J.E.D
Gold Member
- Jul 28, 2011
- 14,159
- 2,229
- 280
- Banned
- #1
Looks like some of the actual small-gov't Republicans are calling out the fake small-gov't Republicans for supporting a bill that is as big as big gov't gets. This ought to be interesting to watch unfold.
Republican E-Verify Bill Faces Growing Internal Opposition
WASHINGTON -- A House Republican bill that would require businesses to screen for undocumented immigrants is facing a growing bloc of opposition -- even from within the GOP.
At a Thursday markup of the bill, which would mandate the use of an electronic screening system called E-Verify, one Republican Judiciary Committee member worried aloud that it would hurt agriculture businesses and drive workers underground. Democrats, who by and large oppose the bill, have been airing the same complaints for months, and are now forming an unlikely coalition with conservatives and Tea Partiers who oppose parts of the bill.
"I just can't abide with what we're doing to my state in terms of the temporary need for temporary workers," Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) said. "It would devastate agriculture. … If we do not recognize the demonstrated need for foreign workers, and I'm talking about temporary foreign workers in the agriculture field, we're kidding ourselves."
Tea Party groups, including Take Back Washington, Tea Party Nation and Liberty Coalition, bought a full-page ad in Politico on Thursday criticizing the mandatory E-Verify bill. They also sent an open letter to members of Congress asking them to oppose the bill to avoid disastrous consequences for American citizens.
"Punishing businesses and telling citizens they can't work is no way to stop illegal immigration...or fix the economy," the ad reads.
According to the groups' letter, the mandatory E-Verify is problematic because it:
1. Creates a de facto national I.D. System - even for citizens;
2. Violates individual civil liberties such as the right to work and free speech;
3. Mandates a costly job-killing regulatory burden that cripples small business;
4. Requires employers to become enforcement agents of the federal government;
5. Encourages identify theft of law-abiding citizens
.....
Some Republicans in Congress have the same problems with the bill, worrying it will hurt the American agricultural industry or take away state's rights to police undocumented immigration.
.....
Some business owners also say the bill increases the number of bureaucracy hoops they must jump through in hiring workers, costing an estimated $2.6 billion to implement for small businesses. The program is already mandatory for government agencies and contractors, and open for use by independent companies.
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