FAIR Legislative update 04-07-2008

April 7, 2008

In this update:

• Future of Immigration Legislation in the House Murky
• Homeland Security Issues Waiver of Environmental Rules to Expedite Border Fence
• Homeland Security Announces All 50 States Receive Extensions to Comply with REAL ID Act
• Recent Floor Statements

Future of Immigration Legislation in the House Murky

Despite weeklong activity, members of the House of Representatives are still wrangling over the future of various immigration proposals. Efforts to merge the SAVE Act with legislation to increase the caps for H-1B and H-2B guest worker visas into a bi-partisan comprehensive bill have yet to yield a compromise. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus continues to insist that any compromise bill grant amnesty to the more than 13 million illegal aliens currently in the U.S. (Washington Post, April 4, 2008) Meanwhile, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), insists Republican leaders will not accept amnesty provisions. (Roll Call, April 3, 2008)

Despite the impasse, House Leadership remains under pressure from various factions in the House to take up certain immigration measures. The SAVE Act (H.R. 4088), the enforcement-only bill introduced by Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC), is currently stalled in committee, even though the bill has overwhelming bi-partisan support. The discharge petition filed for the SAVE Act already has 185 signatures, with only 33 signatures needed to force a floor vote. In an attempt to maintain control of the hot-button issue, House Majority Leadership is pressuring Democrats — including co-sponsors of the legislation — not to sign the petition and is beginning to signal it will hold a series of hearings to address support for the enforcement-only measures in the Act. (CQ Today, April 2, 2008; Congress Daily, April 7, 2008) To see which members of the House have signed the discharge petition, click here.

To see an analysis of the SAVE Act, click here. 

In addition, proponents of expanding guest worker programs are pressuring House Democratic Leadership to take up additional measures. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) confirmed Wednesday she is negotiating with key players in both parties to increase the cap for so-called "high-tech" H-1B guest workers. (CQ Today, April 2, 2008) Members on both sides of the aisle have offered legislation that would increase H-1B workers, and business leaders and powerful lobbyists from industry organizations have been lobbying Congress hard to push them forward. FAIR Legislative Update, March 24, 2008. However, House efforts to increase the H-1B visa cap are already the subject of scrutiny by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who have long protested abuse of the H-1B program. This week, Senator Grassley sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging them to reform the program before making "irresponsible commitments" to expand it. To read Senator Grassley's letter in full, click here.

To read more about problems in the H-1B program, click here.

Finally, other factions are urging House Leadership to increase the number of unskilled H-2B guest workers. Last Tuesday, Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA) filed a discharge petition on legislation authored by Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) that would increase the H-2B visa cap by reinstating the returning worker exemption, which expired last fall (H.R. 1843). The H-2B visa program allocates 66,000 visas each year for temporary unskilled workers, but in recent years the returning worker exemption has allowed that number to grow dramatically, to the point where the cap has doubled. So far, however, the discharge petition has languished, receiving only 20 signatures. (Discharge Petition for H.R. 1843)

Stay tuned to FAIR for more information on immigration-related activity in the House…

Back to top

Homeland Security Issues Waiver of Environmental Rules to Expedite Border Fence

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a pair of waivers, allowing the agency to bypass lengthy environmental reviews that would likely delay construction of the border fence. The first waiver deals with 470 miles of so-called "project areas" — or regions of high illegal entry — along the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The second would allow the agency to build fencing up to 18 feet high into a 22-mile stretch of levee in Hidalgo County, Texas. (DHS Press Release, April 1, 2008) Homeland Security has used its waiver authority on three previous occasions to surmount environmental hurdles blocking construction efforts along limited portions of the border. (New York Times, April 2, 2008)

To see the locations in which the environmental and land use waivers will be in effect, click here and here.

The waivers allow the agency to avoid complying with nearly 30 environmental and other laws in building the fence. Justifying the move, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asserted Tuesday, "Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation." (DHS Press Release, April 1, 2008) At the same time, Chertoff said that in moving forward, he would continue to be both sensitive to environmental concerns and seek out public comment. "DHS is neither compromising its commitment to responsible environmental stewardship nor its commitment to solicit and respond to the needs of state, local and tribal governments." (Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2008)

Opponents of the waiver have argued that in some places, construction of the fence along the border will negatively impact vegetation, water qualify, and wildlife. (Washington Post, April 2, 2008) According to Sierra Club Executive Dirctor Carl Pope, "The Bush administration's latest waiver of environmental and other federal laws threatens the livelihoods and ecology of the entire U.S.-Mexico region." (Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2008)

Supporters of the waiver argue that the fence does not cause as much environmental damage as illegal immigration, pointing to a Fiscal Year 2006 Bureau of Land Management report for support. This report found that illegal aliens crossing into the U.S. created over 50 new routes through open land and used springs for bathing and dumping trash, leaving nearly 1,060,000 pounds — or 530 tons — of litter behind. In addition, the report found that smugglers driving along remote waterways decimated endangered species habitat, including the Sonoran pronghorn, desert tortoise, several fish and plants. The BLM reported that it spent almost $1 million restoring damaged habitat. To read the report, click here.

Back to top

Homeland Security Announces All 50 States Receive Extensions to Comply with REAL ID Act

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that all 50 states had received extensions to comply with the REAL ID Act. These extensions are valid until December 31, 2009, by which time the states "must upgrade the security of their systems, to include a check for lawful status of all applicants, for their licenses." (Homeland Security Press Release, April 2, 2008) If states do not upgrade their driver's licenses by Dec. 31, 2009, the licenses will no longer be valid for entering federal buildings or boarding aircraft. (Id.)

The last remaining holdout to get a REAL ID extension was the state of Maine, which on Wednesday agreed "to take significant additional steps to achieve a level of security commensurate with REAL ID." (Id.) As part of the agreement, Maine Governor John Baldacci has promised to seek legislation to halt Maine's current practice of issuing licenses to illegal aliens and implement several security measures, including setting the term of any license issued to a legal alien to expire when the alien's visa expires. (Id.)

Despite what appears to be at least some progress in implementing REAL ID, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff came under fire in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) for the "bullying" manner in which the extensions were obtained. "I agree that there are benefits to be gained by encouraging the states to make improvements in the identification they issue," said Leahy. "But I share the view that far greater cooperation would have been gained by partnering with states than by imposing a costly federal mandate." (CongressNow, April 2, 2008) Chertoff rejected this assessment, responding that he had worked closely with states to encourage them to comply with the law. Earlier, he had pointed out the necessity of REAL ID compliance. "It's one thing for somebody to get a phony beer with a license, but it's another thing to allow a terrorist on a plane." (USAToday, April 2, 2008)

Back to top

Recent Floor Statements

• Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) commented on Political Prisoners Ramos And Compean (April 3, 2008)
• Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) commented on Pardon Border Agents (April 3, 2008)
• Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) commented on President Bush Insults The American People With His Selective Pardons And Commutations (April 2, 2008)

Back to top

To receive more information from FAIR, http://www.fairus.org/site/R?i=f9li6i.... http://www.fairus.org/site/R?i=7l77Zx.... http://www.fairus.org/site/R?i=yqTc_F... class="yshortcuts">click here.