Thread: House GOP - Illegal immigration is a jobs issue

By: Byron York 01/06/11 8:05 PM
Chief Political Correspondent


With Republicans now in control of the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials are going to be answering a lot of questions in the next two years. "We're going to start fast," promises Rep. Lamar Smith, new chairman of the committee, as he lists a bunch of priorities: immigration, national security, the constitutionality of Obamacare, lawsuit abuse, intellectual property, and more.
There are many areas in which Republicans and Holder are likely to disagree, but the most contentious could be immigration, starting with the enforcement of federal laws to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants. Ask Smith what he'll be investigating, and it's the first thing he mentions. "One initial hearing will be on work site enforcement," he says. "We want to find out why the administration is not doing more to enforce current laws. Workplace enforcement has dropped 70 percent under the Obama administration."

To Smith, that's a bad idea at any time, but particularly so in a period of 9.8 percent unemployment. "We need every available job in America to go to legal workers, to citizens and legal immigrants," he says. While the administration seems focused almost exclusively on illegal immigrants who have felony records, Smith wants to concentrate on workplaces, with more use of the E-verify system and other ways to ensure that businesses hire only workers who are in the country legally.

Talk to Republicans these days, and everything is about jobs. They campaigned by slamming Democrats for not paying enough attention to the issue in 2009 and 2010, and now that they are in power they are determined to frame their actions in terms of jobs. So the bill to repeal Obamacare is titled the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act." Likewise, when Smith appeared on Fox News on Tuesday and was asked what he will do about illegal immigration, he answered simply, "The main thing we're going to do is create jobs for Americans."

At the moment, the focus on jobs means Smith is steering away from some of the hottest-button immigration issues. Asked about the Obama administration's lawsuit against the state of Arizona, the Texas Republican is quick to condemn it -- he says it is "misguided and unnecessary" and sends the message that the administration "is not interested in having our immigration laws enforced" -- but doesn't see much that he can do about it as chairman. "Not any more than I have already done, which is I have weighed in on the side of Arizona," Smith says. "That's now in the courts, and it is the courts who will make that determination."

But other GOP voices on the Judiciary Committee are speaking more forcefully on those hot-button issues. Rep. Steve King of Iowa has served as ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, and he is passionate on the subject. "There are two areas in America where the law is ignored and sometimes laughed at, and immigration is one of them," King says. (The other, he adds, is election law.) King wants to change that.

King is co-sponsoring a bill, "The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011," that would address the problem of "anchor babies." It's a question full of constitutional complexities; birthright citizenship is grounded in the 14th Amendment, and many experts believe it can only be changed by a constitutional amendment. King feels otherwise. In any event, it's an issue that Smith says the full committee will not be addressing in its first months.

King would also like to look into so-called "sanctuary cities," that is, cities whose officials offer protection to illegal immigrants and openly defy federal immigration law. He's also eager to do more on border security. "We need to restart the push, to complete the task of building a fence and a wall on our southern border," he says. But as far as the full committee is concerned, that's not on Smith's list of priorities to be addressed first. Right now, the message is jobs.

On that theme, Holder is likely to face a lot of questions about the administration's immigration policy in the nation's workplaces. Whatever the disagreements, Smith is taking care to sound nonadversarial. He and Holder have had lunch together and spoken on the phone, Smith says. "I expect that we will get cooperation from the Department of Justice," he says. "I see no reason to threaten them or issue subpoenas at this point."

Well, it's early.

Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent, can be contacted at byork@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on ExaminerPolitics.com.



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Originally Posted by topsecret10

By: Byron York 01/06/11 8:05 PM
Chief Political Correspondent

There are many areas in which Republicans and Holder are likely to disagree, but the most contentious could be immigration, starting with the enforcement of federal laws to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants.

Smith is taking care to sound nonadversarial. He and Holder have had lunch together and spoken on the phone, Smith says. "I expect that we will get cooperation from the Department of Justice," he says. "I see no reason to threaten them or issue subpoenas at this point."

One of Holder's first acts was to call for a conversation about race. IMO he was referring at least in part to the desparate situation of the poorest Americans. Now that he's on his way out, he may not be as much of an obstacle.

Originally Posted by topsecret10

But other GOP voices on the Judiciary Committee are speaking more forcefully on those hot-button issues. Rep. Steve King of Iowa has served as ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, and he is passionate on the subject. King is co-sponsoring a bill, "The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011," that would address the problem of "anchor babies." It's a question full of constitutional complexities; birthright citizenship is grounded in the 14th Amendment, ...

No it's not. The people who wrote that amendment were clear about its not applying to foreigners or aliens. After c.100 years of case law, the Supreme Court decided to ignore the clearly stated intention of the 14th Amendment's authors.
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Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade

"Next IA's will be claiming they are slaves, they're suing now to carry concealed weapons, won't that be fun!"

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-5985--0-0.html

This should open up a lot of jobs, stop them from working here and they will have to go home.

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

"Next IA's will be claiming they are slaves, they're suing now to carry concealed weapons, won't that be fun!"

You have got to be kidding and as far as next they will be claiming to be slaves,LOL I wouldn't put anything past them they are doing everything to compare themselves to us until I am not too afraid to say that, MAYBE THEY WANT TO BE BLACK LONG ENOUGH FOR THEM TO GET WHAT THEY WANT. ALL JOKES ASIDE, I'M HOPING THE REPUBLICANS WILL NAIL THE TWO BIGGEST JOKES IN THIS MESS AND THAT IS OBAMA AND ERIC HOLDER. THEY WILL DESERVE WHAT EVER IS COMING THEIR WAY.

Originally Posted by Dansk9

This should open up a lot of jobs, stop them from working here and they will have to go home.

You are so right, and when "THE ANOINTED ONE" was running for potus he was going to put Americans back to work. and like him, that was just a joke. the only ones that he is concerned about are the ones here ILLEGALLY. I sent him an email telling him exactly what I thought of him and the way he is hurting this country and its citizens in favor of ILLEGAL ALIENS but, I think he has met his match now and maybe he will be impeached as well he should.

"There are two areas in America where the law is ignored and sometimes laughed at, and immigration is one of them," King says.

Yes, and illegal immigration has to change and we must stop it once and for all. Illegal aliens do whatever they want in the United States because our government has allowed them to do that. We must stop it now.

Originally Posted by immigration2009

"There are two areas in America where the law is ignored and sometimes laughed at, and immigration is one of them," King says.

Yes, and illegal immigration has to change and we must stop it once and for all. Illegal aliens do whatever they want in the United States because our government has allowed them to do that. We must stop it now.

AMEN TO THAT WHILE WE THE PEOPLE HAVE TO ABIDE BY THE LAWS OF THE LAND, ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE RUNNING AMUCK DOING WHAT EVER SUITS THEIR FANCY AND, THE FEDS JUST LET THEM HAVE THEIR WAY. THEY ARE GETTING AWAY WITH A LOT OF STUFF THAT THEY WOULDN'T DARE TO EVEN TRY TO DO IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. THEY MARCH IN OUR STREETS WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO EVEN DO THAT. THESE PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DEMS. NOR THE NAACP AND ANY OF THE OTHER DUMMIES WHO ARE ON THEIR SIDE. THEY ARE JUST USING THESE PEOPLE IN ORDER TO GET THEIR WAY. AND IF THEY EVER DO GET WHAT THEY WANT, THEY WILL DROP THESE IDIOTS LIKE A BAD HABIT. THEY ARE NOT ABOVE USING PEOPLE AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE DOIN

THEY ARE SHOWING US JUST HOW MUCH THEY WANT TO BE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY BY THE WAY THEY ARE REMAINING SO LOYAL TO THE MEXICAN FLAG. WILL/CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHY IT IS THAT THE FOOLS IN WASHINGTON CAN'T SEE THIS IF THEY ARE NOT WAVING THEIR FLAG, THEY ARE DRAPED IN IT AND SMILING SO BIG AND BOLD AND PROUD OF THEIR MEXICAN FLAG. THEY ARE DOING THIS WHILE THEY SHOW NOTHING BUT DISRESPECT FOR THE AMERICAN FLAG. THAT ALONE WOULD/SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO GET THEM KICKED OUT OF THE COUNTRY. THEY EVEN HAD THE NERVE TO TAKE THE AMERICAN FLAG DOWN @ A POST OFFICE IN SOME PART OF CLAIFORNIA, AND RAISE THEIR FLAG "MEXICAN" OVER A FEDERAL BUILDING AND THE COPS THAT WERE THERE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT