Thread: State government’s pandering to immigrants could be danger

State government's pandering to immigrants could be dangerous

June 25, 2008

Downstate levees aren't the only endangered holdbacks Illinoisans are dealing with these days.

Throughout the state, from every border, we're threatened by illegal activity to which our governor and state Legislature have strategically opened the floodgates. As a result, they've taken the pressure off neighbors as Illinois absorbs the heartland's influx of illegal immigrants.

First, Illinois has the highest state-set minimum wage in the Midwest. That means we attract more low-income wage earners than neighboring states with lower standards.

Second, we offer in-state tuition benefits for the children of those who have entered our country illegally.

Third, we provide state-funded health care for any child, with no proof of residency or citizenship for themselves or their caretakers.

And Chicago police are forbidden to ask suspected lawbreakers their immigration status, providing sanctuary and special rights for those who have sought immigrant refuge in Illinois.

Consistently thumbing our legislative nose at federal immigration policy and extending government subsidies to noncitizens, Illinois has become a Midwestern promised land for those in America illegally.

It's such a land of milk and honey that not only are Illinois taxpayers drowning in unprecedented debt and increasing financial burdens, they may be immersed in a federal lawsuit because Illinois has made it illegal for Illinois employers to confirm a potential employee's immigration status through Homeland Security's "E-Verify" program.

E-Verify is the federal government's taxpayer-funded, online database that determines if an applicant's claimed Social Security number lines up with the applicant's name. Such a check would verify a person's immigration status and relieve the employer of responsibility in mistakenly hiring an illegal immigrant.

Such a check was not acceptable to state Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago). Martinez said the E-Verify system was an invasion of privacy and was flawed because 1 percent of the applications returned with inaccurate findings.

With bipartisan support, Illinois become the nation's first state to ban E-Verify's use. Immediately thereafter, Homeland Security sued Illinois for circumventing federal policy. Illinois backed down and agreed to not enforce the ban in January 2008 and promised to amend Martinez's law when the Legislature returned this year.

But when the gavel sounded at the end of May, Illinois lawmakers hadn't kept their promise. Martinez's new language watered down the ban to instead "discourage" E-Verify's use by employers. Her bill passed the Senate easily but remained unclaimed by a House sponsor for a week before it was finally picked up by state Rep. Randy Ramey (R-Addison).

Ramey's intention was to amend Martinez's language from "discouraging" the use of E-Verify to "encouraging" employers to use it. His proposed language was rejected in committee and through House manipulations. The bill was grabbed away from Ramey and placed into state Rep. Cynthia Soto's (D-Chicago) more friendly hands. Soto called it for a House floor vote with Martinez's language intact. It failed miserably May 30. The E-Verify ban remains Illinois law.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hasn't yet announced whether the federal government will proceed with its lawsuit against the state. Last December, Chertoff fumed as he said: "In a motion filed with DHS, the state requested a 60-day stay of the lawsuit so that the Illinois Legislature would have an opportunity to consider proposed changes in the Illinois statute. I remain hopeful that Illinois will amend its law so that Illinois employers can continue to utilize this valuable tool without the need for further litigation."

The 60 days have passed. The next move is likely to be the feds'.

In the meantime, congressional efforts have been unsuccessful in mandating the E-Verify system nationwide, and a San Francisco federal court blocked federal administrative rules from requiring E-Verify's use.

Frustrated with one dead end after another, President Bush signed an executive order two weeks ago requiring all federal contractors to run an E-Verify check before hiring.

Immigrants-rights groups opposed Bush's order, saying the system is vulnerable to those who illegally used real identity documents belonging to others. Without new funding and staff, the groups say, the Social Security Administration could be overwhelmed by federal contractors' inquiries.

That's a reason to ignore federal law and show preferential treatment to illegal workers?

So Illinois remains in the middle of a heated immigration policy dispute. As the governor sets into motion more outreach to immigration-rights groups, new coalitions to protect immigrants are forming as strange political bedfellows emerge among Catholic citizen groups, service worker unions, restaurant owners, farmers and chamber of commerce groups.

And just last week, Martinez's colleague, Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago), met with Republican presidential hopeful John McCain during a private meeting with Chicago-area Hispanics. Though he served alongside then-state Sen. Barack Obama, Sandoval isn't so impressed with Obama that he's not willing to talk to the Republican co-author of the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform. McCain's federal proposal would have enhanced border enforcement, set up an electronic employment verification system and offered amnesty for those in the United States illegally.

As Americans grow used to exorbitant gas prices and tire of the Iraqi war discussion, the growing immigration crisis could emerge as the 2008 political season's most threatening and potentially damaging problem.

Fran Eaton is a south suburban resident, a conservative activist in state and national politics and an online journalist. She can be reached at featon@illinoisreview.com.
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/eaton ... on.article

Funny but not funny....

When I saw the title of this thread I thought -I BET that's about Illinois.

Is there any sanctuary left in Illinois for Americans??????