Home > The Border Line > Archives > 2007 > November > 06
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Top immigration official apologizes for awarding prize to offensive costume
Julie Myers, head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has apologized after awarding “most original costume” to a Homeland Security Department employee who dressed in prison stripes, dreadlocks and dark makeup for a Halloween gathering at the agency, reported Suzanne Gamboa of the Associated Press.
Myers was part of a three-judge panel that lauded the costume, worn by a white employee, last Wednesday. She also posed for a photo with him, the story said.
Myers apologized to employees last Friday in an e-mail,which was provided to AP.
“I and the senior management at ICE deeply regret that this happened,” Myers said. “As the head of the agency, I have the responsibility to ensure every employee is a valued member of the ICE team.”
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Customs officers miss 1 in 10 illegal immigrants, drug and weapons violators
A new congressional review found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers failed to stop roughly 1 in 10 illegal immigrants and serious drug and weapons violators from entering the United States through airports and official land border crossings last year, the Washignton Post reported Tuesday.
While screeners turned back more than 200,000 foreigners in 2006, random audits indicate that they missed another 20,000 violators, the story said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is holding a press conference Tuesday to discuss the administration’s successes in immigration enforcement.
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Feinstein holds off on farm worker immigration bill
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., announced late Monday that she would not offer an immigration amendment to a farm bill currently under debate.
Feinstein’s amendment is known as AgJobs, shorthand for the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act. It would give thousands of illegal immigrant farm workers a chance to work in the United States legally and a path to citizenship.
The senator told Congressional Quarterly that she made the decision after taking a “clear-eyed assessment of the politics of the farm bill” and the defeat of recent bills to overhaul immigration laws.
Feinstein also said she would pursue a vote on AgJobs in the winter or early next year.
A proposal to give illegal immigrant students a pathway to citizenship if they joined the military or attended college failed in the Senate last month.
In addition, a larger White-House backed immigration overhaul failed in the Senate earlier this year. That bill would have given many illegal immigrants a path to citizenship and created a guest worker program.
What farm worker shortage?
The Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that pushes for stronger immigration controls, released a study this week that says there is no shortage of agricultural workers in the United States, despite many media reports to the contrary.
The study found:
— Production of fruits and vegetables has been increasing. In particular, plantings of very-labor intensive crops such as cherries and strawberries have grown by more than 20 percent in just five years.
— The average farm worker makes $9.06 an hour, compared to $16.75 for non-farm production workers.
— Real wages for farm workers increased one-half of one percent a year on average between 2000 and 2006. If there were a shortage, wages would be rising much more rapidly.
— Labor costs comprise only 6 percent of the price consumers pay for fresh produce. Therefore, if farm wages were allowed to rise 40 percent, and if all the costs were passed on to consumers, the cost to the average household would be only about $8 a year.
The report was disputed by labor and business groups.
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