signed on to the legislation. The package fulfills a promise Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., made last month after his preferred policies were dropped from an intelligence agency reform bill.
"We intend to move quickly on it," House Judiciary Committee spokesman Jeff Lungren said Tuesday. "We're going to finish this bill, and when we get this off the table, we can focus on other issues."
The bill would complete a three-mile gap in a fence along the United States-Mexico border near San Diego. It would allow federal agencies to accept only driver's licenses provided to those who have presented proof of legal U.S. residency. It would make it harder to appeal immigration decisions and easier for immigration judges to reject asylum applicants.
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
What good is legislation that the Bush Administration will refuse to enforce?
Well, the GOP better learn to stand up to Bush. They are a different branch after all.
Illegals crossing the border will be required to stop and count one Mississippi, two Mississippi ... up through five before they can continue.
Just like a true conservative Supreme Court when GW leaves. ROTFLMAO! Should we include Sandy Burglar serving time?
"Upward of 100 lawmakers, including Mariposa Republican George Radanovich, have signed on to the legislation. The package fulfills a promise Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., made last month after his preferred policies were dropped from an intelligence agency reform bill. "
A few on FR keep telling me that there are one or two supporting this. UPWARD of 100. It looks like some of them are listening.
Congress, Toll free: 1-877-762-8762
Should the government make it easier for illegal immigrants to be put on a path toward citizenship?
Yes
No
No opinion
Hayworth: Omission of Vital Border Security Provisions In Intel Reform 'Scandalous, Unacceptable'
WASHINGTON- U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona will vote against the intelligence reform bill intended to implement recommendations of the 9-11 Commission when the measure comes before the House for final approval later today.
In announcing his intention to oppose the bill, Rep. Hayworth issued the following statement:
"I asked supporters of this bill to explain why, in view of haunting evidence that America's porous border security system enabled 19 murderous Islamofascists to move around the country and get in position to kill nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11, were provisions stripped out of the final version of the intelligence reform bill that were specifically written to prevent that from happening again?
"The only response was that those concerns could be addressed next year.
"The potentially deadly absence of vital border security provisions in the intel reform legislation is scandalous and unacceptable and it is why I could not in good conscience support the bill."
http://hayworth.house.gov/
More laws won't get it done without any enforcement. Look for the national ID to be implemented with this legislation, from which the illegals will be exempted.
FROBLs = Grover Norquist, Jr. drones?
In the Senate:
The old bill, S. 1645, introduced on 09/23/2003 had 62 co-sponsors in the Senate.
The new bill, S. 2823, introduced on 9/21/2004 has 1 co-sponsor in the Senate.
Far from the upwards of 100 claimed in the article.
AgJOBS = AgAmnesty.
Several others in the house have "seen the light" and have joined the immigration debate more in line with what we think since the vote on the intelligence bill. The house bill with the immigration provisions passed the house. As for the senate? Except for Jim Inhofe, they might as well all go home.
Will this include deporting (not firing, but deporting) TSA's Yoshio "Norman" Mineta?
The national ID?
Ve must be sure your papers are in order, jah vol.
This is the title and summary of Senate Bill 2823....
S. 2823 To provide for the adjustment of status of certain foreign agricultural workers, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the H-2A worker program under that Act, to provide a stable, legal agricultural workforce, to extend basic legal protections and better working conditions to more workers, and for other purposes.
In a quick cursory reading it appears to open up the flood gates for Mexican illegals to obtain guest worker status - including their families. I saw no provision limiting immigration in any sense of the word.
Senator Kennedy is a co-sponsor so I don't think this is a bill to curtail illegal immigration!
I'm telling you, the strictest immigration rules are gunships flying the border from TX to CA, double fences of razorwire, motion sensors and video surveillance, and a new agency of rangers, well-armed, well-equipped, with the mandate to repel but protect gate crashers and also to deal ruthlessly with 'coyotes' where they can be clearly identified. They might even consider saturation mining the no-man's land between the fences. Will it be done? Of course not.
Never happen. Too much common sense. Pols shy away from common sense like the plague.
The fact is, this is the ultimate grassroots issue. All the polls I have read make this clear, Even Hispanics [voters, that is] are solidly in favor of this. Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson [the "anti-Jesse"] has written an impassioned plea to the NAACP and CBC to quit toadying to massa and take up the issue, based on what he hears in the hood. After all, who suffers most from artificially low-wage unskilled jobs [and skilled ones as well, H1-B, et al, but that's another issue]? Who suffers most from illegal alien gang violence [I think we can all pronounce "Mara Salvatrucha" nowadays]? Who suffers more from shuttered public hospitals? Overcrowded public schools? Low income people of all colors, that's who.
Private business reaps the benefit of "cheap labor" and everyone else pays the overhead. Everyone understands this and their voices are being heard in Congressional offices. There are articles now being written anticipating intra-party strife over the issue, I say bring it on. I could be wrong, but I personally believe if the Republicans [and they will have democrat allies on this one] force the issue on the president, he won't veto. Whether or not Bush genuinely believes in his "jobs Americans won't do" mantra, or is in thrall to the agribusiness, construction, landscaping interests, etc. or if El Presidente Fox has thirty-year-old pictures of him participating in the Tijuana donkey act, he would probably be grateful to yield to pressure and drop the matter entirely if backed to the wall.
The oft-repeated rhetorical question of how do we expel 8, 10, 15 million illegals is a total red herring. If we enforce the law at crucial choke points: employers, schools, emergency rooms, DMV's, welfare offices, etc. the illegals will gradually deport themselves and wages will gradually find a new equilibrium. Of course, we all know damn well it is NOT impossible to efficiently control the border. A combination of physical barriers, sensors on the ground and in the sky, and aggressive patrolling where needed [God knows the locals in the border country know quite well where most of the influx is, it's a matter of listening to them and acting on their intelligence, duh].
An especilly good place to begin would be to focus on cracking down on criminal aliens. Establish programs to empower and train local law-enforcement to enable them to check for residency and arrest illegals. Withhold Federal dollars from cities with "sanctuary laws." Imagine the effect of being able to check for residency status of anyone so much as breaching the peace, let alone robbing, raping and murdering. I don't believe it would be a hard sell with the hispanic community [again, after all, who suffers the most from the "vida loca" types?], as opposed to the usual grant-funded hispanic "spokespersons"?
"This remarkable shift in the nativity status of the employed population has received very little attention from the nation's political leaders or the national media."
Did the Center for Labor Market Studies differentiate between "new immigrants" and illegal immigrants? Or is "new immigrants" PC shorthand for wink-wink, nudge-nudge, illegals?
Senator Kennedy is a co-sponsor so I don't think this is a bill to curtail illegal immigration!
You are correct in your assessment.
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