Thread: Legislative news from FAIR

[quote]Legislative Update

Rep. Zoe Lofgren to Chair Immigration Subcommittee

Congress Daily last week confirmed reports that Representative Zoe
Lofgren (D-CA) will be the new chairwoman of House Judiciary Subcommittee
on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims. An immigration lawyer from
San Jose, CA, Lofgren handled immigration issues in the 1970s as a
staff assistant to Rep. Don Edwards, her predecessor, and specialized in
immigration law. She also taught immigration law at the University of
Santa Clara School of Law.

Rep. Lofgren supports comprehensive immigration reform and, according
to her own words, "helped to lead the fight against H.R. 4437," the
enforcement-only immigration bill when it passed the House of
Representatives in December 2005. Lofgren also opposed other enforcement legislation
such as the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (H.R. 6061), the Community
Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 6094), and the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of
2006 (H.R. 6095).

According to The ContraCosta Times, Lofgren says she will use the House
version of the McCain-Kennedy bill as the starting point to build
consensus.
"But that's not the ending point," she stressed. "That's just the
beginning." Sponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy
(D-MA), the McCain-Kennedy bill would grant amnesty to illegal aliens and
create a guest-worker program to import up to 400,000 foreign workers
into the United States each year.

Congressman Flake Removed from House Judiciary Committee

Last week, Congressional Quarterly reported that Congressman Jeff Flake
(R-AZ) had lost his seat on the House Judiciary Committee. The ouster,
according to Flake, was the result of GOP leadership's decision to
punish him for his position on immigration. As a member of the House
Judiciary Committee's Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee,
Congressman Flake was a vocal opponent of the GOP's get-tough approach on
immigration reform and instead was a House co-sponsor of the McCain-Kennedy
bill, the basis for the Senate guest worker amnesty bill passed last
spring. In addition, Flake expressed disappointment last year in House
Leadership's decision to schedule more immigration hearings during the
summer before appointing members to a conference committee.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) denied Flake's claim that the
loss of his Judiciary seat was retaliation, saying that the reason for
the Congressman's departure was strictly due to downsizing necessary
after the Republicans lost seats in the November elections. But
commenting to KVOA television in Arizona, Flake said Boehner conceded to him
that "the party did not want to reward bad behavior - and 'bad behavior'
is having a different opinion on immigration, for one." Flake also noted
that six GOP committee members with less seniority were allowed to keep
their seats.

Schwarzenegger Releases Another Plan to Subsidize Illegal Immigration

California news outlets reported last week that thousands of
fruit-pickers, packers, truckers and other agricultural workers are facing months
of unemployment because of the recent cold snap that damaged much of
California's citrus crop. While estimates vary, The Mercury News reported
that as many as 12,000 workers may be affected. It is unclear how many
of these workers are undocumented.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made a tour of weather-damaged farms
last week and while visiting one Fresno-area citrus farm, pledged that the
state would provide aid to ``not only help the farmers but also the
workers, because they're also suffering.'' When asked if undocumented
workers would get assistance, Schwarzenegger said, ``Absolutely. Everyone
will get help.'' He added, ``We are not here collecting immigration
statuses.''

State officials later clarified that state assistance to workers would
not necessarily include unemployment insurance benefits, because by law
unemployment benefits can only be paid to those who show proof that
they are eligible to work in the United States. Unemployment benefits can
provide up to $450 a week for 26 weeks. However, California officials
said the state Department of Social Services and other agencies will
work with counties and non-profit groups to assist workers, regardless of
their immigration status, by providing emergency food, shelter, job
training and help with their utility bills. Food stamps also will be
available to eligible families with children, including those of
undocumented workers.

Officials said the full impact of the freeze won't be known for several
weeks.


Experience at Georgia Poultry Plant Shows How Illegal Immigration
Impacts U.S. Workers

A recent immigration raid at a Georgia poultry processing plant has
demonstrated the deep impact illegal immigration has on American workers.
Last fall, federal immigration agents raided the Crider Inc.
chicken-processing company in Stillmore, Georgia. As a result of the raids, the
plant lost about 75 percent of its mostly Hispanic, 900-member work
force. While at first it appeared that this raid would ruin Crider, The
Wall Street Journal reports that not only did the company survive, but the
raid actually ended up helping U.S. workers.

After the raid, Crider took proactive steps to find workers for its
plant. First, the company raised pay by more than a dollar an hour above
what the company had paid the illegal aliens. Then Crider began offering
free transportation from nearby towns and free rooms in a company-owned
dormitory near to the plant. And, for the first time in years, "Crider
aggressively sought workers from the area's state-funded employment
office - a key avenue for low-skilled workers to find jobs." As a result,
the Wall Street Journal reports, Crider hired about 200 U.S. workers,
most of them African-American. Thus, for first time since significant
numbers of Latinos began arriving in Stillmore in the late 1990s, the
plant's processing lines were made up predominantly of African-Americans.

While these new practices signal a change for the better, it appears
the thirst for cheap labor may undermine them yet. "The allure of
compliant illegal aliens willing to accept grueling conditions despite
rock-bottom pay has proved a difficult habit for Crider to shake, particularly
because the U.S. workers who replaced them are more likely to complain
about working conditions and aggressively assert what they believe to
be legal pay and workplace rights," writes the Wall Street Journal. Some
workers describe long, arduous schedules, alleged health and safety
hazards, and unrelenting supervisors. In an attempt to deflect the
criticism, a Crider spokeswoman said the allegations are the sentiment of
"people who are not intent on working."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Crider is currently making
efforts to recruit cheap immigrant labor from other parts of the U.S.

Recent Floor Statements
" Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) commented on Illegal Immigration
Crisis In Arizona (January 18, 2007)
" Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) commented on Amnesty Needed For Border Patrol
Agents Ramos And Compean (January 17, 2007)
" Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) commented on A Sad Day In America (January
17, 2007)
" Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) commented on No Justice For Border Patrol
(January 17, 2007)

Press Release:
Hoyer, Democrats Backtrack on Fence(January 17, 2007)

President's State of the Union Remarks Show Why America Doesn't Trust
His Immigration Policy(January 19, 2007)