This commission is a total slap in the face of the Alabama citizen! Where are the representatives of the common Alabamian? It is made up of politicians and speical interest PLUS representatives of the hispanic community! I swear I will make sure everyone I know knows of this treason to the people of this state!!!!!!!!!

http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stori ... xml&coll=1



Panel to study illegal migrants
Thursday, September 06, 2007
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
Members will try to decide on policy for Alabama

MONTGOMERY- A 21-member state commission was organized Wednesday to study the state's illegal immigration problem and make recommendations to the Legislature in 2008.

"The bottom line is, we're trying to figure out what is a safe, enforceable, logical immigration policy that fits the needs of Alabama," said Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale.


Beason sponsored the legislation that created the Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission.

"What happened over the last couple of years was we had multiple bills introduced in the Legislature and it became apparent we didn't have a cohesive plan to deal with illegal immigration," he said. "It was kind of a shotgun effect."

Beason said the commission plans to schedule public hearings in Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Dothan, and possibly a rural area being affected most by undocumented workers.

Under the legislation that created the commission, Gov. Bob Riley could appoint seven members, while Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom and House Speaker Seth Hammett could appoint three legislators each and four members at-large each.

Hammett appointed two local lawmakers to the commission - Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur; and Rep. Randy Hinshaw, D-Meridianville. Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom also appointed Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Union Grove.

Hammett also appointed Elia Ordonez of Huntsville. Ordonez is the Hispanic Programs Officer in Marshall Space Flight Center's Equal Opportunity Office. Neither Folsom nor Riley appointed anyone from the Huntsville area.

Noting that legislatures across the country have considered about 1,200 bills dealing with illegal immigration, Beason said a problem Alabama faces is blending any new laws with those in other states.



Page 2 of 2
"We do not know how all these piece of legislation would work together," he said. "We need to look at this from a broader perspective nationally and have an outlook that would say what should the state do uniformly."

Beason said it is apparent that state government does not have a handle on the illegal immigration problem in Alabama.

"Frankly, we don't know what the facts are," he said. "That's the reason we need a commission. No one really knows how many illegal immigrants are in the state.


"We don't know what the impact is on medical services the state provides; we don't know the impact on emergency rooms; we don't know the positives or negatives."

In fact, Beason said some employers have told him that because Alabama's unemployment rate is so low, the state needs to import illegal workers to fill jobs, especially in construction.

"It became apparent during the (legislative) session that no one knew what the facts are," he said. "A lot of states have denied public benefits. We're not recommending anything until we have all the information in hand.

"If we can make 85 percent of the people happy, I think we'll have something good for the state," he said.

Michael Ciamarra, vice president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a conservative think-tank in Birmingham, drafted the legislation and will assist the commission.

"We'll issue a report that will have very specific, clear and thoughtful recommendations for both the executive branch and the legislative branch," said Ciamarra. "Our timetable is tentative at this point, but we hope that report would be ready at least two or three weeks before the session begins."

Ciamarra said the commission's objective for the short term will be to gather facts, especially about what the state can and can't do within its jurisdiction.

"This is not a liberal, conservative, Democrat or Republican issue," he said. "We thought it was imperative to have an adult conversation about the crisis of illegal immigration because we all agree this issue is not going away."

http://www.alfafarmers.org/headlines/he ... ml?id=5091



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September 05, 2007 Email to Friend

JOINT COMMISSION ON IMMIGRATION HOLDS ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING Jeff Helms
(334) 613-4212
September 05, 2007



Agricultural leaders Ronnie Mobley, center, and Oliver Washington, right, meet with Jay Reed, president of the Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission, following the group's organizational meeting in Montgomery. Mobley was elected secretary of the commission.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Elected officials and industry stakeholders charged with recommending solutions to immigration issues in Alabama held their organizational meeting Sept. 5 at the State House in Montgomery.

The Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission (JIPIC), which was established by an act of the Legislature, includes appointees by the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Representatives from the agriculture community serving on the commission include former Alabama Farmers Federation Women's Chairman Ronnie Mobley of Winston County, Federation State Board Member Dennis Maze of Blount County, Oliver Washington, owner of Shore Acres Plant Farm in Mobile County, and Ricky Walker, past president of the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association.

During the organizational meeting, Jay Reed, vice president of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., was elected president of the 21-member commission. Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, was elected vice president, and Ronnie Mobley was elected secretary.

The commission is charged with conducting a fact-finding study on immigration issues and outlining suggestions to address illegal and legal immigration in Alabama in a report to the governor, Legislature and members of the state's congressional delegation.

Beason, who sponsored the joint resolution creating the commission, called the group's charge "one of the most important endeavors the state of Alabama will take part in during the next few years." He anticipated the commission holding five to six public hearings across the state before making recommendations next spring.

Reed said he's honored to be selected president of the commission by the 17 members present for the organizational meeting.

"We've got a job ahead of us, and we certainly need to take a balanced look at immigration in Alabama," he said.

The next meeting of the JIPIC is set for Wednesday, Sept. 18, in Montgomery.



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89819-1:n:03/26/2007:MCS/tan LRS2007-1682




HJR174
By Representative Lewis
RFD Rules
Rd 1 27-MAR-07




ESTABLISHING THE JOINT INTERIM PATRIOTIC IMMIGRATION COMMISSION.

WHEREAS, the debate on illegal immigration continues unabated across the nation and in every state capitol while the unprecedented influx of non-English speaking immigrants requires Alabama policy makers to confront a growing critical public policy crisis; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has historically been responsible for U.S. border control, however the states have become more concerned over the issues of immigration; according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than 500 bills have been introduced in state capitols across the country to address the crisis of illegal immigration; and

WHEREAS, states and localities have long been overlooked in the efforts to enforce and pass effective immigration laws, however, states are now becoming involved, indeed, state and local officials know better than anyone the immigration patterns in different communities, and the strains on the state's public safety, public health; and education systems that illegal aliens cause; and

WHEREAS, the states must exercise power to investigate, apprehend, detain, and remove illegal aliens; and

WHEREAS, immigration has become a paramount governmental issue, yet there is no coherent and comprehensive plan for the state to address the large numbers of illegal aliens; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That the Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission is hereby established to conduct a fact-finding study on immigration issues and to issue a commission report outlining suggestions and proposals to address the issues of illegal and legal immigration in Alabama to the Legislature, Governor, and members of the Alabama Congressional Delegation. The membership of the commission shall be inclusive and shall reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban and rural, and economic diversity of the state.

The following persons shall be appointed to serve as members on the commission:

(1) Seven persons appointed by the Governor, with at least two representing the state Hispanic community and one representing the state business community.

(2) One member of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

(3) One member of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(4) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House.

(5) Two members appointed by the Attorney General.

(6) One member appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries.

(7) One member appointed by the Director of Public Safety.

( One member appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections.

(9) One member appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.

(10) One member appointed by the State Health Officer.

(11) One member appointed by the Commissioner of Medicaid.

(12) One representative from each member of the Alabama Congressional Delegation.

(13) One representative of the Immigration and Naturalization Services.

The Governor shall set the time and place for the first commission meeting, at which a chair, vice chair, and secretary of the commission shall be selected. Thereafter, meetings shall be held at the call of the chair. All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public and all documents, testimony, minutes of discussions, and other commission documents shall be made available to the press and the public.

Because of the enormity and complexity of the issues involved and the potential solutions to address these issues, the commission shall strive to adhere to a logical, sequential, and comprehensive approach to its study, and shall strive to recommend specific suggested state initiatives in its report.

Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in attending meetings of the commission according to the policies and procedures applying to their respective departments, agencies, and entities.

Regarding members of the Legislature serving on the commission, each legislative member of the commission shall be entitled to his or her regular legislative compensation, his or her per diem, and travel expenses for each day he or she attends a meeting of the commission. Upon requisitions signed by the chair of the commission, these payments shall be paid out of any funds appropriated to the use of the Legislature by means of warrants drawn by the state Comptroller on the State Treasury. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no legislative member shall receive additional legislative compensation or per diem when the Legislature is in session or if a member is being paid any other payments on the same dates for attendance on other state business. The total expenditures of the legislative members of the commission shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

The commission shall issue its report to the Governor, the members of the Alabama Congressional Delegation, and the Legislature not later than the third legislative day of the 2008 Regular Session, whereupon the commission shall stand dissolved and discharged of any further duties and liabilities.