Thread: Schumer: Immigration bill to be ready by Labor Day

Schumer: Immigration bill to be ready by Labor Day

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, The Associated Press
4:21 p.m. July 8, 2009

WASHINGTON — The lead Democrat steering an immigration overhaul through the Senate said Wednesday he expects to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to highly skilled immigrant workers than those who are lower skilled and is tough on future waves of illegal immigration.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sen. Chuck Schumer said an immigration bill can be done by the end of the year or early next year that works out disagreements between labor and business interests on the flow of legal foreign workers.

"I think we'll have a good bill by Labor Day," said Schumer, D-N.Y. "I think the fundamental building blocks are in place to do comprehensive immigration reform."

Schumer said the way to get the bill done is to be very tough on future waves of illegal immigration. He declared himself pro-immigration and said the U.S. should encourage legal immigration and find some kind of path for people now here to find a way to legal citizenship.

"We have a shortage maybe of engineers here or Ph.D's in physics, but we probably don't have a shortage of people who can do construction work," Schumer said.

The AFL-CIO and the Change to Win labor unions earlier this year announced their support for immigration reform, which they have opposed in the past.

But the unions' continued opposition to increases in visas for foreign workers is at odds with the demand by business for legal foreign workers in industries ranging from high-technology to agriculture.

"I think one of the ways to bridge it is to look at the different areas of labor and where there are shortages and where there are not and where just workers are being brought in for exploitive purposes – broadly put meaning just get lower wages – rather than having a shortage," Schumer said. "I think if you look at each broad field you can see that one size does not fit all."

Schumer's office has met to dyscuss his bill with Compete America, a coalition pushing for more visas for foreign workers. Members of the group are skeptical of a labor proposal for an appointed commission to set limits on visas and green cards given to legal residents, said Robert Hoffman, an in-house lobbyist for Oracle, a software company and member of Compete America.

Ana Avendano, AFL-CIO's director of immigration policy, said Schumer's "one size doesn't fit all" view is shared by labor. "We want employers to have workers they need, but the key is determining when there is a real need, not one employers make up when they import temporary workers."

Earlier Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said beginning Sept. 8, businesses wanting federal contracts would have to use E-Verify, a Web-based system, to check whether their employees are legally working in the U.S. The Bush and Obama administrations had delayed implementing the rule.

The Senate voted for a proposal to make the E-Verify system permanent as it debated a spending bill for the Homeland Security Department.
The department also said it is abandoning a Bush administration plan to force employers to fire workers who can't resolve a mismatch between their Social Security numbers don't match their names. The administration said it would come up with a new rule.

The Bush administration had tried to root out undocumented workers through so-called "no-match" letters that the Social Security Administration sends employers. But a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union has prevented the rule from taking effect.

Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the two announcements send mixed signals.

"The administration is saying illegal immigrants shouldn't have jobs by supporting the federal contracting rule, but making it harder for companies to follow the law by doing away with the Bush 'no-match rule,' " Smith said.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... dex=128840

Are we ready to take the capitol phone system down again?

I don't want any immigrant worker smart or not. AMERICANS COME FIRST. I want it tought on the present immigrant worker not just the future immigraant worker. Didn't we try that in the 1980's. And F the path to citizenship for the ones already here. If we hired Americans we wouldn't be short engineers. They are just trying to keep the Indians employed.

The department also said it is abandoning a Bush administration plan to force employers to fire workers who can't resolve a mismatch between their Social Security numbers don't match their names. The administration said it would come up with a new rule.

So are they saying the illegals will be able to keep their jobs, or are they saying the letters will no longer be sent out by the Social Security Administration?

Originally Posted by MW

The department also said it is abandoning a Bush administration plan to force employers to fire workers who can't resolve a mismatch between their Social Security numbers don't match their names. The administration said it would come up with a new rule.

So are they saying the illegals will be able to keep their jobs, or are they saying the letters will no longer be sent out by the Social Security Administration?

That's certainly what it sounds like MW, but of course we shall have to wait and see what this <cough> "new rule" involves.

I cannot even imagine what it's going to be since the law requires a valid SSN or ITIN in order to be employed in this country and a simple "rule" does not trump legislation.

It should be quite interesting to see how they plan to skirt the law on this one.

Schumer says we need more physicists PhD's. When 60% of physics PhD's are going into postdoc positions (essentially because hanging around the university is the only option), this does not seem to justify Schumer's imagined physicist shortage in America.

Notice the drop in permanent positions available in the graph below.

About 60% of the new PhD's in the classes of 2005 and 2006 accepted postdocs after receiving their degree. The proportion of new PhD's accepting postdoctoral positions has been a better job market indicator than the unemployment rate for physics PhD's, which is traditionally low and does not fluctuate a great deal. The recent sharp increase in the percentage of new PhDs accepting postdocs is similar to the increases seen in the mid 1980's. Both these increases preceded major economic recessions that affected the US and many other countries.

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/hi ... mphigh.htm

Originally Posted by jecg_97030

Are we ready to take the capitol phone system down again?

Monday morning, we need to call, email and fax the entire Senate Judicial Committee and demand NO to Sotomayor.

Can we organize AND set a date for EVERYONE to Call, Fax, Email Chuckie boy and let him know how very wrong he is and we demand Comprehensive Law Enforcement and we demand NO COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM/AMNESTY. Let me know so I can get it posted to every site. I think Chuckie Boy needs to get pounded with correspondence and calls.

How about a date to oppose S.909 (was H.R.1913) Hate Crime/Protect Pedophile?

How about a date to oppose S.560 Card Check/EFCA/Employee free Choice Act?

How about a date to oppose (H.R.2454/Senate Bill ???) Cap & Trade?

How about a date to oppose B.O.'s Health Reform sCare?

How about a date to oppose S.1261 Pass I.D. Act/Real I.D.?

Schumer said the way to get the bill done is to be very tough on future waves of illegal immigration.

That's a lie.

1. The US Government has next to zero immigration enforcement credibility with US citizens, current illegals in the US, or any others around the nation that want to come.

2. What little shreds of enforcement credibility we have will die if they pass a path to citizenship for illegals currently in the US.

3. Once the 15 plus million illegals in America become voters under their plan there will be no reasonable future political expectations of borders or immigration enforcement in the US.

W

Seems like schumer and the other idiots in DC are trying to please every group except the ones that they are elected to represent.

Schumer said the way to get the bill done is to be very tough on future waves of illegal immigration. He declared himself pro-immigration and said the U.S. should encourage legal immigration and find some kind of path for people now here to find a way to legal citizenship.

Now, Schumer wants another 1986 AMNESTY. NO!

You Senator Schumer have permitted illegal immigrants to invade the country since 1986. You have not cared about "We the American People".

This Senator is looking forward to the New World Order.

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