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  1. #1
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
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    Senator Grassley Statement On Immigration Reform

    http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fu ... se_id=5010
    GRASSLEY STATEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION

    Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
    Senate Committee on the Judiciary
    Executive Business Meeting to consider

    Comprehensive Immigration Reform
    Thursday, March 2, 2006

    Mr. Chairman, I’m glad you brought a mark before this committee, but I have to say, unfortunately, that it falls short of what I want to see in a strong immigration reform bill. It falls short of what the people in my home State want.

    We need border and interior enforcement -- first and foremost.

    If aliens know that there’s a reward at the other side of the tunnel, they will storm over our agents. Without increasing the resources at the border, we’ll leave our agents handicapped at a time when they need it most. Without increasing the resources for interior enforcement, we’ll increase the criminal activity in the States. In essence, we need to get our house in order before we implement a temporary worker program.

    Two major problems with the mark are 1) the lack of serious interior enforcement and 2) what seems to me to be a wink and a nod to amnesty.

    The mark provides some interior enforcement improvements, but it’s just not enough. The reality is that we need more agents in the states. Piling more personnel at the border will only accomplish so much. And, if state and local law enforcement officers aren’t given the resources to help us enforce the law, then we need to increase our federal presence.

    In Iowa, we have our share of illegal aliens and criminal aliens. Last August, ICE arrested almost 600 gang members and their associates, representing 80 different gangs. In Iowa alone, ICE arrested 40 alien gang members. The MS-13 Gang is violent, and shows no shame for killing.

    In Iowa, we have 30 ICE agents. It’s more than the agents we had in 1996 (which was zero), but surprisingly, it’s not enough. The ICE agents in Iowa have to manage 99 counties and 56,000 square miles. We have illegal aliens using our Interstates to smuggle, transport, and move aliens from the border to other areas.

    While I am concerned about the lack of interior enforcement in the mark, I do appreciate the strong provisions on alien smuggling. We need to allow for the death penalty to alien smugglers who have complete disregard for the lives they are trafficking into our country.

    We had 11 people found dead in Denison, Iowa. They were found dead and abandoned in a rail car. The leader of the operation could have received life in prison but his sentence was reduced to a mere 24 years. A second man – the train conductor – got 41 months of prison time. We need to make the sentence fit the crime.

    My second complaint is about the guestworker program for illegal aliens in the U.S. You say it’s not amnesty, but it is. It’s a backdoor approach. The mark doesn’t force illegal aliens to go home. If it looks, acts, and smells like amnesty, then in my eyes, it is amnesty.

    People say they are earning their legal status – but what consequences are they paying for having violated the law? So what if an alien has to pay $1,000 or $2,000? They’re paying a smuggler $15,000 to get here. The penalty in the mark is chump change. If we want people to earn their citizenship, then they should go back and wait like other people who are complying with the law and doing the right thing. It’s only fair.

    Again, we cannot and should not discuss a guestworker program until the enforcement provisions are settled.

    And, let’s be realistic. Our government bureaucrats simply cannot implement a program for 11 million illegal aliens. You’d all be shocked if you learned about the internal fraud and abuse at the Citizenship and Immigration Service.

    I have been investigating the internal problems at CIS as well as their backlog of national security cases. The bureau doesn’t have an effective practice for reviewing these cases. Officials are being bribed. Visas are being given away. Green cards are being sold. CIS is giving out interim benefits, which is a precursor for additional privileges. A GAO report is due out soon on immigration benefits, and the lack of controls to confront the fraud.

    And we want this agency to handle the program in an effective manner? That’s unrealistic.

    If you ask the American Immigration Lawyers Association, they will say they want a solution that is reasonable and rational. They say, and I quote, “fixing the problems will require leadership and vision so that we do not find ourselves grappling with the same dysfunction a decade from now.”

    How quickly they have forgotten about 1986. We’re faced with a worse problem because we provided amnesty. If we go forward with this temporary worker program, our problems will be far worse in a decade.

    The mark increases legal immigration by the millions. Maybe that’s what we need to stop the illegal flow. But we can’t call this reform by increasing the number of visas alone.

    We’re giving away American jobs. We’re giving away student visas and a path to citizenship. It allows the number of H-1B visas to be increased without Congressional approval.

    The mark doesn’t fix the L visa program. The Inspector General just reported on the vulnerabilities in the program. Companies are going around the H-1B program because the L is easier to get. And, there are fewer strings attached. Companies are supposed to send managers, executives and workers with specialized knowledge. They’re getting around these requirements.

    I applaud the inclusion of immigration litigation reform in the mark. We need to streamline our procedures and root out frivolous lawsuits. However, this proposal puts immigration law in the hands of judges. By limiting the immigration judge’s tenure, as included in the mark, we’re injecting politics into the immigration courts. The proposal encourages judges to be more political and activist. I would rather leave the immigration laws in the hands of the people, and the Congress.

    Let me end by saying that this mark is missing key reforms that can really crack down on illegal immigration and improve security at our borders.

    For example, this mark does not review the contracts we enter into for our national security. We are going to throw millions – maybe billions – of dollars to invest in security at the border and our ports of entry.

    The mark doesn’t deport habitual drunk drivers. It doesn’t address the problems of hiring halls or day laborers. It does very little to address the violence and incursions at the border. The mark doesn’t provide incentives for aliens to return to their home country. It doesn’t provide resources to our Citizenship and Immigration Service to get rid of fraud and abuse. It barely touches on visa reform. And it doesn’t deal with the problems we have with countries who don’t take back their illegal aliens.

    These are complicated and difficult issues, and I appreciate that. Chairman Specter has put a lot of work into the mark and he should be commended for that. But we need to improve it. We must strengthen this mark. I thank you for this time to speak.
    RIP Butterbean! We miss you and hope you are well in heaven.-- Your ALIPAC friends

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Senior Member butterbean's Avatar
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    This is the most promising of all the senators on that committee. I called his office to thank him and encourage him to remain strong in his position.
    RIP Butterbean! We miss you and hope you are well in heaven.-- Your ALIPAC friends

    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  3. #3
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    So did I... That's the strongest statement I've seen from ANY senator. He needs to hear our appreciation LOUD & CLEAR!
    Sen. Chuck Grassley
    135 Hart Senate Bldg.
    Washington, DC
    20510-1501
    202.224.3744

  4. #4
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    I wrote to him via his website. I will call on Monday. Bless his heart.

    RR
    The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. " - Lloyd Jones

  5. #5

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    Thank God we in Iowa have Sen. Grassley. I gan guarentee you that would never come out of Tom Harkin.

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