Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
On the Immigration "Reform" From Frank Arango of CVO:
"the vile "gang of eight" immigration reform is not only being touted by obama plus the likes of republicans marco rubio and john mccain, but also by the afl-cio and many immigrant rights groups who take their lead from the democratic party. and on may day they'll no doubt be trying to herd marchers behind this atrocity by hiding its content: an ambush. so i think friends here on facebook should do all they can to expose and denounce it in the coming weeks, especially with leaflets at the may day marches and rallies. preparing to do that involves drawing out the main features of the bill, and since it's 844 pages, a collective effort is preferrable. below is a local assessment written as part of a draft leaflet. please add your own analysis of the bill. also, let us stick to the orientation of fighting for full rights for all immigrants, now!
MORE DEPORTATIONS. The supposed friend of migrant workers, Obama, has already deported more people than any president in U.S. history by far, including a record of over 400,000 in fiscal year 2012. Nearly a quarter of those deportations involved parents whose children are U.S. citizens. This inhuman policy will continue. Among others, it will be directed at hundreds of thousands of undocumented people who arrived in the country after Dec. 31, 2011 plus undocumented new arrivals; at large numbers of immigrants unable to meet the requirements necessary to get (or keep) the new “Registered Provision Immigrant”(RPI) legal status and green cards; at those who will refuse to participate in the entire bureaucratic, fascistic, trap-filled DHS process, which will also include a mandatory E-Verify card.
FURTHER TURNING THE BORDER WITH MEXICO INTO A MILITARIZED ZONE. Twenty years ago, fewer than 4,000 Border Patrol agents worked the entire southern border. Today there are 18,500. Some 651 miles of fence have been built, and drones and electronic devices are everywhere. The result has been racist murder, i.e., in order to avoid fences and surveillance, a record of at least 477 people died from the elements in the deserts just last year, while attempted crossings have actually declined since the outbreak of the U.S. economic crisis. Border Patrol agents even destroy water bottles left on desert routes by U.S. citizens who are dedicated to saving lives. But that's not enough. The "gang of eight" bill would spend $4.5 billion more on surveillance and fences, and an additional $2 billion if "initial goals aren't met." It would fund 3,500 additional Customs agents nationwide, and authorize deployment of the National Guard on the border with Mexico.
INCREASING NUMBERS OF "GUEST WORKERS." To serve the high-tech industries, the bill would raise the cap on highly educated and skilled H-1B workers to 110,000 the first year, and then allow it to go to 180,000. To serve the agricultural, construction, hotel and other capitalists, 200,000 "guest" wage slaves will be authorized the first year under a new "W visa," with annual increases for the next three years. After that, a new government bureau would determine the cap. W visa workers cannot quit their employer to take any new job they wish, but must hire on with another employer in the same industry who is authorized to employ W visa workers.
"Guest workers" would be allowed to eventually become citizens, and are supposed to be paid the prevailing rates in the geographic areas where they're employed, which is good. But those wages are notoriously low (agriculture), while the jobs are often very dangerous (construction). Thus, "guest workers" would remain a labor force used by the employers in order to keep wages low and conditions dangerous--which is why construction, agricultural and other capitalists are already loudly complaining that the "guest worker" caps are too low!
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE POOR AND LESS EDUCATED. The reform would shift away from giving green cards to people with relatives in the U.S. to an immigration policy strictly serving the needs of the capitalists. And since the U.S. education system has gone to hell, 40% of employment-based visas would be reserved for professionals holding advanced degrees, especially in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, plus there would be a new "merit based" visas. Thus, a humble worker with U.S. family members would be pushed aside by the needs of the capitalists.
A LONG, DEGRADING, SNARE-FILLED PATH TO CITIZENSHIP. Just to get a green card, one would first have to slave ten years under a new Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status (which would have to be renewed at the six year mark), pay thousands of dollars in fines and fees, prove that they've worked regularly, and "demonstrate knowledge of civics and English"--an anti-democratic requirement unheard of in the entire history of this country. Further, if you were laid off or had a medical emergency during those years you could not get unemployment compensation, medicaid, or foodstamps despite all the taxes you'd paid...and you'd better not get arrested in a strike or protest because that might put you over the limit of three misdemeanors or one felony conviction. Moreover, actually getting a green card would be contingent upon there not already being too many green card holders (according to the limits the politicians set) who had come through the legal immigration route. Then, after getting a green card, one would have to wait three more years to get citizenship. Thus, thirteen years, and this is only after the Secretary of Homeland Security has certified measures concerning the "security" of the southern border (the so-called border triggers). The Christian Science Moniter estimates that it would be almost 2030 before the main bloc of today's undocumented immigrants could start becoming citizens.
"Gang of eight" conservative Republican Marco Rubio praises this path to citizenship, saying that "the alternative we've created is going to be longer, more expensive and more difficult to navigate" than going back to one's home country and waiting ten years to apply for a U.S. visa."
What the conservatives have been pushing for has come to pass. Immigration at a negative , (more people leaving than coming in 5 years in a row) massive future deportations from any offense, massive redeployment of funds to the border area. A labor ready work force that can be called upon and than returned home at will.
Its really just a amnesty and wouldn't even be in consideration > look at the 60's bill which alos was amnesty and other parts ingored unitl amnesty came up agian under Bush. Peth to citizenship or amnesty by another name.
And what is wrong with enforcing immigration laws and dealing harshly with those that are here illegally? Republican or Democrat, I think most of us agree that there should not be any gentle approach to those coming here illegally.
Now we do have to be careful about reforms we make to legal immigration- we need to make sure we are not making it too difficult for those who are qualified to actually get here the legal way. Too many good, educated people around the world are finding hard to get here legally for continued education or to simply move here and contribute to society by working in in-demand fields such as science. I am worried congress won't act in loosening up that end of things- if they don't, those "brains" will just go to other developed countries instead, such as Australia or Canada.
If you haven't been there how do you know its a "racist" forum?
well a forum about illegal immigration in a site about moving around America cannot end well. I did go look at it and there is a lot of xenophobia running about there. They might as well call it the, "I hate Mexican people" forum and that would be good enough.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
