August 21, 2009 Edition

Capitol Connection

FAIR's GR Team Preps Public for Healthcare Town Halls
Congress has left Washington for the summer recess. Multiple media outlets have been reporting on contentious town hall meetings where angry constituents are confronting their elected officials over a variety of different issues. Prior to the summer recess, FAIR's Government Relations (GR) team took two important steps to ensure that our members, activists, and the general public were prepared to ask their Representatives and Senators the right questions to determine where they stand on immigration.

The first step the GR team took was to let the public know that their Representatives and Senators would actually be home for the summer recess throughout the month of August and the first week of September. This was accomplished through an Action Alert, which provided our members and activists with clear guidelines that they could follow to press their members of Congress on certain immigration-related issues.

Shortly after the Action Alert was sent and posted to FAIR's website, the GR team released a document detailing three immigration-related topics constituents could discuss at town hall meetings with their members of Congress. The document covered two E-Verify related amendments currently pending in the Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2010 spending bill; this bill is working its way through the Senate and would completely gut secure identification standards; and perhaps the most talked-about issue at the August town halls: healthcare.

FAIR's GR team provided the first analysis detailing how illegal aliens would receive taxpayer-subsidized health insurance through the House version of the healthcare bill. This information, coupled with our document detailing immigration-related topics people could discuss with their members of Congress at town halls, has people across the country asking their elected officials a simple question: Will illegal aliens receive taxpayer-subsidized health care under the proposal working its way through Congress? Thus far, Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania); Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland); Congressman Alan Boyd (D-Florida); Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee); and many other members of Congress have been asked about illegal aliens and healthcare reform at these town halls.

The hard work of FAIR's staff, combined with the persistence and courage of FAIR's members and activists, is paying off. Congress is quickly becoming aware that the American people will not accept being forced to foot the bill for health insurance for illegal aliens.

FAIR in Your Community

New Guide from IRLI Coming Soon
FAIR's legal arm, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI ), will publish a revised and updated edition of its legal guide this fall. The manual is the only law reference that focuses on the legal representation of citizens, their communities, and their civic associations in immigration-related matters. The nine years since the first edition appeared in 2001 have seen constant change in the state of the law, in particular in the areas of state and local enforcement. Legislators, law enforcement agencies, members of the bar and activist leaders throughout the nation have been requesting a new edition of this unique IRLI reference volume.

E-Verify ordinance in Ohio
FAIR field staff worked with a Lima, Ohio Councilman to draft E-Verify legislation which will be introduced at the next city council meeting on Aug. 24. Lima is going to receive stimulus money soon and that money should go to legal workers.

Ohio Rally Team is working with FAIR field staff to overturn the county’s policy of accepting Matricula cards
FAIR field staffer, Bob Najmulski, was a guest on a local radio talk show in Lake County, OH, WELW's "The Breakdown with Mike and Josh." Bob spoke on the resolution in Lake County that states the county will accept a Matricula card as 'official ID.' Bob demonstrated that the card is unverifiable, inaccurate and a document the illegal aliens use to function in the community. Another guest on the show was Commissioner Sines from Lake County. He said he would gladly remove the resolution if he could get one of the other commissioners to vote likewise. If this resolution is repealed, this would be a victory for the Ohio Grass Roots Rally Team (who initiated the effort) and the FAIR field team, who works closely with the Ohio team. Ohio members, please help the Ohio Grass Roots Rally team educate the Lake County Commissioners and encourage them to repeal the resolution.

Sign up for Hold Their Feet to the Fire 2009. This year's event will be even larger than the last, with radio show hosts from around the country coming to Washington, D.C. in September.

Kudos

FAIR spokespersons have provided dozens of interviews highlighting the administration's ongoing efforts to dismantled interior enforcement while laying the ground-work for amnesty this fall. FAIR's media team has been actively pursued by AP, MSNBC, Cox TV and many other news organizations to provide perspective and clarity on whether or not illegal aliens will benefit from health care reform.

Send Us Your Feedback

"Washington has had several years of ranting and raving from Americans about the illegal issues and they have done nothing!! I say no more being nice and politically correct...it's time to get TOUGH! We (and FAIR) could and should speak out more in the "TEA Parties" about the real economic drain put on our country by illegal aliens . . .Keep up the good work!!! "

"Because of my job I am aware of some companies in my area that have illegals on the payroll and nothing is being done about it. I feel like Americans are being screwed . . . We are wide open for possible terrorists; it's only a matter of time."

"Illegal immigration is not just an economic issue, but it is a social one, illegal immigrants are changing our cities if we dont do something soon will be too late, I'm hispanic and I know the problem from within. . . if we dont wake up know and confront the real problem we are going to lose our country."

"FAIR is doing a great job on keeping up with the effects of illegal immigration yet states that are being swarmed by these people are hardly mentioned, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah have a large amount of illegals working in the gas fields where ICE never looks at or turns their heads . . . thousands of illegals that openly laugh about it and cops ignore it. Great efforts on your part."