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Politics : ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION THE FIGHT TO KEEP OUR DEMOCRACY -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim S who wrote (1587)	5/13/2007 3:13:12 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3197

Voters in Texas Suburb OK Anti-Illegal Immigrant Ordinance. FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — Voters in this Dallas suburb became the first in the nation Saturday to prohibit landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants. The ban was approved by a vote of 68 percent to 32 percent in final, unofficial returns. The balloting marked the first public vote on a local government measure to crack down on illegal immigration. "It says especially to Congress that we're tired of the out-of-control illegal immigration problem. That if Congress doesn't do something about it, cities will," said Tim O'Hare, a City Council member who was the ordinance's lead proponent. The ordinance requires apartment managers to verify that renters are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants before leasing to them, with some exceptions. Property managers or owners who break the rule face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $500. Council members approved the ordinance in November, then revised it in January to include exemptions for minors, seniors and some families with a mix of legal residents and illegal immigrants. Farmers Branch has become the site of protests and angry confrontations, and opponents of the regulation gathered enough signatures to force the city to put the measure on the municipal election ballot. With Saturday's approval of the ban, opponents plan to fight it in court, and will seek a restraining order to stop the city from enforcing it. The city was already facing four lawsuits brought by civil rights groups, residents, property owners and businesses who contend the ordinance discriminates and that it places landlords in the precarious position of acting as federal immigration officers. Their attorneys say the ordinance attempts to regulate immigration, a duty that is exclusively the federal government's. One lawsuit also alleges the council violated the state open meetings act when deciding on the ordinance. O'Hare contends the city's economy and quality of life will improve if illegal immigrants are kept out. Around the country, more than 90 local governments have proposed, passed or rejected laws prohibiting landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalizing businesses that employ them or training police to enforce immigration laws. Local proposals aimed at regulating illegal immigration often fail to pass constitutional muster, said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute office at New York University School of Law. "There is significant frustration, so that's what's driving it," Chishti said. "But the simple fact is they cannot do too much other than impress upon the Congress the need for immigration reform." foxnews.com

To: Jim S who wrote (1587)	5/18/2007 8:07:30 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3197

Immigration Burden or Boom for Tax Rolls? There May Be a Financial Upside to Granting Citizenship to 12 Million Illegal Immigrants Senators reached a landmark deal on immigration today that will give 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States the opportunity to obtain legal status. The compromise crafted by key senators also calls for increased border security to prevent new illegal immigrants from pouring into the country. The proposed legislation would allow immigrants to obtain a probationary card right away and to ultimately obtain a "Z-visa" that would put them on track to permanent residency. What does this new agreement mean for America? Overcrowded classrooms and emergency rooms. Overwhelmed police and fire departments. Bankrupt Social Security, Medicare and welfare programs. Skyrocketing taxes. It's a gloomy scenario that some say could become a reality if millions of illegal immigrants are granted citizenship under a sweeping immigration reform bill currently working its way through the U.S. Senate. But is it fact or fear-mongering? "This is the most expensive public policy choice that I've seen in Washington in a quarter-century," said Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "You're essentially going to grant illegal immigrants eligibility to Social Security, to Medicare, to other welfare programs for the elderly like Medicaid … at the cost to the taxpayer of $17,000 more per illegal immigrant." Rector bases his calculations not on the 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States who could be provided a pathway to citizenship over the next few years, as outlined in the bill, but on the millions more people Rector believes would seek citizenship in the next 20 years as a result of a change in policy. Many of these new Americans, Rector argues, would be be poor, less-educated and pay thousands per year less in taxes than what they would cost the government in services. "Each immigrant who does not have a high school degree over his lifetime costs the taxpayer about $1.2 million, and that's all the benefits his family would receive minus the taxes he pays in," said Rector. But others say those figures overstate the impact, and one group even called the Heritage Foundation's assessment "dehumanizing." "Human beings are made up of much more than a tally of their income taxes and the tally of the services they use," said Benjamin Johnson of the American Immigration Law Foundation, who cited the contributions of such accomplished high school dropouts as business titans Ray Kroc, Dave Thomas and Kirk Kerkorian. "It's an indictment of people who are doing really valuable jobs in our economy and being very productive members of our economy," said Johnson, who highlighted the consumer purchasing power and job-creating influence of Hispanics in the United States, estimating their economic contribution at $798 billion in 2006. Someone needs a reality check Valuable jobs? abcnews.go.com