June 23, 2007
View From Silicon Valley- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding
to your message
* * * * * * *
We received the e-mail below from California's U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in response
to comments on so-called immigration "reform," Compared to California's U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, not to mention the pro
forma blather from our Congressperson, Senator Feinstein sounds almost hawkish.
Even so, we thought it useful
to review and highlight the more egregious portions of her
response in hopes of showing this whole "reform" jihad in Congress is contrary to the interest of the average citizen. One
can only imagine these so-called leaders counted votes and calculate this legislation helps them get re-elected more than
it hurts.
Rest assured, it's only illegal immigrants being set up for special exemptions.
Any US citizens viloating US laws can count on the application of the full force and weight of law enforcement.
We
will return to our regular programming shortly...
* * * * *
Dear XXXX:
Thank you for writing to me
about the current immigration reform debate now going on in Congress.
I understand there have been mixed reactions
to the bipartisan bill that is being considered in the Senate and that there are very strong feelings about this issue. I
believe that while this bill is not perfect, it is a good compromise. (Compromise over what?
Which US laws to ignore?) The current immigration system is not working (agreed) -
our borders are broken (agreed), our national security is compromised (maybe),
and there is no feasible way to identify and deal with the 10 to 12 million undocumented people now living
in the United States. (If this is not feasible, it's only because we choose not to enforce the
law. You "deal with" this by enforcing US law.)
I have served on the Immigration Subcommittee
for over a decade, and while there have been many partial attempts to address immigration issues, (Other
than previous amnesties, can anybody name any other immigration bill in the last 20 years?) this is the first
comprehensive bill that has a chance to fix and reform the entire system. (Why doesn't "reform"
start with enforcing current laws?)
This bill is the toughest I've seen in my fifteen years as a U.S. Senator.
It adds 14,000 new border patrol agents over 5 years (you mean they won't get diverted to Iraq
this time?) , 200 immigration prosecutors, enhanced border surveillance and fencing, and detention facilities
that can house 27,500 undocumented people at a time. (Throwing more resources into current
laws seems like a reasonable start. Where are the resources to "identify and deal with" illegals already here?
As required under current law?) It creates tough new penalties for people who enter the U.S. illegally in
the future. It also cracks down on employers who hire undocumented workers - providing for employer fines of up to $75,000
per unauthorized worker. (If the fines already in place don't "work," how will bigger
fines work better?)
At the same time, the bill provides a path to legalization for the undocumented people
now living in the U.S. It is not amnesty. (Yet there is no significant penalty for having broken
the law...) It is a tough 8-year road (during which they can stay in the USA),
requiring that an undocumented person pay a $5,000 fine, return to their home country (for one day) to
file their paperwork, undergo a background check by submitting their fingerprints and biometric identifiers, and apply through
the same new merit-based point system that everyone else must use to qualify for a green card - but only after those now in
line have had their green card applications processed. (What makes you think an alleged 10 to
12 million indigent, mostly uneducated illegals, already defying the immigration system will now suddenly comply? They
already know you won't deport them. What do they have to lose by defying these new laws?)
The bill
also ends what is known as "chain migration." In the future, one immigrant can apply for green cards for their nuclear family
only, rather than for their adult children, siblings, and the spouses and children of those people. Future green cards will
be granted using a new merit-based point system - awarding points for work experience, job availability in the U.S., education,
and family. (In other words, closing one loophole in the current system? Where are
the enforcement resources? Unlike over the last 20 years, will they actually enforce the law this time?)
Finally,
the bill creates a limited guest worker program. (Are you kidding? Who will bother to
wait eight years for a green card when we already let them in for nothing?) This program will ensure that
individuals who want to come to work in the United States in the future will have a reliable and safe method to (drive down wages previously paid to US citizens, collect free education for their children, receive free
emergency room medical treatment) and that businesses can hire additional workers (collecting
these freebies) when there are no Americans to do the job (at wages illegal immigrants
are willing to accept). Having a workable temporary worker program is important to prevent future individuals
from coming to the U.S. outside of legal channels and creating a new class of illegal immigrants.
(In the real world, these laws seem likely to attract another layer of people on top of those already
here "outside of legal channels." Yielding another new class of quasi-legal immigrants...)
I believe
this bill helps restore the rule of law and provides a workable path to address the current immigration population. It is
as close as we are going to get to solving this problem. We must not refuse to act simply because it is easier to do nothing.
(Hello, enforcing current immigration laws is hardly "nothing"!)
Again,
thank you for writing. I have enclosed a copy of my floor statement on this issue for your review. I hope that you will continue
to write on matters of importance to you.
Best regards.
If interested, you can E-mail:
Dianne Feinstein:
http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.Emailme
Barbara Boxer:
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm
Find your Senator here:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
E-mail your Congressperson here: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
* * * * * *
Her office included the text of her actual sophistry in front of the Senate.
It conspicuously omits reference the large increase in H-1B visas we have seen proposed as a part to this proposal.
We will be happy to forward a copy upon request...
