Another Enforcement Bill Makes

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis), the powerful head of the House Judiciary Committee, has introduced the “Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005,” a bill which could be headed for a quick vote in the House sometime next week. The bill, an enforcement-only measure, has been derided by some as too narrow and by others as incomplete. Notably, there are no provisions for a fence along the southern border of the United States nor for troops stationed along the southern border to protect it, as supported by some of the more radical anti-immigrationists. Here is a brief summary of some of the main points of the proposed bill: · A requirement that employers verify the Social Security numbers of all of their employees, with a six-year timeline for enforcement; · Increased penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants, with the minimum fine going from $250 per illegal worker to $5000, with lower fines for small businesses; · Creates a national border security strategy; · Provides for quicker deportation of illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico ; · Makes illegal presence in the U.S. a criminal offense, instead of a civil violation of immigration law, as it is now; this would include overstays; · Makes non-citizen gang members deportable. Supporters of this bill concede that more complete immigration reform is needed, but insist that this bill would provide the necessary first step in reform – enforcement. While Sensenbrenner agrees with the White House that a guest worker program that does not lead to opportunities for citizenship is another element of necessary immigration reform, such a provision has not been included in the current legislation. Please note that even if this bill passes the House next week, the Senate is not expected to take up the immigration issue until early next year. As you know, a bill does not become law until both the House and the Senate pass the same bill and it is signed by the President. Watch this space for further developments!! ______________________________________________________________________________ 本文由範毅禹律師事務所提供 本律師事務所精辦各類勞工應聘及專業移民申請 (包括H-1，L-1，EB-1，EB-2，NIW，勞工卡，綠卡等申請)。所有申請由多位美籍律師及擁有15年經驗的範毅禹律師親自處理，我所並特設中英移民網站。內有最新移民新聞資訊及由律師主持的移民問答集，歡迎讀者流覽查詢。 www.Fan-Law.com CALIFORNIA : Fan, Fitzpatrick & Thompson, LLP. 370 E. Glenarm St., Pasadena , CA 91106 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] MARYLAND : Fan, Fitzpatrick & Thompson, LLP. 230 North Washington Street, Suite 400 , Rockville , MD 20850 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]