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PAGE 2B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JUNE 28. 2007
Notes from the Georgia State Senate
Immigration Reform cannot be amnesty in disguise
Part 3
By State Sen. Chip Pearson
A few weeks ago, I began a
series of articles on the current
debate in Washington concern
ing immigra
tion reform. I
first outlined
Senate
Resolution
646, which
lays out the
position of a
majority of |
the members
of the General
Assembly
when it comes to U.S. immigra
tion. In part two, I highlighted
the main points of a letter sent to
Georgia's congressional delega
tion, which offers a detailed plan
for immigration reform. In this
week’s column, I'd like to take a
look at the background of the
current immigration reform pro
posal (S 1639) and discuss some
of the issues that surround this
reform package. The bill was
first introduced as S 1348, and it
has since returned for debate as
S 1639.
51639 -
Comprehensive
Immigration
Reform Act of
2007
On May 17, several U.S. sen
ators and White House negotia
tors announced their agreement
on a “compromise” immigration
bill. Under the proposal:
• All illegal immigrants who
claim to have been in the U.S.
since January 1, 2007, would
have up to two years to appear at
a U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS)
office, drop off a completed
application for a “Z” visa, pay a
$1,000 fine (plus $500 for each
spouse, child and parent living
here illegally with them) and
submit their fingerprints.
USCIS would attempt to check
their fingerprints against one or
more criminal databases and, as
long as fewer than three misde
meanors and no felonies showed
up within 24 hours, USCIS
would be required to grant them
“probationary” amnesty in the
form of a work permit and legal
permission to remain in the U.S.
• The proposal also includes
both the DREAM Act amnesty
for illegal immigrants who grad
uate from U.S. high schools, and
the AgJOBS amnesty for 1.5
million illegal agricultural
workers.
• The employers of these
newly amnestied individuals
also would receive amnesty
under the proposal. They would
not be subject to fines or prose
cution either for hiring illegal
immigrants, or for any tax fraud
committed as a result.
The issuance of the Z visas,
along with a new category of
“Y” temporary foreign workers
visas, would be put on hold until
the Secretary of Homeland
Security could certify to the
President that a series of “trig
gers” had been met. These trig
gers include:
• Customs and Border
Protection must have hired (not
trained or deployed) a total of
18,000 Border Patrol agents.
• The Department of
Homeland Security must have
installed 370 miles of border
fence (about half the total miles
of fencing required by the law
passed in 2006), along with
some vehicle barriers and radar
and camera towers, and
deployed at least four unmanned
aerial vehicles.
• Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) must have
27,500 detention beds (the num
ber it has now) and DHS must
continue to detain illegals appre
hended along the southern bor
der.
• DHS must have the tools to
prevent illegal immigrants from
obtaining jobs, including the
establishment of identification
standards (presumably like
those required by existing laws,
including the REAL ID Act) and
an electronic work eligibility
verification system (like the
Basic Pilot).
• USCIS must be “processing
and adjudicating in a timely
manner” Z visa applications
(since these are not supposed to
be issued until the triggers are
met, apparently, USCIS would
be deciding them and saving
them for later issuance).
These triggers do not require
DHS to have operational control
of the border; they do not
require DHS to comply with the
law and build the all of the
fence; they do not require DHS
to implement the exit system
that would allow us to know if
“guest workers” actually leave,
though it has been law since
1996; they do not require work
site enforcement; and they do
not require DHS to increase its
apprehension rate or its alien
absconder removal rate. Also,
the proposal does little to keep
illegal immigrants with connec
tions to terrorist activities from
also receiving amnesty.
Immigration
Reform and
Control Act
of 1986
Along with a majority of
Georgia citizens, I feel the cur
rent effort to push S 1639
through Congress will have the
same ramifications for our coun
try as the Immigration Reform
and Control Act of 1986. That
law criminalized the act of
knowingly hiring an illegal
immigrant and established
financial and other penalties for
those employing illegal aliens,
under the theory that low
prospects for employment
would reduce illegal immigra
tion. These sanctions applied to
employers with more than three
employees that did not make a
sufficient effort to determine the
legal status of the worker. The
1986 law established a one-year
amnesty program for illegal
immigrants who had already
worked and lived in the U.S.
since January 1982. Those eligi
ble could apply for regulariza
tion of status and eventually full
citizenship. Similar to S 1639,
the 1986 law also mandated the
intensification of Border Patrol
activities, and attempted to scru
tinize employers who used ille
gal labor. Over 2.7 million ille
gal immigrants and others not
qualifying for visas were given
amnesty under the 1986 law.
We now know that the 1986
measure was a failure in that, for
each illegal immigrant granted
amnesty under the plan, approx
imately four new ones have
since replaced them. In 1986,
2.7 million illegal immigrants
were legalized, and the estimate
of illegal immigrants living and
working in the U.S. today is
approaching 20 million.
Alternative
Solutions
There are some solutions out
there that haven't gotten much
media attention. One idea being
mentioned is the use of the Civil
Air Patrol (CAP) to guard our
borders. The CAP was created
on December 1, 1941, and is
credited with sinking at least
two German U-boats during
WW II. Recently, the CAP has
been used increasingly for
Homeland Security and courier
service missions, and it would
be logical for them to again
monitor and protect the borders
of our country.
Another possibility would be
to include funding within S
1639 to finish construction of
the border fence and add border
patrol agents. Of course, the
most obvious alternative to par
doning nearly 20 million people
is to put forth more effort and
resources into enforcing what is
already on the books as current
federal law.
The key to any plan for
immigration reform is to first
secure our borders and enforce
the current law. Then, a system
can be put in place for illegal
immigrants to register, return
home and potentially take part
in a temporary work permit situ
ation.
In the meantime, I hope that
any new federal immigration
and border security plan will be
comprehensive and meaningful.
I encourage you to contact
our U.S. Senators Saxby
Chambliss and Johnny Isakson
in their offices to urge them to
vote “no” on S 1639 if and when
the bill comes up for a vote in
the Senate.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office
can be reached at 202-224-3521,
while Sen. Johnny Isakson’s
office can be reached at 202-
224-3643.
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Katy Simmons, Worship Leader
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Splashing into summer....
Sun, Fun & Safety Parenting Rules
Water sports, swimming
pools and going to the beach are
some favorite summer activities
for children. However, the
Center for Disease Control
reports that hundreds of kids are
seriously injured or drown each
year in home swimming pool
accidents.
Never, never leave your child
unattended in water!
Swimming pools are the #1
summer danger for preschool
aged children. Many of these
tragic accidents occur when a
parent or caregiver is temporar
ily distracted. Leaving your
child unattended even for a few
seconds could lead to tragedy.
The American Academy of
Pediatric suggests following
these pool safety tips:
• Never leave your child
alone in or near water, even for
a moment. Fish ponds can also
be a serious risk of drowning for
young children.
• Install at least a 4-foot
fence on all sides of your pool
with a locked gate or ladder.
• Empty and put away kiddie
pools after each use.
• Keep rescue equipment and
a phone by the pool.
• Remember that kids who
have learned how to swim
should still be closely super
vised.
For more information on
pool safety, contact the
American Academy of
Pediatrics, 847-434-4000;
www.aap.org
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