"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/8/'06 5 PM
"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/8/'06 5PM
4/8/'06 - The following article(s) were found in the media. Several stories are provided ... with links to the original sources ... for your convenience:
- Families a big part of the picture (AZ Central)
- Big Business grows fat from illegal workers (AJC)
- Bush Blames Reid on Immigration Bill; Chambliss weighs in (AP)
- Deal on immigration bill collapses amid partisan fight (Boston Globe)
- Hispanic Group Blasts Sen. Reid for Obstructing Real Immigration Reform (Common Voice)
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0408immig-whotheyare0409.html
Families a big part of the picture
Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
Apr. 8, 2006 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - The profile - young men sneaking across the U.S. border to find jobs and send money home to their families - is far from complete.
Young men are the largest group of undocumented immigrants coming to the United States. But most bring their families and many have children born in this country, which makes the kids U.S. citizens.
"There's about 6.5 million adults who are in families, either couples or couples with children, and there's another 2 million children," said Jeffrey Passel, a senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center. "The vast majority of this population is families."
There are about 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants in the nation. They tend to be younger than U.S. citizens, more likely to hold jobs but less likely to have high school diplomas.
Many families include relatives of differing immigration status. Nearly two-thirds of the children were born in the United States. according to an analysis by the Washington-based research organization.
In 1990, almost half lived in California, the Pew analysis said. By 2004, California's share had dropped to about one-quarter, even though the state's undocumented immigrant population had grown from 1.48 million to about 2.45 million.
They are moving to such states as North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Georgia as they seek jobs. North Carolina has nearly 16 times the number of undocumented immigrants it had in 1990, the Pew analysis said. The state had 390,000 in 2004, the latest figures available.
"I hear it everywhere I go," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "Are we going to run this workforce off? . . . What are you going to do about broken borders?"
About half of adult undocumented immigrants have not graduated from high school, the Pew analysis found. About a third have less than a ninth-grade education. About a quarter of undocumented immigrants have some college.
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Big Business grows fat from illegal workers
Published on: 04/09/06
If they really wanted to, your representatives in Washington could dry up illegal immigration almost before you could say, "Tom Tancredo is a tiresome demagogue." All they would have to do is require U.S. employers to check the legal status of all employees and impose stiff sanctions — including multimillion-dollar fines and prison time — on employers who flout the law.
After a few executives had done the perp walk, others would get the message. Illegal hiring would drop precipitously. Since the vast majority of illegal immigrants come to this country to work, many of them would leave if they couldn't get hired.
And they'd take the message back home to La Paz and Villa Juarez and San Gerardo: Without legal papers, you can't get a job in the United States.
So why haven't Congress and the White House fixed a broken immigration system? Because it works for so many — illegal workers, business interests and middle-class Americans alike. Industries such as construction and agriculture get a cheap and docile work force, poorly educated men and women who'll work Sundays and holidays and never report their employees for labor violations. Middle-class Americans get the benefit of cheaper products and services, everything from lawn care and domestic work to homegrown fruits and vegetables. And houses. Since home sales are keeping the economy afloat, politicians don't want to do anything to interfere with the massive housing-construction-and-sales complex.
Fringe politicians benefit from the presence of illegal workers, too. Without them, would you ever have heard of a minor-league congressman named Tancredo? A Republican from Colorado, he is now considering a run for the White House, fueled by the name recognition he's won with his nativist rants against the undocumented workers pouring in across our southern borders.
That's not to say illegal immigration is without its costs. In towns and cities that have seen a rapid influx, there is rising frustration over schools having to accommodate non-English-speakers, hospitals overwhelmed by uninsured patients, and higher rates of gang-related crime. (But those taxpayers benefit, too, from lower prices for ditches dug and chickens filleted.) An even higher cost is borne by Americans at the bottom of the wage scale, especially poorly educated black men, who lose out when forced to compete with illegal immigrants for jobs.
But poorly educated black men don't have oily platoons of lobbyists looking after their interests. Big Business does, and it wants to keep those borders open. Overwhelmed taxpayers, meanwhile, are easily placated by election-year rhetoric promising higher walls, stouter fences and more border guards than rattlesnakes along the Rio Grande. Let's call this campaign-season spectacle "Wag the Mexican."
Indeed, the steady flow of workers across our borders became a tsunami in the 1990s because of pressure from business interests. After agents from the old Immigration and Naturalization service raided one of Georgia's Vidalia onion fields in 1998, members of Georgia's congressional delegation — Republicans and Democrats alike — denounced the raid. In response, the INS practically shut down workplace enforcement. By 2000, according to INS figures, the estimated number of illegal immigrants had risen to 7 million, from 3.5 million in 1990.
To understand the inherent and willful contradictions in the laws that govern workers and their legal status, consider this: The Social Security Administration is able to identify companies that routinely employ large numbers of workers using fake numbers. But by law, Social Security is forbidden from forwarding the names of those companies to Homeland Security. That law could be changed in a heartbeat, but Congress hasn't done it.
Congress could also appropriate money for a nationwide computer system that would allow all employers to get instant verification of a worker's Social Security number and then require all employers to use it. If Bloomingdale's can give me approval for a credit card in three minutes — while I'm still trying samples at the perfume counter — then the feds can create a system for instantaneous verification. Congress hasn't set aside money for that, either.
That's because it doesn't want to solve the problem. Your political leaders like to rant about the broken immigration system, but they have no intention of fixing it.
• Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor. Her column appears Sundays and Wednesdays.
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http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=102767
Updated Saturday, April 8 at 2:01 PM
Bush Blames Reid on Immigration Bill; Chambliss weighs inby The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush Saturday blamed Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Saturday for the potentially fatal blow dealt to compromise immigration legislation - and a Georgia senator says he was not surprised at Friday's turn of events.
The landmark bill, which would offer eventual citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, fell victim Friday to internal disputes in both parties.
But Bush - echoing earlier complaints from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. - sought to place all the blame on Reid, D-Nev., who refused to permit votes on more than thr
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| "I call on the Senate minority leader to end his blocking tactics..." | | ||
| President Bush | | ||
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"I call on the Senate minority leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Hailed as a bipartisan breakthrough earlier in the week, the immigration measure would have provided for stronger border security, regulated the future entry of foreign workers and created a complex new set of regulations for the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) told Georgia News Network he was not surprised by what happened Friday, adding that he could not support the bill as it was presented because it includes a provision for amnesty for certain immigrants in this country illegally.
Officials said an estimated 9 million of them, those who could show they had been in the United States for more than two years, would eventually become eligible for citizenship under the proposal.
Faced with a major setback only months before much of the Republican-controlled Congress is up for re-election, Bush sought to give life to the issue. Speaking mostly to conservatives in his party, he said border security must be improved and enforcement within the United States needs to be enhanced.
But in a nod to business leaders who support temporary worker programs that would ensure an easy supply of low-cost labor, he spoke passionately about the need to put out the welcome mat for those from other countries.
"Immigration is an emotional issue and a vitally important one," Bush said. "At its core, immigration is the sign of a confident and successful nation."
The legislation was gridlocked as lawmakers left the Capitol on Friday for a two-week break. After bewildering political maneuvering, a key vote produced only 38 senators, all Democrats, in support - 22 short of the 60 needed.
"Politics got ahead of policy on this," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., lamented.
With large public demonstrations planned over the next several days, other supporters expressed hope for its resurrection. "We have an agreement. It's not going away," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged to have legislation ready for debate in the Senate within two weeks of the lawmakers' return.
Frist, though, stopped short of a commitment to bring another immigration bill to the floor by year's end. "I intend to," he said, but added it would depend on the schedule, already crowded with other legislation.
Frist and others accused Reid of "putting a stranglehold" on the Senate. The Democratic leader has prevented votes on all but a few non-controversial amendments since debate began on the bill more than a week ago.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and other opponents expressed frustration that they were unable to gain votes on proposals to toughen enforcement or to leave immigration policy unchanged until the border had been made secure.
"It's not gone forward because there's a political advantage for Democrats not to have an immigration bill," asserted Specter.
Reid swiftly rebutted the claim: "I respect Bill Frist, but his position on this matter simply defies logic. ... He needed the courage to move forward."
Kennedy, who had seemed more eager than the Nevadan all week to find a compromise, declined several chances to offer a strong defense of his party's leader.
Republicans, including those who favored the immigration bill, decided in advance they would cast protest votes to emphasize their opposition to Reid's tactics.
Frist initially advanced a bill largely limited to border security. He then embraced Bush's concept of a broader measure including provisions relating to illegal immigrants. But in doing so, he left behind GOP conservatives, who see the measure as offering amnesty to lawbreakers.
Democrats, meanwhile, had their own divisions, principally between Kennedy and others who favored negotiating a compromise and those who were more reluctant.
In private as well as public, Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who heads the party's campaign effort, said they did not want to expose rank-and-file Democrats to votes that would force them to choose between border security and immigrant rights, only to wind up with legislation that would be eviscerated in future negotiations with the House, which has passed a bill limited to boosting border security.
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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/08/deal_on_immigration_bill_collapses_amid_partisan_fight/
Deal on immigration bill collapses amid partisan fight
 Senator Edward M. Kennedy read from a book on immigration by his brother President Kennedy with Senator John McCain in Washington yesterday. (Getty Images) |
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | April 8, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans blocked a comprehensive immigration bill from moving forward yesterday, as a compromise that was celebrated a day earlier collapsed in a partisan fight that leaves the prospects of a sweeping reform measure in doubt.
The move blunted momentum toward the passage of a bill to deal with the approximately 11 million people living illegally in the United States.
With Congress on an extended break, it delays any Senate action on an immigration overhaul for at least two weeks -- a high-stakes issue in a congressional election year -- and lawmakers will face intense pressure from all sides as they return to their home states for the break.
The stalemate was a bitter pill for senators who announced a breakthrough in negotiations on Thursday and confidently predicted swift passage for their bill.
Still, its chief architects, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said they would keep fighting for a final comprehensive bill that both tightens borders and sets up new paths to citizenship.
''The politics got ahead of policy on this in spite of everyone's efforts to separate this out," Kennedy said, adding that ''there's plenty of blame to go around" among members of both political parties. ''I'm disappointed, not discouraged. I think we came a long way. I've been around long enough not to let me get too optimistic too soon on this sort of thing."
The compromise collapsed in part because of conservative objections to the bill's key provision: allowing illegal residents to earn legal residency and citizenship, which critics assail as ''amnesty" for lawbreakers. But there were objections, including plans for border security and a ''guest worker" program.
The last-minute wrangling capped a tense week in Congress that reflected deep splits within the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives and Senate.
In the House, GOP leaders pulled their budget plan because they lacked the votes for new cuts to healthcare and other programs.
In the Senate yesterday, conservative Republicans demanded changes to the immigration deal announced Thursday, despite the fact that President Bush and the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, support the measure.
The conservatives wanted to make it harder for undocumented immigrants to become citizens. Some also wanted to sidetrack a proposal that would invite immigrants into the country until the nation makes progress in securing its borders.
Democrats, fearing that carefully negotiated provisions would be picked apart, refused to allow votes on the Republicans' amendments.
GOP senators -- including many who supported the compromise -- then joined six Democrats yesterday morning to stop a procedural vote that would have moved the bill ahead.
That left supporters well short of the votes they needed to keep the bill on track. And, a day after a rare show of unity in hailing the bill, Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the holdup.'I see little progress possible on this bill because of the obstruction" by Democrats, said Frist, Republican of Tennessee, who demanded that the party give Republicans a chance to vote on amendments. ''In all likelihood [we] are not going to be able to address a problem that directly affects the American people."
But Democrats accused the Republicans of caving in to conservatives and reneging on a deal.
''This is no place for stonewalling or obstruction," said the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. ''Yet that's where we are."
On Thursday, Frist, Reid, and a bipartisan group of influential senators proudly announced what Frist called a ''major breakthrough" on immigration overhaul legislation. The compromise would have increased border security and provided a three-tiered path to legal status and citizenship for nearly all undocumented immigrants -- but no guarantees for newer arrivals with less than two years' residency.
Frist, however, appeared to have underestimated how strongly some fellow Republicans opposed the measure. Conservatives -- and even some members of Frist's Senate leadership team -- threatened to erect procedural roadblocks and load the bill with amendments if their concerns weren't addressed.
''New programs that attract people to come here illegally will only compound the problem," said Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia. ''If we do not secure our borders first, we will only accelerate the volume of illegals entering our nation."
Democrats feared that amendments would weaken the core provisions of the bill: helping make legal the majority of undocumented immigrants who are in the country and a new guest worker program for those in other countries.
''Some Republicans were unable or unwilling to support those bipartisan compromises that, ironically, President Bush and majority leader Frist endorsed just yesterday," said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Still, the White House blamed Reid for the delay. Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said legislators need a more complete debate on such a complicated issue as immigration.
''Unfortunately, the Senate minority leader prevented voices from being heard and amendments from being considered," McClellan said. ''He is preventing comprehensive immigration reform from moving forward."
Immigration appears to be a more politically nettlesome issue for Republicans than for Democrats; the GOP is struggling to reach consensus on the issue. Party leaders have proposed a broad range of solutions, ranging from a massive fence along the Mexican border to allowing undocumented immigrants to become US citizens.
Nevertheless, Arlen Specter, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, ascribed the standoff on the compromise bill to simple politics. Democratic leaders are dragging their feet because they realize it's a politically explosive issue for Republicans, he said.
''It's not gone forward because there's a political advantage for Democrats not to have an immigration bill," said Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican.
The compromise's failure delighted Republicans who want hard-line solutions to stop illegal immigration. Representative Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, called it a ''good day for America" and vowed to use the two-week break to work for stronger border enforcement.
''The Senate -- in a rare moment of clarity -- rejected its amnesty-now, enforcement-later approach to immigration," Tancredo said. ''Hopefully, listening to their electorate will chasten these senators so that they'll put amnesty away for good."
But supporters of the bill noted that the crux of the agreement -- the need to legalize undocumented immigrants living in the United States -- remains intact in the Senate. They said they would continue to work with their colleagues in the coming weeks, in the hope of reviving the measure in later this month or in early May.
''We know where the votes are in the Senate," Kennedy said.
McCain said no amount of pressure on lawmakers can change the reality of the nation's broken immigration system.
''It's not going away because the problems are still there," McCain said.
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=4591
Hispanic Group Blasts Sen. Reid for Obstructing Real Immigration Reform
Jim Kouri
April 8, 2006
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In a stunning political flip-flop Minority Leader Harry Reid uses a parliamentary procedure to crush debate on a reasonable immigration bill which appeared headed for bi-partisan success, according to officials with the Hispanic Alliance for Progress.
The Hispanic group is blasting Senator Reid for his blocking debate on the amendments to the immigration bill which one day earlier, seemingly, had the support of the US Senate.
The group accuses Reid of "believing it is to his party's political advantage to have demonstrations continuing across the country, children leaving their classrooms, marching in the streets, and immigrant ill will growing."
Senator Reid's actions leave Hispanics, employers, and numerous national security issues hanging in the wind, they said.
In what appears to be a purely political attempt to sabotage debate on a reasonable and comprehensive immigration bill, Minority Leader Reid is leaving Washington, DC today for a Senate recess rather than allow the compromise bill to pass the Senate, claims chairman Manual Lujan.
"Senator Reid stunned all participants in the immigration reform movement by blocking fellow Senators from considering additional [Republican] amendments to the bill, all in an obvious attempt to sabotage any success; it appears the Senator prefers the US House to lead this debate," said Lujan
The Hispanic Alliance for Progress Institute (HAPI), a national Hispanic advocacy and policy organization Chaired by Manuel Lujan, former 20 year Member of Congress (R-NM) and Cabinet Secretary calls on Senator Reid to stay in Washington, continue discussions, and solve the issue at hand, rather than stifle fellow Senator's comments, amendments, and debate.
"It is time for Senator Reid to act and fulfill his constitutional charge -- discussing, debating, and passing bills out of the Senate chamber. Reasonable immigration reform has been a political punching bag for too long, stop stifling debate as America deserves bette
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Erik Voss
erik@ICAtlanta.org
404-457-5901 Direct
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