House proposal to further criminalize illegal immigration criticized

Ianus · 06-17-2013, 09:32 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...crime/2420387/

Quote:

WASHINGTON -- Critics of a GOP proposal designed to halt future waves of illegal immigration say it would actually target the 11 million unauthorized immigrants already living in the country, opening them up to prosecutions if the bill becomes law.

"Snap your fingers and they would all be criminals," said Kamal Essaheb, an immigration policy attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, which opposes the measure.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who chairs the chamber's immigration subcommittee, are proposing a measure that makes it a federal crime - a misdemeanor - to be "unlawfully present in the United States."

It is already a federal misdemeanor crime under current law to illegally enter the United States. The proposal would make it a crime if someones stays beyond their visa, and it would eliminate a current five-year statute of limitations on prosecution of such crimes.

Goodlatte said the bill is not an attempt to criminalize the 11 million unauthorized immigrants already living in the country. He says he is presuming that they will be legalized under a separate bill - one that hasn't been filed in the House yet - and says his efforts are aimed at deterring future would-be immigrants from entering the country illegally.

"It contemplates that there's going to be a legal status for them," Goodlatte said. "This is to deal with future enforcement of the law. My understanding from the outset of this whole effort ... was that nothing was going to happen unless everything happened. Our intention is to deal with all areas of immigration reform."

Goodlatte was referring to ongoing efforts in the Senate to pass a broad immigration package that was filed by a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight.

Their bill, which is in the middle of a month-long amendment process on the Senate floor, would allow the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship, add $6.5 billion to securing the nation's southwest border with Mexico, require U.S. businesses to check the immigration status of new hires and revamp the legal immigration system.

There is a bipartisan group of House members trying to finalize its own version of a sweeping immigration bill, and Goodlatte said he is "encouraging them to come to an agreement." But in the meantime, his committee is handling immigration piece by piece.

The first is the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, or the SAFE Act, which will be debated in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and could be sent to the House floor. Aside from creating the new crime of unlawful presence, it allows state and local governments to create immigration laws that mirror federal immigration law, and provide grants to state and local police to enforce those laws.

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said that would open the door to state and local officers prosecuting unauthorized immigrants for their being unlawfully in the country, something that is now handled only by the federal government.

Democrats hammered the bill during a hearing last week, saying it mirrors a 2005 bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., that was passed by the House that made it a felony to live in the country illegally. That bill, which featured other attempts to crack down on illegal immigration, prompted massive protests in major cities across the country.

Gowdy's bill follows a successful vote in the House last week to eliminate funding for a program created by Pres. Obama that delays the deportation of unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the country as children, known as DREAMers. As of May 31, the Department of Homeland Security had officially deferred the deportation of 365,000 DREAMers.

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration reform, a group that advocates for lower levels of legal and illegal immigration, said he fully supports the idea of establishing a crime for unlawful presence in the country.

Mehlman said people enter the country illegally knowing that there is a low likelihood they will be prosecuted or deported for the offense, and he believes this bill would help change that by maintaining the government's ability to go after them.

"There are no consequences for violating the law if people don't have to worry about the consequences," he said. "You're here illegally, you're working here illegally…that ought to result in your being removed."

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, which is supporting efforts to legalize the nation's unauthorized immigrants, said the move runs contrary to efforts made by the national Republican Party to improve its tone, and political standing, with Hispanic voters.

"So much for the new Republican face on immigration," Sharry said after reviewing Goodlatte's proposal.

Malign0n · 06-17-2013, 09:38 PM

I would also assume that it would not pass until such bill (legalization) takes place

DA User · 06-18-2013, 12:56 AM

5 years SOL after EWI and/or Overstay? What happens after 5 years?

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House proposal to further criminalize illegal immigration criticized