Last week, nearly 350 advocates from Latino organizations affiliated with the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), descended on Capitol Hill and conducted Congressional visits with a clear message: the time for immigration reform is now, and those who obstruct progress or sit on the sidelines will be held accountable. NCLR also unveiled a one-minute video in English and Spanish reminding President Obama, in his own words, of his campaign promise to rise above fear and demagoguery and restore order and dignity to the nation's broken immigration system. The videos are circulating online, through NCLR's network of Latino community organizations, and with multiple other partners. Many of the people who came to meet with their members of Congress will be returning to DC on March 21 to join in the March for America to take a stand for all of America's workers, families, and communities across the country.
Last Friday, the Associated Press reported that President Obama will meet on Monday with Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and is "looking forward to hearing more about their efforts toward producing a bipartisan bill," according to White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro.
But let's be clear. If the meeting is just to "hear more," it's not going to cut it. The president had a meeting with Republican and Democratic members of both chambers in June 2009, and in August held a White House summit, hosted by Secretary Janet Napolitano, with a large number of representatives from faith, labor, business, law enforcement, immigrant, ethnic, and civil rights groups. Around that time, Schumer and Graham started working on a bipartisan proposal, and Schumer announced he would have the parameters of a proposal ready by Labor Day 2009.
With the Congressional legislative runway getting crowded and time running out before the November elections, it is time to land this plane. Monday's meeting must be followed by a clear, bipartisan proposal and a firm timeline for Senate action. Anything less will be regarded as more stalling by the tens of thousands coming to DC to march in two weeks.
During their Congressional visits last week, community leaders often heard "we are open to consider a reform proposal" from Congress members on both side of the aisle. Well, it's time to stand up and be counted. The country has waited over 20 years for a solution, and those who sit on the sidelines waiting for others to lead will be just as complicit as those who actively obstruct its progress. Immigration reform can help strengthen our economy and the labor rights of all working people, bring stability back to our communities, and quell the rise of hate groups and extremism we are witnessing across the country. From a policy, political, and moral perspective, it's time to act.
The People would agree to amnesty for those here illegally and the Government would agree to enforce laws against employing illegal immigrants.
After the law passed, the Government turned around fought every enforcement measure to completely eliminate employer sanctions.
So lets finish implementing our current Immigration Reform (Simpson-Mazzoli) and enforce “no-match” letters and require E-Verify for a while and be fair.
The Government, needs to show some good faith and keep their promises from Simpson-Mazzoli act. Enforce our current law for a while before you ask the American people to once again trust you when you say your willing to actually do any of the enforcement that will be part of any new Immigration Reform.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Verify
http://www.ssa.gov/employer/noMatchNotices.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Reform_and_Control_Act_of_1986
Years of neglect by politicians has caused this terrible situation, with a poorly built border fence, easy movement of people who have overstayed US entry visas. To confront the powers that would destroy our Republic and our way of life. We recognize that silence is consent. It is our intention to bring together and focus the power of the millions of angry citizens -
and the many small groups who will no longer be silenced. As American patriots, we are joining to take back an America that has lost the rule of law on which it was founded - a nation that is nearly unrecognizable from only a generation ago. We raise our voices in our common language to demand that our borders be secured, our laws be enforced, and that our onstitution be honored.
Our nation is being invaded and colonized. As is our duty, We the People will resist.
The cost to the American people WOULD BUY A COUNTRY, just as the Overpopulation growth we will inherit in 2040..
Mexican should be welcome to visit the USA and look for work.
But we should add fingerprints to the online immigrant work eligibility database.
On the other hand, citizenship should be limited for every country to some reasonable rate. We used to do this for Mexico, but stopped under Raygun.
What we want is a steady flow of immigrants from all over the world, not too many from any one regions or country. This keeps our nation vibrant and international.
9. Require Mexico and other major migrant source nations in Latin America to allow one African or Asian (preferably a mix of both) migrant to settle in Mexico (in all of those small towns abandoned by migrants to the U.S.) for each of their citizens who migrate to the U.S.
That will take some of the migratory burden off of the United States.
Of course, Mexico is notorious for its anti-Black and anti-indigenous racism.
That dynamic, in addition to the anti-Black ethnic cleansing that Mexican Mafia affiliated gangs are engaging in in Soutern California, and you almost require African Americans to vote down any immigration reform measure that gives Mexico an unbalanced advantage over other nations in migration to the U.S.
I am an advocate for Latin immigrant rights, and have been for 30 years. But after seeing the racism that exists, I have to give pause to the idea of granting Mexico such a special privelage as granting 8 million of its citizens (most of whom are still very loyal to Mexico) a citizenship status that permits section 8 housing, free healthcare, food stamps and an increasing scale of benefits that grows with the number of children you have.
If any of you have ever watched the cable tv program Gangland, which documents a different gang on each episode, you would have to be in lala land to ignore the fact that Mexico;s crime wave has become America's crime wave.
Enough!
and it took them years- We need process the applications of the people standing in line first -
This is reform???
1. Legalize undocumented immigrants who are not criminals, by creating a new non-citizen category of visa.
2. Do not allow those who are legalized to become citizens for a very long period of time, perhaps 15 years.
3. Severely limit the social services that this population has access to, so that emergency medical care is about all that is covered.
4. Provide work permits for this population, with that process taking into account U.S. jobless statistics and realities (don’t allow the undocumented an unfair share of construction jobs, for example).
5. Limit family reunification to spouses and underage children.
6. Deny the right of those reunification migrants to bring in further relatives.
7. Because Mexico accounts for 60% of U.S. migration, and Mexican citizens account for the majority of undocumented migrants, limit future legal migration from Mexico to almost nothing.
8. Mexico must agree to create and pay for prisons, and incarcerate the tens of thousands of undocumented Mexican migrants who are today in U.S. prisons for the crimes of rape, child rape, murder, murder of police officers, DWI, murder by DWI and severe domestic violence.
9. Require Mexico and other major migrant source nations in Latin America to allow one African or Asian (preferably a mix of both) migrant to settle in Mexico (in all of those small towns abandoned by migrants to the U.S.).
In 2050, the U.S. and Canada will have about 400 million people (even with immigration). Latin America will have between 800 and 900 million people at that time. On top of this untenable situation, global warming will dry up the high mountain water sources across Latin America and make some productive agricultural lands unusable (which is already happening).
The solution lies in reforming Latin America's economics and machismo.
The other thing to note is that almost all of our population increase over that time is due to immigration and the high birth rate of those new immigrants. I read a study that would have us at about 200-220 million now if we stopped importing people. Just think how much less carbon we would emit, how much less hostile nation supplied fuel we would import, how much less water we would use, less garbage in landfills, less everything if we only could turn back the tide of rapid immigration and thus rapid population growth to a more balanced number.
There are no growing stockpiles of food anywhere in the world. What little US farmland still lies in our Farm Bank Programs is land suited for growing grain and is now being converted to ethanol production for our cars. We are fast approaching the limit of what world farmlands can produce without turning Parks and Preserves into agricultural land.
As Illegal Immigration grows our population and considering conservation groups blame about 50% of our urban sprawl purely on population growth, we are forced into the bad position of paving over our best farmland to grow our cities to support Illegal Immigration. With our ability to grow food shrinking and world population still growing we must ask: Who do we stop feeding worldwide as we reduce our food exports because of these new arrivals? How do we feed everyone in the USA when our population passes 556 million? Today we are one of only seven nations considered large scale food exporters. Who will sell us food when we have more people than we have food growing capacity? Do we become one big Donnor Party if there is a large crop failure?
Every patrol car and police station has an internet connection, a camera and a fingerprint reader.
If you find someone with no id, or suspicious ID, you get their photo and finger print.
To offer a job the employers needs proof of us id, or fingerprint and photo.
Right way---Enact all the proper and reasonable immigrations laws you feel you need and then enforce them. No exceptions, no apologies. Deport lawbreakers immediately. Show the world that you are serious. No rewards whatsoever for illegal immigrants, whether they sneaked across our borders or overstayed their visas. All are illegal.
The wrong way---Waver, waffle, and make escuses for the presence of millions of trespassers. If you are a politician, pander to certain ethnic groups and organizations in hopes of profiting politically.
Take money from agribusiness so the greedy, unprincipled employers can get their cheap, exploitable labor. Refuse to do your duty because you are afraid of being call a "racist."
Set up sanctuary cities that serve as a magnet for illegals. Let the children of illegals born her be citizens-another magnet. Oh, and pay for their births.
Give illegals in state tuition on the grounds that since they are going to be here anyway, we might as well pay for their stolen educations.
Overwhelm you emergency rooms, forcing the closure of hospitals. Have countless Americans be victims of crime, including murder, by people who are not supposed to be here. Fill up you prisons with illegals. Overwhelm the environment with countless millions of people who are not supposed to be here.
I could go on.
Which way do you think we are doing it?
Illegals will cost us more if they become legal.
I am not yelling "bogie man", and that they are the root of our problems, I am saying that those who are here illegally shouldn't expect to be treated fairly under the law. (And by en large they are when caught in the system)
construciton sites- talk to people off the record because they won't go on the record-
at hospitals- schools- take a look - thatis all you need to know-
What is your idea of "reform"?
I cannot get any Democrat in Colorado to state this. Is it anmesty, or open borders, or what?
I personally have very mixed feelings about the workers who are here. If you come here illegally can you demand fair treatment under the law? Do you think the Repub money boys would have allowed this if it didn't cut their labor costs by treating you like dirt?
I hold these workers in high respect (and live among them) for building our country in the last 15 years, but it is disingenuous to think that the deal that was made included citizenship and Social Security.
If we feel we need a certain amout of foreign labor (a dubious position with 17% unemployment/underemployment) we can set up a genuine guest worker program of temporary workers. It would be for Mexicans only, for men only, and for agriculture only. The workers could stay here (they MUST have job offer) for six months, and then they would have to return home for at leat six months. No wives, no children. They pay would be good, they would have decent housing, and they woulf have access to health care. They would be able to work without living in fear and they would get the respect and gratitude they deserve.
I, too, respect their hard work and whatever contributions they make. But there is not a single benefit from illegals that we can't get from legal, TEMPORARY guest workers.
They are too afraid of alienating a Latino constituency that I don't understand. More illegal labor is not good for a demographic that has 30%(?) unemployment now.
(I made the number up, but I know minority unemployment is worse than the total number.)
That was the "one time" amnesty (of about three million illegal immigrants) that was signed by Reagan. All the politicians said that, while they did not really like the idea of rewarding illegal immigrants, they promoised that after this one time concession the the reality of the presence of millions of illegals, from that point on they would control the borders and enforce the immigration laws. They further sold this amnesty to the American people by promising that they would never ask us for another for another amnesty. We,, we've had several since (Central American hurricane, earthquake, and civil war refugees) and now they want the BIG ONE
The one time amnesty of 1986 sen the message around the world that if you sneak into America, you will get amnestied. The result was 15 million more illegals. If we amnesty this batch, we will get 20 million of their relatives, as well as countless millions mor illegals, all of whom whill be waiting for the next "one time" amnesty.
If lost this one, we are finished as a sovereign nation. We eill lose comtrol of our destiny. And this is what La Raza and the entire Democrat party (as well as some Republicans) wan to do to you.
Don't just complain-resist! No amnesty!