Thread: Panel Drops Wire Fee from Immigration Bill

Panel Drops Wire Fee from Immigration Bill


By Sarita Chourey
Morris News Service
Thursday, April 7, 2011



COLUMBIA --- When college junior Brandon McAbee worked on a peach farm in Greer, S.C., during high school and early college, the farm's owner had a hard time finding workers.

That is one of the reasons McAbee, a junior at the University of South Carolina, says he opposes the current proposal in the General Assembly aimed at reducing illegal immigration.

"People are so prone to jump in and say they're taking our jobs," said McAbee after attending a House subcommittee meeting on illegal-immigration legislation Thursday as part of a class assignment.

"If that were the case, we'd have been able to find workers at the peach farm," said McAbee, adding that he does not support illegal immigration.

The House panel is expected to revisit the bill, S. 20, after Easter. On Thursday lawmakers deleted a section that would have charged a minimum $5 transaction fee for international wire transfers of money. The revenue was to assist a special illegal-alien unit of the state Department of Public Safety.

The heart of the proposal would require law enforcement to check the immigration status of someone who had been arrested for an unrelated reason, if the officer suspected the person was in the country illegally.

LaRon Hearst, a senior at USC, agreed the bill would probably make things worse for businesses that rely on immigrants.

"They're doing the jobs nobody wants to do," said Hearst, who was also attending the meeting as part of a class activity.

Supporters of the legislation say illegal immigrants take Americans' jobs, commit crime, spread drugs, drain public resources, tax emergency rooms and burden already-crowded schools.

The latest U.S. Census data show that Hispanics make up 5.1 percent of South Carolina, a 148 percent increase in the past 10 years.

Reach Sarita Chourey at sarita.chourey@morris.com or (803) 727-4257.



http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro ... ation-bill

Big mistake, it is the only way to "tax" the under the table money that they send out of the country.

When college junior Brandon McAbee worked on a peach farm in Greer, S.C., during high school and early college, the farm's owner had a hard time finding workers.

That is one of the reasons McAbee, a junior at the University of South Carolina, says he opposes the current proposal in the General Assembly aimed at reducing illegal immigration.

"People are so prone to jump in and say they're taking our jobs," said McAbee after attending a House subcommittee meeting on illegal-immigration legislation Thursday as part of a class assignment.

"If that were the case, we'd have been able to find workers at the peach farm," said McAbee, adding that he does not support illegal immigration.

You did the job, didn't you? No reason the workers have to be illegal aliens. Your peachy boss could apply for migrant workers via H-2B, but then he'd have to pay a fair wage and he doesn't want that does he?

THAT'S why he can't find workers for his peach farm, GREED! No sympathy for him and others like him and absolutely NO sympathy for illegal aliens!