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Jeanfromfillmore
12-16-2009, 12:28 AM
Positions firm on immigration
By Cindy Gonzalez
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
People on both sides of the immigration debate are bracing for another fierce round of lobbying as a new proposal emerged Tuesday on Capitol Hill to provide illegal immigrants a way to gain legal status.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., introduced the most recent plan aimed at overhauling the nation's immigration laws, creating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
He hopes to break the two-year impasse on settling the status of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.
Local immigrant advocates say President Barack Obama could boost their cause this time around, but opponents in both Nebraska and Iowa say they are preparing to squelch any movement toward what they call “amnesty” for those in the country illegally.

“It's just wrong,” said Susan Smith of NAG (Nebraskans Advisory Group), which opposes illegal immigration. “Why would they consider giving amnesty when our economy is so bad and Americans are the ones who need the jobs?”
Doug Kagan of Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom said his group is following the lead of a national group called FAIR (the Federation for American Immigration Reform).
He said his group would stage a “full-scale lobbying effort against every facet of the bill.”
Kagan said he has more support for his viewpoint in the Nebraska congressional delegation now that former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is not in office. Hagel was supportive of past efforts to develop a path to legalization.
Nebraska's three congressmen — Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry and Adrian Smith, all Republicans — declined to comment on the Gutiérrez bill. Their representatives said they didn't have enough time to review the measure.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who is an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, said a bipartisan effort for a path to legalization has been rejected twice in recent years. He doesn't expect a different result now, given the current economic climate and higher unemployment rate.
“The simple version is that it is a lot harder to pass something like that,” he said.
A spokesman for Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said it was not clear if or when the bill might be introduced in the Senate, so Nelson declined to comment. So did Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., his spokeswoman said.
Amy Peck, an Omaha immigration attorney, said she sees a good chance of immigration reform passing next year, in part because many politicians are vying for the Latino vote.
She said problems arise when misinformation about undocumented workers is spread to people who then pressure their elected officials into opposing a path to legalization.
“We'll need a lot of education to get the public behind it,” she said.
Rebecca Valdez, director of the Omaha-based Latino Center of the Midlands, said she is pleased that Gutiérrez is pushing the bill but wanted more “heavyweights,” including Republicans, to come forward to build momentum.
Without bipartisan support, she asked: “Does it carry any weight?”
Sergio Sosa, director of the Heartland Workers Center, which serves Omaha-area immigrant workers, said the test will be if Obama next year throws his weight behind changes that include a route to legalization.
State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, who held public hearings across the state last year on illegal immigration, said updated federal laws are “desperately” needed to give states guidance.
That's why, he noted, the Fremont City Council tried to pass its own laws outlawing illegal immigration.
Ashford said he is unsure how Congress should respond to adults who are here illegally. But he said federal lawmakers should allow legal status to children brought here illegally by parents. That is part of the Gutiérrez bill.
“For heaven's sake,” Ashford said, “deal with the children.”
Tuesday in Washington, Gutiérrez and a contingent of other House lawmakers called for legalizing illegal immigrants in the U.S. despite a weakened economy and joblessness.
His proposal would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who passed background checks, paid a fine, learned English and met other requirements.
There is some skepticism, however, about whether Democrats will be willing to take up immigration early next year, so soon after a tough health care debate and with 2010 elections gearing up.
Said Gutiérrez: “What we are doing is getting ready so when they are done with their work, we can quickly act.”
Although there has been a report of a better-than-expected increase in production in the U.S. economy, experts say that it remains weak and that recovery continues to be slow.
That has led some to suggest that early next year — as some are expecting — is not the time to bring up immigration reform and certainly not to legalize illegal immigrants.
“Illegal immigrants currently occupy 8 million jobs. Those stolen jobs rightfully belong to citizens and legal immigrants. We could cut the unemployment rate in half simply by enforcing immigration laws!” said Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091216/NEWS01/712169945

Immigration reform is back in spotlight
By Gary Martin - Express-News
WASHINGTON — House Democrats moved Tuesday to kick-start a renewed debate on comprehensive immigration reform, unveiling a long-awaited bill that would provide a pathway for citizenship for 12 million unauthorized immigrants.
Republicans said the bill would take jobs from American workers suffering through one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history.
Democratic lawmakers, with President Barack Obama's support, said now is the time to fix a broken system, and pledged to push for the bill's passage next year.
“There is no wrong time or right time, there is a moral obligation,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Supporters and opponents of the bill agree that immigration reform faces an uphill climb in 2010, when voters go to the polls for mid-term elections.
The 700-page bill, filed by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., will carry the name of Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, the longest-serving Latino in the House, who was selected by his peers to shepherd the legislation through Congress.
“We need a system that is tough on enforcement, fair to taxpayers and enforceable,” Ortiz said. “This plan does that and more.”
The bill would create a Southern Border Security Task Force composed of federal, state and local law enforcement to crack down on crime, increase the number of inspectors at border land ports and provide more training and equipment for Border Patrol agents.
It would include a worker verification program and visa reforms that promote family unity and expand those for agriculture-related work.
United Farm Workers Foundation Director Diana Tellefson said her group, and agricultural employers, backed the bill.
But in a bow to organized labor, the bill does not include temporary worker programs sought by other business leaders.
“In order for immigration reform to be effective, it needs to be comprehensive. Any bill without a temporary worker program is simply not comprehensive,” said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
The bill includes a path to permanent residence for unauthorized immigrants, who eventually could achieve citizenship by paying a $500 fine, passing criminal background checks and learning English.
Citizenship or permanent residence has been a flashpoint to Republicans, who in previous legislation labeled it an amnesty.
A bipartisan Senate bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., failed in 2007 when Republicans blocked votes over the citizenship issue.
GOP leaders said the new House bill was more of the same.
“Allowing millions of illegal immigrants to stay and take jobs away from citizens and legal immigrants is like giving a burglar a key to the house,” said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Smith said unauthorized immigrants hold 8 million “stolen jobs” that belong to legal workers.
Obama has tried to broker a bipartisan coalition to pass immigration reform next year, calling on the House and Senate to work with administration officials, led by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to reach a consensus on hot-button issues like citizenship.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she will let the Senate take up the issue first.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he will file a separate bill on immigration reform, expected to be more enforcement oriented than the House version, when the Senate convenes next year.
The more liberal House bill is backed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Progressive Caucus.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/79347762.html

Rim05
12-16-2009, 05:22 AM
Thank you Jean for that post. I think every single American citizen should print that in their brain and do not let it go. I am printing a copy and it will stay by my computer until amnesty is killed. I want to see a copy of it every time I log on. It will be a reminder to do something everyday I can to stop an amnesty.

Jeanfromfillmore
12-16-2009, 11:19 AM
What I just read is that they want to have this completed by MARCH. Yes, three months is how quick they are planning to ram this through, and Obama is on their side along with both houses of Congress. So any of you who feel you can wait because you're too busy now are just as well promoting another amnesty. We don't have time to wait, for anything! They are planning this thing as I type this.