In this Update:

Piecemeal Immigration Measures Poised to Resurface in Congress

Visa Waiver Expansion Looms Over 9/11 Commission Bill

Congressman Tancredo Introduces OVERDUE Immigration Bill

Arizona Legislature Steps Up to the Plate on Worksite Enforcement

Recent Floor Statements

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Piecemeal Immigration Measures Poised to Resurface in Congress

Although the Iraq War has taken center stage since Congress returned from the July 4th recess, special interests continue to work behind the scenes to advance their agenda in the realm of immigration. Sources tell FAIR that there is discussion in both the House and Senate on reviving parts of the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill (S.1639), such as the DREAM Act, the SKIL bill, and AgJOBS. With Congressional leaders in both parties signaling that a comprehensive bill is unlikely to move before the 2008 elections, supporters hope that these particular provisions will be popular enough to pass without being attached to border security or worksite enforcement legislation.

All three immigration measures seek to appease various minority and business special interest groups. The DREAM Act would give amnesty to illegal aliens who arrived in the U.S. as children and have established a certain level of education. It would also allow illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition at colleges and universities by reversing portions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), passed in 1996. The SKIL bill, as it is commonly called, would dramatically increase the annual cap of high-tech H-1B visas and, among other things, would create a special path to citizenship for foreign students who study math, science and engineering. Finally, AgJOBS would grant amnesty to 1.5 million illegal alien agricultural workers and relax certain portions of the existing agricultural guest worker program (H-2A).

Some Senate sources even suggest that there may even be movement in the Senate this week during the debate on the Defense Authorization Bill. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced Friday he intends to offer the DREAM Act as an amendment to the defense bill; Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has filed an amendment that would increase H-1B visas; and some have suggested that Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) may attempt to offer an amendment that would expand the H-2B program.

Meanwhile, true immigration reformers are also looking for opportunities to advance provisions critical to enforcing our immigration laws. For example, Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA), a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, has successfully offered an amendment to three different appropriations bills that would require government contractors to use the Basic Pilot Program to verify that their employees are lawfully present in the United States. The amendment has been adopted on the Transportation/HUD appropriations bill; the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill; and the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill. These funding measures will soon move to the House floor where supporters of the Basic Pilot requirement will be working hard to ensure that the language is not stripped. 

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Visa Waiver Expansion Looms Over 9/11 Commission Bill

For two weeks, Members of the House and Senate have been holding preliminary discussions in preparation for a conference committee for the 9/11 Commission bill (S.4). Senate Republicans had initially refused consent to appoint Senate conferees because of a collective bargaining provision in the bill. Last week, however, a breakthrough was reached when Senate Democrats agreed to withdraw that provision in order to move the bill forward.

Immigration reformers will be closely watching the conference committee on the 9/11 Commission bill to see whether lawmakers decide to expand the Visa Waiver Program. In February, an amendment offered in committee by Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) to relax the eligibility requirements for the Visa Waiver Program and allow more countries to participate was adopted. That amendment was then altered on the Senate floor by Senator Feinstein to scale back the scope of the expansion. However, even with the changes made by Senator Feinstein, the bill would still relax the requirements of the program and allow more countries to participate in the visa waiver program.

Critics maintain that expanding the Visa Waiver Program—which allows the nationals of participating countries to enter the U.S. without visas—will be detrimental to national security. Several terrorists, including 9/11 conspirator Zarcarias Moussaoui, have boarded planes to the United States with passports issued at visa waiver countries. Loosening an already broken immigration system will only serve to undermine the spirit of the 9/11 Commission's suggestions for a safer America, the basis of the 9/11 Security Bill. Some argue that expanding the visa waiver program is an attempt to serve big business-especially the travel and tourism industry.

Experts agree with this criticism. Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general at the Homeland Security Department told USA Today last December that the expansion of the visa waiver program was "a step in the wrong direction." He added, "We ought to be ending the visa-waiver program, not expanding it. There's a reason why terrorists are keen to obtain passports from visa-waiver countries: they don't have to undergo extensive security checks." The Government Accountability Office, in a report released in September 2006, found that "stolen passports from visa waiver countries are prized travel documents among terrorists, criminals and immigration-law violators."

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Congressman Tancredo Introduces OVERDUE Immigration Bill

On July 11th, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) introduced a comprehensive immigration enforcement bill, entitled the Optimizing Visa Entry Rules and Demanding Uniformed Enforcement (OVERDUE) Immigration Bill. Upon the announcement of the bill, Congressman Tancredo criticized the Bush Administration for failing to enforce U.S. immigration laws. "While we often hear administration officials saying that they simply can't enforce our laws when the truth is that they haven't even tried, it's not that they can't enforce these laws, it's that they don't want to." He added, "Empowering our immigration enforcement officers to use existing tools is a good place to start, but it's only a start. My legislation would build on these tools by making a number of long- overdue changes to our immigration law."

The OVERDUE Immigration bill would:

• Restore America's immigration system to a more traditional level of admissions;
• Eliminate "chain migration" (extended family preference categories) in accordance with the recommendations of the Jordan Commission;
• Eliminate the "visa lottery" in accordance with the recommendations of the Jordan Commission;
• Ensure that automatic birthright citizenship accrues to children born in the U.S. only if at least one parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident;
• Suspend the Visa Waiver Program until the Department of Homeland (DHS) makes certain certifications to the Congress;
• Prohibit states from granting in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens on the basis of graduation from a U.S. high school (in addition to residence) unless they offer the same rate to all U.S. citizens;
• Affirm the inherent authority of State and local law enforcement officers to enforce the immigration laws of the United States; require Federal immigration authorities to respond to requests for assistance from State and local authorities; and
• Authorize federal reimbursement of health care providers for federally mandated emergency medical treatment of illegal aliens, so long as the providers collect and report immigration status information and other non-clinical information concerning each illegal alien treated.Back to top

Arizona Legislature Steps Up to the Plate on Worksite Enforcement

Last week the Arizona State Legislature took a significant step towards immigration reform by passing one of the strongest state-initiated employment eligibility verification laws in the country. The Legal Arizona Workers Act (HB 2779) requires employers to check the immigration status of their workers and provides that businesses will permanently lose their licenses upon a second violation of hiring illegal aliens.

Representative Russell Pearce introduced HB 2779 in February this year despite the possibility it would be vetoed by Governor Janet Nepolitano. The act is viewed as a compromise between frustrated constituents, who have threatened a 2008 ballot initiative to enact similar measures, and the state's Democratic governor, who openly supported the Bush-Kennedy amnesty bill. Representative Pearce said he offered the bill because "the public is tired of waiting" and "everyday we don't act on this, we're hurting Arizona." The bill passed with overwhelming support in both houses of the legislature, but many remained unsure whether Governor Napolitano would sign the bill.

Specifically, The Legal Arizona Workers Act will require employers to check the employment eligibility status of each new employee beginning January 1, 2008. The eligibility check must be done through the Basic Pilot Program. If an employer uses the Basic Pilot with respect to an employee who later turns out to be illegal, that employer will be legally protected from prosecution. However, if the employer is unable to prove an employee was screened by Basic Pilot and that employee is illegal, the employer will be subject to prosecution. Upon the first violation the employer will be required to prove termination of employment for all illegal aliens, will be placed on a three-year probationary period, and may have its business license suspended for a period of up to ten days. A second violation on the part of the same employer would result in automatic revocation of the license.

If the act proves successful it could pave the way for similar legislation in other states facing growing illegal alien communities. However, critics of the Legal Arizona Workers Act expressed concern that American workers will be hurt by the bill if their employers' licenses are revoked. Others have expressed concern that small Latino-run businesses will be targeted by law enforcement officials. The Arizona State Chamber of Commerce warned the bill would "cripple the state's economy," and the immigrant rights group Derechos de Humanos marked it as a "great disservice to the state and to all migrant workers."

Even as Governor Napolitano signed the bill she continued to criticize it and said she only signed it because the federal government refused to take any action. Napolitano added, "I signed it, too, out of the realization that the flow of illegal immigration in our state is due to the constant demand of some employers for cheap, undocumented labor." 

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Recent Floor Statements