Thread: Feinstein Believes AgJOBS Will Pass

Feinstein Believes AgJOBS Will Pass
McClatchy Newspapers : January 11 , 2007 -- by MICHAEL DOYLE

"I happen to believe we have the votes," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "I believe the bill can move quickly."

The introduction Wednesday of an ambitious agricultural guest worker plan showcases the changed Capitol Hill circumstances that may make 2007 the year for an immigration overhaul.


Some congressional roadblocks are gone. Sympathetic new leaders are in charge. A restored Democratic majority claims new priorities.


"A year does make a difference," insisted Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho.


Or so he hopes.


Joined by lawmakers from Florida and California, and backed by hundreds of farm, labor and church groups, Craig is reintroducing a guest worker plan that's been debated for years. As many as 1.5 million farmworkers and their relatives now in this country illegally could gain legal status under the bill.


The legislation, dubbed AgJobs, would also revise an existing guest worker program that farmers consider inefficient. It's the first big immigration overhaul bill introduced this year, mirroring legislation passed last year by the Senate but not by the House of Representatives.


"I happen to believe we have the votes," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "I believe the bill can move quickly."


The bill is bipartisan, introduced by Republicans Craig and Sen. Mel Martinez, of Florida, and Democrats Feinstein and Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., helped negotiate the package and introduced an identical bill in the House.


The legislation would grant "blue cards" to illegal immigrants who could prove they had worked in agriculture for at least 150 days in the last two years. They must continue working in agriculture for several years before attaining permanent legal status.


The Republicans who controlled the House last year refused to bring the guest worker legislation up for a vote. This year, Democrats control the House by a 233-202 margin.


"With the change in the majority party, I think we're going to see a situation where we get something done this year," said Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League.


"There's a little bit more impetus with the change of leadership on the congressional side," said Vito Chiesa, a California peach and almond grower.


The Senate will probably move first, since it took the lead last year. As before, the agricultural guest worker package could be folded into an immigration overhaul plan that extends beyond farmworkers. Congressional negotiators have quietly been redrafting such a comprehensive plan.


The broader proposal will be introduced later with its own fanfare. It will extend to millions of illegal immigrants the opportunity to become legal U.S. residents and, eventually, citizens, if they can pay fines and cross other hurdles.


As before, both the broader immigration overhaul and the AgJobs proposal will incite vigorous resistance.


"The Senate has already heard a great number of euphemisms about the AgJobs bill, but let's be clear from the start about what we are discussing," Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., warned during earlier debate. "It is amnesty for aliens employed unlawfully in the agricultural sector, and it is amnesty for the businesses that hire and exploit them as cheap labor."

http://www.numbersusa.com/news?ID=7106

NumbersUSA has a free fax to send Congress against this legislation.

Originally Posted by CCUSA

NumbersUSA has a free fax to send Congress against this legistation.

They sure do, that's where I got the story.

Here's my letter to the editor of our local Idaho newspaper. We'll see if it gets published.

Senator Larry Craig is once again pushing S237, the AgJOBS guest worker/amnesty bill that was introduced last year as part of the larger comprehensive immigration/amnesty bill, defeated by the House of Representatives. Of the estimated 1.2 million agricultural workers in this country illegally, approximately 860,000 plus their spouses and children would be given legal status under this bill. The total could reach 3 million and will also grant amnesty to the employers of illegal aliens as well.

There has been no debate on the bill in this session of Congress and there certainly should be. As mechanization in agriculture grows, such as in the raisin and orange grower industries, there is actually competition for agricultural jobs. This form of amnesty only entices hundreds of thousands of new illegal aliens to enter the United States to compete with American workers for American jobs and the subsequent suppression of wages.

Why would Senator Craig consider importing additional foreign illegals when current workers are facing competition for ag jobs?
Instead, Senator Craig should be focused on increased workplace enforcement and the elimination of rewards for illegal aliens in the United States.

XXXXXX

Coeur d'ALene

Originally Posted by CCUSA

NumbersUSA has a free fax to send Congress against this legislation.

I got it today too. I sent my fax.

Keep Sending them out.

I sent my faxes through Numbers USA, CAPS, and made my calls. These people plan to do whatever they want to do regardless what the majority of CITIZENS tell them to do.