I don't if any of you have been following this subject, but it is really being pushed now, especially here in SC before the end of the session.

It is about everify replacing I-9. In a nutshell it holds business owners responsible by giving them a state databse (I don't know if it is federal) to check to make sure they are not hiring illegals.

Here in SC it is S392

Sen Ritchie (a Rep) is a member of the three person conference committee who has to sign this bill to get it moving so it can be passed by the House and Congress. The H, S, and Governor are waiting for this bill, because they have all pretty much unanimously (or at least have the required 2/3 majority to pas this bill).

When it was time to sign, Sen Ritchie was conveniently, along with the other Senators, "nowhere to be found"

Here is a link to how it is going:

http://www.scstatehouse.net/cgi-bin/web_...ession=117

I feel this is critical to getting illegals out of our country, and getting business owners responsible for their actions.

Sorry, it is a federal system

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m...18190aRCRD

In my neck of the woods they (the authorities from the City on up) look the other way when it comes to enforcing immigration law of any kind. The attitude is that the illegals are necessary for the harvesting of the crops. In this Mediterranean climate we have we grow eight crops a year and grow strawberries year round. The Santa Maria Valley produces 40% of the strawberries in California.

The common saw is that the regular citizens of the area would not go into the fields and do the back-breaking work for the low wages the illegals do. In fact I saw a thing the other day where some big shots from Arizona are actually going across the border to try to recruit workers.

It has been said that we have between 9 and 12 thousand illegals just here in our valley. The only time one of them is caught up and deported is if they commit a crime. Now silly me, I thought they were committing a crime just by being here. I guess I am somewhat naive.

The question of actually checking the immigration status of people before they are hired just doesn't seem to take place here. Of course it is rather easy for them to go out and get false social security cards, driver's licenses and other documents. Every once and a while the feds move in and raid a place that prints such things up but another will pop up someplace else rather quickly.

We have just had a chapter of the Minutemen formed here in the last couple of months. Perhaps they can assist the authorities in doing their job.

In Christ,
George

One of the good things here i guess, is that almost all of the Senate, House, and SC population really, really want this thing. It will pass, I just don't like reps stalling because of special interests.