H.R. 4088--SAVE Act

Alert! SAVE Act will control immigration, protect the environment! The SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act) is an important, bi-partisan attempt to remedy our immigration crisis by enforcing our immigration laws. HR 4088, by Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC) has over 90 co-sponsors, equally supported by Democrats and Republicans. The impressive amount of initial support makes this a unique effort to restructure immigration policy. It will: Stipulate that no deduction shall be allowed for any wages paid to illegal aliens; Provide for additional border patrol agents and new surveillance and communication technology; Authorize additional officers for the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management to protect sensitive, borderlands.

From Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS)

Supporters of the SAVE Act include:

More than 100 Republican and Democrat co-sponsors, including nearly all of the hard-line Republican opponents of illegal immigration and 15 Democratic House committee chairmen.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), which represents more than 600,000 small businesses in every state. NFIB endorsement said that H.R. 4088 strikes a "fair balance between increased enforcement and limiting regulatory burdens placed on small businesses."

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents more than 725,000 American workers. IBEW endorsed the H.R. 4088 because it focuses on denying "entry of all unauthorized immigrants into the United States by securing its border to the maximum extent possible without compromising constitutionally guaranteed personal and civil liberties." The IBEW went on to say that "mass unregulated immigration into the United States creates unfair wages competition, which is detrimental to the best interests of U.S. citizens and legal residents..."

The National Association of Police Organizations, which represents more than 2,000 police unions and associations, 238,000 sworn law enforcement officers, 11,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.

 

Opponets of this bill have mentioned that OK passed a good bill which has caused illegal immigrants to flee the state.  Two of the cornerstone elements of that bill are

(a) Mandatory use of the E-Verify system, and (b) 287(g) training for local and state police to coordinate with Federal agencies to enforce immigration law on the local level. If you like the Oklahoma bill, you should love the SAVE Act, which would essentially expand those measures to the rest of the country.

The SAVE Act implements the mandatory use of the E-Verify system nationally. This will turn off the job magnet. This will result in many illegal aliens self-deporting.

Opponets of this bill have complained it isn't necessary. We only need to enforce our current immigration laws and everything will be fine.

This is FALSE. This nation has no law that forces employers to verify social security numbers (SSN). Our current laws do NOT require this. Social security number verification is the method of ridding the work place of all illegals that use false numbers.

Only employees with false social security numbers and the employers that hire them need to fear this bill. This bill will force employors to terminate illegal aliens.  Many of these illegals will simply go home. Just like many of them are simply leaving OK. Without a nation wide implementation of SSN verification, illegals will merely escape from one state to another.

If you say it's working in OK, it will work nationally !

Employees are not asked to verify their identity or their social security number. The employer electronically submits the SSN to the federal govt's  E-Verify system to learn which numbers are valid and which ones are false. The federal govt. already has all the required information. This is NOT a plot to "control" wages or labor.

Nothing in this bill requires or even suggests a National Identity Card - Nothing. Read the bill.

This bill is not perfect, but it isn't filled with loop holes.

This bill is supported by both Dems and Reps. It was introduced by a Dem., but a few more Reps. have signed on as co-sponsors. Only the leadership of BOTH parties fail to support this bill. The same leadership that mistakenly wants Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

This bill is an "enforcement bill", nothing in it grants amnesty to illegal aliens.

This bill strengthens the border fence. Please READ ...................................

SEC. 103. INFRASTRUCTURE.

(a) Infrastructure Improvements- Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall construct or purchase--

(1) office facilities to accommodate additional border patrol manpower;

(2) sport utility vehicles for officers;

(3) all weather roads for better vehicle access and performance on remote and rugged terrain (road construction should be done in consultation with the owner of the land and take into account any environmental or other land-use issues that are relevant);

(4) additional fencing (and aesthetic fencing in business districts) in urban areas of the border; and

(5) vehicle barriers, to support, not replace, manpower, in rural and remote areas of the border necessary to achieve operational control of the international borders of the United States.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations- The necessary funds are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section.

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I've read the bill and information provided by NumbersUSA and others.         I urge you to read it. My conclusion is we need this bill. It is a strong step toward acheiving our goals of strenghening the border and eliminating illegal immigration.

Numbers USA has an excellant reputation for "telling the truth", as does Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS)

The Representatives and Senators that support this bill have been fighting against illegal immigration for a long time.  When Tancredo and Hunter endorse this, we should trust them. They have been fighting for us.

However, I'm not insisting anyone trust me or anyone else. I urge you to read the bill yourself.

I urge you to google, "save act" and learn what others are reporting. You will find pros and cons. Go to google, blog search and do the same.

Go to the respective web sites of congressmen and women that co-sponsor this bill and learn why.

Also consider that websites that support open borders and amnesty, are opposed to this bill. They wouldn't be oppose to it, if it wasn't going to work.

Read the bill, it's not that difficult or long. I posted a short part of it. It's fairly simple to understand.  I'm not going to tell you how to decide. I'm going to post information which will help you make an informed decision.

Good luck to you and all that you do. 

 

 

 

NEWS BRIEFS Dec-6-2007

By Catholic News Service

Mexican family says they gave up American dream because of state law

TULSA, Okla. (CNS) -- Sergio Garcia is a man who has taken a tremendous risk -- and lost. Garcia and his wife, Lola, are illegal immigrants from Mexico. Because of a new Oklahoma state law, they made the difficult decision to give up the dream they have worked toward for the past eight years and planned to return to their hometown Dec. 7. The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007, which took effect Nov. 1, makes it a felony to knowingly harbor or transport an illegal alien and creates specific barriers to hiring illegal immigrants. It requires proof of citizenship to obtain certain government benefits and requires all state agencies and contractors to check the immigration status of all workers after July 1, 2008. The Garcias were leaving behind a house they bought and renovated; Sergio's job as a bricklayer; close family ties in Tulsa; and the beginnings of a better life in America. Their two children, Hector, 2, and Sergio, 5, both U.S. citizens by birth, were going with them to Tlachichila, Zacatecas, a town of about 3,000 people in central Mexico.

 

    The Catholic News is, of  course, opposed to this kind of law; but no one can deny that it is removing the illegals from our country without mass deportations. SEE IT DOES WORK:

 

Latest info on SAVE Act:

ConservativeAlerts.com

This is a message from Conservative Alerts.com:

Please find below a special message from our friends MinutemanHQ. They have some important information to share with you.

Thank you.
Conservative Alerts.com

We Can Still SAVE Our Nation! ALERT: THERE IS A WAY TO SAVE AMERICA, OUR CITIZENS AND OUR JOBS. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) has recently introduced the Secure American Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007(H.R. 4088) otherwise known as the SAVE ACT. It is one of our last hopes to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws during the 110th Congressional Session. The SAVE ACT is receiving great bi-partisan support with over 112 co-sponsors who have heard the will of the American people and are now taking action to adopt this three part plan. In short, it will secure our borders, enforce our immigration laws, and provide the necessary resources for U.S. employers to fairly and equitably verify the citizenship of all employees. In order to make the SAVE ACT law, we must immediately muster strong grassroots support for H.R. 4088 NOW so House Speaker Pelosi will feel the pressure from millions of voters and allow a vote early in 2008. It is essential that we organize now to obtain the necessary 218 “yeas” so President Bush can sign it into law before this time next year, or else we will be in peril of a new liberal administration moving a presidential veto of the bill. A President Hillary Rodham Clinton, if elected, will NOT sign the SAVE ACT. That’s not a risk we’re willing to take, which why is the border security movement must organize early so that the Will of the People is resoundingly delivered to Congress in the same manner as we mustered last summer for the Senate “NO Amnesty” votes.   Click Here  act now to ensure we have the necessary resources to organize a similar level of citizen response and can successfully move America closer to regaining its national sovereignty. https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/?a=1158 You can count on the open borders lobby and the Mexican government to do all in their power to see that this bill is tabled before the New Year—they have vast influence in Washington and will use it to devastating effect—if we let them. That is why we must act now to organize every voter who called and faxed Congress last June, to start those calls again before the New Year. As you know, our country is generally led by weak-kneed politicians whose public policies will shift with the trends of polling numbers and elite media preferences. Therefore, we must praise and support those Members of Congress who are sponsoring H.R. 4088. Their actions demonstrate that our message of BORDER SECURITY FIRST is being heard in Congress, but the mere introduction of this bill doesn’t mean we can afford to become over-confident or apathetic. H.R. 4088 is exactly what we’ve been demanding of our Washington lawmakers. Its three part plan truly embodies our mission of secure borders and enforcement of our immigration laws. The first part of H.R. 4088 seeks to secure our borders. Here are some highlights: Hires 8,000 new Border Patrol Agents Creates a “Tunnel Task Force” to ensure we don’t have terrorists entering the country as described in the Fort Huachuca plot. Increases aerial surveillance to include use of Defense Department satellites. Help us to pass H.R. 4088 immediately, in order to roll back the tide against illegal border incursions and lax enforcement of our immigration laws. Please  Select Here-ACT NOW to ensure we have the necessary resources to organize a similar level of activity as this year’s successful defeat of the Amnesty bills, and help us to move America closer to regaining its national sovereignty! https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/?a=1158   The urgent need to SAVE America is REAL! We are all well aware that the City of San Francisco and eight states have efforts mounted to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Imagine how many businesses in this country are unlawfully employing the (at least) twelve million illegal aliens in our country, knowingly and unknowingly. The second part of H.R. 4088 will also expand and strengthen the federal E-Verify program. Here is what it seeks to accomplish: Provides employers with an inexpensive, quick, and accurate way to verify employee eligibility Closes the existing loopholes in E-Verify to detect multiple people using the same social security number and to detect people using stolen identities. Sets timelines for the class and size of employers to enroll in E-Verify and sets new employees apart from current employees. The third part of the SAVE ACT ensures that the judicial branch and law enforcement have the necessary resources to support this measure. And all of this can be completed within the next four years!! We finally have an opportunity to protect U.S. sovereignty in the 110th Congress.   Select here to keep up the pressure on gutless, weak-kneed politicians who will only do the right thing to protect and defend America if they hear from us more than they hear from the open borders lobby. https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/?a=1158 Together we can roll back the tide against the open borders, pro-amnesty lobby by supporting the new legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and 112 co-sponsors. Unlike some other legislative initiatives, H.R. 4088 adopts a common sense approach that will provide the necessary tools to employers as well as financially penalize them for hiring illegal aliens. This year we have successfully defeated amnesty legislation several times and even stopped a state government from rewarding illegal behavior with driver’s licenses. With your support we can have one more victory in Congress this year! Our politicians flip and flop based on poll numbers and their pathetic desire to win the approval of the New York Times—but we have proven they DO respond to the pressure of angry voters who are sick and tired of seeing their elected officials legislate deleterious policies. Together we must work quickly and make certain that illegal aliens NEVER receive amnesty, driver’s licenses or illegal employment. Help us to pass H.R. 4088 immediately, in order to roll back the tide against illegal border incursions and lax enforcement of our immigration laws. Please Select here to ensure we have the resources to organize the necessary level of activity for success, and move America closer to regaining its national sovereignty! https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/?a=1158 Illegal aliens and their collaborating U.S. employers DESERVE to be punished for their lawlessness. Illegal aliens would not be here if our borders were secured and our laws enforced, and it is high time we restore law and order throughout our country. We can do just that by sending a message to each and every Congressman and Senator that the American people will no longer tolerate elitist politicians who care nothing for upholding the rule of law, and only seek political advantage by offering special privileges, social services, and government handouts to illegal aliens by misusing the tax dollars we earned through hard work and playing by the rules. They don’t do this for humanitarian purposes; they do it to court future voters. Let’s show the politicians of this country that the opposition to their actions is from the MAJORITY of LEGAL AMERICAN CITIZENS, who will no longer sit passively by while the political class rewards illegal behavior, and the corporatists exploit it. No special rights should be granted in this country excusing criminal actions. And let’s send the message that the average American still understands the difference between “illegal” immigrant and immigrant—even if our corrupt elites do not. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) , Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), LaRaza and the ACLU want to make it easier for illegals to have government issued IDs to help them stay unlawfully in the U.S. in order to take your job. We need to make sure it doesn’t happen, and that the politicians seeking to court various voting blocs don’t continue to encourage violations of immigration laws, as well as reward the twelve million illegal aliens throughout our country with jobs that should be filled by legal citizens. Help us to pass H.R. 4088 immediately, in order to roll back the tide against illegal border incursions and lax enforcement of our immigration laws. Please Select Here - ACT NOW to ensure we have the necessary resources to organize a similar level of activity as this year’s successful defeat of the Amnesty bills, and help us to move America closer to regaining its national sovereignty! https://secure.responseenterprises.com/minutemanhq/?a=1158 Within the next year, millions MORE illegal aliens may have U.S. employment unless we fight to pass the SAVE ACT! Let’s tell these politicians that their failures to act are a treasonous betrayal of the rule of law! They are sworn to uphold the rights and duties of American citizenship, not undermine and debase them! THEY NEED TO KEEP THEIR OATH OF OFFICE, PROTECT AND DEFEND AMERICA, AND WORK TO PASS THE SAVE  ACT NOW! You can make the difference by helping us to do the job our government refuses to do! Your support for MCDC’s advocacy of this critical legislation is absolutely vital to our success, and I hope we can count on you. For the love of our country

Eagle Forum Endorses Shuler Bill to SAVE America from Illegal Immigration

   

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eagle Forum, a leading pro-family organization founded by Phyllis Schlafly, fully supports and endorses the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, H.R. 4088, recently introduced by Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC). For years, Eagle Forum has been a tireless advocate of an enforcement approach in remedying the illegal immigration problem in the United States. The introduction of this bill is exciting because it is the first to seriously address the issues of border security and interior enforcement since the stunning defeat of the Senate's "Grand Amnesty" plan this past summer.       "We are very excited about Rep. Shuler's bill," stated Eagle Forum Executive Director, Jessica Echard. "Not only does it properly address the will of grassroots Americans to enforce already-existing immigration laws, but has a good chance of coming to a vote as it is rapidly gaining a good deal of bipartisan support. It already has over 100 cosponsors."       "This bill looks very promising because it tackles illegal immigration from three different directions," Echard said. "First, it increases technological surveillance and the number of border patrol agents. Second, it requires employers to use the E-verify program so they can be assured they are not hiring illegal aliens. Thirdly, it will give the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) greater resources to strictly enforce current immigration laws and to better facilitate deportation when necessary."       "During the push for amnesty instead of enforcement this past summer, there was a lot of rhetoric coming from Capitol Hill about enhanced border security and employer verification of employees," stated Echard. "This bill gives Congress a great opportunity to prove to Americans that they actually meant what they said." LINK - http://www.eagleforum.org/alert/2007/12-06-07.html

As you can see from the information below, the govt. already has the information required of the E-Verify System.  You may consider it "Big Brother" but the govt. has required this for a while. It's not a communist plot to manage workers and/or wages.

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EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION

E-Verify (formerly known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

Visit: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

The Social Security Administration offers a free employee verification service for employers wishing to verify the legal status of potential employees. The service verifies the social security numbers (SSN) for up to 5 employees. Call toll-free 1-800-772-6270, weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.  You will be asked for your company name and EIN. You must also provide the following information for each name/SSN you want to verify:

SSN
last name
first name
middle initial (if applicable)
date of birth
gender

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=118860,00.html - See Verifying Employee Names and Social Security Numbers (SSNs)

http://www.cis.org/articles/2006/jmvtestimony022106.html  - Verification of Employment Authorization: Federal Basic Pilot Program is an Effective and Employer-friendly Tool for Immigration Law Compliance

Update from Rep. Shuler's office -

To date, 122, Congressmen have co-signed this bill. ( up from 112 )

Call your congressman and ask him to co-sponsor this legislation. 

 

My congressman is a co-sponsor.

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This article clearly demonstrates that auditing a company's social security numbers for employees, gets rid if illegal aliens. Unfortunately, to do it piecemeal merely disrupts their illegal actions  for a short time. They merely get another job at a wage rate that depresses wages for all of us. Checking social security numbers on a national level would deny illegal aliens jobs through out the country. Granted some of these jobs will move "off the books", but most companies simply can't operate this way. The goal of the SAVE Act is to FORCE companies to actually verify social security numbers. If they don't, they "knowing hired an illegal" and can suffer penalties. Phasing in this law over a four year  period make it easier on employers and illegal aliens, but it’s better than a mass disruption of the workforce. Presently they can accept paperwork which is counterfeit or stolen, but this is "unknown" to the employer. The employer resists the effort to voluntarily verify social security numbers because they want a steady supply of low cost  (illegal)  labor.

 Contact your elected reps. and urge them to co-sponsor the SAVE Act. The House bill is HR4088 and the Senate version is S2368. 

The most effective method of contacting your elcted reps. is to call them. Use their Washington, DC phone number. If it's a toll call for you, call their local office. Use their web site to send them an email mail. Use Numbers USA, to send them a fax ( for free).

Let's take back America !  Do it today.  Thanks. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------December 13, 2007
Warehouse Workers Quit in Immigration Inquiry
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Fresh Direct, the online grocery delivery operation that caters to affluent and overworked New Yorkers, lost dozens of employees this week after federal immigration officials notified the company that its employee records were under investigation.

The company sent its workers a memo on Sunday and Monday saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to inspect the records of every employee and asked them to update their information and provide documents, like Social Security cards, to prove employment eligibility. At least 40 warehouse workers who could not produce proof that they were authorized to work in the United States quit or were suspended.

At the company’s warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, the work force, largely immigrants, reacted with panic and distress as news of the inquiry spread.

“Some people just walked out the door,” said Sandy Pope, president of a Teamsters local that is one of two unions competing to organize the workers. “They were sobbing, with garbage bags full of their clothes from their lockers. They didn’t feel they had any chance of fixing their paperwork, so they just left.”

Fresh Direct officials said in a statement that they were trying to comply with the government’s request and keep their employees informed about the investigation. But they would not discuss any suspensions or resignations.

The federal investigation, part of a national campaign aimed at employers who hire illegal immigrants, comes in the midst the company’s busiest season and in the middle of a conflict over efforts to unionize some 900 Fresh Direct warehouse workers. The workers are scheduled to vote on Dec. 22 and 23 on whether to affiliate with either Local 805 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or Local 348 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which recently organized Fresh Direct drivers.

Ms. Pope, the Teamsters’ president, said on Wednesday that the suspensions seemed to be an effort to thwart the union and that the company’s lawyers might have invited Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to scrutinize workers to weaken the union drive.

Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said, “I would categorically deny that that’s the case.”

Jim Moore, the company’s senior vice president for business affairs, called the claim outrageous.

“At this point, Fresh Direct is intent on two things,” he said in a written statement. “Complying with the requirements of federal law with respect to the I.C.E. audit and ensuring that its employees know the facts and are given the opportunity to participate” in the union vote. He said the company had asked immigration officials to delay their audit until after the holidays, but they refused.

Without confirming or denying the investigation, Ms. Nantel said such audits were part of the agency’s stepped-up enforcement.

With new financing, she said, the agency recently hired 41 “forensic auditors” to scrutinize employment eligibility verification forms, known as I-9’s, that companies are required to keep on file for every employee they hire.

“Certainly an I-9 audit is one investigatory tool that we use,” Ms. Nantel said. “Depending on the results of the audit, we’ll follow that investigation to whatever next step is appropriate.”

Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can face fines or criminal charges, but until recently, prosecutions were extremely rare. In some workplaces elsewhere in the country, workers without proper documents were summoned to the main office without warning, and taken away in handcuffs.

Union officials said that many Fresh Direct employees, who earn between $7.50 and $9.75 an hour, were so frightened of being detained and separated from their children that they stayed home on Wednesday. Others said they were told not to come back.

Ms. Pope said that some employees were warned by company officials not to show up for their paychecks. She said the union was scrambling to find clergy members or other volunteers to collect paychecks for workers who feared going back to the warehouse.

One 41-year-old woman from Ecuador, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of deportation, said she was let go with an expression of regret when she told human resources workers at the company that the Social Security number she had been using for nearly four years was false.

“I’m really desperate now because I have no money to send to my kids,” she said, referring to four children in Ecuador. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/nyregion/13fresh.html?ref=nyregion

Hey deja vu, yes it IS another token dogbone victory that ICE threw us.

---

  The second rejection by the Federal Court on the lawsuit against Oklahoma's HB 1804. The reasoning behind the decision could turn out the be HUGE:


This is an important decision! Judge Payne “recognizes a new, and narrow, prudential limitation on standing” as it applies to ILLEGAL aliens. (Read pages 14 through 16 of the decision: http://www.oneoldvet.com/files/oklahoma.pdf )

Judge Payne states: “This Court is convinced that the proper remedy for the injuries alleged by the remaining Plaintiffs—all of whom are in willing violation of federal immigration law—is not judicial intervention, rather, it is simple compliance with federal immigration law. Therefore, the Court must prudentially decline to recognize standing on the part of these plaintiffs.“

Judge Payne concludes with this important ruling on “standing”; “The Court, therefore, recognizes a new, and narrow, prudential limitation on standing. An illegal alien, in willful violation of federal immigration law, is without standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law, when compliance with federal law would absolve the illegal alien’s constitutional dilemma—particularly when the challenged state law was enacted to discourage violation of the federal immigration law. In recognizing this narrow prudential limitation on standing, the Court does not shirk its responsibility to pass on the constitutionality of a law when properly called to do so, the Court just requires that the call come from a plaintiff not in unabashed violation of federal law."
— One Old Veteran
http://oneoldvet.com/?p=4100

Here's a recent article about the enforcement legislation passed in AZ. This bill, like the SAVE Act, forces employers to use the E-Verify System.

It's already started to work. Illegals are leaving AZ. The court has not ruled if the law is valid or not.

The OK judge denied two petitions to stop their bill. (different bills & different judges)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/14arizona.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

December 14, [b]2007

[b]Arizona Is Split Over Hard Line on Immigrants[/b] [/b]
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

[b]PHOENIX[/b] — A new Arizona law against employing illegal immigrants has shaken businesses, scared workers, delighted advocates of stricter immigration controls and added to tensions in a state split over who belongs here and who does not.

And that is even before the law’s scheduled effective date, Jan. 1.

State officials are seeking to curb illegal immigration by choking the supply of jobs with the law, which threatens to pull the business license of any employer that knowingly hires an illegal immigrant.

It is an example of the scores of state and municipal laws meant to address illegal immigration on the belief that the federal government has not done enough to thwart it. But[b] the Arizona version is among the toughest and could test states’ ability to crack down on the countless businesses that have relied on illegal workers.[/b]

Arizona makes for a striking laboratory. Its estimated population of [b]500,000 illegal immigrants[/b] is among the highest and fastest growing in the country, and illegal workers make up an estimated [b]9 percent to 12 percent of the work force,[/b] mostly in low-skill jobs in the service, construction and landscaping industries, according to research at Arizona State University.

Legal challenges to the law, signed in July by Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, were filed by business and immigrant rights groups, asserting that the law would usurp federal authority, lead to ethnic profiling and hinge on sometimes inaccurate government records. A federal judge on Tuesday will consider a temporary restraining order blocking the law from going into effect; the judge rejected another challenge last week.

Businesses and immigration groups say they have already tallied some of the effects of the law.

Advocates for immigrants contend that, at a minimum, hundreds of people unauthorized to work have left the state or been fired. Some school districts have at least partly attributed enrollment drops to the law. Though the housing slump and seasonal economic factors make it difficult to pin down how much is attributable to the new law, [b]illegal workers say employers are checking papers and are less inclined to hire them[/b].

“They started asking everybody for papers one day, and those like me that didn’t have them were fired,” said Luis Baltazar, a Mexican immigrant who worked for a paving company until a few weeks ago and was soliciting work at a day labor hiring hall here.

Another immigrant, Jose Segovia, said work had plummeted in the past few weeks, more so than in the four previous Decembers he spent in Phoenix. “[i][b]Some of my friends went back to Mexico[/b][/i],” Mr. Segovia said, “[b]and I am thinking of going, too, if it doesn’t get better here.” [/b]

Michael Francis, who grows several crops near here, said that he requested and kept documentation that his 150 employees were eligible to work, but that some had left and he was having difficulty filling the jobs. “The people from the office buildings in Phoenix are not going to swarm the countryside to clip onions,” Mr. Francis said. “There are just not a lot of people knocking on the door to do this kind of work.”

Groups representing the state’s 150,000 licensed businesses say the wording of the law is vague and has led to confusion over whether it applies to all employees or only those hired after Jan. 1. The bill’s sponsor, [b]Representative Russell Pearce, Republican of Mesa, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the law applied to all employees, not just new hires.[/b]

As a result of the confusion, employers have scrambled to compile and check paperwork, and a cottage industry of law forums and consulting is emerging.

“The legal costs of being investigated and prosecuted based on claims with little or no merit could be substantial,” said Glenn Hamer, the president of the state Chamber of Commerce, one of the groups suing to block the law. “This could lead to fishing expeditions and will burden county attorneys from other priorities like investigating murder, rape, child molestation.”

Arizona’s law stands out.

The law calls for suspending a business license for at least 10 days on the first offense and revoking it for a second one, effectively shutting down the business. Several states call for pulling a business license after the federal government has determined that an employer hired illegal workers, but Arizona’s law empowers the state to act alone.

Although it is already a federal offense to hire illegal workers, the law’s authors contend that more illegal workers will be found because it requires the state’s 15 county attorneys to investigate any complaint they deem not frivolous.

“That’s the problem,” said Julie A. Pace, a lawyer representing business and advocate groups opposed to the law. “This is the federal government’s authority, not the state’s.”

[b]But backers of the law say the state’s power to grant business licenses includes the authority to set the criteria for them[/b].

The county attorneys have not taken a position on the law as a group, but they have worked toward developing a uniform process to file and weigh complaints.

Ms. Napolitano called the law flawed, but signed it anyway, saying it was better than risking a possible ballot measure that could be “even more draconian” and difficult to overturn. “It was left up to Arizona because the federal government has failed to act,” she said.

Ms. Napolitano signed the legislation a few days after a Congressional effort to revamp immigration laws failed, with one of its key sponsors, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, a presidential candidate, predicting a confusing hodgepodge of state laws. [b]Mr. McCain’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the state law Thursday night[/b].

Jim Weiers, a Republican and the speaker of the Arizona House, said an ad hoc group was preparing recommendations on what if any changes to make to the law. But Mr. Weiers stood by it, suggesting that if the anecdotal reports of its early impact were true, so much the better.

“If all this is happening then the law, before it has taken effect, is working,” he said. “The whole idea was to make sure we are not going to be a place people come to illegally to start a better life.”

Some businesses contend that the difficulties of verifying legal employment have been exaggerated and that the law will eventually improve competition in the marketplace if cheap, foreign labor is cut.

“We are out competing against businesses using illegal labor and not registered as contractors,” said Gary Hudder, an asphalt paving contractor who is president of the Yavapai County Contractors Association in Prescott, which, in contrast to the state contractors association, supports the law. “This will level the playing field,” Mr. Hudder said.

Still, economists say the law could damage the economy.

“If you take 12 percent of the work force away, that is going to be a problem,” said Dawn McLaren, an economist at Arizona State University, adding that people not currently working could never make up the difference. “The largest group to join the work force was during World War II, and that was a big motivator. I don’t think patriotism is going to drive this one.”

Some business owners said they worried that they would unfairly be singled out by disgruntled employees or people who assume many Spanish-speaking workers are illegal.

“We have had U.S. citizens give us false documents because law enforcement was against them for whatever reason,” said Saul Perez, who manages a construction company here. “This is not necessarily going to catch as many undocumented workers as people believe.”

[b]All of the state’s businesses will be required to use the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system, a pilot program that electronically checks Social Security and other records to confirm legal employment status.[/b] An outside auditor for the department warned this year that naturalized citizens were more likely to be incorrectly flagged as unauthorized to work than American-born workers, but a department spokeswoman said that the overall error rate was “extremely low” and that improvements were continuing.

Illinois, which had adopted a law barring use of E-Verify over accuracy concerns, agreed Thursday not to enforce it until a lawsuit filed by the Homeland Security Department was resolved. The state said it would consider amending the law to address the federal government’s concerns.

More Members Sign Onto SAVE Act


Rep. Heath Shuler’s (D-N.C.) SAVE Act (Secure America with Verification Enforcement [H.R. 4088]) now has 129 bipartisan signers.

The SAVE Act will require all employers to use the electronic verification system to keep illegal aliens out of U.S. jobs.

NumbersUSA believes that this legislation originating on the Democratic side of the House is just the vehicle to give us a chance to actually pass immigration legislation through a Democratic-controlled Congress that would significantly improve the lives of most Americans.

"It's the one [immigration] bill that will pass this Congress," said Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus Chairman Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) in an interview with The Hill. "We have to make this about illegal employment and crack down on employers."

I spoke with my congressman's immigration aid. regarding his becoming a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act. I'm disappointed Patrick Tiberi, can't becpme a co-sponsor at this time.

I haven't given up, I'm starting a personal campaign to drum up support within the district, starting with the American Legion. The Legion supports employee verification. See the following link :         

http://www.legion.org/documents/legion/pdf/immigrationpaper_0507.pdf

I suspect Pat doesn't want to support a bill introduced by a Democrat. However, I must point out the leadership of BOTH parties disapprove of this bill. So, I believe this means it's an effective enforcement tool.

IMO, support of this bill is an embassesment to the leaders of BOTH parties.

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I watched Lou Dobbs tonight -

   JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Gov. Matt Blunt will be a guest on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight with Kitty Pilgrim Thursday, December 20, between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. CDT.

 

            This week Gov. Blunt added to his tough directives to fight illegal immigration by proposing legislation that bars sanctuary cities in the state, requires verification of legal employment status of every public employee, forfeiture of large sums of money for state contractors if they hire illegal immigrants, and legislation criminalizing the transportation of illegal immigrants for purposes of human trafficking, drug trafficking, prostitution or illegal labor. The governor is also seeking legislation that bars the state from issuing Missouri driver licenses to illegal immigrants and imposing criminal penalties for those who assist illegals in obtaining driver licenses. Gov. Blunt will discuss his plan on Lou Dobbs Tonight.

The governor's proposal is for all "public employers" use the E-Verify System to verify the socialsecurity numbers of all employees.  He commented he would like to expand this to ALL employees

E-Verify

E-Verify is a web-based system that allows participating employers to electronically compare employee information taken from Form I-9 against more than 425 million records in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) database and more than 60 million records in DHS immigration databases.  Results are returned within seconds.

Currently, more than 30,000 companies are enrolled in E-Verify.  More than 3.2 million new hires have been processed through E-Verify and usage is growing by roughly 83 percent annually.  The system is currently capable of handling up to 25 million inquiries a year.

From the following link:  http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/index.cfm/fa/news.advisory/item/dd071d4f-d4c7-4585-ba39-97c55d094c44/from_rss.cfm

The AZ federal judge refused to postpone the implementation of the state's new law, which demands employers use E-Verify. His ruling was immedietely appealed to the 9th circuit. Amazingly, the 9th circuit refused to BLOCK this new law. This law and the one in OK, both rely on the E-Verify system for employers verification of social security numbers. If it works in these states, it will work nationwide. I don't care if it's adopted state by state or all at once with the SAVE Act. More polititians and judges are starting to rule in favor of enforcement of our nation's laws. The Rep. Gov. of MO and the Dem. Attorney General are BOTH trying to implement the E-Verify System. I ask all of you to consider supporting this ne legislation. We must take the offense and keep the comprehensive reformers on the defense. We must use EVERY election to turn out or turn away those politians that FAIL to support enforcement of our laws. Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:32 pm Post subject: Brking News and it is Good/Appeals court won't block AZ Law -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/2... Published: 12.21.2007 BULLETIN: Appeals court won't block employer-sanctions law By Howard Fischer CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused late Friday to issue a stay preventing Arizona's new employer-sanctions law from going into effect Jan. 1. The move came just hours after a federal judge in Phoenix rejected a request by business groups and others to block the state from enforcing its new employer sanctions law. Judge Neil Wake said any delay in implementing the law which allows suspension or revocation of state licenses of companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers would harm the state and, in particular, legal Arizona residents. "Those who suffer the most from unauthorized alien labor are those whom federal and Arizona law most explicitly protect,'' Wake said. "They are the competing lawful workers, many unskilled, low-wage, sometimes near or under the margin of poverty, who strain in individual competition and in a wage economy depressed by the great and expanding number of people who will work for less,'' the judge continued. "If the act is suspended, whether for a month or for years, the human cost for the least among us, measured by each person's continued deprivation, multiplied by their number, will be a great quantum.'' Conversely, Wake said the challengers to the law have not proven they will suffer any sort of hardship if the law takes effect as scheduled Jan. 1. He pointed out the county attorneys who would investigate complaints against employers all said in court they would not file charges against any violators before Feb. 1. Wake said that gives him time to consider the legal arguments of the groups who contend the statute is unconstitutional. Nor was Wake convinced companies will suffer from the other requirement of the law that they check the legal status of new employees through the federal government's E-Verify system. He said their attorneys offered only "sweeping generalities'' of harm, mostly related to the cost of using the program. He pointed out that none of the groups that actually sued claim they don't have a computer or Internet access. "The only cost is employee time in learning the program ... and assisting new employees who wish to communicate with the federal government to resolve out-of-date government records,'' Wake wrote in his 29-page order. "That would be a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year for the large majority of employers.'' Wake acknowledged there is a debate in this country about whether the benefits of having undocumented workers in this country, including lower labor expenses for employers, outweigh the costs. But he said that is a decision not for him but instead for elected officials. And he said both Congress and now the Arizona Legislature have decided that the detrimental effects of illegal immigration "prevail over all who benefit from unauthorized alien labor.'' http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/2...

Pelosi's Amnesty Plan:

Pelosi's amnesty scheme The Washington Times : February 25 , 2008     "Right now, Republican supporters of H.R. 4088 are circulating a discharge petition in an effort to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote. They need 218 members' signatures, meaning that at least 20 Democrats would have to take the supreme act of rebellion: directly defying Mrs. Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the rest of the party leadership to bring to a vote legislation that the leadership wants no part of."     For months, leading Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chief Rahm Emanuel have tried to talk tough on illegal immigration. Mr. Emanuel told The Washington Post last year that immigration is "the third rail of American politics," adding that "anyone who doesn't realize that isn't with the American people," earning himself angry denunciations from the far-left fringe. Last month, Mrs. Pelosi joined House Minority Leader John Boehner in announcing that the House-passed economic stimulus bill would "not allow any taxpayer funds to be distributed to illegals." The Democratic leadership's efforts to sound tough on illegal immigration have created serious friction with some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which believes the Democratic leadership is too timid about pushing for amnesty legislation.   If senior Democrats were really serious about a get-tough approach toward illegal immigration, we would be urging the Republican minority to reach across the aisle and work with the Democratic leadership to come up with a genuine bipartisan solution. But unfortunately, the Democrats are putting together an elaborate con job: using tough-sounding rhetoric while working behind the scenes with open-borders advocates in the business community to win support from from firms that have become very dependent on cheap foreign labor. The goal of these Democrats -- and possibly the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well -- is to defeat a bipartisan bill that takes a no-amnesty, enforcement-oriented approach to illegal immigration. Specifically, they are very worried about the fact that a growing number of moderate and conservative Republicans and Democrats (and even a few liberals) are cosponsoring the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, H.R. 4088, introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler, North Carolina Democrat.   The SAVE Act is an omnibus bill that would strengthen border security and require that employers verify that their workers are legally present in the United States. Forty-seven Democrats and 89 Republicans are cosponsoring the Shuler bill, which is currently bottled up in the House Judiciary Committee, where liberals like Rep. Zoe Lofgren, California Democrat and chairwoman of the Immigration Subcommittee, will work to ensure that it stays there. Cosponsors range from conservative Republicans like Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colorado); Rep. Brian Bilbray (California), chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus; and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (California) to moderate and liberal Democrats like Rep. Mark Udall of Colorado, Reps. Sanford Bishop of Georgia and Artur Davis of Alabama (both members of the Congressional Black Caucus); and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of Texas, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.   Right now, Republican supporters of H.R. 4088 are circulating a discharge petition in an effort to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote. They need 218 members' signatures, meaning that at least 20 Democrats would have to take the supreme act of rebellion: directly defying Mrs. Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the rest of the party leadership to bring to a vote legislation that the leadership wants no part of. Senior Democrats, worried that they may not be able to keep the bill tied up in committee, have come up with a Plan B -- muddling the issue by attaching a killer amendment to the Shuler bill, which would come in the form of an amendment proposed by Rep. Joe Baca, California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.   The Baca Amendment would give illegal aliens who pass a background check a "five-year temporary worker permit" that expires on Dec. 31, 2012. It would also provide employers who hired illegal aliens "safe harbor" (apparently some measure of immunity from prosecution) for past hiring of illegal aliens. If Mr. Shuler gets enough signatures to force his bill to the floor to be debated, Democrats hope to neuter it by attaching the Baca Amendment. If Mr. Baca's proposal were to become law, open-borders advocates could come back later and pass legislation putting these illegals on a path to citizenship. While not endorsing the Baca Amendment, a senior official with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told Congressional Quarterly that he believed there was "some kind of deal in the works."   Fortunately, not everyone in the business community is pushing for amnesty. The National Federation of Independent Business, a leading group representing small businesses, has endorsed Mr. Shuler's bill as drafted. "I can't believe the leadership would be able to get any benefit from that," Mr. Bilbray says of Mrs. Pelosi's efforts to derail the SAVE Act with amnesty legislation. "What happened last summer," with the defeat of the Senate amnesty bill, "should be a warning," he told The Washington Times.

Update from 'numbersusa'

Dear Faxer:

Encourage your GOP sponsor of the SAVE Act that they need to rally their leadership! This new fax has been posted in your Action Buffet based on your answers to the Interest Survey. You can find this fax by proceeding to http://www.numbersusa.com/faxes?ID=9649 We need the GOP leadership's help to pass enforcement-only legislation and begin the push to reverse the tide of illegal immigration. Send this fax to your GOP Representative and encourage them to pressure GOP leadership into supporting a vote on the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088). Warn them that they may not get another opportunity to pass enforcement-only legislation during the 110th Congress. BACKGROUND Your faxes and phone calls have (for the moment) scared Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership away from their plan to undercut the SAVE Act with an amnesty, creating a small window where the SAVE Act can pass without any bad stuff attached. More and more pro-enforcement Democrats are pushing for a "discharge petition," which will force a vote on the SAVE Act. If the Republican leadership gets behind the disc