From: Federation for American Immigration Reform

Subject: FAIR Legislative Update 08-27-2007
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:21:52 PM

Latest News Releases

Limited English Proficiency Enrollment and Rapidly Rising Costs
(August 17, 2007)

The Immigrant Population in the United States in 2006
(August 2, 2007)

New! - FAIR Online Newsroom with B-roll and other footage.
August 27, 2007

In this update:
Bush Forced to Rethink Immigration Enforcement
New Jersey Attorney General Eliminates Sanctuary City Policy; Allows 287(g) Agreements
Elvira Arellano Leaves "Sanctuary," Is Deported
Bush Meets with North American Leaders to Discuss SPP
Press Release
Bush Forced to Rethink Immigration Enforcement
Responding to mounting pressure, the Bush Administration on August 10th announced a series of initiatives it says will improve border security and enforce the nation's immigration laws. The move was announced with great fanfare at a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. There, both officials assured the public of their determination to enforce the rule of law. However, upon questioning, they also acknowledged that the enforcement proposal was coming only after the Administration had failed to secure the passage of Bush-Kennedy amnesty legislation.

The Administration's proposal consists of 26 initiatives ostensibly designed to improve border and interior enforcement, "streamline" guest worker programs, and improve assimilation. Upon closer examination, however, many of these initiatives really amount to no more than enforcing existing law. For example, the Administration is now pledging to fully implement US-VISIT and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative as well as to target alien gang members and fugitive aliens. All are things the Administration could have been pursuing since its first day in office.

Other aspects of the Administration's proposal, however, have more promise. For example, Secretary Chertoff announced that as part of the President's initiative, the Department of Homeland Security is going to add the following personnel and infrastructure by December 31, 2008:

18,300 Border Patrol agents;
370 miles of fencing;
300 miles of vehicle barriers;
105 camera and radar towers; and
Three additional UAVs.
While adding personnel and infrastructure will help improve border security, this proposal should be viewed in context. Not two weeks before the Bush Administration made this announcement, the Senate passed an amendment to the FY08 DHS appropriations bill that encompassed these increases (and in some cases went farther). Moreover, the Secure Fence Act of 2006 required almost 700 miles of fencing. Thus, the Bush Administration was already on the verge of being forced to accept these security improvements.

The Administration also announced that it is amending the Social Security Administration (SSA) regulations relating to "no-match" letters to improve the government's ability to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens. When an employer has ten or more employees with inaccurate social security information, the Social Security Administration sends the employer what is commonly called a "no-match" letter to notify them of the discrepancy. Under current regulations, employers who get these letters are not penalized if they do not act on them. The Administration's new regulations provide that if an employer receives a letter, but does not take certain prescribed actions within 90 days, the employer will be presumed to know that his/her employees are illegal and may be punished for employing them. This change in regulations, however, will not have the broad impact one might think. This is because SSA does not copy DHS on the no-match letters it issues and there is question as to whether it can under certain privacy laws. Thus, DHS is not able to actively use no-match letters to target employers and must determine independently which employers to investigate. If DHS investigates an employer and that employer has no-match letters from SSA, it is only then that DHS has increased ability to penalize them.

Another proposal is to eventually promulgate regulations to require all federal contractors and vendors use the Basic Pilot Program (now being renamed "E-Verify"). This is a positive step, but certainly not a new idea. Just this year, several Members of Congress, including Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), have offered amendments to various appropriations bills requiring federal contractors to use the Basic Pilot Program. It is not clear, however, whether the administration intends to make Basic Pilot a true requirement for receiving federal contracts. At the press conference, Homeland Secretary Chertoff stated that the administration intended to execute this proposal by giving additional points during the evaluation process to contractors who use Basic Pilot. Whether this means federal contractors would still be able to get contracts without using Basic Pilot (E-Verify) is unclear. It is also uncertain whether the proposal would apply to the increasing number of no-bid contracts.

One notable proposal by the Bush Administration is to increase civil fines for employing illegal aliens by 25%. Again, while this may sound impressive, it is less so when viewed in the context that the current statutory penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens is a mere $250 to $2,000 (first offense). Moreover, because the Administration cannot increase penalties through regulations to a level that would exceed the statutory maximum, the fact that DHS is able to increase civil penalties by 25% indicates that the fines they have been handing out are well below the statutory maximum.

Finally, the Bush Administration has proposed changes to existing guest worker programs, but has shared few details as to how this will be done. According to the Department of Homeland Security website, the Administration is proposing to implement changes to the H-2A program (agricultural guest workers) "that will provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers." The Administration also wants to "streamline" the H-2B program (unskilled guest workers) in a way that would eliminate Department of Labor certification and rely on employer assurances that they are abiding by the law.

During their press conference, Chertoff and Gutierrez criticized Congress for failing to pass the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill and reiterated that their ultimate goal was to get "comprehensive immigration reform" passed. Secretary Chertoff stated, "We're obviously disappointed…that Congress has not chosen to act on our comprehensive solution….Our hope is that the key elements of the Senate bill will see the light of day at some point." Secretary Gutierrez declared that the Administration would "use every available tool to provide America's farmers, ranchers, and small businesses with a legal workforce, to stay in business and keep our economy strong." But, he added, "Ultimately, ultimately, Congress will have to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

To see the Department of Homeland Security release on the President's proposal, click here.

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New Jersey Attorney General Eliminates Sanctuary City Policy; Allows 287(g) Agreements
Last Wednesday, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram took the long overdue step of eliminating sanctuary policies within the state by requiring state and local law enforcement agents to participate in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Attorney General Milgram issued a directive ordering local, county, and state police to inquire about immigration status after an officer has arrested an individual for an "indictable offense" or DUI. Police must then notify Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), the prosecuting agency, and the court if there is a reason to believe that the arrestee is an illegal alien. Under New Jersey law, an indictable offense is a crime punishable by imprisonment for over six months.

The directive also sets guidelines for state and local agencies to participate in so-called 287(g) agreements. These agreements (named for the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act which authorizes them) allow state and local law enforcement agencies to receive training from the federal government in the enforcement of federal immigration laws and to essentially serve as ICE deputies within their state and local jurisdictions. With respect to 287(g) agreements in New Jersey, the AG directive permits participating state and local law enforcement officers to exercise federal immigration authority with respect to any indictable offense or DUI arrest.

This move by the Attorney General came on the heels of the highly publicized and tragic execution-style shootings of four students in Newark school yard. At least one illegal alien with a criminal history has been arrested in the case. That suspect, Jose Carranza, had been indicted twice this year on 31 counts surrounding the alleged sexual assault of a child and on nine counts stemming from a bar fight. Carranza was out on $5,000 bail when the shootings occurred.

Residents have been outraged that efforts were not taken sooner to prevent this violent criminal from returning to the streets where he was able to claim more victims. And while the Attorney General's actions were welcome to many, some were disappointed that the directive still does not allow inquiry into immigration status for all offenses, including traffic stops. Many law enforcement officers report that it is actually through such lesser offenses that most illegal aliens first come into contact with the authorities.

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Elvira Arellano Leaves "Sanctuary," Is Deported
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last week arrested and deported Elvira Arellano, an illegal alien many amnesty advocates have called their Rosa Parks. Ms. Arellano, an illegal alien from Mexico with a U.S. citizen son, had originally been deported in 1997 for illegal entry into the U.S. She entered the country again in 2000, using a fake social security number to get a job working at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In 2002, she was arrested and convicted. When ordered to surrender to authorities for deportation in 2006, she instead fled to a storefront church in Chicago from which she openly defied a court order and claimed a right of "sanctuary."

Rather than force a potentially-explosive confrontation, however, ICE waited until Ms. Arellano left the church to arrest her. The opportunity came last week when Ms. Arellano began a nationwide tour of churches to drum up support for a pro-amnesty rally to be held in Washington D.C. on September 12. In an attempt to justify her actions, she spoke to reporters in Spanish on Saturday, asserting, "I only have two choices. I either go to my home country, Mexico, or stay…. " (Associated Press) ICE agents clarified that by law she had no choice, stopping her car after a public rally in Los Angeles and swiftly deporting her back to Mexico. Jim Hayes, the Los Angeles field director for ICE, said Ms. Arellano's arrest and deportation were "a message to criminal illegal aliens who are fugitives, that we are going to continue to target them." Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA) reiterated this point, stating "I don't think because she comes here and has a child that she somehow deserves to be treated any different from anybody else who broke the law" (New York Times).

Ms. Arellano's deportation has revealed a rift in attitudes regarding immigration on both sides of the border. Even in Chicago, where amnesty advocates took to the streets the day after her deportation, people calling in to local Spanish-speaking radio stations were far from unanimous in supporting her efforts to stay in the country, some stating that it was time for her to leave. And, in Mexico, where Arellano has become a celebrity since her deportation, others are suggesting that she use that popularity to improve conditions there instead of enabling the Mexican government's use of immigration as a scapegoat for its own problems. As one Mexican human-rights activist, Rosario Ibarra suggested, Ms. Arellano should "use her celebrity to chastise the Mexican government for not providing enough economic opportunities to keep its people in the country." (Chicago Tribune)

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Bush Meets with North American Leaders to Discuss SPP
Last week, President George Bush met with Canadian President Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon at a 2-day summit in Montebello, Canada to discuss progress made under the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). In 2005, leaders in the U.S., Canada and Mexico entered into a compact called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" for the ostensible purpose of reducing barriers to cooperation on a wide variety of issues, from border efficiency to trade regulation. Last year, this compact spun off the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), an international organization of business interests tasked with providing private-sector advice on multilateral policy for the three countries.

The recommendations of the NACC were the primary focus of the SPP summit. One recommendation in particular was the implementation of "land pre-clearance pilot projects" within the U.S. and Canada. These pilot projects would create internal clearance points at which travelers and commerce would be screened before reaching the U.S.-Canadian border. The NACC considered these internal ports as a first step towards their universal use on both the northern and southern border of the U.S. Despite being a key goal of this year's SPP summit, efforts to get the pilot projects in place mysteriously broke down in the months leading up to it. Nonetheless, the three leaders promised to keep working to lay the groundwork for the pilot projects in time for the 2008 summit.

On other matters, the United States and Mexico butted heads during the summit over a reported package of U.S. aid to combat drug trafficking and the demise of the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill in July. While he made no explicit reference to the failure of the Bush-Kennedy amnesty, President Calderon of Mexico indirectly restated his desire for reduced restrictions on immigration: "[W]e all want secure and also efficient borders -- borders that will allow the border crossing of those who build, who contribute, and of course, prevent border crossings to those that damage our societies: organized crime, drug trafficking, all the trade in illegal goods." (Associated Press)

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Press Release
Limited English Proficiency Enrollment and Rapidly Rising Costs (August 17, 2007)
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