Posted on 12/24/2009 6:39:02 AM PST by americanophile
-snip- For the first time in two years, a measure billed as "comprehensive immigration reform" has been introduced in Congress.
The bill — HR 4321 — filed Tuesday by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., incorporates most of the provisions of a measure introduced in June by Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell.
At last count Tuesday night, it had 89 co-sponsors.
Honda's bill focused on legal immigration issues such as eliminating visa backlogs and giving green-card holders the same rights as citizens to bring their spouses and children to the U.S. But Gutierrez's bill is much more sweeping. It includes a provision that would allow the country's 12 million illegal immigrants to legalize by paying a $500 fine, learning English and passing a criminal-background check.
It would also require employers to check a federal database to verify the immigration status of job applicants.
In 2007, the last time Congress grappled with the issue, a bipartisan Senate bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., failed when Republicans blocked votes over the amnesty issue.
But Democrats think immigration reform has a better shot this time around.
"Now, we have the White House," Honda said Tuesday. "And now we have leadership in both houses that want to see it happen."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, says she will let the Senate take up the issue first after Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., files his version of the immigration reform bill after the holiday break.
Groups that favor decreased immigration were quick to pounce on the legislation.
"It certainly has everything in there for every special-interest group — from amnesty for illegal aliens at the bargain-basement price of 500 bucks, to increased family-based immigration, to increased employment-based immigration," said Ira Mehlman
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
I think there's that many in California alone.
The Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act (Comprehensive Immigration Reform)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405482/posts
Also, this is a good day to remember the death by illegal alien of Bob Clark and his son, who gave us the movie “A Christmas Story”.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1815665/posts
Let me answer your question - O will veto it. Any more questions?
A veto can be overcome.
Oh dear. I can tell you’ve never been there. You just attach it to a funding bill that contains something he and his followers want. Any more questions? How do you think they got Bush to sign any number of crappy pieces of legislation? They attached them to defense approps bills.
Radical Amnesty Bill Introduced in House
On Tuesday, December 15, open borders advocate Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced H.R. 4321, the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009,” (CIR ASAP). H.R. 4321 would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, dramatically increase legal immigration, and create loopholes in existing penalties in exchange for promises of “enforcement” in the future. (See FAIR’s Legislative Updates from October 19, 2009 and December 14, 2009). At introduction, CIR ASAP had over 90 original co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. (See Cosponsor listing).
CIR ASAP contains several amnesty programs, including AgJOBS (Title IV, Subtitle B); the DREAM Act (sprinkled throughout the bill); and a broad amnesty program through which millions of illegal aliens could obtain “earned legalization” (Title IV, Subtitle A). These provisions are in many ways similar to those in the Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill of 2007, except that several significant requirements have been weakened. For example, for an illegal alien to receive amnesty under H.R.4321, he or she does not even have to establish employment, only that he or she is an active member of the community.
In addition to granting amnesty, CIR ASAP would dramatically increase legal immigration by:
*
Recapturing purportedly “unused” family and employment-based green cards from 1992 to 2008 (§301(a)-(b)). According to State Department data, this provision alone could bring in as many as 550,000 immigrants-all of whom would compete with American workers for jobs. (U.S. State Department, Unused Family and Employment Preferences Numbers Available for Recapture, Fiscal Years 1992-2007).
*
Expanding the definition of “immediate relatives” to include children and spouses of lawful permanent residents. (§302). This would allow an unlimited number of these children and spouses to immediately qualify for a visa.
*
Increasing the annual per country limits on family and employment-based visas from seven percent to ten percent. (§303). Under current law, each foreign country has a seven percent share of the total cap of visas allocated each year.
In exchange for the multiple amnesties and massive increases in legal immigration proposed in the bill, H.R. 4321 contains measures ostensibly aimed at strengthening immigration “enforcement.” Upon closer examination, however, CIR ASAP would actually undermine the enforcement of our immigration laws. For example, the bill would:
*
Repeal the highly successful 287(g) program, which allows federal officials to train state and local law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. (§184).
*
Establish a new, untested electronic employee verification system. (§201). This would completely reverse years of progress made with respect to E-Verify.
*
Temporarily suspend Operation Streamline pending a re-evaluation of the program’s future viability. (§125(a)). Operation Streamline is a highly successful, zero-tolerance program that targets illegal aliens for immediate prosecution upon apprehension at or near the border. After Operation Streamline was put into effect in December 2006, the Yuma, Arizona sector saw nearly 1200 prosecutions in the first 9 months. Border apprehensions decreased by 70 percent. (CBP Press Release, July 24, 2007).
*
Prohibit the Armed Forces and the National Guard from assisting in securing the border unless: (1) the President declares a national emergency, or (2) the use of the Armed Forces/National Guard is required for specific counter-terrorism duties. (§131(a) & (b)).
*
Require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify and inventory the current personnel, human resources, assets, equipment, supplies, or other physical resources dedicated to border security and enforcement prior to any increase in these categories. (§114(a); §116(a)).
At a press conference announcing the introduction of his bill, Rep. Gutierrez indicated that his bill was to set the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s standard for immigration reform legislation. However, he also acknowledged that the Senate will most likely be the first chamber to act on amnesty legislation. While a bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is planning to introduce a bill in early 2010, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated he will kick off the amnesty debate sometime in February or March. (Congressional Quarterly, December 15, 2009).
FAIR will be releasing a more detailed summary of the Gutierrez amnesty bill shortly. Stay tuned for our in-depth analysis.
Cheers!
...and Merry Christmas.
Absolute chaos, just what they are trying to do.
Guess what happens when the chaos starts? If you said complete govt. control score 200 points and pass go.
“This could mean somewhere between 50-100 million illegals could flood our welfare system almost overnight. That at time when obamcarer will shrink the available doctors depending on just how many quit.
Absolute chaos, just what they are trying to do.
Guess what happens when the chaos starts? If you said complete govt. control score 200 points and pass go.”
______
You’re right, rodguy911. Wish you weren’t, but you are.
Well now that they’ve completely bucked their voters, they’re going to need new supporters. :)
Nope, he will still veto it. This trumps everything else - this is a game changer - think strategically, not tactically.
You asked a question, I answered it. You have obviously not been paying attention for the past 20 years. Are you telling me that a Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican in the White House couldn’t change something? What is BO going to do about anything after he leaves office? In politics, nothing is forever, including BO. Likewise, nothing is untrumpable. And puh-lease, stop condescending to me, or I will think you are one of those people who can’t stand it when women disagree with them. All that said, I think there are several kinds of bills that he would not veto regardless of non-germane amendments.
That has been tried before, its supposedly unconstitutional.
Makes sense.
a provision that would allow the country's 12 million illegal immigrants to legalize by paying a $500 fine, learning English and passing a criminal-background check.
Not just no, HELL NO! Anybody here want to bet me a sawbuck that any of this will happen, or will they just be waved past the checkpoint? Anybody? Nobody for sucker bets, huh?
It would also require employers to check a federal database to verify the immigration status of job applicants.
They should ALREADY be required to do this. If the EPA can literally regulate the air I breathe (out), why can't we make employers obey the immigration laws using the regulatory agencies? Anybody want to bet that if this DOES become law, violations will be treated the Charlie Rangel's tax evasion?
All I can think of is next year's elections.
When your party(the dems) has way less than a 50/50 chance you gotta wonder who will bankroll that.
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.