Texas Weekly; Recent US Senate Reforms in Immigration Law

the ponytails from the state capital and you're listening to the texas weekly with host dave mcneely the texas border with mexico is one of the busiest in the world of work are seeking american dollars dream in the united states some are legal mini or not the united states senate recently passed the most sweeping reform of immigration legislation in the past thirty years the senate bill which has yet to be approved by the house contains many controversial provisions for the next half hour we'll be discussing this legislation and outsiders with harry hubbard president of the texas afl ceo jose garza of the mexican american legal defense and education fund richard the ceo's district director of the immigration and naturalization service and paul parsons who is chairman of the texas chapter of the american immigration lawyers association but parsons the legislation that has passed the senate will win who as you said that this is the first major revision over immigration laws in thirty years and i think there's three provisions that should be pointed out

by suki parts of the proposed legislation why is that it provides for amnesty to undocumented aliens that have been living in the united states for many years a temporary amnesty or temporary residence for a permit for people have been here since before january first nineteen eighty and prominent resident visa for persons of been here since before january first nineteen seventy seven a second key provision would be a penalty on employers of undocumented aliens a thousand dollars for each employee the first offense two thousand dollars the second offence and for subsequent offense is an injunction could be a time to close down the employer's business if he has four or more employees it would exempt the very small employer and finally this proposed legislation would cut back on some of the present immigration and restrict some of the traditional family reunification policies that we've always

had it would eliminate the possibility for american citizens to apply for their brothers and sisters to emigrate to nine states and it would cut back on other relative basis now the film up on each of those major points a mold of his disappointed in the legislation that's come out of the senate that we've had a great deal of concern that the immigration bill was coming out of the senate was being debated would be a part of what we see is as as as a strategy from the top of this of the government of the current administration and it uses a scapegoat the the immigrant for their failures and the economic policies of the amnesty provision for example use a lot of rhetoric during the debate about how undocumented workers were using up public benefits in this country so there's a restriction that spilled into the law yes these people are going to have some form of legal status in this country but they're going to be

restrictions on their ability to qualify for public benefits for one group three years they can they can qualify for no benefits of all the other group for six years they can qualify for no benefit it's interesting though that did some of the material that was not used in this debate i was a report that was commissioned by governor quinn in terms of attacks in that poll showed that the undocumented population was in fact not abusing or using the public assistance material based on faulty logic that's right we have a great deal of concern that the employer sanctions are going to not curb the use of the illegal aliens or undocumented workers are being used as a tool to discriminate against hispanic workforce and one of the indications that we that we get from that is is in the end isn't the big employer sanctions russia watered down paul mention that there was a thousand dollar per are

undocumented worker final action is not a thousand dollars per worker it's a thousand dollars per conviction which means that if they have a hundred workers and they are convicted of a hiring as many workers as a thousand dollars not a thousand dollars per worker so it ended and an exemption from the small worker week we feel and get the point on that effectively started visit immigration services has been sending out letters we got reports from utah for example with immigration services and sending out letters to employers that they suspect hire undocumented workers in and in essence warning them of the sanctions that are they're coming in we got a report from the catholic church and an idaho one employer went public and said he'd just dismiss fifteen hispanic employees because you don't want to have any problem and your fear is that anyone who happens to have a slight ten rounds them or hispanic surname he's going to turn the world on imports at the third reason chenault that there were we live in a society where were every every instrument of other medication a suspect in other they're always going to be

there always can be assertions that there was he showed me as a secure a car but i wasn't sure that was legitimate businesses were concerned about harry hubbard you have the texas afl cio in texas have a sort of labor feel about the idea of workers coming in from mexico well so long supported the basic concepts of this bill and that is the only chart that if there is a new york act in the state and someone is as is a part of it in this case a privilege and legalize a million dollars a part of them are part of the legwork remember me merely sensible words to carry out a lot of its debt unless they're somehow employs only employee the only concern we haven't noticed her grandmother's relaxation of age

to program agriculture workers coming into the country and then a part of what was just a moment ago is the task forces commerce commission to try to sell people on the guest worker program are going back to deal with searle program this is relaxation invasive program we really would be another ad obviously and searle program that did not work but this time we are supporting the bill we would like to see an amended to like certain that agriculture worker and not given preference for the program are they are with sheryl crow right so you there can china's that if you have ten of that were common american jobs or thousands of their media concern at this time which hopefully you all a temper and of the problems of the economic situation in mexico and of course that adds to the problem and we're certainly there are people in this country that are not solutions that have jobs that american citizens would

like to have a little doubt about the pursuers it's what they hear with immigration service commission a couple times here and wonders whether the recent economic situation let's go have greatly few the number of people coming to this country and then secondly how from your view do all of ephesus mr worthen well firstly the poster form about injuries is it a report over the field through the border for operations that apprehensions have increased perhaps as a result of the devaluation of that as far as the bill i don't believe it's going to be that discriminatory we are long overdue for immigration reform say the integration transcends the mexican border immigration problem we have and the current

giant in excess of a hundred and i did all pending applications of people one outside of this country many or not we're fighting claim it's all political asylum many or in effect people that want a better life that was that it made with the president's commission were longer than forty and seventy eight that that year the night is in the forties by edward crops they were seven hundred and forty million people that were hungry in the world there was another study by the clinton foundation so the fact that one third of all for that america given the opportunity would emigrate the recovery all that ninety percent would come to the united states what would people would probably only in excess of a hundred and eighty million people will penetrate our borders and they are coming from asylum nor from guatemala

and these were poor people are very poor people and the question is how much in our country absorb consistent with the national interest and good question presuming that we can absorb them all and questionnaires emily can reduce or and how do we keep those of rivers and that we can absorb from commoner and how strict and should we be about how this now is how will this bill work be affected in terms of of doing they were beginning a good beginning is to get control of the border and you're not going to do it without resources you're not going to do it as long as a people come on with the meaning for easy on tv ad by the public official's cutting corn and this double agents as long as you have an attitude of boys in the minds of the public no buyers would respect a raucous as long as there's somebody to willing to forgive the national interest or further their

particular special interests you will have a problem in the word forthwith you would need employer sanctions that on a magnet that attracts a lot of these people as long as you have an employer i grew you know for not have a festival to show it to hire somebody at less than the prevailing wage you won't have that magnet because that is a tremendous wage for most people born in dire need south of the border and in other parts of the world such as haiti it's all covered one thing that needed to be pleased to be pointed out here is an amnesty amnesty pose a work and will that allows every one here to eventually become citizens i think another thing is that needs to be pointed out that there will be a scene of the first time placed on only amount of immigrants who can come into the country and i think it's i think it's a it's quite fair and canada

and mexico and understand the bill all other countries are limited to twenty thousand with canada and mexico would be limited to forty thousand and it's one of those countries have not reached their saving the other one could pick up up where i had i think for the first time in the quest to us in the afternoon whoever the control of the parliament them out the government's attention on the cover of the first act but forced them into it that it and i know that there was born a thirty nine thousand nine hundred nine that on the forty thousand i think the case is something that i see as mentioned in you know the bill does not provide for the resources to control the border now with the deal is turning out to be is is an instrument of rhetoric an instrument of rhetoric that they're there is is is placing this so talking about issues about being flooded for him from having a flood of a day is what the

monitors some level and and putting our provisions and there's like our english is the national language in this country and provides for for the atmosphere that that that that were dade county prohibits all all government the documents from from being printed bilingual they only in english or they can be treated as the kind of atmosphere the thing that did the concerns mall that the bill does not is not going to curve i don't believe well you buy new jet that now they face aware of all the magnitude of the problem we wished we dont you with operating in spanish we have to print in every nation all whirlpools form spills application that he's a political event discriminatory to show favoritism by spain spanish and opening in it which it from from follies they showing him about forty different dialects we would have gopi buildings for reform some old we have a tremendous amount of fraud but when a german forces were not an enforcer border with with

those south vietnam a kind of force of border with mexico that challenges he's at the thing asked the question that you just that hacking how you how can you force a law if we did that on a river walled expressed in this country they would never be enforced the thing about it is i think what we need to look at the cost it was very difficult to do we have politicians and bulk of that's really what the problem is it is a very volatile political issue but i don't think that we ought to do and any any awkward trying to regulate something and so i what you came for him in other words what your says the work and their responsibility of the non human story and the names on the tools with which to carry out that responsibility i think important part of the mall that has never said that do not have an open border and and let everybody that wants to come in there ought to be regulations what we're saying is that there are

aspects of this bill that they're using the name of controlling the border are carving are going to be used to discriminate against the hispanic population and hispanic immigrant curbing access to the courts this bill curtis access to courts for the for the you know for the alien that is that is that is i picked up by it by the immigration service there are provisions and in the end he acted that that would limit the curve getting into in federal court on claims of violations there are the the restrictions on on that that was anti family that the bill restricts like the desert and parents are from from integrating their children from from eliminates that that that ability eliminates the ability of brothers and sisters from integrating their siblings and all in the name of controlling the border what we need is is it doesn't build it's that sound in the atmosphere and with adequate funding for controlling the border and

also you know the problems of the immigrants coming in from from this country or from other country south of the border or thinker or too complicated to say that the one bill in the name of controlling the borders going to do all our foreign policy and what their mother in and at some level have a lot to do with with the flow of the immigrant population from those countries congressman gonzalez has now for some employer has has talked about recently the idea the policies of supporting a government that they're innocent abroad and a leader that done an innocent little bit that that he characterized this as a night killers that kind of policy that they regard it regardless of what kind of immigration bill you have this is not going to stop the flow of the immigrant population cause i one of the cornerstones of our immigration law has always been family reunification and this bill has a lot of provisions

that will restrict the abilities of their close family to live together the total elimination of the fifth preferences of tremendous concern to a lot of immigrants this is one of them and the fifth preferences the category that has been reserved for american citizens to petition for the brothers and sisters and always in the past the key provision around a lot in russia losses been first party to unify close family units second party to bring in needed labor but the elimination of the brothers and sisters right to petition for an american citizen relatives and also in the second province prominent residents will not be allowed to petition for as many of their relatives as they have in the past you used to square one no person one of countries are members of ineffable its trove of whom yes

or three papers are not mexican woman from coming across a border that start part about immigration are even under present law if a parent american citizen baby had desires to remain in the united states the mother father have absolutely no right to stay here and so there's never it's so well they tell the parents before an immigration judge we're sorry we know you have a baby or its american citizen he has all right in the world just i hear the both of you i have to go so what happens will be that the best experience yeah now here's what i'm stan are lighter than one that when that child who is an american citizen come back or an occasion for religious for rosen's afflicted has to turn twenty one before he can petition for his parents or brothers and sisters what the problem was the present immigration law it it's already restricted and family unification brothers and sisters are on waiting list and have been

waiting abroad for five and in some cases up to ten years to legally emigrate voters are a tremendous backlogs the proposed provisions of this bill like the backlogs either go further or in some cases like the brothers and sisters completely eliminate the possibility to bring your family in the united states to join in we had a previous experience with that where a child even extension when they were significant losses and parent this is what happened with pregnant women would deliberately come in and the child in the united states india's social that they would get a good wife if i didn't do you know what was worth of tv show and they had a chat many thousands of hours a little to reward outside of the united states make a big way they make a big scream about the

screen they're lovely with about the justice often remove the kitchen our whole immigration all depressant at ending before the congress including or strong legal really puts family reunification right now when that legalization program comes it'll be nice estimated fifty thousand living in a half six million years maybe in this country one fateful all silly enough they supported attorney general you think that's what we're officials in texas when those people become legal citizens five years hence or three years in a marriott basis in the meantime they can get citizenship and on the basis of that mr lloyd change everyone on it is happening now in chinese they can get the bus and sisters it is not our usual kelly a case they will have a fashion or mechanization fifty one pages that for most

the day is ongoing people are good many of them from the far east media's than what ariel saw the border they come in with the name fifteen that patients who sort of brothers and sisters is delivered from a family unification is spreading the word more than this country the majority of the costs e something that us citizens is that ok we got about three minutes left on talk a little bit more about the card about how we decide who's fits in that category and what what's fair and what's not the coroner sliding scale what does the record is called the identification mechanism and sentinel mazzoli bill the employer would be allowed to in fact they're complying with this one hit a tremendous added burden on employers are so much government work as the risk for each employer for every employee would be reported make copies of that leads to types of documentation the senate versions suggest a permanent resident

cards passports were certificates and the employer will turn out to be in effect the enforcer of this law and being completely responsible to prove that he had good faith tried to comply with the law some people are are saying that it's just going to be about an invasion of privacy traditionally the american citizens know american citizens have to carry a car but now they're talking about an actual been a far card with the bill says that the administration must come up with within three years that the government there talking about the medication cart of worship lifted four social security card or some other location but before you know we would not before if there was no other work to combat and one of the medication cart but a time to convert cardinal stigma wall mounted by and rock ish money out

and all of things like that were basically with these cardboard today i'm convinced that it that that can be that remark one thing about how irreplaceable plays poetry only import or by having them fill out the paper for sure and an analysis that's our problem we get the point or you think nothing about anyone except the employer employer have a responsibility in this country also don't want to hire undocumented workers should not merely those responsibilities more than anyone else and i think that's what is a foreign reporter very quickly are concern would not be necessarily with employer with the fact that the employer perceives this added burden instead of having to go through all of that simply refuses to hire a spandex very very difficult problem was that it's far from over very rare time we liked by jerry hubbard of the afl cio jose garza with mild earth

richard sears the immigration and naturalization service and paul parsons with the american immigration lawyers association and thank you for being what you've been listening to fix his weekly an unrehearsed question and answer session between members of the texas press corps and a prominent figure in the news texas weekly is produced by katie fm and kale are you tv and is distributed by the center for telecommunication services at ut austin the preceding program does not necessarily reflect the views of the university of texas at austin says the longhorn radio network