One of the biggest yet often overlooked problems with immigration is that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is in the dark ages. The agency, which has the enormous task of processing immigration applications, is understaffed and still largely operating through a paper-based filing system, the Washington Post reported. As a result, the agency had a backlog of 1.1 million applications last summer.
Starting with the 1986 amnesty legislation, the agency began using application fees to finance its budget. But the concept has snowballed, and immigrants are forced to continue paying different kinds of fees while their applications are delayed because of the labyrinthlike filing system. If the new immigration plan passes Congress, the backlog and delays will get much worse.
Posted by Andie Clum
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27 Comments
GET READY TO BE ANGRY!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxo6RpjPC7M
Posted by: Bill6/5/2007 12:15 PM———————I agree, Call your senator immediately!If CNN does not like it, it must be bad!
The immigration plan now in Congress is to remove the problem by re-naming Illegal Alien into Z-Visa holders.
By changing the name the backers of the plan are hoping the illegal alien problem will go away.
I am predicting the plan will fail as it is a cosmetic fix on a deeply scarred problem.
Good point Republican - if they do not address the root cause, there is no hope for any substantive change.I think the main goal of this legislation is that when campaign time comes around, those in Congress will be able to say they ‘acted’ on illegal immigration.
They need to secure the damn borders before they start talking about amnesty. If you give illegal aliens the ‘right to be here’ then we will be flooded.
Secure the borders.
Imprison employers that hire illegals.
Then consider options for citizenship for aliens within the confines of existing law.
Deport all aliens that are not on a path to citizenship.
Stop playing politics with the issue and most of all, stop accommodating the industries that lobby for cheap labor via illegal aliens.
Short story……
I took my granddaughter to Mickey D’s sometime back, so we could have lunch and she could play on the playground.
A “home improvement” contractor has interviewing a Hispanic man for a job at the next table. He said, and I quote, “I don’t care what social security card you use, just make sure that it is legit.”
I couldn’t catch the name of the company on the truck when they left or I would have reported it.
Employers do not do any favors to illegals when they hire them at substandard wages. They are abusing them just as the illegals are abusing the American society.
Fix the border issue and address the employers.
Then we can talk about other options.
Not until.
This might look as a very generous idea at a first glance.
Still, has anyone thought about the legal aliens here? The numerous ones who have gone through and payed for all of the legal procedures to obtain permanent residence rights? Those who have been working legally ever since they first came to America? Those who payed taxes just like everybody else and never asked for favors?
One could say that the immigration plan, if approved, would favor the illegal immigrants over the people who respect and follow the American laws.
What do you think?
First of all Point payed is spelled paid. I hate to say it but I agree with Republican and Brian on this. You MUST first control the border. Then, and only then can you try to take control within the border. The feds must let local government arrest not only the illegals but the employers. If an illegal is arrested then he is on his way back to where he came from. If an employer is busted hiring illegals then there should be a stiff jail sentence along with a hefty fine. If we treated the employers of illegals like we do drug dealers (with stiff mandatory minimums) we might have a chance. But the fact is that most business owners that hire illegals are white and they vote. So my thoughts are just that….my thoughts.
Wonder if the business folks know they have to HIRE the people BEFORE they are allowed to do the legal status verification. You are Forbidden to check legal status PRIOR TO HIRING. You must offer employment, then employ, then verify, then FIRE if not verified.
Get that…why..?
This is to set them up for a law suit since the bill was written by the immigration lawyers guild. Which will then allow the “employee” to stay on all through expensive appeals etc.
So , good luck all you employers who are supporting this nonsense big time.
Gonna be a long tough slog to employ ANYBODY, since you will have to verify EVERYBODY.
heh, so keep backing the likes of Brownback etc.
Washington is selling the USA down the drain.I sometimes wish some would whack the congressmen and senators.
I am a full supporter of AMNESTY for illegals but this bill SUCKS in so many ways that it is HORRIBLE. Here are just a few of the ways it SUCKS:
1. Grants amnesty to known gang members and criminals. As far as I am concerned gangs are nothing more than criminal terrorist organzations and they should be promptly booted into prison and OUT of the country when caught. Same with criminals including DUIs. We already have more than enough home grown criminals. We don’t need to import any damn more.2. Grants a “path to citizenship”. People who sneak in the country illegally should not EVER be eligble for citizenship unless they GO HOME and apply to come legally like everybody else has to do. There should be no path to nowhere but Permanent Residency for those who sneak in.3. “Z” visas that never end. No way! We don’t renew any visas for life! In my view, you get ONE 5 year Z visa. If, during that 5 years you work, pay taxes (including any back taxes), stay out of trouble with the law and learn at least basic English, you get to apply for Permanent Residency. If not, your visa ends and you take your ass home.
Thanks Mike for pointing out the spelling error. I love this blog with all the good feedback it gives as to the content of any post.
Back to the subject of this thread…
Does anyone realize how terribly backlogged the BCIS (new name for INS) is in processing applications? Their process is so incredibly manual and bureaucratic.
A few forms are fillable PDF type forms, but most are not. There’s an unbelievable number of form types and a terribly confusing process and sequence that must be followed.
Some forms must be submitted with 4 originals, or 8, in one case 12 originals!! And when you do not have fillable forms, you MUST type or hand write every copy of every form.
Can you imagine a foreigner trying to figure out the correct procedure, manually writing (or typing) 4, or 8, or 12 original copies of these forms, and then sending them to the correct address or addresses?
Some forms go here, others there. Then you get a confirmation form from BCIS, which you must copy and attach a new form and send all the forms right back to the BCIS again!
Rube Goldberg could not have designed a more complex system!
Typcial government process designed to ensure the government workers don’t have to do anything - other than shuffle forms back and forth and to and from.
Yes, immigrants should have to follow the law in coming to America. But the BCIS Process MUST be reformed and brought into the 21st century in order to make it possible, not necessarily easy, but possible for immigrants to come here legally.
Not every immigrant can afford to hire an immigration attorney, but why should the process be so cumbersome that an attorney must be hired just to fill out forms?
I apologize in advance for any spelling errors on this post!
Kev, I agree with your post, but it sounds like you really don’t believe in amnesty. I don’t either. I’m wondering what you mean by amnesty?
Almost all of us are immigrants or decendents of immigrants, and I’m all for continued legal immigration.
In the early 1900’s legal immigration was roughly 1 million per year at a time when the US population was 100 million. So legal immigration was roughly 1% of the current population.
Today, 1.5 million per year are allowed to legally immigrate here or 0.5% of our current population per year.
I’d be all for bumping that up to 1% per year again, but let’s be a little more selective about who comes here:
1. No felons.2. Speak english or agree to quickly learn english.3. Have a job lined up or agree to work and NOT take any welfare.4. Get 1/4 with High School diplomas (or their countrie’s equivalent, 1/4 with a 4-year college degree, and 1/4 advance college masters degree or above. Allow up to 1/4 who are disadvantaged to come here as long as they can read and write, and do basic math.
But first:
I. Build the fence and seal the border.II. Reform the BCIS to cut the red tape and make it possible to immigrate here legally. (As described in Point of Views good comment above)III. Find some way to deal with the 12 to 20 million that are here illegally - no easy solution to that one.
Ihg,The problem with building fences is that no matter how well you fortify it, people will figure out a way to get over, under, through or around it. Historically, there has never been a wall or fence that’s remained effective for long.I had a friend who escaped from Latvia at the height of the cold war, made it through the razor wire fences and the minefield in between without alerting the dogs or the guards in towers with heavy machine guns, with his family. He’s now a highly regarded theater director.
“Kev, I agree with your post, but it sounds like you really don’t believe in amnesty. I don’t either. I’m wondering what you mean by amnesty?”
By amnesty I mean that we tell the illegal immigrants this: you go to the nearest ICE office and turn yourselves and your family in. At this time you may apply for a Z Visa and you will be issued a 30 day visitor visa today. We will process your Z visa and, if you have no criminal record and a job, you can come back in 30 days and pick up your Z visa. It will be good for 5 years. During this period you are expected to hold a job, stay out of trouble with the law and pay taxes including any back taxes owed and learn at least basic conversational English. If you do this, at the end of 5 years, you may apply for Permanent Residency for you and your immediate family (meanning children under 21 and spouse only. No sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles ect.) As a Permanent Resident you may stay in the USA as long as you wish but you may never apply for citizenship in the USA unless you go home and apply and wait in line behind legal applicants OR you serve in the US Armed Forces and receive an honourable discharge. That is what amnesty means to me.
“The problem with building fences is that no matter how well you fortify it, people will figure out a way to get over, under, through or around it. Historically, there has never been a wall or fence that’s remained effective for long.”
Not only that but the fact is that MOST of the illegals did not sneak in over the border. MOST of them came here legally on visas and never went back home which was easy to do because the government, once a visa was issued, never tracked the visa holder after that. In Europe for example, you have to turn your visa in as you leave so they know who has not left when they were supposed to leave but the USA and Canada never had exit verfifcation- and I don’t know if they still don’t.
Kev, I agree with your definition of amnesty and your approach to deal with the existing illegal immigrants, but that isn’t the definition of amnesty that I know:
am·nes·ty /?æmn?sti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[am-nuh-stee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural -ties, verb, -tied, -ty·ing.–noun 1. a general pardon for offenses, esp. political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.2. Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as a whole.3. a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.–verb (used with object) 4. to grant amnesty to; pardon.
And regarding the fence, I didn’t mean just to build a fence and not patrol the border anymore.
We need to beef up our border patrol and use our military if necessary to defend the US border from foreign invaders. With a solid fence, electronic surveillance, and aggressive patrols we can stop most of the:
1. Illegal immigration.2. Inflow of terrorists.3. Inflow of felons and drug smugglers.
Imagine how much crime would go down in the US if we could cut-off 95% of the inflow of illegal drugs? We would need to beef up social services to deal with all of the addicts forced to go through withdrawal, but that’s a better problem then what we have now.
Max,If we did all that to the point where we are completely secure in our borders, people wouldn’t want to come here anyway, because we’d be dead broke and prisoners in our own country!I believe it was Helen Keller who said that “Security is always an illusion.”
Why would we be broke?
The fence would not stop legal immigration or anyone else travelling legally.
The Commies built their fence to force their people to stay. We need to build ours to keep illegals, terrorists, and drug smugglers out.
Max,Gee, a selective wall. What will technology come up with next?
The only-est reason people become “illegal aliens” is that Republic corporations hire people illegally.
Reagan’s 1986 Immigration “Reform” law demanded that companies verify the legality of their employees. Enforcement of that law lasted about two weeks because Republic Party donors objected.
We’ve tried it with booze and drugs and all manner of other things. In this case it’s people. We pass laws and try to enforce them, but the demand is high enough that nothing we do will stop the flow. So we step up enforcement to absurd levels and extreme measures, and all it does is promote disrespect of the laws.Prohibition was a disaster that gave organized crime the capital it needed to become an established part of the infrastructure of much if not most of our industrial base.The War on Drugs has been an unmitigated disaster. Even though we’ve poured billions of taxpayer dollars into enforcing it, it’s still easier for any kid in the country to buy illegal drugs than score a decent chocolate malt!Now, on top of the other wars we’re fighting, elsewhere and here at home, we’re attempting to stop millions of unpapered people from other countries from coming in and working here.We’re a rich country, but our resources are not infinite. We’ve passed more laws than we have resources to enforce. We need to get our priorities straightened out and make some choices here. What problems can we solve and which ones are better left alone or regulated rather than all out banned. What solutions are practical and effective, and which ones are mostly cosmetic? And which ones are corrupting and crippling our government and law enforcement? Our attempt to multitask here has resulted in no jobs getting done right!
Too bad Kennedy can’t remember the promise he made about amnesty just a few years ago…..
“This amnesty will give citizenship to only 1.1-1.3 million illegal aliens. We will secure the borders henceforth. We will never again bring forward another Amnesty Bill like this.” -Ted Kennedy, 1986What an asshole
Kennedy has a memory problem. He forgot all about the murder at Chappaquiddick too.
POV,”Still, has anyone thought about the legal aliens here? The numerous ones who have gone through and payed for all of the legal procedures to obtain permanent residence rights?”
Those people who endured the bureaucratic nightmare of legal immigration are certainly to be commended, but to say that they are dishonored by making immigration easier is quite a stretch. There is no rational justification for an application to immigrate to take longer than a few months or cost more than a couple hundred dollars in this day of high-speed computers and internet communication. If INS would expedite the process, given the costs and hazards of illegal immigration, the number of undocumented immigrants would drop to a manageable trickle and we would have background checks, fingerprints and DNA that we don’t currently get. We already have a horrendous flood of people entering the country, so I doubt that it would be much worse to allow them to enter legally.Furthermore, as legal residents, they would fall under the protection of labor laws to prevent exploitation by employers, and the laws of supply and demand would regulate their numbers.We’re all agreed that the current system, if you wish to call it that, is broken. We also have over a hundred years experience to know that further complicating the current situation will not fix it. Simplicity, security and humaneness should be the guiding principles for our new immigration policy.
On September 27, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced that the DREAM Act would not be considered as an amendment to H.R. 1585, the Defense Department authorization bill for fiscal year 2008.
The Washington Times reports, however, that Reid will push for passage of the DREAM Act, which would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, by different means (possibly in its stand-alone form [S. 774, sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin {D-Ill.}]) before the Senate adjourns for the year (i.e., on or about November 16).
Reid’s concession on the DoD authorization bill may doom other immigration-related amendments to the defense bill as well.
Please fax your senators: We have stopped the DREAM Act for now, but there is already a push to pass it as a stand-alone bill.
Senator Sam Brownback contact information- Taken from his web site
Office location Phone # Fax #Washington DC office 1-202-224-6521 1-202-228-1265Overland Park Office 1-913-492-6378 1-913-492-7253Topeka office 1-785-233-2503 1-785-233-2616Garden City office 1-620-231-6040 1-620-231-6347Wichita office 1-316-264-8066 1-316-264-9078
Senator Pat Roberts Contact Information Taken from his web site
Washington DC office 1-202-224-4774 1-202-224-3514Overland Park Office 1-913-451-9343 1-913-451-9446Topeka office 1-785-295-2745 1-785-235-3665Wichita office 1-316-263-0416 1-316-263-0273Dodge City Office 1-620-227-2244 1-620-227-2264
Representative Todd Tiahrt, Contact information taken from his web site
Wichita OfficeAddress: 155 North Market St.Suite 400Wichita, KS 67202Phone: 316.262.8992Fax: 316.262.5309Washington OfficeAddress: 2441 Rayburn BuildingWashington, DC 20515Phone: 202.225.6216Fax: 202.225.3489