Worker Amnesty and Opportunity Act of 2003

Date: Friday, March 21, 2003 11:50 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Republican Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, both from Arizona,
introduced legislation to bring more guest workers into the country
while providing temporary visas for illegal aliens. The illegal aliens
can get a work visa after they pass "appropriate background checks." So
far those background checks aren't defined, so they may not be anything
more than a matricula consular card - or a forged social security card.

You would think that these bills would be rejected on the basis of
national security, but the proponents of this bill turned the argument
on it's head. These Arizona turncoats will argue that changing and
standardizing the system for entry will keep the riff-raff out. An
emphasis will be made on the need for background checks for the visa
applicants to assure the public that terrorists won't be able to use
these visas.

This bill will flood US labor markets with a new round of cheap
immigrant workers. Just in case they need a college degree to get a job,
they will be able to get to attend universities that are subsidized by
the few Americans that still have a job. American workers will lose
their jobs to immigrant labor during a time of high unemployment while
politicians like Flake and Kolbe collect donation checks for the next
election. Since Arizonans love Republicans these two will probably be
re-elected no matter how high unemployment is in Arizona, and not
matter how many people's careers are destroyed.

To see Flake's letter justifying this betrayal of our sovereignty, go
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/Library/Politicians/Flake.htm

http://www.fairus.org/html/wrapup.htm

Worker Amnesty and Opportunity Act of 2003
H.R. 604 Representative Major Owens (D-NY)

Read our Issue Briefs: Why Amnesty For Illegal Aliens Is A Bad Idea

Don't Subsidize College for Illegal Aliens
H.R. 604 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for
legal permanent resident status for illegal aliens who are: (1) workers
in an employee-shortage occupation and sponsored by a labor
organization; (2) eligible for admission at a U.S. institution of
higher education; or (3) at least 65 years old.

Status: 2/5/2003 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

FAIR comment: OPPOSE: H.R. 604 rewards illegal aliens for violating the
law and serves as an open invitation for those waiting in the queue for
immigrant visas to jump the line by entering the U.S. illegally and
then processing their applications here. Letting illegal aliens benefit
from amnesty is not fair to those aliens who do respect the immigration
laws of the U.S. and wait patiently in their home countries for visas.
In addition, it further promotes a growing culture of disrespect for
U.S. immigration laws.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/national/3_13_03us_mex.html

Caucus seeks better U.S.-Mexico relations
U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., is a member. But its biggest issue -
immigration - won't be immediately addressed.

SERGIO BUSTOS
Gannett News Service
March 13, 2003

WASHINGTON - Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Jim
Kolbe, R-Ariz., said yesterday they have formed a caucus to improve
U.S.-Mexico relations but will not immediately push Congress to tackle
the thorniest issue between the two countries: immigration.

Instead, the U.S.-Mexico Congressional Caucus will concentrate on
supporting a stronger trade relationship with Mexico, said Rep. David
Dreier, R-N.M. Trade has almost tripled to nearly $250 billion a year
since passage of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.

Dreier was joined at a Capitol Hill news conference by Rolf Lundberg, a
top official with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"In many ways, the most important aspect of (our relationship) is the
economic bond between our two countries," Dreier said. "Lives can be
improved on both sides of the border if we improve our already strong
economic ties."
He said immigration is an "ancillary" issue in U.S.-Mexico relations.

That opinion is not shared by the Mexican government. Mexican President
Vicente Fox has urged President Bush for the past three years to give
the estimated 4 million to 5 million illegal Mexican immigrants here a
chance to become legal residents.
Both countries had been aggressively negotiating the terms of a
migration accord, but the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks tabled
talks indefinitely. The Bush administration has since made border
security a top priority.

Mexico's economy is partly dependent on the estimated $9 billion
Mexicans here send to family in Mexico each year.
It was unclear what direction the caucus - made up of 13 Republicans
and 11 Democrats from 11 states - will take in the coming months. It
has no specific agenda and no plans to introduce legislation soon.
"We're just getting started," Dreier said.

Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, the other caucus co-chair, said caucus
members will deal with the immigration issue.
"Nobody's excluding immigration from our agenda," he said.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who joined the caucus, said the group needs
time to craft its agenda, but he expects it to deal with a range of
issues, including immigration.

He's working to generate support among caucus members for a bill he and
Kolbe are drawing up to create a guest worker program with Mexico. The
bill would give Mexicans temporary visas to live and work in the United
States for up to two years.
"I think caucus members are inclined to support it," he said.

Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., who plans to join the caucus, said he's
encouraged by the formation of the group and expects immigration to
become a top issue. "You can't ignore it," he said.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/archive/01/immig01/9_6_01fox.html

More surprises expected from Fox

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush (in red dress) welcome Mexican
President Vicente Fox and his wife, Martha Sahagun, at a White House
dinner last night.

The Associated Press

SUSAN CARROLL and OSCAR OBEYTA
Citizen Staff Writers
Sept. 6, 2001

Polarized Congress hears Fox's proposal for border reform

Down-home Bushes put on glitz at state dinner

Mexican President Vicente Fox caught President Bush off guard yesterday
when he opened his first state visit by urging that an immigration
agreement be reached by year's end.

Get ready for more surprises today, Washington insiders and observers
say.

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe attended a luncheon yesterday with members of the
Mexican Cabinet and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Tucson
Republican said he expects the two governments today to announce a
commitment to a guest worker program.

The Mexican government has said throughout high-level immigration talks
that a guest worker program would have to be accompanied by some sort
of legalization for the estimated 3 million to 4 million Mexicans
living in the U.S. illegally.
But now, Kolbe said, there is talk of an "enhanced legalization," a
guest worker program that eventually rewards workers for years of
service with a green card.

A compromise might be more palatable to a Congress that has members who
are "hostile" to the idea of an amnesty, Kolbe said.

When Bush first floated the idea of legalizing Mexican immigrants,
Kolbe - long a vocal opponent of amnesty - said he reacted with
disbelief. "My jaw kind of dropped," Kolbe said in a telephone
interview from Washington, D.C. "I thought 'Where is he coming from?
There isn't support for that here (in Congress).' "

Boris Kozolchyk, president of the National Law Center for
Inter-American trade in Tucson, said Fox's hope to reach a broad
immigration agreement with the United States by the end of this year is
probably not realistic.
"Given the situation in Congress, I don't think it's very feasible
unless they scale their proposals down to a guest worker program," he
said.

A guest worker program, which would allow Mexican workers to enter the
country legally for seasonal jobs, would enable Mexican families to
count on regular income, he said. That could serve to stabilize the
Mexican economy by boosting consumer spending and domestic investment.
"The benefit (of a guest worker program) to Mexico is enormous," he
said. "It allows the families involved in this type of work to plan
ahead."

Richard Fimbres, regional vice president for the League of United Latin
American Citizens, was cautiously optimistic that there will be some
result from the meeting between Bush and Fox. "I think a viable guest
worker program will come out of this, but we have to be cautious this
doesn't turn into a bracero program."

The bracero program imported Mexican workers during World War II until

the mid 1960s. That program ended amid allegations that U.S. employers
were exploiting the workers. Immigrant advocates and union leaders also
worry what a guest worker program could mean to undocumented immigrants
already living and working in the United States. Paul Rubin, the
Southern Arizona director for United Food and Commercial Workers, said
aside from jeopardizing current workers' jobs, the proposal puts
workers at the mercy of employers. "To me, it seems the only people who
are going to benefit from a guest worker proposal are the employers,"
Rubin said.

>>> Find this bill at http://thomas.loc.gov/

Worker Amnesty and Opportunity Act of 2003 (Introduced in House)

HR 604 IH

108th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 604
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for legal
permanent resident status for certain undocumented or nonimmigrant
aliens.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 5, 2003

Mr. OWENS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for legal
permanent resident status for certain undocumented or nonimmigrant
aliens.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Worker Amnesty and Opportunity Act of
2003'.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS OF CERTAIN UNDOCUMENTED AND NONIMMIGRANT
ALIENS.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by
inserting after section 210 the following new section:

`alien worker amnesty

`SEC. 210A. (a) LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE- The Attorney General shall
adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence if the alien submits an application and the
Attorney General determines that the alien meets the following
requirements:

`(1) PRESENCE IN UNITED STATES- The alien maintained a continuous
physical presence in the United States for a period of not less than 10
years immediately prior to the date of the submission of an application
under this section. For the purposes of this section an alien shall be
considered to have failed to maintain continuous physical presence in
the United States for the purposes of this section if the alien has
departed from the United States for any period in excess of 90 days or
for any periods in the aggregate exceeding 365 days.

`(2) QUALIFICATION- The alien fulfills at least 1 of the following
qualifications:

`(A) ALIEN SPONSORED BY A LABOR ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYED IN AN
OCCUPATION WITH A WORKER SHORTAGE- The alien is employed in the United
States in an occupation which during the 2-year period prior to the
date of the submission of an application under this section has
experienced a shortage of workers and the application of the alien
under this section is sponsored by a labor organization.

`(B) ALIEN ELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION AS STUDENT AT AN INSTITUTION OF
HIGHER EDUCATION- The alien is eligible for admission as a student at
an accredited institution of higher education in the United States.

`(C) AGE- The alien has attained the age of 65 years.

`(3) ADMISSIBLE AS IMMIGRANT- The alien is admissible to the United
States as an immigrant, except as otherwise provided under subsection
(b)(2).

`(b) WAIVER OF NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS AND CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION-

`(1) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS- The numerical limitations of sections 201
and 202 shall not apply to the adjustment of aliens to lawful permanent
resident status under this section.

`(2) GROUNDS FOR EXCLUSION- With respect to the determination of an
alien's admissibility under subsection (a)(3):

`(A) NOT APPLICABLE- The provisions of paragraphs (6) and (7) of
section 212(a) shall not apply.

`(B) DISCRETIONARY-

`(i) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in clause (ii), in the
determination of such an alien's admissibility, the Attorney General
may waive any other provision of section 212(a) in the case of
individual aliens for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or
when it is otherwise in the public interest.

`(ii) GROUNDS THAT MAY NOT BE WAIVED- The following provisions of
section 212(a) may not be waived by the Attorney General under clause
(i):

`(I) Paragraph (2)(A) and (2)(B) (relating to criminals).

`(II) Paragraph (2)(C) (relating to drug offenses), except for so much
of such paragraph as relates to a single offense of simple possession
of 30 grams or less of marihuana.

`(III) Paragraph (3) (relating to security and related grounds), other
than subparagraph (E) thereof.

`(c) TEMPORARY STAY OF EXCLUSION OR DEPORTATION FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS-
The Attorney General shall provide that in the case of an alien who
presents a nonfrivolous application under subsection (a), and until a
final determination on the application has been made in accordance with
this section, the alien may not be excluded or deported.

`(d) TEMPORARY WORK AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN APPLICANTS- An applicant
under this section is not entitled to employment authorization, but
such authorization may be provided in the discretion of the Attorney
General.'.

(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- The table of contents of the Immigration and
Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 210 the following new item:

`Sec. 210A. Alien worker amnesty .'.

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