Thread: FAIR Legislative Update July 17, 2006

From: Federation for American Immigration Reform Date: 2006/07/17 Mon PM 04:11:10 EDT
Subject: FAIR Legislative Update 7-17-2006

Latest News Releases

A Tale of Two Hearings: House Immigration Hearings Focus on Protecting American Security, Senate Hearing Focuses on Protecting Special Interests
(July 7, 2006)

New Side by Side Comparison of House and Senate Immigration Bills (PDF)
(July 3, 2006)

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

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

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

July 17, 2006


In this update:
Senate Will Not Fund Border Fence
Field Hearings Have Strengthened House Enforcement-Only Approach
Colorado Passes Landmark Immigration Legislation
Pennsylvania City Council Passed Ordinances Against Illegal Immigration
New Cosponsors of Key Bills
Recent Floor Statements
Upcoming Events
Senate Will Not Fund Border Fence
The U.S. Senate voted this week against providing funds to build a fence along the southern U.S. border for high traffic areas. Sadly, this vote was almost a complete reversal of the Senate's earlier action: in May, the vote to build the fence along the border with Mexico passed, 83-16, but this week's vote to fund the fence failed, 29-71. Only two Democrats, Senator Bill Nelson (D-NE) and Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) supported funding for the fence. Of the 55 Senate Republicans, 28 voted against funding the fence. Most of the Republican leadership is included in this group. After the vote, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) said, "We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of legislating. The things we do often sound very good, but we never quite get there."

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Field Hearings Have Strengthened House Enforcement-Only Approach
Last week, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated that the hearings held so far by the House have made it clear that the Senate bill would undermine border security. "I think the hearings have been an absolute success, and they've put us in a stronger position to craft a responsible bill that secures our borders and strictly enforces our immigration laws," Boehner said. Since Congress will be in Washington, D.C. for the next two weeks, the House has scheduled six new hearings to be held in the nation's capital. Several more hearings will be held throughout the country when Congress breaks for August recess. According to an article last week in CongressDaily, well over 60 Members of the House have requested hearings in their districts to focus on the local impacts of illegal immigration. FAIR will continue to update you when more information on the field hearings becomes available.

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Colorado Passes Landmark Immigration Legislation
Colorado Governor Bill Owens called a special legislative session to focus on the problem of illegal immigration. That special session, which ended last week, resulted in the passage of some of the toughest immigration legislation in the country. In particular, the special session intended to address a proposed ballot initiative passed during the regular legislation session that the Colorado Supreme Court subsequently struck down. However, during the special session, members of the Colorado Legislature decided that instead of re-writing the ballot initiative and sending it to the voters in November, they would pass legislation with similar language. The new law, which will go into effect August 1st, requires individuals to demonstrate their legal presence in the U.S. before receiving state and local benefits. In addition to this new law, the Colorado Legislature passed several other immigration bills, including one that requires all contractors servicing state or local agencies to attest they are using the Basic Pilot Program. "It simply puts teeth into existing federal regulations," Governor Owens stated. "Nobody I know is content with today's status quo." Andrew Romanoff, the Democratic speaker of the Colorado House added, "Washington should take Colorado's hint."

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Pennsylvania City Council Passed Ordinances Against Illegal Immigration
The city council of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, passed one of the nation's strictest ordinances to fight illegal immigration last week. Hazelton Mayor, Lou Barletta, proposed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act last month. The ordinance, passed the city council on a 4-1 vote, requires city documents to be printed in English, landlords to be fined for renting to illegal aliens and businesses to be denied licenses if employing illegal aliens. In a statement released by his office, Mayor Barletta said, "The City of Hazleton is empowered and mandated by the people of Hazleton to abate the nuisance of illegal immigration by aggressively prohibiting and punishing the acts, policies, people and businesses that aid and abet illegal aliens. That is why I proposed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act."

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New Cosponsors of Key Bills
The following members signed on to good immigration 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. 98 - Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2005

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) (202) 225-2165
H. CON. RES. 50 - House Resolution Disapproving of the U.S./Mexico Social Security Totalization Agreement

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) (202) 225-5531
Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC) (202) 225-3715
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Recent Floor Statements
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) commented on Immigration (July 14, 2006)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) commented on Immigration Reform (July 13, 2006)
Rep. John Carter (R-TX) commented on Immigration (July 12, 2006)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) commented on Republicans Not Serious About Securing Our Borders (July 12, 2006)
Rep. Ted Poe(R-TX) commented on The House Of America (July 12, 2006)
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) commented on Democrats And Republicans Working Together To Protect America (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) commented on Border Vulnerabilities And International Terrorism (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN) commented on Securing Our Borders Has Not Been A Priority Of Republicans In Washington (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) commented on Immigration Reform (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) commented on Immigration Policy (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) commented on Illegal Entry (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) commented on Control Of Our Borders (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) commented on Our Battle For The Border (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) commented on Senate Immigration Bill Restricts Police (July 11, 2006)
Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) commented on Border Security (July 11, 2006)
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) commented on Securing America's Borders (July 11, 2006)
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Upcoming Events
House Judiciary Committee "Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants" Immigration, Border Security, and Claims Subcommittee will hold a hearing on "Should We Embrace the Senate's Grant of Amnesty to Millions of Illegal Aliens and Repeat the Mistakes of the 'Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986?'" This hearing is one of seven Republican announced hearings in opposition to the "Reid-Kennedy bill" more commonly known as the "McCain-Kennedy" bill. When/Where: July 18, 10:00AM, 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.

House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a full committee hearing on "Guest Worker Programs: Impact on the American Workforce and U.S. Immigration Policy." This hearing is one of seven Republican announced hearings in opposition to the "Reid-Kennedy bill" more commonly known as the "McCain-Kennedy" bill. When/Where: July 19, 10:30AM, 2175 Rayburn House Office Building.

Government Reform Hearing, Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee will hold a hearing on "Border Fence Expansion" When/Where: July 19, 2:00PM, 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

Joint Hearing, House Homeland Security Committee Security Subcommittee and House Government Reform Committee Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee will hold a hearing on "Expanding the Border Fence" When/Where: July 20, 2:00PM, 2118 Rayburn House Office Building.





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