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Senate flexes its muscle on omnibus immigration bill

by Eric Peterson
- Posted // 2011-03-02 -

In a show of strength, a senate committee tabled Rep. Chris Herrod’s house bill affecting immigration enforcement, before passing out a senate bill that used similar elements as Herrod’s bill.

Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo presented his bill to make Utah a mandatory user of the e-verify employment system. That system is currently used on the federal level at a voluntary basis and allows employer checks of their employee’s immigration status. Herrod made an impassioned plea for his bill as a means of discouraging undocumented immigration to the state, arguing those immigrants are harmful to American society.

“Our melting pot is in danger,” Herrod told the committee. “If we break it, it will fracture into a thousand pieces.” Representatives of various immigration groups, Tea Partiers and 9/12 groups spoke in favor of Herrod’s bill, but Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem took Herrod to task on the language of his bill. Valentine pointed out inconsistent language in the bill relating to penalties for employers who hire undocumented laborers. Valentine led the committee in tabling Herrod’s bill arguing it wasn’t ready yet. The motion carried and with the session expiring next week, the bill will be unlikely to return.

Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, next took the podium to present the Senate GOP’s long-awaited immigration omnibus bill. The bill announced late in the session incorporates different elements of various bills presented in the session including enforcement provisions similar to Herrod and Sandstrom’s bill, a guest-worker provision and amendments to affect in-state tuition for children of undocumented immigrants.

“This is the culmination of six weeks of intense work for 25 legislators and various stakeholders across the spectrum, as we have looked at various immigration proposals,” Bramble told the committee. The guest worker program would be extended to workers in the state prior to May 10, 2011. Similar to other bills like Luz Robles’ immigrant database, the guest-worker program in SB 288 would require applicants to complete criminal background checks. They would not be required to take English and civics classes but would be required to make a “good faith” effort at obtaining English-language proficiency.

The bill would also require guest workers to pay a $1,000 fine if they entered the country legally but overstayed on a visa. A $2,500 fine would be imposed on immigrants who entered the country illegally. “Amnesty is a violation of a law for which there is no consequence,” Bramble said. “This provides that penalty.”

The program would also utilize employment verification. Guest workers under the program would be able to use a U-Verify program if they had existing guest-worker status. Or would be required to use an e-verify type system. Penalties to employers would be different in Bramble’s bill than in Herrod’s first offenses in Bramble’s bill would be a single $500 fine. Maximum civil penalties would reach a $10,000 fine and the revocation of a business’ license for one year. Under Herrod’s bill the maximum penalty would involve revoking a business’ license permanently.

The bill also addressed in-state tuition by allowing children of undocumented immigrants the ability to receive in-state tuition if their parent or guardian was a guest-worker. Bramble signaled that he was open to the idea of his bill also operating concurrently with a current bill sponsored by Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman that would as amended revoke the benefit unless the student can show prove they, or their parents, have paid income taxes for the previous three years.

One key difference in Bramble’s bill is the fact that while a federal waiver will be sought to implement the guest-worker program, that if the government fails to act, then the state will implement the program on it’s own, effective July 1, 2013.

The bill while presented as comprehensive on economic concerns as well as enforcement, was received by many 9/12 groups’ representatives, citizens and Tea Partiers in the public comment, as a secretive bill, meant to provide amnesty to undocumented immigrants.

“I find the timetable of this bill extremely offensive, and the behind closed door methods it was made,” said David Haring of the Utah County 9/12 group. “This is a Washington-style bill, no; this is a Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid-style bill.”

Alexandra Eframo, 78 years old, challenged the committee on being soft on undocumented immigrants. “You people have degrees! You should be more intelligent!” she screamed.

Jacquie Nielsen, who introduced herself as a “Tea Party patriot” warned committee members that their actions would resonate into the next election.

“Illegal immigration is the issue of the next election,” Nielsen said. “It may not be important to you but it is important to the citizens of the state. They are looking for legislators to enact bills that reflect what is best for the majority of citizens of the state. When we get our house in order then we can think about what we can do for people who are willing to push legal immigrants aside and shove their way into this country and risk our children’s and our grand children’s future and then demand their entitlements.”

In closing committee discussion Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, argued, however that a comprehensive approach was the best way forward and if it couldn’t be agreed to, a legislative impasses on the issue would mean more of the status quo. Pushing forward with reform, he said, however might send the right message to the federal government.

“Hopefully as we come up with solutions here, they can coalesce with other states and hopefully tip the federal government to do what they need to,” Niederhauser said.

Ultimately the committee agreed and passed the bill out favorably with 7 yes votes to 1 no vote.

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REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
Posted // March 2,2011 at 12:42

The Trouble with every Guest Worker law is that we already have approximately 1.2 million legal immigrant workers inflowing to the job market annually. The current Guest Worker plan is packed with loopholes, allowing deceitful introduction of people on a grand scale. The H-2a program supposedly provides legal protections for foreign farm workers—such as a pledge of at least three quarters of the total employment hours promised, free housing, transportation compensation, medical care, and legal accountability; many of these protections exist only on paper. H-2b workers, on the other hand, have no civil rights or protections. The mistreatment of guest workers begins with the initial recruitment in their home country. It is practices that often leaves foreign workers in an insecure monetary state and therefore exceedingly open to mistreatment by unprincipled employers in this nation.

Employers nationwide rely on private recruitment agencies to find guest workers or skilled job seekers in their homelands. Lawyers have successfully found these gaping holes and now this country is being flooded with middle of the road skilled workers, many from the Indian continent. Our country will only stay a world leader and sustain itself by promoting the highest echelon of skilled labor and not people who could be laid-off risking the safety net for our seniors, veterans, sick, mentally handicapped and blind. Instead of recruiting from other countries, companies should foresee hiring Americans and teach them the trade. The Statistics indicate we cannot even find jobs for 10 percent of the US population, why would Utah or any other State consider opening up the market, to millions of people who have less than a 8th grade education, having hidden criminal records or needy when they come here. Outside of the Guest worker visa programs we have millions of foreign nationals scrambling past our borders or overstaying visas, after entering the US by aircraft with intentions to remain. Many of these illegal aliens end up in the welfare lines or government entitlements. It is also projected that over 400.000 illegal pregnant women enter America annually, to conceive a child which inevitably earns birthright citizenship; very costly arrangement for overburden hospitals and taxpayers.

It just essentially means extra welfare burdens on any State that enters into some kind of Guest Worker program with devious employers, who are out to profit from minimum pay workers. If you didn't already know it, farmers who hire labor generally do not pay for any medical treatment, as its easier to dump the individual on the hospital steps or pay anything towards educating that persons children; taxpayers do? It’s a win-win situation called corporate welfare. Human rights advocates warn that the system seriously victimizes immigrant labor while politicians state these programs are designed to open up the legal labor market. But alternatively it has instead locked hundreds of thousands into form of indentured servitude not un-similar to 18th century slavery. Those Guest Workers, who are hired, usually are able to sponsor their wives and children and as we know many females are instant breeders and conceive more children that become instant citizens under the 14th Amendment.

This is the first link in the chain migration enigma, which becomes another costly pay-out for American taxpayers. Usually speaking they do not make enough money to live, so many needs the help of churches and other public services. As I said, the whole situation for working visas is rampant with fraud by the lawyers and attorneys and they don't care about working Americans search for jobs. The hotel Industry can also claim abuses and exploitation. Each year businesses petition for labor, but the truth it’s just another method to get around the 1986 immigration Simpson/Mazzoli bill, where millions of Guest Workers eventually gained amnesty and then left the farms and factories, to work in the mainstream market. Thereby taking jobs from mostly Blacks and Hispanics, who are legal with minimum job qualifications

These circumstances is just another form of small amnesties, that are carefully engineered so they don’t cause to many ripples in the stream of public awareness. You have seen from previous ICE raids, that many companies deny they discriminate against legal Hispanic, white and black people. Yet they instead hire illegal foreign nationals as they can effortlessly exploit their conditions and wages. Utah legislators are already considering Guest Workers on a State law, but will eventually turn into another profit game and no legal labor allowed. Howard Industries is a great example of the fraudulent game, which turned away American citizens and legal residents and instead hired mainly illegal labor. They have just been fined over 2 million dollars, where 600 workers detected by ICE in lightening sweeps. Just like the meat packing and poultry industries for as soon as the illegal foreign workers were arrested, the companies were hectic with the legal people who needed jobs.

This has become one hell of a crooked game about money, by bring into America cut-price workers. It should be made clear to employers, if you defraud the American people of jobs--the penalty will be harsh fines, confiscation of business assets and second offense--prison. Usually the highest rungs on the ladder remain unexposed and sometimes untouchable as middle management usually are punished for these sober exploitations. Since 2004 there have been 6 small amnesties of this caliber and little has been said in the Liberal press, but has taken jobs from citizens and residents. A full blown Whistle Blowing program should be implemented for the public to report suspicious irregularities, with a reward on conviction for businesses that carry on this fraud or the informer could just contact ICE. Some of the biggest culprits for stealing jobs from Americans are Sub-Contractors and Contractors who should have their licenses revoked if caught and punished severely. Americans in the Construction,

Hotel and other services industries should scrutinize who is working at that company at every chance. We must adamantly demand--I SAID DEMAND OF THE WASHINGTON LEADERS AT 202-224-3121 AND STATE LEGISLATORS A MANDATED E-VERIFY PROGRAM, TO DETECT ILLEGAL ALIENS IN THE WORKPLACE.AND BOTH PREVIOUS AND NEW HIRES MUST BE AUDITED WITH I-9 (Workers Verification forms) THE PEOPLE are the power and so join the TEA Party and use your vote added to millions of other delusional Americans on immigration. Learn about the corruption of special interest lobbyists at Judicial Watch and everything you need to know about illegal immigration at NumbersUSA. IT’S YOUR COUNTRY? FIGHT FOR IT. SPEAK UP!

 

 
 
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