[Vision2020] The 2008 Legislature and SB1427 - When Idaho Gave a Damn

[Ron Force]

A recent trip to southern Arizona got me thinking about immigration issues. The roads were swarming with Border Patrol vehicles just about everywhere I went, and helicopters were in regular overflights. I even ran into a heavily-armed officer on a hike into the Miller Canyon Wilderness in the Huachuca Mountains. But, those who chant "close the border" are blowing hot air. Most of the border in Arizona is 320 miles of trackless, unpopulated Sonoran desert. To really close that border, you'd have to have thousands of people patrolling on foot. Add similar terrain in Texas & California, and you have 1,920 miles to cover. Build a 20 foot fence? Ever hear of 21 foot ladders?

The things that would be needed for a real immigration control policy aren't likely to happen. Here's what I think would be necessary:

1. A secure, verifiable, national identity card.  The forms of personal identification we have now--Social Security Cards, Driver's Licenses are too easy to counterfeit. For a price, anyone can obtain "good enough" papers. A try at a national policy for secure driver's licenses--Real ID--was shot down by the Right Wing and Left-Wing Civil Libertarians as government intrusion into personal privacy and States' Rights. The Idaho Legislature was in the forefront of the fight against it.


2. Real penalties on employers of undocumented immigrants. Let's face it, the real driver for illegal immigration is the disparity in standards of living and pay between Mexico (and Latin America) and the US. We don't have a real problem with Canadians coming south to pick apples. If the jobs weren't available, immigration would stop. But, whole industries have based their business models on cheap, contingent immigrant labor such as agriculture, (particularly truck crops and mega-dairies), food processing, the hospitality industry,  and construction.  When I was growing up, many of my friend's parents were employed in the meat-packing industry, which then paid living family wages. In the 1980's the industry was taken over by companies that instituted assembly-line methods, imported immigrant labor to break the unions, and cut wages in half.

Many of Idaho's and the country's movers & shakers benefit from this system. I believe the draconian anti-immigrant laws aren't intended to actually remove the illegal immigrant populations but to keep them disenfranchised, politically powerless, and compliant, working for starvation wages, always under the threat of deportation.

3. A system of temporary work permits.  This is extremely controversial for both political parties. Business is happy with the situation described in #2 as long as employers aren't sanctioned.  Temporary work permits might give too many rights to the immigrant workers. High-tech industry would like more H1-b visa for foreign tech workers, as these tie employment to a single company and keeps workers from changing employers or demanding higher pay, but there aren't enough available to really pressure wages significantly downward. Unions can veto immigration policy within the Democratic Party. The Teamsters had everything do with keeping Mexican truck drivers and trucks out of the US, even though it contravened treaties and lead to sanctions against US exports.

These reasons are why "When all is said and done, more will be said than done."

Ron Force
Moscow ID USA



________________________________
From: John Pool <jpool at moscow.com>
To: Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>; Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Mon, May 24, 2010 10:51:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] The 2008 Legislature and SB1427 - When Idaho Gave a Damn

I wonder how many of us posting to The Viz walk around with papers that
prove that we have a right to be here, and that our parents also had/have a
right to be here? Does State Senator Mike Jorgenson? Will these
right-wingnuts bring about an ever-stronger movement towards a national
identity card? Points to ponder.

John Pool 

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 9:16 AM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] The 2008 Legislature and SB1427 - When Idaho Gave a
Damn

Greetings Visionaires -

As Idaho State Senator Mike Jorgenson (R-Hayden) vows to introduce
legislation (if he is elected), identical to Arizona's "papers please"
immigration bill, a major unwelcomed step in returning Idaho to the days
of white sheets and burning crosses . . .

http://tinyurl.com/2dkm8bs

It is comforting to reflect back to the 2008 Idaho legislature and Senate
Bill 1427.

http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2008/S1427.html#billtext

HIGHER EDUCATION - Amends existing law relating to higher education to
revise residency requirements; and to provide for confidentiality of
student information.

. . .

"Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, any student who meets all
of the following requirements shall be exempt from paying the nonresident
portion of total tuition:

    (a)  Graduation from a public or private high  school  in  this  state
or attainment of the equivalent of a high school diploma in this
state;

    (b)  Continuous residence in this state for:

          (i)   The three (3) years preceding the date of graduation or
receipt of the diploma equivalent, as applicable; and

          (ii)  The  year  preceding  the  census  date of the academic
term in which the person is enrolled in an institution of 
higher  education; and

    (c)  Registration  as  an  entering  student,  or current enrollment
at an accredited institution of higher education in Idaho not earlier 
than  the fall semester or quarter of the 2008-2009 academic year; and

    (d)  In the case of a person without lawful immigrant status in the
United States,  the  filing of an affidavit with the institution of
higher education stating that the student has filed an  application 
to  legalize  the student's  immigration  status, or will file an
application as soon as the student is eligible to do so."

-----------------------------------

Although this bill died in the House . . .

Idaho Senate BIll 1427 of the 2008 Idaho state legislature, back when
Idaho cared, was strongly supported by our own local representatives . . .
Shirley RIngo and Tom Trail.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown


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