The STRIVE Act Petition

Do you think that Congress should pass the bipartisan STRIVE Act?

Sign on to this petition, pass it along to all you know, and call Congress toll-free at (800) 828-0498.

Joel Tyner
County Legislator
Clinton/Rhinebeck
324 Browns Pond Road
Staatsburg, NY 12580
RealMajorityProject.blogspot.com
[email protected]

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[You can help get this resolution below that I submitted April 9th passed by the Dutchess County Legislature by emailing [email protected]]

REQUESTING THAT CONGRESS PASS AND THE PRESIDENT SIGN INTO LAW THE STRIVE ACT

WHEREAS, there is universal agreement that our nation's immigration system is broken; Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) recently introduced bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform legislation, the STRIVE (Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy) Act, H.R. 1645, with four major components that any serious immigration proposal must have: border security, interior enforcement, a mechanism for foreign workers to enter the country legally, and no amnesty for illegal immigrants, and

WHEREAS, the first section of the bill improves border security; not all immigrants enter the country with good intentions; we have to be able to prevent terrorists, drug smugglers, and others who mean us harm from entering the country; to that end, the bill increases border personnel, accelerates technology at the border, requires biometric enhancements to identification documents, and includes many other measures designed to end the lawlessness at the border, and

WHEREAS, the bill strengthens interior enforcement by increasing the penalties and expanding the crimes associated with illegal immigration; in addition to stopping illegal immigrants at the border, law enforcement officials need the resources to pursue those who overstay their visas; the bill also creates a verification system that allows employers to check a new hire's legal status and stiffens penalties on employers that usurp the law; with the creation of a legal framework for foreign workers and the tools to check the status of employees, employers will have no excuse to flout immigration laws, and

WHEREAS, aside from giving illegal aliens a shortcut to a green card, a major failure of the 1986 immigration reform bill was its lack of a mechanism for new workers to enter the country legally, which made the bill outdated on the day it was signed into law; repeating this mistake would put us back in the same position we're currently facing in a decade or two from now, and

WHEREAS, under the STRIVE Act, the program for new workers will respond to our economy's need for additional workers; the bill requires sufficient steps to ensure that foreign workers are filling only jobs that cannot be filled by domestic workers; workers who demonstrate job qualifications, pass a background check, pay a fee and satisfy other measures are eligible for a three-year visa, which could be renewed once; implementation of the new temporary-worker program would be conditioned on progress toward securing the border, and

WHEREAS, immigrants currently in the country illegally should not be given amnesty; under this legislation, those here illegally would be forced to pay fines, undergo background checks, meet English and civics requirements, pay back taxes and go to the back of the line (not be given a shortcut to a green card like in 1986) if they wish to adjust their status; specifically, the STRIVE Act creates a six-year visa and a path to citizenship for undocumented workers; applicants must pass criminal checks, prove they have an employment history, and pay a $500 fine; the legislation also includes a "touchback" provision that would require these illegal immigrants to leave the country and re-enter legally; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature hereby requests that Congress pass and our President sign into law the STRIVE (Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy) Act, H.R. 1645, and be it further

RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to President George W. Bush, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chuck Schumer, and Representatives Kirsten Gillibrand, John Hall, and Maurice Hinchey.

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From http://flake.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=62011...

Op-ed on STRIVE Act for Arizona Republic

"STRIVE Can Stanch Flow of Illegal Immigrants" by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona)

Mesa, Arizona, Apr 1- I think it's safe to say that there is universal agreement that our nation's immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like that is where agreement on the issue ends.

Enactment of meaningful immigration-reform legislation will require support from both Republicans and Democrats. While that may be an explanation for why Congress has yet to send a bill to the president, it ought not to be an excuse.

I recently introduced a comprehensive immigration-reform bill with Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. Our bill, the STRIVE Act, has four major components that any serious immigration proposal must have: border security, interior enforcement, a mechanism for foreign workers to enter the country legally, and no amnesty for illegal immigrants.

The first and longest section of the bill improves border security. Not all immigrants enter the country with good intentions. We have to be able to prevent terrorists, drug smugglers, and others who mean us harm from entering the country. To that end, the bill increases border personnel, accelerates technology at the border, requires biometric enhancements to identification documents, and includes many other measures designed to end the lawlessness at the border.

The bill strengthens interior enforcement by increasing the penalties and expanding the crimes associated with illegal immigration. In addition to stopping illegal immigrants at the border, law enforcement officials need the resources to pursue those who overstay their visas. The bill also creates a verification system that allows employers to check a new hire's legal status and stiffens penalties on employers that usurp the law. With the creation of a legal framework for foreign workers and the tools to check the status of employees, employers will have no excuse to flout immigration laws.

Aside from giving illegal aliens a shortcut to a green card, a major failure of the 1986 immigration-reform bill was its lack of a mechanism for new workers to enter the country legally, which made the bill outdated on the day it was signed into law. Repeating this mistake would put us back in the same position we're currently facing in a decade or two from now.

Under our bill, the program for new workers will respond to our economy's need for additional workers. We require sufficient steps to ensure that foreign workers are filling only jobs that cannot be filled by domestic workers.

Workers who demonstrate job qualifications, pass a background check, pay a fee and satisfy other measures are eligible for a three-year visa, which could be renewed once. Implementation of the new temporary-worker program would be conditioned on progress toward securing the border.

Finally, immigrants currently in the country illegally must not be given amnesty. Under our bill, those here illegally would be forced to pay fines, undergo background checks, meet English and civics requirements, pay back taxes and, most importantly, go to the back of the line (not be given a shortcut to a green card like in 1986) if they wish to adjust their status.

The bill includes a "touchback" provision that would require these illegal immigrants to leave the country and re-enter legally, registering with the US-VISIT program as they do.

Some may believe that these punishments are too harsh and that illegal immigrants will ignore them. However, once a legal framework is in place for immigrants and border security and interior enforcement have been enhanced, it will be very difficult for illegal immigrants to live outside the law. Put simply, it is prohibitively expensive to live anywhere in the United States if you don't have a job, and registering with the program is the only way to obtain the documents necessary to work.

While every area of the country is dealing with the negative consequences of illegal immigration, the costs borne by Arizona's citizens are particularly acute.

We simply can't afford to continue the status quo. For those concerned about amnesty, I've got news: We're living it right now. Any proposal that is not comprehensive in nature will simply ensure that this amnesty - this lack of consequences for illegal activity - will continue long into the future.

The status quo is something, I think we can all agree, that we've had enough of.

Jeff Flake, a Republican, represents Arizona's 6th Congressional District, which includes parts of Mesa and Chandler and all of Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Apache Junction.

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Immigrate USA.com memo for STRIVE Act
http://www.immigrateusa.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=794&Itemid=34

STRIVE Act of 2007
Written by Armando Mosquera
Friday, 23 March 2007

On our seventy seventh program, David J. Hart and Andrea Olivos-Kah discuss the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy or STRIVE Act of 2007 which was unveiled yesterday. The STRIVE Act of 2007 is a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), which calls for securing the borders, strengthening interior enforcement, and a mandatory employment verification system before the other sections of the bill are implemented. Those other sections include: a new H-2C temporary worker visa for new workers, an increase in quotas for family-based and employment-based immigrants, a new conditional nonimmigrant status for undocumented workers who qualify, the DREAM Act of 2007, the AgJOBS Bill of 2007, an earned legalization program, and an U.S. citizenship program. We discuss the next steps towards obtaining a bipartisan bill for the Presidents signature and the chances of achieving immigration reform before attention turns to the 2008 presidential race.