The House of Representatives is poised to ram through in the coming weeks a disastrous piece of legislation dubbed the “Save Act” that will imperil the ability of millions of Americans to work in this country and will waste countless more resources and money on a failed policy. As the disastrous failure of Congress to pass comprehensive immigration legislation recedes further into the background, it is becoming clearer that in its absence we have little hope of developing an immigration system that is holistic, compassionate and effective.
Immigration activists were understandably dismayed when late last year Rep. Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat, and Republican Reps. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Brian Bilbray of California introduced the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act, or Save Act for short. But we became truly alarmed when the bill’s supporters announced March 11 that they would use a “discharge petition” to bring the bill directly to the House floor for a vote — without allowing any congressional committee to consider the merits or drawbacks of the bill.
Rushing to advance such a seriously flawed measure that will negatively impact millions of workers in the United States without any kind of debate or process to amend the bill is as foolish as it is dangerous.
Rather than systematically addressing the problems in our broken immigration system, the Save Act expands the existing “Basic Pilot” employment verification system, now known as “E-Verify,” to cover all employers and all workers in just four short years, without resolving the well-documented problems of the current system. The Social Security Administration estimates that 17.8 million of its records contain discrepancies, of which 71% pertain to American citizens. That means that unless the errors in the E-Verify database are addressed, the Save Act would place in jeopardy the jobs of an estimated 12.7 million American workers whose information appears incorrectly in the database.
The Save Act would also throw billions of taxpayer dollars at outdated policies that have failed over the past 20 years and are doomed to failure without reform of the legal immigration system. Over the past two decades, the United States has been ramping up border and interior enforcement exponentially, yet the number of undocumented immigrants in this country continues to grow. The Save Act is not a silver bullet for illegal immigration; it’s merely window dressing.
Among many other troubling provisions in the Save Act, the bill would undermine security in our communities by imposing nationwide requirements on local police officers to act as immigration agents. This is an unwise policy that has been shown to foster distrust between law enforcement and the communities they protect. Our police officers should be solving crimes and catching criminals, not spending their time chasing down busboys and nannies who have overstayed their visa.
The bill also calls for pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into the construction of 8,000 more detention spaces for immigrants. Last year, American taxpayers paid more than $1.2 billion to detain more than 260,000 individuals, including hundreds of families. About half of all immigrants held in detention centers have no criminal record. The detention of so many people who pose no threat to us is a costly, inhumane and unnecessary.
Contrary to the message the Save Act’s moniker conveys, this bill will not save America. Instead, it will pave the way for America to continue down a perilous path in which the exploitation of human beings continues to escalate, hate crimes and hate rhetoric against immigrants continue to intensify, and our families and communities continue to suffer in the face of fear and distrust.
As Jews, we most value those things about our country that come from our own tradition of welcoming the stranger and treating those immigrants among us with honor and respect. What we see happening around us on a daily basis gives us pause.
As Jews and Americans, we must ask ourselves what kind of country we are and what kind of country we want to become. Do we want to be a country that locks up millions of immigrants and children who have committed no crime? Do we want to be the kind of country where immigration agents break down the doors of people’s homes in the middle of the night waving guns in their faces? Are we the kind of country that turns a blind eye to the ruthless exploitation of workers at the hands of unscrupulous employers?
We believe that this is not the kind of country America is or wants to become. We believe that America is the kind of country that values opportunity and aspiration, fairness and community, justice and the rule of law. We also believe that America is the kind of country that respects the human dignity of all people, regardless of immigration status.
And so we call on Congress to safeguard — to truly save — these faith-based values that make our country so great. By doing so, we take a stand against attempts to ensnare us in an identity that we neither asked for nor desire.
Gideon Aronoff is president & CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
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I wonder if the faith-based values you mention include being disingenuous? --Because that is what your article is at one or two points. You claim that Jews have a tradition of treating immigrants with honor and respect. That is well. So do anti-interloping Americans. But by deliberately misconstruing interlopers as welcome, law-abiding and honest guests is nothing short of lying. Unfortunately I have come to expect that from those who oppose righteousness and breaking the law, as the only methods they seem to have toward defeating a logically sound principle of enforcement are false claims of racism, or in this case, lying. The central principle of the SAVE Act is a solution of Attrition Through Enforcement --the TRUE middle ground.
America has been invaded by a third world country mentality, where its okay to violate young children. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, because unless you dig deep on the Internet., you will never find out how nationwide these heinous crimes happen? These abominations are suppressed by the national media each day, who care not to mention the criminal travesty perpetrated on innocent citizens. Jails are crammed with illegal foreign nationals and it remains difficult for small counties to feed and house them. American communities are hemorrhaging badly from supporting illegal cheap labor with food stamps, subsidised housing. Our kid suffer in overcrowded classrooms. Employers leave their injured hires in hospital waiting rooms and the unsuspecting taxpayers pay out of his own wages. If only our public servants in Washington, or the spineless Mayors, city managers had the guts of Lou Dobbs, Governor Don Carcieri and very few others to fight the illegal immigration war. As a Democrat I watch Lou every afternoon and learn about the impact upon our nations economy. California as an example is in a real chaos, concerning it's pandering to the special interest lobby. Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, a Republican from Oceanside, said illegal immigrants are costing California taxpayers an estimated $9 billion each year. The governor has ordered the release of 22.000 inmates, who are considered low-risk; low danger to the public. Right now I'm trying to make up mind, to register as an Independent? We are receiving pure propaganda, spin or rhetoric of from the pro-illegal immigrant zealots. Read the forums, bulletin boards and comments? You will quickly learn that predator employers are hiring illegal immigrants, because its cheaper and they don't have to pay out of their profits. Not only are illegals stealing African-Americans jobs, but all citizens. They are taking the jobs of a wide spectrum of American workers with no consequences. That is why we must enact the Federal SAVE ACT and stop this travesty of our immigration laws. Democrat lawmakers are the real culprits, because their holding back their vote in Congress. They know that the new president will sign into law a massive AMNESTY, giving the 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. Democrats who believe in enforcement must register their outrage with their representative. Find out the raw truth about illegal immigration. NUMBERSUSA! LIBERTY POST! AMERICAN PATROL! Register your outrage with your Democratic representatives and demand THE SAVE ACT! NOW!
I am not a big fan of the SAVE act. My problem with it is that the original intent of last year's amnesty comes to the top. Emplyer enforcement. The amnesty bill last year was more for the government and businesses using illegal labor than it was for the illegals. It allows companies up to four years to verify employees, why? Two have to be known and enforced to stop illegal immigration. 1. if caught, deportation. 2. Serious enforcement at employers doorstep. This bill doesn't do it and I feel won't work. WE don't need a fence and we don't need bill, we need to just enforce the laws. By the way the system is not broken, just not enforced from the top down.
Neither political parties can be trusted when it comes to the illegal immigration occupation of our country. More states are trying to enact strict laws for enforcement against predator employers. However, THE SAVE ACT has the teeth and packs the punch, to halt this pestilence overwhelming our wilting economy. THE FEDERAL SAVE ACT is not perfect, but it is the best we can hope. Whoever enters the Oval Office will propose that the 12 to 20 million illegal foreign nationals can stay. Very few Senators and Representatives have THE PEOPLE' S best interest in mind. The Democratic hierarchy have specifically been pandering to special interest groups, and very few have offered to co-author THE FEDERAL SAVE ACT. Keep calling your Democrat Representative today, toll free numbers include 1-877-851-6437 and 1-866-220-0044, or call toll 1-202-224-3121 AND REGISTER YOUR OUTRAGE at ongoing efforts to keep our country from enforcing its immigration laws! Learn the suppressed news about the border fence at: AmericanPatrol Liberty post
Thank you, Mr. Aronoff, for your thoughtful commentary. HIAS is a wonderful organization and has been so for many years. American nativism (as exemplified today by Tom Tancredo and Lou Dobbs) is a dangerous threat to the fabric of this country. Thanks to HIAS and other organizations for standing up for the American tradition, sanctified by the Declaration of Independence, of welcoming immigrants.