Text 4795, 176 rader
Skriven 2007-06-13 23:30:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (070613) for Wed, 2007 Jun 13
===================================================

===========================================================================
Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Inaction
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 13, 2007

Fact Sheet: The Consequences of Inaction Top Five Reasons The Bipartisan
Immigration Reform Bill Must Be Passed This Year

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Immigration

"_[N]ow is the time to move a comprehensive bill that enforces our borders
and has good workplace enforcement; that doesn't grant automatic
citizenship; that addresses this problem in a comprehensive way. I would
hope that the Senate Majority Leader has that same sense of desire to move
_ the bill that I do and these senators do, because now is the time to get
it done. _ I believe without the bill it's going to be harder to enforce
the border. The status quo is unacceptable."

- President George W. Bush, 6/12/07

If The Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Now Being Considered By The
Senate Is Not Passed, The U.S. Will Be Left With A Status Quo That Is
Unacceptable.ÿ The current immigration system is broken:
  þ Border security and interior enforcement laws need to be improved.
  þ Employers do not have the tools they need to verify the work
    eligibility of their employees with assurance.
  þ As many as 12 million illegal workers remain in the shadows.
  þ Only around 13 percent of green cards are awarded each year based on
    employment-related criteria, and far too little emphasis is placed on
    the skills and attributes necessary to fill the needs of our growing
    economy and further the national interest.
  þ There is no efficient mechanism by which willing foreign workers may be
    hired for jobs Americans are not doing.

This Bill Represents The Best Chance To Move Forward On Fixing Our Broken
Immigration System

1)ÿÿÿÿÿÿThe Bill Contains Tough New Border Security And Enforcement
Measures.ÿ
  þ The Bill Commits The Most Resources To Border Security In U.S. History.
    ÿThe bill includes border security triggers such as: increasing border
    fencing and vehicle barriers at the Southern border; increasing the
    size of the Border Patrol; installing ground-based radar and camera
    towers along the Southern border; and ensuring that resources are
    available to maintain the effective end of "Catch and Release" at our
    border.
  þ The Bill Improves Our Laws To Better Safeguard National Security And
    Prevent Future Illegal Immigration.ÿ The bill:
      þ Allows the government to detain dangerous criminal aliens who
        cannot be removed from the U.S. because no other country is willing
        to accept them.ÿ Under current law, they must be released back into
        society after just six months.
      þ Gives the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice tools to
        keep certain aliens out of the U.S. solely on the basis of their
        participation in a gang.ÿ No conviction is required  if an
        individual has participated in a gang and helped "aid" or "support"
        its illegal activity, then he or she is not eligible for admission
        to the U.S.
      þ Substantially increases criminal penalties for repeated illegal
        border crossings.ÿ
      þ Imposes substantial new criminal penalties for passport, visa, and
        other immigration fraud.
      þ Includes several provisions that would improve coordination between
        Federal, State, and local governments in enforcing immigration laws
        and expeditiously deporting criminal aliens.

2)ÿÿÿÿÿÿThe Bill Will Give Employers The Tools They Need To Verify The Work
Eligibility Of Their Employees. ÿToday, we have an entire underground
industry dedicated to producing fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security
numbers. ÿIf this bill is not passed, the problems of the 1986 Immigration
Reform and Control Act would persist  employers would continue operating
under a system in which they have only a limited ability to tell whether
documentation is authentic.
  þ ÿÿÿThe Bill Requires The Establishment Of A Reliable Employment
    Eligibility Verification System (EEVS) To Help Employers Verify The
    Work Eligibility Of All Employees.ÿ All workers will be required to
    present stronger and more readily verifiable identification documents.ÿ
  þ EEVS Will Allow Employers To Verify The Authenticity Of Documents By
    Providing Access For The First Time To Identification Photographs In
    Government Databases.
      þ EEVS Will Be Founded On Unprecedented Verification Of Information
        Across Numerous Electronic Databases.ÿThese include:
          þ Department of Homeland Security records;
          þ Social Security Administration records;
          þ State Department passport and visa records (including
            photographs);
          þ Birth and death records maintained by State vital statistics
            agencies; and
          þ State driver's license information.

3)ÿÿÿÿÿÿThe Bill Will Bring As Many As 12 Million Current Undocumented
Workers Out Of The Shadows.ÿIf the bill is not passed, these workers would
remain in the shadows of our society, where they are often exploited,
underpaid, and afraid to go to the police for fear of deportation.ÿ
  þ The Senate Bill Provides A Mechanism For Undocumented Workers With
    Clean Records And Steady Jobs To Come Out Of The Shadows And Be
    Accounted For In A Regulated System, On A Probationary Basis.ÿ This
    will help keep our Nation secure by letting law enforcement officials
    know who is in the country and allowing immigration enforcement
    officers to focus their resources on apprehending violent criminals and
    terrorists.ÿ
  þ The Senate Bill Provides Greater Incentives For Employers And Workers
    To Follow The Law By Implementing Much Tougher Worksite Enforcement
    Measures.ÿ EEVS will give employers the tools they need to verify the
    status of workers they hire.ÿ Employers who continue to hire illegal
    workers will face stiff new criminal and civil penalties  for example,
    the maximum criminal penalty for a pattern or practice of hiring
    illegal workers will increase 25-fold, from $3,000 per alien to $75,000
    per alien.

4)ÿÿÿÿÿÿThe Bill Will Clear The Current Family Backlog And Reform The
Immigration System To Better Balance The Importance Of Family Connections
With U.S. Economic Needs.ÿCurrently, applicants wait up to 30 years for
green cards.ÿ In addition, our immigration system places far too little
emphasis on the skills and attributes necessary to fill the needs of our
growing economy and further the national interest.
  þ The Senate Bill Will Clear The Current Decades-Long Backlog Of
    Family-Based Applications Within Eight Years.ÿDuring this time, there
    will be a surge in family reunification, as more than two-thirds of
    green cards issued will go to family members.ÿ Even after family
    backlogs are cleared and the rebalancing of visas is complete, there
    will be more family-based green cards issued than merit-based green
    cards.ÿ
  þ The Bill Will Help Keep The U.S. Competitive In The Global Economy By
    Establishing A New Merit-Based System For Immigration That Is Similar
    To Those Used By Other Countries.ÿUnder the merit-based system, future
    immigrants applying for permanent residency in the U.S. will be
    assigned points for attributes that further our national interest,
    including: skills and work experience, with added points for U.S.
    employment in a specialty or high-demand field; education, with added
    points for training in science, math, and technology; employer
    endorsement; ability to speak English; and family ties to the U.S.
      þ Once The Backlogs Of Employment-Based Applicants And Family-Based
        Applicants Are Cleared, There Will Be 380,000 Green Cards Available
        Under The Merit-Based System  Up From 140,000 Employment-Based
        Green Cards Today.ÿThis is a 170 percent increase over the current
        level of employment-based green cards, reforming our system from
        one in which about 13 percent of green cards are employment-based
        to one in which about 32 percent of green cards are issued through
        the merit-based system.
      þ The Bill Includes A Large, Immediate Increase  From 65,000 Today
        To 115,000 For The First Year  In The H-1B Visa Cap For Skilled
        Foreign Workers.ÿ ÿAfter the first year, the cap will rise and fall
        based on economic need, allowing it to adjust up to as high as
        180,000.

5)ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The Bill Will Create A Temporary Worker Program To Alleviate
Pressure On The Border And Provide The U.S. Economy With An Efficient
Mechanism To Match The Skills Of Willing Foreign Workers To The Demands Of
Available Jobs.
  þ Under The Senate Bill, A Temporary Worker Program Will Allow U.S. Law
    Enforcement To Focus More Of Its Resources On Apprehending Violent
    Criminals And Terrorists Who Pose A Threat To Our Security.ÿ The
    temporary worker program will help reduce the number of people trying
    to sneak across our borders by providing a lawful and orderly channel
    for foreign workers to fill the jobs that Americans are not doing.
  þ This Temporary Worker Program Has The Toughest Labor Standards And The
    Most Robust Protections For U.S. Workers Of Any Existing U.S.
    Nonimmigrant Worker Program.
      þ Before hiring a temporary worker under the bill, an employer must
        first try to recruit U.S. workers for 90 days  three times longer
        than any other temporary worker program.
      þ Temporary workers under the bill must be paid the prevailing
        competitive wage, which is based on the wages paid to U.S. workers,
        and ensures that the wages of U.S. workers cannot be undercut.

# # #
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070613.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)