The Congressional hearing roadshow is in its final week. After more than a dozen shows around the country, the stage will soon go dark...
MONDAY: In Hamilton, Montana, the hearing was convened by only two Congressman, Denny Rehberg, Montana's sole House representative and always colorfully anti-immigrant Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado. The hearing focused on how the lack of communication between federal and state agencies jeopardizes national border security. As in other hearings, almost all of the panelists worked in law or immigration enforcement and there was no contrary perspective. Congressman Rehberg apparently asked the House Majority leadership to hold a hearing be held in Montana. There could be many reasons for this: the state's long largely unprotected border with Canada or possibly the contentious election campaign for one of Montana's Senate seats. Senator Conrad Burns is considered the closest politician to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff because Burns accepted the most money from him. Burns is trying hard to distance himself from Abramoff and his party may think that riling up voters about immigration might just be one tactic.
TUESDAY: In Evansville, Indiana, some of the best speakers were actually outside the hearing. The Indy Star and the Courier Press reported that Dominican immigrant Freddy Peralta, who coordinates the Kentucky Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, gave out American flags and talked with people who were waiting in line to enter the hearings. He told the newspapers "The current immigration system is broken. It doesn't work, so people are forced to come to this country without documentation. What forces people to come here is actually the needs of the economy of the United States. You know, the jobs that are here. They come here because they are invited to work and they don't have the way of coming here legally." Well said...
Inside the hearing the same troupe of anti-immigrant think-tankers and enforcement folks spoke (by the way, what is the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies travel budget if they go to all of these hearings?). Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the only Democrat among the four congressmen at the hearing, said "We must roll up our sleeves and get to work on solving the problems created by the Bush administration instead of spreading fear of immigrants and driving further wedges between our citizens."
WEDNESDAY: In Aurora, Colorado, 300 people turned out for a hearing that was set up a little different (it was convened by the Senate Budget Committee). All of Colorado's elected officials seemed to have showed up, from Governor Bill Owens (who recently signed into law some of the harshest state-level immigration enforcement in the country), the Mayor of Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer and Colorado Senator Wayne Allard, who chaired the hearing. Tom Tancredo was conspicuously absent. There are three key electoral races for Colorado House seats in November and immigration looks like it will be a top issue.
Gabriela Flora of American Friends Service Committee, spoke to the Aurora Sentinel and criticized the hearing as a political stunt meant to garner votes for Republican candidates by stirring up anti-immigrant fervor. "To me, that's really an abuse of our taxpayer dollars and a power to use the immigration issues and immigrants as a way to gain political power," Flora said.
Much of the talk centered on the costs associated with immigration with little information on the benefits from immigrant workers. Irma Perez, who also attended the hearing, told the Rocky Mountain News that the hearing lacked information on what immigrants contribute to the country. "Instead of having statistics that compared what we get vs. what we give, they only brought up what we get," she said in Spanish. "If I buy a juice, I pay taxes. In my work, they take taxes."
FRIDAY: Stay tuned for highlights from the hearing in Dubuque, Iowa where Congress will hold the last hearing of the summer. Iowa is a state where there are two highly contested electoral races for seats in the House.
For more information on key Congressional races in November, see the National Public Radio Election Map 2006.
ACTION STEP: If you, your relatives or friends live in Montana, Indiana or Colorado, tell them to contact their Congressional representatives (202.224.3121) and express disappointment in the hearings. Tell them that the nation is tired of politicking and that they should get back to work on true immigration reform that protects the human rights of immigrants.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Texas takes the stage
On Monday, the El Paso (TX) County Commissioners passed a remarkably sensible Resolution on Immigration Reform. While it is largely symbolic, the resolution does express opposition to local law enforcement being involved in enforcing immigration law.
Among the many noteworthy points, the resolution covers the following:
- State resources should not be diverted to support policies and initiatives that tolerate or result in racial profiling in our communities.
- Erecting a wall would be a waste of money. The federal government should instead invest in secure, fast, and smart technology to allow fast movement of people and products.
- Support for a temporary worker program with the possibility for low-skilled immigrant workers to obtain a permanent residence status.
- Support fair and comprehensive immigration legislation that balances border security concerns with recognition of the U.S. demand for workers.
- Local law enforcement should not be given the powers to stop, interrogate, detain or otherwise participate in immigration enforcement activities.
- Path to citizenship, to immigrants who have paid taxes, and parented citizen children and grandchildren.
- Larger number of employment and family-based green cards to promote family unification, reduce backlogs in application processing, and that demands sensitive quotas.
- Look at technology solutions that offer low-cost alternatives to the interdiction efforts of local law enforcement that lead inevitably to racial profiling.
- Reject any action by civilians - individual or groups - who interfere with the duties of United States law enforcement officials in securing the border region.
- Reject legislation that criminalizes immigrants, their families, and the organizations that provide assistance to them
[Click here for the full text of the resolution.]
The El Paso Times called the measure "looking-good chest beating -- but more righteous pomp than anything else". Maybe so, but it's encouraging that there is a government entity, particulary a local government ALONG THE BORDER, that truly understands the complexity of the issue and respects the HUMAN rights of immigrants. Let's hope Washington can hear El Paso above the din.
A few days before, on the other side of the state in Austin, the Border Governors Conference issued a strongly worded letter to Washington calling on Congress to take action. Interestingly, they refer to the series of Congressional hearings as "[doing] little more than stir the pot of discontent." Texas governor Rick Perry summed up the letter for the Austin Statesman:"We're just saying, 'Do the job, and get it done in a timely fashion." Their letter carries as little force as El Paso's resolution. It is worth noting that each of the four governors of states along the Mexican border are up for reelection in November. Like the California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, they are all hoping that looking tough pays off.
ACTION STEP: Call the El Paso County Commissioners (915.546.2000) and thank them for their sensible resolution and national leadership on the issue of immigration reform.
To highlight this example of positive solutions to immigration refrom, send a copy of the El Paso Resolution to the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Texas Governor Rick Perry and tell them that El Paso has demonstrated true leadership on the issue.
Among the many noteworthy points, the resolution covers the following:
- State resources should not be diverted to support policies and initiatives that tolerate or result in racial profiling in our communities.
- Erecting a wall would be a waste of money. The federal government should instead invest in secure, fast, and smart technology to allow fast movement of people and products.
- Support for a temporary worker program with the possibility for low-skilled immigrant workers to obtain a permanent residence status.
- Support fair and comprehensive immigration legislation that balances border security concerns with recognition of the U.S. demand for workers.
- Local law enforcement should not be given the powers to stop, interrogate, detain or otherwise participate in immigration enforcement activities.
- Path to citizenship, to immigrants who have paid taxes, and parented citizen children and grandchildren.
- Larger number of employment and family-based green cards to promote family unification, reduce backlogs in application processing, and that demands sensitive quotas.
- Look at technology solutions that offer low-cost alternatives to the interdiction efforts of local law enforcement that lead inevitably to racial profiling.
- Reject any action by civilians - individual or groups - who interfere with the duties of United States law enforcement officials in securing the border region.
- Reject legislation that criminalizes immigrants, their families, and the organizations that provide assistance to them
[Click here for the full text of the resolution.]
The El Paso Times called the measure "looking-good chest beating -- but more righteous pomp than anything else". Maybe so, but it's encouraging that there is a government entity, particulary a local government ALONG THE BORDER, that truly understands the complexity of the issue and respects the HUMAN rights of immigrants. Let's hope Washington can hear El Paso above the din.
A few days before, on the other side of the state in Austin, the Border Governors Conference issued a strongly worded letter to Washington calling on Congress to take action. Interestingly, they refer to the series of Congressional hearings as "[doing] little more than stir the pot of discontent." Texas governor Rick Perry summed up the letter for the Austin Statesman:"We're just saying, 'Do the job, and get it done in a timely fashion." Their letter carries as little force as El Paso's resolution. It is worth noting that each of the four governors of states along the Mexican border are up for reelection in November. Like the California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, they are all hoping that looking tough pays off.
ACTION STEP: Call the El Paso County Commissioners (915.546.2000) and thank them for their sensible resolution and national leadership on the issue of immigration reform.
To highlight this example of positive solutions to immigration refrom, send a copy of the El Paso Resolution to the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Texas Governor Rick Perry and tell them that El Paso has demonstrated true leadership on the issue.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Sensenbrenner: Hearings meant "to get input from local people"
James Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and author of the draconian House immigration bill (HR 4437), was in New Hampshire last week for the latest opening of the Congressional hearing roadshow. Even though no member of the public was allowed to speak and only one of the panelists was from New Hampshire, he was quoted as saying that the hearing was mean to "to get input from local people".
Of the five Congressional representatives in attendance, two were New Hampshire Congressmen who are up for reelection: Jeb Bradley and Charlie Bass. Bass said "I have no objection to the idea that we would have the debate in Concord, New Hampshire or Concord, California or anywhere else in the United States, because it's good for America to participate in this important issue." Yet, where was the participation that he was talking about?
The other panelists were from anti-immigrant groups: the Center for Immigration Studies and 9/11 Families for a Secure America. In his testimony, Peter Gadiel, called undocumented immigrants "thieves in the night" and said that "Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime." The problem with Mr. Gadiel's analysis is that none of the 9/11 hijackers were undocumented and Mr. Sensenbrenner's proposals would only drive people further underground by making them felons.
The Associated Press (AP) took stock of all the hearings to date and noted that they have been poorly attended, not only by the public but by Congressional representatives themselves. Some of the hearings have been attended by only two or three Congressmen/Congresswomen. The national media has also had other more pressing issues to pursue (like JonBennets' killer?). AP quoted Gary Jacobson, an expert in congressional politics at the University of California, San Diego: "People don't pay attention to these things, except the C-SPAN junkies. It's not surprising that it's fizzled."
Another hearing that was scheduled for Friday in upstate New York was canceled with one week's notice. A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee told AP that logistical difficulties getting members to the meeting from a panel in Concord, NH, that took place the day before. New York immigrant rights advocates were planning on attending the hearing and were outraged at the cancellation. They held a demonstration in New York City that more than a hundred people attended. Only Spanish-language El Diario and Hoy covered the demonstration.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner considers the hearings a success and said the meetings allowed lawmakers "to hear testimony from local people, as well as to talk with them informally." It's unclear what hearings he is referencing since none of them seem to have provided this opportunity.
More hearings are scheduled this week in Montana, Indiana and Iowa. AFSC is convening a counter hearing in Aurora, Colorado.
ACTION STEPS: Contact Representative Sensenbrenner (Tel: 202.225.5101 or e-mail: sensenbrenner@mail.house.gov) and tell him that he needs to truly listen to the public about their views of immigration. Tell him the hearings were a failure because Americans who support immigrant rights and immigrants themselves were not called to testify. Tell him that you are disappointed in his leadership.
Of the five Congressional representatives in attendance, two were New Hampshire Congressmen who are up for reelection: Jeb Bradley and Charlie Bass. Bass said "I have no objection to the idea that we would have the debate in Concord, New Hampshire or Concord, California or anywhere else in the United States, because it's good for America to participate in this important issue." Yet, where was the participation that he was talking about?
The other panelists were from anti-immigrant groups: the Center for Immigration Studies and 9/11 Families for a Secure America. In his testimony, Peter Gadiel, called undocumented immigrants "thieves in the night" and said that "Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime." The problem with Mr. Gadiel's analysis is that none of the 9/11 hijackers were undocumented and Mr. Sensenbrenner's proposals would only drive people further underground by making them felons.
The Associated Press (AP) took stock of all the hearings to date and noted that they have been poorly attended, not only by the public but by Congressional representatives themselves. Some of the hearings have been attended by only two or three Congressmen/Congresswomen. The national media has also had other more pressing issues to pursue (like JonBennets' killer?). AP quoted Gary Jacobson, an expert in congressional politics at the University of California, San Diego: "People don't pay attention to these things, except the C-SPAN junkies. It's not surprising that it's fizzled."
Another hearing that was scheduled for Friday in upstate New York was canceled with one week's notice. A spokesman for the Judiciary Committee told AP that logistical difficulties getting members to the meeting from a panel in Concord, NH, that took place the day before. New York immigrant rights advocates were planning on attending the hearing and were outraged at the cancellation. They held a demonstration in New York City that more than a hundred people attended. Only Spanish-language El Diario and Hoy covered the demonstration.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner considers the hearings a success and said the meetings allowed lawmakers "to hear testimony from local people, as well as to talk with them informally." It's unclear what hearings he is referencing since none of them seem to have provided this opportunity.
More hearings are scheduled this week in Montana, Indiana and Iowa. AFSC is convening a counter hearing in Aurora, Colorado.
ACTION STEPS: Contact Representative Sensenbrenner (Tel: 202.225.5101 or e-mail: sensenbrenner@mail.house.gov) and tell him that he needs to truly listen to the public about their views of immigration. Tell him the hearings were a failure because Americans who support immigrant rights and immigrants themselves were not called to testify. Tell him that you are disappointed in his leadership.
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