WE Blog

“Day in and day out, as the immigration debate boils, the halls of Congress are haunted by the specter of Senate Bill 1200, the failed amnesty legislation of 1986,” The New York Times reported. It noted how that bill, signed into law by President Reagan, was supposed to “grant legal status to illegal immigrants, crack down on employers who hired illegal workers and secure the border once and for all. Instead, fraudulent applications tainted the process, many employers continued their illicit hiring practices, and illegal immigration surged.” Some observers fear that the new reforms passed Thursday by the Senate could have some of the same problems. For example, requiring illegal immigrants to prove how long they have lived in America could produce another black market for fraudulent documents.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

Good for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for removing all doubt about the state commitment to affordable airfares at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport by signing the funding mechanism as part of the legislative session’s final budget bill for fiscal 2007. Because of the hard work of the area delegation and business and local government leaders, $5 million a year for five years will come from the state, via the Regional Economic Area Partnership, to support the crucial regional effort to add low-fare airlines and routes to Wichita’s air service. As this program helps ensure that Mid-Continent’s flights and ridership will increase, it is sure to stimulate the Kansas economy as a whole. Well done.
Posted by Rhonda Holman