Thread: Schism deepens on illegal immigration

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Schism deepens on illegal immigration

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
North County Times - The Californian |
Posted: Sunday, March 20, 2011 12:00 am | Loading… | Print

Legislation introduced last week by state and federal politicians shows the deep divide that remains on this country's immigration policy.

On one side, a state legislative committee approved two bills that would allow illegal immigrant college students to receive public financial aid. On the other side, a group of congressional representatives, including two North County Republicans, introduced a bill calling for 350 additional miles of border barriers.

The two Sacramento bills, Assembly Bills 130 and 131, are collectively known as the California Dream Act. They were introduced by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, who has sponsored them in the past but had them vetoed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The bills cleared their most recent hurdle on Tuesday, when the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, approved the bills along party lines, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans opposing them.

One of the bills, AB 130, would allow illegal immigrant students to apply for state-funded financial aid. The other would give them access to private scholarship money funnelled through public college and university foundations.

State law allows illegal immigrant students who graduate from California high schools to pay lower in-state tuition rates, but Cedillo says that many students still can't afford college. He said it makes sense to invest in their education because the state would benefit from having their talents in the work force.

He said lawmakers compromised 10 years ago when they passed Assembly Bill 540, which lets illegal immigrant students pay in-state tuition rates, but cut them off from receiving state-funded financial aid.

"It is why we are here," Cedillo said. "To finish the work."

Opponents, including Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, said there was no reason to give illegal immigrant students access to taxpayer-funded financial aid. Doing so would only attract more illegal immigrants, Donnelly said.

"They are going to come from everywhere," he said.

That sort of view is in the minority in Sacramento, especially now that Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is governor.

Brown, who campaigned in support of the California Dream Act, is seen by immigrant rights advocates as a beam of hope. They believe he will sign a host of bills that were vetoed by Schwarzenegger, including financial aid for illegal immigrant students and driver's licenses for them, too.

I'm not so sure, but we'll see.

A different view

In Washington, a different sort of mood prevails.

The Obama administration, which got an avalanche of support from Latino voters in 2008, is seen as a huge disappointment by many immigrant rights advocates. The administration has bolstered immigration enforcement but has done next to nothing to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows, the advocates say.

Losing one-half of Congress in 2010 did not help Obama.

The Republican majority in the House appears to have little appetite for anything other than tightening the screws on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Last week, Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, and Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, and four other congressmen introduced a bill that would give the Department of Homeland Security authority to build an additional 350 miles of border barriers.

The bill, dubbed the Unlawful Border Entry Prevention Act, would also require the department to report to Congress whenever a sector of the border sees a 40 percent increase in illegal immigrant arrests. In addition, the department would be required to present Congress with a plan to deal with the problem.

"The United States must control our southern border to fight against illegal immigration and improve our national security," Bilbray said.

That's true, but building fences is not enough.

Entrenched in their views on immigration, both sides ---- Republicans and Democrats ---- are myopic.

Most immigration experts agree that illegal immigrants come to the United States to work, not to go to school or to endanger Americans. Those are just the side effects of illegal immigration.

The real solution is preventing illegal immigrants from getting jobs, Bilbray always tells me.

No fence or increase in border agents has been as effective in decreasing the flow of illegal immigrants as the crash of the American economy.

So what happens when the economy recovers and immigrants come back? The answer is not clear.

A national ID card and immigration checks for every new employee might help, but that is only part of the solution. And it's not a given that either side is eager to go that far.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/col ... d5aef.html

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So what happens when the economy recovers and immigrants come back? The answer is not clear.

when did they leave?

Originally Posted by moptop

So what happens when the economy recovers and immigrants come back? The answer is not clear.

when did they leave?

Auto legalization firms busy as many Mexicans return home
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-231962.html

Yeah I saw that one I still dont buy it though I bet more are coming than going!