We need people to start calling senators ASAP on the AgJOBS amnesty threat this week. Action thread here:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopic-88376-175.html

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Amnesty Given Another Chance
By: Joe Murray, The Bulletin
11/05/2007

Just as the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (known as the DREAM Act) was going down in smoke, the legislative victory party held for opponents of amnesty may have come to an abrupt end.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced his plans to attach the AgJOBS Act of 2007 (S. 340), a bill widely known as a guest worker program and criticized as amnesty for agriculture workers, to the farm bill presently in Congress. Debate on the amendment could come as early as today.

"America's agriculture is dependent on hand labor. When we think of agriculture in the Midwest, we think of large machines doing all the work. It is simply not true," Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) stated while on the Senate floor. Mr. Craig, along with Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) authored the bill.

Mr. Craig argued the government's efforts in securing the border has made it increasingly difficult for illegal aliens to enter the United States, and because the country is at "full employment," it is feared "packing sheds this fall and some of our produce, our fruits, and our vegetables ... will not get harvested." Immigration reforms advocates disagree.

Under the AgJOBS legislation, illegal immigrants working in agriculture can first apply for a temporary resident status, known as blue card status, and then apply for permanent residence, otherwise known as green card status. NumbersUSA, an immigration reform organization, estimates 860,000 to 1.2 million illegal aliens may qualify for the amnesty.

If an immigrant is granted blue card status he is bestowed a number of benefits, such as the right to work, treatment as a permanent legal resident, and after as little as three years could obtain a green card. Furthermore, blue cards are also given to the families of the worker, therefore raising the total of illegal immigrants benefiting from the amnesty to over 3 million.

Last may, the Senate included the AgJOBS legislation in its comprehensive immigration bill, but the measure, along with the entire bill, was rejected. And while the defeat of the DREAM Act may have been a setback, the Senate is prepared to keep the issue of amnesty alive.

"AgJOBS is unpopular with voters and costly to taxpayers; it will encourage illegal immigration, invite fraud, and overwhelm adjudicators without providing a stable, legal agriculture workforce," said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA.

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm ... 6361&rfi=6