re: "Integration, immigration and Islam-related problems: 23 suggestions for laws"

Nicolai Sennels at Jihad Watch ("dedicated to bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts") has some legislative suggestions.

Some of them are, in not so few words, already on the books, but enforcement is either spotty or sabotaged.

Others await some distopian scenario such as envisioned in Kratman's Caliphate.

NYT - Bill Targets Citizenship of Terrorists’ Allies

From my archive of press clippings:

New York Times

Bill Targets Citizenship of Terrorists’ Allies

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and CARL HULSE

Published: May 6, 2010

WASHINGTON — Proposed legislation that would allow the government to revoke American citizenship from people suspected of allying themselves with terrorists set off a legal and political debate Thursday that scrambled some of the usual partisan lines on civil-liberties issues.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The Terrorist Expatriation Act, co-sponsored by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, would allow the State Department to revoke the citizenship of people who provide support to terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or who attack the United States or its allies."

"Identical legislation is also being introduced in the House by two Pennsylvania congressmen, Jason Altmire, a Democrat, and Charlie Dent, a Republican. The lawmakers said at a news conference that revoking citizenship would block terrorism suspects from using American passports to re-enter the United States and make them eligible for prosecution before a military commission instead of a civilian court.
Citing with approval news reports that President Obama has signed a secret order authorizing the targeted killing of a radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Mr. Lieberman argued that if that policy was legal — and he said he believed it was — then stripping people of citizenship for joining terrorist organizations should also be acceptable.

Several major Democratic officials spoke positively about the proposal, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Noting that the State Department already had the authority to rescind the citizenship of people who declare allegiance to a foreign state, she said the administration would take “a hard look” at extending those powers to cover terrorism suspects."

&

"The proposal would amend an existing, although rarely used, program run by the State Department. It dates to a law enacted by Congress in 1940 that allowed the stripping of citizenship for activities like voting in another country’s elections or joining the army of a nation that is at war with the United States. People who lose their citizenship can contest the decision in court.

The Supreme Court later narrowed the program’s scope, declaring that the Constitution did not allow the government to take away people’s citizenship against their will. The proposal does not alter the requirement of evidence of voluntariness.

That means that if the proposal passed, the State Department would have to cite evidence that a person not only joined Al Qaeda, but also intended to relinquish his citizenship, and the advantages it conveys, to rescind it."

re: "Arizona House Mulling Bill to Require That Presidential Candidates Present Qualifications to Be On Ballot"

Gabriel Malor at Ace of Spades HQ has the scoop on some proposed legislation out west.

Money quote(s):

"Seems like an eminently reasonable law to me. And much more constitutional than using the courts to topple a presidency. "

re: "Arizona's New Illegal Immigration Law"

Gabriel Malor at Ace of Spades HQ critiqued some legislation on its way to the desk of Arizona's governor.

Money quote(s):

"The bill has plenty to commend it. It prohibits localities from enacting rules to prevent the enforcement of immigration laws, like Los Angeles' infamous Special Order 40. It also prohibits them from withholding from other agencies or the federal government information relating to the immigration status of individuals.

It makes an alien's failure to carry an immigration document on their person a state crime (in addition to the federal crime) and imposes additional penalties for repeat offenders and offenders with a range of aggravating factors like gun or drug possession or prior removal orders.

The law makes it a crime to solicit work as a day laborer or to hire day laborers."

&

"I have no problem with the police checking on the immigration status of arrestees and maybe even criminal suspects. But sending them after folks who have lawful contact with the police will lead to more crime and more victims. And it won't solve the illegal alien problem."

SI - U.S. bill aims to make it tough to hire foreigners

From my archive of press clippings:

Silicon India

U.S. bill aims to make it tough to hire foreigners

By IANS
Sunday,26 April 2009, 20:13 hrs

Washington: Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill to make it tougher for American firms to employ foreign professionals under its H-1B and L1 visa programmes utilised the most by Indians and the Chinese.

Snippet(s):

"Indian professionals followed by those from China account for the maximum number of H-1Bs visa designed to bring highly skilled professionals here. L1 B visas are for skilled workers."

&

"Despite an extension of date twice, only 44,000 H-1B visa applications have been received against the existing cap of 65,000."

S&S - Lawmakers seek better job security for guardsmen, reservists

Stars and Stripes

Lawmakers seek better job security for guardsmen, reservists


By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes

Mideast edition, Saturday, April 25, 2009


WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Tuesday pushed for stronger legal protection for guardsmen and reservists looking to return to their civilian jobs without penalty after mobilization, saying the government owes them that security.

Snippet(s):

"That law prohibits employers of guardsmen and reservists from firing them, cutting their pay or changing their benefits when they are called to active-duty service. But veterans groups complain that too often businesses ignore those rules with little or no consequence."

"Davis’ said his bill and companion legislation introduced by Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., would add "more teeth" to the existing USERRA rules. The measure would for the first time allow punitive damages in such disputes, instead of limiting reservists to only actual lost wages."

&

"The legislation would also allow USERRA cases against private employers to be heard in state courts, instead of just federal courts. Bocceri said that could dramatically cut down on the typical three-year wait that reservists face in employment disputes.

State governments would also be held to the same standards as private companies under the measure, and wage discrimination related to a reservist’s deployment would be specifically outlawed."

BW - H1B Visa Law: Trying Again

From my archive of press clippings:


Business Week

H1B Visa Law: Trying Again


April 24, 2009, 12:01AM EST


Senators Dick Durbin and Charles Grassley plan to reintroduce legislation aimed at curbing abuses of the H-1B visa program


By Moira Herbst


Two U.S. senators are reintroducing legislation aimed at revamping the H-1B visa program for guest workers in the U.S., at a time of rising unemployment and growing evidence that the program has been marred by fraud. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) hope that the bill, "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud & Prevention Act of 2009," has a better chance of passing now than when they originally introduced it in 2007.

Snippet(s):

"The bill would not reduce the number of H-1B visas—now 85,000 per year—but contains provisions to increase oversight and enforcement and discourage outsourcing of H-1B visa holders. It also requires all employers seeking to hire an H-1B visa holder to pledge that they have made a "good faith" effort to hire American workers first, and that the H-1B visa holder will not displace an American worker. Under current law, only heavy users of the program must make such a pledge."

"Microsoft came under fire in January when it announced it would lay off 5,000 workers while continuing to seek H-1B visas. On the company's first-quarter earnings call on Apr. 23, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the company wants to add 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs in "higher growth" areas over the next 18 months. He said Microsoft's overall applications for H-1B visas are down about 20% and new-hire visas down 40% from last year."

"The introduction of the bill comes as concern has spread about the H-1B program's susceptibility to fraud. In October, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services released a report stating that 13% of H-1B visa applications are fraudulent and another 7% contain some form of technical violations."

continued

(page 2 of 2)

"The new bill calls for the Labor Dept. to conduct random audits of at least 1% of companies using the H-1B program, and would require the agency to conduct annual audits of companies with more than 100 employees that have 15% or more of those workers on H-1B visas. The bill also authorizes 200 additional Labor Dept. employees to administer, oversee, investigate, and enforce guest worker programs such as H-1B. The bill would also require that employers advertise a job opening for 30 days on a Labor Dept. Web site before seeking a visa for such a position. It would also forbid employers from advertising a job as available only for H-1B visa holders."

&

"The bill also includes a number of changes to the L-1 visa program, which is used for intracompany transfers of employees for up to seven years. It would establish for the first time a process for Labor Dept. officials to investigate, audit, and penalize L-1 visa abuses."

_____

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek in New York.

re: "Birther Conspiracy: Putting It to Rest or Fanning the Flames?"

DRJ guest-posted at Patterico's Pontifications ("Harangues that Just Make Sense") and informed us about some pending legislation.

Money quote(s):

"Several sponsors say their goal is to put to rest any Presidential birth conspiracy theories, but Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee described it as a bid to impeach Obama’s birthright as the first black president."

It would seem to me that, since the Constitution forbids any ex-post-facto laws, that such a law would hardly provide grounds for impeachment, but would perhaps pose an obstacle in a re-election bid.

re: "Birth Certificate Bill To Be Introduced in Congress"

Ace at Ace of Spades HQ noted some proposed congressional legislation.

Money quote(s):

"If the Constitution states a requirement of office, someone must have the ability to enforce that requirement, or else it's a dead letter. "