May 29, 2006

Guest Worker Amnesty—The Horrific Implementation Problems

[Juan Mann comments: Out of all the chatter going on about illegal alien amnesty, no Main Stream Media writer has picked up on the "under the red cover" scandal of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) 1986 Amnesty—the dirty business of known fraudulent amnesty applications being summarily granted by unseen forces and then promptly covered up through convenient "confidentiality" provisions. Consequently, the extent of the 1986 amnesty fraud is STILL UNKNOWN. Fortunately for America, courageous folks like "Prolific Whistleblower X" have an insider’s knowledge and also care about what happens to our country. America desperately needs experts who have been paying attention and are now telling the truth about what really happened during the first illegal alien amnesty disaster . . . and what will happen to America again if S.2611 is not stopped in its tracks.]

By “Prolific Whistleblower X”

Document Fraud And Today’s Technology

In 1986, the proof that an alien was in the U.S. for a certain amount of time, or performed a certain number of days of field labor, was dumbed-down to ensure that EVERYONE could qualify. Legalization offices were told to accept little more than copies of handwritten receipts and "affidavits" from people who could attest that the applicant lived or worked somewhere for a certain amount of time.

It was little wonder that "document mills" sprung up nationwide, offering receipts and affidavits to help prove your eligibility for amnesty and your green card, which resulted in several large-scale mass fraud criminal cases, and hundreds of thousands of aliens discovered to have fraudulent applications based on fraudulent documents. Some of these cases—thanks to appeals and the massive backlogs of applications—are STILL pending.

What will 20 years later and all the new technology bring in the form of document fraud to prove residency eligibility?

I cannot imagine that anyone who entered the US illegally yesterday will not find a way to "prove" they have been here for 2, 5 or 10 years—with expertly manufactured or purchased original documentation provided by willing vendors and entrepreneurs who have little fear of being caught, because government resources are all tied up in a massive legalization program.

Mass Class Action Suits Filed For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Ineligible Aliens

After the 1986 Amnesty, hundreds of thousands of people who were ineligible due to restrictions placed by Congress filed various class action lawsuits against the government. One was resolved just last year, after 19 years of litigation. The U.S. government relented and agreed to let hundreds of thousands who were ineligible to apply anyway.

Should any group of people be excluded from this new amnesty, it is certain that similar lawsuits will arise—at considerable time and expense to the government and taxpayer.

The same occurred when IIRAIRA [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act] passed in 1996—tough laws aimed at enforcement, limiting appeals and awarding relief to only the most deserving were decimated by lawsuits. IIRAIRA is but a shell of what Congress intended, due to lawsuits and the all-too-common acquiescence by the executive branch rather than face decades of legal wrangling.

What about those ineligible for guest worker visas? For example, those who do not work—single mothers; the elderly; those under 16 (who are dependents already of someone eligible for a guest worker visa); criminals; aliens who have committed offenses (such as falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen) which disqualify them from any immigration benefit for life?

More lawsuits will arise from all of these "ineligible" aliens to allow waivers or a change to the law to allow them to apply—for example, to preserve alleged "family unity."

Reward Fraud, Punish Those Who Dare Question

Under the 1986 amnesty, any documentation presented, application filed, or disclosure of illegal status was deemed by government rules to be unreleasable and unusable for criminal prosecution– ever!—even if fraud was later determined. The information provided by amnesty applicants is "sealed" under the famous "red cover." Will we make the same mistake?

Applications were rubber-stamped, not questioned or scrutinized too closely. Immigration officers were encouraged always to give the alien the benefit of the doubt, to accept what they present, to approve, approve, approve, not deny…to avoid the wrath, lawsuits, protests and/or inquires from attorneys and various pro-illegal alien and ethnic organizations.

Paying Taxes/Learning English—There Is ALWAYS An Exception Or A Waiver

Will applicants learn English and pay back taxes, as the law supposedly will require?

Of course not. The majority of illegal aliens make poverty-level earnings and often have many dependents (even if in their home countries—the IRS turns their heads at poor taxpayers claiming dependents in their home countries). So Earned Income Tax Credits and their low wages will qualify most of these aliens to tax refunds.

And learn English? See the above concerning fraud and lawsuits—the Naturalization test has been dumbed-down to allow "waivers" to the English requirement if applicants can produce a letter from a doctor that they have any disability, like a learning disorder; or due to age.

In 1996, during the scandalous Citizenship USA drive, the government contracted out the naturalization test for proving knowledge of history, civics, and English to various organizations, including ethnic organizations.

Naturalization Assistance Services (NAS), the largest such contractor, was exposed as committing massive fraud in providing test answers and passing those who could not speak English. NAS would give certificates claiming English proficiency was mastered, but the aliens would appear at their interview unable to speak English. (See this Department of Justice report).

Additionally, some amnesty recipients were allowed to pass rudimentary history and English requirements at the time they received amnesty. But once they applied for citizenship, the examiners could not challenge or question their certificates as it was part of their amnesty package granted by the legalization officers.

This time around, the religious and "social justice"-type organizations will recognize an enormous boon from government grants and contracts to certify English proficiency, or civics proficiency, or whatever minor requirements the final reform bill will contain—not to mention the grants and contracts for helping aliens fill out and submit applications. These organizations’ ultimate goal will certainly be to dumb-down these requirements to ensure everyone passes.

Again, the potential for fraud is enormous, and will certainly nullify the well-intentioned but weak attempts to "assimilate" new immigrants at enormous taxpayer expense.

Even the current naturalization test—to prove an alien can read and write in English—requires the applicant to write nothing more than a simple sentence of a few words to "prove" English knowledge. Here are some examples of a sentence an applicant may have to read aloud or write:

This is right from CIS’ [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] website on sample sentences for English testing.

EOIR Immigration Court Rewards Fugitive Aliens

Hundreds of thousands of aliens have requested and received their due process and their day in court—through the endless EOIR Immigration Court system. Many have appealed decisions, and even more have been back and forth numerous times even if their claims are frivolous, in search of any way to game the system into allowing them to remain.

These aliens include: asylum fraudsters, repeat immigration offenders, deportees who flout the law, those criminally prosecuted and have served federal prison time for felony illegal re-entry, criminals; those who commit marriage fraud, immigration benefits fraud, identity fraud; and those who lied on applications or lied to immigration officers.

The government spends millions to litigate, prosecute and defend immigration cases. Some of them can go on for years, even decades, if the alien has a good attorney who knows how to manipulate the system. The backlog of immigration cases and appeals from the immigration courts to the federal Circuit Courts ensures that just one appeal will buy at least one additional year in the U.S.—possibly time for the law to change.

A majority of apprehended aliens who are released on bond, parole, or recognizance to await their hearings, which they have requested, fail to appear and are issued deportation orders. Most fail to update the court with current addresses, give fake addresses or none at all. Later they plead ignorance. Another percentage go to court, but lose their case; 90% of these flee underground, ignoring their deportation order. Tens of thousands of Hondurans and Salvadorans who went underground after getting deportation orders were rewarded with TPS [Temporary Protected Status] because they managed to evade enforcement of their lawful deportation orders long enough.

Will Congress now reward these scofflaws with amnesty?

The moral of the story: "The longer you are here, and the better you hide, the greater the reward."

The Current Application Backlog, And The Guest Worker "Jump" To The Front Of The Line

Already, there are backlogs of millions of applications with CIS [Citizenship and Immigration Services] for the various immigration benefits. If any guest worker program or amnesty is enacted, the sheer amount of work in processing, receiving and vetting applications and the assorted work that goes with them (interviewing, fraud investigations, verifying documentation) will without a doubt delay any application already pending—even if additional staff are added. This includes, of course, those innocents who bothered to apply to enter the U.S. the right way.

Beware The Legalization Officer!

The government will almost certainly contract with various religious and social service organizations to accept initial applications, and hire legalization officers with no experience or background in law enforcement to accept, review, and verify documentation and approve applications, as was done in 1986. Will enforcement officers be pulled from their duties to accommodate the processing and interviewing of millions of potential guest workers, much like what happened in 1986, and during Citizenship USA? To say that any amnesty/guest worker program will not propel illegals to the front of the line or give illegals special privilege is utterly false.

Child Trafficking And Smuggling Will Skyrocket With Amnesty

The numbers of illegal children smuggled in have skyrocketed in recent years. But suppose a parent has been here more than the proposed two-year limit, and has qualified for a guest worker visa or amnesty, but the children just illegally arrived (whether age 3 or 17). Inevitably, the law will again be manipulated to allow them to remain and become eligible for medical, educational and social benefits.

Currently, hundreds of thousands of illegal alien parents, particularly those who are TPS recipients from Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, have been placing their children left behind in extreme danger by smuggling them to the U.S., although they have no way to get legal status. A little-known change in the law a few years ago now mandates that the U.S. government contract, at taxpayer expense, with social service organizations like Catholic Charities to provide housing for anyone who claims to be under 18 until a friend or relative is located.

The social service contractor can release the minor to anyone, friends or family, it  deems appropriate, and the release must be completed as soon as possible—even if they're  here illegally. The law has no requirement that the illegal relatives or friends be identified, that any documents for the adult or minor be verified, or even that court dates be given. They need only show up at the social service agency and walk away. ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is then notified after the successful release.

Most minors then skip the court hearing and end up as fugitives with deportation orders.

Will there be yet another provision to put these smuggled minors, helped by government-funded social justice organizations, at the front of the line of other immigrant families who left children behind and are applying for them to join the right way?

Will there be yet another proviso to cancel these deportation orders and ensure that their friends and families’ unlawful flouting of the law is ignored and they are rewarded with amnesty, free education, medical and subsidized college tuition—all at the expense of equally deserving U.S. citizen children?

Two Final Thoughts