Jack Kingston

CONGRESSMAN KINGSTON’S IMMIGRATION REFORM PROGRAM EXTENDED
House extends program for five years

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) today praised the passage of legislation that extends E-Verify.  The program, which allows employers to verify the legal working status of their employees, was slated to expire in November of this year.

“E-Verify is the first step towards ensuring the security of our workforce and ridding our nation of illegal workers,” Congressman Kingston said.  “It not only protects American jobs but helps protect us all from identity theft by ensuring that a job applicant’s social security number is their own.  I have always been concerned that this program would fade away in the bureaucratic maze of Washington.  The legislation passed today not only extends the program but it addresses concerns of costs and the impact on small businesses.”

Initiated by an act of Congress in 1997, E-Verify was originally only available in the five states with the highest illegal immigrant populations.  By December 2004, the program was extended to all fifty states.  Congressman Kingston, who has been a longtime supporter of the program, worked to include legislation in annual spending bills that would require all federal contractors to participate in the program.

“Illegal immigrants have been found working on military installations, government buildings, and even helping to build the border fence along our border with Mexico,” Congressman Kingston said.  “It is a threat to our national security that must be addressed.  With E-Verify, employers can submit an applicant’s information and know whether or not they’re legal within seconds.”

On June 6th, Congressman Kingston’s proposal became a federal requirement, when the President issued Executive Order 12989.  The action has tripled the number of requests processed through the program.

The legislation, H.R. 6633, was passed by a vote of 407-2 today.  It must now be taken up in the Senate before being signed into law.

In today’s The Hill, it is revealed that conservative Democrats continued defiance of House leadership includes their desire to block illegal immigrants from getting tax breaks.  According to the article:

“Twenty-one Democrats voted for the measure that would have changed the tax bill to prevent illegal immigrants from getting tax breaks.” (click here for full article)

The article goes on:

“The Republican motion would have tried to stop illegal immigrants from claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit and sought to block subsidies from going to so-called ’sanctuary cities’ that don’t enforce immigration laws.”

Not only did Democrat leaders block Republican efforts to cut off those who are in our country illegally from benefitting from the hard earned tax dollars of the American people, they had to break their own rules to do it!

“The tie vote came with some procedural wrangling. The vote was held open with the clock at 0:00 as the narrow margin fluctuated by a vote or two…The vote was gaveled closed by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in the Speaker’s chair after someone on the Democratic side shouted, ‘Shut it down, Sheila.’”

For a list of members who voted in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to recieve tax benefits, check out the “Nays” on this page.

Today’s CongressDaily AM has a piece about how Democrat leadership is trying to block Republican efforts to vote on an immigration reform package offered by Democrat Heath Shuler.

According to the article:

Sources in the Democratic leadership said the majority leaders want to curtail Republican efforts to forace a vote on an immigration enforcement bill from Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., that would make E-verify, a voluntary electronic verification program, madatory for all U.S. employers within four years.

As you may recall, Jack led the fight last year to require all those contracting with the Federal government to use E-verify.  Then, too, Democrats blocked the measure from final passage during closed-door deal making on last year’s appropriations bills.

The article continues:

House Democrats are concerned that another 10 rank-and-file lawmakers, likely Blue Dog Coalition members, will sign the petition. With that, Republicans could easily round up the few in their party who have not signed on and ensure that the measure comes to the floor.

Senior Democratic leadership and rank-and-file aides said that the set of hearings, agreed to in a closed door meeting with Pelosi last week, is designed to dissuade Democrats from signing the discharge petition.

Are they serious?  Perhaps in their minds there’s no need to act when you can hold a hearing and issue a press release.

For more information on what Jack’s doing about illegal immigration, click here.

The El Paso Times is reporting that 12 workers at Fort Bliss are being detained for being in the country illegally after military police and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents interviewed hundreds of workers at a housing construction site on the base. This is not the first time illegal aliens have been found working at a military base.

As you know, Jack has introduced amendments on several spending bills that would require any company wishing to do business with the federal government to participate in the Employment Eligibility Verfication system. This would allow companies to check if their employees are in the country illegally. And last month, the Department of Homeland Security issued a “no-match” regulation to help employers ensure that their workers are legal.

Jack addressed the House again today offering his amendment which would forbid the funds in the Financial Services Appropriations bill from being used to contract with companies that do not participate in the Basic Pilot program.  For the third time, the Democrat majority refused to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are not being used to pay illegal immigrants.  For more information on the amendment, see previous posts here, here, here.

You can also check out FAIR’s action alert on the amendment here.

To view a clip of Jack’s remarks, click below.

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Jack went on the floor yesterday evening to offer and defend his amendment that would require all federal contractors to verify that their employees are legal workers.  (For more information on the amendment, click here).

To see a clip of his remarks, click below.

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Jack addressed the House again today about the Legislative Appropriations bill to expand on the lack of transparency on the bill.  Despite campaign promises of open and honest governing, the Democrats blocked amendments that would force them to justify and defend their bill.

In his remarks, Jack discussed his proposal which would require all federal contractors to verify their employees are legal workers.  Rather than honor their promises, the Democrats refused to hold the federal contractors to the same standard federal agencies are expected to uphold.

In his remarks, Jack noted several examples of federal contractors employing illegal immigrants.  His examples include:

• December 2005: 22 illegal workers found to be working on Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico
• January 2007: 21 illegal workers found to be working on Fort Benning in Georgia
• March 2007: 10 illegal workers found to be working for the Golden State Fence Company.  NOTE: The company was employed to construct portions of the fence along our southern border with Mexico.

It’s important to note that these are just a few examples of when the taxpayers’ dollars are used to pay illegal immigrants.  In addition, these are only instances in which the contractor was caught.  If the Democrats had allowed Jack’s amendment to be debated and the measure had passed, every person employed by a federal contractor would be required to verify any information given them by their employees against the databases of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

To view a clip of Jack’s remarks, click on the image below.

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As you know, Congress has passed The Secure Fence Act and it is set to be signed by President Bush. This Act provides for over 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing along the southwest border.

It seems that Democrat Senator Mexican President Vincente Fox is not only criticizing the vote, but is urging President Bush to veto this bill.

I guess we can’t blame him.  He was only following the Reid-Kennedy bill which, had it passed, would have required the United States to in fact, ask permission before buidling a barrier at the border.

The next time you reach into your fridge or head to your local bar for a cold beer, you might consider this article when you’re deciding between Miller and Budweiser. 

It seems that the Miller Brewing Company decided to sponsor an immigration demonstration in Chicago.  According to The Chicago Tribune, Miller has paid over “$30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event. . . . The politically charged event will promote a controversial plan to end deportations and offer legal status for all 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants.”

With immigration such a hot topic, Jack decided it was time to take a trip down to the border to get the real story from the people on the ground. He arrived in El Paso, Texas yesterday and took a tour of the border with other Congressional Members. Jack also met up with a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

While in El Paso, Jack got the opportunity to participate in the Judiciary Committee hearing on the economic impact of illegal immigration on border communities. The hearing just wrapped up a little while ago. As soon as we get more details and photos, we will post them up.

 UPDATE (4:01 PM):  We promised you a picture and some details about yesterday’s immigration hearing that Jack participated in, so here you go.

Some eye-opening testimony was heard from Sheriff Leo Samaniego of El Paso County who serves as Chairman of the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition: 

“As Law Enforcement officers on the border with Mexico, our primary concern is the welfare and safety of our citizens and our nation. We, the Border Sheriff’s Coalition, have done everything possible to bring awareness to the leaders of our state and our nation. The terrorism threat to our country is very real, it is unfortunate that most Americans have already forgotten the fear, terror and anger we experienced on September 11, 2001. God forbid that we experience another day like that, but if we do, I do not want anyone pointing a finger at me and telling me I did not do my job. The truth is that the Southern border is the weak link in our national security.”

“Intelligence indicates that terrorist organizations are increasingly probing the U.S./Mexico border…..  The large international border creates tremendous smuggling opportunities for terrorists and is fertile ground for recruitment and development of support networks for terrorist organizations. The Mexican drug trafficking and human smuggling organizations use their knowledge of the border to assist terrorist cell members in their attempts to exploit the United States.” 

 

And here are some interesting border facts for you:

In 2004, the Border Patrol apprehended 1.1 million people.  The majority (94%) were Mexican nationals.  Over the past three years, Other Than Mexicans (OTM) apprehensions have more than doubled. In 1986, there were about 2.5 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.  In 2005, there were about 10.3 million undocumented workers.

In 2005, Mexico received $20 billion in money transfers from migrant workers in the U.S.  That is equal to Mexico’s 2004 income from oil exports and dwarfs tourism revenue.

According to the DEA’s El Paso Intelligence Center, most of the foreign produced marijuana –96.7-percent– is seized at or between US Port of Entries along US/Mexico border. Mexican drug lords manage what the UN estimates is a $142 billion a year business in cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and illicit drugs on US streets. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center, 65% of all narcotics sold in the US market enter the country through the Southwest Border

The Washington Times is reporting that the Senate reversed its earlier position on the funding of a 370-mile fence along the U.S./Mexico border and 500 miles of vehicle barriers:

The Senate did an abrupt about-face yesterday, voting overwhelmingly to begin paying for 370 miles of fencing and 500 miles of vehicle barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, just three weeks after voting against the same spending.
The amendment’s sponsor said senators were so embarrassed by that July 13 vote that most felt they had to reverse course and vote for it this time — especially after so many were on record in May voting to build the fence in the first place. The amendment, which provides nearly $2 billion for the project, passed 94-3, with 66 senators switching from “no” to “yes” votes since last month.

For further reading on this issue check out Power Line, Right Wing News, and PoliPundit.

Props to MS-13 News and Analysis for pointing us to this story straight out of Cincinnati, Ohio which confirms that we need an Enforcement First policy:

Twenty suspected illegal immigrants were arrested in the Cincinnati area last week as part of a week-long roundup by federal officials of 154 alleged immigration violators across Ohio.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents also arrested 88 suspected illegal immigrants in the Columbus area and another 46 in the Cleveland area in a crackdown they called “Operation Return to Sender.”

ICE officials described those apprehended as “criminal aliens, fugitive aliens and other immigration status violators” from a total of 30 countries. About half were from Mexico.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps just issued a press release announcing an internal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) report which found that in 2005, drug smuggling in to America from Mexico was reduced by 20 percent thanks to the efforts of the efforts of the Minutemen and women.

The founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Chris Simcox, who has briefed this office earlier this year said:

“It is gratifying to have documented proof of what the Minuteman Corps has been saying all along: a lawful presence on the border deters illegal activity. Our goal has been to see the rule of law brought back to the border. We have sought to show the government what we think homeland security should look like. When you have obvious vigilance on the border, illegal activity goes away. That’s what we have been trying to get the federal government to realize–that the government needs to hold the line actively, visibly with committed boots on sovereign U.S. soil.

“The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps stood watch all year and brought attention to the fact that the United States borders are not secure. While the Minutemen are on sentry, the bad guys are deterred, and the governments of both Mexico and the United States are encouraged to increase their presence surrounding our civilian border watch efforts.”

You can watch surveillance video footage provided by the Minuteman here.

Jack was quoted in the release as saying:

Every thief knows that it’s not worth stealing if you know you’re going to get caught. This report clearly demonstrates that one of the most effective tools to curb illegal immigration and criminal activity is getting more eyes and ears along America’s borders, and especially in those documented points-of-entry which are overrun by drug cartels. I applaud the men and women of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps for continuing to ably supplement the efforts of law enforcement officials to do just that.

Make sure to keep an eye on the House Enforcement First webpage for more documents and helpful resources. We update it multiple times a day.

In May, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported that the U.S. Border Patrol could have been working closely with the Mexican government, and may have even tipped off the Mexican government about the location of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps patrols.

Congressman Kingston was outraged when he read this story and fired off a letter to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and even offered legislation on the House floor to ensure that no federal funds were being used in such a manner. Joining him on the letter (pdf) were fellow Reps. Marsha Blackburn of Tenn., John Doolittle of Cali., and Ric Keller of Fla.

You can read the text of the Amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill and find the letter at this earlier blog entry.

We have a response from Customs and Border Protection! Full text of the letter is below and you can download the letter here (pdf).

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