Thread: Lawmakers determined to halt illegal immigration

Lawmakers determined to halt illegal immigration
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Article Launched: 04/27/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

AUSTIN -- Watching as states around the country take immigration into their own hands, Texas lawmakers who failed last year to crack down on illegal border crossers have vowed to catch up in 2009.
Last year, state lawmakers nationwide submitted more than 1,500 immigration-related bills, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

More than 200 of those proposals became new laws in 46 states.

Texas neighbor Oklahoma and fellow border state Arizona have adopted some of the toughest anti-immigration measures, and at a hearing last week, some Lone Star lawmakers said they hoped to follow suit.

"I think God would have us work on it and vote," said state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball.

Some legislators say laws in those states are helping the economy and reducing pressure on public services. But lawyers and some business groups in Arizona and Oklahoma said immigration restrictions there have hurt businesses and have created an exodus of not only undocumented immigrants but also of Hispanic citizens.

"The perception from the Hispanic community is they have been solely targeted by a bunch of racist rednecks," said Campbell Cooke, an immigration attorney in Tulsa.

The city, he said, has lost about half its Hispanic population since Oklahoma legislators adopted anti-immigration legislation and Tulsa police began enforcing federal immigration laws.

Among other things, the Oklahoma law requires public employers to use a federal system to verify an employee's citizenship. Later this year, all contractors and subcontractors for public agencies will also have to use the system.

Employers would also be subject to a discrimination lawsuit in Oklahoma if they fired an employee who is a citizen while keeping a worker who is undocumented.

Under the law, transporting or "harboring" an undocumented immigrant is a felony. It also requires anyone older than 14 to provide proof of citizenship before receiving public benefits, except for some emergency services.

"This has a huge impact throughout the community, both social and from an economic and work-force perspective," Cooke said.

Arizona adopted even more-stringent employer penalties, requiring all companies to conduct citizenship checks for their workers or risk losing their operating licenses.

Ann Seiden, spokeswoman for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it's difficult to gauge whether economic slowdowns in the state have been caused by the new laws or by the overall financial troubles nationally.

But she said businesses have been confused about their new responsibilities and what liabilities they might face.

"It's created an atmosphere of uncertainty, and that was our greatest fear," Seiden said.

Arizona state Rep. Russell Pearce wrote much of the anti-immigration legislation. He said claims of economic woes and Hispanic exodus were lies.

"It's a huge economic boon," he said.

With undocumented immigrants leaving the state, he said, taxpayers would save on costs for education, health care and public safety. And, he said, wages would go up because employers would not have a readily available supply of cheap labor.

He also said those in the United States legally have no reason to flee the state.

"The goal is to not to incentivize people to break our laws," Pearce said.

Texas lawmakers last year filed dozens of bills meant to force undocumented immigrants to leave the state.

None of the major restrictions made it far in the process, though, after the lawmaker overseeing the bills asked the Texas attorney general to review them. State Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, said he wanted to ensure that Texas didn't wind up in losing lawsuits over unconstitutional measures. Instead, he concentrated on a law that put $110 million into border security.

The measures also faced stiff opposition from civil-rights and business groups.

Disappointed that Texas has fallen behind other states, state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said he would file legislation to follow their leads.

He said the Oklahoma economy is improving as thousands of immigrants leave the state.

Any positive impact undocumented immigrants have on the Texas economy, he said, is outweighed by their cost to the state in public services.

At the very least, Berman said, Texas should implement laws that punish employers who hire undocumented workers, should make English the state's official language, should require photo identification for voting and should restrict noncitizens' access to public benefits.

By not stopping illegal immigration, he said, elected leaders are allowing "multiculturalism to prevail and flourish."

"We are a nation of laws, and if we continue on this path, we will lose the great republic that our forefathers gave to us," Berman said.

State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, said anti-immigration measures were not targeted at Hispanics, but were meant to ensure national security. "We're not just talking about Mexico. We have a concern about all the folks coming over our southern border."

Kathleen Campbell Walker, lawyer with Brown McCarroll in El Paso and president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said Texas lawmakers should expect a surge of lawsuits and a departure of businesses if they adopt measures like Oklahoma and Arizona did.

"You're going to have racial profiling; you're going to have proliferation of discrimination," she said. "Do we really want to go back to an era like the civil-rights era?"

Companies, she said, are already beginning to have trouble deciphering the patchwork of immigration laws that states are adopting in addition to existing federal regulations.

"It will drive you looney-tunes," she said. "I don't know if a Ouija board is enough to help you figure it out."

Bill Lenderman, who lives in East El Paso, said controlling immigration was not about race but about maintaining American sovereignty.

"They'll destroy the culture of the country," he said of undocumented immigrants.

Lenderman said Texas lawmakers should follow Oklahoma's example.

"Tell them 'you're not welcome here,' " he said. "Go away -- no benefits and no jobs."

Brandi Grissom may be reached at bgrissom@elpasotimes.com; 512-479-6606.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_9067948?s ... st_emailed

Some legislators say laws in those states are helping the economy and reducing pressure on public services. But lawyers and some business groups in Arizona and Oklahoma said immigration restrictions there have hurt businesses and have created an exodus of not only undocumented immigrants but also of Hispanic citizens.

"The perception from the Hispanic community is they have been solely targeted by a bunch of racist rednecks," said Campbell Cooke, an immigration attorney in Tulsa

If I were making 200 dollars an hour I might say those things, too.

Tell them 'you're not welcome here,' " he said. "Go away -- no benefits and no jobs."

Finally, someone with common sense !

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With undocumented immigrants leaving the state, he said, taxpayers would save on costs for education, health care and public safety. And, he said, wages would go up because employers would not have a readily available supply of cheap labor.

Everyone will benefit when illegal aliens leave! Taxpayers can't continue to be burdoned because some members of the federal government refuse to follow immigration laws.

Some state lawmakers across the country are beginning to wake up to the emmense problems associated with the illegal alien invasion which has been advocated by the most corrupt bunch of policticans ever to pass through the door of the White House. And the three remaining bozos being offered up for prez by the CFR will each try to once again snub the will of the American people and attempt to null and void all of these newly passed state laws by over-riding them with an amnesty on the federal level. We must not allow that to happen. The way to stop it is to un-elect a sufficient number of traitorous incumbent congressmen and senators to put the fear into the remainder. It's the last hope we have to do this in a civil manner. Otherwise, many of them are hell-bent on destroying this great nation. This scenario was unimaginable to me when I was growing up in this country that we could emass this many TRAITORS into the workings of gubmint. God Help the U.S.A.

I sure wish the State of Fl could import Rep. Russell Pearce from AZ . Just for a couple of Sessions in the hallow cambers of Tallahassee.
That is some fine work that he did Champion . Yeah America , you Can make money "By Not giving it away to Illegals". Our services work and costs go down . Budgets become workable again