Loopholes in the Senate Immigration Bill
To the Editor:
Just days ago the U.S. Senate abandoned its Immigration Bill. Now, thanks to the Bush Administration we are seeing pressure brought to bear on both the senate and the house to get this travesty underway once more.
Thanks to Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama we have a document detailing a minimum of 20 loopholes in the Senate Immigration Bill.
There are other lists detailing multiple loopholes but the 20 mentioned by Senator Sessions should be enough to show the tragedies that will befall the American people if this bill is passed and signed into law.
Please contact your senators and representatives and ask them not to vote in favor of the immigration bills being proposed.
In brief, the 20 loopholes as stated by Senator Sessions are:
Loophole 1: After filing an application and waiting 24 hours, illegal aliens will receive full "probationary benefits," complete with the ability to legally live and work in the U.S., travel outside of the U.S. and return, and have their own social security card.
Loophole 2: Without the U.S. VISIT exit portion, the U.S. has no method to ensure that workers (or their visiting families) do not overstay their visas. Our current illegal population contains 4 to 5.5 million visa overstays, therefore, we know that the U.S. VISIT exit component is key to a successful new temporary worker program.
Loophole 3: The "enforcement trigger" does not require the Department of Homeland Security to have detention space sufficient to end "catch and release" at the border and in the interior.
Loophole 4: Aliens who broke into the country illegally a mere 5 months ago, are treated better than foreign nationals who legally applied to come to the U.S. more than two years ago. Aliens who can prove they were illegally in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2007, are immediately eligible to apply from inside the U.S. for amnesty benefits, while foreign nationals that filed applications to come to the U.S. after May 1, 2005 must start the application process over again from their home countries.
Loophole 5: Legal status must be granted to illegal aliens 24 hours after they file an application, even if the aliens have not yet "passed all appropriate background checks." (Last year's bill gave DHS 90 days to check an alien's background before any status was granted). No legal status should be given to any illegal alien until all appropriate background checks are complete.
Loophole 6: Some aggravated felons, those who have sexually abused a minor, are eligible for amnesty. A child molester who committed the crime before the bill is enacted is not barred from getting amnesty if their conviction document omitted the age of the victim.
Loophole 7: Illegal aliens with terrorism connections are not barred from getting amnesty.
Loophole 8: Instead of ensuring that members of violent gangs such as MS 13 are deported after coming out of the shadows to apply for amnesty, the bill will allow violent gang members to get amnesty as long as they "renounce" their gang membership on their application.
Loophole 9: Aliens who have already had their day in court, those subject to final orders of removal, voluntary departure orders, or reinstatement of their final orders of removal, are eligible for amnesty under the bill.
Loophole 10: Illegal aliens are not required to demonstrate any proficiency in English for more than a decade after they are granted amnesty. Learning English is not required for an illegal alien to receive probationary benefits.
Loophole 11: Current illegal aliens and new guest workers will be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit designed to encourage American citizens and legal permanent residents to work. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this loophole will cost the U.S. taxpayer up to $20 billion dollars in just the first 10 years after the bill's enactment.
Loophole 12: Records from day-labor centers, labor unions, and "sworn declarations" from any non-relative (acquaintances, friends, coworkers, etc) are to be accepted as evidence that the illegal alien has satisfied the bill's amnesty requirements. This low burden of proof will invite fraud and more illegal immigration - even aliens who are not yet in the U.S. will likely meet this burden of proof.
Loophole 13: Free legal counsel and the fees and expenses of arbitrators will be provided to aliens that have been working illegally in agriculture. The U.S. taxpayer will fund the attorneys that help these individuals fill out their amnesty applications.
Loophole 14: In-state tuition and other higher education benefits, such as Stafford Loans, will be made available to current illegal aliens that are granted initial "probationary" status, even if the same in-state tuition rates are not offered to all U.S. citizens.
Loophole 15: The "merit system," designed to shift the U.S. green card distribution system to attract higher skilled workers that benefit the national interest, is only a shell of what it should have been. Though the merit system begins immediately, it will not increase the percentage of high skilled immigrants coming to the United States until 2016, 8 years after enactment.
Loophole 16: The new "parent" visa contained in the bill which allows parents of citizens, and the spouses and children of new temporary workers, to visit a worker in the United States is not only a misnomer, but also an invitation for high rates of visa overstays. This new visa specifically allows the spouse and children of new temporary workers who intend to abandon their residence in a foreign country, to qualify to come to the U.S. to "visit."
Loophole 17: Though the bill will eventually eliminate chain migration (relatives other than spouses and children of citizens and legal permanent residents), it will not have full effect until 2016. Until then, chain migration into the U.S. will actually triple.
Loophole 18: Last year's bill required illegal aliens to prove they had paid three of their last five years of taxes to get amnesty. This year, payment of back taxes is not required for amnesty.
Loophole 19: Aliens who came to the U.S. on legal visas, but overstayed their visas and have been working in the U.S. for years, as well as illegal aliens who apply for Z visa status but do not qualify, will be able to collect social security credits for the years they worked illegally.
Loophole 20: The criminal fines an illegal alien is required to pay to receive amnesty are less than the bill's criminal fines for paperwork violations committed by U.S. citizens, and can be paid by installment.
Russell Brown
Libby