Feds go after illegal workers: Firms face fines if they ignore warnings about false Social Security numbers. The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Written by Eunice Moscoso

By Eunice Moscoso Cox Washington Bureau Published on: 08/11/07

Washington —- The Bush administration on Friday announced a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, including increased fines or criminal prosecution for companies that hire illegal workers. The rules drew heavy criticism from immigrant advocates, labor unions and business groups. But they received cautious praise from conservatives, who have long advocated using existing laws to crack down on undocumented border …[Read More…from Jerry’s site….thanks Jerry!]

All, for those of you who did not read the guest column in this week’s AJC from U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, I link to it here from Jerry’s site ( thanks Jerry). Below is my letter to the editor at the AJC that is published today. I cannot say it enough, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SEND LETTERS TO EDITORS OF OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS, THE LETTERS SECTION IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS READ…OR SHOULD BE.

Specter doesn’t get it on crisis

Arlen Specter is hilarious proof – again – of the disconnect on the illegal immigration crisis between the American people and those elected to represent and protect them in Washington. He clearly does not “get it”.

Americans will never again stand quietly by while politicians reward illegal aliens with amnesty and green cards.

His clueless admission that taking the millions of illegal aliens out of ‘fugitive status’ must be the price of Congress appropriating the money to begin to secure American borders and the American workplace is astonishing. And totally un acceptable.

No one thought that Bush and those in Congress who ask “how high?” when their corporate masters say “jump” would give up on amnesty, but few thought them brazen enough to begin the warm-up process just a month after the American people made their own position so clear.

( text that was edited out of original letter to AJC, I like my version better –Most illegals could care less about American citizenship. They come for the money. Jobs that pay five times as much as at home, free education and medical care in their own language and near immunity to prosecution is understandably hard to resist. The criminal employers want the bargain priced labor at any cost…including their children’s national future.)

That Specter has been sent out to start the amnesty attempt so soon brilliantly illustrates the importance it holds to the Washington elite…the American people be damned. ( End of printed letter)

( Edtited out of original letter – This should be interesting to watch during the coming presidential campaigns…how many ways can a candidate – and an editorial page editor – be for legalization but against amnesty? We look forward to counting.)

D.A. King

King is president of the Dustin Inman Society, a Marietta -based non-profit organization actively opposed to illegal immigration.

AUDIO LINK ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG…a grin.

Lots of information in the embedded links if you have time.

Part of the story so far in Georgia and Cobb County where I haved lived for 24 years:

For those of you who still may not have heard, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (SB 529) that went into effect on July 1st requires all public employers ( this year, with over 500 employees, next year, 100, 2009 – any) to use the Basic Pilot Program to verify the eligibility to work in the United States of America – for all newly hired employees same for contractors doing business with those governments with more tha 500 employees.

It is a crime to knowingly hire illegals.

The Basic Pilot Program ( now known as Employment Eligibility Verification System- EEVS) is free and available to all employers nation wide. According to CNN about 19,ooo use it which is less than a third of 1% of the total employers.

Lou Dobbs Tonight: About 19,000 companies participate in the employment verification system, less than a third of one percent of U.S. employers. It conducts about two million social security number checks each year.

Read it here…and more.

Also, SB 529 requires all governments in Georgia to use the federal Systematic Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program to verify eligibility of all applicants age 18 and over for public benefits ( think taxpayer funded social benefits)

Cobb County (Georgia) began using both programs far earlier than required by the state law. Many local governments are not yet doing so, putting them in violation of the state law authored by Georgia state Senator Chip Rogers.

My advice…ask your (Georgia) city and county governments if they are in compliance and using these federal tools…and why not if the answer is “NO”. If you live outside Georgia, as a growing number of Dustin Inman Society supporters and friends do…ask them anyway, your governments can do the same thing with the same federal tools.

Also, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren is the first Sheriff in Georgia to begin using section 287 (g) of the 1996 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act to get the federal training to expand his existing and inherent authority to enforce immigration laws. Since beginning the effort July 1st, his office has begun deportation proceedings on nearly 50 illegal aliens who came through his jail for having been arrested for additional crimes. Jerry and friends don’t like that.

We do.

Hold on, you are going to enjoy the pay- off here, I do, and we worked very hard to make all of this happen.

About two weeks ago, the Cobb County Commission, with Chairman Sam Olens as its leader, enacted housing codes that deter multi-family boarding houses in single family homes and neighborhoods. Jerry ( and MALDEF) doesn’t like that either.

Soon, Cobb County will consider an ordinace to deter daylabor sites where illegal aliens collect to work for unreported cash payments that go unreported to that pesky IRS. ( As an American or legal resident of the U.S. – don’t try this at home, you will likely be punished)

So…Jerry was on the a local NPR station this morning whining as usual about the fact that these laws actually also apply to…illegals aliens and Latinos .

NONE of our Latino pals have any problem with this, but they are not making their living promoting and defending illegal immigration and employment.

PAYOFF: Listen to Jerry on the radio from this morning and read what he has posted on his Website. I thought you would all enjoy the grin…I did.

(Direct from Atlanta Radio WABE and GALEO)

Latino Leader Blasts Cobb Commission
Found in WABE NPR Radio
Written by Steve Goss
Posted on 2007-08-08

ATLANTA (2007-08-08) In the last several months, the Cobb County Commission has enacted legislation to limit the number of unrelated family members who can occupy a single residence, to check the legal status of foreign inmates, and to require residency checks of employees of companies doing County business.

Critics complain the ordinances are targeted at the Latino community.

Earlier, Morning host Steve Goss spoke with Jerry Gonzalez, head of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials about his views and his recent resignation from the Cobb County Hispanic/Latino Initiative. Steve first asked about the original intent of that group.

Follow this url address to listen to the interview: ( Look for ” Latino Leader Blasts Cobb Commission ” in “ALSO” list (recorded 8 August 2007)

http://www.pba.org/newsroom/atlanta_news/

Thank Cobb Chairman Sam Olens and Sheriff Warren here and here.

For those of you who have not yet heard of DIRECTO MEXICO….

See here too.

Here

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/section287g.htm

Fact Sheet ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement Website)

SECTION 287(G) IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Section 287(g) originated in the 1996 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act passed by
Congress. The initiative is designed to effectively multiply the forces of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) through enhanced cooperation and communication with state and local law
enforcement. Under 287(g), ICE provides state and local law enforcement with the training and
subsequent authorization to identify, process, and when appropriate, detain immigration offenders they
encounter during their regular, daily law-enforcement activity.

Section 287(g) is a voluntary program. Individual local or state law enforcement agencies or government
departments are free to contact ICE if they are interested in participating. Once accepted into the program,
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is created to outline the specific responsibilities and procedures
appropriate to a specific law enforcement group’s needs and capabilities. ICE develops a specialized
training course (typically five weeks) for that group focusing on immigration law, civil rights,
intercultural relations, and the issues and illegalities surrounding racial profiling. When they successfully
complete the course and pass all related examinations, the officers receive an official certification from
ICE that allows them special authorities regarding immigration violators called 287(g) authority.

After certification, ICE continues to provide supervision and support, helping officers to determine the
appropriate response once they determine a suspect to be an immigration violator.
Specific MOU’s may authorize slightly different procedures for different law enforcement entities.
Generally speaking, under 287(g) authority, when a trained and certified officer encounters, during his
regular activities, an individual who is an immigration violator, he or she may question and detain the
individual for potential removal from the United States by ICE. Particularly in cases where the individual
is deemed to be a flight risk, a repeat immigration offender, or a particular threat to local or national
security, 287(g) provides a valuable extra tool to local and state authorities.

Already 287(g) has achieved numerous successes in cooperative law enforcement. There are 62 trained
and certified officers in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and 21 in the Alabama State Police,
with 25 more slated to earn certification in ’06. Within the next few months, ICE will also be training six
L.A. County Jail Custody Assistants to process criminal aliens for removal from the U.S. while they are
in jail custody. This training is expected to take four weeks, and as with all 287(g) participants, all actions
taken by the L.A. County personnel will be supervised and reviewed by ICE officers.

While enforcing immigration law is primarily a federal responsibility, Section 287(g) provides a
mechanism for enlisting the help of state and local law enforcement entities in this effort with minimal
impact on their normal daily routines and responsibilities.

Sounds like home….Mexicans worry that Central American illegal alien “migrants” will take Mexican jobs. Hmmmm… they sound like a bunch of nativist, bigoted, xenophobic extremeists! Right Cynthia?

( If you missed my reply to Cynthia Tucker last year, I link it here.)

Migrants mistreated in Mexico, report says
Chris Hawley
Arizona Republic
Mexico City Bureau
Feb. 6, 2007

Mexico’s human rights agency has accused officials in Sonora of mistreating illegal Central American migrants, saying detainees were jammed into overcrowded cells and denied food and water for hours during a crackdown last year.

Many Mexicans empathize with these Central American travelers. But other people, especially in southern states like Chiapas, fear that Central Americans will eventually begin settling in Mexico and taking Mexicans’ jobs. They also are worried about crime brought by the Mara Salvatrucha, Central American gangsters who control the immigration routes.

On Dec. 14, new President Felipe Calderón announced expanded security measures to stem the flow of Central American migrants. They include new police task forces along the Chiapas-Guatemala border, an overhaul of Mexico’s visa program for seasonal farmworkers, and inspections to make sure Central Americans are in Mexico legally.

“I have the firm conviction that we can achieve a secure border and, at the same time, guarantee the human rights of all,” Calderón said in a speech in Chiapas.

Here in Sonora, Central American migrants are an afterthought,” said Noemi Peregrino González, director of the Nogales, Sonora, Migrant Support Committee. “There’s a lack of interest in their rights and a lack of resources to deal with them.”

READ the rest from the Arizona Republic here.
( Note- from the above linked news report: Mexico deported 179,345 people last year, most of them Central Americans. Note again from ICE stats: ICE removed more than 186,600 illegal aliens from the country in FY 2006, a record for the agency and a ten percent increase over the number of removals during the prior fiscal year…)
Finally, the U.S. has deported more people than has Mexico…the first year since I have been keeping track!

FAST FACT: IF YOU ARE AN ILLEGAL ALIEN, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH DRUG SMUGGLING! VIDEO!

Crime Without Consequence – Drug runners go free See story here.

Below, a letter to an American voter from Saxby Chambliss on the coming attempt to pass the Ag JOBS amnesty. Yikes.

I would write more, but I am going to look for Saxby’s phone number to call him, again. and remind him that if he votes for any amnesty for illegfal aliens, I will never vote for him. Ever. Found it: SENATOR SAXBY CHAMBLISS’ OFFICES PHONE NUMBERS HERE.

Dear Mrs. W*****:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your concerns about S.237, the “Agriculture Jobs Opportunity Benefits and Security Act of 2007” (AgJobs). As Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a member of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, I know that the country’s need for a secure and reliable domestic food supply is an issue of national security. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

Recently, Congress attempted to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation, but failed to do so. The AgJobs bill was a part of that legislation that failed to pass the Senate. Separately, S.237 was introduced on January 10, 2007, and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This legislation proposes a two step approach to addressing our current undocumented agricultural workforce.

First, it provides for an adjustment of status of all illegal agricultural workers currently in the United States who have worked at least 150 days in agriculture over the two year period ending December 31, 2006. If this legislation is enacted, those currently illegal workers who can prove they meet the minimum requirements will obtain a “blue card,” granting them a temporary legal status. Once they work 100 days per year for five years in agriculture or 150 days per year for three years, these “blue card” workers would be granted a green card.

The AgJobs bill also attempts to reform the H-2A program. The H-2A program is the current temporary guest worker program for agriculture. It allows an unlimited number of foreign workers to come temporarily to the United States to work on our nation’s farms and ranches. However, the program is vastly underutilized because participation in the program is time-consuming, bureaucratic, and inefficient. I do not believe the reforms in the AgJobs legislation sufficiently improve the H-2A program and therefore I do not support this legislation.

While we are a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws and those laws must be enforced. We can have meaningful reform that will not grant amnesty, that shows compassion for people who have come here for the right reasons, but at the same time provides the security on our borders that Georgians and the American people demand. I will continue to stand firm on these principals as the Senate continues to debate this vital issue.

If you would like to receive timely email alerts regarding the latest congressional actions and my weekly e-newsletter, please sign up via my website at: www.chambliss.senate.gov Please do not hesitate to be in touch if I may ever be of assistance to you.

Very truly yours,

Saxby Chambliss

Washington Times Editorial

Open-borders smear tactics

Even in the heart of “progressive” Montgomery County, a growing number of Marylanders are taking a stand against day-laborer centers for illegal aliens in their communities, and that doesn’t sit well with advocates who tend to regard any criticism of such facilities as “nativist” bigotry. The current epicenter of the battle is a half-acre parcel…

The same cannot be said for some of the other “arguments” made by illegal-alien advocates that morning. Some jeered within earshot of reporters slogans like “Minutemen, KKK, racist bigots. go away.” That sort of talk is based upon a lie: that organizations opposing illegal immigration are somehow a cabal of racists like the Ku Klux Klan. Unfortunately, there is a propaganda campaign afoot to smear anyone who is skeptical of open borders (and subsidizing with tax money organizations like CASA of Maryland which encourage violation of the law). The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a once-great organization that spent decades combatting the KKK and educating Americans about the danger posed by such violent racist groups, is spearheading this campaign.

Today the SPLC (www.splcenter.org) appears to have as its mission trashing anyone who doesn’t believe in open borders and mass amnesty. On its Web site, the group has an ongoing feature it calls “Nativist News” — click into it and it’s apparent that the aim of the site is to depict the Montgomery demonstrators who oppose CASA and conservatives like journalist John O’Sullivan and organizations like the Family Research Council (in other words, mainstream conservatives) as persons catering to bigotry because they don’t believe in open borders. This kind of guilt-by-association is contemptible, and we urge all decent people — whatever their views on illegal immigration — to make clear that there is no place for such smear tactics in Maryland.

PLEASE READ THE REST HERE!