Perry offers illegal immigrant bill

Public benefits would be restricted and police would check citizenship of suspects under the law.

By John Hilton, Sentinel Reporter, March 22, 2007

Last updated: Thursday, March 22, 2007 10:05 AM EDT

House Republicans are taking another stab at cracking down on illegal immigrants living and working in Pennsylvania.

The package of bills announced Wednesday would deny all non-medical emergency public benefits to illegal aliens, penalize businesses hiring undocumented workers and require police officers to check the citizenship of all suspects.

“We need to slam the back door on illegal immigration so we can keep the front door for legal immigration open,” said Charlie Gerow of Hampden Township, a political activist. “If we continue to allow the influx of illegal immigrants... it puts the American Dream in jeopardy.”

Illegal immigration is a major issue in some parts of the state — the cities with significant numbers of poor immigrants and rural agricultural areas where large numbers of aliens find seasonal work. Officials have said that illegal workers are rare in Cumberland County.

House Republicans introduced similar legislation last year, but it never came to a vote. The new package includes a new wrinkle — revoking the state licenses of businesses that hire illegal immigrants. The state regulates several industries, such as landscape architects and funeral directors.

State Rep. Scott Perry, R-92, introduced the Protection of Public Benefits Act, which would deny state benefits such as prescription drugs and health insurance for children to illegal immigrants.

“This practice of providing benefits to illegal immigrants jeopardizes the entire social services safety net,” Perry said. “By enacting this legislation, we are confirming our support for all the people who came into this country legally.”

Cutting off opportunities

A Penn State University professor says the lawmakers are trying to lower the bar so they can dump the immigrant problem on neighboring states.

If passed, the immigration reform bills will “make (immigrants) less comfortable and drive them to other states,” said Matthew Woessner, assistant professor of public policy. “The basic strategy is just to cut off all viable opportunities” for illegals to live a comfortable life here.

Lawmakers say the Hazleton controversy may give them the momentum to get the legislation through the General Assembly.

Hazleton is defending the constitutionality of its Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and companies that employ them. A companion measure requires tenants to register with City Hall.

Enforcement of the laws has been barred pending a legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union and Hispanic groups, who say the crackdown usurped the federal government’s exclusive power over immigration policy, spurred division between whites and Hispanics in the city of 31,000 and caused economic hardship to Hispanic business owners and landlords. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the suit.

Keeping wages down?

George Borjas, a Harvard University economist who advocates for more restrictive immigration policies, conducted a 20-year study that found the wages of U.S.-born citizens working in low-skilled jobs decreased by about 8 percent over the short term because of immigrant labor.

Borjas’ conclusions have been challenged by other economists who say he has overestimated the impact of immigration on wages.

The ACLU claims that illegal immigrants are performing a service by doing the jobs that Americans don’t want. Woessner says that idea is “disingenuous” at best. What the illegal workers do is help keep wages artificially low on those unskilled jobs.

“It’s an enormously difficult debate,” he added. “I don’t envy those who are trying to come up with a solution.”


http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2007 ... ews772.txt




another one on the same subject worth reading.




State Politicians Bring immigration Reform 'Home'

By: Joe Murray, The Bulletin
03/22/2007



In an attempt to send a clear message that Pennsylvania will not be a boarding house for illegal immigrants, four state lawmakers, led by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), announced during a press conference at the Capital Media Center, in Harrisburg, that a comprehensive immigration reform package is taking shape.

The package, called "The National Security Begins at Home," consists of five bills that would: require employers to enroll in a pilot program to verify the Social Security numbers of a potential employee; permit Pennsylvania State Police to assist federal agents in the enforcement of immigration laws; include citizenship and immigration status in the commonwealth's criminal activity database; terminate the professional licenses of any employer caught hiring an illegal employee; and eliminate all non-medical emergency care and public benefits for illegal workers.

"My grandparents came to this country as legal immigrants," explained Rep. Scott Perry (R-Cumberland/York). Perry continued, "They came here to improve their lives through their own hard work - not by taking advantage of a system that is designed to help people truly in need."

The four Pennsylvania lawmakers are attempting to address complaints that America is neglecting its southern border with Mexico.

The controversy, however, has recently hit much closer to home. In Hazelton, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the mayor's office has launched a tough enforcement plan aimed at limiting the access of illegal workers to housing and jobs. Activists on both sides have made Hazelton's enforcement actions a national rallying point.

Earlier this month, a Susquehanna Polling and Research survey showed that 61 percent of Americans consider the efforts of the federal government to curb illegal immigration as ineffective.

Another factor driving the push for immigration reform is the contention that an increase in the number of illegal immigrants in a community normally coincides with a rise in criminal activity.

In Los Angeles, for example, a reported 95 percent of all warrants for homicide, over 1200, have been issued for illegal aliens. Close to one-third of those occupying a bunk in the federal prison system are illegal aliens.

To underscore these problems, Rep. Metcalfe asserted that, "A February 2007 report from Family Security Matters revealed that the estimated 2158 murders committed annually by illegal aliens have now resulted in the deaths of more American citizens than the Iraq War."

Calling on his own history as a veteran, Metcalfe added, "As an American military veteran who, at the age of 19, defended the border between East and West Germany during the Cold War, I am appalled that our federal government continues to ignore its constitutional duty to defend the liberty, property and, ultimately, the lives of American citizens from illegal alien invaders."

Metcalfe and the other supporters of the new legislation argue that the successful passage of this immigration package will advance national security interests in Pennsylvania. The intent of the legislation is to deter illegal immigrants from eluding border enforcement officers and setting up shop in Pennsylvania.

"Confronting the epidemic of illegal immigration head-on in the Keystone State involves shutting off the economic faucets of jobs and public benefits that are luring illegal aliens across the border in the first place," Metcalfe said during the press conference.

"Once the initial draw is severed at the source, these illegal invaders will have no choice but to go home on their own."

According to the Republican sponsors, each bill included in the package attempts to aggressively confront any increase in the more than 12 million illegal aliens in America today.

The specifics of the proposed bills are: First, HB 750, sponsored by Rep. Metcalfe, would require all employers in the commonwealth to enroll in a pilot program established by the federal government to verify the Social Security numbers of potential applicants.

This program is free to the employers, and the lawmakers insist that such a program would curb the hiring of illegal aliens. If an employer fails to comply, any license, permit, registration and/or certificate held by the employer would be suspended.

HB 753, sponsored by Rep. Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny), is related to HB 750 in that it permits Pennsylvania to terminate the professional license of any employer that knowingly hires an illegal alien. Currently, federal law limits the remedies a state can use in discouraging the employment of illegal aliens. Federal law does allow states to sanction employers "through licensing and similar laws."

"Simply put, there should be no economic rewards, public benefits or employment privileges for anyone that is guilty of breaking our nation's immigration laws," Mustio said.

HB 751, sponsored by Rep. Tom Creighton (R-Lancaster), would authorize the Pennsylvania State Police to negotiate a "memorandum of understanding" with the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In other words, this would permit Pennsylvania to work out an agreement where state troopers could assist federal officers in enforcing immigration and customs laws.

"I authored legislation to bring the federal and state governments together in an effort to better enforce immigration laws and provide State Police with information on citizenship and immigration to cross-check with those arrested," explained Creighton.

"The key to improving existing immigration laws is to support the existing law enforcement system and provide them with the tools needed to enforce the law in an efficient and effective manner."

HB 752, would authorize that the citizenship and immigration status of those arrested be included in the database of criminal history records maintained by the State Police. This bill speaks to the heart of the national debate over immigration, which focuses on the criminal activity of illegal aliens.

"Increasingly, documented incidences of homicide, identity theft, property theft, serious infectious diseases, drug running, gang violence, human trafficking, terrorism and the growing cost to taxpayers are some of the most detrimental 'imports' being brought across America's unsecured borders by illegal aliens," said Metcalfe.

The final bill included in the package is HB 754, which would eliminate all non-medical, public benefits for illegal aliens. This measure, sponsored by Rep. York, would cut welfare, education and unemployment benefits for illegal aliens.

The lawmakers have made it clear that they consider the passage of this package to be a key pillar in protecting national security, as well as an important element in halting the 150,000 illegals the Border Patrol apprehends every month on the country's southern border.

"Final enactment of my legislation and the rest of the National Security Begins at Home package will send a clear message that our commonwealth is serious about protecting the best economic interests of legally employed workers and honest, patriotic law-abiding businesses that refuse to undermine the legitimate process of legal immigration by providing illegal employment opportunities," stated Mustio.

While the four lawmakers are optimistic about the passage of their reform package, the folks over at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania are already beginning to rain on their parade.

"Most, if not all, of this package was introduced in the last session and little interest was shown then," Larry Frankel, legislative director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said. "Most of the legislators understand that this is a federal issue and requires more than a patch-work solution that will vary from state to state."
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us.


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