The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee has voted down a bill that would offer in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens who graduate from a Florida high school. This is the second year in a row that DREAM Act-style legislation has failed to reach the State Senate floor. The bill was voted down 4-to-3.
Roy Beck, Chris Chmielenski, Van Esser, and Andrew Good talk about recent state legislative activity and how the immigration issue was received at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.
Last week, the American Conservative Union held its annual conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., offering three days of speeches from Conservative pundits, Members of Congress, and, of course, the GOP Presidential Hopefuls (minus Ron Paul). CPAC organizers are staunch supporters of free markets with leanings toward open-border policies and a more generous guest worker program. But the more than 10,000 attendees at this year's annual conference showed a preference for lower legal immigration levels and tough immigration enforcement.
Revisiting an issue important to Gov. Susana Martinez, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed legislation to repeal a state law that allows illegal aliens to get New Mexico driver's licenses. Similar legislation passed the House last year but was blocked in the Senate.
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) has cosponsored Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885) that would require 100% of businesses to use E-Verify within two years. The bill also requires all federal, state, and local governments to E-Verify their entire workforce.
A new billboard produced by Floridians for Immigration Control calls out Gov. Rick Scott (R) for the state's failure to adopt an E-Verify law.
The billboard "welcomes" illegal immigrants and sarcastically thanks Governor Scott and is along I-75's southbound lanes between the Georgia border and Interstate 10, reported by Sunshine State News.
When the media covers identity theft and fraud as an isolated story, it treats those crimes as serious felonies that adversely impact the lives of victims in real and compelling ways. Young children are often targets, and by the time they realize they have had their identities stolen, the damage has already been done. But when the media covers immigration, it ignores the numerous felonies that aliens have to commit to live and work in the U.S. illegally without being detected.
Last year, the Judiciary Committee approved two important pieces of legislation to stem the flow of illegal immigration and protect America’s communities from dangerous criminal immigrants. Despite promises of bipartisanship, the president has not expressed support for either one of these proposals.http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/207643-rep-lamar-smith-r-texas
By Rep. Lamar Smith -- The Hill
Former state senator and author of Arizona's SB1070 immigration enforcement law and the state's mandatory E-Verify law, Russell Pearce, has been voted by his peers to serve as the state party's 1st Vice Chairman. Pearce lost a recall election last fall, losing both his senate seat and role as Senate President but has now rebounded to capture the state GOP's No. 2 spot.
Polling data of likely voters in New England states show that a majority of people believe illegal immigration harms their vital interests and that overall levels of immigration need to be reduced.
Much has been written recently about the dismal unemployment rate (13 percent) among returning veterans, and a recent Washington Times story notes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who for years has had a soft spot for illegal aliens, has initiated a drive designed to help returning service members and their spouses find jobs. But at the same time, Chamber President Thomas Donahue supported making illegal aliens living in the U.S. "official".
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who serves as the chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, said there's no chance that a mass amnesty can be passed in 2012. Pres. Obama called for passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act during Tuesday night's State of the Union address.
Sen. Marco Rubio isn't taking sides before Florida's GOP primary next week, but he is calling out former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for his Spanish-language radio ad that calls Gov. Mitt Romney anti-immigrant. During a debate on Monday night, Romney said his plan to deal with 11 million illegal aliens currently living in the U.S. centers around "self-deportation". He has consistently said that if you have a national employment verification system that keeps illegal aliens from getting jobs, they'll return to their home countries.
U.S. Immigration officials are testing new protocols which give them discretion to use deferred action and/or parole to provide an administrative amnesty for illegal aliens. According to a report by CNN, 14% of the nearly 12,000 cases reviewed thus far in Baltimore and Denver were closed, allowing those illegal aliens set for deportation to stay in the United States.
Disney World is dubbed one of the "Happiest Places on Earth", and Pres. Barack Obama will try to make it even happier by proposing to simplify the tourist visa process during a speech there on Thursday. The President will "unveil a strategy that will significantly help boost tourism and travel" said a White House aide. Trying to boost the top industry in a state with double-digit unemployment is a good idea. But making it easier for foreign visitors to come to the United States is a bad idea without a completed entry/exit system.
In the upcoming 2012 session, the state legislature in New Mexico will revisit the issue to repeal a 2003 bill which allowed illegal immigrants to obtain drivers licenses in the state. New Mexico is one of three states that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Since 2003, more than 80,000 foreign nationals have been issued driver's licenses.
It's been a while since the GOP Presidential Debates provided us with a lively discussion on the nation's immigration issues, and unfortunately Monday night's debate in South Carolina didn't do much to advance the discussion either. But, the debate hosted by Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal did provide some opportunities for the candidates to restate their positions along with some missed opportunities.
On Saturday, GOP Presidential Hopeful Newt Gingrich held a two-hour town hall meeting with a group of veterans in Wolfeboro, N.H. A member of the crowd asked Gingrich, not about his position on immigration, but for the specific details of his policy should he be elected president. Typical of Gingrich, he laid out a 7-point policy plan for reforming immigration, earning enthusiastic applause on most of his points. But there was one of those 7 points that received more of a frosty reception from the few hundred in attendance.
While campaigning in Iowa last week, Mitt Romney was asked about his stance on the DREAM act, a bill that would allow a path to citizenship for minors in the country illegally. "The question is, if I were elected and Congress were to pass the Dream Act, would I veto it? And the answer is yes," said the candidate, speaking in Le Mars, Iowa.
2011 was a great year for enacting state-level Attrition Though Enforcement legislation and 2012 may well follow suit. State legislators seem to set records each year for the number of immigration-related bills introduced – the vast majority of which are enforcement-oriented – and the enforcement laws enacted have become increasingly comprehensive. These trends may continue in 2012 because the demand for enforcement solutions remains high.
A California judge has fined the owner of a popular San Diego restaurant for hiring illegal-alien workers. Michel Malecot, owner of The French Gourmet, was spared jail time but must pay $400,000 for the illegal hirings. Federal prosecutors were seeking $650,000 in fines.
NumbersUSA members were busy in 2011 pursuing state enforcement legislation and fighting pro-illegal alien bills. Thanks to their efforts, important enforcement bills passed in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina and Virginia. Members also stopped pro-illegal alien bills in Colorado, Nebraska and Oregon. We thought you’d appreciate learning about some of their hard-fought battles.
2011 is coming to an end and many state lawmakers have their eyes on curbing illegal immigration in 2012. With several states -- Arizona, Utah, South Carolina and Alabama -- already paving the way, lawmakers in other states are looking for similar legislation to remove "magnets" drawing illegal aliens to their states.
GOP Presidential Hopeful Mitt Romney took a hard-line position on the issue of Pres. Obama's illegal-alien uncle during an interview with a Boston radio station. When asked if he would deport Onyango Obama who faces drunk driving charges in the Bay State, Romney said he would deport him.
Click on the headline to get to the radio and TV ads that NumbersUSA is running virtually non-stop in Iowa until the "first in the nation" Caucuses on Jan. 3. The ads focus on one question: Who should get the next jobs that are created in the U.S.? Unemployed Americans? Or will the politicans add another million legal immigrants to take the jobs?
When the Supreme Court of the United States reviews Arizona's 2010 local immigration enforcement law next year, it may be the first time anyone has read the bill since it was written. I exaggerate, of course, but most of the media coverage of Arizona's "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" and similar laws in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina makes you wonder if many in the media have reviewed the legislation themselves.
Republican Presidential Hopeful Rick Santorum criticized the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops during an interview on Iowa public television on Monday. The USCCB have lobbied Congress for amnesty legislation, and over this past weekend, 30 bishops wrote a letter sympathizing with illegal aliens. Santorum is Catholic.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will be reviewing Arizona's S.B 1070 sometime next spring. A new telephone survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, asked likely U.S. voters if they would support immigration-enforcement legislation similar to Arizona's in their state. Over 52% of voters said they would support the legislation. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed said they would oppose the legislation, and 15% more are undecided.
Much of the mainstream media seem stuck in the old paradigm that there are only two major options of what to do with the officially estimated 11 million foreign citizens living illegally in this country -- either deport them or legalize them. Nowhere is this false dichotomy more apparent than in the media treatment of Mitt Romney's immigration stance. Even though no candidate has talked more about the details of dealing with the 11 million, the common journalistic description is that Romney tells us what he opposes (amnesty) for them but not what he proposes to do with them.
Undocumented students who graduate high school and enroll in college in a science, technology or math program would be eligible for temporary student visas in an immigration overhaul bill introduced today by Sen. Michael Bennet.
Bennet, a Democrat and former Denver schools chief, said his proposed bill would also make it easier for students who graduate with advanced degrees in science or math to stay and work in the United States — particularly if there is a need for them.
The Supreme Court announced today that it will be reviewing Arizona's widely known immigration-enforcement law, SB 1070. Arizona is asking the nation's top court to allow the state to enforce parts of the bill that have been blocked by lower courts at the request of the Obama administration.
When Arizona passed SB 1070 in April of 2010, it was only a matter of time before other states would also begin their own crackdowns on illegal immigration. States such as Alabama and South Carolina have since passed laws that prevent illegal aliens from jobs and public benefits. With Republicans now in control of the state legislature in North Carolina, efforts have begun to pass similar, statewide legislation to crack down on illegal immigration.
A challenge brought forward by an illegal-alien students and the group Casa de Maryland against an effort to put the Maryland DREAM Act on next year's ballot has been withdrawn. The plaintiffs will no longer challenge the sufficiency and number of petition signatures collected by MDPetitions.com that would place a repeal of the Maryland DREAM Act on the ballot.
Roy Beck, Chris Chmielenski, and Andrew Good analyze Newt Gingrich's immigration plan and how many illegal aliens could take advantage of the amnety. They also break down the overall immigration approaches of the other 2012 Presidential Hopefuls.
The reduced-immigration activists also are turning to elections, facing their own congressional blockades. "The balance has shifted to educating candidates," said NumbersUSA President Roy Beck. "The leaders in Congress seem to be putting everything on hold until after the next election. It's ridiculous." Beck said he is hoping for a revolt among rank-and-file House Republicans, many of whom sympathize with his point of view, to force a floor vote on the E-Verify bill.
An Oklahoma State Senator has proposed legislation to create a state guest worker program for illegal aliens. Senator Harry Coates of Seminole, Oklahoma submitted Senate Bill 995 last Monday. The bill is a response to House Bill 1804, which cracked down on illegal aliens across the state. The intention of the bill is allow illegal aliens to legally work in the state of Oklahoma, which Coates believes will provide a boost to sales and tax revenues.
The California DREAM Act, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in October, is going to cost taxpayers a lot more than originally anticipated. A new report by California's Legislative Analyst Office states that the DREAM Act will cost $65 million annually, much higher than the $40 million originally estimated by California's Senate Appropriations Committee. The cost is expected to rise annually until 2015-2016.
How many illegal immigrants could gain legal status under an idea proposed by Newt Gingrich? Perhaps as many as 3.5 million, according to figures published Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.
Twelve restaurant workers were detained in an immigration raid off Brevard Road Tuesday, according to a local immigrants rights group. . .
Volker said agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained eight people from Latin American countries and four Asian immigrants ranging in age from 23 to around 40. Volkmer said some of the immigrants were from Mexico and El Salvador.
At NumbersUSA we believe that the numerical level of immigration should be set in ways that: allow for a stabilizing U.S. population; allow for the preservation of Americans’ individual liberty; and allow for fairness in economic opportunity for Americans and legal workers.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) has cosponsored House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885), making him the first Democrat to do so. The bill, which is now officially bipartisan, would require 100% of businesses to begin using E-Verify for all new hires within 2 years and require all federal, state, and local governments to check new hires and existing employees within 6 months.
Federal agents arrested a manager at a cardboard
box company in southwest Detroit this morning on
charges he hired undocumented workers.
Edward Schlacht, 48, a supervisor at Grigg Box Company, was taken into custody this morning by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
