Sensenbrenner bill to increase H-1B and H-2A

Date: Friday, November 09, 2007 10:43 PM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1781 -- 11/09/2007 >>>>>

Rep. Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced a new bill to the House that will raise
the caps on H-1B and H-2A visas. It's got a rather long winded title, which is
usually cause for alarm since that's how politicians hide unpopular things.
It's called the "Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of
the immigration laws", or H.R. 4065.

It's easy to miss the H-1B part of this bill, especially if you look in the
table of contents. That's because it's in the very last part titled: "TITLE
XIV -- MISCELLANEOUS". Gee, who would ever expect to find a massive increase
in H-1B visas in a part of the bill called Miscellaneous?

I'm not going to come right out and accuse Sensenbrenner of deliberately
trying to deceive the public, but the way this bill is written is very
suspicious. Quite obviously the "Misc" section of the bill is actually the
most important part, which explains why Sensenbrenner wanted to hide it.
All the rest of the bill is smoke-and-mirrors to fool an unsuspecting public.

You can read the text of the bill here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h4065ih.txt.pdf

The Sensenbrenner bill has two major sections on guest worker visas. The first
one is titled "TITLE XIII -- TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROGRAM".
Isn't it odd that H-2A merited a real title, but H-1B was considered "Misc"?

In it, the 10 month time limit for H-2A visas would be doubled with a 10 month
extension. The aliens would have to go back to their home countries for 1/5 of
the time they worked in the U.S. before being permitted to come back to the
USA. Assuming a 20 month gig, and assuming our overburdened government could
monitor the time span between gigs, the alien would have to go back home for 4
months if they worked the full 20 months here.

There is one portion of the H-2A proposal that really caught my eye -- it sets
up a trust fund that almost guarantees that the foreigner will return back to
his/her home country when the visa expires. Keep in mind that currently the
DHS has no way of knowing whether an alien leaves when their visa expires.
Sensenbrenner definitely fixed that problem!

The foreigner would be given an incentive to leave when their visa went out of
status because employers of immigrants would be required to withhold 25% of
the wages of each worker. Witholdings would would be paid into a trust fund.
The fund would collect interest, although I cannot determine at what interest
rate. The foreigner won't get the booty until they leave the U.S.
so the concept amounts to an iron clad guarantee that they will leave when
they are supposed to.

That's brilliant! Kudos for Sensenbrenner because I have been advocating doing
something like that for a very long time for the H-1B program. Don't look for
this trust fund in the H-1B section though because Sensenbrenner didn't
include it. Perhaps Sensenbrenner thinks it's not worthy of being called a
"Misc" item.

If you scroll waaaaaaaaaaaaay down to SEC. 1402 you will see the title:
"INCREASE IN H-1B VISA NUMBERS." It will nearly double the H-1B cap from its
current 65,000 (+20,000) a year to 130,000 per year. The cap can go as high as
195,000, which is the level it was in 2001. Remember how disastrous that was?

So far 9 Republicans have signed onto this travesty. Fortunately the Democrats
haven't jumped onboard yet. We probably don't have to worry about this bill
unless it starts picking up more co-sponsors, and a definite code red would be
if some Democrats sign onto it.

One thing for sure -- this bill doesn't have a chance as long as that H-2A
trust fund is in it. The trust fund is a poison pill that the cheap labor
lobby would never accept. My guess is that Sensenbrenner introduced this bill
to appease the cheap labor lobby, while at the same time assuring its doom so
that his constituency is given a good show. This technique is very common in
DC -- it's called "playing both sides of the fence".

The fact that Sensenbrenner feels enough pressure to pull a stunt like this
off isn't a good thing. The mere existence of his bill should be a warning
sign to all of us that the H-1B lobby is on the march and they are demanding
results.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=682045

Sensenbrenner vows immigration reform

Congressman revives crackdown bill
By KATHERINE M. SKIBA
kskiba@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 2, 2007
Washington - House Republican Jim Sensenbrenner has renewed his drive for
immigration reform by introducing a bill whose provisions include securing the
borders, cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants and increasing
penalties for people who smuggle them into the United States.

These and other provisions are in a new bill not publicly available on Friday.

The Menomonee Falls lawmaker was in Seattle on Friday for a hearing unrelated
to immigration and not available for comment, said Tom Schreibel, his chief of
staff.

The new measure, H.R. 4065, has nine Republican co-sponsors.

It picks up from an enforcement-first bill Sensenbrenner sponsored when he
headed the House Judiciary Committee.

That measure passed the House in 2005 on a 239-182 vote but did not advance in
the Senate.

A statement on the new effort said Sensenbrenner remains "undeterred from his
fight for substantive immigration reform."

It quoted him as saying: "America's problems with illegal immigration did not
end with (last) November's elections. While many of my colleagues have
expended a lot of hot air discussing the issue this year, they . . . have
continued to ignore the calls of the American people on this very emotional
and complex matter."

Other highlights:

Some $300 million would be authorized annually so states and localities

could buy items needed to enforce immigration laws.

More Customs and Border Protection officers would be stationed at ports of

entry.

Employers would be required to submit workers' Social Security numbers to

the Social Security Administration for verification.

If there was a discrepancy, the employer would be required to verify the
employee's identification. An employer's failure to act would result in
"severe penalties."

The number of temporary visas granted every year to skilled workers would

double, from 65,000 to 130,000.

These are H1-B visas for workers in specialty occupations, who are admitted
based on education, skills and/or experience, according to U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services.

The program of granting H-2A visas to temporary or seasonal agricultural

workers would be reformed.

Sensenbrenner wants the market to determine their numbers. To ensure they do
not overstay their visas, he said, they should not be permitted to bring
relatives with them.

Many such workers can be found on Wisconsin's farms, dairies and nurseries.

Initial reaction to the new effort was mixed.

At FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, spokesman Bob Dane
said 90% of the bill contained "fair, practical and sensible solutions."
The Washington-based group stresses border security and enforcement of
existing laws.

Dane took issue with the proposal to double the number of H1-B visas, saying
Sensenbrenner "mixed up a Bill Gates memo into his bill by mistake."

Dane said tech firms such as Microsoft, IBM, Google and others have been
pushing for more foreign workers to take on computer programming and project
management jobs.

He maintained that, if that happens, it would drive down wages and discourage
U.S. students from studying math and engineering.

Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center, a Washington think
tank that supports immigration, said:

"Sensenbrenner is dusting off his old playbook and hoping he can gain some
traction in the wake of the Senate's failure to pass a comprehensive
immigration bill.

"There is . . . no shock value when you look at a Sensenbrenner bill that's
all about enforcement."

She said the bill did not address the estimated 12 million undocumented
workers already in the U.S.

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