Senators Trying to Pass Major Amnesty

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) are trying to pass an amnesty for 1.35 illegal alien farm workers (and their families) which would allow them to stay in the U.S. for five years. The two senators successfully attached their amnesty proposal, as an amendment, to the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill. This week the full Senate may vote on the bill and the amendment.

Comment: Attaching this amendment to a necessary appropriations bill is underhanded. Also, given past experience, it is doubtful, that the legalized illegals will actually to home after five years. At that point, they will move on to better paying jobs, thus creating a draw for more illegal aliens to come and fill their old jobs.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), an opponent of the amendment, had it right when he said: "No matter how one characterizes it, this enormous amendment still amounts to amnesty. I oppose amnesty. All these immigration issues should be addressed through the regular order."

AIC members, please call your Senators' offices quickly and tell them to strip farm worker legalization from Iraq appropriations bill.

Shuler Testifies for the SAVE Act

The Democrat House leadership is continuing its efforts to prevent passage of the SAVE Act, H.R. 4088, which would require businesses to check the legal status of newly hired employees with the federal E-Verify system. An adequate means to check that status is a long-overdue measure to prevent illegal aliens from taking American jobs. On May 6th the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing heavily stacked against the SAVE Act. The only witness allowed to testify in favor of the bill was its sponsor, Heath Shuler (D-NC).

Shuler, however, did a good job of defending his legislation. Rebutting the claim that E-Verify is "flawed" and would misidentify people, he noted that the Department of Homeland Security has no record of a legal resident losing a job since the system began as a voluntary pilot program in 1996. Recently, several states have mandated its use in varying degrees.

If the Save Act comes to the House floor for a vote, many Washington observers believe it will pass. To overcome the opposition of the Democrat leadership, 188 House members have signed a discharge petition to bring it to the floor. To succeed, it needs thirty more for a total of 218.

Comment: AIC has made this appeal before, but if you haven't done so already, please call your House member for the SAVE Act. Please leave your message with the receptionist saying you would like the congressman to sign the H.R. 4088 discharge petition, if he or she hasn't done so already.

After contacting your House member, encourage friends and relatives to do so. AIC has learned that businesses, presumably those that don't care whom they hire, are making a lot of calls to Washington against the bill. We need to counteract them. Effective verification of legal status is a key to effective immigration law enforcement.

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