Senate Democrats propose immigration law reform
by Hugh Holub on Jun. 23, 2011, under immigration law reform, politicsFrom AmericasVoice June 22, 2011:
Senate Democrats Offer Real Solution to Fix Immigration System
Take Note GOP: Sen. Menendez and Co-Sponsors Offer Practical Reforms to End Illegal Immigration and Restore the Rule of Law
Washington, DC – Senate Democrats, led by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), today reaffirmed their commitment to a common sense, comprehensive solution to illegal immigration by introducing the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011.
The legislation, introduced by Senator Menendez along with fellow Senate Democratic co-sponsors Harry Reid (D-NV), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and John Kerry (D-MA), offers a workable blueprint for how our nation could fix its broken immigration system with real and lasting reform. The legislation outlines an approach to immigration policy that would benefit all Americans and restore the rule of law to our dysfunctional immigration system.
Rather than the ineffective, band-aid approach currently being pursued by Republicans in the House and Senate, the Menendez bill pairs implementation of a new employment authorization verification regime with legalization of the undocumented workforce and other provisions. By phasing in legalization of qualified workers at the same time the government improves the existing E-Verify program and expands the number of businesses using it, the Menendez bill will avoid that traps of the Smith-Grassley legislation which will simply push more jobs and workers into the underground economy.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice Education Fund, “In comparison to Republican band-aid proposals like mandatory E-Verify legislation, the Senate Democrats’ approach is a complete solution. By turning undocumented workers into legal workers, full taxpayers and American citizens, this legislation will increase revenues, expand employment and grow the economy. Instead of playing politics around immigration issues, and wreaking havoc on our economy and taxpayers in the process, the adults in the GOP should recognize that approach embodied by the Senate Democrats’ bill is the right one for their own Party as well as the country.”
America’s Voice Education Fund — Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform.
From Huffington Post June 22, 2011:
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Effort Relaunched In Senate
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats launched on Wednesday a new effort for comprehensive immigration reform, even though they so far have no Republican support for a bill that would allow some undocumented immigrants to gain legal status.
“Right now going down, figuratively, this long corridor of doors of the offices of Republican senators, and I’m trying every door to see if one door will open, and one senator will step forward and join us,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Although Durbin, along with bill author Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and co-sponsor Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), acknowledged the tough odds of getting immigration reform through the Senate — much less a Republican-controlled House — they said it was important to offer a vehicle.
From Fox News Latino June 22, 2011:
Senate Democrats revive immigration reform
Washington – Top Senate Democrats launched on Wednesday another bid to pass a comprehensive immigration reform they say will enhance U.S. economic productivity and national security even as it provides a path to legalization for 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Sens. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Patrick Leahy of Vermont held a Capitol Hill press conference to present a measure similar to one that was defeated in 2007.
Menendez, the bill’s author, said he was confident the measure would attract support from Republicans and called the legislation a “vehicle” that will propel the immigration debate in Congress.
Declining to put forward a timetable for hearings and debate on the bill, Leahy criticized current immigration law as harsh, while Durbin said the Menendez plan would make the United States more secure, more productive and more just.
The senators stressed the urgency of bringing the undocumented out of the shadows, given the importance of immigrant labor for U.S. economic sectors such as agriculture and hospitality.
The new bill includes elements to bolster border security – as demanded by Republicans – and to discourage firms from hiring undocumented workers, while establishing strict criteria for the legalization of immigrants who entered the United States without authorization.
To be eligible, an immigrant must have arrived in the country prior to June 1, 2011, have no criminal record, register with the government and pay a fine, be current with tax payments and learn English.
Press Release from Senator Menendez June 22, 2011:
Menendez, Colleagues Re-introduce Comprehensive Immigration Reform
June 22, 2011
WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Harry Reid (D-NV), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) John Kerry (D-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) re-introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill aimed at addressing the broken immigration system with tough, smart, and fair measures.
The bill includes measures to strengthen border security, enhance worksite enforcement of immigration laws, and requirements that the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants present in the U.S. register with the government, pay their taxes, learn English, pay a fine, pass a background check, and wait in line for permanent residence.
“This legislation signals to the American people that we are serious about fixing our broken immigration system,” said Menendez. “We stand for a complete solution – a real solution – to end undocumented immigration and restore the rule of law. This is common-sense legislation that addresses the realities of the situation, stops the flow across our borders, and contributes to our economic recovery. If we can put political grandstanding aside and come together on a comprehensive, pragmatic bill like this one, we can bring resolution to a great national need.”
“Effective reform of our immigration system will only come about as the result of a good-faith bipartisan effort, and this legislation is a very strong starting point for that process,” said Senator Leahy. “But one thing we should all support is a civil debate about how best to update our immigration laws to curb the tide of illegal immigration, continue to strengthen our borders, and create a system that works best for America.”
“Today we are living with a broken immigration system that weakens our national security, hurts our workers, and falls short of the most basic standard of justice,” Durbin said. “To fix this system, we need a comprehensive approach that is tough, fair, and practical. Senator Menendez has drafted a good bill and I’m proud to support it.”
“Our immigration system is broken and the status quo is unacceptable,” said Senator Gillibrand. “We need to right-size the system by uniting families while upholding America’s security and the rule of law. I am committed to working with my colleagues in passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that improves border security while treating immigrants fairly, providing a path to hard earned citizenship, and allowing our youth a chance at the American dream.”
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 includes both a mandatory employment verification system and a program to require undocumented immigrants in the U.S. as of June 1, 2011 to register with the government, learn English, and pay fines and taxes on their way to becoming Americans.
The bill promotes effective and accountable enforcement within the U.S. through measures such as: additional resources for the Border Patrol; expanded penalties for passport and document fraud; new requirements for the Department of Homeland Security to track entries and exits at the border; common-sense rules governing detention to ensure U.S. citizens are not unlawfully detained; and new criminal penalties for fraud and misuse of Social Security numbers.
A Standing Commission on Immigration, Labor Markets, and the National interest would be created as part of the bill to evaluate labor market and economic conditions and recommend quotas for employment-based visa programs to the Congress that would protect American jobs.
COMMENT: One hopes the two sides would actually get together and work out a package of immigration law reform and border security that would get passed instead of using the immigration and border issues for scoring political points.
“Probationary Presence” not “amnesty” needed in immigration reform
June 23rd, 2011 on 9:03 am
THE BOTTOM LINE: Undocumented immigrants are an important component of the U.S. economy. They meet the labor demand in sectors in which they do not directly compete with U.S.-born workers. The great majority of migrant workers are taxpaying, hardworking, and law-abiding people who are integrating into U.S. society.
THE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE PAYING MORE TAXES THAN YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IMMIGRANTS AND TAXES:
Q: “Is it true that illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes and drain our economy?”
A: As Ben Franklin said, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Like the rest of us, unauthorized immigrants pay taxes on their property and anything they buy. More than half of them have taxes taken out of their paychecks, but because our immigration system is dysfunctional, these taxes are paid under false Social Security numbers. We need a new regimen in which we know who is paying taxes and can ensure that no one is getting a free ride. The only way to do that is to pull unauthorized immigrants out of the shadows and get them on the right side of the law.
Three state-level studies have found that unauthorized immigrants pay more in taxes than they use in benefits. In Iowa, unauthorized immigrants pay an estimated $40 to $62 million in state taxes, while they and their employers contribute an additional $50 million to $77.8 million in federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes from which they will never benefit. In Oregon, unauthorized immigrants—who are not eligible for any state benefits—pay between $134 million and $187 million in taxes each year. Finally, in Texas, the State Comptroller found that, without unauthorized residents, the gross state product in 2005 would have been $17.7 billion less.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Undocumented immigrants are an important component of the U.S. economy. They meet the labor demand in sectors in which they do not directly compete with U.S.-born workers. The great majority of migrant workers are taxpaying, hardworking, and law-abiding people who are integrating into U.S. society.
The economics of immigration, Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration and someone who enjoys bipartisan support for his straightforwardness, said that by 2007, the Social Security trust fund had received a net benefit of somewhere between $120 billion and $240 billion from unauthorized immigrants.
That represented an astounding 5.4 percent to 10.7 percent of the trust fund’s total assets of $2.24 trillion that year. The cumulative contribution is surely higher now. Unauthorized immigrants paid a net contribution of $12 billion in 2007 alone, Goss said.
Previous estimates circulating publicly and in Congress had placed the annual contributions at roughly half of Goss’s 2007 figure and listed the cumulative benefit on the order of $50 billion.
The Social Security trust fund faces a solvency crisis that would be even more pressing were it not for these payments.
Adding to the Social Security irony is that the restrictionists are mostly OLDER AND RETIRED WHITES from longtime American families. The very people, in other words, who benefit most from the Social Security payments by unauthorized immigrants.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Would Boost the Economy & Help ALL American Workers: As opposed to the mass deportation, enforcement-only approach, addressing and fixing the immigration system in a wholesale manner will be a boon to the U.S. economy and all U.S. workers. That is why both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win created The Labor Movement’s Joint Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda conducted a 2010 report for the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center that found that “Unlike the current enforcement-only strategy, comprehensive reform would raise the ‘wage floor’ for the entire U.S. economy—to the benefit of both immigrant and native-born workers.” According to the study, granting legal status to undocumented immigrants and creating flexible legal limits on future immigration flows would generate enough consumer-spending to support 750,000-900,000 jobs. The report also found that the mass deportation approach would reduce GDP by 1.46 percent annually, amounting to a loss of $2.6 trillion over 10 years.
MYTH: Immigrants take jobs from Americans.
FACT: Immigrants create new jobs, and complement the skills of theU.S. native workforce.
MYTH: Immigrants drive down the wages of American workers.
FACT: Immigrants increase overall economic productivity and have no significant effect on overall wages for American workers.
MYTH: Immigrants will cause massive, unnecessary population growth
in the United States.
FACT: As the baby boomer generation begins to retire and the U.S.fertility rate declines, it will be necessary to replace our aging workforce with immigrants to maintain economic growth.
MYTH: Undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes.
FACT: Undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes each year, often for services they will never receive.
MYTH: Immigrants come to the United States for welfare benefits.
FACT: The law forbids immigrants from using welfare services.
MYTH: The Government should just enforce the law to solve our
immigration problems.
FACT: Enforcement alone will not solve our immigration problems. The cost would be prohibitive, it would have a detrimental effect on
the U.S. economy, and it would simply push certain immigrantsfurther into the underground economy.
MYTH: Immigrants are not assimilating.
FACT: Immigrants are assimilating at much the same rate as pastwaves of immigrants.
MYTH: Immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than
U.S. natives.
FACT: Immigrants have a much lower incarceration rate than U.S. natives.
MYTH: Workers that come to the United States as temporary workers
will stay in the country once their visas expire.
FACT: Historically, migrants from Mexico worked in the United States for a few months or years, but then returned home. Border enforcement has made that pattern much more difficult.
June 25th, 2011 on 8:45 pm
Hello.
Undocumented = Did not follow formal legal procedures required by the U.S. State Department to obtain a passport or visa to enter the United States = Illegal.
Undocumented = The subtle yet purposeful “language of evasion” employed by illegal immigration sympathizers (evading personal responsibility to follow the law in immigrating into United States). With rights come individual responsibility.
What part of illegal do you not understand? And how much you contribute to the economy does not excuse you from exercising personal responsibility in obeying the law. There is absolutely no compromise on this point. Otherwise, it is a violation of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution-equal protection under the law. It is unfair to those who immigrate here legally.
June 27th, 2011 on 6:03 am
HELLOOOOOOOOOOO :) There is no such WORD as “ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT” In Blacks Law DICTIONARY :) I guess you did not even know that there is a LAW DICTIONARY. Whats EWI ? Whats OOS ?? See how IGNORANT And UNINFORMED YOU ARE ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION LAWS :)
Now to Facts :) By SOMEONE WHO KNOW AND IS EDUCATED :) :):)
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/immigration-court-troubled-system-899690.html
Ignorance is Bliss: Those who have NO CLUE or QUALIFICATIONS about Immigration are those who show their IGNORANCE :)
There is NO SUCH WORD AS ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT” in Blacks Law Dictionary, or In Merriam Websters Dictionary. Get Educated .
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that the claim by some conservative activists that illegal immigration is to blame for all of the state’s fiscal problems is ignorant and bigoted.”
Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, In the 20-plus years I have spent studying, lecturing and litigating immigration issues, two things have always amazed me. The first is the amount and intensity of hate spewed against undocumented workers. The second is the amount of misinformation that is published about them.
On this second point, the quote from Mark Twain is illustrative. “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” I suppose this may be true in part because misinformation, like a lie, requires no accuracy, validation or research; all of which are time-consuming practices.
The recent letters alleging that all undocumented workers are “criminals,” and specifically Veronica Suarez, whose plight was written about in the Tracy Press recently, is a criminal are factually incorrect.
According to the facts (as stated in Sharon Franceschi’s Sept. 7 commentary) Saurez entered the U.S. on a valid visa, overstayed her visa when it expired, resulting in her unlawful immigration status. None of these acts, as stated by Franceschi, constitute a crime under federal or state law. Overstaying a valid visa under the Immigration and Naturalization Act is a civil violation of the law, not a criminal violation. Being in the U.S. in under undocumented status is not a criminal violation, but a civil violation of the INA.
The facts, as stated by Franceschi, do not indicate that Suarez has committed any crime. To call her a criminal is erroneous at best, and libelous at worst.
Furthermore, it is an Americanism that a person is innocent until proven guilty. So until Suarez (or any other undocumented person) is charged and found guilty of a crime, it would be inappropriate to call them “criminals.”
It is important to note that there is a very large difference between civil and criminal violations of law. The distinction is so important that the law makes the erroneous allegation that one has committed a crime of slander or libel, (which means liability is automatic even without proof of damages). One who violates the civil law is no more a criminal than someone who has breached a contract or accidentally damaged another’s property.
It is true that entering the United States without inspection is a misdemeanor under the INA. The misdemeanor is completed once an individual’s entry is complete. Suarez, according to Franceschi, did not enter without inspection; she entered with a valid visa. According to U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services statistics, about 40 percent of undocumented persons enter legally and overstay their visas (which, as stated above, is not a crime). Consequently, at least 40 percent of the undocumented population has committed no crime in regards to their immigration status.
Therefore, one cannot assume that a person has committed a crime simply because they are undocumented.
Franceschi is also in error in her allegation that getting married and having children while being undocumented in the U.S. is a violation of the law. It is not. Franceschi goes on to say that Suarez “apparently bought a house illegally.” It is unlikely that Franceschi knows exactly how Suarez purchased her home. Consequently, any allegation of illegality is, at a minimum, irresponsible.
It is also important to note that the Immigration and Citizenship Services doesn’t consider all undocumented persons criminals. When the Immigration and Citizenship Services publishes information about its enforcement activities involving undocumented workers, it are always sure to make a distinction between “criminal” and noncriminal aliens.
Another myth is that the term “illegal aliens” is a term of art or is legal jargon. This term is not found anywhere in the INA or in Blacks Law Dictionary. The INA refers to undocumented persons as either an EWI (entered without inspection) or as someone who has overstayed their visa. “Illegal aliens” is a term invented by anti-immigrant groups designed to put undocumented persons in the worst possible light and to instill fear in Americans. It is intentionally designed to associate undocumented persons with criminality.
This xenophobic view that undocumented persons are “simply criminals” comes from the historical stereotype that the foreign-born, especially undocumented immigrants, are responsible for higher crime rates. This misconception has deep roots in American public opinion and popular myth. This myth, however, is not supported empirically and has repeatedly been refuted by scientific studies. Both contemporary and historical data, (including U.S. governmental studies) have shown that immigration is associated with lower crime rates.
The studies have uniformly shown that recent immigrants (including the undocumented) are less likely to be involved in violent crime, and that when there is an increase in immigration patterns, violent crime decreases. This has been shown to be true in large cities with heavy immigrant populations.
In the most recent of these studies, The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation (2007), from the Immigrant Policy Institute, it was found that among men age 18 to 39 (who are the vast majority of inmates in federal and state prisons and local jails), immigrants were five times less likely to be incarcerated than the native-born in 2000.
During the Proposition 187 debate, then-Gov. Pete Wilson published statistics that stated that
12 percent to 15 percent of the state prison population had Immigration and Citizenship Services holds or potential holds. The Department of Corrections analyst who compiled these numbers said Immigration and Citizenship Services holds are placed on inmates who were born outside of the U.S. (therefore 12 percent to 15 percent of the prison population was immigrants). The immigrant population at the time in California hovered at about 25 percent, showing immigrants were much less likely to be incarcerated than the native born in California.
In short, the data shows you are much safer if your neighbor is an immigrant.
Franceschi owes Suarez an apology. I am also surprised that the Tracy Press allowed a commentary to run without checking the facts. Although commentaries are designed to allow for the expression of differing opinions, the First Amendment is not as generous with misstatements of facts — especially when the facts can be libelous.
For the immigration debate to be a healthy one, we should strive for a debate based on facts, not myth or tired stereotypes. We should also not let our position on this topic strip us of one of the great qualities we possess as people — the ability to be compassionate.
Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, with an expertise in immigration rights and class action lawsuits on behalf of immigrants, including the way the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was implemented, Border Patrol’s raids and Proposition 187. He is director of diversity and equal employment opportunity for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District.
June 23rd, 2011 on 9:05 am
I AM NOT SAYING DON’T CLOSE THE BORDERS. I AM SAYING STOP THE IGNORANCE & HATE.
Read this whos to blame for our economy, its NOT the POOR MIGRANTS.
300 BILLION$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ are not paid in taxes by USA CITIZENS, WHO CHEAT ON THEIR TAXES THAT’s A TRILLION$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ EVERY 3.3YEARS.
DONT BLAME THE POOR, STOP CHEATING AND OUR NATION IS OK. :):)
What the hell happened??? Lets BLAME THE FOOD PICKING, , DISH WASHING, LAWN MOWING UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS. YEAHHHHHH
Before you Scream and show Ignorance and Hate at least read the Immigration Law regarding Undocumented Immigrants.
UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT CRIMINALS. Its a Civil Matter.
The whole thing is perplexing to people who don’t understand that being an illegal immigrant in and of itself is not a crime. The most pervasive comments made in news stories about Secure Communities go a little like this: “Illegal immigrants are what they’re called — they’re considered criminals by mere definition. Illegals who broke a bunch of laws to enter and live here should be subjected to immediate arrest and deportation — that’s fair for everyone.”
That’s not accurate, but a lot of people have that same misunderstanding — even law enforcement professionals.
During a teleconference last month on the troubles that Secure Communities is bringing to local law enforcement agencies, a few sheriffs on the call commiserated about their misunderstanding of immigration violations.
“I was always told it was a felony federal violation of law and was always under the impression that turning over any illegal immigrants (to ICE) was mandated by federal law — and so did my employees,” said Sheriff Ed Prieto of Yolo County, Calif. “But after we met with the Mexican consulate in Sacramento we learned it’s not. Then I started looking into how many of our people are being deported before trial and I became very uncomfortable contacting ICE for nonviolent offenders.”
Kane County, Ill., Sheriff Patrick Perez said that “90 percent of law enforcement officers believe (just being an illegal immigrant) is a crime, but I learned after talking to an immigration judge that it is just a civil offense.”
Sara Dill, a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration and a member of the ABA’s Criminal Justice Council, explained it to me this way: “States are seeking to criminalize what is only a civil violation in federal law.” Dill said that failing to get a permit for home construction is one example of a civil, not criminal, violation. “Putting illegal immigrants in a criminal context confuses merely being present in the United States without authorization with crimes such as falsely claiming citizenship or identity theft, which are crimes under federal law.”
Everyone knows that of the universe of illegal immigrants, some have committed nonviolent and violent crimes — and everyone believes these should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
But believers of following “the letter of the law” cannot continue equating all illegal immigrants living in this country with criminals, who have plenty of civil rights of their own. That’s not the American way.
TO ALL YOU LAZYYYYY FREE LOADERS WHO SIT AND WAIT FOR THE GOVERNMENT HANDOUTS AND LIVE ON OUR TAXES, YES THE SOUTHERN STATES, GET OFF YOUR LAZZZY BACKSIDES, GET TO WORK AND BUILD YOUR OWN LIFE INSTEAD OF BLAMING OTHERS FOR YOUR OWN FAILURES.
IDEA: GO TO THE MIRROR AND SLAPPPP HARD THE PERSON YOU SEE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE , WHAT WILL IT BE?? IF YOU WANT TO $UCC$EED, GET DR NAPOLEON HILLS BOOK, THINK & GROW RICH AND $$$UCC$EED.
If you are an American citizen, don’t let anyone tell you that you are downtrodden.
We still live in the greatest country in the world. The United States is the great experiment in positive thinking; our entire system of government is based upon faith in the inherent goodness of the individual. It was a revolutionary idea more than 200 years ago when the Declaration of Independence was first signed. Borrowing from the greatest thinkers in history, our founding fathers established a form of government of the people that is today the model most imitated around the world. Economic and political conditions ebb and flow, but as long as we have a democratic society that celebrates the individual, we can achieve anything in life we desire. All you require to be successful in the United States is the desire to achieve success and the determination to stick with it until you reach your goals.
June 26th, 2011 on 5:44 am
“All you require to be successful in the United States is the desire to achieve success and the determination to stick with it until you reach your goals”.
The great American Myth or the greatest American Myth? What is unsaid is that, while it doesn’t hurt to be born in America, it also helps if your parents are wealthy, white, well-educated and well-placed geopgraphically. It is inconceivable under the current system that everyone could achieve the same goal that is held out to be the most desirable.
June 26th, 2011 on 8:47 am
“it also helps if your parents are wealthy, white, well-educated and well-placed geopgraphically”
Of those, being white is the least important.
June 27th, 2011 on 6:06 am
ANYONE CAN ACHIEVE $UCCE$$ , If they want to PUT the TIME, EFFORT.HAVE A REALISTIC PLAN< AND WORK THE PLAN NOT THE WISH:)
Dr Napoleon Hills, Think & Grow Rich shows how. I did it :) GOD BLESS AMERICA AND EVERYONE :)
June 23rd, 2011 on 6:44 pm
If we would have enforced the current immigration policies we have and stop giving out work visas without a way to track those that expire, we would not be in this mess! It’s amazing that the agricultural corporations seem to cry about the lack of workers but don’t work to solve the problem with the workers they get and can’t track.
The illegals and the Mexican government bemoan our laws but they have stricter laws that we have. We the people have the right to have secure borders because “IT’S THE LAW” PERIOD!!!!!!
June 23rd, 2011 on 9:10 pm
Economy= manpower x earth (by the help of God)
If manpower is deported, economy will plunge similarly…. These are simple laws of nature. Why are politicians unable to comprehend?
June 23rd, 2011 on 9:14 pm
Simple Equation:
ECONOMY = MANPOWER x EARTH (WITH THE HELP OF GOD)
Deport manpower = decrease Economy
June 26th, 2011 on 1:24 am
That overly simplistic load of propaganda might work in the old USSR, but not in modern societies. There is a thing called Capital. But not to worry comerade, it doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43534613
July 14th, 2011 on 5:10 pm
simple and to the point but some American just dont get it
June 24th, 2011 on 5:29 am
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/immigration-court-troubled-system-899690.html
Ignorance is Bliss: Those who have NO CLUE or QUALIFICATIONS about Immigration are those who show their IGNORANCE :)
There is NO SUCH WORD AS ‘ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT” in Blacks Law Dictionary, or In Merriam Websters Dictionary. Get Educated .
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that the claim by some conservative activists that illegal immigration is to blame for all of the state’s fiscal problems is ignorant and bigoted.”
Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, In the 20-plus years I have spent studying, lecturing and litigating immigration issues, two things have always amazed me. The first is the amount and intensity of hate spewed against undocumented workers. The second is the amount of misinformation that is published about them.
On this second point, the quote from Mark Twain is illustrative. “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” I suppose this may be true in part because misinformation, like a lie, requires no accuracy, validation or research; all of which are time-consuming practices.
The recent letters alleging that all undocumented workers are “criminals,” and specifically Veronica Suarez, whose plight was written about in the Tracy Press recently, is a criminal are factually incorrect.
According to the facts (as stated in Sharon Franceschi’s Sept. 7 commentary) Saurez entered the U.S. on a valid visa, overstayed her visa when it expired, resulting in her unlawful immigration status. None of these acts, as stated by Franceschi, constitute a crime under federal or state law. Overstaying a valid visa under the Immigration and Naturalization Act is a civil violation of the law, not a criminal violation. Being in the U.S. in under undocumented status is not a criminal violation, but a civil violation of the INA.
The facts, as stated by Franceschi, do not indicate that Suarez has committed any crime. To call her a criminal is erroneous at best, and libelous at worst.
Furthermore, it is an Americanism that a person is innocent until proven guilty. So until Suarez (or any other undocumented person) is charged and found guilty of a crime, it would be inappropriate to call them “criminals.”
It is important to note that there is a very large difference between civil and criminal violations of law. The distinction is so important that the law makes the erroneous allegation that one has committed a crime of slander or libel, (which means liability is automatic even without proof of damages). One who violates the civil law is no more a criminal than someone who has breached a contract or accidentally damaged another’s property.
It is true that entering the United States without inspection is a misdemeanor under the INA. The misdemeanor is completed once an individual’s entry is complete. Suarez, according to Franceschi, did not enter without inspection; she entered with a valid visa. According to U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services statistics, about 40 percent of undocumented persons enter legally and overstay their visas (which, as stated above, is not a crime). Consequently, at least 40 percent of the undocumented population has committed no crime in regards to their immigration status.
Therefore, one cannot assume that a person has committed a crime simply because they are undocumented.
Franceschi is also in error in her allegation that getting married and having children while being undocumented in the U.S. is a violation of the law. It is not. Franceschi goes on to say that Suarez “apparently bought a house illegally.” It is unlikely that Franceschi knows exactly how Suarez purchased her home. Consequently, any allegation of illegality is, at a minimum, irresponsible.
It is also important to note that the Immigration and Citizenship Services doesn’t consider all undocumented persons criminals. When the Immigration and Citizenship Services publishes information about its enforcement activities involving undocumented workers, it are always sure to make a distinction between “criminal” and noncriminal aliens.
Another myth is that the term “illegal aliens” is a term of art or is legal jargon. This term is not found anywhere in the INA or in Blacks Law Dictionary. The INA refers to undocumented persons as either an EWI (entered without inspection) or as someone who has overstayed their visa. “Illegal aliens” is a term invented by anti-immigrant groups designed to put undocumented persons in the worst possible light and to instill fear in Americans. It is intentionally designed to associate undocumented persons with criminality.
This xenophobic view that undocumented persons are “simply criminals” comes from the historical stereotype that the foreign-born, especially undocumented immigrants, are responsible for higher crime rates. This misconception has deep roots in American public opinion and popular myth. This myth, however, is not supported empirically and has repeatedly been refuted by scientific studies. Both contemporary and historical data, (including U.S. governmental studies) have shown that immigration is associated with lower crime rates.
The studies have uniformly shown that recent immigrants (including the undocumented) are less likely to be involved in violent crime, and that when there is an increase in immigration patterns, violent crime decreases. This has been shown to be true in large cities with heavy immigrant populations.
In the most recent of these studies, The Myth of Immigrant Criminality and the Paradox of Assimilation (2007), from the Immigrant Policy Institute, it was found that among men age 18 to 39 (who are the vast majority of inmates in federal and state prisons and local jails), immigrants were five times less likely to be incarcerated than the native-born in 2000.
During the Proposition 187 debate, then-Gov. Pete Wilson published statistics that stated that
12 percent to 15 percent of the state prison population had Immigration and Citizenship Services holds or potential holds. The Department of Corrections analyst who compiled these numbers said Immigration and Citizenship Services holds are placed on inmates who were born outside of the U.S. (therefore 12 percent to 15 percent of the prison population was immigrants). The immigrant population at the time in California hovered at about 25 percent, showing immigrants were much less likely to be incarcerated than the native born in California.
In short, the data shows you are much safer if your neighbor is an immigrant.
Franceschi owes Suarez an apology. I am also surprised that the Tracy Press allowed a commentary to run without checking the facts. Although commentaries are designed to allow for the expression of differing opinions, the First Amendment is not as generous with misstatements of facts — especially when the facts can be libelous.
For the immigration debate to be a healthy one, we should strive for a debate based on facts, not myth or tired stereotypes. We should also not let our position on this topic strip us of one of the great qualities we possess as people — the ability to be compassionate.
Arturo E. Ocampo of Tracy has been a practicing attorney since 1985, with an expertise in immigration rights and class action lawsuits on behalf of immigrants, including the way the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was implemented, Border Patrol’s raids and Proposition 187. He is director of diversity and equal employment opportunity for the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District.
July 30th, 2011 on 11:15 am
Is it fair to give any type of legal citizenship to illegals when persons looking to come to the US and become legal have to wait anywhere from 5 to 10 years!
I THINK NOT!!
August 11th, 2011 on 12:45 pm
Democrats want reform???? MAYBE if your Black or Latino, if NOT …TOUGH and folks I have a REAL STORY The Democrats promise and never deliver as normal I read We will extend the promise of citizenship to those still struggling for freedom and Democrats support reforming the INS ETC. Well my friends I am here totell you THIS IS A LIE!!!!!!! My friend (an Isralie) tried to get an L1A visa to open a business here in the US his current business (100% internet based)grosses over 1.000,000.00 per year. My friend wanted to invest in real estste here and wanted to help provide housing for the poor by accepting section 8 etc. Homeland Security approved his application…HOWEVER State in Tel Aviv returned it (by the way this is totally against their rules as stated in the FAM laws) with no reason given and it took almost a month to get the reason. By the time he had received the reason and had compiled the documents to show that the reason given was 100% wrong, Homeland Security, sided with State and reversed their approval. My friend was so hurt by this obvious slap in theface, not to mention an additional $10-$15,000 in additional attorneys fees (he had already spent $20,000.00) he said to heck with it and the US. Thank You Democratic Party for your help on not only Immigration but the economy and poor housing market for a wonderful job…..NOT!!!!! I don’t expect the do nothing party (Democrats) to care about this or even do a thing about it BUT I though the public should know what lies are being fed to us. However should any Democrat want to actually do something contact me at dbrashear@cfl.rr.com but be ready to really do something about this and NOT waste my time!!!