What is the status of the immigration bill?

[Remodeling Maidiac]

I haven't heard a peep about it in weeks except for pro commercials for it here in KC.

Also do you consider the bill a solid reform?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dey lookin' fer a way to rubber-stamp dem illegal aliens...

Labor union chief calls immigration bill dangerous
Monday, May 20, 2013 - Sees agency as an ‘approval machine’

The Senate’s immigration bill will raise national security risks and the Obama administration will do little more than “rubber-stamp” illegal immigrants into the program, endangering Americans, says the labor union representing the 12,000 employees who will have to approve the applications. Kenneth Palinkas, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 119, which represents officers and staff at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, will deliver a damning critique of the Senate bill Monday, according to a copy of his statement obtained by The Washington Times.

His statement goes well beyond the current debate, portraying an agency intent on approving as many illegal immigrants as possible. “The culture at USCIS encourages all applications to be approved, discouraging proper investigation into red flags and discouraging the denial of any applications,” his remarks say. “USCIS has been turned into an ‘approval machine.’” The union becomes the second key Homeland Security Department labor group to oppose the bill. Its opposition dents the bill and deals a blow to the AFL-CIO — the coalition of labor unions that has put major legislative muscle behind the bill this year but is seeing its members peel off.

Mr. Palinkas says the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators who wrote the Senate bill never talked to the USCIS and that the legislation is riddled with special-interest loopholes and shirks security checks. “The legislation was written with special interests — producing a bill that makes the current system worse, not better,” Mr. Palinkas‘ remarks say. The bill “will damage public safety and national security and should be opposed by lawmakers.” That was the same complaint made by Chris Crane, chief of the union representing agents and officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mr. Crane has said the Senate bill would hurt ICE agents’ ability to enforce the law.

But the USCIS officers’ opposition could be even more potent. They describe themselves as the “backbone” of any legalization effort — the officers who will have to review each application and decide whether it meets the standards and whether the person is a security risk. Their warnings could carry weight with lawmakers worried about a repeat of the amnesty in 1986, when hundreds of thousands of immigrants defrauded the system. All sides say they want to avoid the same scenario.

Read more: Labor union chief calls immigration bill dangerous, sees agency as 'approval machine' - Washington Times

 

[g5000]

On the Left, the unions want low skilled laborers to be paid $50 an hour. Rather than educate our labor force for the jobs of tomorrow, they would rather we keep all the lava lamp and textile jobs here in America instead of shipping them overseas to third world developing countries where they belong. We should be raising a nation of software engineers, nanotechnologists, and other high tech workers.

On the Right, there is an undercurrent of hatred of darkies behind all their rhetoric. They are ignorant of the fact that a great deal of innovation and entrepreneurship is being accomplished in the USA by people born elsewhere.



We have an immigration labor demand that is not being met by an immigrant labor supply. It is as simple as that.

Every prosperous nation has a large immigrant labor population to do the shit jobs the prosperous people don't want to do. And every prosperous nation opens its arms to innovators and free thinkers from around the world to keep its lifeblood refreshed.

 

[Katzndogz]

Everything has ground to a halt.

obama couldn't pass a kidney stone.

 

[candycorn]

The What? It doesn't start with Ben or end with Ghazi...no interest.

I think the bill is dumb, idiotic, a testament to stupidity, those who are sponsoring it are only marginally surpassed in ineffectiveness by those who may be voting for it or signing it into law.

It's a sign of just how bizarre a nation we live in in many ways. If I understand it correctly, it puts those who are here illegally on the path to citizenship that takes what, 11 years? I am doubtful that many if not most will even bother. They're here, making money in the shadows, are not beyond the reach of the law but beyond the concern of the law to be sure, and having a US Passport does very little for their bottom line.

It is good to see some bi-partisanship actually taking place however.

That being said, it's a much better plan to take a 1-2 punch toward illegal immigration.

Punch one is to declare that if you can prove you were here before--pick a date--1/1/2010 for example. Any date will do...lets say 5/20/13 or 5/20/2003. Doesn't matter except in how much you want to spend.

If you can prove you were on US soil by that date, bingo, you're a citizen. You beat the rap kid, you got over on us, pulled a fast one, won the lottery, whatever you want to call it. You're here, you're okay with us. Come get your SS card, start paying taxes and offiically getting the benefits you get anyway by and large. And also, if we found out you committed a crime, welcome to jail bub. Will we get everyone to sign up? No...nor will we get everyone to sign up if we take the Gang of 8 path.

That is punch 1.

Punch 2 is to actually secure the border. I know this is problematic for a great many Americans--defending our borders--but I can't understand the opposition anymore than I can understand the opposition to voter ID laws. When I say secure, I mean SECURE!. Armed guards...Army troops...air surveilance (sp?)...deadly force if need be. I'd personally be okay with a massive waterway channel from the Gulf to the Pacific. Bring water to the west where it desperately needs it.

There are several jabs mixed in as well but I say you give up this nonsense of "you got here illegally so you're not going to get ahead of those who abided by the law". Screw it, you're here, you're a citizen. Glad to have you. Now start paying Taxes. We also need to stop playing games with just turning a blind eye to the fact that you can come across our border whenever you want--no penalties--by making it extremely inconvenient (i.e. deadly) to come across the border in the first place.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Why not get it over and nix mexico? Look at the upsides 1. We can tax the middle and upper class=more money to pay for their lower class, 2. The resources.

Mexico would be govern by our constitution of rights and freedoms. So they would benefit!!!