"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/25/'06 10:20 PM
"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/25/'06 10:20 PM
4/25/'06 - The following article(s) were found in the media. Several stories are provided ... with links to the original sources ... for your convenience:
- Bush, senators seek common ground on immigration
- Latino leaders play down death threats
- Ku Klux Klan plans march
- Purdue: Illegal alien bill is fair
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/25/bush.immigration/index.html
Bush, senators seek common ground on immigration
President: Bill should allow guest workers, improve security
Sen. Harry Reid, normally a Bush critic, had praise for the president after Tuesday's meeting.
The discussion came as an immigration bill sits stalled in the Senate and as Majority Leader Bill Frist prepares to bring the issue back to the Senate floor by Memorial Day.
After the meeting, the senators said Bush expressed support for a package that would create a guest-worker program and would determine ways to address the status of more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. (Watch how many people favor legalizing immigrants who have been in the U.S. a long time -- 3:22 )
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy called the meeting a "bipartisan coming-together" and said, "We still have a ways to go, but I certainly appreciate the president's involvement and his willingness to be engaged."
Kennedy was joined by another of Bush's most outspoken critics, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who acknowledged he wasn't "in the habit of patting the president on the back.
"This was really good, a good, good meeting," Reid said. "He laid out what he believes are the important issues of the legislation, and I think they are there."
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bush said he and senators concurred that any bill must enforce the nation's borders while providing the framework for a temporary worker program.
"It is important that we reform a system that is not working. It's important that we uphold the values of the United States of America. It's important that we treat people with dignity," the president said. "I strongly believe that we have a chance to get an immigration bill that is comprehensive in nature to my desk before the end of this year."
And though the president maintained his opposition to what he called "automatic amnesty" for illegal immigrants already in the country, he also expressed support for "a bill that says somebody who's working here on a legal basis has the right to get in line to become a citizen."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania, said the president told senators specifically what he does and does not want in an immigration bill.
The meeting "gives assurances that if we pass legislation of that sort that we will have support from the president" in negotiating a final bill with the House, Specter said.
In December, the House passed a bill that includes neither a guest-worker program nor any legalization process for illegal immigrants already in the country.
Bush praised Kennedy and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who have been pushing a measure that would allow illegal immigrants to earn legal status by working six years, paying a fine, learning English and undergoing a background check.
But critics, many of them in Bush's political base, dismissed the McCain-Kennedy proposal as "amnesty" for lawbreakers. Supporters of the plan call it "earned citizenship" and say the measure would help bring illegal immigrants out of hiding.
A top House Republican said Tuesday that the Senate would be making a "very big mistake" if it adopts a bill that sets up a process for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
"You're just inviting more people to come," said House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. "I don't think it would be supported at all by the American people."
Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Mel Martinez of Florida cobbled together a compromise that would make the legalization process more difficult for immigrants who have been in the country fewer than five years.
The bill stalled, however, when Reid objected to Frist's decision to let GOP senators offer amendments to the measure.
When Frist brings the bill back to the floor, it will include a proposal to add $2 billion to beef up border security. A GOP aide called it a "bow" to the bill's conservative critics.
Reid said legislators made "great progress" in Tuesday's meeting, though he and Frist will have to work out the procedural steps necessary to navigate the bill through the Senate.
Supporters say the Hagel-Martinez compromise has the blessing of 65 to 70 senators, enough to overcome a possible filibuster by conservatives who object to including the legalization process in the bill.
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http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/25/latino.threats.reut/index.html
Latino leaders play down death threats
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters Monday that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante had both been targets of "disturbing and hateful death threats."
"Hate, racism and intolerance are never accepted in our public debates," said Schwarzenegger, himself an immigrant from Austria. "That is not what California stands for. The greatness of California is its rich diversity."
Police are investigating the threats, which came in postcards, e-mails and an Internet posting following appearances by Villaraigosa and Bustamante at mass protests in Los Angeles last month against proposals to criminalize the nation's estimated 11-12 million undocumented immigrants.
Bustamante later received an anonymous postcard saying "the only good Mexican is a dead Mexican." Bustamante's spokesman, Steve Green, said such threats were part of the job and that the lieutenant governor's security had not been stepped up.
"It is not going to change our convictions. We will continue to speak out about it," Green said Tuesday.
Villaraigosa, son of a Mexican immigrant, said threats "come with the turf" and has also not increased his security.
"There is nothing to worry about. ... You can see by my face that I'm not concerned about that," Villaraigosa told reporters.
In Washington, Democratic and Republican senators were unable to reach agreement earlier this month on how to tackle the immigration issue.
A bill before the Senate would tighten border security and give many illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, while a competing bill in the House of Representatives would make it a felony to enter the United States illegally or to help them in any way.
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http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=FT&Date=20060425&ID=5669394
Corporate immigration violators face anti-mafia law
US companies that employ illegal foreign workers have long operated in a kindof lawless nirvana: the government seldom pursued them for breaking the law, and neither did private plaintiffs.
Now, that may be about to change: last week the government signalled an aggressive crackdown against companies that employ illegal immigrants, arresting more than 1,000 people in the largest such action in US history. In addition, US employers face legal action on a second front: private lawyers are using America's tough anti-mafia law to target companies that employ undocumented workers.
But the success of this new two-pronged approach could be in the balance later today when the US Supreme Court hears a case that asks the fundamental question: can corporations be subject to the much-feared anti-mafia law, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Rico? And if so, under what conditions?
The case comes at a time of growing turmoil in the US over immigration, with Congress divided over whether to legalise millions of illegal workers or build a fence to keep them out. Large public demonstrations on the issue are expected across the country on May 1.
Today's Supreme Court case could profoundly affect not just the private legal campaign against companies that hire illegals but also the government crackdown, which will use Rico as a weapon.
Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, said last week the government would pursue companies that "promote the habouring and hiring" of illegal workers, "using a strategy that is tried and true because it has succeeded against other kinds of organised criminal groups".
According to the US Chamber of Commerce, the case could have ramifications well beyond immigration: "Over the years Rico has been manipulated into a garden variety cause of action against companies," says Robin Conrad, of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the Chamber's legal arm, which filed a brief in the case arguing that Rico should be reined in.
The issue before the court today is whether Mohawk Industries, one of America's largest carpet makers, can be subjected to Rico, oneof the most powerful weapons under American law because it can impose both criminal sanctions and civil penalties, including treble damages and an award of attorney's fees to successful plaintiffs.
The case arises from a class action lawsuit filed by legal Mohawk workers, claiming that the company conspired to depress their wages by hiring illegal immigrants. The suit claimsthe company conspired with outside recruiters to employ undocumented workers, including transporting them from the Texas border to the company's plant in Georgia.
The justices will not consider the underlying facts of the case, only the more technical question: does Rico law apply to companies that work with outside contractors in this way? The dispute will centre on the language of the Rico statute, which says it "includes any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity".
Does that include companies that work with third-party contractors? Or should the law be used only against gangs and organised crime families, as originally intended? In 1996, Congress tried to expand Rico to reach immigration violations: will the justices now effectively reverse that expansion?
The Chamber of Commerce says the case "threatens to convert a statute that was designed to deter organised crime into a tool primarily used to induce settlements from legitimate businesses that cannot risk either the possibility of being subjected to an award of treble damages or the reputational injury of being sued in federal court under a statute associated with racketeers and mobsters".
Steve Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell University Law School, says the case "could set a precedent for the use of Rico in the immigration context and would certainly provide another arrow in the quiver of either private individuals or the government to use against companies that employ illegals".
That, says Ted Ruthizer, an immigration law expert at law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel in New York, could make employers "think long and hard" about the cost of hiring illegal immigrants.
Copyright 2006 Financial Times-------------------------------------
http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=4812137
Ku Klux Klan plans march
April 25, 2006 10:31 AM
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The KKK is planning to march in Russellville next week.
Ku Klux Klan grand dragon Phillip McAuthur, who doesn't use his real last name, filed an application permit for parade in Russellville to protest illegal immigrants.
The parade, according to McAuthur is set for May 6th at 10 AM.
"We're not against immigration. We're againt the illegal immigrants who take jobs and don't have to pay taxes like we do. That's illegal," says McAuthur.
KKK great titan Dale White, who also uses a fake last name, says he doesn't know of any jobs in Franklin County area that a caucasion won't do.
"And here we are begging for those very jobs and getting turned down. Heck, they wave their foreign flags and we can't even fly our confederate flag," he says.
According to McAuthur, about 80 members from 6 different states are expected to attend.
"They're coming from South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi," he says.
But residents interviewed by WAFF 48 News appeared very concerned about a march involving the Ku Klux Klan.
Shelley Roland has lived in Russellville all of her life.
"I think this is horrible and it sounds like scary stuff. It might even give us a bad image. Afterall, the Hispanics just want some respect and I can understand that," she says.
Lynne Wrocklage agrees.
"It could shed a bad light and won't help. Russellville needs to be known for what it is which is a great little community," she says.
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http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=103285
Purdue: Illegal alien bill is fairBy Jerry Gunn
GAINESVILLE - Governor Sonny Perdue said in Gainesville Tuesday that Georgia legislators did the right thing when they passed a bill restricting tax-supported health care and welfare to illegal aliens.
The Governor told a joint meeting of the Gainesville Kiwanis and Lions clubs that the legislation is hospitable, not harsh and it is lawful.
"While I believe there is a public need for a safety net such as health care or welfare for those who've just temporarily fallen on tough times, I don't think you ought to walk into this country one day and the first stop y
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| "...I don't think you ought to walk into this country one day and the first stop you make is the welfare office." | | ||
| Gov. Sonny Perdue | | ||
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Purdue said ultimately the federal government must act to secure U.S. borders to control illegal immigration.
GROW OUR OWN FUEL
Perdue said that he likely won't suspend the gasoline sales tax as he did last year during the Hurricane Katrina energy emergency.
With regular unleaded prices approaching $3 a gallon at the self-serve pumps, the governor said what Georgia really needs is energy independence.
"It's very dangerous for a state to try to supplant higher prices with tax policy," Perdue said.
He added he wants Georgia to invest in alternative energy sources to enable it to produce its own fuel and drop dependence on foreign oil.
KIA STILL COMING
Perdue said the state's big shot in the economic arm in the form of the Giant KIA plant is coming.
Tuesday was the scheduled ground breaking day for the West Point plant, which is expected to employ more than 5,000 workers, but KIA executives have been under investigation in Korea.
"What we're being told by the KIA authorities at this time is that the contract is valid," Perdue said.
Governor Perdue went to Seoul, South Korea and signed off on the deal with KIA last month.
The KIA plant is welcome news for Georgia, which has been hit hard by Ford and General Motors' decisions to shutter their plants in the state as well as job slashing at corporate stalwarts BellSouth and Delta.
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Erik Voss
erik@ICAtlanta.org
404-457-5901 Direct
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