Thread: Immigration Reform is Quietly Here

Prepare to be amazed at the enforcement measures (like requiring E-Verify) this author believes the Obama Administration has initiated entirely of its own volition and out of the sheer goodness of its heart.


July 14, 2009

Immigration Reform is Quietly Here

By Froma Harrop

One of America's toughest problems is being solved right before our unseeing eyes. As Mark Sanford strayed, Michael Jackson departed and Sarah Palin quit, the Obama administration was quietly putting law, order and the national interest back into our immigration system.

New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer says he will offer a comprehensive immigration bill by Labor Day. But don't look there. Look at the administration's ongoing program to confront employers of illegal immigrants in a low-key way.

So far this year, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has audited the hiring records of over 650 companies suspected of using illegal labor and moved against the offenders. Example: ICE told American Apparel in Los Angeles that 1,800 of its 5,600 factory workers appeared to be unauthorized. The company was fined $150,000 and told to fire employees who, on further inspection, were not supposed to be there.

Last week, the administration announced that any company wanting a sizable federal contract must use the E-Verify system to ensure that its workers are legal. E-Verify is an electronic database that contains Social Security and other records. Many businesses already use the system. The federal contract requirement moves us a step toward making an E-Verify check mandatory for all new hires.

The Bush administration tended toward cinematic raids on factory floors and big military shows at the border. Illegal immigrants were hauled off in handcuffs and slapped with criminal charges. Children were separated from parents.

George W. Bush's heart was surely not in this. He seemed happy to supply his business constituents with cheap labor, and the cost of services for illegal immigrants ended up in state and local budgets, not his. Some critics of this policy assumed that the raids were made to look painful in the hopes that Americans would lose interest in enforcing the law.

Whatever. Enforcement is now being done through lawyerly conversations with executives. Not much to film here. Businesses found to be guilty of hiring illegal workers are fined and warned. If they keep doing it, the punishments grow harsher.

Recall the fireworks over the failed "grand bargain" on immigration two years ago? It envisioned pairing a path to citizenship for America's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants with a new regime of employer sanctions.

Only the public didn't buy into it. It saw another big amnesty sold alongside another insincere promise to end the future hiring of illegal workers. Those open to legalizing many of the undocumented -- and polls show most Americans do -- but who wanted illegal immigration stopped -- ditto, the polls -- called for an "enforcement first" policy. Let the government prove it was serious about the law, and then we'll talk about the path to citizenship.

That's exactly the Obama approach. Anyone who doubts its effectiveness should note the discomfort among open-borders interests. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sued to stop the expansion of E-Verify. And the National Immigration Forum, an advocate for illegal immigrants, warns that E-Verify databases are infected with problems. Actually, E-Verify is accurate and easy to use.

And so by the time Schumer unveils his program, the larger public will already have reason to trust that the next amnesty would be the last. Schumer has gone further in that regard. He has proposed a tighter verification system using unique biometric markers, such as fingerprints or the iris of eyes. And he has come out and said that America lacks engineers, not low-skilled laborers.

Imagine that, an immigration overhaul that promises real enforcement, protects our most vulnerable workers and recognizes America's true labor needs. And we're getting there without the dramatics. Boy, are these guys smart.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... 97443.html

It's all a cover to keep everyone happy until the big announcement that illegal aliens are given amnesty . The North American Union is still underway . Look up the Trans Texas Corridor and see that these plans are not on hold . Say goodbye to America as that is in the future , unless we vote out every person in office and replace them with Americans who stand for the constitution .

This articles is merely giving a positive spin on Obama's foot dragging reaction to record setting unemployment. As long as the open borders, Rebuild America crew are calling the shots on economic policies the purposely inflated demand to fix our allegedly "broken immigration system" is still there.

If he is sincere and not just more of the same smoke and mirrors we are use to being fed by our Elitist Politicians then great; I will take a wait and see position for now, I have been lied to my too many of our Elitist Politicians on the issue of ILLEGALS invading the United States!

HEAVY FINES and FELONY JAIL time for the ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS! Felony Conviction and Deportation for the ILLEGALS!

You don't start enforceing the laws and 2 months later expect an amnesty, besides they made it clear they are going after felons only, that is not enforcing our immigration laws..

Have they arrested anyone at those companys for identity thieft? again I think not! these people are free from having to obey the laws, nothing will change with an amnesty!

Not one more AMNESTY!!

Five years of enforcement and then perhaps a look at CIR. I'd still be against it...

Obama just gutted the 287G program making it just against illegals who have committed serious crimes.
Also then why is Obama's AG investigating Sheriff Joe?

If they wanted to enforce the law why do it quietly?

Obama Administration Weakens 287(g)

The 287(g) program was intended to join local law enforcement with federal immigration officials to enforce laws at the local level. The program has been successful and has gained momentum in recent years, but the Obama Administration is revamping its contracts with local law officials, which significantly weakens the purpose of 287(g).

Most 287(g) participants check immigration status for all crimes committed, but the new directive only allows local police to check immigration status in violent crimes including rape and robbery as well as major drug offenses, burglary and fraud. All 66 police requirements participating in the program must sign a new contract detailing the guidelines in the next 90 days.

Since the programs inception in 1996, local law enforcement officials have identified more than 120,000 illegal aliens.

New edict on immigration enforcement
Homeland Security tells local police agencies to focus on serious crimes, not minor ones, in its 287(g) program .

By Anna Gorman
July 11, 2009

Local police agencies empowered by the federal government to enforce immigration law must focus their efforts on criminals who pose a threat to public safety, with less emphasis on those who commit minor crimes, Department of Homeland Security officials announced Friday.

The announcement aims to clarify a controversial program that deputizes police to turn over suspects or criminals to immigration authorities for possible deportation. Normally police do not enforce federal law.

The law, known as 287(g), took effect in 1996.

Most of the participating police agencies signed up under President George W. Bush, whose administration promoted it as a tool against dangerous criminal immigrants.

Immigrant rights groups said it led to civil rights violations and racial profiling.


Some police departments check immigration status in a wide variety of crimes. Friday's directive lays out federal priorities: violent crimes such as rape or robbery, as well as major drug offenses; followed by property crimes, such as burglary and fraud.

All 66 police departments that already participate in the program must sign a new, uniform memorandum within 90 days.

They also must agree to pursue the criminal charges that prompted an illegal immigrant's detention. In other words, police can't make an arrest just to find out if someone is in the country illegally.

"This new agreement promotes consistency across the board to make sure that all of our partner agencies are abiding by the same standards," said Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler.

The memorandum says that police agencies will be bound by civil rights laws and subject to oversight by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they arrest and detain illegal immigrants for possible deportation. Any agency that cannot prove that it is following those standards could lose its federal authority.

In addition to the changes, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that 11 new police agencies have signed agreements, none of them in California. (The sheriffs in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties already participate in the program.)

Though some law enforcement agencies, including those in California, check the status only of those in custody, others do so when arresting people on the street. Since 2006, deputized officers have identified more than 120,000 suspected illegal immigrants nationwide, officials said.

There have been congressional hearings on the program, and the Government Accountability Office issued a report this year concluding that immigration authorities failed to oversee the program or track its effectiveness. The report also cited inconsistency among the agencies, with some focusing on serious crimes and others on minor crimes.

A Police Foundation report this year said that the costs of 287(g) outweighed the benefits and that police should be prohibited from arresting and detaining people solely to investigate their immigration status. The report said the program hurt public safety because illegal immigrants were afraid to report crimes for fear of being deported.

Foundation President Hubert Williams said Friday that he agreed with the emphasis on serious crimes but that he would be watching closely to see whether the federal government increased its oversight of the program.

"I think Homeland Security is going in the right direction," Williams said. "We feel that the 287(g), if properly directed, could be a useful tool. What we did not want was police officers going around and checking green cards."

But William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, said the government shouldn't limit the powers of police.

"To see them backtrack and water down 287(g) shows they are not serious about immigration enforcement," he said.

Immigrant rights groups said they were surprised that Napolitano did not make more significant changes to the program.

"What Napolitano is saying by this expansion is that she is going to subordinate the goals of keeping communities safe in favor of response to anti-immigrant hysteria," said Chris Newman of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network in Los Angeles.

anna.gorman@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 2065.story

Like SOSAD said, you can't enforce the law enough in 2 months to make a difference. And besides, as long as they continue to allow the majority of illegals to stay here unhampered, they are not enforcing the laws. I won't be a believer until I start seeing people deported, and that's not just the violent criminals.