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    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    Immigration officers union says agency can’t handle legalization

    Immigration officers union says agency can’t handle legalization

    By Stephen Dinan
    -
    The Washington Times
    Wednesday, July 31, 2013

    The union that represents the people who would have to decide who gets legalized under any new immigration law said in a letter Tuesday that the Obama administration is not ready to handle the influx of applications.

    And Kenneth Palinkas, the president of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, which represents the 12,000 immigration officers and staff who work at USCIS, warned House Republicans that even flirting with a limited legalization such as just granting citizenship rights to so-called Dream Act immigrants could lead to problems.

    “I cannot stress enough how ill-equipped USCIS is to engage in the sort of far-reaching plans before Congress right now — including both the enormous legalization programs proposed as well as the historic increases in both immigrant and non-immigrant visas,” Mr. Palinkaswrote.

    He addressed his letter to House GOP leaders who are trying to figure out how far to go in pushing legalization. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, both Virginia Republicans, have said they will introduce a bill that would legalize Dream Act immigrants, who were illegally brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 and who are considered among the most sympathetic immigration cases.

    But Mr. Palinkas said even if the GOP lawmakers try to limit their bill by setting an age limit and residency requirements, he expects the Obama administration would act unilaterally to expand the law.

    “What is to stop the Administration from simply issuing another round of non-enforcement orders (written or oral) that would eviscerate any attempted limitations in your bill?” he wrote.

    Mr. Palinkas also addressed his letter to Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who has taken a lead role in trying to sell House conservatives on a broad immigration bill, much as Sen. Marco Rubio did in the Senate debate.

    House Republicans are facing increasing pressure from business groups and major GOP donors to pass a bill soon.

    On Tuesday, nearly 100 donors and major former officials in the Bush administration sent a letter pleading with House Republicans to pass a bill legalizing illegal immigrants. They said not only could that help them win the political support of immigrant voters, but it would help the economy.

    But the immigration issue continues to roil Republicans, with many rank-and-file voters rejecting anything that seems to them to resemble an amnesty for those who are breaking immigration laws.

    And rank-and-file Republicans in the House fear that by passing any immigration legislation, the GOP is setting itself up for negotiations with the Senate on a final deal that could go well beyond whatever the House passes.

    Mr. Palinkas, in his letter, said that’s a real fear.

    “I would therefore urge all House lawmakers not to conference with the dangerous Senate bill that will produce a totally deficient comprehensive proposal, but instead to work with USCIS adjudicators to produce responsible reforms that enhance the integrity and security of our immigration system,” he wrote

    .http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...y-cant-handle/



  2. #2
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    Immigration Agents Raise Questions on GOP's DREAM Act Efforts

    by Matthew Boyle 30 Jul 2013
    breitbart.com

    The head of the labor union representing law enforcement officers of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday pressed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) to answer questions regarding their DREAM Act proposals for young illegal immigrants in America.

    In a letter sent to those four lawmakers Tuesday afternoon, USCIS National Council president Kenneth Palinkas wrote that that he wanted to “share several security questions and concerns regarding your drafting of a DREAM Act proposal, as well as the difficulties plaguing USCIS that must be addressed.”

    “As you know, the Obama administration has already bypassed Congress to implement a version of the proposal you are now considering,” Palinkas wrote. “Of course, to do so, the administration also had to simultaneously suspend laws previously passed by Congress. My first question, therefore, as a representative of those tasked with following the law, is how you intend to prevent this administration from simply implementing your proposal in a fashion of its own choosing with no regard for Congress’ authority?”

    Since Cantor, Ryan, Goodlatte, and Gowdy have put this debate off until after August recess, Palinkas laid out a hypothetical provision for what may become their DREAM Act. “Let’s say you establish in your law that illegal immigrants must be 30 years of age or younger at the time of application, must have entered illegally (or illegally overstayed a visa) at the age of 16 or before, and must have resided in the U.S. for at least five years (it’s only 18 months for the Senate bill),” Palinkas wrote. “Let’s also assume that, unlike the Schumer-Rubio-Corker-Hoeven bill, you do not extend amnesty to those with violent criminal records and gang affiliations.”

    Palinkas then asks whether or not Cantor, Ryan, Goodlatte or Gowdy have any answer to the following question: “What is to stop the administration from simply issuing another round of non-enforcement orders (written or oral) that would eviscerate any attempted limitations in your bill?” Palinkas wrote. “For instance, the ICE Council reports that ‘the administration’s DREAM Act is not being applied by ICE to children in schools, but instead to adult inmates in jails. Gang members and other criminal offenders all take advantage of the administration’s DREAM Act orders to evade arrest and deportation.’”

    Palinkas followed those facts up with a few more followup questions. “Why would we not expect this policy to not only continue, but be expanded if your bill were to pass?” he asked. “Additionally, what is to prevent the administration from declaring that future illegal immigrants who are DREAM Act-eligible who arrive after your bill passes are likewise not an ‘administrative priority’ and thus exempt from immigration enforcement? And what about people who have missed the cut-off date by a few months or years—won’t the administration just exempt them from enforcement too? I have not heard any solutions proposed to any of these concerns.”

    Palinkas argued to Cantor, Ryan, Goodlatte and Gowdy that if those issues are not addressed in their DREAM Act, it “could quickly turn into a permanent feature of U.S. immigration policy with huge unintended consequences.” Such future negative ramifications that could come out of a DREAM Act, Palinkas argues, include a permanent and perpetual amnesty for all illegal immigrants, current and future.

    “In practice, it could establish a precedent that would expand birthright citizenship in the future to apply to any new arrivals (and, by extension, their relatives) who claim they came here at a certain age,” Palinkas wrote. “Clearly, this would be an extraordinary magnet for unlawful entry and overstays, and create a massive hole in future enforcement that would be exploited by those with ill intent. Put bluntly: what does your legislation proscribe will happen to DREAM Act-eligible individuals, and their relatives, who inevitably arrive in future months and years? If it is the position of the Judiciary Committee that immigration law should be applied differently, or not at all, to people who simply claim to have entered at a certain age, will this then become the permanent immigration policy of the USA? In other words, the Committee has made the argument that it is improper to apply immigration laws to people who meet this particular set of criteria—if that is the case today, should we also expect that these laws will also not be applied tomorrow?”

    Palinkas added in his letter that USCIS agents have lots of concerns at their agency and said that the agency’s “myriad problems are being widely overlooked.” He said the agency is in “dire need of reform” because 99 percent of applications to President Obama’s DREAM Act are automatically approved without scrutiny and that agents are prohibited from actually conducting in-person interviews with applicants for the program. He said agents lack the “resources, staffing and office space to fulfill our agency’s mission.”

    Palinkas, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) National Council president Chris Crane, called on Cantor, Ryan, Goodlatte and Gowdy to work with law enforcement officials while drafting their legislation, unlike the Senate bill, who ignored law enforcement input.

    A spokesman for Cantor has not responded to questions for over more than a week whether he and others involved in this DREAM Act drafting will consult law enforcement in their discussions.

    Spokespersons for Cantor, Ryan, Goodlatte, and Gowdy did not immediately respond to requests for comment in response to Palinkas' letter.

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...or-s-DREAM-Act
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    Goodlatte responds to USCIS, assures enforcement first approach

    11:45 AM 07/31/2013
    Caroline May
    The Daily Caller

    House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte responded to immigration enforcement agents’ concerns about a House DREAM Act proposal Wednesday.

    “Any immigration reform proposal must first strengthen border security and interior enforcement before any legalization happens. That is why the first bill the House Judiciary Committee approved was the SAFE Act,” Goodlatte said in a statement.

    Taking immigration reform in a more piecemeal fashion than the massive Senate-passed bill, the Judiciary Committee approved the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (SAFE Act) last month.

    The legislation seeks to beef up immigration enforcement in part by providing state and local governments the authority to enforce immigration laws, creating stricter repercussions for criminal aliens, expanding the Visa Security Program and granting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents a greater ability to make arrests.

    Tuesday, in response to news that Goodlatte and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have been working on legislation aimed at granting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, the president of the union representing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers and staff voiced concern about such a proposal.

    “As you know the Obama Administration has already bypassed Congress to implement a version of the proposal you are now considering. Of course, to do so, the Administration had to simultaneously suspend laws previously passed by Congress. … What is to stop the Administration from simply issuing another round of non-enforcement orders (written or oral) that would eviscerate any attempted limitations in your bill?” National USCIS Council president Kenneth Palinkas wrote in a letter to Goodlatte, Cantor, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, and Immigration and Border Security subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy.

    Palinkas added that currently USCIS is “ill-equipped” to process “the sort of far-reaching plans before Congress right now” and called on House members to consult with USCIS agents about upcoming proposals.

    According to Goodlatte, the SAFE Act will prevent the Obama administration and future administrations from ignoring immigration laws “by granting states and local governments the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.”

    Goodlatte assured that any efforts toward legalization would maintain an enforcement-first approach.

    “The Obama Administration has abused his executive power by refusing to enforce our immigration laws. The SAFE Act stops this from happening again,” he said. “Any legalization, including the kids bill being discussed, must follow the enforcement-first approach. Enforcement must be in place before any legalization.”

    http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/31/go...tion-approach/
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  4. #4
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    Last edited by working4change; 08-05-2013 at 03:15 PM.

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