Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 -PDF file

National Review Online ^ | 05/18/07 | U.S.Senate & Staff

[SE Mom]

Thanks, HC! I listened to it..and read Hugh’s (latest) 180 degree turnaround on the bill.

I don’t know what Hugh is really thinking sometimes. Honestly- there may well be a few decent proposals in this bill. And yet- they are utterly overshadowed by what’s wrong.

Hewitt lost me with Harriet for SCOTUS anyway ;)

[HonestConservative]

Oh.

Only a couple weeks ago he was a total snot to TT on this subject, and now he is arguing that this bill is bad. Don’t know if you heard that butit was disgraceful.

I believe he is doing this so that he can turn around later and think he’ll be believed.

Tony: Why the footdragging on the fence?

[Ben Ficklin]

AgJobs was written around a compromise negotiated by the growers and the union back in 2003. It is cast in stone and can’t be changed.

[SE Mom]

Well- the day the bill cmae out, Hewitt was all against it. He had Tony on his show- and then wrote a piece on Townhall today changing his mind on it- and proceeded to berate anyone who disagrees with him.

Hugh was against it. Now he’s for it.

[HonestConservative]

Just for kicks, I’ll read his post for today.

What a yutz.

[Bahbah]

there may well be a few decent proposals in this bill. And yet- they are utterly overshadowed by what’s wrong.

Therein lies the real problem. And only the "good" provisions will be mentioned until we hear from Senator Sessions, on Monday I think.

[K-oneTexas]

That's just it. I didn't see any wording that supersedes or cancels the older laws. Nor does it state it is a complete re-codification of existing statute. It appears to be it's own statute, a stand alone statute. That tends to make me think that the other statutes would still be on the books separately and therefore still to be enforced.Though they aren't now so they would not be if this passes.

I'm not a lawyer but work with them for dozens of years enforcing all types and levels of statutes. One told me if it doesn't specifically state 'Section/Title X' is superseded or nullified or other legalese meaning canceled ... it's still good.

I guess that's another clarification's that is needed. Don't get me wrong I'm not in favor of amnesty, been there done that, and this is amnesty just with a new pretty coat of paint. It is a slap in the face to those who came in legally and followed the laws for years and decades. It's bad security policy, it's bad foreign policy and it's bad economics for us all. The ink isn't even dry on the building of the security fence bill from last year.

This bill/compromise should be defeated. The compromisers should be run out of town on a rail (if anyone else is old enough to remember that phrase).

[HonestConservative]

This is the paragraph of HH’s which probably is the one that sets you off.

There is an urgent need to regularize the illegal population for a variety of reasons, and to assure the flow of legal immigrants into the country, a flow that has usually been welcomed and absorbed. The GOP rejects the natavism of the extreme right, of course, and there are compelling reasons to endorse guest worker programs and specialized skill visas. There is also a widely-held belief in compassionate treatment of the long resident illegal and their families. The e-mail from one illegal, posted below, testifies to the extraordinary complexity of the status of the millions who are watching and waiting for this debate to conclude in a fair result.”

This has always been his position, so nothing has really changed with regard to the illegals. BUT he used to make fun of the fense and the need for border security, which he is not doing now.

I suspect he heard so much garbage after the TT thing that he decided to be pragmatic.

Anywho, what is really funny is listening to Tony wiggle around and use the selective language, and toward the end his implication that anyone who is for deporting illegals is goofy.

Cheap, Mr.Snow, very very cheap.

[freespirited]

Page 309 line 11.

References to welfare are usually described as “public benefits.” You can just search by that term to see all of them.

[freespirited]

AgJobs was written around a compromise negotiated by the growers and the union back in 2003. It is cast in stone and can’t be changed.

Yup, it was obvious from Reid's version that they had strung together a whole bunch of bills under one umbrella. The 2003 bill was one of them.

My objection is to the way they are lying to us about the bill provisions.

[Ben Ficklin]

I can’t see how the Z or Y visa will affect ag workers since they come in under the H2A visa.

[Prokopton]

Cheap, Mr.Snow, very very cheap.

I remember when many on this forum insisted that Whitehouse communications would be transformed when Tony took over. No more spin, we were going to get the straight story. Of course Tony was never very conservative and was always an open borders advocate, but even with that, his shucking and jiving is an embarrassment.

[freespirited]

I can’t see how the Z or Y visa will affect ag workers since they come in under the H2A visa.

I assume that there are lots of illegal ones with no visa at all.

Whatever, the Agricultural worker section starts on page 301. Should answer your questions better than I can.

[K-oneTexas]

I'm still trying to understand the system as a whole.

From Imigrantlaw.com 

Visa Categories
Temporary Visas (non-immigrant visas) Green Cards (Permanent Residency) Other Statuses
Visas are divided into two main categories: non-immigrant, or temporary, visas, and immigrant visas, also known as "green cards". Non-immigrant visas are obtained at the US consulate in your country of origin, and allow you to live and/or work in the US for a limited period of time, depending on the type of visa. Examples of common non-immigrant visas are H1B visas for skilled professional workers, E visas for foreign investors, and B visas for tourist and business travel to the US. A green card, on the other hand, lets you live and work in the US indefinitely as a permanent resident and allows you to obtain residency for your accompanying spouse and children as well. Green cards are available to certain types of workers, investors, and relatives of US citizens or green card holders. Some green cards are subject to annual quotas. For those who may not otherwise qualify for permanent residency, the annual green card lottery, also known as the "diversity visa immigrant program", offers a limited number of permanent residency visas to randomly chosen applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the US. Those who have been persecuted in their home country as well as Cuban nationals may apply for asylum or refugee permanent resident status.

Temporary Visas

B-1/B-2 Tourist/Visitor Visas
Available to all visitors coming to the U.S for business or pleasure. B-1 business visitor visas are for a short duration and must not involve local employment. Nationals of certain countries may be eligible to visit the US for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

E-1/E-2 Treaty and Investor Visas
Investors and traders and their employees may receive visas to carry on their businesses in the US if their home country has a commercial treaty with the US conferring visa eligibility.

F-1 and M-1 Student Visas
Persons seeking to pursue a full course of study at a school in the United States may be eligible for a visa for the course of their study plus, in some cases, a period for practical training in their field of study.

H-1B Specialty Occupation Visas for Professionals
Professional workers with at least a bachelor's degree (or its equivalent work experience) may be eligible for a non-immigrant visa if their employers can demonstrate that they are to be paid at least the prevailing wage for the position.

J-1 and Q-1 Exchange Visitor Visas
Persons coming to the US in an approved exchange program may be eligible for the J-1 Exchange Visitor's visa. J-1 programs often cover students, short-term scholars, business trainees, teachers, professors and research scholars, specialists, international visitors, government visitors, camp counselors and au pairs. In some cases, participation in a J-1 program will be coupled with the requirement that the beneficiary spend at least two years outside of the US before being permitted to switch to a different nonimmigrant visa or to permanent residency. We regularly handle the application process for seeking a waiver to the home residency requirement that applies to many J-1 visa holders.

K-1 Fiance(e) Visas
A Fiance(e) of a US citizen is eligible for a non-immigrant visa conditioned on the conclusion of the marriage within 90 days.

L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visas
L-1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized knowledge employees transferring to their employer's U.S. affiliate. Executives and managers holding L-1 visas may be eligible for permanent residency without the need of a labor certification.

O-1 Extraordinary Ability Worker Visas
The O-1 category is set aside for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability. This includes entertainers, athletes, scientists, and businesspersons.

P-1 Artists and Athletes Visas
This category covers athletes, artists and entertainers.

R-1 Religious Worker Visas
Religious workers may be eligible for an R-1 visa.

TC and TN NAFTA and US-Canada Free Trade Agreement Visas
A special visa category has been set up for nationals of Canada and Mexico under the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

Permanent Residency Visas ("Green Cards")

Family Sponsored Immigration Visas
U.S. citizens may petition for spouses, parents, children and siblings. Permanent residents may petition for spouses and children.

Employer-Sponsored Immigrant Visas:

EB-1 Foreign Nationals of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers and Multinational Executives and Managers
Individuals in this category can petition for permanent residency without having to go through the time consuming labor certification process.

EB-2 Workers with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business
Visa holders in this category normally must have a job offer and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process. The labor certification involves a testing of the job market to demonstrate that the potential visa holder is not taking a job away from a U.S. worker. In cases where an individual can show that his entry is in the national interest, the job offer and labor certification requirements can be waived.

EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals
Visa holders in this category normally must have a job offer and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process.

EB-4 Special Immigrant Visas for Religious Workers
Ministers of religion are eligible for permanent residency.

EB-5 Investor/Employment Creation Visas
Under the 1990 Immigration Act, Congress has set aside up to 10,000 visas per year for alien investors in new commercial enterprises who create employment for ten individuals. There are two groups of investors under the program - those who invest at least $500,000 in "targeted employment areas" (rural areas or areas experiencing unemployment of at least 150% of the national average rate) and those who invest $1,000,000 anywhere else. No fewer than 3,000 of the annual allotment of visas must go to targeted employment areas.

DV-1 Visas (The "Green Card Lottery")
55,000 visas are annually allotted in a random drawing to individuals from nations underrepresented in the total immigrant pool.

Other Statuses

Refugee and Asylum Applications
Persons with a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion may be eligible to apply for asylum or refugee status in the U.S.

Temporary Protected Status
Granted to individuals from selected countries which the U.S. currently recognizes as unsafe. Allows individuals to remain in the U.S. for the duration of their status. Subject to a periodic USCIS review. Does not lead to a visa.

TN Status
Allows certain Mexican and Canadian workers to avoid the visa application process by proceeding directly to a U.S. port of entry and presenting the necessary documents.

 

 Is the 'Z' (1, 2 or 3)  in addition to the above or does it replace a couple of the above that already do the same thing? Again, the 'Z' numbers/caps in additon to the above or included in the above? Are 'Z' visas only for Mexicams or for any nationality?

 The H-1 (I beleive) has a cap of 80,000 or some such number and was consumed within a month or so ir the numbers coming out of Congress. Guess the 12-20 million are already "earmarked" for some one.

[SE Mom]

Thank you for the explanation- that’s what I thought, as well. Clarification is needed - no doubt.

It’s a mess, no matter how you look at the bill..

[HonestConservative]

“I remember when many on this forum insisted that Whitehouse communications would be transformed when Tony took over. No more spin, we were going to get the straight story. Of course Tony was never very conservative and was always an open borders advocate, but even with that, his shucking and jiving is an embarrassment.”

‘No more spin, we were going to get the straight story. ‘

No one I know with a pulse believes that is a WHPS job to NOT spin. I would be interested to see who might have believed that.

The perception was that Scott McClellan got so bull dozed every single day and was not up to the task of defending the presidents policies, or anyone’s for that matter.

Tony is by far more than capable at what he is doing. Which is why it is so telling that a man who is so in control and so fast on his feat resorts to name calling in an argument.

That tells you that even HE isn’t buying it, and he,as you rightly said, is an open borders guy. On his radio show,
he called me a racist xenophobe, live on the air.

That tells you he’s got nothin’! Even he can only defend to a point and then he is out of ammo. He is simply doing his job as the presidents advocate.

So no matter what you think about his politics, you can like someone’s personage as a whole, without approving of everything they say or do, just as conversly you can agree politically with a person who is not someone who you would want to know on any level.

[HonestConservative]

After listening to HH slober all over himself because Rush quoted his blog, I didn’t hear that he is for the bill, but that he is not.

Perhaps, there is an additional blog for today that I have not seen?

[Cyropaedia]

Jeff Sessions. One of the few Pubbies in the Senate that actually understands how immigration works.

I think they were able to get to Kyl somehow, blackmailing him with some kind of dirt.

[SE Mom]

Well..I’ve looked around to try and find where I read Hugh being against the bill before he was for it...but am coming up blank. I remember clearly reading (somewhere!) him ask for help from Mitt and Fred to help stop the bill.

But I did find this here:
http://cadillactight.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/hugh-hewitt-to-amnesty-opponents-youre-all-racists/

[SE Mom]

Public benefits? Hah! The public in Mexico benefits;)

Thanks for the info..