Tweet
Lamar Smith is pushing for swift passage of his E-Verify mandate bill. While the bill would likely face a tough battle in the Senate, many wonder whether the President would sign or veto it. The White House has been a strong advocate for E-Verify, but it also knows that enforcement-only bills are hugely unpopular in immigrant communities.
So recent comments by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano are telling:
Although the Obama administration favors the expanded use of the electronic E-Verify system to confirm the legal status of prospective employees, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today that any expansion of E-Verify must be part of a larger immigration reform plan.
'If you just do E-Verify, you're not doing enough,' she told a breakfast meeting with reporters.
Napolitano said that E-Verify expansion should be part of a package that also includes the DREAM Act, which allows some children of Napolitano said that E-Verify expansion should be part of a package that also includes the DREAM Act, which allows illegal immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship, along with expanded H1B visas for high-tech workers and H2A visas.
Of course, this isn't really comprehensive immigration reform, but that's okay in my opinion. Interestingly, Napolitano is quoted saying E-Verify "can and should be part of (comprehensive) immigration reform." Note that the Houston Chronicle reporter has put "comprehensive" in parenthesis assuming that Napolitano meant comprehensive reform. But I think she probably meant exactly what she said - just reform. Efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration bill have gone nowhere now for seven years and the politics have only gooten worse. But piecemeal immigration reform is an easier lift and it could be that we get some important reforms like the DREAM Act, perhaps AgJobs and skilled worker reforms in exchange for an E-Verify mandate. I'd take that deal if it were on the table, though I know many in the pro-immigrant community will reject anything less than perfect. But we all know that the perfect solution is the enemy of the good one.
I don't know Jack maybe because if folks are allowed to regularized their status the E-verify will be less overwhelmed with errors as the majority of folks will be here legally. Or maybe the special interest for big business and the Chamber of Commerce like this dressed up form of slavery because it keeps the cost down. If you legalize then labor cost may increase as you must comply with people's legal rights or you must comply with added regulation like e-verify. But if you keep the status quo you keep the labor costs down and production does not get affected by a few folks getting deported here and there.....or maybe deporting 11 million people while we are broke is not something Washington is eager to undertake.... Either way Washington does not seem to like the Anti agenda or the legalize agenda, the want to "Secure the border first" then.....they can see about dealing with the other stuff, that seems to be the plan.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/susana-martinez-new-mexico-immigration-grandparents_n_954459.html
No, they FILE a return. The typical filer reports a low enough income to owe no income tax but they get the credit back. The stimulus legislation made it even more attractive, thus the quadrupling of the cost.