April 27, 2007
Friday

A new immigration reform proposal has been drafted by two members of the US House called Flake Gutierrez that is supported by the White House. This is an appropriate time for citizens to educate themselves and let their voices be heard by contacting their representatives in Washington. Some of the proposals in the bill are downright scary.

Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, issued the following statement following the unveiling of the illegal immigration proposal introduced by Congressmen Flake and Gutierrez:

Unfortunately, the proposals introduced by Congressmen Flake and Gutierrez amount to nothing more than repeating the failed policies of the past. This bill sends the message that the 12 million illegal immigrants who are currently living in our country were justified in breaking our immigration laws.

Proponents of this bill say that illegal immigrants will have to wait, pay a monetary fine and learn English. That s the same thing Congress said in 1986 when they passed an amnesty bill with the promise of securing the border and enforcing the law. Twenty-one years later, that promise has been broken and the problem has multiplied. The interior enforcement provisions of the 86 amnesty were never implemented.

Under the Flake-Gutierrez bill, employer verification would have to be certified by the Department of Homeland Security before the guest-worker provisions can be enacted. The same department that has failed to implement the REAL ID Act and the U.S. VISIT program.

Employer enforcement must be more than a benchmark; it needs to be the centerpiece of our effort to address illegal immigration. The opportunity for employment is the driving force behind illegal immigration. The problem may be coming from the border, but it manifests itself beyond the border and in our communities.

The starting point for addressing illegal immigration should be something we all agree is a problem which is illegal employment. We have a consensus so why don t we work to address the things we do agree on first?

This bill will lead to another new wave of illegal immigration that will far exceed the effects of the 86 Amnesty and we will be right back where we started with an even larger illegal immigrant population.

John Maki
Bailey, CO




Received April 25, 2007 - Published April 27, 2007

About: "Former Deputy Chief of Police and resident of Ketchikan"

 

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