Government
Obama Ready to Roll Out New Amnesty Carpet for Illegals
Meanwhile, E-Verify and tougher state laws have led to self-deportation in Arizona
Around the State
President Barack Obama | Credit: whitehouse.gov- Pete Souza
Obama, according to unofficial reports, will argue that his administration has tightened America's borders and stepped up deportations, and that it is time for Congress to enact a "path to citizenship" for at least some of the estimated 11 million illegal aliens in this country.
Wary congressional Republicans and even a few Democrats say that "path to citizenship" means "amnesty," and they're not willing to go down that road again. Previous amnesty programs, which effectively rewarded lawbreakers, simply enticed more illegals to enter the country.
Obama, eager to make good on campaign promises from 2008 and bolster his Hispanic base for 2012, says the time is ripe for immigration reform. The administration reports that it deported a record 392,000 immigrants, and has put more "boots on the ground" along America's southern border.
Workplace raids have stepped up, too, and more businesses are using the federal E-Verify program to screen new hires.
As for the illegals who remain, reformers argue that it is unrealistic to expect the government to deport some 11 million people.
But the experience in Arizona suggests that self-deportation occurs when and where immigration laws are toughened.
Weeks before Arizona's strict law went into effect, large numbers of Hispanics left the state for good.
Schools in Hispanic areas reported unusually big drops in enrollment, USA Today reported. A district superintendent said parents told him the Arizona law was the reason for them leaving.
Arizona's immigration-control measure, signed into law by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, requires a police officer to determine a person's immigration status if they are stopped, detained or arrested and there is "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally.
Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, said it's difficult to gauge how many people are leaving because of the law, but "If that means that fewer people are breaking the law, that is absolutely an accomplishment."
A court challenge by the U.S. Justice Department has since put the law into legal limbo. The administration's action indicates that Obama will not be calling for tougher national enforcement on Tuesday.
Still, Washington and Arizona appear to have found common ground with at least one effective immigration tool -- E-Verify.
When Arizona passed a 2007 law that enhanced penalties on businesses that hired undocumented workers, some 100,000 illegals left the state, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
E-Verify -- which combines Social Security and driver's license databases -- enables employers to check new employees' eligibility to work legally in this country. The federal program is free and the latest studies show it has a high accuracy rate.
Upgraded to handle up to 60 million requests at a time, E-Verify has an accuracy rate exceeding 95 percent, according to independent and government studies.
In addition to Arizona, several states and thousands of businesses have adopted E-Verify. Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered its use by agencies under his control, but the state Legislature killed bills that would have extended it to the private sector.
Immigration-control advocates say that shutting off employment to illegals will inevitably result in self-deportation. If there is no work, there is no reason to stay, they contend.
The Center for Immigration Studies, a pro-enforcement think tank based in Washington, D.C., adds that tighter control of welfare benefits can also have a salutary effect.
Census Bureau data show that 57 percent of immigrant-headed households (legal and illegal) use at least one welfare program (versus 39 percent for native households). Illegal residents can obtain benefits because few agencies require recipients to provide proof of citizenship.
In the meantime, in advance of Obama's speech, the rhetoric is ramping up for immigration "reform" by any means necessary.
Speaking at a South Bend, Ind., church Sunday, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez quoted Obama from 2008, talking about the need to change an immigration system where communities are "terrorized" by immigration raids and where "nursing mothers are torn from their babies."
Worried that the GOP-controlled House will oppose anything that smacks of amnesty, the Illinois Democrat said he's looking for the president to use "discretionary powers" to enact the changes.
In an indication of where he is heading Tuesday, Obama recently conducted a series of private meetings with business executives, evangelical leaders and Hispanic activists -- the same groups that repeatedly blurred the distinction between "legal" and "illegal" immigrants in helping to defeat Florida's modest E-Verify legislation.
--
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
Comments (99)
There's nothing "Intelligent" about lying about Obama's policies!
There's nothing "Intelligent" about lying about the Health care waivers! Dis you even read an un-biased article! All of you are racist, bigoted scumbags!
There's nothing "Intelligent" about Ryan Paul or his policies.
There's nothing "Intelligent" about this piece of crap article! It's just the idiotic babble of a racist who calls Obama "evil" what a disgusting excuse of a human being!
Well, Mr. Nexus! It must pains you that not everyone in America is a racist, bigot scumbag like you!
Not everyone in America hates blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims like you!
Not everyone in America are members of the KKK like you!
Not everyone in America wants ethnic cleansing like you!
You are the reason America is becoming the most racist, bigoted country in the world! Only racists and bigots support a crinlminal like Netahyahoo! Because he's a the type of leader they want! A non-black, racist, non-christian bigot scumbag like them! Anyone who calls this a-hole a leader needs serious help! This criminal is NO leader! The right-wing would support a mass murderer, or an Uncle tom like Allen West if it meant getting rid of Obama!
That's why I say America is becoming the most racist, bigoted country in the world! Because of a-holes like you They hate having a black man as president!
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR): http://www.steinreport.com/index.html
Janet Re.... Napolitano know it. To hell with them.
Every illegal should ask him/herself this question:
If the last democrat congress under Pelosi had an unstopable majority, and the democrats with Harry Reid in charge had an unstopable majority in the senate, and democrat Obama was in the White House, just who stopped immigration reform?????? The uncontrovertable fact is that it was the democrats who would not and did not offer an immigration bill when they had the unstopable power to do so! So anyone trying to say the republicans thwarted immigration reform is a big fat liar!
Just watch after the 2012 election amnesty wil be in the air.It never leaves.
With unemployment at 9% why is Obama granting amnesty ?
With the perversion "birth citizenship", open border policies and "amnesty" this means that tens of millions of foreign nationals are now voting in OUR Elections, deciding OUR fate!! If Obama is elected again by a slim margin in 2012 know that he was elected by foreign nationals voting in our elections. The result will NOT be legitimate. Why should 45 million Mexicans be allowed to vote in American elections??
They violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.
Impeach Obama and sweep out the Congress.
(Last link of Banned Book):
http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526
take over the following year.
When a crime is committed, the police cannot use a description of the suspect to stop a suspect or their vehicle.
If the suspect can evade the police for a few years, then the police will just forget enforcing the law that the suspect broke.
How would that kind of hope and change work for you????
Leave a Comment on This Story