Federal immigration officials raided an Iowa meatpacking plant this month in what is being called the largest operation of its kind in U.S. history. Nearly 400 of the plant's 900 employees were arrested on immigration charges. Do you feel safer?
Ever since immigration reform died in Congress last year, the Bush Administration has made a show of stepping up enforcement. But do homeland security officials really have nothing better to do than raid businesses that hire willing workers – especially in states like Iowa, where the jobless rate is 3.5%? These immigrants are obviously responding to a labor shortage for certain jobs. Giving them a legal way to enter the country would free up homeland security money and manpower to focus on real threats.
Continued...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A raid on fairness
HELICOPTERS hovered overhead as immigration officials closed in on Agriprocessors, a meat-processing plant in Postville, Iowa, earlier this month. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials called it the nation's largest "criminal worksite enforcement operation," and 389 workers were arrested.
It's a hollow victory, a show of force but not of wisdom. As the country has seen many times, raids hurt local economies and disrupt families. Worse, they are largely theater. Even big raids are too limited to make a dent in the country's complex illegal immigration challenge, which means figuring out what to do with an estimated 12 million people already here illegally.
If the government wants to send a message, it ought to pay more attention to prosecuting abusive employers who hire undocumented immigrants and mistreat them by withholding pay or doling out verbal and physical abuse. So far, no officials at Agriprocessors have been charged.
Continued...
It's a hollow victory, a show of force but not of wisdom. As the country has seen many times, raids hurt local economies and disrupt families. Worse, they are largely theater. Even big raids are too limited to make a dent in the country's complex illegal immigration challenge, which means figuring out what to do with an estimated 12 million people already here illegally.
If the government wants to send a message, it ought to pay more attention to prosecuting abusive employers who hire undocumented immigrants and mistreat them by withholding pay or doling out verbal and physical abuse. So far, no officials at Agriprocessors have been charged.
Continued...
Monday, May 19, 2008
Price put at $1.8 trillion
Study: That's what U.S. would lose if undocumented immigrants vanished
By JENALIA MORENO
The impact of illegal immigration on the U.S. economy.
• 8.1 million: illegal immigrants
• $1.8 trillion: annual spending, U.S.
• $220.7 billion: annual spending, Texas
• $652 billion : annual contribution to U.S. GDP
• $27 billion or more: * the costs of education, health care and incarceration in six states, including Texas
Sources: The Perryman Group;
*Federation for American Immigration Reform
If the 8.1 million undocumented immigrants who cut lawns, bus tables and perform other jobs disappeared overnight, the nation's economy would lose nearly $1.8 trillion in annual spending.
Texas, the second-hardest-hit state after California, would lose 1.2 million undocumented workers and $220.7 billion in expenditures.
These are just some of the findings from a study done by the Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm, whose work was commissioned by Americans for Immigration Reform, a group spearheaded by the Greater Houston Partnership.
Houston's business community is trying to revive the politically charged immigration reform debate that has stalled in Congress. It plans to raise $12 million by December to fund a campaign for reform and thus far it says it has raised about 10 percent of that goal in pledges.
Continued...
By JENALIA MORENO
The impact of illegal immigration on the U.S. economy.
• 8.1 million: illegal immigrants
• $1.8 trillion: annual spending, U.S.
• $220.7 billion: annual spending, Texas
• $652 billion : annual contribution to U.S. GDP
• $27 billion or more: * the costs of education, health care and incarceration in six states, including Texas
Sources: The Perryman Group;
*Federation for American Immigration Reform
If the 8.1 million undocumented immigrants who cut lawns, bus tables and perform other jobs disappeared overnight, the nation's economy would lose nearly $1.8 trillion in annual spending.
Texas, the second-hardest-hit state after California, would lose 1.2 million undocumented workers and $220.7 billion in expenditures.
These are just some of the findings from a study done by the Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm, whose work was commissioned by Americans for Immigration Reform, a group spearheaded by the Greater Houston Partnership.
Houston's business community is trying to revive the politically charged immigration reform debate that has stalled in Congress. It plans to raise $12 million by December to fund a campaign for reform and thus far it says it has raised about 10 percent of that goal in pledges.
Continued...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Protesters across America call for immigration reform
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in U.S. cities Thursday to protest federal immigration raids and deportations and to call for comprehensive immigration reform.
In Chicago, Illinois, 3,000 to 4,500 people marched in the city's downtown, police said. Several people carried a large American flag; others held banners or signs.
The early estimate of participants paled greatly in comparison to protests in Chicago in past years: In 2007, numbers reached about 150,000, and the year before, estimates ranged from 400,000 to 700,000.
In New York, hundreds of sign-carrying protesters gathered in Union Square, preparing for a march toward Foley Square in downtown Manhattan.
"We are demanding that the raids and deportations stop," said Teresa Gutierrez, one of the organizers for the New York rallies.
"We are for the rights of all immigrants, whether they're documented or not," she said.
New York protesters are also marching in support of workers' rights, she said.
Continued...
In Chicago, Illinois, 3,000 to 4,500 people marched in the city's downtown, police said. Several people carried a large American flag; others held banners or signs.
The early estimate of participants paled greatly in comparison to protests in Chicago in past years: In 2007, numbers reached about 150,000, and the year before, estimates ranged from 400,000 to 700,000.
In New York, hundreds of sign-carrying protesters gathered in Union Square, preparing for a march toward Foley Square in downtown Manhattan.
"We are demanding that the raids and deportations stop," said Teresa Gutierrez, one of the organizers for the New York rallies.
"We are for the rights of all immigrants, whether they're documented or not," she said.
New York protesters are also marching in support of workers' rights, she said.
Continued...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Interest in immigration rallies wanes as groups focus on other methods of activism: But many leaders remain committed to marching
Apr 27, 2008 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- It's been slow going for Armando Pena as he hits up Waukegan's Latino-owned businesses to drum up donations for next week's Immigration march in Chicago. He leaves a Mexican restaurant with $20. He gets another $10 from a beauty parlor. The Azteca bakery ponies up $620, but rejections are more common.
"I'm getting a lot of no, no, no's," he said.
The massive Immigration marches of 2006, including the May 1 rally that brought 400,000 people to Grant Park, helped drive Immigration reform to the top of the national agenda and gave new focus to the immigrant community in the Chicago area.
Two years later, Spanish-language morning talk shows are buzzing about a new march. But some community leaders in the suburbs, a vital source of support in past demonstrations, are expressing doubts about whether massive rallies are the right tactic this year.
Continued...
"I'm getting a lot of no, no, no's," he said.
The massive Immigration marches of 2006, including the May 1 rally that brought 400,000 people to Grant Park, helped drive Immigration reform to the top of the national agenda and gave new focus to the immigrant community in the Chicago area.
Two years later, Spanish-language morning talk shows are buzzing about a new march. But some community leaders in the suburbs, a vital source of support in past demonstrations, are expressing doubts about whether massive rallies are the right tactic this year.
Continued...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
H-2B or not H-2B?
Democrats, Republicans, and restaurant owners all agree: The country needs more of the H-2B visas that allow immigrants to come here as seasonal workers. Among other things, these workers help provide food and shelter for the summer crowds on Cape Cod.
more stories like this
* Mortgage insurers put Mass. real estate markets on watch lists
* Insurers put Mass. real estate markets on watch lists
* State warns boaters to be careful with right whales off Cape Cod
* Cape employers left scrambling
* Judge rejects new trial for man convicted in Cape Cod killing
*
It's a local example of how badly the country needs immigration reform.
Earlier this week, Cape businessman Bill Zammer testified in Congress before the House judiciary subcommittee on immigration. "I am here today," he said in written testimony, "to urge you, better yet beg you" to free up more visas. Zammer runs four restaurants on the Cape and hires 100 H-2B workers. He and other Cape business owners have been searching for workers, appealing to local retirees and city residents, but they still can't fill all their openings.
This cry for more seasonal workers echoes around the country, from ski resorts in Colorado to Maryland companies seeking crab pickers to landscapers in Texas. The problem is an annual cap that dates to 1991 and limits the number of H-2B visas to 66,000. A 2005 law provided temporary relief by declaring that returning seasonal workers would not count against the cap. This meant thousands of returning workers in additon to 66,000 others.
Continued...
more stories like this
* Mortgage insurers put Mass. real estate markets on watch lists
* Insurers put Mass. real estate markets on watch lists
* State warns boaters to be careful with right whales off Cape Cod
* Cape employers left scrambling
* Judge rejects new trial for man convicted in Cape Cod killing
*
It's a local example of how badly the country needs immigration reform.
Earlier this week, Cape businessman Bill Zammer testified in Congress before the House judiciary subcommittee on immigration. "I am here today," he said in written testimony, "to urge you, better yet beg you" to free up more visas. Zammer runs four restaurants on the Cape and hires 100 H-2B workers. He and other Cape business owners have been searching for workers, appealing to local retirees and city residents, but they still can't fill all their openings.
This cry for more seasonal workers echoes around the country, from ski resorts in Colorado to Maryland companies seeking crab pickers to landscapers in Texas. The problem is an annual cap that dates to 1991 and limits the number of H-2B visas to 66,000. A 2005 law provided temporary relief by declaring that returning seasonal workers would not count against the cap. This meant thousands of returning workers in additon to 66,000 others.
Continued...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Lawmakers plead for more foreign workers
4/16/2008, 6:45 p.m. EDT
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three House members pleaded Wednesday for more visas for seasonal workers they said are needed immediately by seafood processors, resorts and other businesses in their districts.
Some of those operations could close or lose a lot of money this spring and summer because there are not enough visas, known as H-2B visas, for the temporary nonagricultural workers they need, the lawmakers told the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee.
"Not having H-2B workers will significantly affect the businesses within my district and their ability to keep a professional, trained and dependable work force," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. He was joined by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y. and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.
Continued...
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Three House members pleaded Wednesday for more visas for seasonal workers they said are needed immediately by seafood processors, resorts and other businesses in their districts.
Some of those operations could close or lose a lot of money this spring and summer because there are not enough visas, known as H-2B visas, for the temporary nonagricultural workers they need, the lawmakers told the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee.
"Not having H-2B workers will significantly affect the businesses within my district and their ability to keep a professional, trained and dependable work force," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. He was joined by Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y. and Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.
Continued...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Illegal immigrants pay billions in taxes
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- The tax system collects its due, even from a class of workers with little likelihood of claiming a refund and no hope of drawing a Social Security check.
Illegal immigrants are paying taxes to Uncle Sam, experts agree. Just how much they pay is hard to determine because the federal government doesn't fully tally it.
But the latest figures available indicate it will amount to billions of dollars in federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes this year. One rough estimate puts the amount of Social Security taxes alone at around $9 billion per year.
Paycheck withholding collects much of the federal tax from illegal workers, just as it does for legal workers.
The Internal Revenue Service doesn't track a worker's immigration status, yet many illegal immigrants fearful of deportation won't risk the government attention that will come from filing a return even if they might qualify for a refund. Economist William Ford of Middle Tennessee State University says there are no firm figures on how many taxpayers are in that situation.
"The real question is how many of them pay more than they owe. There are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of people in that situation," Ford said.
But some illegal immigrants choose to file taxes and write a check come April 15, using an alternative to the Social Security number offered by the IRS so it can collect income tax from foreign workers.
Continued...
Illegal immigrants are paying taxes to Uncle Sam, experts agree. Just how much they pay is hard to determine because the federal government doesn't fully tally it.
But the latest figures available indicate it will amount to billions of dollars in federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes this year. One rough estimate puts the amount of Social Security taxes alone at around $9 billion per year.
Paycheck withholding collects much of the federal tax from illegal workers, just as it does for legal workers.
The Internal Revenue Service doesn't track a worker's immigration status, yet many illegal immigrants fearful of deportation won't risk the government attention that will come from filing a return even if they might qualify for a refund. Economist William Ford of Middle Tennessee State University says there are no firm figures on how many taxpayers are in that situation.
"The real question is how many of them pay more than they owe. There are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of people in that situation," Ford said.
But some illegal immigrants choose to file taxes and write a check come April 15, using an alternative to the Social Security number offered by the IRS so it can collect income tax from foreign workers.
Continued...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Immigration Inertia
By James Jay Carafano
From the Heritage Foundation
Saturday, April 12, 2008; 12:00 AM
"I'm in favor of immigration," Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) once said. "But we also need rules." Most Americans probably agree. So why are sensible rules so hard to come by?
Last year, lawmakers on Capitol Hill tried and failed to pass comprehensive immigration and border security reform. The bill died largely because it tried to do too many things. For example, it would have granted amnesty to the millions here illegally and put all of them -- whether they came here to work hard or to commit crimes -- on a path to citizenship.
Fortunately, that approach collapsed. But the problems persist. America needs to regain control of its broken southern border and restore the integrity of U.S. immigration laws. Employers, meanwhile, need legal workers to grow the American economy. Doing nothing won't make these troubles go away.
There is, in fact, a lot that can be done. Yes, without disgorging a massive comprehensive bill hundreds of pages long and stuffed with special-interest demands -- one that members are expected to vote on first and read later. The problem is, congressional leaders appear unwillingly to let anything come to the floor. Certain lawmakers are insisting that nothing be done unless Congress follows last year's flawed formula. Right now, the leadership is listening.
Continued...
From the Heritage Foundation
Saturday, April 12, 2008; 12:00 AM
"I'm in favor of immigration," Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) once said. "But we also need rules." Most Americans probably agree. So why are sensible rules so hard to come by?
Last year, lawmakers on Capitol Hill tried and failed to pass comprehensive immigration and border security reform. The bill died largely because it tried to do too many things. For example, it would have granted amnesty to the millions here illegally and put all of them -- whether they came here to work hard or to commit crimes -- on a path to citizenship.
Fortunately, that approach collapsed. But the problems persist. America needs to regain control of its broken southern border and restore the integrity of U.S. immigration laws. Employers, meanwhile, need legal workers to grow the American economy. Doing nothing won't make these troubles go away.
There is, in fact, a lot that can be done. Yes, without disgorging a massive comprehensive bill hundreds of pages long and stuffed with special-interest demands -- one that members are expected to vote on first and read later. The problem is, congressional leaders appear unwillingly to let anything come to the floor. Certain lawmakers are insisting that nothing be done unless Congress follows last year's flawed formula. Right now, the leadership is listening.
Continued...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
US Pays the Price for Absence of National Immigration Law
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:32:00 04/10/2008
SAN FRANCISCO - As conservative groups in mainstream and grassroots America press for tighter legislation on immigration, some business and economic experts question the wisdom of purging illegal immigrants and restricting immigration into the country altogether.
According to them, increasing the caps and relaxing the rules on legal immigration instead are viable alternatives to heavy enforcement of laws which only tend to drive illegal aliens deeper underground.
“The real question is not whether we have enough resources to host immigrants, but if the U.S. economy can afford at all not to take in more of them,” said Angelo Amador, director of immigration policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a teleconference on employer-sanctioning immigration legislation organized by the New America Media recently.
Continued...
First Posted 11:32:00 04/10/2008
SAN FRANCISCO - As conservative groups in mainstream and grassroots America press for tighter legislation on immigration, some business and economic experts question the wisdom of purging illegal immigrants and restricting immigration into the country altogether.
According to them, increasing the caps and relaxing the rules on legal immigration instead are viable alternatives to heavy enforcement of laws which only tend to drive illegal aliens deeper underground.
“The real question is not whether we have enough resources to host immigrants, but if the U.S. economy can afford at all not to take in more of them,” said Angelo Amador, director of immigration policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a teleconference on employer-sanctioning immigration legislation organized by the New America Media recently.
Continued...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
California Seeks Immigration Reform to Spur Economic Growth
Leaders in business and government say that caps on visas are chasing away workers who are essential to the economic development of California—and the nation.
By Brian Donahue
California is facing a significant shortage of skilled professionals, a problem that many believe will limit the state’s economic growth in the coming decades. Researchers and leaders in the public and private sectors say the demand for knowledge-based employees already exceeds the supply, and that this gap will only widen over time.
The state’s workforce has long had an increasingly high percentage of skilled employees in the areas of math, science, and engineering. California ranks 12th in the nation in the percentage of adults who are college graduates, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a private, nonprofit research organization. Its businesses have also relied heavily on foreign-born professionals. With these workers, Silicon Valley companies have become global leaders, and California has built a thriving knowledge-based economy that helps to fuel the nation’s overall economic growth.
But a shortage of highly skilled workers poses a problem for the state, as it does for other parts of the nation. According to PPIC’s report, “California 2025: Taking on the Future,” 33% of California’s working-age adults will have a college degree in 2020, but 39% of jobs in the state will need college graduates.
Continued...
By Brian Donahue
California is facing a significant shortage of skilled professionals, a problem that many believe will limit the state’s economic growth in the coming decades. Researchers and leaders in the public and private sectors say the demand for knowledge-based employees already exceeds the supply, and that this gap will only widen over time.
The state’s workforce has long had an increasingly high percentage of skilled employees in the areas of math, science, and engineering. California ranks 12th in the nation in the percentage of adults who are college graduates, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a private, nonprofit research organization. Its businesses have also relied heavily on foreign-born professionals. With these workers, Silicon Valley companies have become global leaders, and California has built a thriving knowledge-based economy that helps to fuel the nation’s overall economic growth.
But a shortage of highly skilled workers poses a problem for the state, as it does for other parts of the nation. According to PPIC’s report, “California 2025: Taking on the Future,” 33% of California’s working-age adults will have a college degree in 2020, but 39% of jobs in the state will need college graduates.
Continued...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Immigration reform landscape: In a 'dark period' for now
By Paula Doyle
Recently proposed federal and state immigration legislation perpetuates a failed enforcement-only approach and side-steps desperately needed policy solutions to fix a broken immigration system in the U.S., say immigration reform proponents throughout the country.
"Since we lost the [immigration reform] bill last year, we have to go through this dark period where legislators consider enforcement-only measures. In the end, they will realize this is not the right approach," said Kevin Appleby, director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' office of migration and refugee policy during a phone interview with The Tidings from his Washington, D.C., office.
Cont'd...
Recently proposed federal and state immigration legislation perpetuates a failed enforcement-only approach and side-steps desperately needed policy solutions to fix a broken immigration system in the U.S., say immigration reform proponents throughout the country.
"Since we lost the [immigration reform] bill last year, we have to go through this dark period where legislators consider enforcement-only measures. In the end, they will realize this is not the right approach," said Kevin Appleby, director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' office of migration and refugee policy during a phone interview with The Tidings from his Washington, D.C., office.
Cont'd...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Border fence will skirt laws
Environmental rules waived to finish barrier
By Richard Marosi and Nicole Gaouette | Tribune Newspapers
1:34 AM CDT, April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON — In an aggressive move to finish 370 miles of barriers on the U.S. border with Mexico by the end of the year, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will waive federal and state environmental laws to meet that goal.
The two waivers are the most expansive the department has issued on the southwest border. They will allow Homeland Security to slash through a thicket of more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to speed construction.
Environmentalists and border communities have strenuously opposed some of the planned infrastructure projects, saying they will damage the land and disrupt wildlife.
Continued...
By Richard Marosi and Nicole Gaouette | Tribune Newspapers
1:34 AM CDT, April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON — In an aggressive move to finish 370 miles of barriers on the U.S. border with Mexico by the end of the year, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will waive federal and state environmental laws to meet that goal.
The two waivers are the most expansive the department has issued on the southwest border. They will allow Homeland Security to slash through a thicket of more than 30 environmental and cultural laws to speed construction.
Environmentalists and border communities have strenuously opposed some of the planned infrastructure projects, saying they will damage the land and disrupt wildlife.
Continued...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Immigration issues endangering agriculture's future
By STEVE MARRONI
Evening Sun Reporter
Article Launched: 03/30/2008 04:05:45 AM EDT
Kay Hollabaugh's jaw dropped when she learned this week that the state's largest tomato grower would not plant a crop this year because there might be too few workers to harvest it.
It begs the question, she said, if the day will ever come when Adams County's fruit growers face a similar decision.
And while Hollabaugh Bros. Fruit Farm and Market outside of Biglerville has not had to take such a drastic step, Kay Hollabaugh said she's noticed fewer and fewer migrant workers, most of whom are Mexican, coming back to the orchard each year.
"I'm very fearful of what the future holds for us," she said. "Agriculture is a hands-on business, and if we can't get people to do the hands-on labor, we will go out of business."
It's a frightening trend, she said - a trend that could slow production.
But American consumers will still need to eat.
Continued...
Evening Sun Reporter
Article Launched: 03/30/2008 04:05:45 AM EDT
Kay Hollabaugh's jaw dropped when she learned this week that the state's largest tomato grower would not plant a crop this year because there might be too few workers to harvest it.
It begs the question, she said, if the day will ever come when Adams County's fruit growers face a similar decision.
And while Hollabaugh Bros. Fruit Farm and Market outside of Biglerville has not had to take such a drastic step, Kay Hollabaugh said she's noticed fewer and fewer migrant workers, most of whom are Mexican, coming back to the orchard each year.
"I'm very fearful of what the future holds for us," she said. "Agriculture is a hands-on business, and if we can't get people to do the hands-on labor, we will go out of business."
It's a frightening trend, she said - a trend that could slow production.
But American consumers will still need to eat.
Continued...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Major Grower Ends Crop, Lacking Workers
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM – 17 hours ago
CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. (AP) — Saying the nation's immigration system is broken, Pennsylvania's largest grower of fresh-to-market tomatoes announced Monday he will no longer produce the crop because he can't find enough workers to harvest it.
Keith Eckel, 61, a fourth-generation farmer and the owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms Inc., said he saw a dramatic decline last summer in the number of migrant workers who showed up to pick tomatoes at his 2,000-acre farm in northeastern Pennsylvania.
He said Congress' failure to approve comprehensive immigration reform had hindered his ability to hire enough workers to get his crop to the market. Most of Eckel's workers came from Mexico.
"There are a number of workers hesitant to travel, legal or illegal, because of the scrutiny they are now under," said Eckel, whose tomatoes have been shipped to supermarkets and restaurants throughout the eastern United States. "So there are less workers crossing state lines."
Eckel, who planted 2.2 million tomato plants last year, said he also will stop growing pumpkins and will plant half as much sweet corn as usual, resulting in a loss of nearly 175 jobs.
Eckel, one of the largest growers of fresh tomatoes in the Northeast, said it cost him $1.5 million to $2 million to plant and harvest a tomato crop — too much of an investment to risk not having enough workers at harvest time.
"The system to provide our labor is broken and the emotion surrounding the immigration issue is standing in the way of those in the political arena moving forward to solve it," Eckel told a news conference at his farm in Clarks Summit.
Continued...
CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. (AP) — Saying the nation's immigration system is broken, Pennsylvania's largest grower of fresh-to-market tomatoes announced Monday he will no longer produce the crop because he can't find enough workers to harvest it.
Keith Eckel, 61, a fourth-generation farmer and the owner of Fred W. Eckel Sons Farms Inc., said he saw a dramatic decline last summer in the number of migrant workers who showed up to pick tomatoes at his 2,000-acre farm in northeastern Pennsylvania.
He said Congress' failure to approve comprehensive immigration reform had hindered his ability to hire enough workers to get his crop to the market. Most of Eckel's workers came from Mexico.
"There are a number of workers hesitant to travel, legal or illegal, because of the scrutiny they are now under," said Eckel, whose tomatoes have been shipped to supermarkets and restaurants throughout the eastern United States. "So there are less workers crossing state lines."
Eckel, who planted 2.2 million tomato plants last year, said he also will stop growing pumpkins and will plant half as much sweet corn as usual, resulting in a loss of nearly 175 jobs.
Eckel, one of the largest growers of fresh tomatoes in the Northeast, said it cost him $1.5 million to $2 million to plant and harvest a tomato crop — too much of an investment to risk not having enough workers at harvest time.
"The system to provide our labor is broken and the emotion surrounding the immigration issue is standing in the way of those in the political arena moving forward to solve it," Eckel told a news conference at his farm in Clarks Summit.
Continued...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Comprehensive plan needed on immigration
March 23, 2008
In place of meaningful immigration reform, both conservative and liberal politicians have hatched piecemeal plans. This won't work.
Conservative Democrats, including Rep. Melissa Bean of Illinois and Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, are joining Republicans to sponsor the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act, which calls for beefing up the border with Mexico and requiring employers to do more to not hire -- and to fire -- undocumented workers.
The problem with the SAVE Act is that it is an enforcement-only piece of legislation and does not include a plan to legalize any of the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. It amounts to "deport them all."
Continued...
In place of meaningful immigration reform, both conservative and liberal politicians have hatched piecemeal plans. This won't work.
Conservative Democrats, including Rep. Melissa Bean of Illinois and Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, are joining Republicans to sponsor the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act, which calls for beefing up the border with Mexico and requiring employers to do more to not hire -- and to fire -- undocumented workers.
The problem with the SAVE Act is that it is an enforcement-only piece of legislation and does not include a plan to legalize any of the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. It amounts to "deport them all."
Continued...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Nation of immigrants shapes 2008 election
By KATHERINE GYPSON
Observer Staff
March 19, 2008
Today’s foreign-born citizen faces an array of choices when deciding how they will award their highly desirable vote. Candidates can be seen courting the foreign-born vote by the Spanish-language sites devoted to John McCain and Hillary Clinton, and the translation of Barack Obama’s detailed policy briefings into Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
More than 15 million Americans are foreign-born naturalized citizens, the majority of them concentrated in the delegate-rich states of California, New York and Texas. With today’s booming immigrant population, even key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio have increased foreign-born voting populations. According to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit group that studies world migration, immigrant voting in these two bell-weather states has increased by 23 and 13 percent respectively.
Continued...
Observer Staff
March 19, 2008
Today’s foreign-born citizen faces an array of choices when deciding how they will award their highly desirable vote. Candidates can be seen courting the foreign-born vote by the Spanish-language sites devoted to John McCain and Hillary Clinton, and the translation of Barack Obama’s detailed policy briefings into Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
More than 15 million Americans are foreign-born naturalized citizens, the majority of them concentrated in the delegate-rich states of California, New York and Texas. With today’s booming immigrant population, even key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio have increased foreign-born voting populations. According to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit group that studies world migration, immigrant voting in these two bell-weather states has increased by 23 and 13 percent respectively.
Continued...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Presidential Candidates on Immigration Reform
Comprehensive immigration reform failed to pass congress in 2006 and 2007, and the prospect of change at the state level is also grim. Last week an Indiana immigration bill to penalize businesses who knowingly hire illegal immigrants died after a legislative conference committee could not agree on a final version that would have yanked the license of offending employers.
With immigration reform at a veritable stalemate nationwide, the onus will be upon the next President to institute real change. Hence, a critical look at where the leading candidates stand and what they have done on the issue is of paramount importance.
The primary debate drivers on immigration are:
* How to secure the borders?
* What to do with the illegal aliens already in the country?
* How to improve the bureaucracy and red tape surrounding visa and green card processing?
Continued...
With immigration reform at a veritable stalemate nationwide, the onus will be upon the next President to institute real change. Hence, a critical look at where the leading candidates stand and what they have done on the issue is of paramount importance.
The primary debate drivers on immigration are:
* How to secure the borders?
* What to do with the illegal aliens already in the country?
* How to improve the bureaucracy and red tape surrounding visa and green card processing?
Continued...
Monday, March 17, 2008
An Economy Dependent on the Abuse of Land and Labor
John Kaufman @ 8:27 pm
Lost in all the recent debate on illegal immigration is why the United States is so dependent on cheap migrant and illegal labor and whether or not this is a good thing. The assumption made by almost everyone is that such labor is a good thing, for the illegal immigrants, it is said, do work the rest of us are not interested in. But this reasoning neglects the abuse that occurs both to our agricultural lands and the migrant workers and illegal immigrants themselves.
Industrial, large-scale agribusiness is dependent on cheap labor, just as multi-national corporations are dependent on cheap foreign labor. To claim that this is the only possible work for desperate people, as the apologists for the big corporations do, is simply hogwash. Nations such as Mexico and China ought to be working to revitalize and secure their own local economies, for this is the only practical solution to global, corporate exploitation and ecological degradation. Forcing rural people to seek degrading, often unhealthy work in domestic or foreign fields and factories is not a viable and moral answer to rural poverty. And while the United States is a large and wealthy nation, it simply cannot economically or ecologically absorb everyone. There are limits to what even we can responsibly allow, and that is why we have immigration laws. But all the merciful and well-enforced laws in the world won’t help if our economic life is undermining our ideals.
Continued...
Lost in all the recent debate on illegal immigration is why the United States is so dependent on cheap migrant and illegal labor and whether or not this is a good thing. The assumption made by almost everyone is that such labor is a good thing, for the illegal immigrants, it is said, do work the rest of us are not interested in. But this reasoning neglects the abuse that occurs both to our agricultural lands and the migrant workers and illegal immigrants themselves.
Industrial, large-scale agribusiness is dependent on cheap labor, just as multi-national corporations are dependent on cheap foreign labor. To claim that this is the only possible work for desperate people, as the apologists for the big corporations do, is simply hogwash. Nations such as Mexico and China ought to be working to revitalize and secure their own local economies, for this is the only practical solution to global, corporate exploitation and ecological degradation. Forcing rural people to seek degrading, often unhealthy work in domestic or foreign fields and factories is not a viable and moral answer to rural poverty. And while the United States is a large and wealthy nation, it simply cannot economically or ecologically absorb everyone. There are limits to what even we can responsibly allow, and that is why we have immigration laws. But all the merciful and well-enforced laws in the world won’t help if our economic life is undermining our ideals.
Continued...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
We invited them
Our history demands we welcome Mexican immigrants; our free trade policies set them in motion
By BARBARA MINER
Posted: March 15, 2008
Two years ago, on March 24, 2006, Milwaukee's immigrant Latino community proudly marched across the 6th Street Viaduct proclaiming, "No human being is illegal." It was the largest demonstration in Milwaukee in recent memory, and the first of several protests that spring involving thousands in Milwaukee and millions nationwide that underscored the vital role of undocumented immigrants in United States society.
But then the politics of fear took over. Before long, raids on work sites and plans for bigger and better border fences were all the rage. Talk of immigration reform was replaced with sensationalist rhetoric, exemplified by Bill O'Reilly's claim on Fox News that reform was a left-wing plot "to break down the white, Christian, male power structure." CNN's Lou Dobbs, meanwhile, kept alive inaccurate claims linking immigrants to thousands of new cases of leprosy - evoking centuries-old images of the leper as the dreaded "other" that, if not banished, would destroy society.
Continued...
By BARBARA MINER
Posted: March 15, 2008
Two years ago, on March 24, 2006, Milwaukee's immigrant Latino community proudly marched across the 6th Street Viaduct proclaiming, "No human being is illegal." It was the largest demonstration in Milwaukee in recent memory, and the first of several protests that spring involving thousands in Milwaukee and millions nationwide that underscored the vital role of undocumented immigrants in United States society.
But then the politics of fear took over. Before long, raids on work sites and plans for bigger and better border fences were all the rage. Talk of immigration reform was replaced with sensationalist rhetoric, exemplified by Bill O'Reilly's claim on Fox News that reform was a left-wing plot "to break down the white, Christian, male power structure." CNN's Lou Dobbs, meanwhile, kept alive inaccurate claims linking immigrants to thousands of new cases of leprosy - evoking centuries-old images of the leper as the dreaded "other" that, if not banished, would destroy society.
Continued...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bill Gates Asks Congress to Act Now to Maintain U.S. Innovation Lead
In House testimony, Gates urges improvements in country's math and science
education, reform of immigration policies, and increased investment in
basic research.
WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman
Bill Gates will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Science and
Technology today at 10 a.m. EDT on the future of innovation and U.S.
competitiveness. At a hearing to commemorate the committee's 50th
anniversary, Gates will focus on issues of U.S. competitiveness, including
education and work-force development, the need for immigration reform to
allow highly skilled workers to remain in the U.S, and the need to continue
to invest in basic research.
Continued...
education, reform of immigration policies, and increased investment in
basic research.
WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman
Bill Gates will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Science and
Technology today at 10 a.m. EDT on the future of innovation and U.S.
competitiveness. At a hearing to commemorate the committee's 50th
anniversary, Gates will focus on issues of U.S. competitiveness, including
education and work-force development, the need for immigration reform to
allow highly skilled workers to remain in the U.S, and the need to continue
to invest in basic research.
Continued...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Bush Administration Pressured On H-1B Visa Reform
A Senate committee has become impatient with promises from Homeland Security and Labor to visit reforms on visa programs for highly skilled workers.
By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
InformationWeek
March 11, 2008 04:12 PM
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday sent a letter to the U.S. Homeland Security Deptartment quizzing secretary Michael Chertoff about what progress the Bush administration has made toward H-1B visa reforms.
In his letter, Grassley -- the co-sponsor of a Senate bill last year to counter H-1B visa abuse and fraud -- asked Chertoff for an update on immigration reforms promised last August by the Bush administration.
Specifically, last year Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced that Homeland Security and the Department of Labor "would study and report on potential administrative reforms to visa programs for highly skilled workers," said Grassley.
Continued...
By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
InformationWeek
March 11, 2008 04:12 PM
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday sent a letter to the U.S. Homeland Security Deptartment quizzing secretary Michael Chertoff about what progress the Bush administration has made toward H-1B visa reforms.
In his letter, Grassley -- the co-sponsor of a Senate bill last year to counter H-1B visa abuse and fraud -- asked Chertoff for an update on immigration reforms promised last August by the Bush administration.
Specifically, last year Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced that Homeland Security and the Department of Labor "would study and report on potential administrative reforms to visa programs for highly skilled workers," said Grassley.
Continued...
Monday, March 10, 2008
U.S. immigration well served through DHS commitment
Surya B. Prasai
March 08, 2008
According to Mr. Carl Shustermann, an American writer and legal columnist who contributes to the U.S. immigration debate through his blog spot and once served as Trial Attorney with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, "There will be a lot of talk about immigration in 2008, but what are the odds that substantive immigration legislation will be passed this year? A look at the recent past indicates that the odds are long indeed. After all, 2007 was supposed to be the year Congress finally addressed the challenge of comprehensive immigration reform. It didn´t happen." It is the belief of many American lawyers who deal regularly with DHS such as Mr. Schustermann, that immigration is shaping up as one of the key domestic issues in the 2008 presidential elections. Mr. Schustermann states the only issue rivaling immigration is health care but which is also related somewhat. One cannot disagree with this argument.
Continued...
March 08, 2008
According to Mr. Carl Shustermann, an American writer and legal columnist who contributes to the U.S. immigration debate through his blog spot and once served as Trial Attorney with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, "There will be a lot of talk about immigration in 2008, but what are the odds that substantive immigration legislation will be passed this year? A look at the recent past indicates that the odds are long indeed. After all, 2007 was supposed to be the year Congress finally addressed the challenge of comprehensive immigration reform. It didn´t happen." It is the belief of many American lawyers who deal regularly with DHS such as Mr. Schustermann, that immigration is shaping up as one of the key domestic issues in the 2008 presidential elections. Mr. Schustermann states the only issue rivaling immigration is health care but which is also related somewhat. One cannot disagree with this argument.
Continued...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Immigration Reform? Senate GOP Weighs In
Thu Mar 6, 3:39 PM ET
The Nation -- Yesterday, seemingly unperturbed by the recent failure of immigration-as-a-wedge efforts at the ballot box, Senate Republicans introduced their most jerkily reactive set of immigration bills yet. One would dock 10% of highway funding from states that provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Another would end language assistance at federal agencies and the voting booth for people with limited proficiency in English. Still another would block federal funding to cities that bar police from asking about peoples' immigration status (a proposal not only fraught with public-safety issues, but one that would also dry up anti-terror funds for cities most at risk--New York, Los Angeles, et cetera).
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is leading the crusade, with a bill that would impose a maximum two-year prison sentence on someone caught illegally crossing the border for the second time. (That would, after all, only cost the federal government some $44,500 per detainee.)
Continued...
The Nation -- Yesterday, seemingly unperturbed by the recent failure of immigration-as-a-wedge efforts at the ballot box, Senate Republicans introduced their most jerkily reactive set of immigration bills yet. One would dock 10% of highway funding from states that provide driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Another would end language assistance at federal agencies and the voting booth for people with limited proficiency in English. Still another would block federal funding to cities that bar police from asking about peoples' immigration status (a proposal not only fraught with public-safety issues, but one that would also dry up anti-terror funds for cities most at risk--New York, Los Angeles, et cetera).
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is leading the crusade, with a bill that would impose a maximum two-year prison sentence on someone caught illegally crossing the border for the second time. (That would, after all, only cost the federal government some $44,500 per detainee.)
Continued...
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Border Insecurity
Published: March 4, 2008
From San Diego on the Pacific to Brownsville on the Rio Grande, a steel curtain is descending across the continent. Behind it lies a nation so confused and conflicted by its immigration problems that it has decided to wall itself off and wait for things to fix themselves. This country once was a confident global magnet for an invigorating flow of immigrant workers and citizens-to-be. Now it is just hunkering.
Skip to next paragraph
The Board Blog
The evidence of this neurosis is visible at the border with Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security has been rushing to reinforce an ineffective system of fencing and sensors, trucks and boots on the ground. The mission, imposed upon it by Congress after a wearying stalemate on immigration reform, is a mandate to do the impossible, at record speed and at record expense.
Continued...
From San Diego on the Pacific to Brownsville on the Rio Grande, a steel curtain is descending across the continent. Behind it lies a nation so confused and conflicted by its immigration problems that it has decided to wall itself off and wait for things to fix themselves. This country once was a confident global magnet for an invigorating flow of immigrant workers and citizens-to-be. Now it is just hunkering.
Skip to next paragraph
The Board Blog
The evidence of this neurosis is visible at the border with Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security has been rushing to reinforce an ineffective system of fencing and sensors, trucks and boots on the ground. The mission, imposed upon it by Congress after a wearying stalemate on immigration reform, is a mandate to do the impossible, at record speed and at record expense.
Continued...
Monday, March 3, 2008
A Nation of Immigrants, Divided Over the Subject of Immigration
Debate centers on millions of illegal immigrants in U.S. Congress failed to agree on a reform plan, so states are passing their own laws. Transcript of radio broadcast:
02 March 2008
VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. Our subject this week is immigration.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Just about every family in the United States has at least one member, now or in the past, who came from another country. Even American Indians may have immigrant ancestors through marriage.
The United States is one of the few industrial countries with a growing population. The main reason is immigration. Today America has just over three hundred million people. A new report says if current growth rates continue, the nation will have four hundred thirty-eight million in two thousand fifty.
Continued...
02 March 2008
VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember. Our subject this week is immigration.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Just about every family in the United States has at least one member, now or in the past, who came from another country. Even American Indians may have immigrant ancestors through marriage.
The United States is one of the few industrial countries with a growing population. The main reason is immigration. Today America has just over three hundred million people. A new report says if current growth rates continue, the nation will have four hundred thirty-eight million in two thousand fifty.
Continued...
Friday, February 29, 2008
Is New Technology the Answer to Immigration Reform?
Jordan Keitel February 29th, 2008
Senator Clinton claims to support “deploying new technology that can help stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country.” This is a bold claim indeed. The statement seems to conjure images of high steel fences manned by laser wielding automatons. While that is obviously not what the good Senator is proposing, one can’t help but wonder just what kind of technology is Senator Clinton talking about. How can technology aid us in immigration reform? Technological advances in facial recognition software and improved identification have already helped America recognize (and keep out) those we know to be dangerous. I fail to see how technology provides the answer. The Senator’s claim appears to be nothing more than standard campaign rhetoric that sounds great in a press release but is utterly useless in the real world.
Continued...
Senator Clinton claims to support “deploying new technology that can help stop the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country.” This is a bold claim indeed. The statement seems to conjure images of high steel fences manned by laser wielding automatons. While that is obviously not what the good Senator is proposing, one can’t help but wonder just what kind of technology is Senator Clinton talking about. How can technology aid us in immigration reform? Technological advances in facial recognition software and improved identification have already helped America recognize (and keep out) those we know to be dangerous. I fail to see how technology provides the answer. The Senator’s claim appears to be nothing more than standard campaign rhetoric that sounds great in a press release but is utterly useless in the real world.
Continued...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Candidates agree policies on immigration must change
Feb. 28, 2008
By Elizabeth Herring
One thing all the presidential candidates agree on is 700 miles of chain-link fencing.
Each candidate views illegal immigration as a crisis that is in need of the $3 billion boost in border security the Senate voted for in May 2006. But the candidates are vague on how and when this funding is going to change the problems in the ailing immigration system, even if it eventually passes through the House of Representatives and becomes a law.
"There are a lot of concerns and uncertainty about what the future may bring," said Luis Matias-Cruz, a professor in the Latin American studies department.
Continued...
By Elizabeth Herring
One thing all the presidential candidates agree on is 700 miles of chain-link fencing.
Each candidate views illegal immigration as a crisis that is in need of the $3 billion boost in border security the Senate voted for in May 2006. But the candidates are vague on how and when this funding is going to change the problems in the ailing immigration system, even if it eventually passes through the House of Representatives and becomes a law.
"There are a lot of concerns and uncertainty about what the future may bring," said Luis Matias-Cruz, a professor in the Latin American studies department.
Continued...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Solving Illegal Immigration Nation-to-Nation
The once white-hot issue of illegal immigration has taken a curious twist in American politics.
On the one hand, state and local politicians are using the polarizing topic as the foundation of their bids for public office.
But on the national level, presidential candidates try to distance themselves from that same issue. They pay just enough lip service to give the impression that they care about it, but not too much - not unless they're campaigning in those pockets of the country directly impacted by the problems created by having undocumented residents.
Continued...
On the one hand, state and local politicians are using the polarizing topic as the foundation of their bids for public office.
But on the national level, presidential candidates try to distance themselves from that same issue. They pay just enough lip service to give the impression that they care about it, but not too much - not unless they're campaigning in those pockets of the country directly impacted by the problems created by having undocumented residents.
Continued...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Immigration debate snares seasonal businesses
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Graham's crab company has held its own for 65 years as the local catch has dwindled and cheap Chinese crabmeat filled the supermarkets. It might not survive the immigration debate in the U.S. Congress.
Graham relies on temporary workers who come from Mexico to pick crabmeat from the shells because he can't find enough employees in Hampton, Virginia. But a program that allowed him to bring back experienced workers quietly expired last year after Congress failed to overhaul broken immigration laws.
Continued...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Graham's crab company has held its own for 65 years as the local catch has dwindled and cheap Chinese crabmeat filled the supermarkets. It might not survive the immigration debate in the U.S. Congress.
Graham relies on temporary workers who come from Mexico to pick crabmeat from the shells because he can't find enough employees in Hampton, Virginia. But a program that allowed him to bring back experienced workers quietly expired last year after Congress failed to overhaul broken immigration laws.
Continued...
Monday, February 25, 2008
The End of the 'Virtual Fence'
Homeland Security confirms that Boeing's 28-mile prototype of electronic border surveillance will not be expanded
by Keith Epstein
The major Presidential candidates talked up its innovative approach to securing the U.S.-Mexico border. Aerospace and defense giant Boeing (BA), along with dozens of subcontractors, anticipated that it would give them a lucrative foothold in future government work worth billions of dollars. And fervent advocates of stronger obstacles to illegal immigration hoped the U.S. had finally found a more affordable way to fortify its southwest border than building hundreds of miles of physical barriers.
Continued...
by Keith Epstein
The major Presidential candidates talked up its innovative approach to securing the U.S.-Mexico border. Aerospace and defense giant Boeing (BA), along with dozens of subcontractors, anticipated that it would give them a lucrative foothold in future government work worth billions of dollars. And fervent advocates of stronger obstacles to illegal immigration hoped the U.S. had finally found a more affordable way to fortify its southwest border than building hundreds of miles of physical barriers.
Continued...
Friday, February 22, 2008
Former INS chief says reviving immigration reform difficult
By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press Writer
DALLAS — Reviving talks about reforming immigration law will prove difficult even after a new president and members of Congress take office, the former head of immigration services said Thursday.
Doris Meissner, the Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner under President Clinton, said the next president will want to first tackle issues that have broad support and are likely to glide through Congress.
Continued...
DALLAS — Reviving talks about reforming immigration law will prove difficult even after a new president and members of Congress take office, the former head of immigration services said Thursday.
Doris Meissner, the Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner under President Clinton, said the next president will want to first tackle issues that have broad support and are likely to glide through Congress.
Continued...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Senator Hatch: Immigration Reform On Hold, National Debt Not Debilitating
Feb 20, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler
(KCPW News) U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch addressed concerns about the federal government's immigration policy and mounting national debt during a visit to the Utah Legislature Tuesday. Hatch says he doubts Congress will consider passing comprehensive immigration reform until after the new President is inaugurated. However, he says there are a few policies Congress could address this year.
"One of the more important things that I think might get through this year, is we need to expand the H1B program so we can keep these PhD's who get their education here and want to stay here and want to help us maintain our world-wide leadership as the high-tech capitol of the world," Hatch says.
In addition to expanding the H-1B visa program, he says Congress might also consider this year improving the technology used in border crossings, including the use of biometric cards. When asked about the national debt, Hatch admits he's concerned, but says the nation's economy is still growing.
cont'd
(KCPW News) U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch addressed concerns about the federal government's immigration policy and mounting national debt during a visit to the Utah Legislature Tuesday. Hatch says he doubts Congress will consider passing comprehensive immigration reform until after the new President is inaugurated. However, he says there are a few policies Congress could address this year.
"One of the more important things that I think might get through this year, is we need to expand the H1B program so we can keep these PhD's who get their education here and want to stay here and want to help us maintain our world-wide leadership as the high-tech capitol of the world," Hatch says.
In addition to expanding the H-1B visa program, he says Congress might also consider this year improving the technology used in border crossings, including the use of biometric cards. When asked about the national debt, Hatch admits he's concerned, but says the nation's economy is still growing.
cont'd
Monday, February 18, 2008
A Mexican view of U.S. immigration debate
Former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda shares his perspectives on U.S. immigration policy -- what works, what doesn't and what people ignore.
Posted on Sun, Feb. 17, 2008
BY CASEY WOODS
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com
Q. Why did you write `Ex-Mex'?
A. I thought it was important that there be a Mexican viewpoint in the U.S. immigration debate. Right now, the Mexican viewpoint is not present. There is a liberal viewpoint, a conservative viewpoint, a Latino or Hispanic viewpoint -- but strictly speaking, there is not a Mexican viewpoint. I don't pretend to be the Mexican viewpoint, but a Mexican viewpoint.
Q.In your book, you talk about the flow of labor exchange between the United States and Mexico going back to the 1890s. What are some of the surprising elements of that history that most Americans don't know?
A. First of all, that it exists and that this has been going on for a long time. In other words, many Americans seem to think that wide-scale Mexican immigration to the United States is something new. It's not.
Continued...
Posted on Sun, Feb. 17, 2008
BY CASEY WOODS
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com
Q. Why did you write `Ex-Mex'?
A. I thought it was important that there be a Mexican viewpoint in the U.S. immigration debate. Right now, the Mexican viewpoint is not present. There is a liberal viewpoint, a conservative viewpoint, a Latino or Hispanic viewpoint -- but strictly speaking, there is not a Mexican viewpoint. I don't pretend to be the Mexican viewpoint, but a Mexican viewpoint.
Q.In your book, you talk about the flow of labor exchange between the United States and Mexico going back to the 1890s. What are some of the surprising elements of that history that most Americans don't know?
A. First of all, that it exists and that this has been going on for a long time. In other words, many Americans seem to think that wide-scale Mexican immigration to the United States is something new. It's not.
Continued...
Friday, February 15, 2008
Immigration Reform Takes a Village
Immigration Matters
New America Media, Commentary, Rich Stolz, Posted: Feb 15, 2008
Iowa farmer Larry Ginter is clear about why he supports a pathway to citizenship. “I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve met migrants. They’re farmers just like me, and just like me, unfair trade policies are pushing them off the land. That’s why I support humane immigration reform.” He told presidential candidate Hillary Clinton this as he stood next to an immigrant youth from New Mexico, and an Irish immigrant leader from Chicago.
Ginter’s statement reflects a genuine gut-held understanding of why his experience is interconnected with those of migrants coming from Latin America. And it’s an invitation to immigrant leaders to join in his struggle to create fair trade policies that can uplift farmers struggling to make ends meet in the United States. It’s the same garment of destiny Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about years ago, how we are all bound together by our destinies; our success isn’t individual, but collective.
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=fda584328595a27bbcd11021a673d484&from=rss
New America Media, Commentary, Rich Stolz, Posted: Feb 15, 2008
Iowa farmer Larry Ginter is clear about why he supports a pathway to citizenship. “I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve met migrants. They’re farmers just like me, and just like me, unfair trade policies are pushing them off the land. That’s why I support humane immigration reform.” He told presidential candidate Hillary Clinton this as he stood next to an immigrant youth from New Mexico, and an Irish immigrant leader from Chicago.
Ginter’s statement reflects a genuine gut-held understanding of why his experience is interconnected with those of migrants coming from Latin America. And it’s an invitation to immigrant leaders to join in his struggle to create fair trade policies that can uplift farmers struggling to make ends meet in the United States. It’s the same garment of destiny Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about years ago, how we are all bound together by our destinies; our success isn’t individual, but collective.
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=fda584328595a27bbcd11021a673d484&from=rss
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Mexican President Lobbies in Sacramento For Immigration Reform
Feb 13, 2008
Marianne Russ, California Capitol Network
Mexican President Felipe Calderon addressed both houses of the state legislature today and immigration was a major focus of his message. From Sacramento, Marianne Russ reports.
In his roughly 20-minute speech, Calderon acknowledged tensions between the United States and Mexico over illegal immigration. But he said it was in the best interest of both to make migration legal, safe, and organized.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/local;id=10910
Marianne Russ, California Capitol Network
Mexican President Felipe Calderon addressed both houses of the state legislature today and immigration was a major focus of his message. From Sacramento, Marianne Russ reports.
In his roughly 20-minute speech, Calderon acknowledged tensions between the United States and Mexico over illegal immigration. But he said it was in the best interest of both to make migration legal, safe, and organized.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/local;id=10910
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Immigrants They Scorn
Feb. 13, 2008 12:00 AM
While some presidential candidates try to score political points by playing into apprehension about immigration, the immigrants they vilify are busy sustaining the American economy.
Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation's academic, medical and high-tech sectors. Almost 25 percent of doctors and 40 percent of registered nurses in this country are foreign-born, as are more than 30 percent of those conducting advanced science and engineering research at U.S. universities. In addition to meeting our skilled-labor needs, immigrants hold more than a third of our nation's agriculture, maintenance, meat- and poultry-processing and construction jobs.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that our economy will need 2 million new low-skilled laborers annually during the next 20 years, and Americans will only be able to fill 25 percent of that demand. These are often low-paying, physically demanding jobs that are not wanted by our citizens, but are essential to the economic growth that provides better jobs and living standards for all Americans.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html
While some presidential candidates try to score political points by playing into apprehension about immigration, the immigrants they vilify are busy sustaining the American economy.
Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation's academic, medical and high-tech sectors. Almost 25 percent of doctors and 40 percent of registered nurses in this country are foreign-born, as are more than 30 percent of those conducting advanced science and engineering research at U.S. universities. In addition to meeting our skilled-labor needs, immigrants hold more than a third of our nation's agriculture, maintenance, meat- and poultry-processing and construction jobs.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that our economy will need 2 million new low-skilled laborers annually during the next 20 years, and Americans will only be able to fill 25 percent of that demand. These are often low-paying, physically demanding jobs that are not wanted by our citizens, but are essential to the economic growth that provides better jobs and living standards for all Americans.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0213pastor13.html
Monday, February 11, 2008
Election-year politics: Why immigration reform will have to wait
Despite the public's cry for reforms, election-year politics will keep politicians from plain talk and solutions.
By David R. Francis | columnist
from the February 11, 2008 edition
In an election year, the prospects of straight talk by the presidential candidates on immigration reform are slim. The issue is too complex and highly contentious.
The public would like to see the problem of illegal immigrants tackled by Washington. But most Americans oppose shortcuts to citizenship for the 12 million or more "undocumented" immigrants. Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are competing for the Hispanic vote. They aren't talking tough about deporting illegal workers and their families, most of whom are Hispanic. After all, friends and family of illegal Latinos often have the vote.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0211/p16s01-wmgn.html
By David R. Francis | columnist
from the February 11, 2008 edition
In an election year, the prospects of straight talk by the presidential candidates on immigration reform are slim. The issue is too complex and highly contentious.
The public would like to see the problem of illegal immigrants tackled by Washington. But most Americans oppose shortcuts to citizenship for the 12 million or more "undocumented" immigrants. Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are competing for the Hispanic vote. They aren't talking tough about deporting illegal workers and their families, most of whom are Hispanic. After all, friends and family of illegal Latinos often have the vote.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0211/p16s01-wmgn.html
Friday, February 8, 2008
Back-door reform
Bush seeks to overhaul guest-worker program
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2008
The Bush administration is seeking to overhaul America's agricultural guest-worker program to legally allow more foreign laborers into the country to harvest crops.
Since the government's recent crackdown on illegal immigration, there has been a shortage of farmworkers nationally to harvest fruits and vegetables.
When immigration-reform legislation failed to pass Congress last summer, the White House said it would address some immigration challenges administratively. Altering the farmworker program is one attempt.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080207/OPINION01/824701623
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2008
The Bush administration is seeking to overhaul America's agricultural guest-worker program to legally allow more foreign laborers into the country to harvest crops.
Since the government's recent crackdown on illegal immigration, there has been a shortage of farmworkers nationally to harvest fruits and vegetables.
When immigration-reform legislation failed to pass Congress last summer, the White House said it would address some immigration challenges administratively. Altering the farmworker program is one attempt.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080207/OPINION01/824701623
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Farm-Worker Plan Aims To Curb Illegal Hires
By John D. McKinnon and Miriam Jordan
The Bush administration rolled out a set of proposed rules aimed at stanching the flow of undocumented workers who have been crossing the border to work on U.S. farms.
The rules would encourage farmers to hire more legal guest workers from other countries under a 20-year-old visa program covering agricultural workers. The changes would modernize what is known as the H-2A visa program by loosening many of its stricter requirements, particularly on wages that must be paid to guest workers and on housing. Currently, critics of U.S. immigration policy say, farmers are encouraged ...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120234415583049133.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The Bush administration rolled out a set of proposed rules aimed at stanching the flow of undocumented workers who have been crossing the border to work on U.S. farms.
The rules would encourage farmers to hire more legal guest workers from other countries under a 20-year-old visa program covering agricultural workers. The changes would modernize what is known as the H-2A visa program by loosening many of its stricter requirements, particularly on wages that must be paid to guest workers and on housing. Currently, critics of U.S. immigration policy say, farmers are encouraged ...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120234415583049133.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Immigration Misfire
By ROSA ROSALES
February 5, 2008
Political pundits used to maintain that the American electorate was galvanized around the issue of illegal immigration. Voters, they claimed, would punish any candidate who failed to take a tough stance on immigrants and did not adamantly oppose the "A" word -- Amnesty -- in all its tortured definitions.
Yet a funny thing happened in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. The most anti-immigrant candidates performed below expectations, and those accused of supporting amnesty and in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants won.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120217267552142823.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
February 5, 2008
Political pundits used to maintain that the American electorate was galvanized around the issue of illegal immigration. Voters, they claimed, would punish any candidate who failed to take a tough stance on immigrants and did not adamantly oppose the "A" word -- Amnesty -- in all its tortured definitions.
Yet a funny thing happened in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. The most anti-immigrant candidates performed below expectations, and those accused of supporting amnesty and in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants won.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120217267552142823.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Friday, February 1, 2008
Fighting to share the American Dream
Immigration policy has become a hot-button issue in the US presidential election campaign
January 31, 2008 3:25 AM
Immigration is one of the most contentious and emotional issues in the United States today - an issue that cuts to the core of what it means to be an American, and of what kind of country America wants to become. In the 2008 presidential race, immigration policy will come to the fore as the political field narrows, and especially as the primary season gives way to the general election.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/usa/2008/01/fighting_for_a_piece_of_the_am.html
January 31, 2008 3:25 AM
Immigration is one of the most contentious and emotional issues in the United States today - an issue that cuts to the core of what it means to be an American, and of what kind of country America wants to become. In the 2008 presidential race, immigration policy will come to the fore as the political field narrows, and especially as the primary season gives way to the general election.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/usa/2008/01/fighting_for_a_piece_of_the_am.html
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Senators debate immigration reform
After an unsuccessful attempt at passing comprehensive immigration reform last year, a small bipartisan group of senators joined key cabinet officials on May 17 to announce a compromise approach. If passed, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1348) would be the first major legislation to overhaul the U.S. immigration system since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986—a bill that criminalized knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant and established a one-year amnesty program for certain illegal immigrants. But after much initial optimism, senators are increasingly questioning key provisions of the new bill. A final vote has been delayed so that senators can have more time to digest and discuss the legislation.
http://www.as-coa.org/article.php?id=585
http://www.as-coa.org/article.php?id=585
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Guest Worker Program
In 2004 President Bush proposed a guest worker program as a way of giving back to illegal immigrants. He discussed the important role that immigrants have played in the United States by shaping America into what it is today. The United States has had a tradition of welcoming foreigners into the country who have tended to assimilate well into American culture. Bush mentioned that the growth of immigrants over time has propelled the economy into the world’s largest and has allowed it to become a powerhouse. Their contributions continue to be evident as they take on difficult jobs that many times require long hours. Immigrants are also known for starting their own businesses which help contribute to the U.S. economy. President Bush drew upon his personal experiences as a Texan to point out how Mexican immigrants he knew had made a difference in the country. He also added that they bring certain values with them like family, work ethic and independence. One specific example that he brought up was the thousands of immigrants that currently serve in the military. They may be foreign born but this did not deter them from embracing the service opportunities that this country has to offer.
http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/guestworkerprogram.html
http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/guestworkerprogram.html
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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