FAIR

Special Edition

Quick Reference Guide

Mid-Year Look At Immigration Policy from FAIR

Now that Congress has recessed, and isn’t expected to return until September 7th, and state legislative sessions are over, FAIR is providing you a handy summary of where the immigration policy issue presently stands. As always, we will monitor goings-on and keep you updated throughout the summer recess and beyond.

Number of Illegal Aliens

13 million

Number of Jobs Presently Held by Illegal Aliens

7 million

Annual National Cost of Illegal Immigration

$113 billion
The bulk of the costs – $84 billion – are absorbed by state and local governments

Hot Issues

Amnesty, DREAM Act and in-state tuition push for illegal aliens continues
E-Verify at state level, possibly a national bill
Continued dismantling of immigration enforcement by Obama administration using prosecutorial discretion to extend administrative amnesty to large classes of illegal aliens
Feds continue to stop state efforts to enforce immigration laws

Pending Enforcement Legislation

Mandatory E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164) awaiting mark-up hearing in House Judiciary Committee. Similar, but even tougher bill, in Senate (S. 1196)
“Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” or HALT Act (H.R. 2497) – awaiting mark-up hearing in House Judiciary. If passed, would stop the administration from further abusing its authority to grant relief to illegal aliens using backdoor methods.
“Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act” or SAFE Act (H.R. 704) – passed by House Judiciary Committee. Would eliminate the “Diversity Visa” lottery
Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2011 (H.R. 1932) – grants the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to detain dangerous aliens who have been ordered deported, but cannot be removed.
Secure Visas Act (H.R. 1741) designates authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue and revoke visas; authorizes DHS to conduct on-site reviews of visa applications in high-risk countries. Passed House Judiciary Committee.
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (S. 723) – Senator Vitter’s statutory fix to the birthright citizenship issue.

Pending Amnesty Legislation

DREAM Act. New versions in both House and Senate (H.R. 1842, S. 952). Introduced in every session since 2001, recently failed to pass Senate in December 2010.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform (S. 1258) – amnesty introduced nearly every session, fails every time.

Miles of Fence Constructed

649 miles out of the 1,954 mile-long southern border is secured by fence
299 miles of vehicle barriers
350 miles of pedestrian fencing

Number of States Offering In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens

Total of 14 states have passed in-state tuition for illegal aliens
Maryland DREAM Act offering in-state tuition for illegal aliens hits a snag. Successful petition by local activists means the Maryland law is blocked pending November 2012 referendum

Deportations Stats 2009

Criminal removals 131,840
Non-criminal removals 263,325
Total Removals 395,165

Deportation Stats 2010

Criminal removals 168,532
Non-criminal removals 218,701
Total Removals 387,242

Significant State Action

Alabama: passes omnibus enforcement bill and instantly hit with DOJ lawsuit.
Georgia: passes broad new immigration enforcement legislation but has parts of the new laws blocked. Provisions allowing police to determine the immigration status of suspects and punish people who knowingly transport and harbor illegal aliens were enjoined
Indiana: passes broad new immigration enforcement legislation. However, provisions allowing state and local police to arrest illegal aliens with a deportation order and barring the acceptance of consular ID cards are temporarily blocked.
North Carolina requires the use of E-Verify by private employers with 25 or more employees, public contractors and subcontractors, counties, municipalities and state agencies.
South Carolina enacts statewide E-Verify
Tennessee requires all public and private employers, including contractors and subcontractors, to use E-Verify
Utah attempts to create own guest worker program. (No DOJ intervention here!)

Mexican Border Violence

Record 24,374 homicides in 2010 – a 23% jump from 2009, largely attributed to drug cartel violence
1,200 National Guard troops deployed on border with Mexico

Supreme Court Decisions

U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting upheld right of states to require use of E-Verify.
Sends Hazleton, Penn. case back to Circuit Court following Whiting decision
Allows California law providing illegal alien in-state tuition to stand

Other

Administration Quietly Signs Cross-Border Trucking Agreement with Mexico