Immigration and homeland security

Immigration and homeland security

Written by Christi Covington Friday, 07 December 2007

Editor’s Note: When both congressmen mentioned the immigration issue was a top concern for Central Texans, we knew we needed to address the subject in a snapshot feature. This page barely touches on all the problems and needs. Our purpose was to present a bit of each of your representative’s view along with some thoughts of local constituents.

When U.S. representatives John Carter and Michael McCaul talk to their constituents, they find people repeatedly bring up the same topic—immigration.

“It is the No. 1 issue, maybe even more important than homeland security [to citizens],” McCaul said. “It’s the top one or two. I have never seen more people angry in politics. We have the problem of illegal labor and the Other Than Mexicans who come here.”

Immigration concerns encompass everything from national security to economics to healthcare, Carter said.

“Most people agree we have a need for workers in the country,” said the former Williamson County district judge. “I think people should be legal in the country – invited in, they follow the rules and then let them in. We have got 12 million who do not follow the rules. We have to figure out what we are going to do with them, and I am not one to give any slack.”

This year, Carter has authored two bills and recently introduced them to congressional committees where they must be approved before reaching the floor of the House of Representatives.

One requires identification cards with biometric identifiers for anyone residing in the U.S. and the other increases legal enforcement against illegal immigrants.

A third bill that is yet to be introduced is a worker program that requires illegal immigrants to accept a criminal charge on their record, but allows them to stay and work without a path to citizenship.

Andrew Martinez, president of the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, sees the need for a worker’s program. He said that as the Austin area continues to grow, the economy requires the services provided by Mexican immigrants, largely in construction labor.

“Lets get them out of the shadows,” he said. “Lets legitimize and get them to work here.”

Immigration issues concern even more than service industry jobs, Carter said. Of the top U.S. engineering programs, fewer and fewer students that graduate with a doctorate are American citizens, according to his office. That situation makes it more challenging for high tech employers, such as Samsung and Dell Inc., to employ American citizens.

According to current law, Martinez agrees it is very difficult to gain worker status.

“Immigration laws needs to be reformed,” Martinez said. “It is not implementable. It needs to be more realistic to the needs we have. Many people want to work here and not be citizens.”

A green card gives official immigration status in the absence of citizenship. The application must be approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. First, the appropriate form must be filed with a sponsor who already has citizenship status. Sponsors are usually an employer or relative because the immigrant must have an American advocate to enter the country.

The wait period to get into the U.S. depends on the method of entrance. A brother trying to move from Mexico with the help of his American sister has a wait of around 12 to 15 years, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is under the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration legislation

H.R. 3851

• Increases the number of full-time border patrol agents and requires a plan for recruitment and retention from the Secretary of Homeland Security
• Affirms state and local law enforcement are authorized and directed to enforce immigration law for illegal aliens who have been ordered removed
• Requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to post all warrants for illegal alien offenders on the National Crime Information Center database
• Increases the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program funding authorization to help state and local law enforcement comply
• Doubles the criminal penalties for illegal aliens in possession of a firearm and/or a controlled substance

• Carter sponsored this bill
• McCaul co-sponsored and supports this bill
• Status: Introduced Oct. 16, which means it must go to committee for approval and possible revisions.

H.R. 4073

• Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to create a new Social Security card for citizens using biometric identifiers and tamper-proof safeguards
• Requires illegal aliens to obtain a similar identification card, including criminal penalties for non-compliance
• Excludes illegal aliens from receiving Social Security benefits for work completed while residing illegally within the United States

• Carter sponsored
• McCaul co-sponsored and supports this bill
• Status: Introduced Nov. 16, which means it must go to committee for approval and possible revisions.

Future legislation by Carter

A bill will implement a probationary non-citizen worker program that requires illegal immigrants to admit they came to the U.S. illegally, accept a criminal charge on their record, but will allow them to stay and work within an accountable and effective employment system that does not offer a path to citizenship.

Combating cyber warfare

Other efforts for homeland security

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul has attracted attention to what he considers another major front for homeland security—some foreign countries have the ability to potentially shut down major infrastructure in the U.S. through computer hacking.

“There have been multiple intrusions from foreign powers,” McCaul said. “If files were taken from the Pentagon, then it would be very concerning. It is because they are virtual that we do not notice as much.”

McCaul regularly receives briefings from the staff of the Congressional Homeland Security Committee concerning the issue.

“Through cyber [attacks] they could do physical damage in the physical world,” said Kevin Gronberg, a Homeland Security staffer, in September. “If we are not secure, we are vulnerable to espionage or a physical attack.”

In response, McCaul, with The Center for Strategic and International Studies and Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island), announced Oct. 30 a bipartisan Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency – the administration that will take office in January 2009.

This commission will develop recommendations for a comprehensive strategy for organizing and prioritizing efforts to secure America’s computer networks and critical infrastructure.

Austinite and retired Navy Admiral Bobby Inman, who is also the Lyndon B. Johnson National Policy Chair at the University of Texas, will co-chair the commission of 31 members. Work will be completed by December 2008.

Congressman Lamar Smith

As a senior Member of the Texas Congressional Delegation, Congressman Lamar Smith has represented residents of the 21st Congressional District since 1987. Congressman Smith has been named one of the 100 most influential people in Washington by the National Journal. In this Congress, Lamar Smith was selected to lead House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. As the Ranking Republican Member, he serves as a spokesman for the party and shapes committee policy. Congressman Smith also was selected to serve on both the Homeland Security Committee, which considers legislation involving the war on terror, and the Science and Technology Committee. In 2004, Representative Smith was elected to the House Republican Steering Committee to represent Republican Members of Congress from Texas. A fifth-generation Texan, Congressman Smith graduated from Yale University and Southern Methodist University School of Law. Before his election to Congress, he practiced law, managed a family ranch and served as a state representative and county commissioner. He and his wife, Beth, have an adult daughter and son. The 21st Congressional District includes portions of Bexar and Travis Counties and all of Comal, Real, Kerr, Bandera, Kendall and Blanco Counties. More than 650,000 people live in the District.

Editor’s note: During the taping of Carter’s weekly broadcast in which Lamar Smith was the guest, Smith and Carter spoke about the immigration issue. This is an excerpt of Smith’s comments.

“Homeland security equals border security. There are a half a million people a day crossing the borders illegally and we don’t know who they are, what they are carrying or what they are bringing in.

We need to enforce our laws, that would be immigration reform alone if we enforced our laws. We need to hire the work patrol, build an electronic barrier fence in high traffic areas such as in San Diego. We can’t put it everywhere, but we need to stop those coming across who are not legal.

One law that was passed in 1996 that is not enforced is an entry/exit system. How do we know who is leaving the country if we don’t have an exit system? How do we have a visa worker program if we don’t have a entry/exit system to know who is coming in or going out? If we want to send individuals back to their country, how do we know they are staying home and not coming back across if we don’t have some kind of a system? So Congress and the administration need to get serious and implement laws already on the books.”

Austin District Office, 3536 Bee Cave Road, Suite 212, Austin, TX 78746, ph: 512-306-0439, fax: 512-306-0427, http://lamarsmith.house.gov/

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