Federal Court finds Obama DREAM policy illegal,

[longknife]

but may not require actual deportations

Oh really? Anyone else NOT surprised by this?

Posted by William A. Jacobson Thursday, April 25, 2013

There are many news reports about the preliminary decision issued by Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas in a lawsuit brought by ICE agents challenging the Obama administration’s administrative DREAM provisions which direct Homeland Security not to commence removal proceedings as to people who meet the criteria.

Read more @ » Federal Court finds Obama DREAM policy illegal, but may not require actual deportations - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion with links

 

[waltky]

Granny says dat's a violation of the Simpson-Mazolli Act...

Immigration bill grants amnesty to employers of illegals; no prosecution for bogus IDs
Monday, April 29, 2013 - The debate is raging over whether the latest immigration bill is an amnesty for illegal immigrants, but one part is clear: The legislation would forgive businesses that have employed those immigrants illegally.

Employers who have allowed illegal immigrants to work off the books can come forward safely and provide their work history without fear of prosecution, and businesses that knowingly employed someone using a bogus or stolen Social Security number likewise would get a pass, according to an analysis of the bill by the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that wants a crackdown on immigration. “The illegal workers at least have to pay a token fine. The employers of illegal immigrants who violated a whole list of laws themselves don’t even have to pay,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the center. “It’s the business side of the amnesty that doesn’t get a lot of focus.”

Business groups’ support is considered critical to getting a bill passed this year, but attention has been focused mostly on a guest worker program and requirements that all employers would have to meet, such as using an electronic verification system to check potential hires. Indeed, it wasn’t until business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, struck a deal with the AFL-CIO on a guest worker program that the final Senate bill came together. The chamber said the provisions exempting businesses from penalties “had nothing to do” with earning their support.” Our focus in assessing the bill was looking to the good faith compliance and safe harbor provisions and other terms of the E-Verify mandate, the revisions to the high-skilled worker program, and the creation of a workable low-skilled worker program,” said Blair Holmes, a chamber spokeswoman.

Fieldworkers pick onion bulbs on a Vidalia onion farm in Lyons, Ga., on May 10. Concerns abound that new legislation meant to bar illegal immigrants from the workforce and giving local police increased enforcement powers will scare away Mexican laborers.

The crux of the Senate bill, negotiated by four Republican senators and four Democrats, would legalize most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., but withhold a full pathway to citizenship for most of them until after the Homeland Security Department takes more steps to secure the border and implements the electronic verification system for employers. All sides are still combing through the 844-page bill, trying to figure out what it would do. One major fight is over how many foreigners would be let into the country as a result of higher caps on legal immigration.

The Center for Immigration Studies says more attention should be given to the free pass for businesses.It counts four different ways businesses get a break: Employers who have illegal immigrants on their payroll can keep them there with no penalty; there is no assessment of back taxes for their employees who worked off the books; those who paid unfair wages will not be prosecuted; and those who aided fraud by accepting bogus Social Security numbers won’t face a penalty. “It lets businesses that knowingly violated the law off the hook,” Mr. Krikorian said. “If they were not withholding payroll taxes, they’re held harmless. If they were violating labor laws, they’re held harmless. So this is a boon for crooked business.”

Read more: Immigration bill grants amnesty to employers of illegals; no prosecution for bogus IDs - Washington Times

 

[waltky]

Legalizing immigrants w/o full border security...

Senators kill amendments tied to bill on immigration; border security issue put on back burner
Thursday, May 9, 2013 - The Senate immigration bill survived its first tests Thursday as a core group of Republicans and Democrats held together, killing efforts to require full border security requirements before legalizing illegal immigrants.

Kicking off the first votes on immigration this year, the Judiciary Committee held a daylong session on border security where senators agreed to require that the entire southwestern border be secured to 90 percent “efficiency.” But the committee defeated Republican efforts to put that requirement and others before legalization. Members also rejected following through on a 2006 law that ordered the government to build 700 miles of two-tier fencing on the 2,000-mile-long border. “I very much want to see the border shut down. I dislike illegal immigration,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat and one of those who led opposition. “But let’s do it in a smart way. Let’s do it in a way that’s cost-effective. Let’s do it in a way that doesn’t blow a hole in our budget. And let the experts decide.”

The votes marked the first test for the coalition of Republicans and Democrats pushing immigration reform. Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who were among the Republicans on the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that wrote the bill, said they want tough border security. They voted repeatedly against other Republican amendments, arguing that they could upset the balance of the deal they struck with Democrats and saying the proposal sufficiently increases border enforcement. “The key to me is not 2,200 miles of fence, it’s not 90 percent operational control, it’s stopping the reason they come, and that is to get jobs,” Mr. Graham said. “You control jobs, you will turn everything into a trickle.”

The crux of the immigration deal is that it offers illegal immigrants quick legal status but withholds a full path to citizenship until after the Homeland Security Department spends more money on border security, begins to check visas of those leaving by air and sea, and creates a mandatory system for employers to check immigration status before they hire. The bill’s authors said those steps should be enough to give Americans confidence. Mr. Schumer said the bill “is tough as nails on border security.”

Republican opponents scoffed, saying they wanted the bill tied to final results, not to promises of spending. They also made clear that they don’t trust the Obama administration to be the final arbiter of security, particularly since Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano said she believes the border is secure. “The committee has voted down every serious border security amendment that has been presented here today,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. “The bill before this committee that relies entirely on subjective assessments from the secretary of Homeland Security that have no teeth.”

Read more: Senators kill amendments tied to bill on immigration; border security issue put on back burner - Washington Times

See also:

Cruz: Homeland Security has its mind made up on border security
5/09/13 - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said pending immigration reform legislation does nothing to force Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to secure the border before giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants.

“If Las Vegas oddsmakers were laying odds of the probability of the Department of Homeland Security concluding at whatever time it came into effect that the border would be secure, under this current bill, the Las Vegas odds would be greater than 10,000 to 1,” Cruz said Thursday, during the Judiciary Committee’s markup of the landmark legislation. “It is a virtual certainty because the bill does not have meaningful metrics that actually have bite. It doesn’t have consequence,” Cruz said. Cruz offered an amendment to triple the number of Border Patrol agents to 60,000, quadruple the number of cameras; sensors; drones and helicopters used to monitor the border, and create a double-layered border fence.

The amendment would have stopped the Department of Homeland Security from processing applications for provisional legal status until it complied with the security requirements. Security experts say it would take about 10 years to meet the rubrics set out by Cruz’s amendment. The pending immigration reform bill would require Napolitano to craft a plan for securing the southwestern border before giving provisional legal status to an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Immigrants with provisional legal status could not obtain green cards until the secretary of Homeland Security has determined the bill's goals for border security have been met. The secretary must certify to Congress that that a border security strategy is substantially deployed and substantially operational.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the bill's lead author, expressed confidence last month that the goals would be met. "I think that's moot. They're going to be met," Schumer said when asked at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor about the possibility of falling short of the bill's metrics. Cruz argues that Congress would give far too much discretion to Napolitano or her successor. But he failed to convince Republican members of the Gang of Eight to support his amendment. It failed by a vote of 5-13.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the gang, said Cruz’s amendment would cost $30 billion to $40 billion. “That’s a substantial sum,” he said. “We need improved border security. I think that if we look at this, it’s just probably somewhere we can’t go.” Flake noted the bill provides many additional resources for securing the border, including 3,500 new customs agents.

Read more: Cruz: Homeland Security has its mind made up on border security - The Hill - covering Congress, Politics, Political Campaigns and Capitol Hill | TheHill.com