Thread: Illegal workers bill D.O.A.

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 5504020316



Illegal workers bill D.O.A.


WASHINGTON - In his State of the Union Address last February, President Bush said once again that immigrants who entered the country illegally should be allowed to stay here temporarily, as long as they hold down a job.

But migrant workers who toil in Kentucky's tobacco fields or on Ohio's fruit and vegetable farms shouldn't plan on settling in just yet.

The president's push for immigration reform isn't going over well in Congress. One bill is already D.O.A.

The legislation, introduced a week after the president's State of the Union Address, would allow farmworkers who entered the country illegally to seek permanent residency status. But supporters and opponents agree that it stands little chance of passing this year.

There may be enough votes to pass the measure in the Senate. But opposition is much stronger in the House, and the bill will almost certainly die there, said Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that opposes the legislation.

Even in the Senate, support for the bill is tepid at best.

"I think they have the votes to pass it in the Senate - in theory," Camarota said. "But it's sort of like heaven. Everybody knows it's supposed to be a good thing. But nobody seems anxious to get there."

In a nutshell, the bill would let undocumented farmworkers seek temporary legal status if they could prove they worked in agriculture a minimum of 100 days in the past 18 months. After 360 days of working on a farm, they could apply for a green card, the first step toward becoming U.S. citizens.

The legislation, known as the AgJobs bill, differs from the president's proposal in a couple of respects: Bush wants a "guest worker" program that would allow undocumented workers to obtain temporary but not permanent residency. The president's plan also would apply to all undocumented immigrants, not just farmworkers.

Supporters say the provisions in the AgJobs bill would guarantee farmers a stable workforce, protect workers' rights and recognize immigrants' contributions in putting food on American tables.

Opponents counter that it would merely reward people who entered the country illegally and would give the farm industry years of low-wage labor.

Even in states that benefit from migrant farm labor, reaction to the proposal has been mixed.

Ohio's two Republican senators - Mike DeWine of Cedarville and George Voinovich of Cleveland - have signed on as cosponsors of the measure. Voinovich's office said it would help the nursery and landscaping industries in the northern part of the state.

But the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation has come out against the bill. By one estimate, there are 14,500 migrant farmworkers in Ohio, and as many as 50 percent to 80 percent of them may be in the United States illegally.

While the Farm Bureau agrees there should be some way to adjust the status of such workers, the agency is concerned that the bill would not allow for a market-based prevailing wage, spokesman John Wargowsky said. Employers also fear the bill, if passed, could open them up to more lawsuits.

"Farm Bureau is open to working with any bill out there that can meet these principles, and we're trying to be open to work with all of them," Wargowsky said. "As of now, the way AgJobs is worded, we would not support it today."

The Kentucky Farm Bureau has not taken a position on the bill. And no one in the Kentucky congressional delegation has signed on as a cosponsor.

While the bill goes further than the president's proposal, some opponents worry the White House may get behind it yet as a way to enact a "guest worker" program or a general amnesty bill.

"They may resort to trying to pass it in pieces," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. If Bush gets on board, "you cannot discount the power and influence of the White House," Mehlman said.

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius noted that there are many ideas about immigration reform being discussed in Congress. "We continue to work with Congress as they draft legislation that is hopefully consistent with the president's principles," he said.

Michael Collins is The Post's Washington bureau chief.



Publication date: 04-02-2005

This is certainly good news .. thanks for posting this.

Watchman,

I think we should still do the calling and faxing that NumbersUSA wants us to do until they tell us differently. They seem to have an inside track.

I fully intend to continue to make my views on this subject loud and clear to all my reps. To send congratulatory emails to all reps of any state that stand against illegal entry into this country or anything that would smell of a reward for illegal entry.

RR

The legislation, known as the AgJobs bill, differs from the president's proposal in a couple of respects: Bush wants a "guest worker" program that would allow undocumented workers to obtain temporary but not permanent residency. The president's plan also would apply to all undocumented immigrants, not just farmworkers.

As I understand the Bush "guest worker" plan, the temporary 3 year work permits would be indefintely renewable (unless Congress would specify otherwise) at least until the illegal alien worker reached his/her place in line for a green card. (The Bush plan would also increase the number of green cards available to get them to that place in line more quickly.) As such, the Bush plan is an amnesty (more like a pardon, really) that allows current illegal alien workers to stay indefinitely, allows them to be in the country and benefitting from it ahead of those going the legal route, and eventually does grant citizenship. What the Bush plan actually does and what he says it does are two different things, IMO.

While the AgJobs bill might not sound that bad, some estimates, I believe, put the number of workers eligible at near 1,000,000. And with their immediate relatives also being permitted to come in or stay if already here, that really means amnesty for close to 3,000,000. And as somebody pointed out on another thread, one legalized illegal alien through the chain migration process eventually resulted in a total of 400 quasi-legal immigrants (and still growing, I assume) with a number of them being supported by the taxpayers. So, you pick a number and do the multiplication. Also, chances are pretty good that if these Ag workers receive legal status (and maybe even if they don't) they will move into higher paying construction jobs, etc. and we will still need more illegals to replace them in Ag anyway.

I think the article writer is extremely premature in declaring AgJobs D.O.A. What appears to have a good chance of happening is that Senator Craig will offer an admendment to attach the AgJobs bill to the Iraq Supplemental Spending bill that funds our soldiers in Iraq during floor debate on the Iraq bill. There may very well be enough support in the Senate for this attaching admendment to pass. Once the two bills are hooked together in the Senate, the House would be reluctant not to allow passage of the total because it would then look like the House didn't support funding our soldiers. As a stand-alone bill AgJobs probably couldn't pass, but connected to the Iraq bill it very well could.

I agree with Darlene, that we need to contact our Senators to voice opposition to having the AgJobs bill passed whatever the process may be to get it passed. I do think NumbersUSA has folks a little confused on this one about what strategy to pursue -- they seem to be all over the place. NumbersUSA was suggesting that Senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee be contacted, but it appears that if the AgJobs bill is attached to the Iraq bill it won't be done in committee, but on the Senate floor. That is what a Washington Times article said yesterday, anyway. I sent an e-mail to NumbersUSA on Friday asking them to clarify what is going on, haven't heard anything yet.

Sorry, this got much longer than I intended. But, it is important because once one amnesty bill gets through it opens the floodgates for many more. BTW, if you do see a need for guest workers and it would be reasonable to do that, the Tancredo plan is the only one that I've seen that actually is a true "guest worker" plan rather than an amnesty in disguise. And, if I remember correctly, the Tancredo plan also cleans up a number of illegal alien "take advantage of the United States" type loopholes like the anchor baby scam.