Thread: Metcalfe proposal to 'halt Pa.'s illegal alien invasion

Metcalfe touts proposals to 'halt Pa.'s illegal alien invasion'

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- A battle over proposed laws targeting illegal immigration was waged at the state Capitol today.

There was conservative Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry, who has vowed to rid Pennsylvania of "illegal aliens," vs. Sister Janice Vanderneck of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, who said the Bible "compels us to welcome the strangers among us."

There was Tea Party member John Stahl, a former state legislator from Reading, claiming immigrants who are in the state illegally are driving up public education costs, taking Social Security and Medicaid benefits they don't deserve -- often through stolen Social Security numbers -- and causing an increase in crime.

He was opposed by Andrew Hoover of the American Civil Liberties Union, who called one proposed bill -- to take away the automatic citizenship rights of the children of undocumented workers born in Pennsylvania -- unconstitutional. He said those rights are guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Mr. Hoover also criticized legislation that would give state and local police power to round up and deport "undocumented aliens," people without papers showing they had entered the country legally. He said enforcement of immigration laws is solely a federal government responsibility.

But that contention was disputed by Robert Najmulski of the Federation of American Immigration Reform, who said the idea that only the feds can deal with immigration "is unrealistic, restrictive and a hindrance of state and local law enforcement."

He said he has 28 years experience in enforcement, in southern California and Lima, Ohio, where he helped "arrest and remove over 300 criminal aliens."

Mr. Metcalfe has a package of 14 bills called "National Security Begins at Home," which he hopes the House will act on this fall. He is chairman of the House State Government Committee, which heard testimony for and against the bills today.

Democratic Reps. Greg Vitali of Delaware County and Flo Fabrizio of Erie questioned how serious the problem of illegal immigration is in the state. Mr. Najmulski said it's hard to get an accurate count on illegals because "people are living under the radar. They are working with stolen identities," such as using other people's Social Security cards.

Mr. Stahl said one Welfare Department worker in Reading "was almost fired because he had the temerity to ask his supervisor what to do with a 'customer' who had 27 Social Security cards."

Mr. Najmulski estimated that $1.3 billion a year is spent in Pennsylvania on for education, medical and welfare benefits for persons who have entered the U.S. illegally, Mr. Stahl said estimates of illegals in the U.S. vary widely, from a "ridiculously low'' 12 million to as high as 30 million.

Before the hearing began, a crowd of 100 people, many of them from the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, rallied in the Capitol rotunda against the legislative crackdown.

"This legislation is motivated by fear and will spawn fear," said Sister Janice. "It has the spirit of meanness."

Some critics said the bills are aimed at getting rid of Hispanics, just as 150 years ago there were efforts to try to stop immigrants from Ireland, Italy and eastern Europe.

Mr. Hoover of the ACLU criticized a bill that would force businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to check on the Social Security numbers of their workers, saying the system had many errors.

Some fruit-growing firms fear that the bills could put them out of business by deporting immigrants who pick the fruit, jobs which many Americans don't want to do.

But proponents of the bill said that some companies intentionally take jobs away from American workers by hiring illegals, who don't ask for health or pension benefits and accept low wages.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11242/11 ... z1WXi7jXGX

Thank God, I lived in PA. for 34 and last few years there has bin more and more of them.

"National Security Begins at Home,"

We The People's version of See something, say something! If left up to We The People to vote on instead of letting Congress and Obozo dictate to us, who do you think would win?

Originally Posted by stealitall

Thank God, I lived in PA. for 34 and last few years there has bin more and more of them. :twisted:

Our politicians all over the country have just let them invade our country and done nothing to get rid of them. Call out the National Guard in every state and send the invaders home.

Janice Vanderneck of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, who said the Bible "compels us to welcome the strangers among us."

You mean the job stealers and murderers and pedophiles and whatever. Um, no thanks!

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-6546--0-0.html

Originally Posted by Kiara

Janice Vanderneck of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, who said the Bible "compels us to welcome the strangers among us."

You mean the job stealers and murderers and pedophiles and whatever. Um, no thanks!

You can't teach stupid. And i am a firm JC believer.

Pa. House bills target illegal immigrants

BY JULIE SHAW
Philadelphia Daily News


HARRISBURG - Addressing "how the illegal-alien problem is impacting Pennsylvania," as he put it, state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe yesterday launched two days of public hearings on 15 bills aimed at curtailing benefits for those here illegally.

Illegal immigrants are "taking jobs from Americans, committing crimes to be here," said Metcalfe, R-Butler, chairman of the House State Government Committee and an ardent foe of illegal immigration.

The bills - 14 House bills, which Metcalfe introduced or co-sponsored, and one Senate bill - must still be debated by the committee after the House returns to session late next month.

The measures face solid opposition from immigrant-rights groups, interfaith networks, lawyers' associations, labor organizations and various lawmakers. About 100 advocates, led by the Philly-based Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, held a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda before the public hearings, decrying the "Arizona-style" measures.

State Rep. Tony Payton, D-Phila., told those in the Rotunda that he stands "firmly in opposition to these bills." State Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila. and minority chairwoman of the government committee, was on personal leave but also opposes the bills.

The package of bills - referred to by Metcalfe as the "National Security Begins at Home" legislation - would dramatically change the landscape of Pennsylvania in terms of law enforcement, workforce labor and social services.

They include House Bill 738, which would require law-enforcement officers to verify a person's immigration status if that person is stopped for a crime and reasonably suspected of being in this country illegally. It's similar to a law passed last year in Arizona.

Other bills would make it illegal to transport or hire undocumented immigrants; require verification of legal status for anyone 18 years or older applying for public benefits; aim to deny citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born here; and penalize "sanctuary municipalities."

Kay Hollabaugh, whose family owns fruit farms in central Pennsylvania, told the committee yesterday that "100 percent of our crops are picked by the hands of immigrants." She said that she cannot find domestic workers who would do the "hard, physical labor."

Pamela Linares, 22, was brought to Pennsylvania from Bolivia when she was 8 months old by her parents, who overstayed tourist visas. "My family never once applied for any sort of government assistance, not local, state or federal," said Linares, now a legal resident by marriage.

Testifying in support of the bills yesterday were five people, including a representative from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks to stop illegal immigration; John Stahl, chairman of the Tea Party Immigration Coalition; and the Berks County sheriff.

Richard Negrin, Philadelphia's managing director, sent written testimony to the committee, saying that immigrants are "essential to our economic growth and vitality." He noted that although Mayor Nutter encourages focusing "immigration-enforcement efforts on genuine security threats and violent criminals," he has been very welcoming to immigrants, including having signed executive orders in their favor.


http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local ... egals.html

There was conservative Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalfe of Cranberry, who has vowed to rid Pennsylvania of "illegal aliens," vs. Sister Janice Vanderneck of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Baden, who said the Bible "compels us to welcome the strangers among us."

Whatever happened to separation of church and state? I could care less what the church has to say in this matter, especially since they have a vested interest in keeping illegal invaders around. I don’t think the Bible intended the word “strangersâ€

Hearing addresses law enforcement issues
thetimes-tribune.com
BY ROBERT SWIFT (HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF)
Published: August 31, 2011

HARRISBURG - A wide-ranging House hearing put a spotlight Tuesday on the role of local police in dealing with law-breaking by illegal immigrants.

The State Government Committee is focusing on 14 bills covering such issues as giving local police officers more power to apprehend illegal immigrants, cutting public benefits to illegal immigrants and requiring more documentation to prove legal status.

Chief Michael Morresi of the Beaver Meadows Police Department in Carbon County told lawmakers that he has run into problems trying to detain illegal immigrants due to changing policies by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"One of the nation's biggest problems is due to the United States becoming lackadaisical about taking immediate action when encountered with an illegal immigrant, that it has set a negative undertone for the law enforcers of the country," he said.

Chief Morresi said he has apprehended more than 100 illegal immigrants during his years in law enforcement with about 80 percent of them being wanted for crimes or having gang affiliation.

Chief Morresi outlined an incident in which he arrested an illegal immigrant for speeding and asked for his ID. The individual showed Chief Morresi a Mexican voter registration card and welfare benefit cards from two states, he said.

Chief Morresi said he wanted to confiscate the benefit cards, but was told by a state welfare official that he couldn't take the cards and should instead copy the relevant information and send it in.

That prompted panel Chairman Rep. Daryl MetÂ*calfe, R-12, Cranberry Twp., to say that policy needs examining. Mr. Metcalfe is a vocal advocate of tougher policies through a "National Security Begins at Home" package of bills he has sponsored.

More training for local police officers on immigration issues is needed, said Robert Najmulksi, an official with the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"I do not advocate that local law enforcement officers be transformed into federal immigration agents; however, they need to be trained in how to deal with foreign nationals with immigration status issues," he added. "This serves to protect the law enforcement officer because it is vital, in any lawful contact, that the officer exactly knows who they are dealing with."

A different perspective on law enforcement was provided by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia in written testimony. "By creating numerous sanctions and requirements that apply only to undocumented immigrants, these bills would certainly lead to racial profiling, violation of civil rights and unequal enforcement," the nonprofit group said.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/hearin ... z1WcRrOzCb