Get Real
Get Real
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 8:18 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
May 11, 2005 No. 1256
Immigration control groups throughout the nation are celebrating their
victory in getting the Real ID Act passed as part of the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, but I for one won't be
toasting. This isn't a victory for middle-class American workers,
although it might be a marginal step forward in the battle against
illegal immigration.
What nobody in Washington D.C. seems to realize is that legal
immigration is a far greater threat than illegal to the short-term
viability of the American middle-class. This bill is a deceitful
betrayal, and it's nothing but a slap in the face to our soldiers who
will come back from Iraq and find out that they cannot get jobs because
our Congress decided to allow another flood of foreign workers into
this country to take the jobs that they need.
Listed below are the visa giveaways in the Emergency Appropriations
Act.
* H-2B Exemption - "Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005"
introduced by Senators Mikulski (D-MD) and Gregg (R-NH)
Ammendment S. 387 and H.R. 1268 will exempt workers returning from a
previous H-2B job. The yearly cap of 66,000 H-2B cap is expected to be
reached before next summer because that's when most of the H-2B workers
are hired. The exemption will probably triple the number of H-2Bs that
are allowed to work in the U.S. at any one time.
The ones most likely to lose their chance for employment are college
students that need summer jobs, landscapers, housekeepers, hotel
workers, fish packers, horse stable attendants, and construction
workers,
Only 6 Senators voted against the H-2B ammendment - 2 Democrats and 4
Republicans. I have included text from the Congressional record just so
you can read how cruel and calculating these politicians are when it
comes to betraying American workers.
Sen. Mikulski's statement says it all, but she conveniently left out a
few important words which I added in square brackets as a courtesy:
This shows this [H-2B] is not only a coastal State issue,
and it also shows it is not only a seafood processing issue;
this is an issue that affects our entire country,
particularly those who depend upon [exploit] summer
seasonal [indentured] workers. We understand some [most]
of our States [greedy employers and rich lobbyists]
enjoy [demand] -- whether it is Massachusetts, Wyoming,
or Idaho--both summer and winter [cheap labor 24/7].
Either way, the Senator knows that we depend on [foreign]
summer workers [instead of U.S. college students and folks
that need a job that pays more than mininum wage].
* EB-3 for Nurses - By unanimous consent every single Senator went
along with this one! The EB-3 proposal was sponsored by Senators
Schumer (D-NY), Hutchison (R-TX) and Kennedy (D-MA)
Up to 50,000 more nurses and physical therapists will be able to get
EB-3 green card visas to work in the U.S. They will come from India,
China and the Philippines.
* E-3 Visas for Australian Techies - 10,500 E-3 green cards will be
given to Australians who have job offers in "specialty occupations" in
the U.S. All spouses and children of these Aussies can also get work
visas. See the newsletter "Visa Giveaway to Australians" for more
information.
See the following articles for supplemental reading:
http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/050506_immigration.htm
Legal Mass Immigration Is The Ultimate Threat
http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/050506_vfl.htm
View From Lodi, CA: Bill Gates -- Big, Rich Phony
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00102
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 1st Session
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the
direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Amendment (Mikulski Amdt. No. 387, As Amended )
Vote Number: 102 Vote Date: April 19, 2005, 05:41 PM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Amendment Agreed to
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 387 to H.R. 1268 (Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami
Relief, 2005 )
Statement of Purpose: To revise certain requirements for H-2B
employers and require submission of information regarding H-2B
nonimmigrants
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FAIR Legislative Update
U.S. Senate Approves REAL ID
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved (100-0) the conference
agreement on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act. As
mentioned, the conference agreement contains Rep. Sensenbrenner's
(R-WI) REAL ID Act, as well as additional funding offered by Sen. Byrd
(D-WV) for border and interior enforcement.
Now that H.R. 1268 has cleared both bodies of Congress, it heads to the
president's desk for his signature. We expect he will sign the bill
within the week.
HERE'S A RECAP ON WHAT WE WON...
BAN ON DRIVER'S LICENSES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS: Under the REAL ID
provisions, all states must require proof of lawful presence in the
U.S. if their driver's licenses are to be accepted as a form of
identification to a federal official. Boarding a commercial airplane
and entering a federal building or a nuclear power plant are among the
official federal purposes. Some concessions were made allowing states
to issue "driving certificates" that do not meet the national
requirements, but they would not be valid for official purposes. The
terms of these cards would be a maximum of one year. While we oppose
the issuance of these driving certificates, they will make it easy for
state and local law enforcement to identify and detain illegal aliens
during the course of their normal activities.
MORE DRIVER'S LICENSE SECURITY: Temporary driver's licenses issued to
foreign visitors by a state must expire when the visitor's visa
expires, with a maximum term of one year. Had this been in place prior
to 9/11, the illegal aliens among the terrorist hijackers who
overstayed their visas would not have had valid driver's licenses.
EXPEDITES COMPLETION OF U.S./MEXICO BORDER FENCE: Provides the
Secretary of Homeland Security authority, subject to federal judicial
review of Constitutional questions, to waive laws hampering the
completion of border fences and roads for national security purposes.
This will expedite completion of the border fence along the dangerous
San Diego/Tijuana border.
INADMISSIBLITY AND DEPORTATION OF TERRORISTS: Ensures all
terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility to the U.S. are grounds
for deportation from the U.S.
ASYLUM REFORMS: The REAL ID provisions will help weed out fraudulent
asylum applications by allowing immigration judges to determine witness
credibility in asylum cases.
LIMITS DEPORTATION-DELAYING APPEALS: Provides reforms to ensure the
prompt removal from the U.S. of terrorists, criminal aliens, and
illegal aliens after proper judicial review. Aliens order deported will
no longer be able to abuse the appeals process to remain in the
country.
INCREASES ENFORCEMENT AGENTS AND DETENTION SPACE: The final bill
includes funding for 500 additional border patrol agents, 50
immigration and customs inspectors, 168 enforcement agents and
detention officers, and 1,950 detention beds. (This funding was added
by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) during Senate floor consideration.)
MODEST CONCESSIONS WERE MADE, BUT OVERALL, STILL A BIG VICTORY!
Cheap labor proponents and open-border advocates fought vigorously to
make this bill a vehicle for amnesty, foreign worker increases, and
other immigration liberalizing provisions. They were far from
successful. With your help, we defeated Sen. Craig's massive AgJOBS
amnesty/guestworker bill. Some concessions were made during
negotiations and the following foreign worker increases were
accepted...
H-2B SEASONAL GUESTWORKER INCREASE: The Mikulski amendment was included
in the final bill, exempting H-2B seasonal guestworkers who have worked
in the U.S. in the past from the 65,000 annual cap.
FOREIGN NURSE INCREASE: An additional 50,000 foreign nurses will be
permitted.
INCREASE FOR AUSTRALIAN WORKERS: About 10,500 Australian guestworkers
will be allowed to enter the country annually under terms similar to
the H-1B high-tech visa category.
Despite these modest concessions, this is still a HUGE VICTORY for the
immigration reform movement!
http://www.fairus.org/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Page: S3541
AMENDMENT NO. 387
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I call for the regular order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.
Ms. MIKULSKI. As I understand the regular order, the H -2B amendment
I have offered is pending. I note that there are other speakers on the
other side of the aisle but on the same side of the issue who wish to
speak. I note the Senator from Wyoming is here and he wishes to speak.
I want to continue the debate on this amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's amendment is the regular order.
The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Maryland. I will
briefly tell of my interest and support for this idea. I am very
pleased to be a cosponsor. This is an issue we have struggled over the
last couple of years. Certainly it is not the overall remedy to our
whole struggle on immigration. However, this is something we do need to
do now that will last in the meantime while we work on the other.
Each of us who has spoken has a little different role to play in our
home States with regard to this issue. In Wyoming, it is primarily the
summer season, travel and vacations, Jackson Hole, WY, and other places
where this has been a very important part of providing services there.
Last year, of course, we were caught up in the 66,000-worker
limitation, and it was kind of unfortunate for us because, as I said,
it was the summer season, and therefore, the applications didn't get in
as quickly as they did in some other places where their seasons started
earlier. By the time our folks applied, there were no vacancies.
I am for an overhaul of immigration. When we have the needs and we
want people to be able to legally come to this country, whether it is
for a short while, whether it is for a longer while, come legally, I am
one who thinks illegal is illegal and we shouldn't have it that way.
We have to look at the demands and then find a relatively simple way
to work through it; otherwise, people tend to try to ignore it and go
around, so that doesn't work.
These small businesses are in need of some relief. They cannot find
workers to do these jobs. The Labor Department certifies there is
indeed a labor shortage in this case and they look to willing workers.
The Mikulski amendment is quite simple, as has been explained. It
doesn't count workers to the cap of 66,000 who have participated in the
H -2B program during the past 3 years. It separates the allocation to
two 6-month batches 2-year temporary relief. It collects new fees for
fraud prevention and detection so folks who process the applications
have the skills and tools to identify fraud. We need to make these
changes.
I understand the difficulty with the bill that is on the floor. I
think the resolution is coming clear so we can deal with some of these
issues and leave the larger, longer term solutions to another time.
[Page: S3542] GPO's PDF
Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Maryland and I look forward
to a very positive vote on this issue.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland is recognized.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Wyoming for
his comments in articulating the economic issues facing Wyoming. I have
had the occasion to visit there myself and I know what a wonderful
State it is. I am not much of a skier; I am built a little too close to
the ground for that. But this shows this is not only a coastal State
issue, and it also shows it is not only a seafood processing issue;
this is an issue that affects our entire country, particularly those
who depend upon summer seasonal workers. We understand some of our
States enjoy--whether it is Massachusetts, Wyoming, or Idaho--both
summer and winter. Either way, the Senator knows that we depend on
summer workers. We thank him and the Senator from Idaho who spoke, as
well as others.
Mr. President, I note that the hour is late and now that the Senator
from Wyoming has spoken, I am not sure if there are other people who
wish to speak.
I ask unanimous consent that Senator Snowe of Maine be added as a
cosponsor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I want to get a vote on my amendment,
but it is not possible tonight. Therefore, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DeMint). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I have requests to make on behalf of
managers of the bill with respect to amendments that have been cleared
on both sides of the aisle.
AMENDMENT NO. 401
I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator McConnell.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Cochran], for Mr. McConnell,
proposes an amendment numbered 401.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of
the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 193, line 23 of the bill, strike ``$500,000'' and insert in
lieu thereof: ``$1,000,000''.
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