Thread: Pence Ploy Part II: Security, Smugglers And Scapegoats

June 29, 2006

Pence Ploy Part II: Security, Smugglers And Scapegoats

By Bryanna Bevens


[See also: Hey Mike Pence! Amnesty Is The Absence Of Punishment�Not The Presence of Reward!]

So it looks like House Republicans have more or less decided to can that appalling Senate bill.

Instead, they have decided to hold public hearings throughout the summer in an attempt to gauge the public�s opinion before drafting an immigration bill.

Arlen Specter, the supposed Republican Senator from Pennsylvania who loves the Senate amnesty bill is not happy with that decision�so he�s holding his own public hearings.

Specter wants to talk with farmers, construction companies and the service industry.

You know, the people who benefit from illegal immigration and cheap labor guest worker programs.

House Republicans are focusing on everyday people in the states most affected by illegal immigration.

You know, the people footing the bill.

Meanwhile � particularly in the wake of Chris Cannon's pyrrhic but propaganda-providing primary victory in Utah - the Pence Ploy is still being sold as a "compromise" bill.

It's even gained support from a few high-profile conservatives. In his recent column, Immigration Impasse: Unlikely Legislation in this Congress [June 20, 2006] Paul Weyrich says 'the Pence bill deserves serious consideration' and 'it is one great start to try to find a solution to the immigration mess even if it has to await consideration until the next Congress.'

Bunk! As I showed in my last column, the Pence Plan is worse than the Senate bill - which is saying something!

Yeah�and we only covered the behemoth guest worker program Pence wants to create.

There is much, much more wrong with it.

1. The border security portion focuses on reports and surveys instead of well, securing the border.

2. Pence would scapegoat the smugglers�the penalty for smuggling goes way up but the penalty for illegal immigrants stays the same: nothing.

3. Lame employer penalties

4. Useless voluntary departure programs

Title I of the Pence Plan is called Securing U.S. Borders.

It sounds like a good first step but it consists almost entirely of reports, studies, data collection, reviews, recommendations, consultations and tracking.

There did not appear to be a lot of action if you know what I mean:

Sec. 113 establishes a Border Patrol Unit for the U.S. Virgin Islands and;

Sec. 112 would reimburse property owners along the border for damages caused by illegal immigrants and;

Sec. 115 requires the DHS to submit a report to Congress of (a) how many illegal immigrants were admitted to the United States for emergency medical care and (b) how many were removed after medical care was administered.

(That last one is again, just a report. The information gathered is very valuable but only if somebody does something to fix the problem.)

Title II of the Pence Plan is called: Combating Alien Smuggling And Illegal Entry And Presence

This section does establish criminal penalties for persons who aid illegal immigration. But it only addresses the smugglers. The penalty for alien smuggling would increase to a range of 3 to 20 years in prison and of course, fines.

Ok, what about the other people and/or agencies who aid and abet illegal immigration?

Religious entities are exempt. So are those who provide

'short-term, in-kind, non-cash emergency humanitarian assistance, including medical care, housing, counseling, victim services, and food, or to transport the alien to a location where such assistance can be rendered.' [Title II Sec. 274 (3) (B)]

Look, these alien smugglers or coyotes are definitely scumbags who need to be beaten into submission. And the Pence Plan does go after them�but it also makes them scapegoats.

Why are illegal immigrants not subjected to the same punishment as those they hire to help carry out the crime?

In America, a man may hire another man to kill his wife but he is still guilty of murder even though he didn�t technically pull the trigger�it�s called conspiracy.

As I described in my last column, the Pence Plan claims to deter illegal immigration primarily by punishing those who hire them.

These are Pence's employer restrictions:

'Any person who, during any 12-month period, knowingly hires for employment at least 10 individuals with actual knowledge that the individuals are aliens shall be fined under title 18, United 21 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years or both.' [Sec. 274 (b) (1)]

In other words, this means an employer can hire nine illegal immigrants per year without consequence.

I'm going to guess that's a good share of illegal alien employment.

Not that it matters!

Construction and agriculture are the primary industries that hire illegal aliens. Most of these companies hire their employees through a labor contractor.

Labor contractors (usually illegal aliens themselves) have an arrangement with the employer to provide X number of workers for what is more or less a finder�s fee.

This is a binding contract in which the contractor agrees to provide the employer with legal workers only�not illegal immigrants.

The guilty party has always been the contractor, not the farmer or the construction company. You've heard of laundering money. The contractors are laundering labor.

The Pence Plan does not address this loophole.

Once again, it sounds good but in truth accomplishes nothing.

Now onto one of my favorite parts: Voluntary Departure

it�s HUGE and hugely flawed.

The idea:

If illegal aliens agree to depart the country before legal proceedings begin, they have up to 120 days to leave.

The judge may require them to post a bond but is under no obligation to do so�the illegal aliens simply state their intention to leave. We take them at their word. After all, they've never broken the law before, right?

If illegal aliens agree to leave after the proceedings have already started, they have only 60 days to comply. Additionally, they have to post a bond that can only be redeemed after they leave the country.

Wait a minute, no they don�t.

'An immigration judge may waive posting of a voluntary departure bond in individual cases upon a finding that the alien has presented compelling evidence that the posting of a bond will be a serious financial hardship and the alien has presented credible evidence that such a bond is unnecessary to guarantee timely departure.'

Presumably Congressman Pence wanted to provide an incentive for illegal aliens to leave of their own accord in lieu of a costly court proceeding.

But when will he (and the rest of his colleagues) learn that the coax and coddle approach does not work?

Illegal immigrants should not receive incentives to follow our laws�they should simply fear the consequences when they do not.

If an illegal immigrant chooses voluntary departure, the agreement shall include a waiver to the right of any further motion. This includes appeal, application, and petition relating to removal.

But the Pence language goes on to say:

'However, if an alien agrees to voluntary departure but later files a timely appeal of the immigration judge�s decision granting voluntary departure, the alien may pursue the appeal instead of the voluntary departure agreement.'

So they can appeal?

Now it�s time to ask the question I always ask�what happens if they do not honor the agreement and leave the country?

Answer:

The alien will be liable for a civil penalty of $3,000 unless otherwise specified in the removal order�which can be anything or nothing.

The alien is ineligible for any benefits under this section�unless he pays the civil penalty first�then he can start over.

So to summarize the Pence Ploy:

There is not a reform bill.

In fact, it will only make matters worse by increasing the number of unskilled immigrants in America.

This bill does not punish illegal immigrants at all.

Within the American justice system, an adequate punishment has been determined to include elements of both consequence and deterrence.

Effective law enforcement cannot be achieved without it.

The most effective way to accomplish this is to not allow criminals to benefit from their crime.

Bryanna's bottom line: Fines, penalties, maybe a few days in county jail or a week-long trip back to Mexico to get a guaranteed visa will not work�ever.

It�s like sentencing a bank robber to a couple months in jail but letting him keep the money.

It�s like sentencing a car thief to a couple months in jail but letting him keep the car.

It�s like�oh, you get the point!

We will never stop illegal immigration until we start denying these people that which they broke the law to obtain:

Residency in the United States.

June 21, 2006

Hey Mike Pence! Amnesty Is The Absence Of Punishment�Not The Presence of Reward!

By Bryanna Bevens


[See also: Pence Ploy Part II: Security, Smugglers And Scapegoats]

After running a campaign focused almost entirely on immigration reform, Brian Bilbray was elected to Congress last week.

The results have emboldened his new colleagues. Once-cautious Congressmen in vulnerable seats now seem comfortable running for re-election on the enforcement-only House bill that passed last December. Top news from Google as I write this: House Stalls Immigration Reform, Compromise Bill Not Likely Before November Elections (by Gil Kaufman, MTV.COM, 6/21/06).

So it looks like Joe Guzzardi was right and Peter Brimelow was wrong (for now)�we can all say bye-bye to that atrocious Senate Sellout.

But the threat of bad immigration policy still looms large.

Beware the Compromise!!

Our attention must now turn to the Pence Ploy�the alleged "compromise" miraculously proposed at the last minute by Congressman Mike Pence and widely whooped-up as a way of outflanking immigration patriots in the House.

It�s finally available (DISCUSSION DRAFT, in PDF) and I have read its 300 or so pages�something no MSM types will do.

Before I begin, let me make something clear:

Amnesty is the absence of punishment, not the presence of reward.

Any immigration bill is absolutely an amnesty bill unless it sends back home the millions of illegal aliens in the United States today.

To deny them "a clear path to citizenship" is not a punishment�anymore than not giving your children cookies when they bite you.

Punishment is more like�well, beating them without mercy�the kids, not the illegal immigrants�actually, I�ll have to think about that one.

Speaking of the Pence Ploy�

I have decided that my assessment of the Senate immigration bill was wrong.

The McKennedy bill is not the worst piece of legislation I have ever seen�the Pence Ploy wins that title.

Don�t misunderstand me, the Kennedy-Bush-McCain bill is definitely the evil spawn of an unholy alliance. But it makes no attempt to conceal that fact.

On the other hand, Congressman Pence is a well-liked man with impeccable conservative credentials�many of his colleagues will not feel compelled to read the contents of his bill before supporting it.

But, while the Pence Plan has been touted as compromise, upon a closer look, it is not.

NOT!!!

As a political consultant and aide, I have read more of these legal doohickeys than any sane person could endure. And let me tell you, this one is long and complicated.

This legislation would reorganize our entire immigration system and require the restructuring of several government agencies:

The Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, the�

Okay, basically all of them.

Additionally, it creates an entirely new private sector industry and provides for all the bureaucratic hoopla that goes with such an undertaking.

In other words, this legislation was not a quick response to Congressional crisis�it was well-planned and long in the making.

It wasn�t put together overnight. And I doubt Pence�s small staff could have managed it without help�will the real author please step forward??

The Pence bill is so complex it will take two (2) columns for me to properly convey the problems with it.

For today, we will focus on the biggies:

Securing the border�or not

The new (supposedly) temporary guest worker program

Welfare reform�stop subsidizing illegals!

1. Securing the border�or not
Mike Pence has said repeatedly that his bill puts border security first. In his op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, he wrote

"[the bill would]�require the Secretary of Homeland Security to certify that all these border security measures are substantially completed before any new guest worker program would begin." [A Middle Ground on Immigration, June 11, 2006]

His bill does say border security measures have to be "substantially completed". But, tellingly, it does not provide a definition of what that means.

So the HS Secretary could certify any absurd thing. How absurd? Well, the Bush Administration already says it�s acted to secure the border.

(Yeah, and my driver�s license says I weigh 125 lbs�)

2. The new (supposedly) temporary guest worker program
After securing the border, Pence says he wants to implement a temporary guest worker program that is not tantamount to amnesty.

Pence kindly defined amnesty in his speech at the Heritage Foundation�before the bill text was released. He said:

"Allowing 12 million illegal aliens to stay in our country instead of leaving and coming back legally is amnesty, no matter if fines or back taxes are paid, or how it is otherwise dressed up or spun by its proponents. The only way to deal with these 12 million people is to insist that they leave the country and come back legally if there�s a willing employer waiting in this country to put them to work."

But the Pence Plan does not accomplish this�not by a long shot�and I�ll tell you why:

From what I read, the Pence "leave the country for a week and we�ll give you a visa" ploy is symbolic at best and deceptive at worst.

These are some of the major loopholes and/or drawbacks:

It creates a new category of nonimmigrant Visa (as though we don�t have enough) for temporary workers AND their spouses and children [Sec. 1402 (a) (3)]. It�s called, to add insult to injury, the �W� visa.

(This is very telling�importing dependants totally destroys any economic rationale for guestworkers, since spouses and children impose major health, education and welfare costs on American taxpayers. It makes it clear that Pence�s objective is to compel American taxpayers to subsidize business� remuneration of its workers.)

The program will not begin for two years after the enactment of the bill. In the meantime, it seems we are to maintain the status quo and tolerate our massive illegal immigrant population�and the millions more who will come during that time!!

Private employment agencies (" Ellis Island Centers") will be responsible for screening applicants and issuing the work permits. (This is the new industry and behemoth bureaucracy I mentioned earlier. VDARE.COM�s Ed Rubenstein has already demonstrated that this will be a fraud-prone feeding frenzy for firms with political friends.)

For the first three years, there are no limitations on the number of these visas that can be issued! This is WORSE than the Senate Sellout, which currently caps Temporary Workers at 250,000.

And any children "temporary workers" have while they are in the United States are�you guessed it, automatic U.S. citizens under the current "anchor baby" misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment. The Pence Ploy makes no attempt to close this loophole.

AND NOW THE BIGGEST (in my opinion) LOOPHOLE: The Secretary of HS may waive any of these provisions if there is a humanitarian interest, for the purpose of family unity or if it is the public interest.

To recap: Three things to remember�if you remember nothing else:

The new "W" visa is available to anybody�the 12-20 million illegal immigrants we have now and the rest of the entire world.

The new "W" visa will be issued to the worker, their spouses and their children.

There is no limit on the number of "W� visas that can be issued for at least the first three years.

3. Finally�it�s the WELFARE, stupid!
The Pence Plan does not reform welfare subsidies to illegals�in fact, welfare benefits will increase in tandem with our immigrant population.

In fact, Pence actually contains language specifying that this must be the case�another reason that makes me doubt conservatives wrote this bill.

Here it is, in black and white:

"For purposes of title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, a nonimmigrant having status under section 101(a)(15)(W) of the Immigration and Nationality Act shall be treated as any other nonimmigrant granted status under such Act."

Sorry, a little jargon there but loosely translated, nothing changes�all the welfare benefits currently enjoyed by illegal aliens will continue.

All of the new �temporary workers� get them as well.

And that�s it�that�s the Pence program.

There is no language in the Pence bill that requires the 12-20 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. to follow this program.

There is no language which imposes a consequence on them if they do not.

Mike Pence is relying solely on employer sanctions to solve the problem. His theory sounds like this:

1. If we fine the employer for hiring illegal aliens, they will only hire foreign workers through the Ellis Island Centers.

2. If the illegal aliens do not enroll in the temporary worker program, they will be unable to find work and consequently leave the country.

As for stopping future illegal immigration, Mike Pence is relying on increased penalties for immigrant smugglers�no, I�m not joking.

But those are the topics for my next column!

The Pence Plan is just the latest example of Washington not taking this issue seriously, But I�m no longer worried about it.

It�s clear that Small Town, USA is giving up on the feds and starting to take matters into its own hands.

For example: The City Council of Hazelton, Pennsylvania just voted to revoke the licenses of businesses that hire illegal aliens. Additionally, they will impose a $1000 fine for any landlord who rents property to illegal aliens. [Pa. city poised for immigration crackdown, By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press, June 19, 2006]

Similar measures are taking place in San Bernardino, California and Butler County, Ohio�etc., etc.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there were more than 500 immigration reform bills introduced in 2006.

So quit making it difficult, Congress!!

Eliminate the incentives!!

No job�no place to live�no free medical�no free education and no welfare means�NO MORE ILLEGAL ALIENS!!

Excellent eye-opener! Now---what have we learned?

The "W" in We the People is the only "W" to obey! The "W" masquerading as our (Wimp) President is shoving the "W" of the Pence Bill DOWN YOUR THROAT!


Now WHAT are YOU, going to DO about it? Call that trash talker PENCE, and give him a "W"axing, and a "W"hoopin', he deserves! GET TO IT--Call him on the 4th of July! Do your patriotic duty!