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

[Wayne Price]

Actually, I see no problem with the law as written, it just needs  
enforced, which it appears on the surface ICE is incapable of doing,
or there wouldn't be some 12-20 million illegal aliens here now.
If there is a constitutional problem with the law, that will be  
handled by the courts, NOT vision 2020.

I am amazed by your comment, "I do, however, think there should be  
general amnesty for any illegal immigrant children that spend five  
years in the country graduate high school.
They didn't do anything illegal; their parents did.
They shouldn't be forced to leave their home merely because of an  
accident of birth."


So, if people break a law for five years they should get a pass?  THE  
CHILDREN, not just the parents are breaking the law.
Now, we can argue all day about  if  the parents should have brought  
them with them during the commission of a federal crime,
i.e. illegal immigration, but they have committed a crime, currently  
on the books, exclusive of anything that the Arizona Legislature
has passed.

And you mention in that same quote "forced to leave their home".  THEY  
were forced by their parents to leave their home when the parents,
for what ever reason, CHOSE to break the federal immigration laws and  
move to the US.  We are not talking children that are born in the US,  
but children born
in another country  and brought to the US illegally by their parents.

The bottom line is that sneaking into the US, by a foreign national,  
be they Canadian,, Bulgarian or Swiss is a violation of federal law.

A good  comprehensive over view of the history of US Immigration  
policy has been published by  Cornell University Law School's  Legal  
Information Institute:

Federal immigration law determines whether a person is an alien, the  
rights, duties, and obligations associated with being an alien in the  
United States, and how aliens gain residence or citizenship within the  
United States. It also provides the means by which certain aliens can  
become legally naturalized citizens with full rights of citizenship.  
Immigration law serves as a gatekeeper for the nation's border,  
determining who may enter, how long they may stay, and when they must  
leave.
Congress has complete authority over immigration. Presidential power  
does not extend beyond refugee policy. Except for questions regarding  
aliens' constitutional rights, the courts have generally found the  
immigration issue as nonjusticiable.

States have limited legislative authority regarding immigration, and  
28 U.S.C. § 1251 details the full extent of state jurisdiction.  
Generally, 28 U.S.C. § 994 details the federal sentencing guidelines  
for illegal entry into the country.

By controlling the visa process, the federal government can achieve  
the goals of its immigration policies.  There are two types of visas:  
immigrant visas and nonimmigrant visas. The government primarily  
issues nonimmigrant visas to tourists and temporary business visitors.  
The government divides nonimmigrant visas into eighteen different  
types, but for most types, does not impose a cap on the number that  
may be granted in a year. Only a few categories of non-immigrant visas  
allow their holders to work in the United States. Immigrant visas, on  
the other hand, permit their holders to stay in the United States  
permanently and eventually to apply for citizenship. Aliens with  
immigrant visas can also work in the United States. Congress limits  
the quantity of immigrant visas, which numbered 675,000 in 1995. Many  
immigrant visas remain subject to per-country caps.

Early History of American Immigration Law

Congress's first attempt to set immigration policy came in 1790 with  
the enactment of theNaturalization Act of 1790.  This Act restricted  
naturalization to "free white persons" of "good moral character" and  
required the applicant to have lived in the country for two years  
prior to becoming naturalized.  In 1795 an amendment increased the  
residency requirement to five years.  The five-year requirement  
remains on the books to this day.

Upon ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, all children born  
within the United States received citizenship at birth.  In 1870  
Congress broadened naturalization laws to allow African-Americans the  
right to become naturalized citizens.  Asian Americans, however, did  
not receive such a right for many years.  Xenophobia from an influx of  
Asians between 1850 and 1882 prompted Congress to pass the Chinese  
Exclusion Act, which restricted further Chinese immigration.

In 1921 Congress passed the Emergency Immigration Act, creating  
national immigration quotas, which gave way to the Immigration Act of  
1924, capping the number of permissible immigrants from each country  
in a manner proportional to the number already living within the  
United States.  The aggregate number from the eastern hemisphere could  
not eclipse 154,227 immigrants.  Franklin D. Roosevelt's  
Administration essentially closed to the country to immigration  
essentially during the Great depression, drastically reducing the  
numbers per country that could enter the United States.

Modern Immigration Law

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), also known as the  
McCarran-Walter Act, eliminated all race-based quotas, replacing them  
with purely nationality-based quotas.  The INA continues to influence  
the field of American immigration law.  To enforce the quotas, the INA  
created the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).  The INS  
served as the federal agency that enforced these caps for remainder of  
the 20th century.

When Congress passed the INA, it defined an "alien" as any person  
lacking citizenship or status as a national of the United States.  
Different categories of aliens include resident and nonresident,  
immigrant and nonimmigrant, and documented and undocumented  
("illegal"). The terms "documented" and "undocumented" refer to  
whether an arriving alien has the proper records and identification  
for admission into the U.S.  Having the proper records and  
identification typically requires the alien to possess a valid,  
unexpired passport and either a visa, border crossing identification  
card, permanent resident card, or a reentry permit.  The INA expressly  
refuses stowaway aliens entry into the U.S.

The need to curtail illegal immigration prompted Congress to enact the  
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. The IRCA toughened  
criminal sanctions for employers who hired illegal aliens, denied  
illegal aliens federally funded welfare benefits, and legitimized some  
aliens through an amnesty program. The Immigration Marriage Fraud  
Amendments of 1986 sought to limit the practice of marrying to obtain  
citizenship. The Immigration Act of 1990 thoroughly revamped the INA  
by equalizing the allocation of visas across foreign nations,  
eliminating archaic rules, and encouraging worldwide immigration.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act  
(IIRIRA) of 1996revolutionized the process of alien entry into the  
United States.  The IIRIRA eliminated the term "entry," replacing it  
with "admission."  An application for admission occurs whenever an  
alien arrives in the U.S. regardless of whether the arrival occurs at  
a designated port-of-entry. Applicants at either designated ports or  
otherwise must submit to an inspection by U.S. customs, even if the  
applicant possesses an immigrant visa.  The IIRIRA also employs the  
term "arriving alien" to describe applicant aliens attempting to enter  
the U.S., regardless of whether they arrive at a designated port, a  
non-designated point on the border, or are located in U.S. waters and  
brought to shore.

Post-9/11 Reform

On March 1, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security opened,  
replacing the INS.  The Bush Administration had designed the  
Department of Homeland Security to foster increased intelligence  
sharing and dialogue between agencies responsible for responding to  
domestic emergencies, such as natural disasters and domestic  
terrorism.  Within the Department, three different agencies - U.S.  
Customs and Border Enforcement (CBE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration  
Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -  
now handle the duties formerly held by the INS.  Currently, the CBE  
handles the INS's border patrol duties, the USCIS handles the INS's  
naturalization, asylum, and permanent residence functions, and the ICE  
handles the INS's deportation, intelligence, and investigatory  
functions.

Refugee and Asylum Seekers

The Refugee Act of 1980 defines the U.S. laws relating to refugee  
immigrants.  Under the Refugee Act, the term "refugee" refers to  
aliens with a fear of persecution upon returning to their homelands,  
stemming from their religion, race, nationality, membership in certain  
social groups, or political opinions.  Anyone who delivers a missing  
American POW or MIA soldier receives refugee status from the United  
States.

The United States, however, denies refugee status to any alien who  
actively persecuted individuals of a certain race, political opinion,  
religion, nationality, or members of a certain social group.   As a  
matter of public policy, the government also typically refuses refugee  
applicants previously convicted of murderer.   For refugees who have  
"firmly resettled" in another country, the United States will deny a  
request for refugee admission.  The government considers refugees  
"firmly resettled" if the refugees have received an offer of  
citizenship, permanent residency, or some other permanent status from  
a foreign country.

Under international law, the Geneva Convention, or the laws of the  
United States, foreign citizens who have become disillusioned with  
their homeland cannot take temporary refuge within the United States.   
The Refugee Act of 1980 specifically leaves out temporary refuge as a  
form of refugee status that the U.S. government will recognize.

To qualify for refugee status under the persecution provision, the  
refugee applicant must prove actual fear.  A proof of actual fear  
requires meeting both a subjective and an objective test.  The  
subjective test requires that the refugee actually have an honest and  
genuine fear of being persecuted for some immutable trait, such as  
religion, race, and nationality.  Seekers of asylum must show a fear  
that membership in a social or political group has caused past  
persecution or has caused a well-founded fear that persecution will  
occur upon returning.  The applicant meets the objective standard by  
showing credible and direct evidence that a reasonable possibility of  
persecution exists upon the applicant's return to the homeland.

The President retains the ultimate decision making authority when  
determining the number of refugees to allow into the country during a  
given year.

Deportation

Deportation refers to the official removal of an alien from the United  
States.  The U.S. government can initiate deportation proceedings  
against aliens admitted under the INA that commit an aggravated felony  
within the United States after being admitted.  An alien's failure to  
register a change of address renders the alien deportable, unless the  
failure resulted from an excusable circumstance or mistake.  If the  
government determines that a particular alien gained entry into the  
country through the use of a falsified document or otherwise  
fraudulent means, the government has the grounds to deport.

Other common grounds for deportation include the following: aiding or  
encouraging another alien to enter the country illegally; engaging in  
marriage fraud to gain U.S. admission; participating in an activity  
that threatens the U.S.'s national security; voting unlawfully; and  
failing to update the government with a residential address every  
three months, regardless of whether the address has changed.  The last  
of these policies served as the grounds for the government to deport  
2,000 Pakistanis following the September 11th attacks.

If the government brings a proceeding for deportation because of fraud  
or falsification, the government bears the burden of proving by clear  
and convincing evidence that alleged falsification or fraud occurred  
and that the falsification or fraud proved material to the granting of  
admission to the alien.  Upon such a proof, the government has  
established a rebuttable presumption that the alien gained admission  
through material falsification or fraud.  To rebut the presumption,  
the alien must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that  
admission would have been granted even without the falsification or  
fraud.












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