Thread: ALIPAC: Local action is needed to solve illegal immigration

Local action is needed to solve illegal immigration issues
Aug 10, 2008

By GLENN GILBERT
Of The Oakland Press

Slowly but surely, the illegal immigration issue is coming into sharper focus as the issue hits home.

And despite the fact that Congress has done nothing to deal with the matter, state and local governments across the nation are finding that they can take effective action.
The issue has failed to gain traction when it is argued in terms of illegals taking the jobs that could be filled by American citizens. Nor has the subject captured the imagination when cast as a security concern.

No, it seems that Sept. 11, 2001, has faded into history and if a foreign citizen here illegally can be licensed to carry hazardous materials on U.S. highways by using forged documents -- well, by and large, people just don't care.

But what is winning attention is the growing strain illegals are placing on our health, social service, educational and corrections systems.

"It has been estimated that 28 percent of our jail population consists of illegal immigrants," said Rep. David Agema, a crusader on the issue in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Finally, the nation appears to be doing something about the problem. The key is enforcement of existing laws, and early indications are that it is working.

The number of illegal immigrants in the country has fallen sharply as state and federal officials intensify a crackdown on undocumented migrants and jobs grow scarce in the faltering economy, the Center for Immigration Studies reports in a new study. The center estimates that the illegal immigrant population dropped by about 11 percent, to 11.2 million, from August 2007 through May.

"Illegal immigrants are responding to changing conditions and leaving the country in significant numbers," says Steven Camarota, director of research at the center.

The study found that the number of legal immigrants rose from 26.6 million to 27.6 million over the same period.

"It doesn't seem like America is more unpleasant for immigrants," Camarota says. "It seems more unpleasant for illegal immigrants."

"We know that illegal aliens are leaving certain states, local areas and the nation in much greater numbers and they are leaving as a direct result of more immigration enforcement," said William Gheen of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC. "While the economy is certainly a factor, media reports from Georgia, Arizona, and Oklahoma report mass exoduses of illegals from those states and many say they are going back home in reaction to new enforcement measures."

State legislators have introduced 198 employment-related immigration bills during the first half of the year, according to a July report released by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eighteen of those bills have been enacted into law.

"We're witnessing a trend of states willing to take the lead in responding to immigration challenges when Congress will not," said William T. Pound, executive director of the conference. "States are looking at creative solutions to law enforcement and work site enforcement as well as considering the needs and contributions of legal immigrants to the United States."

Agema, a Grandville Republican, says the key to enforcement is the driver's license. He has proposed two simple measures that would require the secretary of state to: 1) Check the validity of a Social Security number through the federal E-verify program before issuing a permanent license; 2) Verify validity of a passport through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program before issuing a license to a noncitizen supposedly here legally.

Agema points out that Social Security cards and passports are easily forged. Once obtained, illegals can use them to gain access to health care, schools and universities.

"We are paying for their higher education," Agema said.

Agema is winning little support for his proposal in the House. So he has secured the support of Sens. Michelle McManus, R-Lake Leelanau, and Cameron Brown, R-Sturgis, to push the measures in the upper chamber.

Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods, said she is not sure how big of an issue illegal immigration is in Michigan. She said it never comes up in her talks with constituents.

"We don't want to play into people's fears," Jacobs said. "We want people here legally and working legally."

The Center for Immigration Studies says that while the decline in the number of illegals began before unemployment rose, the evidence indicates that unemployment has increased among illegal immigrants, so the economic slowdown is likely to be at least partly responsible for the decline in the number of illegal immigrants.

The center says there is good evidence that the illegal population grew last summer while Congress was considering legalizing illegal immigrants. When that legislation failed to pass, the illegal population began to fall almost immediately.

If the decline were sustained, it would reduce the illegal population by one-half in the next five years, according to the center.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated Michigan's illegal immigrant population in 2005 at 124,000, which ranks 16th in the United States.

If Michigan taxpayers want something done about the situation, they should look to Lansing, not Washington, D.C.

www.theoaklandpress.com

Originally Posted by jean

No, it seems that Sept. 11, 2001, has faded into history and if a foreign citizen here illegally can be licensed to carry hazardous materials on U.S. highways by using forged documents -- well, by and large, people just don't care.

It's become a joke...

Agema, a Grandville Republican, says the key to enforcement is the driver's license. He has proposed two simple measures that would require the secretary of state to: 1) Check the validity of a Social Security number through the federal E-verify program before issuing a permanent license; 2) Verify validity of a passport through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program before issuing a license to a noncitizen supposedly here legally.

I guess Agema hasn't heard of the NJ Senator Menendez . I don't think Menendez cares a hoot about the people , only the pocket of comfort from Big Business . E-Verify works and works well as proven

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