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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Key House committee to hold series of immigration hearings
The House Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that it would hold several hearings on immigration in the coming weeks.
“Over the past year, it has become clear that we need an immigration system that is fair, legal, and tough,” said Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the committee. “The Bush administration has lost control of our borders and failed to deliver an immigration system that is good for American families, workers, and businesses. It is time to address those failures.”
It is unclear, however, whether any of the hearings will address an enforcement bill which is gaining support in the House.
The measure, dubbed the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement Act or SAVE Act, would increase the Border Patrol by 8,000, train more state and local police to enforce immigration law, and require that all businesses, within four years, use a government program to verify the legal status of their employees.
The program, known as E-Verify, is currently voluntary. Businesses and civil-rights groups have argued that the quality of some government databases poses a major problem for the system.
Most of the House members pushing the SAVE Act are Republicans, however the author of the legislation is a Democrat, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina. Other conservative Democrats also support the legislation.
A press release from the House Judiciary Committee says that the hearings will “examine a variety of issues regarding immigration.”
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Study: 40 percent of L.A. students are “English language learners”
More than 40 percent of students in Los Angeles County are in programs for “English language learners,” the new term for English as a Second Language courses, a new study says.
“The integration of immigrants remains an afterthought in policy discussions and could be considered one of the most overlooked issues in American governance,” said Michael Fix, co-author of the report and vice president at the Migration Policy Institute.
The report recommends several steps to improve integration of immigrants, including increased access to English language and civics instruction, and greater workplace acceptance of immigrants’ foreign educational and professional credentials.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand in Washington at the report’s release.
He said that immigrants — both legal and illegal — were vital to the economy of Los Angeles.
“You’ll find that these people are among the most patriotic, among the most hard-working, among the most grateful living in this country,” he said.
Villaraigosa also urged Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff to stop immigration raids at worksites. He was meeting with Chertoff later in the day to discuss the raids and other matters.
Read the Migration Policy Institute report here.
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NCLR president: nation reaching a “turning point” on immigration
Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization, said Wednesday that the nation is “fast approaching a turning point” when it comes to immigration.
“What started out as a public policy debate last spring is on the verge of becoming one of the largest civil rights issues of our generation,” she said. “The demonizing rhetoric that surrounds this issue, the hate groups and vigilantes who promote it, the politicians and media who embrace it, and the passivity of those listening…shame our great country.”
Murguia made the comments during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.
She also said that the debate affects all Latinos, not just illegal immigrants.
“When demonstrators in Arizona put on surgical masks whenever a Latino walks by because they think we carry tuberculosis, it’s personal,” she said. “When friends and neighbors get pulled over and asked for immigration papers — and are sometimes detained for hours — even though their families have been in this country for generations, it’s personal.”