The Devil is in the Details:
This is a trite phrase that is often overused. But sometimes it is valid. I have been pretty clear in recent e-mails and other writings that I do not think much of the immigration bill that the United States Senate has been working on. Well just a few hours ago, the Senate passed a bill which has weak enforcement provisions and contains amnesty and other provisions which should not happen at all.- Before this amendment was inserted the bill was full of many bad provisions you may not know about. Some of those provisions include:
- A specific provision to allow illegal aliens who obtained their employment using falsified and fraudulent federal documents (such as a fake Social Security card and number or counterfeit green card) to obtain full Social Security benefits. Can you imagine what would happen to you if you falsified federal documents? Well, illegal aliens will get rewarded with social security under the Senate bill.
- The bill extends the "prevailing wage" elements of the Davis-Bacon Act to guest workers. The Davis-Bacon Act forces above-market wages to be paid on government contract work. Therefore, it raises the cost of all government projects needlessly. I think this system should be repealed, and I have co-sponsored a bill to do so. But under the Senate immigration bill, guest workers have to be paid these high wages even if they are not on government work. By the way, the Davis-Bacon Act does not apply to you. So, under this bill, a guest worker working side-by-side on the same job with an American citizen would be paid more money by federal law. That’s nuts.
- Guest farm workers under the bill will also be protected from termination "except for just cause". Again, a citizen worker next to the guest worker would receive no such protection.
- The bill not only grants amnesty to illegal aliens here now, it also grants amnesty to any employer who knowingly hired them by relieving them of any criminal or civil tax liability.
- Many of us believe that no new legal immigration should go into affect until we know we can enforce the provisions of that new plan. The Senate bill calls for the registration of all 12 million illegal aliens in 90 days. The immigration service says they can’t do that. I’m sure they are right.
The premise of this bill is bad, but the details are even more troubling. There can be no compromise on much of this. I hope the House will reject this Senate proposal out of hand. Having no immigration bill is better than having one that makes the problem worse.
By the way, if you want to read an article from someone who has direct experience with amnesty, read the article by Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese who actually presided over the 1986 amnesty act. Read here. http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed052406a.cfm
Prime Minister Olmert of Israel: The new Israeli Prime Minister spoke to a joint session on Congress on Wednesday. His speech was excellent and well delivered in English. He spoke a great deal about the nuclear threat from Iran and about Israel’s desire to live in peace side-by-side with an independent Palestinian state. But he also spoke very forcefully about the evil nature of the terrorists and his country’s commitment to stopping them. At one point in the speech, he said with great conviction, "Let me state this as clearly as I can: we will NOT yield to terror; we will NOT surrender to terror; and we WILL WIN the war on terror and restore peace to our societies". These lines were met with thunderous applause.
Israel will not yield…..and neither should we. We should not surrender to the terrorists in Iraq as some would have us do. And, this weekend as we honor those who have perished over the last 230 years for our freedom and security, we should complete the mission that challenges this generation just as those who went before us completed theirs.
With reverence and respect on Memorial Day, I remain,
Congressman John Campbell