Posted on 11/19/2007 9:58:44 PM PST by Tennessee Nana
WASHINGTON -- About 100 House members will attempt to do what the Senate could not do this year: pass an immigration reform bill.
The Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act, recently introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., would require employers to verify that their workers are here legally through an electronic database, authorize money to add 8,000 border patrol agents over five years and increase aerial surveillance of the Southwest border.
"This is, I feel, a common-sense approach," Rep. Shuler said. "We've seen how the Senate has failed on two occasions to put together an immigration policy."
The bill, which would add resources and staff to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has 112 co-sponsors, about evenly matched between Democrats and Republicans, including Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.; Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.; and Nathan Deal, R-Ga.
The lawmakers say they favor the SAVE Act because unlike the Senate legislation, it would not provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
"People are sick and tired of nothing happening up here on things like border security," Rep. Wamp said. "Just because the comprehensive immigration reform that came from the Senate did not go forward does not mean we should retreat from immigration (legislation) until the next election."
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition opposes the SAVE Act, calling it an "enforcement-only" bill that would penalize immigrant communities and do nothing to fix a "broken" immigration system, spokesman Steven Fotopulos said.
The organization favors creating a legal system for temporary workers to come to the United States and become citizens, he said.
"Because of their failure to provide real solutions, Congress is just regressing back to the old enforcement-only strategies, which have not worked," he said.
Mr. Fotopulos said the employee-verification system relies on government databases with high error rates.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also opposes the bill.
"The Congressional Hispanic Caucus supports broader immigration reform that considers not only the security of our nation's borders, but also ... a safe, regulated flow of workers to come legally in the future to meet our economic and work force needs," said Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., chairman of the caucus.
The National Federation of Independent Business and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers endorsed the SAVE Act.
"Mass unregulated immigration into the United States creates unfair wage competition, which is detrimental to the best interests of U.S. citizens and legal residents," IBEW said in a statement.
The last time the House took up immigration reform in December 2005, it passed a bill that did not address a guest-worker program and contained provisions that would make illegal immigration a felony. All Chattanooga-area House members voted for the legislation.
House and Senate leaders were unable to reconcile their versions of the bill in 2006, and immigration reform died until it was attempted this year.
That failed Senate legislation would have provided a path to citizenship for about 12 million illegal immigrants now here while beefing up border security and creating a guest worker program. Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama senators voted against the bill both times because of their opposition to what they called the amnesty provisions.
Rep. Shuler said he hopes his SAVE Act will be taken up on the House floor soon, though Democratic and Republican leaders have not indicated their support for the legislation. For now, it has been referred to several committees.
"I'm just hoping the more co-sponsors we get on both sides of the aisle, it'll force the issue," Rep. Shuler said.
An identical Senate version was introduced Friday by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
E-mail Herman Wang at hwang@timesfreepress.com
ping
“This bill is just a cover by freshmen rats in the House to bolster re-election chances.”
Exactly right. This is a ruse concocted by the Dems to keep those so-called “conservative” Dems in districts they won last year because Republicans stayed home. Every last one of those Democrat seats enables Nancy Pelosi to keep her job, and her job is to cut funding to the troops in time of war and require a surrender date. Shame on any “conservatives” who are stupid enough to vote for Democrats in their districts. They are being duped.
I also trust Hunter and Tank on this issue.Lets see what they think.
Congressman Billybob
It hasn't worked because it hasn't been enforced.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus also opposes the bill.
If they are against it, it must be good for us.
“If they are against it, it must be good for us.”
Another loverly lithmus test
:)
ping
They removed Real ID?
Didn’t see it from what I’ve read before?
I’m not aware of any language in H.R. 4088 that repeals REAL ID.
If Ben Ficklin is aware of language within H.R. 4088 that repeals REAL ID, I hope he will state what portion of H.R. 4088 contains such language.
I believe the bill could pass the Hosue, but I am very skeptical about its chances of passage in the Senate.
http://tancredo4prez.blogspot.com/
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