(CNN) -- Thousands of demonstrators marched in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday to oppose tough anti-immigration legislation sponsored by their Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.
House Resolution 4437 would make all undocumented immigrants felons and require all employers to verify the immigration status of its employees.
The House already has passed Sensenbrenner's bill, and Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that also would make it a felony to be in the United States without the proper paperwork.
Sensenbrenner said in a statement last year that his bill would help "regain control of our borders and prevent illegal immigration" as well as "help strengthen and promote our compassionate and welcoming legal immigration system." (Watch how Democrats would prefer a more holistic approach -- 2:08)
About 30,000 protesters on Thursday marched into downtown Milwaukee as part of a demonstration titled "A Day Without Latinos" in which Latinos were encouraged to take time from their jobs to march, according to Voces de la Frontera, which organized the event. A police spokesman said the crowd was between 10,000 and 15,000.
Dozens of Milwaukee businesses also closed Thursday in protest.
"A Day Without Latinos," the theme of the Milwaukee protest, borrows its name from a 2004 comedy called "A Day Without a Mexican," in which California wakes up one day to find that its Hispanic residents have inexplicably disappeared.
The Milwaukee march was one of several recent protests organized across the nation by groups opposed to immigration bills considered by Congress.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has until Monday to vote on the competing legislation, but one Senate aide said the prospects on Senators taking action did not seem bright. The aide called negotiations in the Senate "slow going" and predicted a showdown over the bill.
Critics of the legislation say Sensenbrenner is trying to deport the 11 million to 12 million people who are in the United States illegally. Proponents say keeping tabs on immigrants is vital to national security. President Bush echoed that sentiment in comments to reporters Thursday.
"Part of enforcing our borders is to have a guest-worker program that encourages people to register their presence, so that we know who they are and says to them, 'If you're doing a job an American won't do, you're welcome here for a period of time to do that job.' "
But Democrats are saying the Frist and Sensenbrenner measures go too far, especially the provisions that threaten to criminalize anyone who helps an undocumented immigrant.
"This bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York.
The Web site for Voces de la Frontera, which in Spanish means Voices from the Border, states that in addition to turning immigrants into felons and pressuring employers, Sensenbrenner's bill also could affect immigrants' driving privileges and emergency medical care.
Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based organization focused on educating low-wage and immigrant workers about their rights, said in a statement that Sensenbrenner's bill essentially "would destroy our human dignity."
Other protests are planned in Atlanta, where an alliance of Hispanic organizations is encouraging Latino residents to participate in a commercial boycott and work stoppage Friday to demonstrate how Latinos help bolster the Georgia economy.
On Saturday more than 2,500 groups plan to participate in a rally in Los Angeles, California. The state ranks first in Hispanic population, according to the Census Bureau. Organizers are predicting that up to 500,000 people will attend, and they hope to outdo Chicago, Illinois, where an estimated 300,000 protesters demonstrated two weeks ago.
Chicago's record turnout was achieved because Sensenbrenner and Frist have introduced some of "the most restrictive immigration legislation in 70 years," said Doug Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum.
"It doesn't fix our immigration system. It only drives it underground," he said
(CNN) -- Thousands of demonstrators marched in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday to oppose tough anti-immigration legislation sponsored by their Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.
House Resolution 4437 would make all undocumented immigrants felons and require all employers to verify the immigration status of its employees.
The House already has passed Sensenbrenner's bill, and Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate that also would make it a felony to be in the United States without the proper paperwork.
Sensenbrenner said in a statement last year that his bill would help "regain control of our borders and prevent illegal immigration" as well as "help strengthen and promote our compassionate and welcoming legal immigration system." (Watch how Democrats would prefer a more holistic approach -- 2:08)
About 30,000 protesters on Thursday marched into downtown Milwaukee as part of a demonstration titled "A Day Without Latinos" in which Latinos were encouraged to take time from their jobs to march, according to Voces de la Frontera, which organized the event. A police spokesman said the crowd was between 10,000 and 15,000.
Dozens of Milwaukee businesses also closed Thursday in protest.
"A Day Without Latinos," the theme of the Milwaukee protest, borrows its name from a 2004 comedy called "A Day Without a Mexican," in which California wakes up one day to find that its Hispanic residents have inexplicably disappeared.
The Milwaukee march was one of several recent protests organized across the nation by groups opposed to immigration bills considered by Congress.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has until Monday to vote on the competing legislation, but one Senate aide said the prospects on Senators taking action did not seem bright. The aide called negotiations in the Senate "slow going" and predicted a showdown over the bill.
Critics of the legislation say Sensenbrenner is trying to deport the 11 million to 12 million people who are in the United States illegally. Proponents say keeping tabs on immigrants is vital to national security. President Bush echoed that sentiment in comments to reporters Thursday.
"Part of enforcing our borders is to have a guest-worker program that encourages people to register their presence, so that we know who they are and says to them, 'If you're doing a job an American won't do, you're welcome here for a period of time to do that job.' "
But Democrats are saying the Frist and Sensenbrenner measures go too far, especially the provisions that threaten to criminalize anyone who helps an undocumented immigrant.
"This bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York.
The Web site for Voces de la Frontera, which in Spanish means Voices from the Border, states that in addition to turning immigrants into felons and pressuring employers, Sensenbrenner's bill also could affect immigrants' driving privileges and emergency medical care.
Voces de la Frontera, a Milwaukee-based organization focused on educating low-wage and immigrant workers about their rights, said in a statement that Sensenbrenner's bill essentially "would destroy our human dignity."
Other protests are planned in Atlanta, where an alliance of Hispanic organizations is encouraging Latino residents to participate in a commercial boycott and work stoppage Friday to demonstrate how Latinos help bolster the Georgia economy.
On Saturday more than 2,500 groups plan to participate in a rally in Los Angeles, California. The state ranks first in Hispanic population, according to the Census Bureau. Organizers are predicting that up to 500,000 people will attend, and they hope to outdo Chicago, Illinois, where an estimated 300,000 protesters demonstrated two weeks ago.
Chicago's record turnout was achieved because Sensenbrenner and Frist have introduced some of "the most restrictive immigration legislation in 70 years," said Doug Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum.
"It doesn't fix our immigration system. It only drives it underground," he said
Yes you';e right. We only want everyone here legally. I don't mind who comes here legally for whatever reason. But its not happening and it's OUT OF CONTROL. We have more hit and runs now.. the largest percentage coming from unlicensed, illegal immigrant drivers. Many with fatalities. You would understand fatalities having been in Iraq. Many illegals have criminal records already before coming to our country. We have many more child sex crimes also. Not to mention the strain on our social funding and hospital emergancy rooms. We are NOT CAPABLE of handling what we have let alone more. Do you think Guatemalans are able to enter Mexico freely? Check the news for the hideous things that happen when they try. Rapes, murders, extorsion, just to name a few.
Yes you';e right. We only want everyone here legally. I don't mind who comes here legally for whatever reason. But its not happening and it's OUT OF CONTROL. We have more hit and runs now.. the largest percentage coming from unlicensed, illegal immigrant drivers. Many with fatalities. You would understand fatalities having been in Iraq. Many illegals have criminal records already before coming to our country. We have many more child sex crimes also. Not to mention the strain on our social funding and hospital emergancy rooms. We are NOT CAPABLE of handling what we have let alone more. Do you think Guatemalans are able to enter Mexico freely? Check the news for the hideous things that happen when they try. Rapes, murders, extorsion, just to name a few.
Half of California voters support Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration enforcement law, according to a new USC/Los Angeles Times poll released Tuesday.
The poll shows that 43 percent of the 1,506 poll respondents who are registered to vote oppose the new law, which is the most controversial and toughest anti-illegal immigration law in the nation. About 7 percent of respondents refused to answer or were undecided on the issue. The poll has a 2.6 percent margin of error.
A new poll shows that Californians are split on how they feel about Arizona's new immigration enforcement law. Demonstrators are seen here crossing the street during a rally by SJC Americans at the corners of Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo in San Juan Capistrano. The group was showing support for Arizona's new immigration law.
Nationally, about 60 percent favor Arizona's SB1070, according to recent polls.
The state law makes it a crime to lack immigration papers in Arizona and requires police to ask for documentation of legal status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person they stopped is in the country illegally. The law only takes place when someone is stopped on suspicion of violating another law. The law was also later amended to discourage racial profiling.
"Californian voters support the Arizona law, but not nearly by the margins we've seen in other parts of the country," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC in a written statement.
The recent poll – conducted between May 19 and 26 – found that California registered voters were markedly divided on the issue along age, ethnic, gender and party lines.
For example, Hispanic and Asian voters who were polled were sharply against the Arizona measure with 71 percent of Hispanics and 57 percent of Asians in opposition.
Locally, the law has been met with criticism and praise.
Civil rights activists say the law is too vague and will ultimately lead to racial profiling. Anti-illegal immigration activists say Arizona has a right to protect itself from human and drug smuggling from Mexico.
The Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County denounced the law, stating that it would malign people who are in the country illegally. Click here to read the story.
Santa Ana Council members denounced the law while Costa Mesa Council members supported it, passing a resolution to declare themselves a "Rule of Law City. Click here to read the story.
On Tuesday night, the Yorba Linda City Council will take up a resolution to support the law following an unsuccessful attempt by a Villa Park council member to do the same thing.
Half of California voters support Arizona's new anti-illegal immigration enforcement law, according to a new USC/Los Angeles Times poll released Tuesday.
The poll shows that 43 percent of the 1,506 poll respondents who are registered to vote oppose the new law, which is the most controversial and toughest anti-illegal immigration law in the nation. About 7 percent of respondents refused to answer or were undecided on the issue. The poll has a 2.6 percent margin of error.
A new poll shows that Californians are split on how they feel about Arizona's new immigration enforcement law. Demonstrators are seen here crossing the street during a rally by SJC Americans at the corners of Camino Capistrano and Del Obispo in San Juan Capistrano. The group was showing support for Arizona's new immigration law.
Nationally, about 60 percent favor Arizona's SB1070, according to recent polls.
The state law makes it a crime to lack immigration papers in Arizona and requires police to ask for documentation of legal status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person they stopped is in the country illegally. The law only takes place when someone is stopped on suspicion of violating another law. The law was also later amended to discourage racial profiling.
"Californian voters support the Arizona law, but not nearly by the margins we've seen in other parts of the country," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC in a written statement.
The recent poll – conducted between May 19 and 26 – found that California registered voters were markedly divided on the issue along age, ethnic, gender and party lines.
For example, Hispanic and Asian voters who were polled were sharply against the Arizona measure with 71 percent of Hispanics and 57 percent of Asians in opposition.
Locally, the law has been met with criticism and praise.
Civil rights activists say the law is too vague and will ultimately lead to racial profiling. Anti-illegal immigration activists say Arizona has a right to protect itself from human and drug smuggling from Mexico.
The Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County denounced the law, stating that it would malign people who are in the country illegally. Click here to read the story.
Santa Ana Council members denounced the law while Costa Mesa Council members supported it, passing a resolution to declare themselves a "Rule of Law City. Click here to read the story.
On Tuesday night, the Yorba Linda City Council will take up a resolution to support the law following an unsuccessful attempt by a Villa Park council member to do the same thing.
wow it's been along time since I posted this blog. And now California is in the midst of a major financial collapse. And the elections upcoming in June with the issues of immigration are more in the news than ever. I have NO problem with people who come into our country while following the rules and laws of becoming a legal citizen. Nor would I care if the illegals here now would make the concerted effort to become legal. But all others who have no respect for our laws and rules can leave as far as I'm concerned. To reward illegal behavior is wrong. To reward anyone with social funding for having children here is wrong also. You show me any other country on the planet who does that for illegals and I'll eat my hat.
And as far as Arizona laws go... good. If we have no control over our borders will the president reimburse our individual states with a bail out like he did the big 4 auto groups and Wallstreet Financial lenders???
wow it's been along time since I posted this blog. And now California is in the midst of a major financial collapse. And the elections upcoming in June with the issues of immigration are more in the news than ever. I have NO problem with people who come into our country while following the rules and laws of becoming a legal citizen. Nor would I care if the illegals here now would make the concerted effort to become legal. But all others who have no respect for our laws and rules can leave as far as I'm concerned. To reward illegal behavior is wrong. To reward anyone with social funding for having children here is wrong also. You show me any other country on the planet who does that for illegals and I'll eat my hat.
And as far as Arizona laws go... good. If we have no control over our borders will the president reimburse our individual states with a bail out like he did the big 4 auto groups and Wallstreet Financial lenders???
AND they don't know where the $'s are coming from even though they have appropriated a billion plus for it AND the fence starts probably at the Bush compound and heads west......
DAYUMM they didn't act this fast when the levy's needed rebuilding....
AND they don't know where the $'s are coming from even though they have appropriated a billion plus for it AND the fence starts probably at the Bush compound and heads west......
DAYUMM they didn't act this fast when the levy's needed rebuilding....
Well folks this has culminated in a fence going up on our borders. And I hope the people in Mexico understand that not just Mexicans come into our country through our Mexican border.
Bush signs border fence bill By Steve Holland
President George W. Bush signed legislation on Thursday to build 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border, an election-year move against illegal immigration aimed at helping Republicans.
The measure was bound to anger Mexico. Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon had said this month the move would "enormously complicate" relations with the United States.
Republicans hoped the legislation would give them an election-year boost as they try to head off a strong Democratic attempt to take control of the U.S. Congress.
"We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously," Bush said in a signing ceremony in the White House Roosevelt Room.
Bush had long opposed supporting a bill that was limited to border enforcement, spending months in a failed attempt to persuade the U.S. Congress to back a comprehensive measure that would include a guest worker program for illegal immigrants.
The Senate had approved a measure he preferred, but Republicans in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives insisted on border enforcement only, feeling election-year heat from Americans upset about the impact of illegal immigration in their states.
In his remarks, Bush insisted a guest-worker program would ease pressure along the border, and said Americans must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants already live in the United States.
"We must reduce pressure on our border by creating a temporary worker plan. Willing workers ought to be matched with willing employers to do jobs Americans are not doing on a temporary basis," he said.
The 700 miles of fencing would run along parts of four southwestern states, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The U.S.-Mexican border runs about 2,000 miles
.
The legislation did not provide funding for the fencing, but simply authorized its construction. Part of the funding for the fence, $1.2 billion, was included in a homeland security bill he signed earlier this month.
Congressional Republicans had passed the legislation weeks ago but held off sending the legislation to Bush for signing so it could be used as an election-year tool.
Democrats called the legislation a political stunt.
"By abandoning comprehensive immigration reform and embracing election-year political stunts, President Bush and Republicans in Washington have once again put the interests of their party above the interests of the American people," said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Luis Miranda.
Well folks this has culminated in a fence going up on our borders. And I hope the people in Mexico understand that not just Mexicans come into our country through our Mexican border.
Bush signs border fence bill By Steve Holland
President George W. Bush signed legislation on Thursday to build 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border, an election-year move against illegal immigration aimed at helping Republicans.
The measure was bound to anger Mexico. Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon had said this month the move would "enormously complicate" relations with the United States.
Republicans hoped the legislation would give them an election-year boost as they try to head off a strong Democratic attempt to take control of the U.S. Congress.
"We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility seriously," Bush said in a signing ceremony in the White House Roosevelt Room.
Bush had long opposed supporting a bill that was limited to border enforcement, spending months in a failed attempt to persuade the U.S. Congress to back a comprehensive measure that would include a guest worker program for illegal immigrants.
The Senate had approved a measure he preferred, but Republicans in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives insisted on border enforcement only, feeling election-year heat from Americans upset about the impact of illegal immigration in their states.
In his remarks, Bush insisted a guest-worker program would ease pressure along the border, and said Americans must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants already live in the United States.
"We must reduce pressure on our border by creating a temporary worker plan. Willing workers ought to be matched with willing employers to do jobs Americans are not doing on a temporary basis," he said.
The 700 miles of fencing would run along parts of four southwestern states, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The U.S.-Mexican border runs about 2,000 miles
.
The legislation did not provide funding for the fencing, but simply authorized its construction. Part of the funding for the fence, $1.2 billion, was included in a homeland security bill he signed earlier this month.
Congressional Republicans had passed the legislation weeks ago but held off sending the legislation to Bush for signing so it could be used as an election-year tool.
Democrats called the legislation a political stunt.
"By abandoning comprehensive immigration reform and embracing election-year political stunts, President Bush and Republicans in Washington have once again put the interests of their party above the interests of the American people," said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Luis Miranda.
Congress Split over Immigration Revamp by Maria Godoy
Alex Wong Sheriffa Ousman and her husband, Sabeel of Georgia, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, take part in a citizenship ceremony with other immigrants, May 22, 2006, in Mount Vernon, Va. Getty Images
After weeks of emotional and often divisive debate, the Senate has approved the biggest overhaul of U.S. immigration policy in two decades.
But the battle isn't over: Senators face a difficult negotiation process with their counterparts in the House, who've taken a sharply different approach to immigration. The Senate legislation calls for tighter border security but also provides a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. In contrast, the bill passed by the House in December focuses exclusively on border security and enforcement.
Below, a comparison of the two bills:
BORDER FENCING
House: Calls for the construction of reinforced fencing of at least two layers along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico. That's equivalent to the distance from Atlanta to Chicago. The fence would run across parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Senate: Calls for the construction of about 370 miles of reinforced, triple-layer border fencing. Also adds 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern U.S. border.
GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM
House: Has no provisions for a guest-worker program.
Senate: Allows up to 200,000 foreign workers to apply for U.S. guest-worker permits each year. Guest workers would receive an initial three-year visa, with the ability to extend the visa once for another three-year period. After four years, foreign workers would be able to apply for permanent U.S. residence.
WORKPLACE ENFORCEMENT
House: Requires employers to use an electronic verification system to screen employees' Social Security and foreign identification numbers with the Department of Homeland Security. Requires the system to be in place within three to six years. Imposes fines of up to $40,000 on those who hire undocumented workers.
Senate: Also requires employers to screen all new hires against an electronic verification system. Mandates that the system be in use 18 months after Congress funds it, and that workers' information be submitted within three days of their hire. Fines employers up to $20,000 for each illegal immigrant they hire. Authorizes hiring 10,000 agents to enforce workplace rules.
CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL STATUS
House: Makes it a felony to live illegally in the United States. Also mandates criminal penalties for those who help illegal immigrants enter or stay in the country. Requires new immigrants to clear background checks for prior criminal records, links to terrorism and prior use of fraudulent documents before they are granted legal status. Allows deportation of any illegal immigrant convicted of driving under the influence.
Senate: Makes it a criminal misdemeanor to have entered the country illegally; however, those who have overstayed their visas are not subject to misdemeanor charges. Mandates penalties for smuggling illegal immigrants, but allows for exceptions for those who offer "humanitarian" aid to undocumented aliens. Provides for immediate deportation of immigrants -- legal or illegal -- who are convicted of a felony or of three misdemeanors unrelated to their residency status. Permanently bars those convicted from applying to the guest-worker program or other paths to U.S. citizenship. Allows immigrants facing court-ordered deportation because of immigration-related violations the chance to appeal.
PATHS TO LEGALIZATION (EARNED ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS)
House: Makes no provisions for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
Senate: Classifies illegal immigrants into three groups:
-- Those in the United States for less than two years would be deported.
-- Those in the U.S. between two and five years would need to register with the Department of Homeland Security, leave the country and return through a port of entry before applying for legal status. They would eligible for U.S. citizenship in about 13 to 15 years.
-- Those in the U.S. longer than five years would be allowed to stay in the United States while they apply for legal status. This last group would need to work in the country six more years, pay back taxes, learn English and U.S. civics, pass a background check and pay a fine.
Makes farmworkers eligible for legal status, provided they can prove they've been working in agriculture for at least 863 hours or 150 work days during the 24-month period ending Dec. 31, 2005. Over the next five years, up to 1.5 million farmworkers would be eligible for legalization under this provision.
GREEN CARDS
House: Does not address "green cards," which give immigrants legal permanent residency.
Senate: Caps the number of green cards available to immigrants and their family members each year at 690,000. That figure does not include the farmworkers and undocumented aliens who would be eligible for legalization under the "earned adjustment of status" provisions of the bill.
Congress Split over Immigration Revamp by Maria Godoy
Alex Wong Sheriffa Ousman and her husband, Sabeel of Georgia, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, take part in a citizenship ceremony with other immigrants, May 22, 2006, in Mount Vernon, Va. Getty Images
After weeks of emotional and often divisive debate, the Senate has approved the biggest overhaul of U.S. immigration policy in two decades.
But the battle isn't over: Senators face a difficult negotiation process with their counterparts in the House, who've taken a sharply different approach to immigration. The Senate legislation calls for tighter border security but also provides a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. In contrast, the bill passed by the House in December focuses exclusively on border security and enforcement.
Below, a comparison of the two bills:
BORDER FENCING
House: Calls for the construction of reinforced fencing of at least two layers along 700 miles of the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico. That's equivalent to the distance from Atlanta to Chicago. The fence would run across parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Senate: Calls for the construction of about 370 miles of reinforced, triple-layer border fencing. Also adds 500 miles of vehicle barriers along the southern U.S. border.
GUEST-WORKER PROGRAM
House: Has no provisions for a guest-worker program.
Senate: Allows up to 200,000 foreign workers to apply for U.S. guest-worker permits each year. Guest workers would receive an initial three-year visa, with the ability to extend the visa once for another three-year period. After four years, foreign workers would be able to apply for permanent U.S. residence.
WORKPLACE ENFORCEMENT
House: Requires employers to use an electronic verification system to screen employees' Social Security and foreign identification numbers with the Department of Homeland Security. Requires the system to be in place within three to six years. Imposes fines of up to $40,000 on those who hire undocumented workers.
Senate: Also requires employers to screen all new hires against an electronic verification system. Mandates that the system be in use 18 months after Congress funds it, and that workers' information be submitted within three days of their hire. Fines employers up to $20,000 for each illegal immigrant they hire. Authorizes hiring 10,000 agents to enforce workplace rules.
CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL STATUS
House: Makes it a felony to live illegally in the United States. Also mandates criminal penalties for those who help illegal immigrants enter or stay in the country. Requires new immigrants to clear background checks for prior criminal records, links to terrorism and prior use of fraudulent documents before they are granted legal status. Allows deportation of any illegal immigrant convicted of driving under the influence.
Senate: Makes it a criminal misdemeanor to have entered the country illegally; however, those who have overstayed their visas are not subject to misdemeanor charges. Mandates penalties for smuggling illegal immigrants, but allows for exceptions for those who offer "humanitarian" aid to undocumented aliens. Provides for immediate deportation of immigrants -- legal or illegal -- who are convicted of a felony or of three misdemeanors unrelated to their residency status. Permanently bars those convicted from applying to the guest-worker program or other paths to U.S. citizenship. Allows immigrants facing court-ordered deportation because of immigration-related violations the chance to appeal.
PATHS TO LEGALIZATION (EARNED ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS)
House: Makes no provisions for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
Senate: Classifies illegal immigrants into three groups:
-- Those in the United States for less than two years would be deported.
-- Those in the U.S. between two and five years would need to register with the Department of Homeland Security, leave the country and return through a port of entry before applying for legal status. They would eligible for U.S. citizenship in about 13 to 15 years.
-- Those in the U.S. longer than five years would be allowed to stay in the United States while they apply for legal status. This last group would need to work in the country six more years, pay back taxes, learn English and U.S. civics, pass a background check and pay a fine.
Makes farmworkers eligible for legal status, provided they can prove they've been working in agriculture for at least 863 hours or 150 work days during the 24-month period ending Dec. 31, 2005. Over the next five years, up to 1.5 million farmworkers would be eligible for legalization under this provision.
GREEN CARDS
House: Does not address "green cards," which give immigrants legal permanent residency.
Senate: Caps the number of green cards available to immigrants and their family members each year at 690,000. That figure does not include the farmworkers and undocumented aliens who would be eligible for legalization under the "earned adjustment of status" provisions of the bill.
MEXICO CITY - If Arnold Schwarzenegger had migrated to Mexico instead of the United States, he couldn't be a governor. If Argentina native Sergio Villanueva, firefighter hero of the Sept. 11 attacks, had moved to Tecate instead of New York, he wouldn't have been allowed on the force.
Even as Mexico presses the United States to grant unrestricted citizenship to millions of undocumented Mexican migrants, its officials at times calling U.S. policies "xenophobic," Mexico places daunting limitations on anyone born outside its territory.
In the United States, only two posts ? the presidency and vice presidency ? are reserved for the native born.
In Mexico, non-natives are banned from those and thousands of other jobs, even if they are legal, naturalized citizens.
Foreign-born Mexicans can't hold seats in either house of the congress. They're also banned from state legislatures, the Supreme Court and all governorships. Many states ban foreign-born Mexicans from spots on town councils. And Mexico's Constitution reserves almost all federal posts, and any position in the military and merchant marine, for "native-born Mexicans."
Recently the Mexican government has gone even further. Since at least 2003, it has encouraged cities to ban non-natives from such local jobs as firefighters, police and judges.
Mexico's Interior Department ? which recommended the bans as part of "model" city statutes it distributed to local officials ? could cite no basis for extending the bans to local posts.
After being contacted by The Associated Press about the issue, officials changed the wording in two statutes to delete the "native-born" requirements, although they said the modifications had nothing to do with AP's inquiries.
"These statutes have been under review for some time, and they have, or are about to be, changed," said an Interior Department official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
But because the "model" statues are fill-in-the-blanks guides for framing local legislation, many cities across Mexico have already enacted such bans. They have done so even though foreigners constitute a tiny percentage of the population and pose little threat to Mexico's job market.
The foreign-born make up just 0.5 percent of Mexico's 105 million people, compared with about 13 percent in the United States, which has a total population of 299 million. Mexico grants citizenship to about 3,000 people a year, compared to the U.S. average of almost a half million.
"There is a need for a little more openness, both at the policy level and in business affairs," said David Kim, president of the Mexico-Korea Association, which represents the estimated 20,000 South Koreans in Mexico, many of them naturalized citizens.
"The immigration laws are very difficult ... and they put obstacles in the way that make it more difficult to compete," Kim said, although most foreigners don't come to Mexico seeking government posts.
J. Michael Waller, of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, was more blunt. "If American policy-makers are looking for legal models on which to base new laws restricting immigration and expelling foreign lawbreakers, they have a handy guide: the Mexican constitution," he said in a recent article on immigration.
Some Mexicans agree their country needs to change.
"This country needs to be more open," said Francisco Hidalgo, a 50-year-old video producer. "In part to modernize itself, and in part because of the contribution these (foreign-born) people could make."
Others express a more common view, a distrust of foreigners that academics say is rooted in Mexico's history of foreign invasions and the loss of territory in the 1847-48 Mexican-American War.
Speaking of the hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who enter Mexico each year, chauffeur Arnulfo Hernandez, 57, said: "The ones who want to reach the United States, we should send them up there. But the ones who want to stay here, it's usually for bad reasons, because they want to steal or do drugs."
Some say progress is being made. Mexico's president no longer is required to be at least a second-generation native-born. That law was changed in 1999 to clear the way for candidates who have one foreign-born parent, like President Vicente Fox, whose mother is from Spain.
But the pace of change is slow. The state of Baja California still requires candidates for the state legislature to prove both their parents were native born.
Mexico Works to Bar Non-Natives From Jobs
MEXICO CITY - If Arnold Schwarzenegger had migrated to Mexico instead of the United States, he couldn't be a governor. If Argentina native Sergio Villanueva, firefighter hero of the Sept. 11 attacks, had moved to Tecate instead of New York, he wouldn't have been allowed on the force.
Even as Mexico presses the United States to grant unrestricted citizenship to millions of undocumented Mexican migrants, its officials at times calling U.S. policies "xenophobic," Mexico places daunting limitations on anyone born outside its territory.
In the United States, only two posts ? the presidency and vice presidency ? are reserved for the native born.
In Mexico, non-natives are banned from those and thousands of other jobs, even if they are legal, naturalized citizens.
Foreign-born Mexicans can't hold seats in either house of the congress. They're also banned from state legislatures, the Supreme Court and all governorships. Many states ban foreign-born Mexicans from spots on town councils. And Mexico's Constitution reserves almost all federal posts, and any position in the military and merchant marine, for "native-born Mexicans."
Recently the Mexican government has gone even further. Since at least 2003, it has encouraged cities to ban non-natives from such local jobs as firefighters, police and judges.
Mexico's Interior Department ? which recommended the bans as part of "model" city statutes it distributed to local officials ? could cite no basis for extending the bans to local posts.
After being contacted by The Associated Press about the issue, officials changed the wording in two statutes to delete the "native-born" requirements, although they said the modifications had nothing to do with AP's inquiries.
"These statutes have been under review for some time, and they have, or are about to be, changed," said an Interior Department official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name.
But because the "model" statues are fill-in-the-blanks guides for framing local legislation, many cities across Mexico have already enacted such bans. They have done so even though foreigners constitute a tiny percentage of the population and pose little threat to Mexico's job market.
The foreign-born make up just 0.5 percent of Mexico's 105 million people, compared with about 13 percent in the United States, which has a total population of 299 million. Mexico grants citizenship to about 3,000 people a year, compared to the U.S. average of almost a half million.
"There is a need for a little more openness, both at the policy level and in business affairs," said David Kim, president of the Mexico-Korea Association, which represents the estimated 20,000 South Koreans in Mexico, many of them naturalized citizens.
"The immigration laws are very difficult ... and they put obstacles in the way that make it more difficult to compete," Kim said, although most foreigners don't come to Mexico seeking government posts.
J. Michael Waller, of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, was more blunt. "If American policy-makers are looking for legal models on which to base new laws restricting immigration and expelling foreign lawbreakers, they have a handy guide: the Mexican constitution," he said in a recent article on immigration.
Some Mexicans agree their country needs to change.
"This country needs to be more open," said Francisco Hidalgo, a 50-year-old video producer. "In part to modernize itself, and in part because of the contribution these (foreign-born) people could make."
Others express a more common view, a distrust of foreigners that academics say is rooted in Mexico's history of foreign invasions and the loss of territory in the 1847-48 Mexican-American War.
Speaking of the hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who enter Mexico each year, chauffeur Arnulfo Hernandez, 57, said: "The ones who want to reach the United States, we should send them up there. But the ones who want to stay here, it's usually for bad reasons, because they want to steal or do drugs."
Some say progress is being made. Mexico's president no longer is required to be at least a second-generation native-born. That law was changed in 1999 to clear the way for candidates who have one foreign-born parent, like President Vicente Fox, whose mother is from Spain.
But the pace of change is slow. The state of Baja California still requires candidates for the state legislature to prove both their parents were native born.
At Unforgiving Arizona-Mexico Border, Tide of Desperation Is Overwhelming
ARIVACA, Ariz., May 18 ? All the talk in Washington about putting walls and soldiers along the border with Mexico did not stop Miguel Espindola from trying to cross the most inhospitable part of it this week with his wife and two small children.
Their 6-year-old daughter, Karla, clutched her mother's back pocket with one hand and a bottle of Gatorade with the other as the family set out across the Sonora Desert on Thursday. Miguelito, 7, lugged a backpack that seemed to weigh almost as much as he did.
"Yes, there is risk, but there is also need," said Mr. Espindola, explaining why he had brought his children on a journey that killed 464 immigrants last year, and a 3-year-old boy this week.
Looking out at the vast parched landscape ahead, Mr. Espindola, a coffee farmer, talked about the poverty he had left behind, and said: "Our damned government forces us to leave our country because it does not give us good salaries. The United States forces us to go this way."
Here at ground zero for the world's largest and longest wave of illegal migration, about the only thing that is clear is that easy answers do not apply. During a drive along a narrow highway that runs parallel to the line, it is hard to see how increased law enforcement and advanced technologies will stop an exodus made up predominantly of Mexicans willing to risk everything.
Meanwhile, it becomes easier to understand the conflicting attitudes about migrants that have not only strained relations between the United States and its neighbors to the south, but also tested America's identity as a melting pot.
In the last five years, Arizona has become the principal, and deadliest, gateway for illegal migrants. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 1.5 million people captured for illegally crossing the border last year, and nearly half the migrants who died, according to the United States Border Patrol.
Those figures have inspired competing responses.
After the 3-year-old boy was found dead this week in the desert, some local law enforcement authorities called for charging his mother, Edith Rodriguez Reyes, with reckless endangerment. The authorities at the Mexican consulate here said Ms. Rodriguez was a victim of smugglers and demanded that she be released.
The mesquite-covered landscape here was a base for the Minuteman militias, who have threatened to take the law into their own hands in defense of America's southern border.
It is also home to so-called border Samaritans, who scour the desert in search of migrants in distress to deliver water, medical attention and, sometimes, advice on how to avoid detention.
"This is a token deployment of unarmed and grossly inadequate numbers of National Guardsmen," a Minuteman spokeswoman, Connie Hair, told The Arizona Daily Star. Ms. Hair said the troops would be placed in the "same demoralizing position as the Border Patrol, outmanned and outgunned against international crime cartels."
Jim Walsh, a volunteer with the Samaritans, was not optimistic either, but for different reasons. "With this president and this Congress," he said, "it's not going to be too humane."
Worried about the enormous drain on taxpayers, voters here passed a ballot initiative intended to limit immigrants' access to public services. Meanwhile, economists like Marshall Vest at the University of Arizona said the illegal immigrants were an important source of labor for the booming construction and tourism industries that had helped make Arizona the second-fastest growing state, after Nevada.
When Mr. Bush deploys an estimated 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, it is expected that most will be sent here in an effort to seal off the desert. So this is likely to be the place where the successes and failures of the policy will unfold.
Arizona has been hurt by "bad immigration policies," said Laura Briggs, an associate professor of women's studies at the University of Arizona, and a member of the border Samaritans. "There is a long tradition of hospitality in the borderlands, and this rising death toll is stressing everybody out."
Those conflicting interests, and growing frustrations, come to life on Arivaca Road, which runs about 14 miles west of Interstate 19, on the way to Sasabe, Mexico.
Once a bucolic settlement of horse and cattle ranchers, the area around the highway has been overrun, according to residents, by illegal immigrants who move in groups of up to 80 at a time, and up to a thousand a day in the peak winter season. Residents must also contend with the buzz of Border Patrol agents in trucks and helicopters.
Frank Ormsby, a rancher, and his brother, Lloyd, said that after living for more than a decade in the middle of the buildup of the Border Patrol and the growing waves of immigrants, they were just plain sick of all of it. There are more backpacks littering the desert than rocks, they said, and enough money is being spent on equipment for the Border Patrol to rebuild New Orleans.
To them, illegal immigration is a huge business managed by powerful interests to make money and political careers. Among the beneficiaries, Frank Ormsby said, were immigrant smugglers, whose fortunes increased every time a new law enforcement effort was announced, and the Border Patrol, whose budget has increased fivefold in 10 years.
"There are so many agents they could stand hand-in-hand across the border and stop illegal immigrants if they really wanted to," said Mr. Ormsby from beneath a wide black cowboy hat. "The money we are spending on the Border Patrol, in gas, in equipment, in technology, what do we have to show for it?"
"I see so much waste," he added. "Ray Charles could see it."
A couple miles down the road, two sunburned men, their clothes tattered and their lips severely chapped, look the image of needy. Ra?l Calder?n, 60, and his 22-year-old son Samuel, had been walking in the desert heat for four days.
Natives of the western Mexican state of Michoac?n, they said they had been abandoned by the smuggler ? known among immigrants here as "coyotes" ? they had hired on the second day of their journey.
On the third night, the men said, they lost track of the 10 other people traveling with them in the darkness. And by the fourth morning, they had run out of food and water.
"Our government has forgotten about us," the father said. Then nodding toward his son, he added, "Each generation stays as poor as the last."
Mr. Calder?n said his native town of Churintzio had been nearly emptied by migration to the United States. He himself had gone back and forth across the border for much of the last two decades. But he said he had spent the last five years in Mexico, trying to start his own restaurant.
His son, on the other hand, had made enough money working in restaurants between San Antonio and Corpus Christi to return to Michoac?n and build a home. Now the two of them were off to the United States again to seek more work, this time in California.
Mr. Calder?n said he had heard that President Bush "is going to give work permits, and so I have come to get one."
He would not, however, get one this day. Border Patrol helicopters buzzed overhead. A few minutes later came the trucks. And without much of an exchange, Mr. Calder?n and his son were taken away.
"It's like saying we're going to stop crime," said a Border Patrol spokesman, Gustavo Soto, when asked whether the presence of the Guard would stop undocumented immigrants from coming. "It's hard to say that we will be able to stop all people from coming across the border. But we can achieve better control."
On the Mexican side of the border, Mexican immigration agents said they felt helpless in stopping the immigrants, even though the law prohibits citizens from leaving through unofficial ports.
Hundreds of people, carrying backpacks and gallon jugs of water, filed into the desert on Thursday. Among them, were Karla and Miguelito, neither one of them more than four feet tall.
In a speech cut short so that the migrants could be on their way before sundown, Mario L?pez, an agent in Grupo Beta, a Mexican government agency that seeks to protect the migrants, advised the men, women and children about the dangers of their illegal journey and advised them of their rights in case they were apprehended by the Border Patrol.
"This is a sad reality," he said. "We hate to see our people leaving this way. But what can we do, except wish them luck."
Bush Presses for Legislation
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) ? President Bush on Saturday again encouraged the Senate to pass an immigration overhaul bill before its Memorial Day break.
Mr. Bush used his weekly radio address to increase pressure on senators debating legislation that couples tighter border controls with a guest-worker program and gives a path to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.
"The House started the debate by passing an immigration bill," Mr. Bush said. "Now the Senate should act by the end of this month, so we can work out the differences between the two bills and Congress can pass a bill for me to sign into law."
At Unforgiving Arizona-Mexico Border, Tide of Desperation Is Overwhelming
ARIVACA, Ariz., May 18 ? All the talk in Washington about putting walls and soldiers along the border with Mexico did not stop Miguel Espindola from trying to cross the most inhospitable part of it this week with his wife and two small children.
Their 6-year-old daughter, Karla, clutched her mother's back pocket with one hand and a bottle of Gatorade with the other as the family set out across the Sonora Desert on Thursday. Miguelito, 7, lugged a backpack that seemed to weigh almost as much as he did.
"Yes, there is risk, but there is also need," said Mr. Espindola, explaining why he had brought his children on a journey that killed 464 immigrants last year, and a 3-year-old boy this week.
Looking out at the vast parched landscape ahead, Mr. Espindola, a coffee farmer, talked about the poverty he had left behind, and said: "Our damned government forces us to leave our country because it does not give us good salaries. The United States forces us to go this way."
Here at ground zero for the world's largest and longest wave of illegal migration, about the only thing that is clear is that easy answers do not apply. During a drive along a narrow highway that runs parallel to the line, it is hard to see how increased law enforcement and advanced technologies will stop an exodus made up predominantly of Mexicans willing to risk everything.
Meanwhile, it becomes easier to understand the conflicting attitudes about migrants that have not only strained relations between the United States and its neighbors to the south, but also tested America's identity as a melting pot.
In the last five years, Arizona has become the principal, and deadliest, gateway for illegal migrants. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 1.5 million people captured for illegally crossing the border last year, and nearly half the migrants who died, according to the United States Border Patrol.
Those figures have inspired competing responses.
After the 3-year-old boy was found dead this week in the desert, some local law enforcement authorities called for charging his mother, Edith Rodriguez Reyes, with reckless endangerment. The authorities at the Mexican consulate here said Ms. Rodriguez was a victim of smugglers and demanded that she be released.
The mesquite-covered landscape here was a base for the Minuteman militias, who have threatened to take the law into their own hands in defense of America's southern border.
It is also home to so-called border Samaritans, who scour the desert in search of migrants in distress to deliver water, medical attention and, sometimes, advice on how to avoid detention.
"This is a token deployment of unarmed and grossly inadequate numbers of National Guardsmen," a Minuteman spokeswoman, Connie Hair, told The Arizona Daily Star. Ms. Hair said the troops would be placed in the "same demoralizing position as the Border Patrol, outmanned and outgunned against international crime cartels."
Jim Walsh, a volunteer with the Samaritans, was not optimistic either, but for different reasons. "With this president and this Congress," he said, "it's not going to be too humane."
Worried about the enormous drain on taxpayers, voters here passed a ballot initiative intended to limit immigrants' access to public services. Meanwhile, economists like Marshall Vest at the University of Arizona said the illegal immigrants were an important source of labor for the booming construction and tourism industries that had helped make Arizona the second-fastest growing state, after Nevada.
When Mr. Bush deploys an estimated 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, it is expected that most will be sent here in an effort to seal off the desert. So this is likely to be the place where the successes and failures of the policy will unfold.
Arizona has been hurt by "bad immigration policies," said Laura Briggs, an associate professor of women's studies at the University of Arizona, and a member of the border Samaritans. "There is a long tradition of hospitality in the borderlands, and this rising death toll is stressing everybody out."
Those conflicting interests, and growing frustrations, come to life on Arivaca Road, which runs about 14 miles west of Interstate 19, on the way to Sasabe, Mexico.
Once a bucolic settlement of horse and cattle ranchers, the area around the highway has been overrun, according to residents, by illegal immigrants who move in groups of up to 80 at a time, and up to a thousand a day in the peak winter season. Residents must also contend with the buzz of Border Patrol agents in trucks and helicopters.
Frank Ormsby, a rancher, and his brother, Lloyd, said that after living for more than a decade in the middle of the buildup of the Border Patrol and the growing waves of immigrants, they were just plain sick of all of it. There are more backpacks littering the desert than rocks, they said, and enough money is being spent on equipment for the Border Patrol to rebuild New Orleans.
To them, illegal immigration is a huge business managed by powerful interests to make money and political careers. Among the beneficiaries, Frank Ormsby said, were immigrant smugglers, whose fortunes increased every time a new law enforcement effort was announced, and the Border Patrol, whose budget has increased fivefold in 10 years.
"There are so many agents they could stand hand-in-hand across the border and stop illegal immigrants if they really wanted to," said Mr. Ormsby from beneath a wide black cowboy hat. "The money we are spending on the Border Patrol, in gas, in equipment, in technology, what do we have to show for it?"
"I see so much waste," he added. "Ray Charles could see it."
A couple miles down the road, two sunburned men, their clothes tattered and their lips severely chapped, look the image of needy. Ra?l Calder?n, 60, and his 22-year-old son Samuel, had been walking in the desert heat for four days.
Natives of the western Mexican state of Michoac?n, they said they had been abandoned by the smuggler ? known among immigrants here as "coyotes" ? they had hired on the second day of their journey.
On the third night, the men said, they lost track of the 10 other people traveling with them in the darkness. And by the fourth morning, they had run out of food and water.
"Our government has forgotten about us," the father said. Then nodding toward his son, he added, "Each generation stays as poor as the last."
Mr. Calder?n said his native town of Churintzio had been nearly emptied by migration to the United States. He himself had gone back and forth across the border for much of the last two decades. But he said he had spent the last five years in Mexico, trying to start his own restaurant.
His son, on the other hand, had made enough money working in restaurants between San Antonio and Corpus Christi to return to Michoac?n and build a home. Now the two of them were off to the United States again to seek more work, this time in California.
Mr. Calder?n said he had heard that President Bush "is going to give work permits, and so I have come to get one."
He would not, however, get one this day. Border Patrol helicopters buzzed overhead. A few minutes later came the trucks. And without much of an exchange, Mr. Calder?n and his son were taken away.
"It's like saying we're going to stop crime," said a Border Patrol spokesman, Gustavo Soto, when asked whether the presence of the Guard would stop undocumented immigrants from coming. "It's hard to say that we will be able to stop all people from coming across the border. But we can achieve better control."
On the Mexican side of the border, Mexican immigration agents said they felt helpless in stopping the immigrants, even though the law prohibits citizens from leaving through unofficial ports.
Hundreds of people, carrying backpacks and gallon jugs of water, filed into the desert on Thursday. Among them, were Karla and Miguelito, neither one of them more than four feet tall.
In a speech cut short so that the migrants could be on their way before sundown, Mario L?pez, an agent in Grupo Beta, a Mexican government agency that seeks to protect the migrants, advised the men, women and children about the dangers of their illegal journey and advised them of their rights in case they were apprehended by the Border Patrol.
"This is a sad reality," he said. "We hate to see our people leaving this way. But what can we do, except wish them luck."
Bush Presses for Legislation
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) ? President Bush on Saturday again encouraged the Senate to pass an immigration overhaul bill before its Memorial Day break.
Mr. Bush used his weekly radio address to increase pressure on senators debating legislation that couples tighter border controls with a guest-worker program and gives a path to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants.
"The House started the debate by passing an immigration bill," Mr. Bush said. "Now the Senate should act by the end of this month, so we can work out the differences between the two bills and Congress can pass a bill for me to sign into law."
Analysis: Immigration Bill All but Assured By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent Fri May 12, 12:46 AM ET
After months of partisan maneuvering, Senate passage of sweeping immigration legislation is virtually assured by Memorial Day. But that scarcely ends the struggle in Congress, given the vast differences between President Bush and House Republicans over the fate of millions of illegal immigrants.
The substance of the Senate bill is unlikely to change significantly from the measure that was stuck in gridlock more than a month ago. It includes additional border security, a new guest worker program and provisions opening the way to eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
What changed was that after weeks of exchanging insults, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed on a procedural compromise that gives the bill's critics ample opportunity to offer amendments. It also offers assurances to Democrats that Senate negotiators will not simply capitulate to demands of House conservatives in talks on compromise legislation later in the year.
However briefly, nearly everyone seemed pleased.
"We congratulate the Senate on reaching agreement and we look forward to passage of a bill prior to Memorial Day," said Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary. Reid and Frist exchanged compliments on the Senate floor. Mexico's foreign secretary said in a statement that the deal was a "positive step toward the approval of a migration accord."
Everyone but House Republicans, many of whom criticize the Senate's bill as an amnesty measure. And possibly House Democrats, who, ironically enough, seem to share the White House view of the political implications of immigration. They are eager to campaign against Republicans responsible for last year's bill to make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges.
Looking ahead, the White House is searching for ways to assure conservatives that Bush understands their concerns. White House strategist Karl Rove met with lawmakers earlier in the week, and at least one session included a discussion about making greater use of National Guard troops to shore up border security.
"Nobody is suggesting that we put troops on the border," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., who attended the session. "We are suggesting there are plenty of resources in the government" to increase border security, at least in an interim period while provisions in the pending legislation take hold, he said.
"The National Guard can in some cases help do that," he added. Other lawmakers said they expected Bush to announce border security improvements next week, possibly in a speech in Arizona or another border states.
The differences between Bush and House Republicans flared dramatically when the Senate appeared on the verge of agreement on a comprehensive bill several weeks ago. Several GOP conservatives denounced the bill as an amnesty measure and Rep. Steve King (news, bio, voting record) of Iowa said anyone who voted for it should be "branded with a scarlet letter A."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., offered his view of the importance of immigrant labor: "I say let the prisoners pick the fruits."
In political terms, Rep. J.D. Hayworth (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona and others said Republicans would pay a price in the midterm elections if they vote for anything like the Senate legislation. "Many of those who have stood for the Republican Party for the last decade are not only angry. They will be absent in November," Hayworth said.
Given Bush's recent erosion of support among conservatives, as measured in polls, there's been no evident change in sentiment among his congressional critics.
The political calculations are different at the White House. Hispanics comprise the nation's fastest growing minority, according to this line of reasoning, and no political party can afford to be seen as blind or even hostile to their concerns and the desire of their relatives to join them in the United States.
Bush and top House Republicans reviewed the issue last week at a private White House meeting, according to several officials, and the president urged the GOP congressional leadership to embrace his call for comprehensive legislation. That means provisions to strengthen border security, coupled with a guest worker program that ? while the president doesn't say so in public ? provides a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. and other leaders stressed that would be a hard sell with their rank and file. Bush restated his desire for a comprehensive bill, and the leadership responded by noting the sentiment of the rank and file, according to officials familiar with the conversation. They spoke on condition of anonymity, given the private nature of the meetings.
___
Analysis: Immigration Bill All but Assured By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent Fri May 12, 12:46 AM ET
After months of partisan maneuvering, Senate passage of sweeping immigration legislation is virtually assured by Memorial Day. But that scarcely ends the struggle in Congress, given the vast differences between President Bush and House Republicans over the fate of millions of illegal immigrants.
The substance of the Senate bill is unlikely to change significantly from the measure that was stuck in gridlock more than a month ago. It includes additional border security, a new guest worker program and provisions opening the way to eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.
What changed was that after weeks of exchanging insults, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., agreed on a procedural compromise that gives the bill's critics ample opportunity to offer amendments. It also offers assurances to Democrats that Senate negotiators will not simply capitulate to demands of House conservatives in talks on compromise legislation later in the year.
However briefly, nearly everyone seemed pleased.
"We congratulate the Senate on reaching agreement and we look forward to passage of a bill prior to Memorial Day," said Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary. Reid and Frist exchanged compliments on the Senate floor. Mexico's foreign secretary said in a statement that the deal was a "positive step toward the approval of a migration accord."
Everyone but House Republicans, many of whom criticize the Senate's bill as an amnesty measure. And possibly House Democrats, who, ironically enough, seem to share the White House view of the political implications of immigration. They are eager to campaign against Republicans responsible for last year's bill to make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges.
Looking ahead, the White House is searching for ways to assure conservatives that Bush understands their concerns. White House strategist Karl Rove met with lawmakers earlier in the week, and at least one session included a discussion about making greater use of National Guard troops to shore up border security.
"Nobody is suggesting that we put troops on the border," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., who attended the session. "We are suggesting there are plenty of resources in the government" to increase border security, at least in an interim period while provisions in the pending legislation take hold, he said.
"The National Guard can in some cases help do that," he added. Other lawmakers said they expected Bush to announce border security improvements next week, possibly in a speech in Arizona or another border states.
The differences between Bush and House Republicans flared dramatically when the Senate appeared on the verge of agreement on a comprehensive bill several weeks ago. Several GOP conservatives denounced the bill as an amnesty measure and Rep. Steve King (news, bio, voting record) of Iowa said anyone who voted for it should be "branded with a scarlet letter A."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., offered his view of the importance of immigrant labor: "I say let the prisoners pick the fruits."
In political terms, Rep. J.D. Hayworth (news, bio, voting record) of Arizona and others said Republicans would pay a price in the midterm elections if they vote for anything like the Senate legislation. "Many of those who have stood for the Republican Party for the last decade are not only angry. They will be absent in November," Hayworth said.
Given Bush's recent erosion of support among conservatives, as measured in polls, there's been no evident change in sentiment among his congressional critics.
The political calculations are different at the White House. Hispanics comprise the nation's fastest growing minority, according to this line of reasoning, and no political party can afford to be seen as blind or even hostile to their concerns and the desire of their relatives to join them in the United States.
Bush and top House Republicans reviewed the issue last week at a private White House meeting, according to several officials, and the president urged the GOP congressional leadership to embrace his call for comprehensive legislation. That means provisions to strengthen border security, coupled with a guest worker program that ? while the president doesn't say so in public ? provides a chance at citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. and other leaders stressed that would be a hard sell with their rank and file. Bush restated his desire for a comprehensive bill, and the leadership responded by noting the sentiment of the rank and file, according to officials familiar with the conversation. They spoke on condition of anonymity, given the private nature of the meetings.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - This famously liberal city is serving notice that illegal immigrants are welcome, even while Congress is considering tough new penalties. Police won't harass you. Education and health care are available.
Here's the hitch: You probably can't afford to live here.
Back in 1985, when Cambridge first declared itself a "sanctuary city," rent control kept apartments affordable.
Today, however, Cambridge no longer has rent control; cheap apartments were turned into luxury condominiums and the city ? home of Harvard and MIT ? is among the most expensive places to live in the United States. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is around $1,400 a month.
So, while the city renews its open-arms declaration ? as other U.S. cities also are doing ? it's not exactly a magnet for new immigrants, particularly illegal ones.
"Like anybody else, we look for places we can afford," said Elena Letona, a naturalized citizen from El Salvador and executive director of Centro Presente, a Cambridge nonprofit that spearheaded the 1980s sanctuary effort and which is backing the new push.
The Cambridge City Council is set to vote Monday to reaffirm its sanctuary status, which instructs police and other agencies not to inquire about a person's immigration status when providing government services. The proposal would establish an immigrant rights and citizenship commission to "ensure the equal status of immigrants in education, employment, health care, housing, political, social and legal spheres."
Portuguese and Brazilian markets and restaurants still dot a section of Cambridge Street, but locals say there are fewer immigrants ? legal or otherwise ? in recent years. A "for sale" sign hangs on the door of the Santo Christo Center, once a popular club for Portuguese immigrants.
"Now, everybody's moving north," toward New Hampshire, said Goao Cafua, taking a break while slicing fish at Fernandes Market. "The housing is cheaper."
Cafua, 56, who like most Portuguese here hails from the Azores Islands, bought a home in Lawrence, an industrial city about 30 miles north of Boston.
Immigrants make up just over 14 percent of the Bay State's roughly 6 million residents, excluding the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants. Nationally, there are estimates of 11 million illegal immigrants.
Some people think the city's sanctuary policy is a waste of time.
"What's the point? Why invite people? The only people who can afford to live here are graduate students whose parents are paying their rent," John Murphy, 46, said while visiting the city's Central Square neighborhood, where he lived for 20 years before moving to Austin, Texas. "It's creating false hope."
However, Letona said it's important to create a welcoming environment, especially in light of the anti-immigration voices nationally.
"A very basic human activity, which is migrate for survival, is now being viewed as a criminal activity," she said. "Their very existence is denied and they're called illegals. They're being scapegoated for stealing jobs. They're not stealing jobs. Jobs are being given to them because their labor is affordable."
Several other cities, including Chicago and San Francisco have made similar declarations. The Los Angeles suburb of Maywood, which is 96 percent Hispanic, recently disbanded a traffic control unit because it was perceived as a threat to illegal immigrants without driver's licenses. More than two-thirds of Maywood's 29,000 residents are illegal.
But the movement has sparked a backlash. In Phoenix, a group called Protect Our City is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to require police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
An "anti-sanctuary" bill pending in Colorado would deny state funds to cities that discourage or prevent police from working with federal immigration authorities. It would affect Denver, which has refused to round up illegal immigrants for eight years on the grounds that federal law treats legal and illegal immigrants differently and unfairly punishes children and seniors.
The atmosphere is quite different here in the Northeast.
"In Cambridge, of course, it has not been all that challenging because (Cambridge) has always been very welcoming to immigrants," Letona said. "We're based in Cambridge, so we wanted to start here. We're going to go to other cities. I'm hoping that this will catch on."
'Sanctuary City' for Immigrants Gets Pricey
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - This famously liberal city is serving notice that illegal immigrants are welcome, even while Congress is considering tough new penalties. Police won't harass you. Education and health care are available.
Here's the hitch: You probably can't afford to live here.
Back in 1985, when Cambridge first declared itself a "sanctuary city," rent control kept apartments affordable.
Today, however, Cambridge no longer has rent control; cheap apartments were turned into luxury condominiums and the city ? home of Harvard and MIT ? is among the most expensive places to live in the United States. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is around $1,400 a month.
So, while the city renews its open-arms declaration ? as other U.S. cities also are doing ? it's not exactly a magnet for new immigrants, particularly illegal ones.
"Like anybody else, we look for places we can afford," said Elena Letona, a naturalized citizen from El Salvador and executive director of Centro Presente, a Cambridge nonprofit that spearheaded the 1980s sanctuary effort and which is backing the new push.
The Cambridge City Council is set to vote Monday to reaffirm its sanctuary status, which instructs police and other agencies not to inquire about a person's immigration status when providing government services. The proposal would establish an immigrant rights and citizenship commission to "ensure the equal status of immigrants in education, employment, health care, housing, political, social and legal spheres."
Portuguese and Brazilian markets and restaurants still dot a section of Cambridge Street, but locals say there are fewer immigrants ? legal or otherwise ? in recent years. A "for sale" sign hangs on the door of the Santo Christo Center, once a popular club for Portuguese immigrants.
"Now, everybody's moving north," toward New Hampshire, said Goao Cafua, taking a break while slicing fish at Fernandes Market. "The housing is cheaper."
Cafua, 56, who like most Portuguese here hails from the Azores Islands, bought a home in Lawrence, an industrial city about 30 miles north of Boston.
Immigrants make up just over 14 percent of the Bay State's roughly 6 million residents, excluding the estimated 200,000 illegal immigrants. Nationally, there are estimates of 11 million illegal immigrants.
Some people think the city's sanctuary policy is a waste of time.
"What's the point? Why invite people? The only people who can afford to live here are graduate students whose parents are paying their rent," John Murphy, 46, said while visiting the city's Central Square neighborhood, where he lived for 20 years before moving to Austin, Texas. "It's creating false hope."
However, Letona said it's important to create a welcoming environment, especially in light of the anti-immigration voices nationally.
"A very basic human activity, which is migrate for survival, is now being viewed as a criminal activity," she said. "Their very existence is denied and they're called illegals. They're being scapegoated for stealing jobs. They're not stealing jobs. Jobs are being given to them because their labor is affordable."
Several other cities, including Chicago and San Francisco have made similar declarations. The Los Angeles suburb of Maywood, which is 96 percent Hispanic, recently disbanded a traffic control unit because it was perceived as a threat to illegal immigrants without driver's licenses. More than two-thirds of Maywood's 29,000 residents are illegal.
But the movement has sparked a backlash. In Phoenix, a group called Protect Our City is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to require police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
An "anti-sanctuary" bill pending in Colorado would deny state funds to cities that discourage or prevent police from working with federal immigration authorities. It would affect Denver, which has refused to round up illegal immigrants for eight years on the grounds that federal law treats legal and illegal immigrants differently and unfairly punishes children and seniors.
The atmosphere is quite different here in the Northeast.
"In Cambridge, of course, it has not been all that challenging because (Cambridge) has always been very welcoming to immigrants," Letona said. "We're based in Cambridge, so we wanted to start here. We're going to go to other cities. I'm hoping that this will catch on."
Blacks, Latinos Seek Common Ground on Divisive Issues
Leaders announce June 3 conference at USC on gangs, jobs, healthcare and immigration.
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer May 5, 2006
Latino and African American activists announced plans Thursday for a national leadership conference in Los Angeles to ease tensions and build unity over such hot-button issues as immigration, jobs, education and gang violence.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez, will headline the June gathering, which was announced at a Leimert Park news conference by Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable and others.
"There's a big lack of communication between the two communities," Chavez, a candidate for the 45th Assembly District seat, said in a phone interview. "This conference is about reconnecting on common issues of education, healthcare and jobs."
The conference is the latest effort to find common ground between Latinos and African Americans, who share many neighborhoods throughout South Los Angeles.
As Latino immigrants reshape those historically black areas of town, some African Americans allege that they are being shut out of their fair share of jobs, housing and educational services. Violence has erupted between the two communities in schools and jails.
Reflecting such discontent, homeless activist Ted Hayes, an African American, recently announced a campaign to stop illegal immigration by recruiting blacks to join the Minuteman Project in monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border.
Since then, however, several black leaders have denounced Hayes and announced alliances with Latinos.
Last week, for instance, black and Latino labor, religious and community leaders pledged to work together on issues of joint concern.
Some of the group's African American members, including Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad and the Rev. Lewis Logan II of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, marched on May Day through downtown Los Angeles.
At the same time, some Latino labor leaders have begun to address African Americans' concerns about access to jobs ? the biggest flashpoint between the communities.
Maria Elena Durazo, interim executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said that demands for recruiting and hiring more blacks will be pressed this year during contract negotiations in a dozen cities involving 60,000 workers with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union.
Mike Garcia, president of Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union, said his largely Latino union is actively organizing African American security guards to press for better wages and working conditions.
At the Leimert Park news conference, Hutchinson rejected arguments that immigrants take jobs from blacks.
He said blacks would still have problems finding jobs even without the presence of illegal immigrants because discrimination, failing schools and criminal records also work against them.
The national conference, scheduled for June 3 at USC, has been endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several other elected officials in Los Angeles, Compton, Inglewood and Lynwood.
Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, who supports the conference, said reports of tensions between blacks and Latinos have been exaggerated. At a meeting with Los Angeles high school students Thursday, she said, blacks and Latinos reported that racial tensions were less of a problem than a lack of after-school activities and jobs.
Chavez said she hoped to recapture the close ties that her grandfather built with African Americans, whom she credited with supporting the union's grape boycott and providing a model for nonviolent protests.
She said the two communities could unite and be a powerful force in the fight for a higher minimum wage, access to healthcare, better schools and safer streets.
"I think both of our communities realize we're fighting over crumbs when we should be asking for a bigger piece of the pie," she said.
Blacks, Latinos Seek Common Ground on Divisive Issues
Leaders announce June 3 conference at USC on gangs, jobs, healthcare and immigration.
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer May 5, 2006
Latino and African American activists announced plans Thursday for a national leadership conference in Los Angeles to ease tensions and build unity over such hot-button issues as immigration, jobs, education and gang violence.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez, will headline the June gathering, which was announced at a Leimert Park news conference by Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable and others.
"There's a big lack of communication between the two communities," Chavez, a candidate for the 45th Assembly District seat, said in a phone interview. "This conference is about reconnecting on common issues of education, healthcare and jobs."
The conference is the latest effort to find common ground between Latinos and African Americans, who share many neighborhoods throughout South Los Angeles.
As Latino immigrants reshape those historically black areas of town, some African Americans allege that they are being shut out of their fair share of jobs, housing and educational services. Violence has erupted between the two communities in schools and jails.
Reflecting such discontent, homeless activist Ted Hayes, an African American, recently announced a campaign to stop illegal immigration by recruiting blacks to join the Minuteman Project in monitoring the U.S.-Mexico border.
Since then, however, several black leaders have denounced Hayes and announced alliances with Latinos.
Last week, for instance, black and Latino labor, religious and community leaders pledged to work together on issues of joint concern.
Some of the group's African American members, including Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad and the Rev. Lewis Logan II of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, marched on May Day through downtown Los Angeles.
At the same time, some Latino labor leaders have begun to address African Americans' concerns about access to jobs ? the biggest flashpoint between the communities.
Maria Elena Durazo, interim executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said that demands for recruiting and hiring more blacks will be pressed this year during contract negotiations in a dozen cities involving 60,000 workers with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union.
Mike Garcia, president of Local 1877 of the Service Employees International Union, said his largely Latino union is actively organizing African American security guards to press for better wages and working conditions.
At the Leimert Park news conference, Hutchinson rejected arguments that immigrants take jobs from blacks.
He said blacks would still have problems finding jobs even without the presence of illegal immigrants because discrimination, failing schools and criminal records also work against them.
The national conference, scheduled for June 3 at USC, has been endorsed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several other elected officials in Los Angeles, Compton, Inglewood and Lynwood.
Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry, who supports the conference, said reports of tensions between blacks and Latinos have been exaggerated. At a meeting with Los Angeles high school students Thursday, she said, blacks and Latinos reported that racial tensions were less of a problem than a lack of after-school activities and jobs.
Chavez said she hoped to recapture the close ties that her grandfather built with African Americans, whom she credited with supporting the union's grape boycott and providing a model for nonviolent protests.
She said the two communities could unite and be a powerful force in the fight for a higher minimum wage, access to healthcare, better schools and safer streets.
"I think both of our communities realize we're fighting over crumbs when we should be asking for a bigger piece of the pie," she said.
Renegade you're not paying attention to the news, Pres. Bush met with the Pres. of Mexico and with Canada's leader (Prime Minister?) together on the same day @ a week ago. C'mon now, it's NOT just Mexico or just ANY ONE country. But they do seem to be more defensive as though it were so. And communication typically makes an impact on an educated person rather than uneducated where it becomes purely emotionally based.
Renegade you're not paying attention to the news, Pres. Bush met with the Pres. of Mexico and with Canada's leader (Prime Minister?) together on the same day @ a week ago. C'mon now, it's NOT just Mexico or just ANY ONE country. But they do seem to be more defensive as though it were so. And communication typically makes an impact on an educated person rather than uneducated where it becomes purely emotionally based.
Black Activists Joining Minutemen Against Illegal Immigration
It seems the black community is starting to wake up to the truth about illegal immigration and it's impact on them. While illegal aliens have continued to drive down wages and hurt those in this country whose livelihood depends on manual labor, the activists in the black community have actually supported them -- if you can believe that.
Just recently it was discovered that at one single placement agency alone, over 70 construction workers -- who were predominantly black -- in the Katrina recovery region were replaced by illegal aliens. This is one agency. Multiply that by all the agencies in the region and you'll see what a travesty is being placed on the black community by illegal immigration. These are Americans who want to work, not people looking for a handout.
Now they are starting to speak out against the injustices illegal immigration places on those they claim to defend and support.
CBS
Several black activists plan to join members of the Minutemen Project to protest illegal immigration, which organizer Ted Hayes touted as the "biggest threat to blacks in America since slavery."
Hayes, a homeless activist, alleged that most homeless people in Los Angeles are black and illegal immigration compounds the problem since blacks refuse to accept the "slave wages" that many illegal immigrants accept.
"While all Americans are suffering from this invasion, we blacks are suffering the most," Hayes said. "We feel like the leaders promoting this issue are being insensitive. This country wasn't built on the backs of immigrants like (Villaraigosa) says. It was built on the back of West African slaves."
Immigrant activist Nativo Lopez believes Hayes is out of step with most black leaders and that both blacks and Hispanics face the same problems.
Nice of Nativo Lopez to try to confuse the issue by talking about Hispanics in general and not illegal aliens, which is what the activists are pissed about.
Black Activists Joining Minutemen Against Illegal Immigration
It seems the black community is starting to wake up to the truth about illegal immigration and it's impact on them. While illegal aliens have continued to drive down wages and hurt those in this country whose livelihood depends on manual labor, the activists in the black community have actually supported them -- if you can believe that.
Just recently it was discovered that at one single placement agency alone, over 70 construction workers -- who were predominantly black -- in the Katrina recovery region were replaced by illegal aliens. This is one agency. Multiply that by all the agencies in the region and you'll see what a travesty is being placed on the black community by illegal immigration. These are Americans who want to work, not people looking for a handout.
Now they are starting to speak out against the injustices illegal immigration places on those they claim to defend and support.
CBS
Several black activists plan to join members of the Minutemen Project to protest illegal immigration, which organizer Ted Hayes touted as the "biggest threat to blacks in America since slavery."
Hayes, a homeless activist, alleged that most homeless people in Los Angeles are black and illegal immigration compounds the problem since blacks refuse to accept the "slave wages" that many illegal immigrants accept.
"While all Americans are suffering from this invasion, we blacks are suffering the most," Hayes said. "We feel like the leaders promoting this issue are being insensitive. This country wasn't built on the backs of immigrants like (Villaraigosa) says. It was built on the back of West African slaves."
Immigrant activist Nativo Lopez believes Hayes is out of step with most black leaders and that both blacks and Hispanics face the same problems.
Nice of Nativo Lopez to try to confuse the issue by talking about Hispanics in general and not illegal aliens, which is what the activists are pissed about.
Thanks Renegade for your input. I would venture to say that most illegals are not specialized craftsmen. I mean working at fast food restaurants and as dishwashers isn't really an educated field to aspire to. These jobs were taken away from mostly high school students in our country. And we have no control then to not accept known criminals (murderers, burglers, child molesters, and the like) Or even Iraqi forces bent on destroying our country. Take the focus off Iraq????? IT'S BECAUSE OF AL QUIDA AND IRAQIS THAT THE FOCUS IS ON THE BORDERS....... SMH.
Thanks Renegade for your input. I would venture to say that most illegals are not specialized craftsmen. I mean working at fast food restaurants and as dishwashers isn't really an educated field to aspire to. These jobs were taken away from mostly high school students in our country. And we have no control then to not accept known criminals (murderers, burglers, child molesters, and the like) Or even Iraqi forces bent on destroying our country. Take the focus off Iraq????? IT'S BECAUSE OF AL QUIDA AND IRAQIS THAT THE FOCUS IS ON THE BORDERS....... SMH.
Latinrose, thanks for your comments, we need more comments from immigrants themselves. We can be biased in this country being born here and it may seem that we simply want to "lock the borders". I don't, but I don't want chaos and services made unavailable to me based on illegals flooding our support and community services. And I do want to mention that Mexicans seem to think stronger border measures and implementing any kind of law that would punish them for being illegals (felony status) is directed basically at them. It has more to do with 911 and the possibility of people who want to do real harm to our country and if any immigrants want to live here, they should understand that. Why sneak in our country and then live in fear of attack from another country? HELLO??!! GRANTED IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN EVERY DAY, but all it takes is one, just ask anyone from New York.
Latinrose, thanks for your comments, we need more comments from immigrants themselves. We can be biased in this country being born here and it may seem that we simply want to "lock the borders". I don't, but I don't want chaos and services made unavailable to me based on illegals flooding our support and community services. And I do want to mention that Mexicans seem to think stronger border measures and implementing any kind of law that would punish them for being illegals (felony status) is directed basically at them. It has more to do with 911 and the possibility of people who want to do real harm to our country and if any immigrants want to live here, they should understand that. Why sneak in our country and then live in fear of attack from another country? HELLO??!! GRANTED IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN EVERY DAY, but all it takes is one, just ask anyone from New York.
This may not be a popular view...but...I am of latin decent. My mother, uncle and grandparents were born in SanSalvador (central America). My grandfather had to leave his wife and children in Central America for 6 months while he joined the service and fought for this country. When his paper work was done and he went thru the proper channels, his family was able to come to this country and became citizens. My father's parents were from Cuba. Again they went thru the proper channels and obtained citizenships. Ours is a great country with it's doors open to all nationalities and offers oppertunity for all. If one wishes to come to this country and reap it's bennifits, they should do it leagally. It doesn't matter if you steal a penny candy or commit any crime you should not be rewarded. I realize that gaining citizenship takes time and has it's red tape, however nothing worth haveing is given freely of is easy to come by. That is life. I believe that if one is an illeagal allien they should be sent back to their own country and told that they are welcome to become an American, but they must go thru the proper channels. To allow people to just stay in this country illeagally is just not right. We have proceedures for a reason. The law is the law no matter how meny illeagals there are. There are plenty of Americans who are unemployed with families who are suffering while illeagal imagrants have jobs and are supporting their families in other countries. I am proud of my heratige and thankful that my grandparents had enough pride and moral standards to know that they needed to do things by the book and not look for an easy out.
This may not be a popular view...but...I am of latin decent. My mother, uncle and grandparents were born in SanSalvador (central America). My grandfather had to leave his wife and children in Central America for 6 months while he joined the service and fought for this country. When his paper work was done and he went thru the proper channels, his family was able to come to this country and became citizens. My father's parents were from Cuba. Again they went thru the proper channels and obtained citizenships. Ours is a great country with it's doors open to all nationalities and offers oppertunity for all. If one wishes to come to this country and reap it's bennifits, they should do it leagally. It doesn't matter if you steal a penny candy or commit any crime you should not be rewarded. I realize that gaining citizenship takes time and has it's red tape, however nothing worth haveing is given freely of is easy to come by. That is life. I believe that if one is an illeagal allien they should be sent back to their own country and told that they are welcome to become an American, but they must go thru the proper channels. To allow people to just stay in this country illeagally is just not right. We have proceedures for a reason. The law is the law no matter how meny illeagals there are. There are plenty of Americans who are unemployed with families who are suffering while illeagal imagrants have jobs and are supporting their families in other countries. I am proud of my heratige and thankful that my grandparents had enough pride and moral standards to know that they needed to do things by the book and not look for an easy out.
Thousands of illegal immigrants and their allies across the country plan a show of force Monday to illustrate how much immigrants matter in the U.S. economy.
Some will skip work, others will protest at lunch breaks, school walkouts or at rallies after work. There are planned church services, candlelight vigils, picnics and human chains.
Hector Castillo, a Denver baker, usually keeps his doors open 360 days a year. But anybody looking for his Mexican pastries or cookies will be out of luck Monday when Castillo plans to close his doors in sympathy with immigrants. For Castillo, 45, it's a protest against legislation in the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.
"About 80 percent of our customers are Latin people, most of them Mexican, and the proposed law will affect all of us," he said.
Thanks to the success of previous rallies plus media attention, planning for Monday's events, collectively called Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes ? A Day Without Immigrants ? is widespread, though fragmented.
"It's highly unpredictable what's going to happen," said Harley Shaiken, director of the Center for Latin American studies at the University of California. "What unites everyone that's going to do something on May 1 is they are making visible their strong feelings."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday he was concerned that the demonstrations "are going to be a distraction from what the real issue is, and that is the need for comprehensive immigration reform."
Rather than a boycott, immigrants should work to pressure Congress to pass legislation that would allow those already in the country to earn U.S. citizenship, Richardson told CBS' "The Early Show."
Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., told CBS that the U.S. should first secure its borders to stem illegal immigration. "I would then prefer to see us come up with some way to let" immigrants here "pay a fine, pay a price, then learn English and get on a path to citizenship."
Some workers and immigrant advocates are worried that employees could lose their jobs or otherwise face negative consequences for skipping work to participate in protests.
"We're not officially coordinating a work stoppage. We are leaving it up to every individual. We don't want people to lose a job, but we want to encourage people to stand up for their rights," said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Activists planned marches, prayers and demonstartions in Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota and other cities around Florida, but organizers did not expect as many people to attend Monday's events as the estimated 75,000 who attended an April 11 rally in Fort Myers.
Activists said a few immigrants lost their jobs after that march, and many were concerned about recent Homeland Security immigration raids, in which hundreds of immigrants with criminal backgrounds were rounded up in Florida and throughout the Midwest.
On the eve of the protest, about 3,000 people rallied for immigrant rights at a park in Lynwood, a heavily Hispanic Los Angeles suburb. Organizers of the demonstration called on residents and businesses to support the boycott.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged students to stay in school during the day and advised protesters against waving flags of their native countries.
"You should wave the American flag," he said. "It's the flag of the country that we all are proud of and want to be a part of. Don't disrespect the traditions of this country."
A rally in Chicago representing the city's Arab, Asian, black, eastern European and Hispanic communities, along with labor groups and religious leaders, could bring out as many as half a million people, organizers say. They urged immigrant workers to ask for time off and encouraged students to get permission to attend the demonstration.
"Stand in solidarity with people of all races and nationalities because immigration legislation does not just affect one group; it affects everyone!" Sadiya Ahmed, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote in a recent e-mail.
In smaller cities such as Allentown, Pa.; Omaha, Neb.; and Knoxville, Tenn., immigrants and their allies have been going door to door with fliers, making posters and sharpening speeches. In New Mexico, restaurants cooked meals this weekend to donate to picnics Monday in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
In Pomona, Calif., about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, dozens of men who frequent a day labor center voted unanimously to close Monday, said Mike Nava, the center's director.
In New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon and Pennsylvania, people boycotting work will march to the offices of elected officials to urge them to support pro-immigrant legislation.
Activists in Florida said many immigrants were concerned about recent federal raids, in which hundreds of immigrants with criminal backgrounds were rounded up in Florida and throughout the Midwest.
"We're not officially coordinating a work stoppage. We are leaving it up to every individual. We don't want people to lose a job, but we want to encourage people to stand up for their rights," said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
In California, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said a boycott would "hurt everyone," while Democratic state senators passed a resolution supporting walkouts.
Opponents of illegal immigration spent the weekend building a fence to symbolize their support of a secure border. About 200 volunteers organized by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of California worked on a 6-foot barbed-wire fence along a quarter-mile stretch of rugged terrain near the U.S.-Mexico border about 50 miles east of San Diego.
In each of New York City's five boroughs, thousands of workers were expected to take work breaks shortly after noon to link arms with shoppers, restaurant-goers and other supporters for about 20 minutes.
"This will symbolize the interdependence of all of us, not just immigrants, but all of society," said Chung-Wa Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition.
Some big businesses are shutting down operations: Six of 14 Perdue Farms plants will close; Gallo Wines in Sonoma, Calif., is giving its 150 employees the day off; Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, will shut five of its nine beef plants and four of six pork plants.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged immigrants to attend Mass instead of boycotting, and suggested that churches toll their bells in memory of immigrants who died trying to come to the U.S. They also urged students to stay in school.
Denver-area contractor Chuck Saxton, who hires temporary workers, is sympathetic to the movement. "I'm going to go to support them. These guys come here, they work hard and they're honest," he said. "They provide a vibrancy to our economy and our country that is fading."
___
Associated Press
Thousands of illegal immigrants and their allies across the country plan a show of force Monday to illustrate how much immigrants matter in the U.S. economy.
Some will skip work, others will protest at lunch breaks, school walkouts or at rallies after work. There are planned church services, candlelight vigils, picnics and human chains.
Hector Castillo, a Denver baker, usually keeps his doors open 360 days a year. But anybody looking for his Mexican pastries or cookies will be out of luck Monday when Castillo plans to close his doors in sympathy with immigrants. For Castillo, 45, it's a protest against legislation in the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.
"About 80 percent of our customers are Latin people, most of them Mexican, and the proposed law will affect all of us," he said.
Thanks to the success of previous rallies plus media attention, planning for Monday's events, collectively called Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes ? A Day Without Immigrants ? is widespread, though fragmented.
"It's highly unpredictable what's going to happen," said Harley Shaiken, director of the Center for Latin American studies at the University of California. "What unites everyone that's going to do something on May 1 is they are making visible their strong feelings."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday he was concerned that the demonstrations "are going to be a distraction from what the real issue is, and that is the need for comprehensive immigration reform."
Rather than a boycott, immigrants should work to pressure Congress to pass legislation that would allow those already in the country to earn U.S. citizenship, Richardson told CBS' "The Early Show."
Sen. Lamar Alexander (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., told CBS that the U.S. should first secure its borders to stem illegal immigration. "I would then prefer to see us come up with some way to let" immigrants here "pay a fine, pay a price, then learn English and get on a path to citizenship."
Some workers and immigrant advocates are worried that employees could lose their jobs or otherwise face negative consequences for skipping work to participate in protests.
"We're not officially coordinating a work stoppage. We are leaving it up to every individual. We don't want people to lose a job, but we want to encourage people to stand up for their rights," said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Activists planned marches, prayers and demonstartions in Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota and other cities around Florida, but organizers did not expect as many people to attend Monday's events as the estimated 75,000 who attended an April 11 rally in Fort Myers.
Activists said a few immigrants lost their jobs after that march, and many were concerned about recent Homeland Security immigration raids, in which hundreds of immigrants with criminal backgrounds were rounded up in Florida and throughout the Midwest.
On the eve of the protest, about 3,000 people rallied for immigrant rights at a park in Lynwood, a heavily Hispanic Los Angeles suburb. Organizers of the demonstration called on residents and businesses to support the boycott.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged students to stay in school during the day and advised protesters against waving flags of their native countries.
"You should wave the American flag," he said. "It's the flag of the country that we all are proud of and want to be a part of. Don't disrespect the traditions of this country."
A rally in Chicago representing the city's Arab, Asian, black, eastern European and Hispanic communities, along with labor groups and religious leaders, could bring out as many as half a million people, organizers say. They urged immigrant workers to ask for time off and encouraged students to get permission to attend the demonstration.
"Stand in solidarity with people of all races and nationalities because immigration legislation does not just affect one group; it affects everyone!" Sadiya Ahmed, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote in a recent e-mail.
In smaller cities such as Allentown, Pa.; Omaha, Neb.; and Knoxville, Tenn., immigrants and their allies have been going door to door with fliers, making posters and sharpening speeches. In New Mexico, restaurants cooked meals this weekend to donate to picnics Monday in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
In Pomona, Calif., about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, dozens of men who frequent a day labor center voted unanimously to close Monday, said Mike Nava, the center's director.
In New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon and Pennsylvania, people boycotting work will march to the offices of elected officials to urge them to support pro-immigrant legislation.
Activists in Florida said many immigrants were concerned about recent federal raids, in which hundreds of immigrants with criminal backgrounds were rounded up in Florida and throughout the Midwest.
"We're not officially coordinating a work stoppage. We are leaving it up to every individual. We don't want people to lose a job, but we want to encourage people to stand up for their rights," said Maria Rodriguez, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
In California, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said a boycott would "hurt everyone," while Democratic state senators passed a resolution supporting walkouts.
Opponents of illegal immigration spent the weekend building a fence to symbolize their support of a secure border. About 200 volunteers organized by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps of California worked on a 6-foot barbed-wire fence along a quarter-mile stretch of rugged terrain near the U.S.-Mexico border about 50 miles east of San Diego.
In each of New York City's five boroughs, thousands of workers were expected to take work breaks shortly after noon to link arms with shoppers, restaurant-goers and other supporters for about 20 minutes.
"This will symbolize the interdependence of all of us, not just immigrants, but all of society," said Chung-Wa Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition.
Some big businesses are shutting down operations: Six of 14 Perdue Farms plants will close; Gallo Wines in Sonoma, Calif., is giving its 150 employees the day off; Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, will shut five of its nine beef plants and four of six pork plants.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged immigrants to attend Mass instead of boycotting, and suggested that churches toll their bells in memory of immigrants who died trying to come to the U.S. They also urged students to stay in school.
Denver-area contractor Chuck Saxton, who hires temporary workers, is sympathetic to the movement. "I'm going to go to support them. These guys come here, they work hard and they're honest," he said. "They provide a vibrancy to our economy and our country that is fading."
