Congressional Leadership Strips E-Verify from Stimulus Bill

Despite strong public support for the measures, Congressional Leaders last week bowed to pressure from the open-borders lobby and big business interests and stripped two E-Verify amendments from the Stimulus Bill (H.R.1) during conference committee. On Friday, February 13, the House passed the final version vote of the nearly $1 trillion spending bill by a vote of  246 to 183 and the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 60 to 38.  President Obama signed the bill into law on Tuesday February 17.

The failure to pass these amendments leaves the E-Verify program vulnerable as current law provides it will expire March 6th. To avoid this fate, Congress will need to pass reauthorizing language before then, a fact that is not lost on many in Congress. On the day the final version of the bill passed the Senate, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) tried to reassure immigration reformers in the Senate that Leadership intended to take up a Continuing Resolution in the next few weeks which would not only fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2009) but would also include a seven month E-Verify extension.

The fact that many members of Congress have expressed support for E-Verify but have simultaneously refused to reauthorize the program over the long term has true immigration reformers questioning the motives of Congressional Leaders.  Senator Sessions suggested in a speech Friday that Congressional Leadership had intentionally denied Senators a vote on his amendment in order spare them a tough vote.  (Congressional Record, S2288 February 13, 2009) Some have also argued that the move demonstrates that Congressional Leadership intends to hold the reauthorization of E-Verify hostage in order to pass other immigration legislation, and potentially a "comprehensive immigration reform" package.  (The Stein Report, February 13, 2009)

H-1B Amendment Survives Conference Committee

An H-1B-related amendment offered by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) to the economic stimulus package has survived conference committee and was a part of the final bill signed by President Obama.  Entitled the "Employ American Workers Act," the Sanders-Grassley Amendment seeks to limit entities that receive funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) — established by last year's $700 billion financial services sector bailout legislation — from displacing U.S. citizen workers. (CongressDaily, February 13, 2009). 

The original text of the amendment as it was filed by Senators Sanders and Grassley would have barred any recipient of TARP funding from hiring any H-1B workers. (Congressional Record, S1590).  However, on the Senate floor, the Sanders Amendment was modified so that companies that receive TARP funding are not barred from hiring H-1B workers, but instead must follow the rules proscribed for so-called "H-1B Dependent Employers."  (Congressional Record, S1669 & S1803).  These rules require employers who have significant numbers of H-1B employees (measured in proportion to the total workforce) to: (1) attest that they have made good-faith attempts to hire U.S. workers at prevailing wages (or industry-standard wages); (2) attest that their hiring of H-1B employees does not displace U.S. workers who have sought those same jobs; and (3) maintain paper records showing that they have complied with wage and other work condition standards.

The modified amendment was eventually adopted by voice vote. As modified, this language "isn't as tough as what Senator Grassley originally proposed… [but instead the] modified amendment… makes TARP recipients jump through extra hoops before they can hire those foreign workers."  (BusinessWeek, February 13, 2009).

As Border Violence Escalates, Phoenix Ranks Second in the World in Kidnappings

ABC News reported last week that "Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City."  The investigation revealed that more than 370 kidnappings have occurred in Phoenix in the last year alone. Many of these kidnappings are connected to Mexico's drug cartels whose criminal activities have spilled over the U.S.-Mexico border.  ABC News found in its investigation "horrific cases of chopped-off hands, legs and heads when a victim's family doesn't pay up fast enough."  (ABC News, February 11, 2009; See also Yahoo News Video, February 11, 2009)

The ABC News investigation came on the heels of reports of gun battles near the U.S.-Mexico border between Mexican soldiers and drug cartel hit-men that killed 21 people.  News reports indicate that drug cartel members kidnapped nine people - including some police officers - and shot six of them at a ranch in northern Mexico early last Tuesday morning.  Mexican soldiers raided the ranch and killed several of the hit-men and later killed more cartel members after chasing them by helicopter.  (Reuters, February 10, 2009). More than 5,700 people were killed in Mexico last year as a result of drug-related violence. Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Thomas Schweich commented on the recent violence, saying, "We really underestimate the risk in the United States from drug cartel violence spilling over the border and the risk that Mexico becomes a route for anti-U.S. extremists." (Id.)

Members of Congress Ask President Obama to Halt Construction of the Border Fence

Despite the nation's vulnerability along the Southern border, some Democrats in Congress sent a letter to the president last week asking him to delay further construction of the border fence.  In the letter, the Representatives state they are writing "to ask that [President Obama] suspend, at least temporarily, construction of the border fence" until the Department of Homeland Security completes its evaluation of border security operations. The authors of the letter- which include Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Susan Davis (CA-53), Bob Filner (CA-51), Raul Grijalva (AZ-7), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Silvestre Reyes (TX-16), and Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX-23)-further criticize the fence as "an antiquated structure that has torn our communities apart and damaged our cross border relationships."  (Rep. Ortiz News Release).

DHS reported in mid-January that construction of the 700-mile fence was nearly 90 percent complete. However, a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the non-partisan watchdog agency for Congress, pointed out that only 32 miles of the fence has been built as originally designed.  (GAO Report, January 29, 2009)  The Secure Fence Act of 2006 originally required DHS to build 700 miles of double-layer fencing along the border, but Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) later amended the law in December 2007 (in the Omnibus Appropriations Act) to allow DHS to use discretion to choose other forms of less secure fencing, including single-layer fencing or vehicle barriers. (FAIR Legislative Update, January 14, 2008) Thus, DHS now reports that there are 661 miles of "fencing" along the border: 303 miles consists, of vehicle barriers, while the other 358 miles consists of chain-link fencing. Of the 358 miles of chain-link fencing, only 32 miles are double layered. (GAO Report)

Statements from officials indicate that the fence could be a significant tool in improving the security situation. According to the GAO report, "Much of the United States' 6,000 miles of international borders with Canada and Mexico remains vulnerable to illegal entry of aliens, criminals, and cargo."  (GAO Report).  DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano told senators during her confirmation hearing that the border fence is a necessary component of an overall border security plan, as "it helps prevent those who are crossing illegally from blending immediately into a town population." (Star Tribune, January 27, 2009). While it is unclear when this border security effort will be completed, the situation on the border remains tenuous at best and violent at worst.