Immigration bill update 011809

To all Arkansas Patriots,

The Capitol Gathering on Thursday was very successful. I know the weather (and working taxpayers) played a role in our numbers. I cannot thank enough those who braved the weather and the political climate to journey to the Capitol to support our efforts and to let the legislators know WE WANT/NEED REFORM. We were able to meet w/several legislators and make some new contacts as well. All in all, it was a very successful day.

We cannot rest though, and we still need your help. Rep. Sample's Immigration bill, HB1093, is currently in the Judiciary Committee in the House. According to Rep. Sample, it appears we have five (5) YES and five (5) probably NO votes. WE NEED 11 YES votes to move this bill out of committee for a floor vote - that means we have to convince at least 6 more to vote YES. Please review the list of legislators below that we need to contact in mass so we can convince them to join us in supporting this bill and moving this out of committee and to the House floor for a vote. Also we must call/email the Governor.

When you make calls or email, it does not need to be lengthy. Keep it simple and direct: If you choose to call, please leave a message - they need their "in box" filled with calls from their constituents. The House members/Governor will not be back at the Capitol until Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

Example:
"Hello, this is _________________. I am your constituent and I would appreciate you supporting HB1093 regarding Illegal Alien Reform for Arkansas."

Please make sure that you are a registered voter when you call/email - they will check to see if you are a voter.
House - In Session Phone: 501-682-6211

Governor Mike Beebe Phone 501-682-2345
Send Governor Beebe e-mail at this link:
mike.beebe@governor.arkansas.gov

Ann Clemmer (R) - 501-316-0364, Benton, Saline Cty (DT 29), she was non committal on Thursday.
avclemmer@sbcglobal.net

Davy Carter (R) - 501-605-1346, Cabot, Lonoke Cty (DT 48)
davy.carter@gmail.com

Tiffany Rogers (D) - 870-830-3953, Stuttgart, Lonoke Cty (DT 14)rogersst@arkleg.state.ar.us

Johnnie Roebuck (D) - 870-403-4382 , Clark, Nevada Cty (DT 12) - this is a female
roebuckj@arkleg.state.ar.us

Darrin Williams (D) - 501-312-8500, Pulaski Cty (DT 36)williamsd@arkleg.state.ar.us

Mary Slinkard (R) - 479-787-6120, Benton Cty (DT 100) No email

David "Bubba" Powers (D) - 870-777-9822, Hempstead, Nevada Cty (DT 3) No email

Steve Cole (D) - 870-582-2192, Howard, Sevier Cty (DT 21)
No email

We must do this - let's leave record number of phone messages and emails...Let's get to work! There is also a poll regarding this bill at Channel 4 - www.kark.com - PLEASE GO VOTE!
Thanks in advance for your help.

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Video about some of the cost of illegal immigration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T7N2CExEWE

Immigration Reform Bill update 011509

Secure Arkansas along with several conservative activist met to lobby for the immigration reform bill HB1093. The event was attended by over 100 people, many of whom were people gathering for another event. Several citizens talked about how they had lost their jobs to illegal aliens. Jeanie Bulsworth spoke to the crowd and then to the media. Bill Sample, the author of HB1093, later met with activist and thanked us for his support. The group eventually moved up to the House Chamber and began lobbying. Channel 4 has video footage of the event. Nobody who opposed illegal immigration bothered to show up, but the pro-illegal immigration Arkansas Friendship Coalition did manage to make a statement later on.

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=177061

HB1093 will go before the House Judicary Committee. We are now lobbying members of that committee to support HB1093. We are also looking for co-sponsors for the bill.

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Pages/BillInfo

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So far, Joyce Elliott has not filed an in-state tuition for illegals bill. There does not appear to be any other bill that is either for or against illegal immigration.

HB1093 The AR Taxpayer Citizen Act

Bill Sample has introduced HB1093 to the 2009 Arkansas Legislative Session. This bill will reduce illegal immigration in the state by requiring proof of ID for benefits, require businesses to verify their workers, and punish illegal alien smugglers. You can look at the bill in PDF format by going to the link below:

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009

HB1093 will have cosponsors that are both Democrat and Republican, but it will also face a lot of opposition from the powerful pro-illegal alien lobby. Local leaders of conservative organizations will have a meeting at the Capitol Rotunda to talk with legislators about stopping illegal immigration in Arkansas. Although local conservative leaders have scheduled for this event, any citizen who is available and is concerned about this issue is welcomed to attend. We will try to lobby legislators, especially those in the Judiciary Committee where HB1093 will be debated. As well as talk to the media about illegal immigration. Schedule Below:

Arkansas State Capitol Rotunda 2nd floor, and possibly Room 149 (Judiciary Committee)
12:00pm-2:00pm
Thursday, January 15th

List of Reps in the Judiciary Committee:

Rep. Steve Harrelson, Chair
Rep. Joan Cash, Vice Chair
Rep. Dawn Creekmore
Rep. Lindsley Smith
Rep. Tommy Lee Baker
Rep. David "Bubba" Powers
Rep. Johnnie Roebuck
Rep. Barry Hyde (My Rep)
Rep. Duncan Baird
Rep. Debra Hobbs
Rep. Andrea Lea
Rep. Butch Wilkins
Rep. Terry Rice
Rep. Darrin Williams
Rep. Steve Cole
Rep. Ann Clemmer
Rep. Davy Carter
Rep. Jim Nickels
Rep. Tiffany Rogers
Rep. Mary Slinkard

No Services for Illegals?

An Arkansas lawmaker wants to create guidelines to better identify illegal immigrants. Representative Bill Sample of Hot Springs says he'll introduce a bill to help state officials keep illegal immigrants from accessing services. Rep. Sample says he'll introduce an immigration reform proposal to specify the kinds of documents immigrants must possess to show they are in the state legally. "This has been an issue for quite some time," says Sample. He says his bill will address what he calls a major problem. "If a person goes to take and get food stamps or goes to get health care, then we don't have a good way to ID who's entitled to it," says Sample. Sample says cards like Hispanic community membership ID's can look too much like state-issued ones, and help people who are in Arkansas illegally access services. "With the resources and the limited resources we have, it's very important to people getting entitlements are citizens," expresses Sample. Sample proposes creating specific guidelines that state agencies would have to follow before offering services.

Maricella Garcia is Director of Immigration Services for Catholic Charities of Arkansas. She says the church's stance on the rights of all immigrants is clear. (but the difference between legals from illegal aliens is not) "When you start to talk about we're not going to give healthcare to people who are dying I think you really have to reevaluate where you are coming from on that, (It's a lie to claim that anybody is saying that) is it really about money or do you just not care about the human dignity of people," says Garcia. "Our human rights are given to us by God (illegal immigration is not a God given right),which is what the bishop talks about. They can't be separated by law," says Garcia. In fact, Bishop Anthony Taylor's first pastoral letter directly addressed the topic. " Really what the letter talks about is the human rights of immigrants which includes their dignity as a person, respect for life and their ability to migrate because of that," says Garcia. "It's not about race, it's not about religion, it's not about what country you come from. It's about being in this county legally," says Sample. Representative Sample he's says revising the bill and hopes to have it done, and filed by the end of the week.

A link to the story with some TV footage:
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=78110

We will need to lobby for this bill to get it passed. I will talk more about this at the meeting at the Fletcher Library tonight at 6:30pm. I will also post a link to the bill as soon as it is filed.

Agenda for lobbying for immigration reform in AR

Here is the agenda for the discussion of immigration reform in Arkansas for the Jan 8th meeting.

Background: Since activist gathered together in 2005 to oppose HB1525, we have been very successful in opposing laws that reward illegal aliens. HB1525 would have given in-state tuition to illegal aliens. While tuition rates continue to rise for students legally in the US , illegals would be rewarded. It was supported by democrats and some RINOs such as then Gov Mike Huckabee. After emailing, calling, faxing and running all over the State Capitol, we stopped that bill after it had passed the House and almost the Senate. In the 2007 session, we killed another attempt to give in-state tuition for illegals in committee. We also stopped an Arkansas resolution urging the Fed Gov to support a Guest Worker Program in committee.

While we have been successful at stopping the AR Gov from rewarding illegals, we have less successful in passing laws that force illegals to leave by attrition and enforcement. Oklahoma , Tennessee , and recently Missouri have all passed laws that make it hard for illegal immigration to succeed in their states. While this is great news for the country and those states, it means that illegal aliens are invading Arkansas ! In 2005, SB206 was proposed. The bill would have required proof of citizenship to get taxpayer funded benefits. It was killed in committee. In 2007 we did help Rick Green pass HB1024 that denied state contracts to companies that hired illegal aliens, but we were unable to pass the Arkansas Taxpayer Citizen's Act HB2779. In 2008 the Secure Arkansas petition was sabotaged by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and did not get enough signatures to be put on the ballot.

Plan for 2009:
The keeparkansaslegal blog will be updated as much as possible on bills being worked on in the state legislature. The conservative blogs, along with the Arkansas legislature website will be the fastest and most accurate way to keep track of legislation.

Bill Sample is working on an immigration reform bill similar to HB1802 The Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act of 2007. It should be complete and introduced sometime this month. So far, no other legislation is being worked on.

Jan 20th. The new legislators will be sworn in, including Senate elect Joyce Elliot. Elliot has promised to introduce another in-state tuition for illegals bill. It will most likely be introduced sometime after the 20th.

We are working on having a rally to support the introduction of Bill Sample’s immigration reform bill. It will most likely be in the Capitol Rotunda.

In case the pro-illegal alien crowd has a rally, we would like to be able to counter protest. In April, we successfully counter-protested the Arkansas Friendship Coalition during one of their press conferences.

The pro-illegal crowd has moved Bishop Anthony Taylor from Oklahoma to Arkansas to lobby for Illegal Immigration. He has already held a press conference and written a 32 page letter urging Christians to support illegal immigration. Wether we like it or not, religion will be involved in this debate. I suggest that those who want to be involved in this issue be prepared to deal with questions about religion. On the Secure Arkansas website, you can look at the document Christian Doctrine on Illegal Immigration. It provides facts and Bible verses that show that it is not Christian to support illegal immigration.

We also recommend that people stay informed about the issue of illegal immigration. Websites such as Immigration Counters.com , NumbersUSA.com, and FAIRUS.org provide quick and easy access to information about illegal immigration. Here are some of the latest stats from Immigration Counters as of 01/07/09.

Illegal aliens in the Country-21,934,906

Money sent to Mexico since 2006-$21,800,573,269

Cost of U.S. taxpayer services for illegal aliens since 1996-$397,440,750,582

Cost to educate illegal alien kids in K-12 since 1996- $13,679,667,747

Cost of illegals in our prisons since 2001- $1,371,966,358

Skilled jobs taken by illegals- 10,859,197

New Year/same illegal alien problem

Happy New Year to everyone. 2008 had a lot of ups and downs in terms of fighting illegal immigration. With Christmas and New Years celebrations over, it's time to gear up for another war against illegal immigration on both a state and national level. Here's a story about 2008:

The State of Our Borders 2008
Michelle Malkin Friday, January 02, 2009
http://townhall.com/columnists/Column2

If you think the bad economy has "solved" America's immigration problems, welcome to your end-of-the-year reality check. It's certainly true illegal crossings from the south are down and that many foreign workers are returning to their native lands as work dries up. But border chaos, haphazard enforcement, massive backlogs and deportation negligence remain the order of the day. A half-million citizenship applications have been pending for more than nine months. Some 700,000 illegal alien absconders -- fugitives from deportation like Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango -- are free. An estimated 4-5 million illegal visa overstayers from around the world remain in the country. Both Big Business and left-wing ethnic groups have colluded to prevent an employer verification program for workers' citizenship status from getting implemented nationwide. And the borders are still largely borders in name only. In June, the White House pushed through a $1.6-billion border security spending plan ... for Mexico and Central America. While our own border fence remains incomplete, taxpayers shelled out for helicopters, surveillance equipment, computer infrastructure, expansion of intelligence databases, anti-corruption initiatives, human rights education and training, and anti-money laundering programs for our southern neighbors. So, how's the so-called Merida Initiative working out? As terrorized citizens of Mexico will tell you, all hell has broken loose. Corrupt police officials and narco-insurgents have left a horrific trail of beheaded and bullet-ridden bodies in their wake on both sides of the border. Mexican Army incursions into U.S. territory are a regular occurrence. In Monterrey, bandits opened fire and threw a grenade at the U.S. consulate this fall. A top Mexican immigration official was arrested in October carrying about 77 kilos of pot in Arizona. On asingle weekend in Tijuana, 40 people were murdered, including nine victims who were decapitated. Two weeks ago, famed American anti-kidnapping negotiator Felix Bautista disappeared from the "relatively safe" northern industrial city of Saltillo in Coahuila state. No word on his whereabouts.

The apocalyptic conditions have prompted some Mexican lawmakers to revisit the country's ban on capital punishment. That's right. Members of the same foreign government that took America to court over our death penalty laws -- and tried to block the state of Texas from executing illegal alien Death Row murderers -- are now open to the idea of imposing the death penalty on the thugs on their own soil. And after years of vehement protests against the United States for its meager attempts at immigration enforcement, Mexico is cracking down hard on illegal Cuban immigrants caught trying to enter the country from the south. They forged an agreement with Cuba to immediately send back illegal aliens -- none of that "undocumented worker" mushiness for them -- and punish human smugglers. Such lawlessness, Mexico has apparently realized, is a grave threat to its people. Without order, there can be no peace. And chaos, as I've argued endlessly since September 11,is an invitation for those with far more nefarious intentions. Perhaps this is why Mexico slapped a 60-year prison term on a human smuggler who helped some 200 illegal aliens cross into the United States from Mexico -- including Hezbollah supporters. In a little-noticed announcement this month, Mexican prosecutors reported the stiff sentence against Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a Mexican of Lebanese descent who operated a cafe in Tijuana and smuggled terrorist sympathizers into San Diego. Mucharrafille's accomplice was Imelda Ortiz Abdala, a Mexican foreign service official who helmed the Mexican consulate in Beirut. No illegal alien demonstrations ensued following the sentencing. No cries of racism and xenophobia clouded the news. No demands for amnesty and open borders arose. One hopes the incoming Obama administration can learn from our neighbors to the south the hard lesson Washington has abandoned since 9/11: Immigration control is a national security issue. Blood-stained reality clarifies the mind.
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This is a coalition of conservative activist who are planning to deal with several issues during the AR legislative session, including illegal immigration. It's helpful if you RSVP but not needed for showing up.I will be able to attend and speak about how we will deal with illegal immigration.

www.meetup.com/central-arkansas-campaign-for-liberty/
Campaign for Liberty Meeting:

Fletcher Library 823 N. Buchanan St
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 663-5457 January 8, 2009 6:00 PM