Family Security Matters » Publications » Committee on the Judiciary’s Weekly Illegal Immigration Update

Family Security Matters » Publications » Committee on the Judiciary’s Weekly Illegal Immigration Update

Committee on the Judiciary’s Weekly Illegal Immigration Update

Did you know?

• Illegal immigrants and their children account for 17 percent of the entire uninsured population in the U.S.
• Also, a greater percentage of households headed by illegal immigrants receive Medicaid – 17 percent – than do all other households – 14 percent.
• A simple way of dramatically lowering the number of workers in America who need to be insured would be to simply decrease the illegal alien population through a strategy of attrition through enforcement.

More:

• Crime: Billy and Kathy Inman of Acworth, GA, still grieve the death of their 16-year-old son, Dustin, and hope for the capture of the illegal immigrant who caused the car accident that killed him and put Kathy in a wheelchair. According to a story on NBC’s 11 Alive, Billy Inman recognizes that crimes may be committed by anyone, regardless of immigration status; but, he says, those here illegally are harder to find and not accountable because they are illegal. Inman went on to say, “They say that we're busting up families by deporting them," pointing to Kathy sitting in her wheelchair next to Dustin's grave – "This is busting up the families, here."
• News: Standard Net – “Strike force takes shape / Focus on crimes by and against illegal immigrants” – A new strike force in the state of Utah will focus on crimes committed by and against illegal immigrants. According to the article, “The task force will target drugs and weapons trafficking, human trafficking and distribution of fraudulent documents, like fake identifications, as well as other crimes related to illegal immigration.”
• News: Arizona Family – “Phoenix becoming known as kidnap capital, new bill could help” – Arizona State legislature is considering a bill that expands Arizona’s trespassing law, according to the story, and allows local police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws and arrest people for being in the U.S. illegally.
• News: New York Times – “California-73 Illegal Immigrants Are Found in Truck” – An immigrant truck driver will be prosecuted for alien smuggling after 53 men and 20 women were found in the back of his truck at a checkpoint in California.
• News: AP – “8 illegal immigrants killed in rollover in Arizona” – 27 illegal immigrants, believed to be from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and perhaps Mexico, were injured or killed after the driver of the vehicle they were in lost control. According to the story, the passengers were “stacked like wood” and the deaths could have been prevented had the vehicle contained the proper amount of passengers wearing seatbelts.
• News: New York Times – “Immigrant’s Criminal Record Colors an A.C.L.U. Detention Challenge”-Alexander Alli, the ACLU’s poster child for an immigration lawsuit, turned out to be part of a 30 person identity theft ring, which according to the article, victimized over 30,000 people and drained more than $50 million.
• News: Washington Examiner – “Obama administration stalls E-Verify for the 4th time leaving illegal immigration employment open” – According to the article, “Under the Bush administration all federal contractors and subcontractors were to be required to verify all employees through the program by June 30, however, the Obama administration has delayed enforcement of the program.”

Note: Should American workers have to compete with illegal immigrants for employment, especially taxpayer-funded federal contract jobs? According to DHS, the number of new employers using the program is increasing by more than 1,000 per week.

• News: The Christian Science Monitor – “Homeland Security to Repeal National ID Law” – According to the article, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to repeal and REAL ID, which calls for placing more secure licenses in the hands of 245 million Americans by 2017. REAL ID grew out of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-WI, who authored the 2005 legislation, is quoted: “We go right back to where we were on Sept. 10, 2001,” he said, “Maybe governors should have been in the Capitol when we knew a plane was on its way to Washington wanting to kill a few thousand more people.” As I told the Post, “Any attempt to repeal or weaken (Real ID) will harm national security.”
• International: Daily Mai l – “Police swoop on people trafficking network accused of smuggling 5,000 illegal immigrants into Britain”- A trafficking network expanding through Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece and Italy has been infiltrated by police in all six countries. According to the article, 46 traffickers who have smuggled over 5,000 illegal immigrants into Britain were arrested.
• Commentary: “U.S. follows Rumsfeld doctrine on immigration” – David Frum writes in the National Post suggesting two solutions to illegal immigration – requiring employers to use E-Verify and instituting aggressive fines for the employment of illegals. According to Frum “The maximum fine for even multiple violations of hiring illegal aliens was raised in 2008 to $16,000. By contrast, violations of the Clean Water Act can be fined up to $125,000 per offense per day.” “Beyond that,” he says, “do nothing.”
• Commentary: “Protect the Public, Not the Illegal Aliens”- Jessica Vaughn of the Center for Immigration Studies writes about legislation currently being considered in Rhode Island that would require employers to verify that all new employees are legal workers. In support of the bill, authored by two Rhode Island Democrats, the committee heard testimony from a woman who was sexually assaulted by an illegal immigrant. She reminded the committee that crimes can be prevented if immigration laws are enforced. She said, “We cannot continue to allow those who are dangerous to hide in plain sight within the community, working with false documents without risk of being caught. E-verify should not be considered a burden but a useful tool in preventing unauthorized workers from getting a job.”

The Committee on the Judiciary’s website is here.