Thread: Laredo to host border hearing

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Laredo to host border hearing
House panels plan forums on immigration at sites nationwide

By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - The Texas border city of Laredo will be one of the sites for immigration hearings set by House Republican leaders at odds with President Bush and the Senate over the emotional issue.

A House International Relations subcommittee on terrorism and non-proliferation will hold a session in Laredo on July 7 to discuss border vulnerabilities and terrorism. The panel will hold another hearing in San Diego on July 5 on the same topic.

Democrats and some Senate Republicans have said they suspect the House is holding the hearings in an effort to stall final negotiations between the two chambers on immigration and ensure that no compromise legislation passes before the November congressional elections.

Unlike the House version, the Senate bill contains a guest worker program and a chance for illegal immigrants to become citizens.

Top House Republicans said the hearings are needed to gauge public opinion about reforming immigration law.

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Austin, who sits on the House panel, said the hearings will focus on non-Mexicans crossing the border who may pose terrorist threats and will include testimony from local law enforcement officials.

McCaul, whose district includes west and north Harris County, said, "Part of the exercise is to go out and hear what real Americans feel about these issues."

McCaul also said a Homeland Security subcommittee that he chairs will likely hold a border security hearing in Laredo or Del Rio in August.

Other committees will hold hearings on other aspects of immigration in other locations, including an Aug. 14 session in Arizona on the cost to federal, state and local governments over the lack of border control.

Another hearing on the issue of English as the official language will be held in the middle of July by the House Education and Workforce committee. The location has not been announced.

Although the Senate measure has been embraced by President Bush, many House Republicans said they prefer their plan, which focuses on border security.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Republicans are taking the immigration issue "out of Washington and probably past the election. This is a failure."

Nevertheless, Pelosi said Democrats will follow Republicans around the country and pose questions that she said the American people want answers to, such as "Why haven't you protected the border? Why haven't you protected American workers? Why aren't you stopping the exploitation of new workers coming into the country?"

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has announced that he will also hold hearings, including one July 5 in Pennsylvania. Specter said he would look at issues such as the need for a guest worker program and how to handle illegal immigrants in the U.S.

bennett.roth@chron.com

McCaul, whose district includes west and north Harris County, said, "Part of the exercise is to go out and hear what real Americans feel about these issues."

Everyone in Texas you go tell what us real Americans feel!! Let them have it.

For these hearings to be meaningful, they have to include hard hit states that are not ON THE BORDER.

This is not to mitigate the huge costs being paid by these states, but illegal aliens are costing many interior states billions of dollars, I live in New York, and if you look at the top six states being impacted by the costs of illegal aliens, you'll find both New York and New Jersey in that small list of states most impacted by this crime against our nation.

Additionally, has any one checked yet to find out if those unable to make the hearings are going to be able to have their written comments entered into the OFFICICAL RECORD...I ask this, as having your remarks in the official record goes a long way to protecting any civil litigations rights you may have at some future date and time.