Thread: FAIR Legislative Update

September 27, 2005
In this update:

House Approves Immigration Relief for Hurricane Katrina Victims
Bonilla Declares Immigration Emergency along Texas/Mexico Border
GAO Finds Worksite Enforcement a Low Priority for DHS
Pro-Reform Legislation Gains New Support!
Recent Floor Statements
Upcoming Events
House Approves Immigration Relief for Hurricane Katrina Victims

The U.S. House of Representatives last Wednesday approved Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner's (R-WI) "Immigration Relief for Hurricane Katrina Victims Act of 2005," (H.R. 3827). Once fully approved and implemented, H.R. 3827 would:
Provide special immigrant status to people who had visas pending when Katrina hit;
Provide relief for surviving spouses and children of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents;
Provide special immigrant status to grandparents of orphans who lost one or more legally-present parent to the storm;
Extend immigration-related filing deadlines for aliens who, as a result of Hurricane Katrina-related conditions, were unable to meet such requirements;
Let foreign students stay in the county until Feb. 1, 2006 so they can enroll in a new school;
Authorize the DHS Secretary to replace identity and employment authorization documents lost, stolen, or destroyed as a consequence of Hurricane Katrina;
Authorize the DHS Secretary to grant an age-dependent immigration benefit if the failure to meet such age requirement was caused by Hurricane Katrina;
Allow those eligible for U.S. citizenship to take their oath in any federal court if the court they filed in was destroyed; and,
Authorize the Secretary during a major disaster-declaration period to temporarily waive employer attestation or verification requirements due to disaster-caused document loss.
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Bonilla Declares Immigration Emergency along Texas/Mexico Border

Frustrated with the worsening situation on the border, Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) initiated a letter to President Bush declaring a state of emergency along the Texas/Mexico border. Bonilla's letter was sent to the White House on Sept. 21, signed by 24 bipartisan members of the Texas Congressional Delegation (see signatories below).

"Illegal aliens, many of which are "Other Than Mexicans" (OTMS), are crossing our border by the hundreds on a daily basis," the letter states. "They are presenting an immediate danger to the lives of people in every Texas community and beyond. We strongly urge you to take action now."

The letter demands the return of 165 Border Patrol agents who were taken from Texas to be assigned to the Tucson Sector in Arizona. It also requests additional detention space for housing apprehended OTMs, which are presently released into Texas communities to return on their own recognizance.

The letter was signed by Reps. Henry Bonilla, Kay Granger, Silvestre Reyes, Henry Cuellar, Solomon Ortiz, John Culberson, Tom DeLay, Lamar Smith, Pete Sessions, Sam Johnson, Jeb Hensarling, Michael Burgess, Ted Poe, Randy Neugebaurer, Michael McCaull, Ralph Hall, Kenney Marchant, Michael Conaway, John Carter, Kevin Brady, Louis Gohmert, Mac Thornberry, Ruben Hinojosa, and Chet Edwards.

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GAO Finds Worksite Enforcement a Low Priority for DHS

Recognizing that the opportunity for employment is one of the strongest magnets for illegal immigration to the United States, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report examining the current employment verification process and worksite enforcement efforts.

As suspected, the report found worksite enforcement to be a low priority for the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) with post-9/11 efforts focused on removing unauthorized workers from high-security locations and critical infrastructures.

Since 1999, the number of employer notices of intent to fine and administrative worksite arrests have significantly declined. According to ICE, this decline is due to factors such as document fraud, making it difficult to prove employer violations. The large number of documents acceptable for proving work eligibility has also hindered verification efforts.

The report found that the Basic Pilot Program, a voluntary program through which participating employers electronically verify employees' work eligibility, has potential to help enhance the verification process and reduce document fraud (use of counterfeit documents). The GAO recommends among many other things that mandatory use of the program should be considered.

Weaknesses in the program include the inability of the program to detect identity fraud (fraudulent use of valid documents or information belonging to others), DHS delays in entering data into the database, and employer noncompliance with the program's requirements. Read the full report for further GAO findings and recommendations.

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Pro-Reform Legislation Gains New Support!

The following members signed on to good immigration reform legislation this past week. If your legislators are 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 these members for supporting good reform legislation!

H.R. 698 - Citizenship Reform Act of 2005

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) 202-225-8171
Rep. Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC) 202-225-6401
H.R. 925 - The Identification Integrity Act of 2005
Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) 202-225-5676
H.R. 1219 - Legislation to Eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery Program
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) 202-225-2165
Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) 202-225-6605
Rep. John Kline (R-MN) 202-225-2271
H.R. 3137 - The CLEAR ACT of 2005
Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) 202-225-3361
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) 202-225-2472
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA) 202-225-8490
Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) 202-225-6605
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) 202-225-2711
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Recent Floor Statements

On September 22, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) commented on the Introduction Of The Temporary Agricultural Labor Reform Act Of 2005.
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Upcoming Events

The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims will hold an oversight hearing on "Dual Citizenship, Birthright Citizenship, and the Meaning of Sovereignty." When and Where: September 29, 10:00AM, 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.
The House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity, will hold a hearing entitled "Solving the OTM Undocumented Alien Problem: Expedited Removal for Apprehensions along the U.S. Border." When and Where: September 28, 2:00PM, 311 Cannon House Office Building.
The Institute for International Economics (IIE) will hold a book discussion with Gordon Hanson, author of "Why Does Immigration Divide America? Public Finance and Political Opposition to Open Borders." When and Where: Sept. 29, 12Noon, 1750 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. Contact: meetings@iie.com; 202-328-9000
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