Thread: FAIR Legislative Update

From: Federation for American Immigration Reform Date: 2006/06/26 Mon PM 06:02:05 EDT
Subject: FAIR Legislative Update 6-26-2006


Latest News Releases

FAIR's Testimony Regarding the issue of non-citizen voting in U.S. elections and identification requirements
(June 22, 2006)

House Takes Novel Approach to Immigration Bill: They Plan to Listen to the American People
(June 20, 2006)

Top Ten Worst Provisions of the Senate Amnesty Bill
(June 9, 2006)

Latest Version of Our Side by Side Comparison of Immigration Legislation (PDF)
(June 6, 2006)

Check out our Stein Report for the latest immigration news and information!


June 26, 2006


In this update:
House Announces Field Hearings on Immigration Bills
Senate Hearing on Worksite Enforcement
Senator Santorum Introduces 'First-Things-First Approach'
FAIR President Dan Stein Testifies Before the Committee on House Administration
New Cosponsors of Key Bills
Recent Floor Statements
Press Releases
Upcoming Events
House Announces Field Hearings on Immigration Bills
As FAIR informed you last week, House Leadership has decided to take the issue of immigration reform to the American public. Several House Committees plan to hold field hearings throughout the country on various immigration concerns during July and August. Hearings will be conducted by Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-NY) and Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the International Relations Terrorism Subcommittee. "There are policy issues in the Senate bill that stretch across a wide array of committees," said House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH). The hearings will be held to highlight provisions in both the enforcement-only House bill and the Senate's amnesty bill. The hearings will invite testimony not only from citizens, but also from immigration experts. The first hearing will be held on July 5, 2006 and will take place in San Diego, California. Another hearing will be in Laredo, Texas on July 7, 2006. Both hearings will focus on border vulnerabilities and international terrorism. FAIR will immediately relay hearing details as soon as they are available.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has also decided to hold his own field hearings during the Congressional recess to highlight the "good" in the Senate's amnesty bill. His first hearing will be in Philadelphia, July 5, 2006. Again, FAIR will relay to you the location and time of this event as soon as this information is available.

We encourage anyone who can attend these hearings to go and tell your elected officials how important it to secure our border and enforce our immigration laws!
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The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship Holds Hearing on "Immigration Enforcement at the Workplace: Learning from the Mistakes of 1986"
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship held a hearing Monday, June 19, 2006 to discuss worksite enforcement. Two officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and one from the Social Security Administration (SSA) testified. DHS's Assistant Secretary for Policy Development Stewart Baker began the hearing on learning from the 1986 mistakes. He stated "if we are going to control illegal immigration, we can't just focus on the border." Mr. Baker explained that clearly "many loopholes remained" after the 1986 legislation, because any immigrant with a fake ID and a fake social security card could easily become employed. He stated that part of the problem was the low fines for employers - as low as $110. The Assistant Secretary said that any solution for these problems should include better information sharing between DHS and SSA, a mandatory electronic employment verification system, higher penalties for employers, and secure documentation for legal foreign workers. He emphasized however, that no verification system or improved documents could be fraud-proof. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) reminded the panel that what the Senate passed in May is very similar to what Baker was calling the ineffective 1986 bill.

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Senator Santorum Introduces 'First-Things-First Approach'
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced a bill in the Senate last week called the Border Security First Act. In announcing the introduction of his bill, Senator Santorum stated: "It is imperative that we secure our borders now. This first step cannot-and should not have to-wait for a 'comprehensive' solution. There is a bipartisan consensus on what needs to be done on border security and the provisions that make up this consensus were included with other more controversial elements in [the Senate immigration bill]." In Senator Santorum's bill (S.3564), fencing, vehicle barriers, more border patrol agents and more technology would be used to increase security at our borders. The bill also expedites the removal of criminal aliens and provides for federal reimbursement of costs local governments incurred due to activities of criminal aliens.

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FAIR President Dan Stein Testifies Before the Committee on House Administration


Dan Stein, President of FAIR, testified before the Committee on House Administration on Thursday, June 22, 2006. The hearing focused on the increasing problem of non-citizen voting in elections. As Committee Chairman Ehlers explained, "In most states, the process amounts to an honor system, failing to recognize that we cannot rely on the honor of those among us who are inclined to commit fraud…The fact is, it is possible to register and vote in this country without ever having to provide proof of citizenship. This is a problem, and it deserves thoughtful attention from this committee in order to explore possible solutions."

Ehlers added, "Our job as a government is to ensure that everyone who wishes to vote may vote, and also it's our responsibility to ensure that everyone who does vote, votes legally. Those are both admirable goals, those are also my goals, but I understand there can be a conflict there. Our job, then, is to mediate that to achieve both goals in the most fair and equitable manor possible."

In his testimony, Mr. Stein agreed that non-citizen voting was indeed a problem in the United States. He explained that the process encouraged registration with few checks. One issue that needed particular attention, he stated, was the loosely administered system of registering to vote when registering one's motor vehicle with the state. Mr. Stein stated, "With the passage of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) known as the Motor-Voter law the process of registering to vote became nearly automatic for anyone applying for a state driver's license. Under this law, the information supplied by the applicant for a license doubles as information for voter registration unless the applicant indicates that he does not want to be registered to vote."

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New Cosponsors of Key Bills

The following member signed on to good immigration legislation this past week. If your legislator is listed, please use the phone numbers provided to thank them for supporting good legislation. Follow the links below to learn more about these bills.

Thank this member for supporting good reform legislation!

H.R. 3137 - The CLEAR ACT of 2005

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) (202) 225-5452
H.R. 1438 - No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2005

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) (202) 225-5452
H.R. 1986 - Military Assistance on the Border

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) (202) 225-5452
H.R. 98 - Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2005

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) (202) 225-5452
H.R. 698 - Citizenship Reform Act of 2005

Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) (202) 225-5452
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Recent Floor Statements
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) commented on Immigration Reform (June 21, 2006)
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite(R-FL) commented on Need For Border Security Action (June 21, 2006)
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) commented on MS-13 And Immigration (June 21, 2006)
Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL) commented on Immigration And Border Security (June 21, 2006)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) commented on Immigration (June 20, 2006)
Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) commented on Slogans Do Not Replace Solutions (June 22, 2006)
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Press Releases and Testimony
House Takes Novel Approach to Immigration Bill: They Plan to Listen to the American People (June 20, 2006)
FAIR's Testimony Regarding the issue of non-citizen voting in U.S. elections and identification requirements. (June 22, 2006)
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Upcoming Events
House Small Business Committee/Workforce, Empowerment and Government Programs will hold a Subcommittee hearing on "Immigrant Employment Verification and Small Business." When/Where: June 27, 2:30PM, 2360 Rayburn House Office Building.
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