Thread: Democrat: Give illegals jobs on Capitol Hill

Congress 'could really benefit from their unique abilities'

Published: 16 hours ago
CHERYL CHUMLEY


Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick

Democratic lawmaker Ann Kirkpatrick from Arizona said certain illegal immigrants in America – the ones who came to the country illegally as children but who hold temporary work permits via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program – ought to be given jobs on Capitol Hill.

The Hill reported Kirkpatrick’s introduced a bill to do just that – to give the young illegals the opportunity to be hired to work in congressional offices.

Currently, only lawful permanent residents, as well as some refugees, are allowed to be hired to work in House and Senate offices. DACA-program recipients are actually able to work in the halls of Congress via internships or fellowships from third-party organizations. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, for instance, offers internships in some congressional offices.

But Kirkpatrick’s bill would change that and give exemptions for those in the country under the DACA program, allowing them to seek direct employment in House and Senate offices.

“Telling these young people they cannot work in the seat of our government is like telling them they deserve something less than the American dream,” she said in a statement reported by the Hill. “That’s the wrong message to send, especially from an institution like Congress that could really benefit from their unique abilities and perspectives.”

Kirkpatrick is challenging Sen. John McCain for his Senate seat.

http://www.wnd.com/2016/03/democrat-...-capitol-hill/

Hells' Handmaiden.

Thursday, March 31, 2016 | Chad Groening

The spokesman for a pro-border enforcement group says a bill proposed by an Arizona congresswoman makes a mockery of American immigration laws.

U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Arizona) has introduced legislation that would expand President Obama's controversial DACA program to include allowing illegal aliens to work on Capitol Hill.

"It makes an even greater mockery of our immigration law than we already have made of it," observes Ira Mehlman of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"It's hardly possible," Mehlman adds, "but it seems to be the next step."

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, failed to pass Congress in 2010 but President Obama invoked DACA by executive order in 2012, effectively creating amnesty for illegal alien youth with a pen.

Kirkpatrick's bill is called the American Dream Employment Act.

"Telling these young people they cannot work in the seat of our government is like telling them they deserve something less than the American dream," the congresswoman said in a statement.

DACA children cannot currently be employed by congressional offices, though they still qualify for internships, The Washington Examiner explained.

Kirkpatrick's bill has no chance to pass in the Republican-controlled House so Mehlman wonders if the pro-immigration bill simply serves her political interests.

"Maybe she's right. Maybe she's wrong. But that's not relevant," he says. "What is relevant is that you have a member of Congress attempting to undermine the job opportunities of the American workers."

Kirkpatrick's bill also mocks the country's immigration laws that have "ceased to mean anything," says Mehlman.

Kirkpatrick is currently running for John McCain's U.S. Senate seat.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/national-s...affers-wont-do

From 2013. They are already working there.

Congressional staff jobs provide ‘dreamers’ a leg up to citizenship


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By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, February 4, 2013

Two immigrants have gone from illegal to congressional in a matter of months.

Erika Andiola and Jose M. Quintero gained tentative legal status under President Obama’s non-deportation policy for young adults that took effect in August, and both have been hired to work in district offices for members of Congress.

Coming in the middle of the immigration debate, the hirings are freighted with symbolism about the bargain Mr. Obama and many in Congress want to offer illegal immigrants: come forward, register and be given legal status.

“I wanted to show that it works, and what better way can we show [it] works than to hire one, and to pay them,” said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, the Illinois Democrat who hired Mr. Quintero. “What does immigration reform look like? It looks like Jose Quintero. He’s got a job, he pays taxes.”

Mr. Quintero and Ms. Andiola were two of the earliest recipients of a 6-month-old Homeland Security program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Under that policy, more than 150,000 illegal immigrants 30 and younger have been approved, granted work permits and told they are no longer in danger of deportation.

The policy helped push Mr. Obama to re-election last year and set the table for this year’s debate on a broad overhaul of immigration laws, including trying to grant a full pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

But the deferred action was a test-run — a chance for legalization supporters to show immigrants the benefits of coming out of the shadow economy and to show voters the kinds of people who would be legalized.

“My hope was that by presenting this wonderful young man to the broader American community, the community says, ‘You know what? I’m not afraid of him,’” Mr. Gutierrez said.

Known as Dream Act children or “Dreamers,” after the never-passed legislation that would have legalized them, they are among the most sympathetic cases in the immigration system. They were brought to the U.S. as children and, in many cases, don’t even remember the countries where they were born.

Mr. Quintero and Ms. Andiola took different paths to get to their jobs.

Ms. Andiola has been one of the most prominent advocates for Dreamers and established a reputation as an organizer.

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, hired her last month to be outreach director, acting as liaison with a number of constituencies in her district such as labor, seniors, students, minorities and the environmental community.

“I didn’t make a hire for any purpose of symbolism. I hired Erika because she’s the most qualified person for the job,” Ms. Sinema said.
The congresswoman said she got to know Ms. Andiola at Arizona State University, where she was a professor and Ms. Andiola was a student who put herself through school without the benefit of taxpayer aid because she was in the country illegally.

“It’s stupid for us as a country to say we’re not going to give you a job and put you to work,” said Ms. Sinema, who as a state lawmaker fought Arizona’s immigration crackdown.

Last month, Ms. Andiola made news when her mother and brother were picked up at their Arizona home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, after they realized the mother had been deported once and had returned in violation of that order.
Ms. Andiola rallied immigrant rights activists and congressional staffers, and her mother and brother were released. ICE officials said they reviewed the cases and found that both were candidates for “prosecutorial discretion” — one of the methods the Obama administration is using to halt deportations of rank-and-file illegal immigrants.

Mr. Quintero earned his job in Mr. Gutierrez’s office by being determined. He was one of the first people to show up to fill out his deferred action application at a clinic in Chicago in August. When he completed his own application, he stayed to help others — and kept coming back.

Mr. Gutierrez figured with expertise like that, it made sense to hire him to help with all the applications that are coming through the congressman’s Chicago office.

Through Jan. 17, the administration approved 154,404 applications, out of 407,899 it had received. The pace of applications dropped off from more than 5,700 a day in September to fewer than 1,500 a day in January.

A Homeland Security official said the department had issued “some” denials, but didn’t release the number. The official said to expect the denial rate to rise as more applications run through the process.

Under the process, the department will issue either a request for more information, which allows applicants nearly three months to comply, or a notice of intent to deny the application, which gives immigrants 30 days to respond.

Bob Dane, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said by halting deportations, Mr. Obama has sent the message that violating immigration laws doesn’t matter anymore.

“It’s creating the perception of permanency, based on a temporary, and in our opinion, illegitimate stay of removal,” he said. “There’s no turning the clock back. The pressure is on now to provide full legalization.”

Mr. Dane said that message is likely to spur more illegal immigration as people outside the country see those here illegally being allowed to stay.

“Deferred action was never meant to cover broad categories of illegal immigrants. It used to be something that was sought out in rare circumstances. It is now used as an entitlement that is demanded,” he said.

The policy has created a quandary for states as well, particularly in the area of driver’s licenses.

Most states have policies denying licenses to illegal immigrants, but it was not clear what status deferred action immigrants had.
California and other states moved quickly to issue licenses, but others such as Michigan and Arizona balked.

After guidance from the administration last month saying those who have been approved are considered “lawfully present,” Michigan has changed.

Its secretary of state announced Friday that her state will begin to issue licenses, though they will be marked differently to make clear that they expire when an immigrant’s two-year deferred action term has expired. State officials also said that marking should help prevent anyone from trying to use the license as proof of citizenship for voting.

Two states — Nebraska and Arizona — are still denying licenses, according to United We Dream, an advocacy group. The group has filed a lawsuit to try to force Arizona to change its policy.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...g-up/?page=all

The letter. Sent using a government email...

Enable DREAMers to serve on Capitol Hill
From: The Honorable Ruben Gallego
Sent By: xxxxxxxx@mail.house.gov
Date: 3/22/2016

Current originals (23): Reps. Kirkpatrick, Gallego, Castro, Chu, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Swalwell,Cardenas, Napolitano, Gene Green, Lofgren, Conyers, Moore, Norton, Rangel, Honda, Brownley,Takano, Lewis, Veasey, Castor, Hinojosa, Schakowsky, Adam Smith

Dear Colleague:Under current law, paid employment in the House and Senate is limited to individuals who are U.S.citizens or lawful permanent residents in the process of naturalizing (certain refugees and individuals granted asylum are also eligible). As a result, the DREAMers—undocumented young people brought to this country through no fault of their own—are currently barred from working here on Capitol Hill.

Since the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which granted DREAMers work authorization and protection from removal, beneficiaries have been able to work legally to support themselves and their families without the fear of deportation. We believe they should also have the opportunity to serve in congressional offices where decisions affecting their communities are made every day.

That’s the goal of The American Dream Employment Act. Eligibility for employment in the federal government, including the House and Senate, is restricted by a provision that is annually attached to the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill. Our bill would amend this section of the recently enacted omnibus spending bill (Sec. 704 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2015) to include DACA beneficiaries as an additional category of individuals eligible for paid employment in Congress.(Important note: This legislation solely applies to employment in the House and Senate and would not affect other agencies or departments within the federal government.)

Please join us in enabling DREAMers to bring their unique abilities and perspectives to Capitol Hill by becoming an original cosponsor of The American Dream Employment Act. Please contact XXXXX inRep. Kirkpatrick’s office at xxxxxxxxxx@mail.house.gov or XXXXX in Rep. Gallego’s office atxxxxxxxx@mail.house.gov with any questions.

Sincerely,Ann Kirkpatrick ,Member of Congress

Ruben Gallego Member of Congress

http://www.cis.org/sites/cis.org/fil...%20INTERNS.pdf