Thread: Senate panel adds immigration measure to Iraq supplemental

The link posted here for my Senator, Tom Harkin, Dem./Iowa, goes nowhere. Im trying to block the AG/amnesty
It could be that the site is overwhelmed by traffic, but whats to prevent the "shutdown" of any political site when an important issue is being discussed ??
Is there any part of this forum that could report this issue ?
This could be another tool for politicians to use to shut off its voters and push their agenda.

Hello. I just called both my US Senators and US Rep today and told them I'm LIVID that this illegal ag worker amnesty amendment was added to the Iraq Supplemental bill! They are getting tons of calls! Keep them coming! And, I called the two sellouts Feinstein and Craig's office to tell them the American people are tired of them trying to piecemeal amnesty through, like we're not going to notice... Her aide said "It's not amnesty." I don't argue with those people as most are clueless. I said it's amnesty and we won't allow it. Americans are fed up with having to constantly call senators and rep's because they keep trying to pass amnesty! She asked for my zip and it's Florida, so she said "You're not in California?!?" implying they won't care. I said I'm calling as an AMERICAN and because she serves on the Senate Appropriations Cmte...does that count?!? They must be getting hammered because they usually get snotty when that's the case. Please call! Toll free: 1-800-828-0498

Squire wrote:

Durbin's staffer actually commended me for not "biting his head off" when I called. He said the majority of calls that day had been against the provision.

After further "rapport-building", I told him, "While it's about immigration for sure, the heart of the matter is really cost assessment". He asked what I meant. I told him that Agribusinesses already have plenty of visas they can use. However, to do so they would have to pay a prevailing wage, help with travel costs, and provide some assurance that the immigrants have left at the end of their tenure. Agribusinesses calculated those costs and chose to spend money lobbying Congress to have the laws changed instead.

The result was, it was cheaper for them to lobby Congress than to use the existing visa programs. They would rather pay lobbyists and keep their exploited illegal labor than use that money to pay a prevailing wage. How can Senator Durbin support such a thing without also openly supporting labor exploitation?

The staffer seemed surprised, as if he hadn't thought about it in those terms. Honestly, he probably didn't know enough about it to have an informed opinion. Still, at the end of the call, pleasantries were exchanged and perhaps now the staffer will think a little more deeply about what it is he's supporting.

Courtesy and tact will almost always give you more in return than anger and hostility.

I contacted Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Becerra and others up there on the hill about this topic. I'm so depressed about California, I could cry.

Just called Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson offices and voiced my EXTREME displeasure at this tactic to attach an amnesty to the defense spending bill. Both said that they voted against the bill and that they felt that the bill will fail!

Tried calling Feinsteins office and the lines are jammed! They must be getting an ear full. I'm sick of these people who pretend to represent us, trying to sneak through an amnesty disguised as something they think we won't recognize! California's economy will soon collapse into chaos...and guess what? They get exactly what they deserve!

Record numbers of new citizens created; critics say they're too few

A legal resident is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship five years after getting his or her green card.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-115692.html

Is that why Feinstein's Ag Amnesty amendment for 'temporary workers' is for 5 years? To enable them citizenship after the 5 years?

Workers applying for the program would have to prove they had worked on U.S. farms for at least 150 days or 863 hours, or earned at least $17,000, during the last four years. They would have to remain working in agriculture for the next five years. The program would sunset after five years.

They work under false names, fake ID, stolen ID. Will they be able to add all their many forms of ID to add up to $17k? Will they then be prosecuted for using fake ID and deported? Very very few illegal aliens work under their own names.

[quote]“It could be the end of crab meat,â€

Is this toned down or what???
~~

Feinstein pushes ag worker program
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/15/2008 01:08:31 PM PDT


WASHINGTON—California Senator Dianne Feinstein is trying to use a must-pass Iraq war spending bill being debated in Congress to advance an agricultural guest worker program she's long advocated.
Feinstein sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which on Thursday voted 17-to-12 to add her farm worker measure to a multibillion-dollar bill to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Feinstein's measure would create a new, temporary class of agricultural workers to meet shortages plaguing growers nationwide, and would streamline an existing farmworker visa program.

The ultimate fate of the measure is uncertain. The House voted on different versions of the underlying bill on Thursday and the Senate is expected to take it up next week.


http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_9271453

Has it been published anywhere who the 12 were who voted "no" in the committee? I just got a notification from Numbers USA asking me to send a "thank you" fax to Sen. Durbin (IL) for voting no. This must be an error. He has a pretty consistent record of voting in favor of amnesty for illegals.