Immigration status in August 2011

By Frosty Wooldridge

In this continuing series, Dan Stein, director of The Federation for American Immigration Reform, www.fairus.org , gives readers an idea of what is happening.

“Now that Congress has recessed and isn’t expected to return until September 7^th, and state legislative sessions are over, FAIR is providing you a handy summary of where the immigration policy issue presently stands,” said Stein. “As always, we will monitor goings-on and keep you updated throughout the summer recess and beyond.”

Number of Illegal Aliens inside the United States

• 13 million

Number of Jobs Presently Held by Illegal Aliens

• 7 million

Annual National Cost of Illegal Immigration

• $113 billion 

• The bulk of the costs – $84 billion – are absorbed by state and local governments

Hot Issues

• Amnesty, DREAM Act and in-state tuition push for illegal aliens continues

• E-Verify at state level, possibly a national bill 

• Continued dismantling of immigration enforcement by Obama administration using prosecutorial discretion to extend administrative amnesty to large classes of illegal aliens

• Feds continue to stop state efforts to enforce immigration laws

Pending Enforcement Legislation

• Mandatory E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164) awaiting mark-up hearing in House Judiciary Committee. Similar, but even tougher bill, in Senate (S. 1196)

• “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” or HALT Act (H.R. 2497) – awaiting mark-up hearing in House Judiciary.  If passed, would stop the administration from further abusing its authority to grant relief to illegal aliens using backdoor methods.

• “Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act” or SAFE Act (H.R. 704) – passed by House Judiciary Committee. Would eliminate the “Diversity Visa” lottery

• Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2011 (H.R. 1932) – grants the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to detain dangerous aliens who have been ordered deported, but cannot be removed.

• Secure Visas Act (H.R. 1741) designates authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue and revoke visas; authorizes DHS to conduct on-site reviews of visa applications in high-risk countries. Passed House Judiciary Committee.

• Birthright Citizenship Act of 2011 (S. 723) – Senator Vitter’s statutory fix to the birthright citizenship issue.

Pending Amnesty Legislation

• DREAM Act.  New versions in both House and Senate (H.R. 1842, S. 952). Introduced in every session since 2001, recently failed to pass Senate in December 2010.

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform (S. 1258) – amnesty introduced nearly every session, fails every time.

Miles of Fence Constructed

• 649 miles out of the 1,954 mile-long southern border is secured by fence

• 299 miles of vehicle barriers

• 350 miles of pedestrian fencing

Number of States Offering In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens

• Total of 14 states have passed in-state tuition for illegal aliens

• Maryland DREAM Act offering in-state tuition for illegal aliens hits a snag. Successful petition by local activists means the Maryland law is blocked pending November 2012 referendum

Deportations Stats 2009

• Criminal removals        131,840

• Non-criminal removals 263,325

• Total Removals            395,165

Deportation Stats 2010

• Criminal removals        168,532

• Non-criminal removals 218,701

• Total Removals            387,242

Significant State Action

• Alabama: passes omnibus enforcement bill and instantly hit with DOJ lawsuit.

• Georgia:  passes broad new immigration enforcement legislation but has parts of the new laws blocked. Provisions allowing police to determine the immigration status of suspects and punish people who knowingly transport and harbor illegal aliens were enjoined

• Indiana: passes broad new immigration enforcement legislation. However, provisions allowing state and local police to arrest illegal aliens with a deportation order and barring the acceptance of consular ID cards are temporarily blocked.

• North Carolina requires the use of E-Verify by private employers with 25 or more employees, public contractors and subcontractors, counties, municipalities and state agencies. 

• South Carolina enacts statewide E-Verify

• Tennessee requires all public and private employers, including contractors and subcontractors, to use E-Verify

• Utah attempts to create own guest worker program. (No DOJ intervention here!)

Mexican Border Violence

• Record 24,374 homicides in 2010 – a 23% jump from 2009, largely attributed to drug cartel violence

• 1,200 National Guard troops deployed on border with Mexico

Supreme Court Decisions

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting upheld right of states to require use of E-Verify.

• Sends Hazleton, Penn. case back to Circuit Court following Whiting decision

• Allows California law providing illegal alien in-state tuition to stand

Other

• Administration Quietly Signs Cross-Border Trucking Agreement with Mexico

To speak with a FAIR spokesperson, contact Kristen Williamson at 202-328-7004 or [email protected].

Federation for American Immigration Reform
25 Massachusetts Avenue – Suite 330 Washington DC, 20001
www.fairus.org

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Frosty Wooldridge is a member of the FAIR board of directors.