Thread: GOP lawmakers push anti-illegal immigrant bill

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Article published August 4, 2006

GOP lawmakers push anti-illegal immigrant bill
Ohio Republicans want to include a crackdown on employers

By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU


COLUMBUS — Republican legislative leaders yesterday said that, in the absence of federal action, they intend to pass legislation by year’s end beefing up Ohio’s authority to crack down on illegal immigrants and punish businesses that employ them.

Senate President Bill Harris (R., Ashland) and House Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering) said they want Ohio to pursue federal agreements with local police and the Ohio Highway Patrol to arrest and detain people solely for being here illegally, and they want the federal government to pay for it.

They want to create a full-time investigative office to ensure employers are following immigration laws, and prohibit employers who knowingly violate those laws from doing business with state and local government.

“Lack of [federal] enforcement affects state and local governments, and we continue to hear from our constituents that something must be done, and it must be done now,” Mr. Harris said.

Neither could estimate how many undocumented workers might be in Ohio.

“There are 12 million illegal immigrants in the nation,” said Mr. Husted. “That’s bigger than the population of Ohio.”

He stressed that the package should not affect noncitizens here legally, and that legal immigrants could still enjoy state services and benefits. He also said the state would look at providing English language instruction for legal immigrants.

“These are individuals who are trying to make better lives for their children, escape persecution, and make this their adoptive country, but the law won’t let them …,” said Jose Luis Mas, chairman of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition. “Don’t believe that this is about Ohio wanting to help them.”

Mr. Husted said he hoped Ohio would be one of a number of states to take steps on their own, given the paralysis that Congress has shown on the issue.

Daniel Steinbock, a professor teaching immigration law at the University of Toledo college of law, said many local law enforcement officers may not want the authority to arrest those suspected of being here illegally.

“Crime victims who are not documented might not come forward if they’re afraid a police officer will say they don’t sound like a native-born American and arrest them,” Mr. Steinbock said. “It’s a very controversial issue nationally.

“While it may help enforce federal immigration law and there have been some agreements to do this in some jurisdictions, others have found that it undercuts local law enforcement efforts and decided that it was inadvisable,” he said.

The package would also include increased penalties for human trafficking for prostitution and labor, and a $50,000 civil fine for those who counterfeit identification documents as part of immigration fraud.

Senate Democratic Leader C.J. Prentiss (D., Philadelphia) characterized yesterday’s announcement as an election-year promise that Republicans won’t be able to keep because immigration is largely a federal issue.

“First it was TEL (Tax Expenditure Limitation), then the capital gains tax cut,” she said. “Now it is illegal immigration. It would be a lot easier if the GOP just handed over the polling data and let us check off one by one what the next gimmick is they have in store for Ohio as we head toward the November election.”

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.


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“Crime victims who are not documented might not come forward if they’re afraid a police officer will say they don’t sound like a native-born American and arrest them,” Mr. Steinbock said. “It’s a very controversial issue nationally.

Yeah, and some are just to darn lazy to take the extra steps necessary to protect their citizens.

These are individuals who are trying to make better lives for their children, escape persecution

I am seeing the trend in this rhetoric that would set the illegal aliens up as asylum seekers. Asylum seekers get the "key to the city" in this country. They get SSI for 7 years, which has been extended for some multiple times and they can get an almost automatic T-VISA.

Exerpt from the below article

For the lucky recipients, T visas are a wonderful deal. According to the DOJ, T-visa holders are eligible for all forms of public assistance (cash, housing, medical care, etc.) as well as job training, federal Office of Refugee Resettlement micro loans, and Federal match grant goodies—which can include cars—and an uncountable host of federal grants.
http://www.vdare.com/allen/t_visas.htm