Fernando's Hideaway

Originally posted on the AILA Leadership Blog

By David Leopold, AILA President and Crystal Williams, AILA Executive Director

Washington reminds us Fernando Lamas, the Saturday Night Live character played by Billy Crystal who would interview various celebrities, often confusing them with someone else.  Always during the interview he would say, "You look mahvelous" and the sketch would end with, "It's better to look good than to feel good."

In Washington, it’s all about looking good too.  It doesn’t matter what the reality of any given situation might be.  All that matters is how it looks so that it can be packaged into a talking head sound bite and sold to the American public lock, stock, and barrel.

In the national “debate” on immigration, it’s all about looking good too.  It doesn’t matter if what is being said is accurate, or if what is being proposed is effective.  It only matters if someone notices you look tough on immigrants, even if what you propose or pass does nothing to fix our broken immigration system.

So we get a Senator once known for his integrity and thoughtfulness suddenly making up a phenomenon that doesn’t exist (“drop and leave”) and using it as a basis to argue that we ought to make stateless persons of innocent babies born in the U.S. to foreign nationals.  Then we get a group of Senators who only days ago stood for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform suddenly proposing—and passing—an enforcement-only measure that offers no solutions and accomplishes nothing more than adding to the national deficit.

In the meantime, we have approximately 11 million people, the vast majority of whom are here for no reason other than to better their lives and the lives of their families, living in the shadows and vulnerable to exploitation.  We have an over-taxed deportation system that can’t seem to figure out which way to turn.  We have a immigration detention apparatus in which 113 people have perished since 2003.  We have politicians all out-promising and under-delivering.  Nothing is fixed.  No progress is made.

It’s time to stop worrying about how it looks and start looking at how it works.  We know what needs to be done.  Now, will our so-called national leadership show a little courage and do it?  Or will they pretend, like Fernando did, that everything just looks “mahvelous."

Action Alert: Wadsworth Pro-Arizona Resolution

On August 3rd, Wadsworth City Council had a second reading of a pro-Arizona, anti-immigrant resolution.  A local group, Wadsworth 9.12 paired with the Grassroots Rally Team (a group connected with FAIR) to have a room full of supporters of the resolution.  We need to counter their efforts!  For more information about the resolution, please view the Medina Gazette article by clicking here.
 

What can you commit to?  We need people to:

• Attend the next meeting (third reading) on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 7:00 p.m at Wadsworth City Hall. (Let me know if you need a ride. We will leave at 5:00 from Columbus).
  
• Make a phone call (330-335-2759) for the clerk of Council)
• Send an email (emails below).
• Contact anyone you know in the Wadsworth area (and other areas) and share this information. Ask them if they can commit to any of the above actions.

Not from Wadsworth?  Well, as MLK said, "Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere."

 

List of Wadsworth City Council members:

Mayor Robin Laubaugh 

E-mail: rlaubaugh@wadsworthcity.org

Tom Palecek, President of Council

E-mail: tpalecek@wadsnet.com

Jim Riley, Council At-Large

E-mail: jriley1@wadsnet.com

Susan Hanlon, Council At-Large

E-mail: schanlon@wadsnet.com

Beth Workman, Council At-Large

Phone: 330-703-1551  

E-mail: bworkman@soprema.us

Tim Eberling, Ward 1

E-mail: roadhouse@wadsnet.com

Dennis Shultz, Ward 2

E-mail: dshultz@wadsnet.com

John Sharkey, Ward 3  

E-mail: jsharkeyjr@yahoo.com

Bruce Darlington, Ward 4

E-mail: bdarlington1933@verizon.net

A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE STATE OF ARIZONA IN REGARD TO ARIZONA SENATE BILL 1070 AMENDED BY ARIZONA HOUSE BILL 2162 ENACTED TO ASSIST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN ENFORCING UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION LAWS

WHEREAS, this Council believes strongly in the integrity of the borders of the United States and that the federal government has a duty to protect these borders, including regulating the numbers and the qualifications for entrance into the country; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has failed in its role to protect our borders from an unprecedented number of illegal aliens entering our country; and

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona is in the unusual and unfortunate position of enduring the vast majority of illegal border crossings and suffering from the narcotics trafficking into our country; and

WHEREAS, the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that 500,000 illegal aliens live in the State of Arizona; and

WHEREAS, after considering both Fiscal Costs and Fiscal Revenues, it is estimated that illegal aliens cost the State over $2.7 billion annually; and

WHEREAS, the State of Arizona has passed Arizona Senate Bill 1070, which was amended by Arizona House Bill 2162, to assist the federal government in enforcing the nation’s immigration laws; and

WHEREAS, the Arizona law requires its law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status with the federal government if the officer has a reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is unlawfully in the United States, and

WHEREAS, the Arizona law expressly prohibits the use of racial profiling and is designed to help enforce the nation’s immigration laws in a way that does not violate anyone’s civil rights, and

WHEREAS, the Arizona law requires aliens to register for and carry documents with them that the federal law already requires such aliens to possess and does not require United States citizens to carry any documents;  

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WADSWORTH, STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1.  That this Council hereby expresses its support for the people of Arizona who must endure the direct consequences of our federal government’s failure in protecting our borders. This Council further applauds and thanks Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona State Legislature for protecting its citizens when the federal government has refused to do so.

Section 2.  That the Clerk of Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and to the clerks of the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate.

 

Tell Ohio Sen. John Carey to Focus on a Real Solution

Ohio will do what it can until federal government tackles immigration reform
 BY JOHN CAREY • August 6, 2010

 Read Full article in the Chillicothe Gazette.

. . . On March 24, my colleagues and I approved Senate Bill 35, legislation that directs the Ohio Attorney General to pursue a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Attorney General under the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that would allow state law enforcement officers, who receive special training, to help enforce federal immigration laws in Ohio. It is important to note that the law specifies that no law enforcement officer may enforce federal immigration rules unless they have completed the necessary training, and nothing in the bill requires police to participate in this training.

That same day, the Senate also passed Senate Bill 150, a proposal that would give local law enforcement greater flexibility to assist federal immigration officials in the deportation of illegal aliens in Ohio.

Under current law, a county sheriff has the authority to arrest and detain illegal immigrants who violate a criminal provision of federal immigration law. However, this authority does not extend to civil provisions of the law, which includes matters of deportation. This limitation has left many local law enforcement officers with their hands tied in trying to address the illegal immigration problem in their communities.

SB 150 would allow local sheriffs to seek an agreement with the federal office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help in the investigation, apprehension and detention of illegal aliens who violate civil and criminal provisions of federal immigration law. In addition, the bill would allow local sheriffs, at the direction of their county commissioners and upon the request of federal immigration officials, to receive into custody anyone who is being detained for deportation or charged with a civil violation of federal immigration law. Like SB 35, nothing in SB 150 requires local police to enforce federal immigration laws or take suspected illegal aliens into custody.

In addition, after officials from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation testified before the Senate Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee last fall that the agency does not currently check to see if injured workers are authorized to work in the United States before paying out benefits, legislation was introduced in the Senate to address the issue. Senate Bill 238, which passed the Senate in May, would require every injured worker in Ohio to prove to the BWC that he or she is authorized to work in this country, ensuring that the money companies are paying into the system now is only being used to cover the injury claims of employees who are legally authorized to work in the U.S.

America is a nation of immigrants, and I think most Americans believe that people from other countries who want to live and work here legally, should have a path to do so. However, illegal immigration poses a threat to our national security and financial stability and should not be tolerated. Until the federal government tackles immigration reform, Ohio, and other states, will continue to do everything possible to protect taxpayer resources and keep their local communities safe.

SB 35, SB 150 and SB 238 are all pending in the Ohio House. For more information, please visit the Ohio General Assembly website at www.legislature. state.oh.us.

John Carey, a Wellston Republican is the state senator for the 17th District, which includes Pike and Ross counties. To view his website click here. He can be reached at (614) 466-8156 or Email: SD17@senate.state.oh.us.


Dear Senator Carey,


State and local immigration enforcement measures waste valuable state resources on a federal responsibility and create mistrust in immigrant communities, leading to rising crime, while they DO NOT solve the immigration problem.

Furthermore, the BWC bill ignores employer responsibility in favor of placing the blame on the easy target and while burdening the entire public.


 If you, Senator Carey, really wanted to aide in the solution, you would should spend your time talking to your Congressional representatives about comprehensive immigration reform instead of this kind of obvious political pandering.

Sincerely,
Name

DREAM of an Act

DREAM of an act

Here's an immigration bill that deserves bipartisan support

Published on Thursday, Aug 05, 2010

Akron Beacon Journal
http://www.ohio.com/editorial/opinions/100008694.html

Congress is not about to embark on comprehensive immigration reform less than three months away from midterm elections. Even if it did, the chances are slim to nil the legislative debate would yield rational solutions to the country's complex immigration problems. Sen. Arlen Specter observed recently that ''the political pandering on the immigration issue has reached the hysterical level.''

Indeed, it has. The disgrace of it is that otherwise reasonable lawmakers, such as South Carolina's Sen. Lindsey Graham, have jumped on the anti-immigration bandwagon, among other ploys targeting for repeal the 14th Amendment, which, since the 1860s, has guaranteed citizenship to those born or naturalized in the United States. And all this at a time when the U.S. economy needs to attract and develop the vital energies and capabilities that hard-driving, motivated immigrants bring.

None of this is to deny that the country has an immigration problem. Estimates are that more than 11 million people are living here illegally. The vast majority of them come searching for political and economic security and are prepared for the hard work to secure the future for their families.

The realistic objective, especially for a country that cherishes its roots as a nation of immigrants, is to create a process that would simplify and encourage legal residency and citizenship. If Congress lacks the appetite to do battle now on comprehensive legislation, it certainly can take up a more manageable aspect of the problem: a means to legalize the status of children who are illegal residents through no decisions of their own.

That is the purpose of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minority Act, the most recent version of which was introduced in 2009. Better known as the DREAM Act, the bill proposes that children who were brought into the country before they were 16 years old earn conditional residency status if they have lived here at least five years, are of ''good moral character'' and have earned a high school degree or equivalent. After six years, they can apply for permanent residency if they have completed at least two years of post-secondary education or military service.

The bill offers these youths the incentives they need to develop into productive contributors, a pool of talent the country should not reject.

Congress is not about to embark on comprehensive immigration reform less than three months away from midterm elections. Even if it did, the chances are slim to nil the legislative debate would yield rational solutions to the country's complex immigration problems. Sen. Arlen Specter observed recently that ''the political pandering on the immigration issue has reached the hysterical level.''

Indeed, it has. The disgrace of it is that otherwise reasonable lawmakers, such as South Carolina's Sen. Lindsey Graham, have jumped on the anti-immigration bandwagon, among other ploys targeting for repeal the 14th Amendment, which, since the 1860s, has guaranteed citizenship to those born or naturalized in the United States. And all this at a time when the U.S. economy needs to attract and develop the vital energies and capabilities that hard-driving, motivated immigrants bring.

None of this is to deny that the country has an immigration problem. Estimates are that more than 11 million people are living here illegally. The vast majority of them come searching for political and economic security and are prepared for the hard work to secure the future for their families.

The realistic objective, especially for a country that cherishes its roots as a nation of immigrants, is to create a process that would simplify and encourage legal residency and citizenship. If Congress lacks the appetite to do battle now on comprehensive legislation, it certainly can take up a more manageable aspect of the problem: a means to legalize the status of children who are illegal residents through no decisions of their own.

That is the purpose of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minority Act, the most recent version of which was introduced in 2009. Better known as the DREAM Act, the bill proposes that children who were brought into the country before they were 16 years old earn conditional residency status if they have lived here at least five years, are of ''good moral character'' and have earned a high school degree or equivalent. After six years, they can apply for permanent residency if they have completed at least two years of post-secondary education or military service.

The bill offers these youths the incentives they need to develop into productive contributors, a pool of talent the country should not reject.

Update on Wadsworth and Toledo Immigration Resolutions

Wadsworth – The City Council considered a resolution, Res. No. 10-10, “to support the State of Arizona in regard to Arizona Senate Bill 1070” but they did not yet vote on the resolution. It was submitted for a third reading. Public commentary lasted about two and half hours and most of the presence there was from the Wadsorth 9.12 group as well as the Grassroots Rally Team. Many local community members were also opposed to the resolution, with comments ranging from “this is despicable,” to “I agree with the Arizona bill but this is not the place for City Council” to warnings from residents that they will leave if the City passes such a divisive resolution (one resident making such a comment was a ‘legal immigrant.’) The resolution presumably will be voted upon at the next meeting on Tuesday, August 17th.

Toledo – The Toledo Resolution “calls upon the President of the United States, the United States Congress and encourages the Ohio General Assembly and the Governor to enact and support comprehensive immigration reform that will for the State of Ohio address the issues of undocumented immigration at its’ roots and will keep families together and uphold our values as Americans and promote sound and sustainable economic growth.” The resolution passed, with the council voting 10-2 Tuesday night, with councilmen Tom Waniewski and Rob Ludeman dissenting. Click here for the full article.

Who Doesn't Have Cojones?

Originally published on the AILA Leadership Blog

She’s going to do all that she can to continue down the litigation path to allow secure borders…Jan Brewer has the “cojones” that our president does not have to  look out for Americans, not just Arizonans, but all Americans, in this desire of ours to secure our borders and allow legal immigration to help build this country, as was the purpose of the immigration laws

Guess who said that? Who else but Sarah Palin!

The half-term—“I can serve the people of Alaska better on Fox News”—Governor of Alaska was on Fox News Sunday (where else?) talking about Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s losing court battle to revive the moribund S.B. 1070 “show me your papers” law.

Catchy sound bites, especially when made on the safety of a facebook page or in a Fox News studio, are pretty easy to construct.  It gets a little more difficult when you try to mix in facts.

Sarah Palin, Governor Jan Brewer, and others who claim Obama doesn’t have the “cojones” to enforce the immigration law may want to read yesterday’s TRAC Immigration Report.  According to the report “newly-released figures from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) show that during the first nine months of FY 2010, more non-US citizens were removed from the country than during any similar period in the Bush Administration.”  The report also shows that the “sharp increases in ICE detention and removal of non-U.S. citizens had been accomplished largely by catching noncitizens who had not committed any crimes in this country but who had either crossed the border illegally or had overstayed their visas.”  TRAC also reports a current shift in targeting to noncitizens who have committed crimes in this country.  ICE “has already broken all previous records, and climbed to an all-time high,” according to TRAC.  In fact, under Obama, the removal pace of criminal aliens is 60% higher than under the last year of the Bush administration.

To be sure, I have serious questions about whether ICE is actually engaging in smart enforcement.  Who is really being removed? Is ICE really focusing on terrorists, violent criminals, and drug dealers?  Or are they continuing to inflate the statistics by removing unfortunate folks that somehow got caught in the web of America’s dysfunctional immigration system?  And, like many others, I am also eagerly awaiting signs of significant improvements in the dysfunctional ICE detention apparatus which has claimed the lives of 113 immigrants since 2003.

Yet, to brazenly claim that Obama is soft on immigration enforcement is pure demagoguery.   But I guess speaking the truth takes “cojones.”

Representative Combs after the Injunction

States rethink illegal immigrant bills after Arizona ruling
By Alan Gomez
USA Today, August 02, 2010

Phoenix - Legislators who wanted to bring an Arizona-style immigration law to their own states are changing course after a federal judge temporarily halted the core of Arizona's law.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled last week that key portions of the law could not go into effect, prompting an immediate appeal from Republican Gov. Jan Brewer that could end up before the Supreme Court.

Courtney Combs, a Republican state representative in Ohio, was planning to file a nearly identical bill this week but says he will remove the parts Bolton blocked to avert the possibility of a lawsuit.
Filing an Arizona-style bill "would be wasting taxpayers' money," Combs says. "I think we need to make sure that we comply with what the federal courts come up with." Read full article.
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