Lawmakers push for enforcement of ban for illegal immigrants
The Associated Press
Saying a voter-approved mandate has been ignored in some cases, legislators moved Thursday to prod state courts to deny bail for illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes.
The House gave preliminary approval to a Republican bill (SB1265) to require courts to consider defendants' admissions, immigration holds, indications from law enforcement agencies and any other evidence or "relevant information" that show a defendant is in the United States illegally.
The bill also would specify a standard of evidence for courts to use and require that the no-bail determination be made during a person's initial appearance. In addition, a defendant would have to be asked about his or her citizenship within 24 hours of being taken into custody and the information provided to courts and prosecutors for bail determinations.
The Arizona Supreme Court's chief justice has ordered judges to hold evidentiary hearings for Proposition 100 bailing decisions, and some Superior Court commissioners in Maricopa County reportedly have ignored or rejected as insufficient some information about immigration status.
The issue surfaced with disclosure that an illegal immigrant was sought in a fatal stabbing that occurred following his release on bond. The man had been arrested on charges of kidnapping and assault, deported to Mexico but then reportedly returned to Arizona before the stabbing occurred in Mesa.
Also, the East Valley Tribune reported April 1 that a Maricopa County court official had told staff in e-mails to stop asking defendants for their immigration status. "Why we have to pass laws to enforce laws is amazing to me," said Rep. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican who promoted Proposition 100 and who helped sponsor the new bill. "The public says no bond and that's what it ought to be."
The Arizona Constitution includes a general right of bail with certain exceptions, but Proposition 100 added an exception for illegal immigrants charged with serious felony offenses.
The bill, which was amended to replace its original contents with the bail issue, now awaits a formal House vote. Passage would send it to the Senate for consideration of the no-bail measure.
The House rejected a Democratic amendment to set a higher evidence standard for courts to use in deciding whether a defendant charged with a serious felon is in the country illegally.
Under the bill, some U.S. citizens would be victims of racial profiling and denied bail "simply because they speak Spanish or have dark hair," Rep. Pete Rios, D-Hayden. Pearce and Republican Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, said the door for legislative action was held open for lawmakers by the state's top judge when she said in an April 3 letter that lawmakers could consider setting a standard of proof and directing police to obtain and provide relevant information.
Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor's letter also said the court system hadn't tried to thwart Proposition 100's intent but there was "some inconsistencies and confusion" among courts, law enforcement personnel and defense and prosecution attorneys.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has said some cases in which bail was allowed involved commissioners disregarding admissions by defendants and information provided by law enforcement officials.
Presiding Superior Court Barbara Mundell wrote in a newspaper commentary published Monday by The Arizona Republic that her court was obeying both Proposition 100 and an April 3 implementation order by McGregor. Accusations to the contrary are false, Mundell wrote.
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Mexican nationals let go after mistake at N.M. traffic stop
The Associated Press
SANTA FE - Ten Mexican immigrants were mistakenly released at a drunken driving checkpoint on Interstate 25 due to a miscommunication, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman says.
New Mexico State police officers at a roadblock last Friday near Algodones stopped a sports utility vehicle with 10 people inside. Officers determined the driver had a valid out-of-state license, but that the passengers did not have permission to be in the country.
The officers said they called the Albuquerque ICE office and were told there was no space for the immigrants. But ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said Wednesday there was space, and blamed a miscommunication. "The reference to the lack of space was erroneous," she said, adding: "Our special agents didn't effectively communicate our policy to state police officers." She said the agency is taking steps to make sure something similar doesn't happen in the future.
Senior Patrolman Jose Salazar said at the time that he had no choice but to let the immigrants go, and said ICE had no record of the driver running illegal immigrants. "At that point we have to cut them loose; there's nothing we can do," he said.
The immigrants in the group were from different states in Mexico and said they were headed to Santa Fe from Phoenix for work in restaurants and construction. Some said they had been to New Mexico before.
State police officers typically have no problem getting ICE to detain immigrants stopped by officers, Department of Public Safety spokesman Peter Olson said.
WASHINGTON -- An impassioned Sen. Mel Martinez said late Thursday he was disappointed after the immigration bill stalled in the Senate, but he said he planned to continue to do ''all that I can do'' to see that the Senate revisits the issue. He suggested the issue was only on ``hiatus.''
''It would be incredibly easy to walk away from this,'' said the Florida Republican, who was criticized from the right and the left for his role in forging the compromise. 'It's awfully easy to say, `This won't work, this is wrong . . . this is a mistake.' ''
Martinez said he hoped the proposal's loudest critics would develop a plan of their own, ``doing something other than tearing down those that have been put together.''
He said he had hoped for more time to tackle the bill, but acknowledged growing frustration with the pace of debate.
''In the blame game of Washington, there's plenty of blame to go around, and I'm not going to dwell on that,'' he said. But he said he remained committed to the legislation, ``because I believe we owe it to the American people to tackle this very important problem.''
Martinez invoked immigrant workers in Central Florida's sprawling theme parks and blamed Congress for the uncertainty he said was sure to be felt by undocumented workers as well as by those who wanted only border-only enforcement.
''I'm more disappointed for the families, wondering what is going to happen to them,'' he said. ``The people who fix the cars, mow the lawns at the golf club, the people that make the hotel beds in Central Florida for the tourists to go to Disney World. . . . Those are the people that come to me and say, `Are you doing something about immigration?'
''The United States Senate, with its long and storied history, today, bipartisanly, failed the American people,'' he said. Then added, ``We have a chance to recover and recoup. We have a chance to come back together, to try again to bring this issue to a close and do something for the American people in a way that will bring honor to this institution.''
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, called the bill's apparent collapse in the Senate a ``missed opportunity.''
''Although not a perfect bill, had it become law, so many people could have come out of the shadows and earned a decent living legally,'' Ros-Lehtinen said. ``. . . It's so easy to be a critic. So easy to blame immigrants for our nation's ill.
''I am saddened for the folks who had so much hope for its passage,'' she said.
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session (2007)
[b]Vote Date Question Result Description/b] Vote Date Issue Question Result Description
00206 07-Jun S. 1348 On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 1150 Rejected Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Kennedy Amdt. No. 1150, As Amended; In the nature of a substitute.
00205 07-Jun S. 1348 On the Motion Agreed to Motion to Instruct Sgt. at Arms; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
00204 07-Jun S. 1348 On the Cloture Motion Rejected Motion to Invoke Cloture on S. 1348; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
00203 07-Jun S. 1348 On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 1150 Rejected Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Kennedy Amdt. No. 1150, As Amended; In the nature of a substitute.
00202 07-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1311 Rejected Coburn Amdt. No. 1311, As Modified; To require the enforcement of existing border security and immigration laws and Congressional approval before amnesty can be granted.
00201 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1316 Agreed to Dorgan Amdt. No. 1316; To sunset the Y-1 nonimmigrant visa program after a 5-yer period. ______________________________________________ 00200 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1202 Rejected Obama Amdt. No. 1202, As Modified; To provide a date on which the authority of the section relating to the increasing of American competitiveness through a merit-based evaluation system for immigrants shall be terminated.
00199 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1339 Rejected Vitter Amdt. No. 1339; To require that the U.S. VISIT system- the biometric border check-in/check-out system first required by Congress in 1996 that is already well past its already postponed 2005 implementation due date- be finished as part of the enforcement trigger.
00198 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1151 Agreed to Inhofe Amdt. No. 1151; To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the national language of the Government of the United States, and for other purposes.
00197 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1384 Agreed to Salazar Amdt. No. 1384; To preserve and enhance the role of the English language.
00196 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1374 Rejected Ensign Amdt. No. 1374; To improve the criteria and weights of the merit-based evaluation system.
00195 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Motion S.Amdt. 1183 Rejected Motion to Waive CBA Re: Clinton Amdt. No. 1183, As Further Modified; To reclassify the spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives.
00194 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1460 Agreed to Kyl Amdt. No. 1460; To modify the allocation of visas with respect to the backlog of family-based visa petitions.
00193 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Motion S.Amdt. 1194 Rejected Motion to Waive CBA Re: Menendez Amdt. No 1194; To modify the deadline for the family backlog reduction.
00192 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1234 Agreed to Sessions Amdt. No. 1234; To save American taxpayers up to $24 billion in the 10 years after passage of this Act, by preventing the earned income tax credit, which is, according to the Congressional Research Service, the largest anti-poverty entitlement program of the Federal Government, from being claimed by Y temporary workers or illegal aliens given status by this Act until they adjust to legal permanent resident status.
00191 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1331 Agreed to Reid Amdt. No. 1331; To clarify the application of the earned income tax credit.
00190 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1250 Agreed to Cornyn Amdt. No. 1250; To address documentation of employment and to make an amendment with respect to mandatory disclosure of information
00189 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1267 Rejected Bingaman Amdt. No. 1267 As Modified; To remove the requirement that Y-1 nonimmigrant visa holders leave the United States before they are able to renew their visa.
00188 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1197 Rejected DeMint Amdt. No. 1197; To require health care coverage for holders of Z nonimmigrant visas.
00187 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1184 Rejected Cornyn Amdt. No. 1184, As Modified; To establish a permanent bar for gang members, terrorists, and other criminals.
00186 06-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1333 Agreed to Kennedy Amdt. No. 1333, as Modified; To increase the immigration-related penalties associated with various criminal activities
00185 05-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1176 Agreed to Feingold Amdt. No. 1176; To establish commissions to review the facts and circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European Americans, European Latin Americans, and Jewish refugees during World War II.
00184 05-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1170 Rejected McConnell Amdt. No. 1170; To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require individuals voting in person to present photo identification.
00183 05-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1231 Agreed to Durbin Amdt. No. 1231; To ensure that employers make efforts to recruit American workers.
00182 05-Jun S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1189 Rejected Allard Amdt. No. 1189; To eliminate the preference given to people who entered the United States illegally over people seeking to enter the country legally in the merit-based evaluation system for visas.
___________________________________________ 00180 24-May On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1157 Rejected Vitter Amdt. No. 1157; To strike title VI related to Nonimmigrants in the United States Previously in Unlawful Status).
00179 24-May On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1223 Agreed to Sanders Amdt. No. 1223; To establish the American Competitiveness Scholarship program.
00180 24-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1157 Rejected Vitter Amdt. No. 1157; To strike title VI (related to Nonimmigrants in the United States Previously in Unlawful Status).
00179 24-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1223 Agreed to Sanders Amdt. No. 1223; To establish the American Competitiveness Scholarship Program.
00178 24-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1181 Rejected Dorgan Amdt. No. 1181; To sunset the Y-1 nonimmigrant visa program after a 5-year period.
00177 24-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1158 Rejected Coleman Amdt. No. 1158; To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to facilitate information sharing between federal and local law enforcement officials related to an individual's immigration status.
00176 24-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1186 Agreed to Akaka Amdt. No. 1186; To exempt children of certain Filipino World War II veterans from the numerical limitations on immigrant visas.
00175 23-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1169 Agreed to Bingaman Amdt. No. 1169; To reduce to 200,000 the number of certain non-immigrants permitted to be admitted during a fiscal year.
00174 22-May S. 1348 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1153 Rejected Dorgan Amdt. No. 1153; To strike the Y nonimmigrant guestworker program.
00173 21-May S. 1348 On the Cloture Motion Agreed to Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider S.1348; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
[/QUOTE]
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Another inmate held too long in prisonSpanish-speaking man victim of clerical error in Prince William County jail
Carol Guzy / Washington Post
Jose Luis Duarte Flores was left in Prince William jail five days after he should have been released, the second time this has happened at the Prince William Jail in a year.
By Theresa Vargas
Updated: 4:28 a.m. CT June 8, 2007
For five days recently, Luis Duarte sat in the Prince William County jail, not knowing that he should be released, not realizing that because of someone else's mistake, he was sitting there, scared, confused and forgotten in a system that had lost someone like him before.
"I had never been in jail," Duarte said in Spanish. "It was horrible. There's so many people, and you're scared of everyone you see, because you don't really know who you are living with."
For the second time in a year, a Hispanic immigrant who does not speak English remained in the jail after his release date. The first time, Fernando Antonio Cruz, a 25-year-old from Mexico, lingered behind bars for two months after he should have been freed. This time, it was Duarte, a 21-year-old from El Salvador who has lived legally in the area on a work visa since he was a teenager.
How Duarte ended up slipping into the same bureaucratic crevice as Cruz -- and why he was told he would not be released until June, even though a court declared him free in April -- is being looked into by the Virginia attorney general's office. Jail officials said that it should not have happened and that the county has been trying to improve communication between the judicial branches.
Duarte's attorneys, meanwhile, say his case illustrates a larger problem.
"What we have here is clearly a serious equal-protection issue for the entire population that does not speak English," said Alexandria-based lawyer Victor M. Glasberg. "They are dramatically more at risk of getting lost in the abyss."
* * *
Before Luis Duarte stepped into the jail, his life was one of carefully coordinated days. Seven days a week, from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., he worked cutting trees, and from 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., he stocked shelves at a Manassas grocery store. In the few hours in between, he slept in a rented room at a friend's house.
While he was in jail, he said, he watched helplessly as it all slipped away.
He was fired from the tree job when he didn't show up, he said. Then the grocery store job was gone. He gave up the room to someone else after jail officials told him he wouldn't be released until at least June 14, the date that jail records listed as his next court appearance.
What jail officials didn't know -- because it had not received the proper paperwork from General District Court -- is that the charges against Duarte had been settled and he was free to go, his attorneys said. The case was settled April 27, and the June court date was no longer on the docket.
"He would have sat there," his criminal attorney, Cindy L. Decker, said. "June would have come. June would have gone."
Decker, who made the calls that got Duarte out of jail, said this is what happened:
On April 12, Duarte was charged with driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, and forging a public document, a felony. Decker said the latter had been a misunderstanding because of his name: Jose Luis Duarte Flores. When police questioned him, he signed two documents "Luis Flores" and then signed a copy of his warrant "Luis Duarte," according to the criminal complaint.
Decker said that when she realized the felony charge was a mistake, she had his court date moved up and asked prosecutors to amend the charge to obstruction of justice, which they did, according to court documents. On April 27, Duarte pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, for which he was fined $200, and to DUI, for which he was sentenced to 90 days in jail with all but five suspended.
He should have been allowed to go home that day. But five days later, a lawyer in Decker's office, Mark Voss, got a call from Duarte's friend asking how much more money it would take to get him out, not understanding how the U.S. justice system works
Senators Hope to Revive Immigration Bill in Future
Friday, June 08, 2007
WASHINGTON "” A widely-criticized immigration reform bill died on a procedural motion in the Senate on Thursday night, but key negotiators are suggesting that it may live to see another day.
Republican Sens. Arlen Specter, Jon Kyl, Lindsey Graham and Mel Martinez were all upbeat after a vote to end debate failed 45-50, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold to move toward final passage.
Despite the fact that it was primarily Republicans who voted against the maneuver, all the GOP lawmakers who spoke with FOX News were upbeat that the legislation could be revived soon "” even within a matter of weeks, with one negotiator noting that last year's bill was first pulled from the floor by then-Majority Leader Bill Frist before it was brought back up again and passed.
Graham said he talked extensively with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and is confident the bill will return for senators to take another crack at developing a comprehensive plan to legalize millions of foreigners living unlawfully in the United States.
"I know where the votes are for final passage. ... We're going to get this done," Graham said, adding that the topic is not going to go away. "All I can say is, if you name a post office, you're going to be talking about immigration."
"There are ways we can do this," Reid said later. "There can be an agreement on the number of amendments. Hopefully we can do that in the next several weeks. We're very close."
Reid said support for the bill exists across the country despite repeated polls showing growing opposition to the thrust of the bill and many of its specifics "” particularly on the issues of legalization for illegals here now, a guest worker program and chain migration.
"There are a lot of good things in this bill," Reid said. "I'm a creature of the Senate. I understand we live by the rules that govern this body. I accept that. We're going to do everything we can to pass this bill as soon as we can. When is that? I don't know, but we're going to work hard and try to put aside the hurt feelings that we have. The country needs and the Senate needs to do this."
In the meantime, Reid said, President Bush, who champions the comprehensive reform bill, needs to work harder to get Republicans in line.
"Where are the president's men?" Reid asked. "Where are the president's people. I want to finish this bill. But I can't do it alone, we (the Democrats) can't do it alone. We need some help. And I would hope the president understands....he has a relatively short period of time to help us with this piece of legislation."
The legislation up for debate included a temporary guest worker program and a pathway to legalizing the estimated 12 million or more illegal immigrants in the U.S. It also offers provisions to tighten borders and institute a new system to prevent employers from hiring undocumented workers.
As the Senate drew closer to a vote on the bill, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff lobbied lawmakers to pass the bill, spending nearly three hours in negotiations in a back room off the Senate floor.
Upon leaving, both men shook bill sponsor Kyl's hand and showered him with praise and encouragement, saying the bill would get done. Gutierrez promised, "We're going to get there. No problem."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed that the Senate was close to passage of this bill. McConnell, R-Ky., said the bill failed because Democrats tried to rush it, not allowing Republicans to offer key amendments "” like tougher border security measures and legalization process for illegal immigrants "” that could win over opponents. All but seven Republicans voted against ending the debate.
"Both of us desire the same result, which is to get a bipartisan immigration bill that would be an improvement over the disastrous status quo we have now," McConnell said of himself and Reid.
"I think we were very close to getting there," McConnell added. "We could have finished this bill in a couple of more days in my judgment. We're giving up on this bill too soon. I think we are within a few days of getting to the end of what many would applaud as an important bipartisan accomplishment of this Congress."
Eleven Democrats also voted against ending debate, even though many who supported it had complained that the bill created a class warfare scenario that locks temporary workers into second-class citizen status and rips apart families by favoring employability over blood ties in the approval of future immigrants.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called the death of the bill, "a disappointment" but held out hope the measure would survive.
"This issue isn't going away," Kennedy said. "Doing nothing is not an option."
Specter, one of the negotiators in what had been dubbed the "grand bargain," condemned the death of the bill, arguing there was opposition on both sides of the aisle but that Republicans did more to hopelessly stall the bill than did Democrats.
The Democrats were wrong but the Republicans were wronger, to use a word that doesn't exist."
Specter also said the Senate was diminished by the debate and its inability to pass the bipartisan compromise.
"To listen to the debate the last several days, I think people wonder just what is going on," Specter said. "We crafted a bill, bipartisan...and as of this moment we have not succeeded. I believe we will yet succeed. Accusations have been made that it is amnesty but the fact is if we do nothing we have silent amnesty. This matter is on life-support but it is not dead. It is not moribund."
While Reid insists the bill is not dead, a crowded Senate calendar complicates its prospects. Reid immediately moved onto energy policy after the vote.
FOX News' Major Garrett and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
Good morning. This week I am traveling in Europe, where I am meeting with world leaders to discuss ways to address challenges like climate change, to work together to combat diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS and help advance freedom throughout the world.
Back at home, America is engaged in an important discussion about immigration. Most Americans agree that the 1986 immigration law failed. It failed because it did not secure our border, it did not include tough worksite enforcement, it did not help people assimilate, and it encouraged more people to come here illegally. Today, illegal immigration is supported by criminal enterprises dedicated to document forgery, human trafficking, and labor exploitation. This is unacceptable, and we need to fix it in a way that honors our finest traditions.
People have strong feelings on this issue. I believe we can express our feelings, disagree on certain elements, and still come together on a solution. We can accomplish that through the bipartisan Senate bill. It is based on months of negotiation. The result is legislation that puts border security first, establishes a temporary worker program to meet the legitimate needs of our growing economy, sets up a mandatory system for verifying employment eligibility, and resolves the status of the estimated 12 million people who are here illegally. If this bill becomes law, America will finally have in place a system that addresses all these problems -- and can be adjusted to address future problems that may arise.
I understand the skepticism some members of Congress have regarding certain aspects of this legislation. Like any legislation, this bill is not perfect. And like many Senators, I believe the bill will need to be further improved along the way before it becomes law. In the heat of the debate, critics and supporters can sometimes talk past each other. So I want to speak to members about some of the concerns I have heard.
I know some of you doubt that the Federal government will make good on the border security and enforcement commitments in this bill. My Administration is determined to learn from the mistakes of the past decades. And that is why we are now committing more resources than ever before to border security, doubling the number of Border Patrol agents, building hundreds of miles of fencing, and employing advanced technology, from infrared sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles. The bill builds on this progress by requiring that we meet border security objectives before certain other provisions can take effect.
This bill also addresses other problems with the 1986 reform. Unlike the 1986 law, this bill includes a temporary worker program to ensure that those who come here to work do so in a legal and orderly way. Unlike the 1986 law, this bill gives honest employers the tools they need to ensure that they are hiring legal workers -- beginning with a tamper-resistant identity card. Businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens will be punished. Workers who come here illegally will be sent home. And unlike the 1986 law, this bill does not grant amnesty for those who are already here.
Amnesty is forgiveness with no penalty for people who have broken our laws to get here. In contrast, this bill requires illegal workers to pay a fine, register with the government, undergo background checks, pay their back taxes, and hold a steady job. And if at the end of eight years they want to apply for a green card, they will have to pay an additional substantial fine, show they have learned English, and return to their home country so they can apply from there. In short, they will have to prove themselves worthy of this great land.
I also want to say a word to those in Congress concerned about family unification. This bill will create a merit-based point system that recognizes the importance of family ties by granting points to some applicants who have family members here legally. More than half of new green cards will go to family members, immigrants will be allowed to bring in their spouses and minor children, and we will clear the backlog for millions of people who have been waiting patiently in line.
Securing the border and upholding family values are not partisan concerns. They are important to all Americans. They must be addressed, and this bill is the best way to do it. I urge Senator Reid to act quickly to bring this bill back to the Senate floor for a vote, and I urge Senators from both parties to support it. The immigration debate has divided too many Americans. By coming together, we can build an immigration system worthy of this great Nation -- one that keeps us safe and prosperous, welcomes dreamers and doers from across the globe, and trusts in our country's genius for making us all Americans -- one Nation under God.
Thank you for listening.
END
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In order for true immigration reform to happen, there needs to be two bills. One bill should focus on the legal immigration problems that plague the system. This would include changing the how we process employment visa to a merit point system while easing the backlogs of family immigraton including fiancees, marriage, and sibling visa. The other bill should focus on the illegal immigration problem where we must balance enforcement to prevent future illegal immigration to how to incorporate the illegals who live and work currently in the US. Then the bills can be combined into a single package and voted on in Congress.
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams on Defense of the boston Massacre
I agree with Hudson 100%. All the talk seems to be about guest workers and legalized aliens, but little attention is being paid to the actual problems within the law itself.
People talk a lot about sanctuary cities, but the current system has created entire "sanctuary circuits" and most people seem to ignore that reality. The DHS Secretary has correctly pointed out that such extreme complexity is hindering the applicability of the law, but the versions of CIR we've seen so far tend to increase the complexity potentially triggering even more severe circuit splits, more confusion and more disparities in the application of a federal law that, by definition, should be applied uniformly across the land.
WASHINGTON, June 9 "” Helped by the fight over immigration, Democratic presidential candidates are counting Hispanic voters like never before, prompted by a string of early primaries in states with sizable Hispanic voting blocs.
David B. Parker/Reno Gazette-Journal, via Associated Press Hillary Rodham Clinton in April in Nevada, a state with a large Hispanic population. Her campaign has a team focusing on Latino votes.
Andy Barron, Reno Gazette-Journal, via Associated Press Barack Obama in Nevada last month. He has courted members and leaders of a culinary workers' union there, most of whom are Hispanic. It has forced candidates to hire outreach consultants, to start Spanish-language Web sites and to campaign vigorously before Hispanic audiences.
The battle for Hispanic voters is a result of the decision by several states with large Hispanic populations to move their presidential primaries to early 2008, including California, Florida and New York. Roughly two-thirds of the nation's Hispanic residents live in nine of the states holding Democratic primaries or caucuses on or before Feb. 5.
Republican and Democratic strategists, as well as independent analysts, say the influence of Hispanic voters is likely to be amplified next year because of an unusually intense response in many Hispanic communities to immigration policy. Conservative Republicans, with the help of some left-leaning Democrats, teamed up on Thursday to derail an immigration bill in the Senate that would have provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
It is in the new early primary states where Democrats hope the outreach efforts bear fruit. In the last presidential election, Hispanic voters accounted for a significant part of the overall Democratic primary electorate in California (16 percent), New York (11 percent), Arizona (17 percent) and Florida (9 percent), all states that will hold primaries by Feb 5.
Sergio Bendixen, a pollster hired by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign to study Hispanic voting trends, said: "The Hispanic vote has never been all that important in the presidential primary process in the United States. But that will change in 2008."
At this early stage, Mrs. Clinton, a New York Democrat, appears best poised to benefit from the heightened Hispanic role in the primary process. She has already captured a prized endorsement, of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, one of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians.
Mrs. Clinton is also well known and liked by many Hispanics, with several national New York Times/CBS News polls from the past few months showing that about 60 percent of registered Hispanic voters who identify themselves as Democrats have a favorable view of her, while a quarter do not.
Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, remains a blank slate to many Hispanic voters, polls show, with 40 percent having no opinion of him. But his aspirational biography could prove a draw as more Hispanic voters get to know him.
Former Senator John Edwards is even less well known among Democratic Hispanic voters. While a third have a positive view of Mr. Edwards and fewer than 10 percent have an unfavorable view of him, 6 in 10 are unable to offer an opinion.
The only Hispanic in the race, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat, is working to build a base and establish a political identity beyond the Southwest.
Many Democrats were as troubled by the Senate immigration bill as were Republicans, but for decidedly different reasons. Mrs. Clinton expressed concerns about the legislation, particularly a provision that makes it harder for legal immigrants in the United States to bring relatives from abroad. Mr. Obama said that he would have supported the bill, but that he too had similar concerns about the provision, according to his aides.
On the Republican side, two of the main candidates, Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mitt Romney, opposed the immigration bill, while Senator John McCain played a main role in drafting the legislation, only to face a huge backlash from conservative Republicans raising alarms about what they call a flood of immigrants.
The bill's setback "” a major defeat for President Bush "” could complicate Republican efforts to win over the fast-growing Hispanic electorate and help Democrats solidify their hold on these voters, an electoral prize expected to increase in importance in coming decades. Surveys showed that Hispanics were a small part of the Republican primary vote in 2000, with their greatest influence being in California, where they made up 9 percent of the vote.
The debate over immigration has spurred Hispanic leaders and voters to mobilize like few issues in recent memory have. The National Association of Latino Elected Officials has joined with the Hispanic television network Univision on a national campaign to help Hispanic residents fill out citizenship applications and to help those who are already citizens register to vote.
Stephanie Pillersdorf, a spokeswoman for Univision, said the number of Hispanic residents who had applied for citizenship in Los Angeles County alone had gone up 146 percent since the campaign started several months ago.
The scramble for Hispanic support is evident both within the campaigns and out on the trail.
On Friday, Mrs. Clinton spoke to Hispanic leaders in the Bronx, where she accused Republicans of undermining the immigration bill in the Senate. "The bill was mostly killed by people who don't want any immigration reform and don't want a path toward legalization," she said. "There's a very big anti-immigrant feeling that is influencing the problem right now, particularly on the Republican side."
Mr. Edwards, who hopes his populist appeal will draw support from Hispanics, is dispatching his political director, David Medina, to meet with members of Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida. Mr. Richardson alternates between English and Spanish on the campaign trail. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, also often likes to display his fluency in Spanish, including when he announced his candidacy on CNN en Español.
Republicans have been making similar efforts. Mr. McCain has been making appearances before Hispanic audiences around the country, including in Miami, where he recently gave a speech on immigration. He also has access to a deep bench of prominent Hispanic leaders who fill in for him on Spanish-language radio and television programs, including Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, all of Florida. The senator himself has also made appearances on Univision and Telemundo. Mr. Romney, in turn, announced on Friday the creation of a steering committee to help him attract Hispanic voters.
Strategists for several Democratic campaigns say the new calendar has set the stage for Hispanic voters to have much more influence in picking the parties' presidential nominees than they did when states like Iowa and New Hampshire were essentially alone among the early states in the nominating process.
In fact, in the 2004 race, Senator John Kerry did not assemble a Hispanic outreach and media operation until about five months before the general election.
By contrast, the Clinton campaign has already put in place a driven Hispanic outreach team that, among other things, issues press releases in Spanish on a regular basis and has a stable of Spanish-speaking surrogates to fill in for Mrs. Clinton at events that focus on Hispanics. It has also assigned a prominent role to its campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, a woman of Mexican descent who has been one of Mrs. Clinton's most trusted advisers and friends since her days as first lady of Arkansas. Mrs. Doyle, who played a crucial role in getting the recent endorsement from Mr. Villaraigosa, has made herself available for interviews with Hispanic organizations of all sorts.
Democrats are optimistic about their prospects of making large gains among Hispanic voters, mindful of the progress they made in the 2006 midterm elections, when only 26 percent of Hispanics voted for Republican Congressional candidates. That was down from 44 percent in 2004, when Mr. Bush was at the top of the ticket, according to nationwide exit polls conducted by Edison/Mitofsky.
While Mr. Bush's popularity with Hispanics had been a factor in drawing large numbers of them to the Republican Party, many Hispanics appear to be returning to the Democratic fold as conservative efforts gained momentum last year to restrict immigration and build a wall along the Mexican border.
Democrats are doing what they can to encourage that return. Mr. Obama has traveled to Nevada several times to meet with members and leaders of a culinary workers' union, most of whom are Hispanic women who work in Las Vegas hotels and casinos. The Obama campaign says the union could play a decisive role in generating voter turnout when the state holds its caucus next January.
The campaign is also sending dozens of volunteers this weekend to pass out Spanish-language literature in heavily Hispanic cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Houston and San Antonio, and is making videos available on its Web site with closed captioning in Spanish.
Mr. Edwards, in turn, is betting that his antipoverty campaign of the last few years, including helping unions organize in industries with large numbers of Hispanic workers, will give him an edge.
Earlier this year, he met with Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the farm workers' union, and several hundred union members in Fresno, Calif. Mr. Edwards's campaign has also sent prominent Hispanic supporters to act as surrogates for him on the campaign trial, including Patricia Madrid, the former attorney general of New Mexico, who recently went to Nevada to meet with Hispanic politicians and activists.
If any candidate can appeal to the ethnic pride of Hispanic voters, it is Mr. Richardson, the New Mexico governor, who often points to his Mexican roots (his mother is a native of Mexico) when appearing before Hispanic audiences.
The main problem for Mr. Richardson is that he is a relatively unknown figure among Hispanic voters, as well as the general electorate. To raise his profile among Hispanics, Mr. Richardson has turned to prominent Hispanics, including Gloria Molina, a Los Angeles County supervisor, who introduced him at the rally where he recently announced his candidacy.
David Contarino, Mr. Richardson's campaign manager, predicted that his candidacy would become a matter of "interest and pride" among Hispanic voters once they learned of his record and roots.
"His name is Bill Richardson; that does not necessarily communicate his background," Mr. Contarino said dryly.
WASHINGTON, Mich., June 8 "” The undoing of the immigration bill in the Senate this week had many players, but none more effective than angry voters like Monique Thibodeaux, who joined a nationwide campaign to derail it.
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Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times Monique Thibodeaux, who lives in suburban Detroit, made phone calls and wrote senators to express her opposition to the immigration measure.
Andy Manis for The New York Times Representatives Steve King, left, and Ed Royce with Steven Elliott, second from left, and Ron Dejong, right, of Grassfire.org, which presented a petition signed by nearly 700,000 opponents of the immigration bill. Mrs. Thibodeaux, an office manager at a towing company here in suburban Detroit, became politically active as she never had before. Guided by conservative Internet organizations, she made calls and sent e-mail messages to senators across the country and pushed her friends to do the same.
"These people came in the wrong way, so they don't belong here, period," Mrs. Thibodeaux, a Republican, said of some 12 million illegal immigrants who would have been granted a path to citizenship under the Senate bill.
"In my heart I knew it was wrong for our country," she said of the measure.
Supporters of the legislation defended it as an imperfect but pragmatic solution to the difficult problem of illegal immigration. Public opinion polls, including a New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted last month, showed broad support among Americans for the bill's major provisions.
But the legislation sparked a furious rebellion among many Republican and even some Democratic voters, who were linked by the Internet and encouraged by radio talk show hosts. Their outrage and activism surged to full force after Senator Jon Kyl, the Arizona Republican who was an author of the bill, suggested early this week that support for the measure seemed to be growing. The assault on lawmakers in Washington was relentless. In a crucial vote Thursday night, the bill's supporters, including President Bush, fell short by 15 votes. While there is a possibility the legislation could be revived later this year, there was a glow of victory among opponents on Friday.
"Technologically enhanced grass-roots activism is what turned this around, people empowered by the Internet and talk radio," said Colin A. Hanna, president of Let Freedom Ring, a conservative group.
Mr. Hanna suggested the passion and commitment were on the side of the opponents.
"The opposition to the amnesty plan is so much more intense than the intensity of the supporters," said Mr. Hanna, speaking of the bill's provisions to grant legal status to qualifying illegal immigrants, which the authors of the legislation insisted was not amnesty.
In the end, supporters conceded that they were outmaneuvered by opponents who boiled down their complaints to that single hot-button word, repeated often and viscerally on talk radio programs and blogs.
"It's a lot easier to yell one word, ˜amnesty,' and it takes a little more to explain, ˜No, it's not, and if you don't do anything you have a silent amnesty,' " said Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat who backed the measure.
Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, which follows Hispanic immigration, described the bill as "born an orphan in terms of popular support."
"You got the sense of a deafening silence from the supporters, and the roar of the opposition," Mr. Sabatini said.
For Mrs. Thibodeaux and others on her side, the immigration debate was a battle for the soul of the nation because it seemed to divert taxpayer-financed resources to cater to foreigners who had not come to this country by legal means.
"This hit home with me because I knew it was taking away from our people," said Mrs. Thibodeaux, 50, who works at Ruehle's Auto Transport. "What happened to taking care of our own people first?"
Rosemary Jenks, a policy advocate at NumbersUSA, which calls for curbing immigration, said that 7,000 new members signed up for the organization in a single day last week. Other groups reported a similar outpouring as proponents of the Senate bill claimed to be gaining momentum.
"We had way more response than we could handle," said Stephen Elliott, president of Grassfire.org, a conservative Internet group that called for volunteers for a petition drive and instructed people how to barrage lawmakers with telephone calls and e-mail.
The group gathered more than 700,000 signatures on petitions opposing the bill, delivering them this week to senators in Washington and in their home states.
Organizers described a new Internet-linked national constituency that emerged among Republicans, much like the one that Democrats pioneered during the presidential candidacy in 2004 of Howard Dean. But many of these Republicans are enraged at their party leaders, including Mr. Kyl and Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supported the bill, and they feel betrayed by Mr. Bush.
Opposition to the Senate bill brought together many Americans in states where immigration was not traditionally a fervor-inspiring issue, but where illegal immigration has become more visible in recent years.
"Every state is now a border state," said Susan Tully, the national field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which has long supported a crackdown on illegal immigration. The bill's opponents also objected to how it was handled, with the huge measure negotiated behind closed doors between White House and Senate lawmakers, without any hearings or other public input.
Mr. Murphy said he felt strongly about the bill because he believed it would degrade the value of American citizenship.
"If I come from Mexico, I can jump the fence and get all those American benefits," he said. "It's outrageous when you can buy your citizenship for $5,000," he said, referring to the fines that illegal immigrants would pay under the bill to become legal permanent residents.
When asked about Mr. Bush's support for the bill, Mr. Murphy, a longtime Republican, had to pause to temper his words.
"I was stunned, really," he said. Mr. Bush "has always been a person who stood for some basic human values, and now he's going to give away the country?"
In Virginia, Allen Price, another Grassfire.org member who was formerly a talk show host in Richmond, decried the Senate bill as an attempt by corporate business to secure cheap labor.
"I called up everybody I knew and told them to make calls," said Mr. Price, also a Republican. He delivered 15,000 petitions to the offices of his senators, John W. Warner, a Republican, and Jim Webb, a first-term Democrat, both of whom voted against closing debate on the bill on Thursday night.
In California, a challenge was started by "The John & Ken Show," a popular talk radio show critical of the bill, for 30,000 opposition calls to Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, who supported the measure. All of Ms. Feinstein's phone lines were clogged, with calls from opponents of the bill and from supporters seeking to undermine the challenge.
Here in Michigan, speaking at her neatly maintained home under hickory trees in Washington, a town north of Detroit that has been battered by auto company layoffs, Mrs. Thibodeaux said the immigration bill worried her like no other political issue. She believed it would reward undeserving immigrants who do not speak English and would soon become a burden on public services that Americans need in a time of economic uncertainty.
"A lot of our American people in Detroit are hurting," Mrs. Thibodeaux said, noting that she has often done volunteer work in poor neighborhoods here. "It's just not right."
Her strong feelings about the immigration issue came gradually, she said. A nephew who works as a house painter had trouble finding high-paying work because of competition from illegal immigrants. Some Mexican teenagers hassled her on the street, seeming to mock her because she walks with a cane. She spotted immigrants shopping with food stamps at the grocery store.
Mrs. Thibodeaux said she favored orderly legal immigration, but did not think illegal immigrants should benefit from American generosity.
"I have a very hard time with illegal," she said. She proposes that all illegal immigrants be given a 90-day period to leave voluntarily. After that, immigration agents, local police and the National Guard, if necessary, should be mobilized to deport them, she said.
Republican voters and organizers said they were ready for a long fight on the immigration issue, even if the debate is reopened in Congress.
"This bill represented something so big that people noticed," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a research group. He said the Senate debate was not "just stirring up the hornet's nest, but is actually changing the dynamics of this issue for the future."
Mrs. Thibodeaux agreed. If the immigration issue comes before Congress again, she said, "I'm going to get a microphone and start yelling."
Randal C. Archibold contributed reporting from Los Angeles.
The immigration compromise collapsed on the floor of the Senate Thursday night. Many of its hard-line foes are celebrating, but their glee is vindictive and hollow. They have blocked one avenue to an immigration overhaul while offering nothing better, thwarting bipartisanship to satisfy their reflexive loathing for amnesty, which they define as anything that helps illegal immigrants get right with the law.
The tragedy is that the compromise bill was written to bring these restrictionists along, with punitive, detestable provisions that many supporters of comprehensive reform agreed to endorse for the sake of a "grand bargain." The bill was badly flawed but fixable, as long as there was the possibility of leadership and courage in Congress.
But obstruction happened. Republican amendments, designed to shred the compromise, happened.
Jeff Sessions wanted to deprive legalized immigrants "” yes, legal residents "” of the earned income tax credit, a path out of poverty for millions.
John Cornyn wanted to strip confidentiality protections for immigrants who apply for legal status, making them too frightened to leave the shadows.
Jim DeMint just wanted to kill the bill, so he voted for a volatile amendment whose substance he disagreed with. "If it hurts the bill, I'm for it," he said.
Leadership was desperately needed to stop Republicans from dragging the bill off one of its pillars "” the one that would put 12 million people on a path to legal status. It didn't show up. Republicans who should have been holding their party and the deal together "” President Bush, minority leader Mitch McConnell, Senator John Kyl "” failed utterly.
The anti-immigrant hard-core "” no amnesty today, no amnesty tomorrow, no amnesty forever "” must not be allowed to hold the nation hostage. Like nativists of generations past, they think the country is being Latinized, and they fear it. The country is changing, but the way it always has, absorbing newcomers, shaping and being shaped by them, inexorably turning them, their children and grandchildren into Americans. Globalization has accelerated and complicated that upheaval, and decades of federal dithering have made things messy and chaotic.
Restoring order will be wrenchingly difficult, but it must be done. The country cannot leave an unlawful, chaotic system to fester, with legal immigration channels clogged, families split apart, crops rotting and state and local governments dreaming up ways to punish 12 million people whose identities are unknown to the authorities, and who aren't leaving, no matter what Congress does. We cannot simply fortify a wall while continuing to extract cheap labor from cowering workers who risk death to get here. Inaction on immigration carries a brutally high price, but those on the phobic right are willing to mortgage their country's future to pay it.
A core group of lawmakers has shown a greater faith in their country than that. They must keep fighting, knowing that on the central principles "” restoring the rule of law, enhancing security, easing the pressure on the border and giving immigrants hope "” Americans are with them.
Back to Work, Senate Keep working on border bill, for America's sake
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, June 10, 2007 Dallas Morning News Opinion - Editorial
Are we going to slither away from this issue and hope for some epiphany to happen?
No, let's legislate. Let's vote. – GOP Sen. Trent Lott
Mr. Lott spoke for many Americans when he expressed his exasperation after the Senate's immigration bill stalled out Thursday night. The bill was pulled down over a disagreement about how many amendments the Senate should consider.
Getting bogged down in a procedural quagmire, however, misses the larger picture – by a wide margin. Polls consistently show Americans want a comprehensive plan that deals realistically with the fact that 12 million immigrants live here illegally and another 400,000 arrive each year.
We emphasize "comprehensive" because some advocate a piecemeal approach. Secure the border first, and then come back to a temporary worker program or tougher employer standards or a shot at citizenship for immigrants.
The problem is, that approach guarantees no solution. There isn't enough support in Congress for only a wall along the border, only a guest-worker program, only a citizenship plan or only greater oversight of employers.
But if the Senate takes a breath and tries to find the right balance, it still can pass a comprehensive bill. It's all about horse-trading among the bill's various parts.
For example, Republicans say they want the same number of amendments as considered in last year's immigration debate. Fine. That leaves room for another 10 to 12 amendments, which the Senate could manage without interrupting the rest of its work schedule.
If senators punt now, Americans realistically would have to wait two to three years for an answer. That's unacceptable because many Americans are hopping mad that laws are being broken. Migrants are pouring across our borders illegally. Farmers are watching fruit die on the vine. Immigrants are dying in the desert.
There are problems at every pressure point, which is why the Senate must calm down and get back to work on its immigration bill. There's a compelling reason – and enough time – to find the answer.
Our view: As Kyl suggests, give senators a specific length of time to voice criticisms, make suggestions, then bring measure to vote
Arizona Daily Star Published: 06.10.2007
The immigration bill crafted by Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. "” polar opposites on the political spectrum "” is now on life support. The man with the oxygen tank who can save the bill is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Reid needs to bring the bill back to the floor of the Senate, and soon. Congress shuts down for the first week in July and then goes away for the entire month of August. There is no time to waste.
If the bill does not come back for a vote before August, it will likely become extinct "” at least until after the 2008 presidential election. This is not good.
The issue is at the top of the agenda for most voters. Some like the bill, some hate it and others, including this newspaper, believe that while the compromise measure is hardly the medicine that will solve all immigration problems, it is a necessary first step.
If nothing else, it at least makes a start at addressing some of the thornier issues, such as the fate of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.
But now the fate of the bill, like the fate of the illegal immigrants, remains in limbo "” and needlessly so.
Last week, Reid pulled the bill after senators rejected a parliamentary maneuver that would have cut off debate and brought the bill up for a speedy vote.
Reid's decision may have been seen as the act of a pragmatist "” in this case someone who knows that allowing debate to continue on a hundred or more amendments is an invitation to death by a thousand details.
Dealing with the amendments probably means providing a platform to some of the worst bloviators of the far left and far right. It would be messy and time-consuming. Still, we're inclined to agree with Kyl "” give each of them their 15 minutes of fame and then move on.
Kyl, who is credited with writing the bill with Kennedy, voted against the motion to cut off debate. For that, he has been widely criticized because, on the surface, his action seems inconsistent.
But politics is a weird business. Partisans on both sides see just what they want to see and often resist looking even slightly below the surface.
Kyl's vote is a good illustration of how this works. He did nothing inconsistent. Early on, he knew there would be numerous attempts to amend the compromise bill. His view was that it was wiser to take a few more days to deal with the bill's critics than to summarily dismiss them and invite accusations of foul play. There was nothing obscure about his viewpoint.
Kyl's vote against closing down the debate on Thursday was consistent with what he has said in the past. But critics conveniently chose to ignore that explanation and instead interpreted his position to mean that he was against bringing the bill to the floor for a prompt vote.
By extension, this suggests that Kyl is interested in deep-sixing his own bill, a ridiculous view but one that conspiracy theorists will adore.
It's clarifying to read Kyl's exact words on this topic, spoken at a news conference on Friday: "This was perhaps the most difficult vote I've ever cast in the Senate," he said, "because on the one hand, I'm trying to protect conservatives' right to offer amendments that they believe will improve the bill, amendments which, as an advocate for the bill, I know are going to be very difficult to deal with. But at the end of the day "” I mean, this question really should go to Senator Kennedy; he could tell you stories for the next three hours about his experience here "” you're always better off giving senators an opportunity to have their say, to offer a reasonable number of reasonable amendments.
"At the end of the day, the legislative process usually works out best when they've had that opportunity, even though it's frustrating to the leaders, even though it upsets their schedule to some extent, and even though it's very hard on those of us who would like to get this bill done pretty much as it is right now."
Partisans at both ends of the political spectrum love to ignore such details. If their particular myth gains enough momentum and enough print, it can always be tucked away and used for fodder during the next Senate campaign. But that kind of opportunistic strategizing does nothing to help resolve the complex problems associated with immigration. It does just the opposite.
The issue festers and, in Arizona, leads to more pathetic grandstanding by members of the Arizona Legislature who want to rewrite federal law from a diner in Apache Junction.
We're inclined to agree with Kyl. Reid should set aside a specific amount of time to debate the amendments and then bring the immigration bill to a vote. No one is served by inaction.
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Wire reports Arizona Daily Star Published: 06.09.2007
WASHINGTON "” President Bush, trying to recover from a setback on immigration, will visit the Capitol next week in a personal bid to revive the embattled plan for legalizing millions of illegal entrants.
He began his hands-on approach Friday, placing phone calls to three key Republican senators from Air Force One during a European trip.
The calls and Bush's scheduled lunch on Tuesday with GOP senators are part of a campaign by the White House and allies in both parties to placate or outmaneuver conservative Republicans who blocked the broad immigration measure this week. They said Friday they would try again to reach accord on the number of amendments the dissidents could offer.
Opponents of the bill promised to continue fighting all such efforts, and some House members declared the legislation dead.
Bipartisan supporters of the law say Senate leaders gave them a "road map" for bringing the measure back from legislative limbo. "We are not giving up; we are not giving in," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who helped write the bill in months of negotiations with the White House and a small bipartisan group of senators.
Kennedy said party leaders' comments after the failed vote were "extremely encouraging" about continued attempts to break the legislative logjam.
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the chief Republican architect of the bill, voted against limiting debate. He said he wanted to give conservative Republicans "a little bit more time to get amendments together, to get them considered, so that we can finish the bill with an opportunity for everyone to have their say."
Democratic leaders accused Bush of being too tepid in pushing the legislation, which would tighten borders and offer employers more temporary workers from abroad in addition to providing legal status to an estimated 12 million illegal entrants and putting many of them on a path toward citizenship
Many Republicans defended the president's role. But the bill's backers nonetheless welcomed his plan to attend the GOP senators' weekly luncheon in the Capitol for the first time in five years.
The visit was scheduled before this week's immigration votes, and Bush will discuss numerous subjects with Republican senators, said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. "But certainly immigration is a topic" high on the list, he said.
Stanzel said Bush called GOP Sens. Kyl and Trent Lott of Mississippi and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday. He said Bush and the three senators "are optimistic that this legislation will be brought back for consideration."
Bush said, as he has many times, that his administration is committed to securing the country's borders. And he reaffirmed his position that the bill, which would require illegal entrants to pay penalties and go to the back of the bureaucratic line before they could gain legal status, does not smack of amnesty. "They will have to prove themselves worthy of this great land," he said.
Bush's remarks were in his weekly radio address, the text of which is typically released on Friday but not to be reported until his radio address the next day. On Friday, the text was offered for immediate release, a signal of the importance Bush attaches to efforts to revive the immigration bill.
Senate backers of the immigration bill fell 15 votes short of the 60 needed Thursday to limit debate and allow a vote on the measure itself. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., then set the measure aside, calling it "the president's bill" and saying Bush's direct intervention was crucial to reviving it.
On Friday, some key Republicans agreed. "Whose bill is it?" Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a news briefing held by bill supporters. "Harry Reid says this is the Bush proposal. Harry Reid is right."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, talking with reporters traveling with Bush in Europe, said the president "continues to be regularly briefed" on the legislation. The administration, she said, is encouraging Reid "to keep the debate open. It's a very important issue; people want to have conversations about it."
Several Senate conservatives continue to say they were not allowed to offer enough changes to the bill. Some of their proposals would make it easier to detect and deport immigrants who have overstayed their visas or committed other violations.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a key opponent, said the bill as written "still unfairly burdens taxpayers, doesn't ensure secure borders and guarantees amnesty" for illegal immigrants.
The bill's supporters say DeMint and other critics will oppose the measure no matter how many amendments are accepted. Nonetheless, they agreed Friday that some type of peace accord with the conservatives is essential if the measure is to return to life. "If we're able to come up with a list of amendments that could take two or even three days to complete, 10 years from now or 100 years from now who will care that it was an extra three days if we can achieve the result that we're talking about?" said Kyl.
Other proponents said they still saw life in the legislation despite the blow in the Senate. "This matter is on life support, but it is not dead," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., another central architect of the plan.
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Undocumented workers stay on job, out of sight Failed bill leaves them hoping Congress will revisit legalization.
By Susan Ferriss - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, June 9, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A14
The Senate shelved immigration reform Thursday night, but that doesn't mean the undocumented people who swab floors, pick and process food and bathe babies and the elderly are going to vanish.
"I think if I ever go back to Mexico, it will probably be in a box," said Samuel, who asked, out of fear of deportation, to be identified only by his first name.
He's 55, his children were born here and he's lived in Stockton for two decades, doing field work and construction. This week, among other jobs, he's picking cherries that are now on sale in supermarkets.
Alfredo Juarez, a San Joaquin Valley dairy worker, said he's still hopeful the Senate will return to debate possible legalization for people like him.
"The vote was pretty narrow. It didn't lose by much. But in the meantime, they still need our labor," said Juarez, who has been working at dairies nearly a decade.
A woman who was a secretary in Mexico City -- and who arrived here in the wake of her country's peso crisis -- has lived and worked for 13 years in a small town along the Sacramento River. She started out packing pears, she said. "From that point on," she said emphatically, "I have always paid taxes."
Now she cleans office buildings and homes, earning enough to cover her bills. She's been readying her tax records and preparing to ask her employers for letters that will vouch for her in the event of a legalization.
She also requested anonymity because she is afraid of being discovered, she said.
The U.S. public seems to want to crack down on illegal immigration now, the woman acknowledged. But for years, Americans also have taken advantage of people like her, she said, "and now I wonder if I'll be tossed out like a used rag."
"They say they don't want us here now, but just wait until there are more labor shortages," she said. "People aren't going to come from Europe to work in the fields or clean floors. It's the Latinos who will do it."
Employer groups and civil rights and labor union leaders tend to agree with this view, and contend that it's impractical to think millions of people can be rounded up or forced to self-deport.
"The reality is they have no hope back in their countries," said Mike Garcia, president of the California-wide Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union.
The SEIU has become the fastest-growing union in the United States, focusing heavily on organizing service workers such as janitors, including undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, Sacramento and other U.S. cities.
The union's position is that U.S. labor shortages are real, but are not being filled in an orderly fashion because the current immigration system doesn't include a visa program to allow people to enter legally to perform jobs.
"Any demographic expert will tell you that we need workers for our service economy, and that the baby boom generation is aging," Garcia said. "Fewer and fewer American workers will be there to fill those jobs."
Mexico is struggling to find its way in the new global economy, Garcia added, and its people need jobs - especially since China, with its cheaper wages, is undercutting the assembly factories in Mexico that produce goods for the U.S. market.
Like business groups, unions like the SEIU have urged legalization of undocumented workers and a new visa program. But the union was opposed to the guest-worker provision included in the Senate bill that failed Thursday because the proposal did not allow foreign workers to earn legal residency after short stints.
As it was, the idea could have led to exploitation, Garcia said, but supporters hoped that amendments could change that.
"We know the bill itself was imperfect and flawed," Garcia said, "but this was keeping the issue alive."
About the writer: The Bee's Susan Ferriss can be reached at (916) 321-1267 or sferriss@sacbee.com.
By Susan Ferriss - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, June 8, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A13
No one needs to convince registered Republican and conservative businesswoman Cathy Gurney that the U.S. immigration system is broken.
But Gurney, who owns Sierra Landscape & Maintenance in Chico, doesn't consider illegal immigrants a grave threat to the American middle class or lawbreakers beyond redemption.
Without the ability to make sure all her workers are legal now and in the future, she said, the business she's built for 27 years would collapse.
She and other business owners in California and other heavily immigrant states have much at stake with immigration reform. They were left frustrated and angry after Senate reform talks collapsed Thursday.
The current illegal immigration crisis exists, business owners contend, partly because lawmakers have failed to devise a visa system that would allow foreigners in to fill jobs for which there are labor shortages, because Americans either are not available or don't want the jobs.
Ever since the 1986 immigration overhaul, Gurney and others argue, foreign workers desperate for work have been tacitly allowed to fill that void using fake documents. Employers only had to eyeball documents to check their authenticity.
Now businesses are imploring Congress to give them a foolproof system for checking documents, in combination with more visas.
"They can't just build a fence. They can't just send people back. That would devastate the U.S. economy," said Gurney, who doesn't really know who among her employees has real or fake documents.
Gurney pays workers $8 an hour when they start, but she said wages rise steadily with experience. Some make more than $20 an hour now. After they're on the job for one year, she pays 100 percent of employees' medical insurance.
"With no immigration reform, I cannot have access to legal workers. I could shut down. That's a scary feeling," she said. "The small-business people need to speak up. It's the biggest broken system we have, and they're not fixing it."
Jack King, who handles government affairs for the Sacramento-based California Farm Bureau, also was left disappointed Thursday.
California agribusiness produces a huge quantity of America's food and has been lobbying for years for reform that would legalize current employees and set up a guest worker system.
With foreign workers serving as the backbone of almost every corner of agribusiness, labor advocates such as the United Farm Workers Union also support giving work visas to employees.
Immigrant farm laborers who were legalized during the 1986 amnesty have largely moved on to other jobs, farmers say.
The Senate bill would have required newly legal workers to remain in farm work for three to five years and show English proficiency before permanent residency would be granted.
"We're certainly not giving up on this," King said. "We're getting reports of labor shortages already. We can't let it go."
King said a segment of Congress seems swayed by a "vocal minority" that doesn't understand the magnitude of the need for immigrant workers on farms.
California produces half the nation's fresh fruits and vegetables and more than 20 percent of the entire U.S. milk supply.
"The public isn't facing the reality of how these products get there," King said.
Gurney plans to travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday to join 100 immigrants and others on a cross-country campaign called the Dreams Across America Train. The train trip is billed a way to "dispel myths" about immigrants, legal and illegal.
The train will pass through various cities until reaching Washington, D.C., June 18 for a rally.
About the writer: The Bee's Susan Ferriss can be reached at (916) 321-1267 or sferriss@sacbee.com.
Dreams Across America Tour (Contac info at end of article.)
What is the Dreams Across America Tour? The Dreams Across America Tour is a nationwide journey via train that educates the public to dispel myths, give real facts, and shares personal stories about the need for just and humane immigration reform in this country.
In eight days (June 13th- 20th) via ten cities, the tour will bring together one hundred diverse individuals from throughout the country referred to as Dreamers. These Dreamers will share their compelling stories and reinforce what still holds true today – no matter our backgrounds, immigrant or native born, we all cherish the values that make this country prosper. However, only by working together to address our nation's broken immigration laws, can we continue to achieve and live the American dream.
Dreamers from throughout the country will take their story to our Nation's Capital. Major stops will include Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Boston. As the Dreamers embark on the journey, their stories and those of thousands of others will be prominently highlighted via our website, blogs, video, and earned media.
The tour is a physical expression by a hundred who represent thousands. The stories of those who travel on the train will be told on line, but most importantly, this launches a campaign to get America talking about immigration in one central location. Anyone can post their own immigration story, whether they are first or fourth generation, via You Tube. We seek stories from all sides of the discussion so that a real discussion can occur.
The Dreams Across America Tour will conclude in Washington, D.C. on June 19 and 20 where Dreamers from across the country will join hundreds of immigrant children and their families at an event organized by the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM). Dreamers will also have the opportunity to share their stories with Members of Congress so they may hear first-hand from their constituents about the human impact of our broken immigration system and the need for just immigration reform legislation that addresses the realities of our country, economy and immigrant families.
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About Us
dreamsacrossamericaonline.org
For more information on how you can support this effort contact: Javier Gonza*** (213) 291-0734 or at javgonz@sol-california.com
For media inquiries contact: Mary Gutierrez (213) 276-3384 or at mgutierrez@launionaflcio.org
For our online and video campaign contact: Rick Jacobs (310) 860-1307 or at rick@richarddjacobs.com
For logistical information contact: Elda Martinez (213) 291-0734 or at e.martinez@sol-california.com
Undocumented Immigrants, Unlicensed Prison (Events listed at end of article.)
By: Dave Maass SanAntonioCurrent
05/22/2007
Call it Kidmo "” a supposedly family-friendly version of the Guantanamo Bay detention center deep in the heart of Texas. While the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Center houses mostly "Other-Than-Mexican" immigrant families instead of suspected terrorists, including more than 200 children from 30 countries, the policy of hide, deny, and dodge civil-rights law is unmistakably familiar. Four months ago, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and its private contractor, Corrections Corporation of America, attempted to dress up the converted medium-security prison in plastic trees and rainbow murals for the family-detention center's first and only media tour since the facility opened a year ago. Now, citing "pending litigation," ICE has decided that secrecy is the better policy, and has informed the media that it will no longer disclose information about the facility, including population numbers.
The access restriction doesn't only apply to the media. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Jorge Bustamante was denied entrance to the Hutto facility as well as a detention center in Monmouth County, New Jersey, during an 18-day U.S. tour this month.
"I expressed an interest to visit detention centers in the United States. [The U.S. State Department] responded, programming the visit of three detention centers," said Bustamante, who was Mexico's nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. "Then they all of a sudden cancelled the visit that had been approved for the Hutto detention center and the New Jersey detention center. And so I requested an explanation of that decision to the Ambassador of the United States in Geneva, and no response."
The explanations ICE gave the media were contradictory: The Associated Press reported first ICE's claim that the United Nations had not given them proper notice. Now, Richard Rocha, who works in ICE's public-affairs department, says it was due to the same "pending litigation."
The lawsuit in question was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in federal court in March on behalf of 10 children between the ages of three and 16, from six countries. The suit claims a wide array of civil-rights violations at the Hutto facility and a disregard for the 1996 Flores v. Reno settlement, which established rigid and binding requirements for when, where, and how the U.S. government (at the time the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which was restructured in 2003 as ICE under the Department of Homeland Security) may detain non-criminal immigrant minors.
"Almost all of our clients are asylum-seekers, which means their parents fled their countries and in most cases have been found by a trained asylum officer to have a credible fear of persecution if they are returned, which is why they're in asylum proceedings and not being processed by expedited removal," said Lisa Graybill, legal director for ACLU of Texas.
Since the asylum process is often slow, this means families could languish at Hutto indefinitely, Graybill said, unless they are granted parole. Although they were initially denied parole, all 10 original ACLU plaintiffs were released following the lawsuit. However, it was all too easy, Graybill said, for the ACLU to add more defendants to the suit: New children are arriving at the facility daily.
On April 9, U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks issued an order for an expedited trial in August, declaring that the ACLU was "highly likely" to win their case. Under Flores, ICE may not house juveniles in a prison setting unless they have committed a crime or pose a danger to themselves or others; policy should favor release whenever possible, but if "flight-risk" minors must be detained it may only be in a facility "licensed by an appropriate State agency to provide residential, group, or foster-care services." Currently Hutto is not licensed as a care facility by any Texas agency.
ICE assigned the licensing responsibilities to CCA, the U.S.'s largest private prison operator. CCA's inexperience in residential programs is evident in documents obtained by the Current that show in March 2006 CCA was hoping to receive licensing from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission. Both agencies determined that Hutto was outside their jurisdiction because the detained juveniles had not committed criminal offenses and were foreign nationals. Only as the facility was set to open in May 2006 did CCA finally file paperwork with the proper agency, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. However, instead of applying for a license, CCA requested and received a licensing exemption, which Sparks pointed out does not satisfy Flores.
"The Court finds it inexplicable that Defendants have spent untold amounts of time, effort, and taxpayer dollars to establish the Hutto family-detention program, knowing all the while that Flores is still in effect, without either promulgating final regulations or going back to the Flores court for clarification and/or modification of the requirements," Sparks wrote. "Nevertheless, the fact is that the Defendants have not sought any such clarification or modifications and clearly have no intent to do so."
Following Sparks's order (and little more than a week before the U.N. Rapporteur's U.S. visit was to begin), the U.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security seized back the reins and began attempts to undo FPS's licensing exemption. According to emails obtained by the Current, as of April 20, ICE officials were setting up a "walkthrough" for FPS. Neither ICE nor FPS responding to queries about the proposed visit.
Despite being barred from the facility, Rapporteur Bustamante interviewed former detainees and issued a statement on May 17. In addition to statements on human-rights violations, such as substandard prison conditions, he wrote that "there is no centralized system in the United States to obtain information regarding those arrested by immigration officials or where individuals are detained."
His full report, including recommendations, will be presented to the U.N. later this summer.
Más Media Links:
American Civil Liberties Union's Hutto Page
The ACLU website includes legal documents, family profiles, and podcasts about the Hutto Family Residential Center. Aclu.org/hutto
Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families
A 72-page report on human-rights abuses at Hutto, compiled by the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Womenscommission.org/pdf/famdeten.pdf
Free the Children Myspace Page & Blog
"No Child Left Behind Bars" buttons are available at this page maintained by local activist Bohica Babe. Myspace.com/free_the_children
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