we are only in it for the money!!!! congress may legalize immigration. not for the right moral ethical reason. but cuz they can shakedown each warm latino body for $2,000 instead of letting them give the cash to the smugglers.
Legal path for migrants
McCain, Kennedy unveil sweeping reform bill
Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Millions of undocumented workers in the United States could come out of the shadows by registering with the government and paying fines or fees of at least $2,000 to begin earning permanent residency under the most sweeping immigration-reform bill in two decades.
The bill introduced Thursday was dubbed the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" by its bipartisan group of sponsors, led by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. It would create a temporary-work visa program for foreigners to fill jobs requiring few or no skills, for up to six years.
The legislation was touted as ensuring tougher enforcement of laws at the border and in the workplace while speeding the process of reuniting immigrant families. In addition, Mexico and other countries would be encouraged to enter into agreements to play a more active role in helping prevent illegal immigration into the United States, including promoting more economic opportunity back home.
House sponsors Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, both Arizona Republicans, and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., joined McCain and Kennedy on Thursday in casting the legislation as a comprehensive approach to immigration reform and national security.
They also said they believe it is consistent with the broad principles that President Bush said he'd favor in a temporary-worker plan to "match willing employers and willing workers" from other countries. In fact, Bush has offered few specifics for what he wants in such a proposal.
Immigrant advocates and some business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said they welcomed the measure as a broad approach to immigration reform that goes beyond the piecemeal efforts of the past.
But the legislation faces an uncertain future because of stiff opposition from groups that want tighter immigration controls - including many Republicans who hold a majority in the U.S. House - and that oppose giving legal status to people who've entered the country illegally.
There is, however, widespread recognition in Congress that the current immigration system is broken, despite disagreement over priorities.
"I want an immigration system that says we're not going to look for people who come to mow our lawns, and wash our dishes and clean our babies' behinds and raise them. Those aren't the people we're concerned about," Gutierrez said. "We're concerned about drug dealers and smugglers on our borders."
But Arizona Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who supports tighter controls on immigration, criticized the bill as a "bad idea not only because it creates a transparent path to amnesty, but also because it would reduce work opportunities, depress wages and lower worker protections for Americans."
"I believe that when the disturbing details of this proposal are considered, Congress will see the light and join the overwhelming majority of Americans that want the federal government to enforce our present laws against illegal immigration," Hayworth said.
Bush administration spokesman Taylor Gross on Thursday offered no clue as to how the new bill was being received at the White House.
"The president is glad to see this contribution to the discussion on immigration," Gross said, though he added, "We understand a number of other members are working on proposals, as well, and we look forward to working with members of both parties to pass a bill that meets the president's principles."
McCain assured that the measure "is not, I repeat, NOT, an amnesty bill," noting that, "The reality is there is an estimated 10 (million) to 11 million undocumented people living and working in this country. It would be impossible to identify and round them up and send them back to the countries from which they came."
Insisted Kennedy: "This bill does not provide a free pass to anyone. This bill does not put those who have been illegally here in the United States at the front of the line."
The legislation aims to enable undocumented workers to come forward to apply for one of two new visas - called an H-5B - for work status as a "non-immigrant."
Under this visa, they could not only work in the United States for up to six years, but also could travel abroad.
To obtain this status, workers would have to submit to fingerprinting and other background checks, pay processing fees, back taxes and a $1,000 initial fine. The worker's spouse and children also could apply.
After six years, the worker would be limited to five more years to make it through the waiting list for a green card.
To eventually apply for this permanent resident status, the worker also would have to pay an additional $1,000 fine, undergo more criminal checks and a medical exam, register for selective service, and work to become proficient in English. The spouse and children also could apply for permanent status.
The bill also would create a new temporary visa to allow foreign workers to enter the country, dubbed a H-5A visa. All applicants would have to show they had a job waiting for them and pay a fee of $500, in addition to clearing all security, medical and other checks. These visas would be "portable" to other jobs, and the total number of applicants initially would be capped at 400,000 annually. Employers who apply for foreign workers would first have to advertise those jobs on a national electronic database and give priority to U.S. workers.
Under the bill, a new visa document would be tamper-proof and include biometric information. The system would allow employers to verify electronically that a foreign worker is in the country legally and authorized to work.
Any employer who participates in the program would be required to use this system; the measure would bring stiff fines on employers knowingly violating immigration labor laws.
It also calls for a commission that would evaluate the impact of the legislation on the U.S. labor market
"We need a plan that fairly balances national security, economic reality and worker protections, and I think our bill comes pretty darn close," Flake said.
Added Kolbe: "This is a comprehensive bill that doesn't try to solve the hemorrhaging immigration problem with a Band-Aid. This is major surgery."
McCain said he was optimistic that the Bush administration would work with lawmakers on the immigration proposal and that there would be hearings on it this year.
There was no immediate reaction from Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is expected to introduce his own bill by the end of the summer to make it easier for foreigners to work in the United States temporarily. But they oppose making it easier for those who already are in the country illegally to gain permanent residence.
Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group, said, "This bill will reconcile the fact that we have hardworking immigrants already here and coming in the future, but insufficient legal channels.
"This bill gets the combination of admissions and enforcement just about right. In contrast to the status quo, it will mean honest admissions policies, tightly enforced," he said.
Randal Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits, said the nation's immigration and visa policy "must improve our nation's security, address future labor shortages through a temporary-worker program and provide a reasonable mechanism for undocumented workers already here to qualify for legal status."
"While some significant issues remain to be resolved, this legislation meets those principles," he said.
But Jack Martin, special projects director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates improved border security to stop illegal immigration, said, "There's an amnesty component to this, whether they want to call it that or not."
Reach the reporter at or at 1-(202)-906-8136.
$2,000 fine would be worth it, immigrants say
Daniel González and Chris Hawley
The ArizonaRepublic
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
Undocumented immigrants in Arizona said Thursday that they would be willing to pay back taxes and a $2,000 fine for entering the country illegally in exchange for the opportunity to apply for permanent residency.
The penalties are part of a major immigration proposal introduced Thursday by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that would give undocumented immigrants already living in the United States the opportunity to earn permanent residency over an extended period. The proposal also would open the door for more migrants in Mexico to apply for visas to work in the United States.
"In comparison with what you pay a coyote (smuggler), the $2,000 is worth it," said Jose Perea, 30. The undocumented immigrant from Mexico works in the construction industry in Phoenix.
Perea said he would have preferred to have seen an amnesty like the one Congress passed in 1986. That amnesty allowed millions of undocumented immigrants with work histories in the United States to apply for permanent residency.
But given the current anti-immigrant atmosphere in the United States, any shot at permanent residency would be welcome, Perea said.
"There are people who have already been in this country for 10, 12, 15 years working and paying taxes," Perea said. "Imagine, they are going to have to wait another 10 years. But given the current political climate, it's the best we can hope for."
Juan Lomeli, 26, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who works in the landscaping industry in Phoenix, predicted most undocumented immigrants would accept the penalties.
The legislation would allow undocumented workers with clean criminal records to apply for a six-year work visa. After that, they could apply for permanent residency, a process that could take several more years, provided they clear additional security checks, meet English proficiency requirements, pay back taxes and a $2,000 fine.
Migrants outside the country wishing to work in the United States would pay a $500 fee for a renewable three-year visa.
At Mexico City's Northern Bus Terminal, a frequent stop for people headed to the border, migrants on Thursday applauded the proposal but said they had been disappointed before.
Some said they feared long waiting lists.
"It sounds good - the only problem is, will the government comply? Look at all the people who have been trying to get papers since before Sept. 11, (2001,)" said Bonifacio Diego Octaviano, 60.
A former cook in California, he was returning to Morelos state after seven years in the United States.
Most said the $500 visa fee would be a bargain, compared with the $1,500 or $2,000 migrant smugglers are charging.
Hermenigildo Morales, 61, a legal U.S. resident, was headed back to his job pouring concrete in Bainbridge, Ga., after visiting family in Mexico City. He said many of his co-workers were undocumented immigrants who had been paying taxes for years.
"If this were passed, they'd all line up the next day at Immigration," he said.
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my gosh. when government employees and cops are arrested for drug war crimes they get special treatment:
The 16 defendants were not arrested; instead, they were allowed to appear voluntarily in court to enter guilty pleas after waiving indictment.
16 soldiers, law officers charged
FBI sting uncovers drug conspiracy
Susan Carroll and Dennis Wagner
The ArizonaRepublic
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - Sixteen current and former soldiers and law-enforcement officers were implicated Thursday in a "widespread" cocaine-trafficking conspiracy that FBI officials said will eventually bring down more public officials.
U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors would not disclose what started an undercover FBI probe in December 2001 that so far has snagged personnel from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Arizona Army National Guard, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Army, Arizona Department of Corrections and Nogales Police Department.
The first 11 defendants entered guilty pleas to conspiracy charges in Tucson federal court on Thursday in exchange for cooperating with investigators in a larger investigation that involves other agencies, including some outside Arizona, Justice Department officials said. They were released without bail pending sentencing. Five others await hearings.
Jana D. Monroe, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix field office, said the investigation is "one of the more significant" cases of public corruption in Arizona, a smuggling corridor and distribution hub for illegal drugs. The Justice Department said the defendants helped transport more than 560 kilograms of cocaine from southern Arizona to Phoenix and Las Vegas in exchange for about $220,000.
"Many individuals charged were sworn personnel having the task of protecting society and securing America's borders," she said at a news conference on Thursday morning. "The importance of these tasks cannot be overstated, and we cannot tolerate nor can the American people afford this type of corruption."
One by one, the defendants stood in the airy courtroom as Magistrate Judge Charles R. Pyle called their names. The 10 men and one woman admitted they were in a position of public trust when they agreed to transport cocaine for a drug cartel.
Working in groups of more than a dozen, according to the plea agreements, some defendants took up to $15,000 in cash payments from undercover FBI agents. Justice Department officials said they recruited new participants in exchange for extra bribes.
The soldiers and law officers carried official IDs, wore their uniforms and relied upon their "color of authority" to move the drugs, said Noel Hillman, Public Integrity Section chief for the Department of Justice.
One operation in August 2002 involved defendants decked out in military uniforms and riding in National Guard Humvees to a clandestine airfield near Benson to meet a twin-engine plane manned by undercover FBI agents, according to court records.
"Those defendants, while in full uniform, supervised the unloading of approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine from the King Air into their vehicles," according to a Justice Department account. "They then drove the cocaine to a resort hotel in Phoenix where they were met by another agent of the FBI, posing as a high-echelon narcotics trafficker, who immediately paid them off in cash."
Another operation took place in April 2002 when INS port inspector John M. Castillo, 30, allegedly waved two trucks through a Nogales border checkpoint, believing they were loaded with 80 pounds of cocaine.
The Justice Department said every defendant took part in escorting at least two drug shipments. Federal prosecutors typically file multiple felony charges in such cases, seeking severe sentences in high-volume drug cases. In this instance, the suspects face no more than five years in prison.
Prosecutors also routinely bargain with suspects, offering reduced charges for evidence and testimony against co-conspirators.
The 16 defendants were not arrested; instead, they were allowed to appear voluntarily in court to enter guilty pleas after waiving indictment. Hillman said they are cooperating fully with prosecutors and the investigation is ongoing.
More public officials are expected to be implicated, he added, some from agencies outside Arizona.
Maj. Gen. David Rataczak, adjutant general for the Arizona Army National Guard, could not be reached for comment. Maj. Eileen Bienz, a Guard spokeswoman, said military officials "have been fully cooperating with the FBI on this case" and the seven soldiers implicated are not representative of Arizona's 7,000 guard members.
Military investigations and discipline will not take place until the FBI case is completed.
Bienz said she does not know where the soldiers are stationed, but none served on the Joint Counter Narco-Terrorism Task Force.
Investigators would not say what sparked an investigation that began just three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That was a time when FBI officials in Arizona said every agent was engaged in anti-terrorism work.
Hillman said the sting's outcome does not suggest rampant corruption among law- enforcement or military personnel in Arizona. The conduct of 16 individuals out of hundreds of thousands of sworn personnel, he cautioned, is not "reflective in any way of the agencies they work for or the men and women who put their lives at risk every day."
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2 years after Saddam's fall, Iraqis are far from happy
Bassem Mroue
Associated Press
May. 13, 2005 12:00 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq - More than two years after Saddam Hussein's fall, 85 percent of Iraqis complain of frequent power outages, only 54 percent have access to clean water and almost a quarter of Iraqi children suffer from chronic malnutrition, a U.N.-Iraqi survey revealed Thursday.