Musings on Immigration

Now that Republicans have come to the immigration reform table, we have to ask ourselves, what will immigration reform look like five years after it was last addressed.  One thing is certain, the leverage has changed, and there are new players are at the table. Not the least of which are " Dreamers ."  What would pass for immigration reform in 2007 under a weakened President Bush will NOT be enough to satisfy all of the constituencies demanding immigration reform in 2013. What We Almost Had In 2007 There has been some talk of reviving the bill written in 2007 under President Bush.  This would be a monumentally bad idea and would be terrible for the future of immigration to America.   Let's take a look at what was on the table from a handful of Republicans, some anti-immigrant, (Graham, Kyl, Sessions, DeMint, Vitter, and some McCain), and more pro-immigrant Democrats (Feinstein, Martinez, Specter, and Salazar).  The  Comprehensive Immigration Refor...

The Supreme Court issued its decision in Arizona v. United States, in a resounding defeat for the anti-immigration movement, the Court affirmatively stated that three of the four provisions in question are PREEMPTED by Federal law, and most importantly that the show me your papers provision must be NARROWLY construed and enforced in order for it to remain constitutional, essentially inviting further challenges should there be any hint of racial profiling in its enforcement. In order to enforce a show me your papers provisions, the State would have to check the immigration status of EVERY person, in EVERY stop, for EVERY crime, EVERY time. Short of doing this, racial profiling will occur, since there could be NO legitimate way to determine someones immigration status. Especially since the Supreme Court struck down the provision that that barred the Arizona from stopping people because they had a reasonable cause to believe they were undocumented. This is a KEY part of the HB 87, Se...

Earlier this week I had an opportunity to speak at an Immigration and Education Forum in Athens Georgia organized by the University of Georgia College of Education Faculty Senate and the Dean's Council on Diversity. I was honored to be speaking with four other co-panelists who are each on the frontlines of immigration and education, teaching and working with students who are, or who interact with documented and undocumented youth each day.  It was inspiring to hear from them, and to witness the remarkable work they are doing.   Each of these co-panelists spoke from the heart and were so deeply impressive. I wanted to share with my readers the presentation of Ian Altman.  I think you will be equally impressed.             Good afternoon, everybody.  My name is Ian Altman, and I am the English Department Chair at Clarke Central High School.  I am here to talk to you about how and why I bring up the issue of immigration in my...

The Georgia State Senate acted recently to pass an anti-immigration measure aimed at stopping 300 Georgia residents who happen to not have legal status from attending public colleges and universities in Georgia, despite the fact that they are paying out-of-state tuition.  The Georgia House is moving to pass similar legislation at the behest of House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee Chair, Cobb County resident, and AllState Insurance Attorney Rich Gollick. THE RATIONALE The rationale behind this bill (besides the red herring argument that local governments needed clarification on whether they could accept electronic copies of "secure and verifiable documents"), is that the undocumented students are somehow using taxpayer dollars and taking spots from U.S. citizens.   You heard these arguments from all the sponsors of this bill  in the Senate.  These reasons for supporting this bill are not based in either reality or facts.  In Georgia, no undocumented student ca...

Much has been made recently of the Utah Legislature's efforts in regards to passing a "balanced' immigration bill. Specifically balancing the hatred and bias of an Arizona "style" immigration enforcement bill, with a bill which purports to grant legal status to undocumented people and creates a temporary worker program. The impact of this legislation just hit home here in Georgia. A client just came into my office to ask about getting the "Utah Green Card." This is exactly what I was afraid of when I talked with the folks in Utah about the proposal they were formulating to counter the anti-immigration legislation that was enjoying so much publicity. The Utah legislature has created a myth, a myth that will only grow bigger as rumors of the "Utah Green Card" circulate in all immigrant communities around the U.S. What does this mean for immigrants and for Utah? I have no doubt that if the Governor of Utah signs this legislation that a LOT o...

If you thought HB 87 was the wrong path to follow to try to fix the problems associated with illegal immigration, then do not get on the SB 40 Super Highway. SB 40 has so many inconsistencies, incongruities, and flat out confusing sections that if by some miracle it is passed, it would never see the daylight of its effective date. As with HB 87, it is not just the intent of this bill that matters. The actual wording of the bill, and its changes to Georgia law, are essential to an understanding why this bill will NOT stop illegal immigration, will NOT stop bad actor employers from hiring people who are undocumented, and will NOT in any way solve the problems associated with a broken FEDERAL immigration system. SB 40 is much shorter in length than HB 87, and somewhat less expansive in its scope. Yet, it still manages to violate the constitution, misquote federal law, and create penalties for innocent mistakes. For example, the private right of action that is so p...

This week Senator Hatch (R. Utah) offered an anti-immigration bill to the Democratically controlled Senate. This bill, known as the "STRENGTHENING OUR COMMITMENT TO LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND AMERICA’S SECURITY ACT" (truly an ironic name) is nothing more than the same political gamesmanship that Senator Hatch claims that Senator Reid engaged in by seeking passage of the DREAM Act. Senator Hatch says his bill would do the following: Require eligible states, counties and cities to participate in the Secure Communities or 287(g) programs or forego compensation for incarceration expenses; Specify that illegal aliens may only be paroled or granted deferred action on a case-by-case basis; mass paroles and deferrals would be prohibited; Preclude applicants who are members of known criminal organizations and gangs from getting visas to come to the U.S.; Require the Homeland Security Secretary to create a mandatory exit procedure for foreign vi...