Sens. Grassley and Barack Obama to make immig. bill EASIER on employERs!!

[rodeodance]

Bush camp balks at immigration change


ttp://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_on_go_co/immigration_congress;_ylt=Ag4gwipyOw69IRaeShjuXQRh24cA

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 58 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration came out strongly against a bipartisan effort by Sens. Charles Grassley and Barack Obama to make the immigration bill easier on employers.


Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told senators in a letter late Tuesday that the amendment, which makes a new program to stop businesses from hiring illegal workers less burdensome, "would be a serious step backwards in our enforcement effort."

The amendment sponsored by Grassley, R-Iowa, Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Obama, D-Ill. "eliminates needed tools and allows unscrupulous businesses to continue to freely hire illegal workers," Chertoff wrote in matching letters to Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., two architects of the bill.

In an angrily worded reply to Chertoff on Wednesday, the unlikely allies sponsoring the amendment dismissed his criticism as "erroneous and misleading," and defended their proposal as one that would improve a deeply flawed system.

[Telly Savalas]

1. You left the "h" off the "http" so there's not a hyperlink.

[MichiganVote]

2. Might as well do nothing. THAT much they all do well in Washington.

[Telly Savalas]

3. From reading the article, I get the impression that the amendment is more about opposing

Bush's dumbass REAL ID program than anything specifically tied to immigration.

[NYCGirl]

4. Yes, sounds like Grassley and Obama are doing the right thing:

It would strip a requirement that employees present a federally standardized "REAL ID," instead allowing them to produce other driver's license or identity cards. Workers denied a job under the system could appeal to Department of Homeland Security for lost wages.

Chertoff called that proposal "a poorly concealed effort to make DHS avoid tough enforcement."

[Double T]

5. And that Ladies and Gentlemen is the REAL REASON for the.......

illegal alien amnesty bill; "eliminates needed tools and allows unscrupulous businesses to continue to freely hire illegal workers". And THIS AMENDMENT coming from a Presidential Candidate that claims to have limited ties to corporate america. OK Barack..........

[NYCGirl]

6. You might want to read the article — Grassley and Obama want to take out the

requirement for a NATIONAL REAL ID card. Do you want one of those?

Edited to add working link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_on_go_co/immigration_congress;_ylt=Ag4gwipyOw69IRaeShjuXQRh24cA

[Double T]

10. Thanks for working link. The REAL ID is a separate issue..........

that I oppose vehemently; their next step will be bar codes tattooed on our foreheads or a microchip embedded in our necks. This entire 'bill' needs to be scuttled, first secure our borders, then look at an immigration policy that does NOT damage the American workers.

[zulchzulu]

8. Obama wants Homeland Security to have LESS power and draconian ID tools...

Are ya a big Chertoff fan, junior?

:crazy:

[Double T]

15. IMO, DHS should be abolished tonight leaving chertoff jobless by morning.

Obama's Amendment makes it easier for employers to hire illegal aliens. That has NOTHING to do with draconian ID tools, which I also very strongly oppose. The ONLY person that might be a fan of chertoff is his mother.

[Telly Savalas]

9. You do realize you're quoting Chertoff, don't you?

[zulchzulu]

7. Maybe you missed this part of the article

"The proposal by Grassley, Baucus and Obama addresses the worker verification program, which is despised by both labor and business groups. Businesses fear it would wreak havoc with their ability to hire workers and impose exorbitant costs. Labor organizations worry it could result in discrimination against workers.

The same interests are eagerly pushing for the broader immigration overhaul, which would legalize some 12 million unlawful immigrants and create a new temporary guest worker program.

The proposal would ease the measure's strict requirements for employers to verify that all their workers are legal, instead allowing businesses to check only the identities of new employees and those existing ones who the Department of Homeland Security has reason to believe are unlawful.

It would strip a requirement that employees present a federally standardized "REAL ID," instead allowing them to produce other driver's license or identity cards. Workers denied a job under the system could appeal to Department of Homeland Security for lost wages."

Do you or I want a national ID card that overrides a license and identity card? No. Even labor unions think that Bush's plan is a bad idea.

But hey, if you want to piss off the Hispanic vote AND give Homeland Security more draconian power, be my guest...

[illinoisprogressive]

11. boy, it is so evil of them to try to find a way to pass the bill. gasp!

and make it a better bill. gasp. so so evil.

[Eugene]

12. Verification? Yes. REAL ID to do it? No!

Requiring new and current employees to submit a national ID card
(REAL ID) in order to work is excessive.

Chertoff's criticism really is erroneous and misleading.

[Superman Returns]

13. I need to read more about this

but I may not like Obama's position and I am a supporter. First, the immigration bill is not gonna pass in Congress as it is now in it's current state. The majority of Republicans are saying anything short of deporting illegal immigrants is akin to amnesty. Therefore, how would making things easier for illegal immigrant to obtain jobs possibly win converts over? Is this practical? My question, before I research more, can someone explain the exact point of Obama's amendment?

[NYCGirl]

14. He wants to strip out the part that calls for a NATIONAL REAL ID CARD. NT