Thread: Union Leader Says Immigration Reform Bill “Will Damage Public Safety and National Sec

Union Leader Says Immigration Reform Bill “Will Damage Public Safety and National Security”


Posted 7 hours ago by Dave Jolly




Since usurping the Oval Office, Barack Obama has enjoyed a large support base among unions and union leaders. Perhaps two of the strongest allies of his are the AFL-CIO and the NEA.
However, there is one union leader that is not all that thrilled with Obama or the infamous Gang of 8 that are pushing the immigration reform bill. Kenneth Palinkas is President of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 119. His particular union council has 12,000 employees who work at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Palinkas is very critical of the proposed immigration reform bill now before Congress. He points out that none of the bill’s sponsors ever bothered to talk to anyone at the USCIS office about the bill, which according to Palinkas is rife with special interest loopholes, many of which will dodge security checks. Palinkas commented about the bill, saying:

“The legislation was written with special interests — producing a bill that makes the current system worse, not better. [The bill] will damage public safety and national security and should be opposed by lawmakers.”

Chris Crane, Chief of the union that represent ICE agents and officers, has expressed similar concerns and warnings about the immigration reform bill. Both agencies and their unions are part of the Department of Homeland Security. But it seems that none of the politicians on Capitol Hill are listening to either men or the unions they represent.
Commenting further, Palinkas has described the USCIS as being nothing more than a massive approval center for the applications received from illegals under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In the 8 months since the program was announced, the USCIS has received about 500,000 applications. Following the directives they have been given, they have been approving over 99% of the applications. So far, 291,859 applications have been processed and only 2.352 have been rejected.
Palinkas stated:

“The culture at USCIS encourages all applications to be approved, discouraging proper investigation into red flags and discouraging the denial of any applications. USCIS has been turned into an ‘approval machine.”

Some are looking at the DACA application process as a test run for the full 11 million illegals that could be offered protection status if the immigration reform bill becomes law. At the current rate of approval, approximately 10,912,000 out of 11,000,000 would receive permission to remain in the US to take American jobs and apply for billions of dollars in benefits.
As both Palinkas and Crane have warned, the US cannot afford to pass the immigration reform bill. We can’t afford this economically or employment wise and we can’t afford it for security and safety reasons. It’s a very, very bad piece of legislation that needs to be defeated now before it’s too late.


Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/10912/u...#ixzz2Tx2cdpjL

U.S. immigration union says Gang of Eight bill is 'fatally flawed'


By George Talbotr
on June 06, 2013



Immigrants wait for their citizenship interviews at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Jan. 29, 2013. (John Moore/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - The head of a U.S. labor union representing 12,000 employees charged with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws says the proposed “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill is fatally flawed and could compromise national security.

Senate Bill 744 would be ineffective even with revisions designed to strengthen border security, according to Kenneth Palinkas, president of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Council. The union represents employees of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who process immigrant visa applications.

“If passed, (SB 744) would lead to the rubber stamping of millions of applications for both amnesty and future admissions, putting the public safety and the taxpayer at risk,” Palinkas wrote in June 5 letter to the eight U.S. senators sponsoring the bill.

Palinkas said the legislation would create a massive increase in case work and make it more difficult for officers to investigate fraud and criminal activity.

“We are currently lacking the manpower, training and office space to accomplish our mission and achieve what our jobs demand,” Palinkas wrote in the letter obtained by AL.com. “Why would the Senate pass a bill that makes it even more difficult for USCIS officers to identify, remove or keep out public safety threats?”

http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/06/us_i...l#incart_river