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  1. #1
    Senior Member zeezil's Avatar
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    System to verify legal status faces deadline

    System to verify legal status faces deadline
    Renewal of federal program at heart of new state law held up in Senate
    By Tim Smith • CAPITAL BUREAU • September 20, 2008

    COLUMBIA -- The fate of the federal immigration verification system E-verify, a keystone of the immigration package passed by South Carolina lawmakers this year, now is being negotiated by senators who must renew the program in coming weeks or see it expire.

    Because Congress plans an election recess by the end of the month and E-verify will expire in November unless it is renewed, Capitol Hill staffers say senators must make a decision soon on what to do with the program, which passed the House by overwhelming numbers in August.

    U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who in August held up a bill to renew the program, has asked that in addition to renewing E-verify, the Senate also "recapture" unused or unclaimed family and work-sponsored visas for the last 15 years, provisions critics say could allow up to 600,000 more immigrants and workers into the country.

    "There is really only one person standing between E-verify and reauthorization and that is Sen. Bob Menendez," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Given that our economy is losing jobs by tens of thousands every month, this is not the time to go looking for more workers to bring to the country."

    Menendez explained in a recent statement outlining his proposal that he wants to be fair to business as well as to immigrant families.

    "Verifying that workers have their proper documentation is certainly important, and this bill ensures we are doing that while being fair to families who have waited in line for years and have paid their visa fees to reunite with their loved ones," Menendez said.

    "We must couple the E-verify effort, which is good for business, with policy that is also good for families -- it fits with our American value system and is a step toward fixing our broken immigration system."

    Afshin Mohamidi, press secretary for Menendez, said Menendez is talking with other senators to get something passed.

    "Sen. Menendez is actively negotiating to reauthorize E-verify -- a program he supports -- along the lines of what passed the House and to bring some fairness to U.S. citizens seeking to legally reunify with immediate family members," he said. "The goal is to get agreement in the near future."

    Co-sponsoring Menendez' bill are senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington and Ted Kennedy of Massachussetts.

    Created in 1996 and run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the E-verify system allows employers to tap DHS and Social Security electronic databases to verify the legal status of new workers.

    According to immigration officials, 1,000 new employers voluntarily sign up to use the system each week. About 80,000 employers nationwide use the system. President Bush issued an executive order this year requiring all federal contractors to use it.

    Under South Carolina's law passed this year, contractors doing business with the state as well as private companies are required to use either the E-verify system or a South Carolina driver's license to verify any new workers beginning next year. Smaller firms would use the system beginning in the summer of 2010.

    Driver's licenses from states with document standards as stringent as South Carolina's also could be used.

    Not all officials are thrilled with the program. Illinois passed a law prohibiting employers in that state from using the system. The federal government has challenged that decision in court.

    Last month, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina were among 13 senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking that E-verify be renewed.

    In South Carolina, 1,023 businesses are using E-verify, said Beth Levine, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is pushing for renewal of the program.

    "They are trying to listen to what Sen. Menendez' objections are," she said of ongoing negotiations. "Our position is at this time there is no reason for an expansion. Immigration is a very difficult topic and something that needs to be debated. We should just be doing extensions at this point, not expanding."

    Mehlman said holding up renewal of E-verify at a time when American workers need job security is "unconscionable."

    "E-verify deserves to be reauthorized on its own merits and shouldn't be laden with all sorts of benefits for business interests," he said. "What we are hoping is the Democratic leadership will tell Sen. Menendez, 'Look, it's time to step aside. This is important to American workers.'"

    Several Senate bills offer renewal of E-verify but with different terms.

    Grassley's bill would make E-verify permanent and also require it to be used by employers who have been found to repeatedly use illegal workers. His bill also would require DHS to provide reports of workers not verified by the system to federal immigration officials to help that agency investigate employers.

    Another bill sponsored by three GOP senators -- Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- would renew the program for five years and also extend a waiver program for foreign physicans and for religious workers.

    Levine said the Senate is likely to consider the stand-alone renewal bill passed by the House.
    http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pb ... 001/NEWS01
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  2. #2
    tubby's Avatar
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    Sen. Menendez has an F on his immigration report card. Check it out on Numbersusa.com

  3. #3
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
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    Grassley's bill would make E-verify permanent and also require it to be used by employers who have been found to repeatedly use illegal workers. His bill also would require DHS to provide reports of workers not verified by the system to federal immigration officials to help that agency investigate employers.
    This one I like. Senator Menendez can cram his opinion.
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  4. #4
    Senior Member WorriedAmerican's Avatar
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    Re: System to verify legal status faces deadline

    COLUMBIA -- The fate of the federal immigration verification system E-verify, a keystone of the immigration package passed by South Carolina lawmakers this year, now is being negotiated by senators who must renew the program in coming weeks or see it expire.

    Because Congress plans an election recess by the end of the month and E-verify will expire in November unless it is renewed, Capitol Hill staffers say senators must make a decision soon on what to do with the program, which passed the House by overwhelming numbers in August.
    Let's call our Senators! I have two losers for my Maine senators. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
    These women were great people but I would say they have lost their minds and deserve to be voted out of The Senate for their current uselessness.
    They vote along with my Democratic incompetent Governor, BaldArchie.



    "being fair to families"
    means Illegal Families!!!

    According to immigration officials, 1,000 new employers voluntarily sign up to use the system each week. About 80,000 employers nationwide use the system. President Bush issued an executive order this year requiring all federal contractors to use it.

    Under South Carolina's law passed this year, contractors doing business with the state as well as private companies are required to use either the E-verify system or a South Carolina driver's license to verify any new workers beginning next year. Smaller firms would use the system beginning in the summer of 2010.

    Driver's licenses from states with document standards as stringent as South Carolina's also could be used.


    Last month, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina were among 13 senators to sign a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asking that E-verify be renewed.

    In South Carolina, 1,023 businesses are using E-verify, said Beth Levine, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is pushing for renewal of the program.
    The wonderful American States who care about our workers and the budgets!!

    Not all officials are thrilled with the program. Illinois passed a law prohibiting employers in that state from using the system. The federal government has challenged that decision in court.
    Send all the illegals there! They will cry "UNCLE" soon.

    Grassley's bill would make E-verify permanent and also require it to be used by employers who have been found to repeatedly use illegal workers. His bill also would require DHS to provide reports of workers not verified by the system to federal immigration officials to help that agency investigate employers.
    The Patriots of America..


    Levine said the Senate is likely to consider the stand-alone renewal bill passed by the House.
    I hope so ...
    If Palestine puts down their guns, there will be peace.
    If Israel puts down their guns there will be no more Israel.
    Dick Morris

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