S.A.V.E. Us
Fri, 11/16/2007 - 3:23pm
Representative Heath Shuler's H.R. 4088, a bill that seeks to "provide immigration reform by securing America's borders, clarifying and enforcing existing laws, and enabling a practical employer verification program", was referred to committee on November 6th.
Known as the S.A.V.E. Act (Secure America with Verification and Enforcement), Representative Shuler's legislation would increase the number of Border Patrol agents through a mix of bonuses, student loan repayments and other financial incentives, increase aerial surveillance of the border, establish a "Tunnel Task Force", expand the E-Verify program, make the E-Verify a requirement in four years' time, expand ICE resources and capabilities, expand detention facilities and implement a Spanish-language media campaign to target the illegal immigrant community to alert them of the new laws and consequences of the S.A.V.E. Act. This piece of legislation has an impressive amount of bipartisan support amongst its co-sponsors, including most of the Texas Republican contingent (Burgess, Conway, Gohmert, Hall, Marchant, McCaul, Neugebauer, Poe, Sessions and Smith).
Are we going to need to be saved from S.A.V.E.? With co-sponsors like Marchant and Sessions, we should all be suspicious of what is under the hood. What's under the hood, in my opinion, is the illegal immigration equivalent of expanded federal powers in the "war on drugs." Increases in personnel, regulation, criminalization and enforcement have not sealed victory in terms of "winning" the "war on drugs" and they won't "solve" our illegal immigration problem, either.
Like the "war on drugs", the S.A.V.E. Act focuses on one side of the equation undergirding the question of illegal immigration: supply. Well-meaning but misguided policies like crop substitution do not account for the demand side of the equation. As long as there is a strong demand for cheap, off-the-books labor in the United States, it will be profitable for employers to risk employing illegal immigrants and it will be profitable for traffickers to move illegal immigrants across the U.S. border. Also of note in this equation (and also something that gets left out in supply-side solutions to supply and demand problems) is the domestic situation and the domestic outlook in the immigrants' home countries. For many, risking a dangerous trip across the Arizona desert or hopping the Rio and heading north through Big Bend country are preferable to the lives they leave behind in Mexico, El Salvador, etc. I doubt Representative Shuler's slew of supply interdiction and increased regulation solutions will speak to the demand side of the problem, insuring increased costs to the American taxpayer in return for negligible gains in curtailing illegal immigration.
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Go Vols
By John McClelland
Fri, 11/16/2007 - 4:43pm
I like Shuler since he is a former QB for the original "UT" in the lighter orange during the PP Era (Pre-Peyton). But I think he should have stuck to football and not politics sometimes.
But you do have to remember he made no qualms about running as a Blue Dog in western North Carolina.
I Like Him, Too
By Patrick M McLeod
Fri, 11/16/2007 - 5:35pm
I like Shuler as well, but more because of his trainwreck career as the Washington Redskins QB who was going to bring back the glory days! I've also got nothing against most of the Blue Dogs and the ones I don't like I don't like for substantive reasons, not because of their caucus.
I simply don't feel that this piece of legislation is going to actually solve anything having to do with illegal immigration. It's a supply and demand issue, not a supply and supply issue. S.A.V.E. ignores the demand side, which in my mind means you can start the timers once it passes on how long it will be until it is roundly considered a failure.
The SAVE Act is revolutionary
By magyart
Thu, 11/22/2007 - 8:29pm
I believe the SAVE Act does focus on the Demand Side. The demand side is employers and that is exactly where it's focused. Most employers unknowingly hire illegal aliens. Sure we have employors that do it off the books, but it's a small percentage.
Illegal aliens can easily use false or stolen identities to gain employment. Counterfeit ID cards and social security cards are readily available for $150.
Employors are required to NOT question these documents, even if they may suspect they are counterfeit. Less than 1% of employers verify social security numbers, so employers unknowingly hire illegals when they present false documents.
Forcing every employer, (the demand side) to verify every social security number will ILLIMINATE a loophole that illegals have been able to exploit.
The Save Act is easy for employers to use. Verifing all social security numbers will
eliminate false and duplicate numbers from the employers payroll.
With this legislation, only employees with valid SSNs will be able to secure employment. This will result in millions of illegal aliens to self deport.
Support the Save Act HR 4088
By magyart
Tue, 11/20/2007 - 1:08am
The Save Act will not cure all the ills caused by illegal immigration. However, it's a major step in the right direction. It's even better than building a fence. Illegal aliens will go around, under or through a fence, in order to get an American job. False documents are easily available for only $150 - $200. Ninety nine percent of American employers NEVER verify a hew hires social security number. Consequently, false documents enable illegal aliens to successfuly work here.
The Save Act, turns off the job magnet.
It is slowly phased in over four years and forces employers to verify all social security numbers with federal govt's E-verify program. This program is easy to use, but only 1% of employers use it.
Similar legislation was passed in Nevada ( or OK ), effective 01/01/2008. Illegal aliens have already started to self deport. Unfortunately, they are merely relocating to another State and not returning to their homeland. I'm sure many are moving to TX.
Social security verification needs implimented by ALL employers.
Mexico is exporting unemployment and drugs to the USA. IMO, Mexico is actively colonizing us.
Contact your congressman and ask him / her to co-sponsor the Save Act.
Democrat introduces the SAVE Act
By magyart
Tue, 11/20/2007 - 1:59am
Just a few of the features of this Bill include:
8000 more Border Patrol agents
More Judges, courts, and detention centers.
Border fencing and vehicle barriers (where needed), and all-weather surveillance roads in conjunction with high tech surveillance equipment including satellite surveillance, infra red, and seismic detection. It requires construction along the border to take into account environmental and private land use needs.
Requires development of a national strategy to secure the borders and all ports of entry to the United States by December 31, 2010.
This Bill even has accountable and transparent financing of the effort built into it giving power of oversight to the Comptroller and Inspector Generals to keep Congress appraised.
This bill is going to receive some stiff opposition from organizations like LULAC and LaRaza, and incumbent Democrats beholding to the illegal immigrant population communities, and incumbent Republicans beholding to employers pressing for cheap illegal labor. They will try to fight this Bill. This SAVE Act offers the Independent voters in America the first real opportunity to flex their newfound muscle by supporting this Bill and pressing their representatives to vote for this legislation.
Let's take our country back and get this bill passed. Democrats and Republicans support it. To date, 110 co-sponsors from both sides.
Supporters of the SAVE Act include:
By magyart
Mon, 11/26/2007 - 9:10pm
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. Click here to view the full list of co-sponsors.
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