The degree to which intolerant, immigrant bashing individuals have infiltrated our democratic system of government is scary. They are there and we don't have far to look.
Though immigration detention facilities look very much like prisons — and indeed often share space with jails — roughly half the people now in immigration detention have never been convicted of any crime.
Americans have gotten away from the farm and anything connected to it. Milk does not come from cartons in the supermarket, tomatoes can’t be picked by machine unless you want ketchup, and peaches do not magically fall from trees and into cardboard boxes ready for shipping.
Part of the problem is that the current E-Verify technology is not accurate. CAP estimates that the system will accurately identify only about half of all employees who are not legally authorized to work in the country.
Rep. Lamar Smith on Tuesday introduced a bill to suspend the executive branch’s ability to use discretion in immigration cases. He would not suspend it for every president, just this one.
Several recent examples of blatant racism have illustrated that the kind of thinking we thought was eradicated long ago is not only flourishing but is being passed off as national leadership.
Congress does little while watching immigrants burn
The Republicans’ dark vision for immigration “reform” isn’t playing well with Latino voters. But in addition to alienating Latinos, Smith and Gallegly are on a path that will also hurt U.S. workers and key industries, like agriculture.
A bill that would require employers to electronically verify the immigration status of potential employees was introduced on Tuesday.
Hispanics constitute a rapidly growing demographic. We’re seeing an increase of 1.5 million to 2 million new Hispanic registered voters every two years. If Republicans want to elect a president, or remain a viable party, in the near future, they must leave behind their diehard anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez warned President Barack Obama on Tuesday that Latinos will not regard as “acceptable” a move to make the E-Verify system of checking prospective employees’ immigration status mandatory for all U.S. firms, as urged by Republicans.
The voluntary program allows employers to electronically verify the work eligibility status of new employees, whose Social Security and alien ID numbers are checked against U.S. records. A photo-matching tool also deters fraud.
Tentatively titled the “Legal Workforce Act” (LWA) and labeled a "Discussion Draft," Rep. Lamar Smith's proposal would profoundly change hiring processes in the United States, and introduce expensive compliance obligations on all employers.
Some pundits and political operatives — mostly Democrats — have already announced the demise of the Republican Party. Contrary to the claims made by some, the record shows that Republicans will continue to attract Hispanic voters, and more Republican Hispanic candidates will be elected to public office. Perhaps that’s what really worries some of the critics.