Friday, January 29, 2010
immigration / legislature Far-reaching Anti-Immigrant Bill Introduced
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 9:38 AM
The Senate State Affairs Committee this morning has agreed to hearings on a far-reaching bill that cracks down on employment, licensing and public services to undocumented immigrants in Idaho. The bill is being sponsored by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, who brings similar legislation almost every year.
Jorgenson got his bill this year from Kris Kobach and his law school class at The University of Missouri - Kansas. Kobach, who worked for former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and was recently profiled in the New York Times, is on a crusade to fight illegal immigration at the local level. According to the New York Times, Kobach is partially paid by the legal arm of FAIR, a well-known anti-immigration group.
Jorgenson's bill, according to the print hearing this morning, would prohibit Idaho employers from hiring people illegally in the U.S., negate driver's licenses issued to "aliens" in other states, limit Idaho's driver's test to English only, reinforce the E-Verify system for checking work documents and make "sanctuary cities" in Idaho ineligible for state grants.
Senators questioned Jorgenson's fiscal note pointing out that many state agencies and local jurisdictions would be swept up in enforcing the measure. Jorgenson cited a figure from FAIR that without this bill, Idaho will pay out $148 million in services to undocumented immigrants this year and asserted that he believes it will be closer to $200 million.
There was no discussion of the contribution of illegal workers to the economy or to the state coffers.
The committee agreed to print the bill and hold a hearing.
The Canyon County delegation, three Republican senators, have also introduced SB 1271, which provides increased penalties for using or accepting false documentation in obtaining work.
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
You Go, Idaho! Get the illegal immigration bill passed!
Illegal aliens are destroying this Country, and one would have to be almost blind not to see this. How much longer do we have to support these illegal aliens? How much longer do we have to school their illegal alien children? How much longer are we going to let them have our jobs? How much longer are we going to put up with all the crime, stolen identities, forged documents, fake green cards? How much longer are we going to allow these illegal aliens to send money out of this Country and bring our Country down? Oh, amnesty will correct all this. WRONG! Nothing will change except we wouldn't be able to call them illegal aliens any more. Let's get rid of these illegal aliens! Let's get them back to their own Country where they belong!
I'm from Delaware, and we are pressing to get the Oklahoma State Illegal Immigration Law, HR 1804. passed here in Delaware. Three years ago we had about 32,000 illegal aliens here. Today we have about 68,000 illegal aliens here. We have had it! We want out State back!
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Yes, I'm totally pissed that some immigrant is out in the hot sun picking apples instead of me. I'd quit my office job in a heartbeat.
I also wonder if the "fiscal note" portion of this bill accounts for the drastic increase in operating costs that farmers will experience when they start paying documented workers minimum wage, benefits, and providing proper safety equipment? Why would Idaho legislators want to tinker with such an perfect example of a free market?
Oh, you say, “No American wants to pick radishes, lettuce, apples or fruit”, and we need these illegal aliens to keep the cost of our food down. Perhaps I would agree, but let’s hire them LEGALLY! I would not deny any farmer the right or privilege to hire migrant workers, if indeed they could not get an American to do the job, but let the farmers apply for them. That way, when an migrant worker enters this Country, he (she) will enter this country with a valid VISA and guest worker card. They will come and do the work. When the work is done, they will return back to their own Country. They WILL NOT remain in this country and take advantage of our social services and natural resources. Those are reserved for American citizens!
HOW ABOUT THAT?
Delawarebob is just a racist, look for all immigration news and you will find the same comments by him. He spends most of his time posting hate comments under different names.
See: http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100130/NEWS01/1300334/1002
Jorgensen's proposed legislation exemplifies how politicians attempt to gain headlines in favor of providing real leadership. The bill is unconstitutional, is entirely written by a special interest group with no ties to Idaho, redundant (federal already prohibits the hiring of undocumented workers), and would create another disincentive for businesses to invest here in the Gem State.
A more detailed explanation is available here: http://gemstatebusinessreview.wordpress.co…
So what if the price of apples is lower because the farmer can pay some unfortunate illegal less than a living wage. We act surprised when these folks have to live off welfare in order to survive and raise their children. The welfare cost is passed along to all taxpayers whether they eat apples or not. The real villain here is the farmer that uses illegal labor. He should be taxed heavily in order to pay for the welfare of his labor. That way only people who eat apples will bear the financial burden. By the way, don't kid yourself into thinking that U.S. citizens won't pick apples. I know for a fact they will.
re: Apple Picker's comment "he should be taxed heavily..." yeah, that will happen. My comment was merely to point out the short-sightedness of the bill and the irony that Idaho lawmakers are seeking to limit a free market, something they claim to value more than fairness, public welfare, or a progressive tax structure.
I agree with cpbjr's comment that this is a bill written for use in stump speeches, not a serious attempt at policy making.
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