Articles Posted in Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Employers and Labor Groups across the country are joining forces and doing whatever it takes, so that the Government will consider any immigration reform. The shortage in visas will be a huge blow for Hotels, Construction companies and the High Tech sector. Lawmakers, lobbyists say, have been reluctant to move forward on the issue, however, in part due to the major fallout over last summer’s contentious debate on the immigration reform bill.

I can tell you that our H2B clients and all worried that visas will run out as early as January and I feel that they may be correct. If this is true, no H2B visas until October 2008 is a gloomy reality for our major Hospitality clients and for the consumers expecting excellent service.

High-tech companies, meanwhile, are renewing their annual fight for an increase in H-1B visas programs, which allow highly skilled foreign applicants to work in the United States for six years, as well as employment-based visas that offer permanent employment status.

The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition (“EWIC”) representing employers both small and large, write to voice strong concerns with H.R. 4088 and S. 2368, the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act (“SAVE” Act). This legislation, introduced by Representatives Heath Shuler, Brian Bilbray and Senator Mark Pryor, does not provide the adequate framework for any future Immigration reform and employers are concerned for a reason.

It seems that the this proposed ACT exposes employers to unfair liability and worker shortages under a pretty bad system. Instead of solving visa shortage, backlog in application processing, this Act is all about enforcement.

Click here to read the statement Download file

I am not proud to be an American today. In a stunning display of heartlessness and gutlessness, the Senate voted today to quash the dreams and aspirations of hundreds of thousands of American students. The 52-44 vote in favor of proceeding to debate on the DREAM Act (S. 2205) fell eight votes short of the necessary 60 vote threshold. That eight-vote shortfall means a generation of American kids will remain stranded at the schoolhouse door. And while the vote is a nightmare for children, families, educators, and military recruiters throughout the country, it will also haunt the long-term political fortunes of those Senators standing on the wrong side of justice.

If this Bill failed to pass, don’t expect any other immigration reform anytime soon.

It is always interesting to read what members of Congress think about key issues, in this case immigration.

Sen. Lott’s opinion was published in the Clarion Ledger, among other things he says:

As you know, I had hoped to pass a broader immigration reform bill this year. I saw the July immigration debate as an opportunity, not necessarily to get an ideal border security plan in place, but as a foundation on which to build Senate support for stronger border security than we now have.

What a day for Immigration!! Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) held a vote on a motion to invoke cloture early today. A vote on cloture requires approval of 3/5 of the Senate, or 60 votes. The vote to invoke cloture on the underlying bill passed, 64-35. As a result, the Senate will resume consideration this week of amendments to the CIR bill, S. 1639. If the Bill will pass, I will be analyzing it in a special edition of our newsletter as well as on the Blog for the benefit of our readers and the press.

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Many of our readers have been calling the office asking about the status of the Immigration reform. After all, it is all over the news. As much as I like listening to the news, when thet cover immigration law changes, they often get it wrong. They mix the terms, the Green Card process from Citizenship and they (more like Lou Dobbs and Cong. Brian Bilbray) call this debate an amnesty. I call this the right thing to do, NOW.

back in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a procedural vote on a motion to proceed with the Senate immigration reform bill (S. 1639) for Tuesday, June 26, 2007. If the motion passes with 60 or more votes, senators will begin debate on a negotiated list of 24 amendments, split evenly between the two parties.

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If I could get a penny everytime I get into discussions about the “Illegals” in this country, I could be a very rich person by now. The current debate about immigration has divided our nation in so many ways. You can say many things about those that have broken the laws of our nation and entered here illegally, just to get that chance. Shall we reward them for ignoring the rules? I don’t see it as a prize, I see it as a right very well deserved. We are here to help them get there.

Watch the follwing discussion it is how America is so much divided:

So you thought the Bill was dead, not so fast. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to file for cloture on a motion to proceed on the newly reintroduced Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Reform Act (S. 1639*) on Wednesday, a move that could pave the way for a final round of debate and votes on the Senate immigration reform proposal.

Faced with two major pieces of legislation to complete before the July Fourth recess – immigration and energy – Senator Reid has threatened to keep his colleagues at work on immigration reform through this weekend. The Senate could begin debate as early as Thursday and may vote Friday on cloture, a procedural motion that must pass with 60 votes before the Senate can move forward with the amendment process. If the motion passes, the Senate could then devote the weekend to votes on amendments, to be followed next week by a vote on final passage.

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As you may know, the Senate failed to invoke cloture last night. After two weeks of dedicated time for debate on the Senate floor (and many months of negotiations), the body could not reach agreement on the bill.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association have been reassured by leaders of both parties and the White House that the immigration bill is not dead. However, a timeline for action is unclear. We all must continue our efforts and urge Congress to do the right thing and to pass a workable and comprehensive bill before the end of the year.

Please, continue contacting your Senators and remind them that the status quo is completely untenable. If our immigration laws are not changed, people will continue to die in the desert in greater numbers, families will be torn asunder, workplace raids will continue, backlogs will grow, innovation will be stifled, the proliferation of piecemeal state and local ordinances will continue, and immigrant communities will be faced with a literal state of siege.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday sent the following letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to carefully consider the critical issues that affect the bursting economy in California while developing comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens and improves our borders and develops a practical way to deal with the undocumented residents who are already here. The debate will be clearly heating up in the next few days.

You can read the letter below:

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