mandatroy
Member
http://capwiz.com/jbs/callalert/index.tt?alertid=11392676&type=CO
Late Thursday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations Committee attached
several immigration amendments - including an amnesty amendment - to the
Iraq War Funding Bill. By doing so, members of the Senate Finance
Committee not only snuck controversial amendments into a bill that funds
our servicemen and women, but they chose to attach guest worker amnesty
provisions that the American people flatly rejected in 2007! These
amendments are designed to allow corporations to import hundreds of
thousands of additional guest workers at a time when the U.S. economy is
struggling.
The Iraq War Funding Bill could be on the Senate floor as early as
Tuesday, as Senators try to finish business before the Memorial Day recess.
Two of the amendments adopted in the Senate Appropriations Committee
were provisions rejected in last year's Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill
(S.1639). These include:
(1) The Feinstein AgJOBS Amendment. This amendment, authored by Senator
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), grants 5-year amnesty visas to 1.35 million
illegal alien agricultural workers plus their families by granting them
"emergency worker status." The amendment also:
* Grants work authorization to beneficiaries and their spouses;
* Grants travel authorization to beneficiaries and their families;
* Otherwise treats beneficiaries as green card holders (legal
permanent residents); and
* Prohibits beneficiaries from being prosecuted for social security
fraud and related identity theft crimes.
To qualify for the amnesty program, an illegal alien must show he or she
was employed at least 150 days or earned at least $7,000.00 in the
agricultural sector in the 48 months ending December 31, 2007. The alien
will then pay a fee of $250.00 and receive an identification card
evidencing his or her legal status.
(2) The Mikulski H-2B Amendment. This amendment, authored by Senator
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), will increase the number of unskilled H-2B
guest workers by reinstating the returning worker exemption for a period
of three years. This exemption (which expired last year) allows guest
workers who entered the U.S. through the H-2B guest worker program in
the previous three years to return without counting towards the 66,000
cap. This exemption could lead to exponential growth in the H-2B
program, potentially increasing the number of unskilled H-2B guest
workers by over 200,000 in just a few years.
But the Senate Appropriations Committee didn't stop there! It adopted
two other immigration amendments intended to appease special interests
and corporations. The Murray-Gregg Amendment, authored by Senators Patty
Murray (D-WA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), increases the number of
employment-based green cards available for multinational executives and
so-called "high-tech" workers by "recapturing" approximately 218,000
unused visas from as far back as 1994. The Leahy Amendment, authored by
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), extends the duration of a
program that helps rich investors obtain green cards.
Late Thursday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations Committee attached
several immigration amendments - including an amnesty amendment - to the
Iraq War Funding Bill. By doing so, members of the Senate Finance
Committee not only snuck controversial amendments into a bill that funds
our servicemen and women, but they chose to attach guest worker amnesty
provisions that the American people flatly rejected in 2007! These
amendments are designed to allow corporations to import hundreds of
thousands of additional guest workers at a time when the U.S. economy is
struggling.
The Iraq War Funding Bill could be on the Senate floor as early as
Tuesday, as Senators try to finish business before the Memorial Day recess.
Two of the amendments adopted in the Senate Appropriations Committee
were provisions rejected in last year's Bush-Kennedy Amnesty Bill
(S.1639). These include:
(1) The Feinstein AgJOBS Amendment. This amendment, authored by Senator
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), grants 5-year amnesty visas to 1.35 million
illegal alien agricultural workers plus their families by granting them
"emergency worker status." The amendment also:
* Grants work authorization to beneficiaries and their spouses;
* Grants travel authorization to beneficiaries and their families;
* Otherwise treats beneficiaries as green card holders (legal
permanent residents); and
* Prohibits beneficiaries from being prosecuted for social security
fraud and related identity theft crimes.
To qualify for the amnesty program, an illegal alien must show he or she
was employed at least 150 days or earned at least $7,000.00 in the
agricultural sector in the 48 months ending December 31, 2007. The alien
will then pay a fee of $250.00 and receive an identification card
evidencing his or her legal status.
(2) The Mikulski H-2B Amendment. This amendment, authored by Senator
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), will increase the number of unskilled H-2B
guest workers by reinstating the returning worker exemption for a period
of three years. This exemption (which expired last year) allows guest
workers who entered the U.S. through the H-2B guest worker program in
the previous three years to return without counting towards the 66,000
cap. This exemption could lead to exponential growth in the H-2B
program, potentially increasing the number of unskilled H-2B guest
workers by over 200,000 in just a few years.
But the Senate Appropriations Committee didn't stop there! It adopted
two other immigration amendments intended to appease special interests
and corporations. The Murray-Gregg Amendment, authored by Senators Patty
Murray (D-WA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), increases the number of
employment-based green cards available for multinational executives and
so-called "high-tech" workers by "recapturing" approximately 218,000
unused visas from as far back as 1994. The Leahy Amendment, authored by
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), extends the duration of a
program that helps rich investors obtain green cards.
