Thread: Bills on illegals introduced statewide in Pennsylvania

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Bills on illegals introduced statewide
Saturday, 24 June 2006
By KRISSY SCATTON
scatton@standardspeaker.com

These days, it’s tough to be an illegal immigrant or the employer of illegal immigrants in Pennsylvania. On the heels of proposed ordinances cracking down on illegal immigrants and their employers and landlords in the Hazleton area, a coalition of state representatives introduced a collection of bills that address similar issues throughout Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

A bipartisan group including Reps. Bob Belfanti, D-107, Tom Yewcic, D-72, Daryle Metcalfe, R-12, Mark Mustio, R-44, and Tom Creighton, R-37, unveiled the bills, known as “National Security Begins at Home,” at a news conference in Harrisburg.

The bills attack the illegal immigration issue from several different angles. Belfanti’s bills would make it a third-degree felony for an employer to knowingly hire an illegal immigrant, and would also grant state district attorneys the power to investigate and arrest illegal immigrants or their employers.

Belfanti is also pushing for contractor licensure, especially after an incident in Northumberland County in which underage illegal immigrants were caught working on the construction of a shopping center.

“I want contractors to prove that paperwork is legitimate,” Belfanti said during a phone interview Friday. “I want contractor licensure. If you have a license, you’re more likely to follow the rules.”

Another bill would make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to receive public benefits, such as food stamps.

On May 11, Gov. Ed Rendell signed into a law a bill proposed by Rep. Bob Allen, R-Pottsville, requiring companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants to return state grants and pay penalty interest on state loans.
During the news conference, the representatives indicated that the state legislature had to step up on the illegal immigration issue because the federal government simply isn’t doing enough.

“The federal government clearly hasn’t accomplished its constitutional duties of securing the borders,” Yewcic said Thursday during a phone interview. “This is a huge burden on our healthcare system, our education system, our welfare system.”

Yewcic hopes that Pennsylvania’s initiative, besides sending a message to the federal government, will encourage other states who are feeling the burden of illegal immigration.

“If nothing else, it sends a message to our neighbors, and maybe other states will jump on board,” Yewcic said.

The bills have already found support from Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, in the national spotlight for the ordinance he introduced last week dealing with illegal immigration issues. Barletta attended the press conference on Tuesday to endorse the bills.

Like Barletta, who said his final straw was after the May 10 shooting of Derek Kichline, Yewcic reached his breaking point on May 1.
“I watched the demonstrations on May 1,” Yewcic said, “and saw people waving the flags of other countries in the street and trying to hurt our economy.”

Meanwhile, rumblings of controversy have started, even though hearings on the bills won’t even begin until later this summer.
An editorial in Wednesday’s edition of The York Dispatch referred to the bills as “legislative nastiness,” saying, “Pennsylvanians should be embarrassed by this racist fit of pique within the ranks of its General Assembly.”

Belfanti responded to the backlash, saying, “This is a question about illegal immigration. I don’t know what people don’t understand about that.” Belfanti likened illegal immigration to other criminal acts like shoplifting and assault, saying, “There are some things you just can’t do.”
“There are about 60 ways to get into the country legally,” he continued. “The people who come in illegally usually fall into three categories – they have criminal records in their home countries, they are underage and wouldn’t be allowed to work here, or they’re just impatient.”
Yewcic agreed, making it clear that Pennsylvania still welcomes legal immigrants. “My grandparents were immigrants,” he said. “They came here, but they came here legally. They were proud to be Americans.”
He added, “If you want to live the American dream, you have to be American.”

“Pennsylvanians should be embarrassed by this racist fit of pique within the ranks of its General Assembly.”

Should read "Pennsylvanians should be proud of the stand taken within the ranks of the Generaly Assembly."

Go Pennsylvania - show the rest of the country how it's done.

Somebody needs to tell the pro-illegals that the "racist" thing really is not working any more....Oh, I forgot that is really their only argument.

If the Feds can't do the right thing and enforce the law, states should step up to the plate and start addressing this issue. I agree that maybe some other states will follow Penn's lead but Liberal New York won't be one of them .

Please, please, please send this to your state's representatives. Tell them this is how you become a hero with your constituents and that you are expecting to see the same type of bills introduced in your state.

I've always thought if we start from the bottom up, we will get much better results than working our way from the top (president) down.