Obama’s Community Organizing Experience Appears in his $80-million Immigration Reform

[darrels joy]

Obama’s Community Organizing Experience Appears in his $80-million Immigration Reform Bill

By Marinka Peschmann, Special to Canada Free Press Friday, September 12, 2008

Senator Barack Obama said he was “puzzled” recently when his early experience as a community organizer was mocked by Governor Sarah Palin at the Republican Convention. “I would think that that’s an area where Democrats and Republicans would agree,” he added after describing its good works. Indeed, Obama’s community organizing experience is noteworthy because it appears within his immigration legislation costing U.S. $80 million.
“Obama’s bill reverses large fee increases for legal immigrants seeking to become citizens,” and reminiscent of his community organizing days, it “provides grants to states to help promote citizenship.”

According to Obama’s Plan for America at barackobama.com, Obama played “a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reform.” The Presidential hopeful “believes” that the “immigration system can only be fixed by putting politics aside.”
However, a closer review of Obama’s bill, called the Citizenship Promotion Act, which, in part, organizes the “immigrant community,” suggests despite his “putting politics aside” posture that his bill puts his political interests over America’s. Moreover, Obama’s bill could potentially become an exploitable boondoggle. But first, let’s take a look at what’s not debatable in the immigration debate.

America’s immigration system is broken, and that failure uniquely affects both critical issues facing voters in the November elections: national security and the economy.

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) is tasked to keep individuals out who seek to harm Americans while granting visas, residency, and citizenship to law abiding foreign-born workers to enhance America’s economic interests while maintaining the American tradition as a nation of immigrants. But the borders are broken. There are reportedly 12-20 million illegal aliens living in the shadows affecting both national security and the economy. How did that happen?

Under the Bush Administration, in 2003, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), evolved into the Department of Homeland Security as the USCIS. For decades, the agency has been overwhelmed, ineffective and is an understaffed bureaucracy that invites corruption. Instead of always serving America’s interests, it often appears to benefit the unscrupulous.

The agency’s checkered history is marked by arrests of immigration employees who’ve been caught taking cash and gift bribes or demanding sexual favors from foreign nationals in exchange for processing their applications to live in America.

A cursory Google search provides scores of examples, such as;

• In Immigration Labyrinth, Corruption Comes easily—headline, New York Times September 12, 1994. “…the word quickly spread through immigrant communities. Come to the… offices of the INS (now the USCIS). Bring cash. Buy the right to live or work in the United States… Smooth-talking middlemen took care of the details, bribing immigration service employees… Every year dozens of INS employees are arrested… an investigation… during the past decade… has found that the agency has repeatedly failed to shore up security weaknesses, even when corruption arrests have exposed them over and over again.”
• U.S. agents accused of aiding Islamist scheme—headline, Washington Times, August 15, 2007. “A criminal investigations report says several USCIS employees are accused of aiding Islamic extremists with identification fraud and of exploiting the visa system for personal gain. The confidential 2006 USCIS report said that despite the severity of the potential security breaches, most are not investigated “due to lack of resources…"
• Former Immigration Official Says Fraud, Corruption Rife at Agency, ABC News, April 6, 2006. “A House subcommittee heard from Michael J. Maxwell, former director of the office of security and investigations of the USCIS. He portrayed a dysfunctional agency crippled by corruption both inside and outside that’s trying to handle too many cases with too few employees.”
• Cash, cars, jewelry: Some corruption cases involving immigration officers --headline, Associated Press, September 24, 2006.
• Immigration Official Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Documents--headline Washington Post, December 1, 2006. “A Department of Homeland Security supervisor pleaded guilty… to pocketing more than $600,000 in bribes in exchange for falsifying immigration documents...”
• An Agent, A Green Card, and a Demand for Sex—headline, New York Times, March 21, 2008. A USCIS adjudicator was arrested after he was caught on tape, telling a 22-year old Colombian woman, “I want sex,” he said… “One or two times. That’s all. You get your green card.” Currently, he is awaiting trial, suspended with pay.

Under the Bush Administration the USCIS was mandated to address a backlog of applications from foreign nationals who lawfully seek the privilege, not the right, to live in America. In response, the USCIS opened “Backlog Eliminations Centers” to tackle the 20-year backlog crisis. It’s a good start. Because an efficient USCIS should impede the lure of bribe schemes that thrive within the agency’s inefficiency—where questionable immigrants bribe their way through; plus stop desperate immigrants from taking that dubious path. Besides, it would free up resources to address the 12-20 million illegal aliens living in the shadows.

Now back to Obama’s bill which he introduced in the Senate on March 7, 2007.

The Citizenship Promotion Act, S. 795’s, primary goal is “to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted to becoming citizens of the United States.” It does not provide funding to secure the borders or assist in the USCIS’s quest towards efficiency or its capabilities to root out corruption. Instead, Obama’s bill will organize the immigrant community by allotting U.S. $80 million for outreach programs targeted at immigrants and future voters.

In Section 6 of Obama’s bill, costing U.S. $80 million, the Secretary of Homeland Security would “award grants,” to “not for profit organizations” with “experience working with immigrant communities” to “carry out outreach activities,” including teaching English, providing education and citizenship classes, plus provide legal assistance” to applicable aliens towards citizenship and the right to vote. Typically, studies show that immigrant voters vote Democrat.

If passed into law, organizations seeking Obama’s grant eligibility must show, how they plan “to leverage available private and State and local government resources;” their experience “in carrying out the activities, including the number of aliens and geographic regions served; and, …[how] to employ best practices developed by adult educators, State and local governments, and community organizations.” The Secretary of Homeland Security would also “develop outreach materials” such as “public service announcements; advertisements…other media…” to “encourage” applicable aliens to become U.S. citizens.

The Secretary of Homeland Security serves at the pleasure of the President; if elected that would be Obama.

According to barackobama.com, Obama “believes the immigration issue has been exploited by politicians.” If so, then perhaps the U.S. $80 million Obama intends to use to organize the immigrant community towards citizenship, and the ballot box; that would compound the USCIS’s backlog challenges, where it takes years for new applicants to be processed—unless bribed through, might better serve Americans elsewhere; like beefing up the USCIS or securing the borders.

Incidentally, it’s worth noting that last fall, according to the Los Angeles Times, impending immigration fee hikes, triggered “millions of people to apply for their citizenship,” inundating an already congested USCIS backlog, that’s vulnerable to corruption – without an U.S.$80 million immigrant community organizing bill.

Seven years after 9/11, America has been kept safe from another terrorist attack, but national security and economic challenges remain for the new President. When it comes to meaningful immigration reform and Obama’s bill, like Obama’s response on community organizing, I’d say, “I would think that that’s an area where Democrats and Republicans would agree.” Obama’s bill is not in America’s interests.

Obama’s Citizenship Promotion Act is currently in the Committee on the Judiciary.

S. 795: Citizenship Promotion Act of 2007
A bill to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted in becoming citizens of the United States, and for other purposes.
Overview

Sponsor:	Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]show cosponsors (5) Cosponsors [as of 2008-08-31] Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D-NM] Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I-CT] Sen. Robert Menйndez [D-NJ] Sen. Ken Salazar [D-CO] Cosponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?
Bill Text:	Summary | Full Text
Status:	[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Darrel/LOCALS~1/Temp/checkmark.gif[/IMG] Introduced Mar 7, 2007 [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Darrel/LOCALS~1/Temp/box.gif[/IMG] Scheduled for Debate - [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Darrel/LOCALS~1/Temp/box.gif[/IMG] Voted on in Senate - [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Darrel/LOCALS~1/Temp/box.gif[/IMG] Voted on in House - [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME~1/Darrel/LOCALS~1/Temp/box.gif[/IMG] Signed by President - This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee. Keep in mind that sometimes the text of one bill is incorporated into another bill, and in those cases the original bill, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned. [Last Updated: Aug 30, 2008]
Last Action:	Mar 7, 2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. SEC. 6. NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP PROMOTION PROGRAM. (a) Establishment- (1) IN GENERAL- Not later than January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a program to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in becoming citizens of the United States. (2) DESIGNATION- The program required by paragraph (1) shall be known as the `New Americans Initiative' (in this section referred to as the `Program'). (b) Program Activities- As part of the Program required by subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall-- (1) award grants in accordance with subsection (c); and (2) carry out outreach activities in accordance with subsection (d). (c) Grants- (1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall award grants to eligible entities to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in becoming citizens of the United States. (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED- In this subsection, the term `eligible entity' means a not-for-profit organization that has experience working with immigrant communities. (3) USE OF FUNDS- Grants awarded under this subsection shall be used for activities to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in becoming citizens of the United States, including-- (A) conducting English language and citizenship classes for such aliens; (B) providing legal assistance, by attorneys or entities accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals, to such aliens to assist such aliens in becoming citizens of the United States; (C) carrying out outreach activities and providing education to immigrant communities to assist such aliens in becoming citizens of the United States; and (D) assisting such aliens with applications to become citizens of the United States, as allowed by Federal and State law. (4) APPLICATION FOR GRANT- (A) IN GENERAL- Each eligible entity seeking a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary of Homeland Security at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary shall require. (B) CONTENTS- Each application submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include a description of-- (i) the activities for which a grant under this section is sought; (ii) the manner in which the entity plans to leverage available private and State and local government resources to assist aliens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in becoming citizens of the United States; (iii) the experience of the entity in carrying out the activities for which a grant under this section is sought, including the number of aliens and geographic regions served by such entity; and (iv) the manner in which the entity plans to employ best practices developed by adult educators, State and local governments, and community organizations-- (I) to promote citizenship and civic participation by such aliens; and (II) to provide assistance to such aliens with the process of becoming citizens of the United States. (d) Outreach- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall-- (1) develop outreach materials targeted to aliens who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence to encourage such aliens to apply to become citizens of the United States; and (2) make such outreach materials available through-- (A) public service announcements; (B) advertisements; and (C) such other media as the Secretary determines is appropriate. (e) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security, $80,000,000 to carry out this section.

[darrels joy]

No, as a matter of fact I'm not a racist. Hispanic people are our neighbors.
Notice that I did not say Mexican. Those in the know are already aware that solving Mexico's problems won't solve this country's illegal immigration problems and our government just gave Mexico a big pot of money to secure their southern border.
I don't want any more of my tax dollars spent to make it easier to defraud us.