The
massive immigration reform debate continues
Bill
passed • Georgia’s governor
signed a sweeping immigration bill Monday
supporters and critics said it gives
the state some of the toughest measures
against illegal immigrants in the nation.
The law requires verification that adults
seeking many state-administered benefits
are in the country legally. It sanctions
employers who knowingly hire illegal
immigrants and mandates companies with
state contracts check the immigration
status of employees. The law also requires
police to check the immigration status
of people they arrest. Provisions of
the bill will not go into effect until
July 1, 2007.
Who is affected • Hispanics, the nation’s largest immigrant group,
are leading the movement to demand a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
and defeat legislation that would criminalize them. While some Asian, European
and Middle Eastern immigrants are supporting calls for sweeping immigration
reform, many who are here illegally have shied from the public debate either
because they feel Congress has overlooked needs specific to their communities
or simply because they’re afraid to come forward.
Forty-eight percent of the nation’s 34 million foreign-born immigrants
come from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and countries such as Canada, with
the remainder coming from Latin America, according to the Census Bureau. Of
the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, 78 percent come from Latin America,
according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The next largest undocumented population
comes from Asia, at 13 percent.
The polls • Americans are divided about whether illegal immigrants help
or hurt the country, an AP-Ipsos poll finds. More than one-half of those questioned
are open to allowing undocumented workers to obtain some temporary legal status
so they can remain in the United States.
At the same time, people doubt erecting a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border
could help to fix such a complex and enduring problem. Two-thirds do not think
it would work. Forty-one percent opposes offering any kind of legal status.
Protests • Across the country, workers and students paid a price for
attending the immigration rallies that recently swept the nation. They have
lost jobs or been cited for truancy for joining the hundreds of thousands who
have protested proposed federal legislation that would crack down on illegal
immigrants. Now, some rally organizers are telling people not to risk their
jobs or education to attend the demonstrations and are considering re-scheduling
protests to weekends and evenings.
An Inglewood principal trying to prevent walkouts during immigration rallies
inadvertently introduced a lockdown so strict children weren’t allowed
to go to the bathroom, and instead had to use buckets in the classroom, an
official said.
Boycotts • “Nothing gringo,” warns the rallying cry of Mexican
activists calling for a boycott of all U.S. businesses south of the border
May 1. The campaign, aimed at pressuring Congress to legalize undocumented
migrants, was timed to coincide with “The Great American Boycott,” in
which activists are urging migrants in the United States to skip work and avoid
spending money to demonstrate their importance to the U.S. economy. The Mexican
boycott was being promoted on Web sites and through e-mail messages, one of
which warns “people shouldn’t buy anything from the interminable
list of American businesses in Mexico.”
Deportation • Cecilia Velazquez, the publisher of a Spanish-language
newspaper said Saturday she will continue her work even though she has been
deported after a five-year legal battle over her immigration status. She was
escorted into Mexico Friday and will be barred from re-entering the United
States for 10 years, said Carl Rusnok, spokesman for the Immigration and Custom
Enforcement Agency.
Debate • Democrats blamed President George W. Bush and the Republican
Party Saturday for blocking immigration reform through an orchestrated campaign
to “scapegoat” immigrants.
Sen. John McCain R.-Ariz., campaigned April 11 for a conservative congressman
who publicly disagreed with the potential 2008 presidential candidate on how
to deal with illegal immigration. McCain favors legislation that seeks better
border security, regulations on the future entry of foreign workers and allows
most of the nation’s illegal immigrants to eventually qualify for citizenship
through a series of steps, including paying any back taxes and passing criminal
background checks.
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