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The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Throng demands House vote

Focus is on immigration reform

A group of roughly 100 protestors gathered in downtown St. Louis on Monday morning demanding that the House of Representatives vote on a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The demonstration was part of a national day of action promoting the reform bill passed by Senate earlier this year.

If signed in to law, the bill would enact a full overhaul of American immigration policy, dedicating billions of dollars to increased border security and establishing an amnesty policy among other initiatives.

The 100 block of south 10th street was barricaded at both ends by police vehicles as the rally took place in front of the Eagleton U.S. Courthouse.

Six protestors, each with a sign that read “We demand a vote! Immigration reform now!” pinned to their backs, sat in the street and were arrested and charged with failure to comply after multiple speakers shared their experiences with immigration.

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Juan Montaña, the leading speaker at the demonstration, made the crowd’s message clear.

“We want a vote, we want it now,” Montaña said, pressuring Rep. Ann Wagner R-Missouri and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer R-Missouri to bring the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, or Senate bill S. 744, to a vote in the House.

Speakers at the demonstration focused primarily on the adverse effects the current immigration policy has had on their families and the families of others while urging Congress to help immigrants find a better life in the U.S.

“This is a real thing. There are people whose families have been separated… [and] destroyed by the immigration system,” Montaña said. “These are people that come here to work, to grow and to give back to the community.”

Norma Andrade, a Mexican immigrant, said that she lived in the U.S. for 19 years as an undocumented immigrant. She said she had to run away from her husband rather than turn to the law before she was a legal citizen because police would ask her for documentation when she reported domestic violence issues.

The immigration bill the group rallied for was authored by a group of bi-partisan U.S. Senators and passed Senate by a vote of 68-32 in late June. It has since lain dormant as the other half of Congress has been reluctant to take up the bill, attempting instead to draft its own iteration of immigration reform. However House Representatives have seen little success in establishing a unified piece of legislation.

As it stands, S. 744 would create a new amnesty program for undocumented immigrants living in the States in addition to providing $46.3 billion fund to implement new border security measures including more personnel, upgraded fencing and technology along the border and implementation and expansion of the E-Verify system, an electronic system used by employers to verify the legal residency of their employees.The law would require all employers to utilize the E-Verify system within five years of the bill’s passage.

Luetkemeyer has maintained an opposition to any policy that provides amnesty to undocumented persons currently residing in the States, arguing that amnesty is unfair to those who have gone through the process or are in the process of becoming legal immigrants.

“Blaine believes the House needs to take a step by step approach to immigration… and the Senate bill doesn’t do that,” a spokesperson for Luetkemeyer said. “He believes immigration reform is necessary… [but] he does not and will not support [an amnesty policy].”

Wagner’s office was not available to comment at the time of publication.

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  • D

    Dave FrancisNov 11, 2013 at 8:41 pm

    Under the Obama Administration we have been confronted by nothing but scandals, lies and cover ups have come from the Left…and we’ve had enough. Since taking office, Obama has constantly and intentionally violated the law. His end-runs around Congress and flagrant disregard for our Constitution are beyond abysmal. What he’s done from Obamacare to amnesty, Benghazi to the NSA spying and IRS targeting the Tea Party and Conservatives is criminal. Corruption, cronyism and cover-ups! How much more are you willing to take before America fully becomes a country run by a dictator? America is under attack by our own president and the machine he’s created. We’re now under surveillance every hour of every day.

    Unprecedented power is being granted to agencies like the DOJ, NSA and IRS while the DHS is being granted free reign to build an arsenal of weapons, ammunition and riot gear. Remember, all this while the Obama machine wants our gun taken away. End the push for amnesty! Tell Congress “NO REWARDING PEOPLE WHO BREAK THE LAW!” Obama and his liberal army don’t care about fixing the problem. They care only about votes for Democrats. Stop Congress from allowing millions and millions of illegal aliens to steal our jobs, drive down our wages, get free health care, overload our schools and our jails and get $9.4 trillion in benefits!

    ACCORDING TO REPORTS 1 IN 10 LOS ANGELES RESIDENTS ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS?

    Last Tuesday the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported U.S. employers added 148,000 jobs in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent, if you can believe these numbers. These employment figures are never inclusive and the figures make little sense to the numbers of jobless.
    1) Out of the 148,000 new jobs, how many were full time and how many were part time?
    2) Then we need to know, how many are on a temporary basis.
    3) How many of these jobs were minimum wage?
    4) How many jobs were lost during the same period?
    5) Give us a net increase (or decrease) in the number of full time jobs.
    6) Add in those that are no longer actively seeking a job because they just gave up.
    7) Disability claims to social security are up, mainly because people cannot find work and their unemployment has run out. How many are actually legitimate?

    Is the Obama government fabricating figures, so they can move into America an estimated 30 million new visa holders? The Senate bill has nothing for the Middle class, or the low income workers. It was mainly set-up for the Special Interest lobby in both political sectors, to direct profits into the accounts of their corporate owners. While the Democrats acquisition is to fast forward millions of extra votes into future elections. Most Americans have learned from hard knocks that our elections are no longer safe. They have been compromised by no-citizens voting

    I would trust the Canadian government more so than any of our politicians, except for a pro-sovereignty few as Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Arkansas) Sen. Ted Cruz R-Texas, Rep. Steve King (R-) who can be spotlighted for their generous contribution to THE PEOPLE, although followed by a few more with equally excellent credentials, fighting for citizens rights. The rest should get a pink slip for playing into the hands of the GOP establishment and the Liberals and Democrats. Learn much more at JudicialWatch, the legal organization watching out for YOU?

    There is an uncomplicated, easy way to sever the job market from the thousands of illegal aliens arriving here daily. We demand for—ALL THE PEOPLE—ALL THE CITIZENS—(Lawful Residence have a green card) a bio-metric Social Security ID card, that will cut the illegal foreign workers arriving here to a dribble; stopping voting fraud by non-citizens and halt criminals stealing credit, welfare and other citizen benefits. This programmed card that you would slide through a machine, just the same way you slide a credit card through would deny illegal alien parents from appropriating billions of dollars annually in child credits.

    These extra dollars would go a long way in caring for our incapacitated, homeless and the veterans that are being denied services. This is a digital document that cannot be counterfeited, even if stolen nefarious reasons? Your picture, your thumb-print and even an iris scan would distinguish you from anybody else. The demented morons in Congress of both political parties (not the TEA PARTY) are willing to keep spending trillions of dollars, but shy away from this federal issued ID card for a meager $2 Billion that the legislators say would cover every U.S. citizen. A card more powerful than E-Verify or means of enforcement internally or at the borders; a national ID card that Americans need urgently. I only hope some Patriotic American begins a petition, to force the politicians a biometric ID law on the books.

    Reply
  • B

    BaghdadBootsNov 9, 2013 at 10:07 pm

    Undocumented Immigrants are being dehumaned off the simple fact “illegal” is in Illegal immigrant. There are different shades to what immigration issues people face in the BROKEN system we have now. It’s not being properly looked at.the “oh so patriotic”, blindly rage against an issue that doesnt even really effect them, clumping all the issues, in an attempt to make it black and whire. Only a fool would actually think that all undocumented have entered unauthorized, and only a total moron would believe there is a thing as a “line”. Clearly, they have no clue how immigration works. “Lock them all up’- for what? being undocumented is a crime on the same level as pissing in public, a misdemeanor- your republican chicken hawks, want you to criminalize it, a typical political tactic to unify on a common “enemy” and to blame their mess ups on this ‘enemy”- and ya I know entering is a FELONY- o my those vicious trespassers- as if crossing hell is a cake walk (89% of women are raped by their trafficers, hell of a choise for a father/brother/spouse). The reason being is that CCA private prisons, channel taxes to line pockets. At $200 a day in a drawn out process, your chicken hawk leaders happily take corporate “gifts”. AZ Gov. Brewer was caught red handed with this; she even tried to use the common boogeyman terrorist tactic, claiming beheadings at the border- in an attempt to make an al Qaeda parallel. It’s a FACT that undocumented contribute more in taxes than the top 10 corporations, through IRS tax ID numbers/sales/property tax— subsidizing our social security program, and never being able to receive a refund- due to being pin in place by 3-10 year bars. they want to blame your problems on a group of people, stupidly picking a poor choice, don’t want to except your lazy welfare neighbor or the billions we send to Israel yearly (already rich remember). Some people go to the government only to find out years later they were denied, already passing the 90 day appeal process and the 180days bar effect. So would those “oh so noble chicken hawks” up and leave your life on the spot? Didn’t think so.

    2 million have been deported under Obama, more than any in America’s history. So if those anti-IRs are sulking about the wrong choices you made in life, find another target to project on- soldiers and marines are having their wives deported, soldiers are being deported- and they want to speak from positions of easy and sheltered.furthermore; this isn’t amnesty, in fact the current changes they are posing are going to help no one, it’s made to look like they are doing something and caring, but the true criteria, when read by a lawyer is unreal. Until you’ve actually worked in these fields and seen the truth, all you are is opinionated. But go ahead correct me, take out that sanctimonious misguided patriot BS soap box, and tell me how NASCAR is somehow affected by some foreign guy actually working. How’s it go? When it’s white its “manifest destiny” but when its brown its “illegal immigration”. Really? 12 million potential terrorist gangbangers somehow taking something from you and getting over? Really?

    THE CURRENT PROPOSALS FOR REFORM HELP NO ONE. AND WHAT THEY DONT TELL YOU IS ALL THE LITTLE CONFLICTING CRITERIA— NONE OF THE THINGS DONE HELP. THEY DONT TELL YOU WHAT REQUIRMENTS PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE TO MEET- ‘ did you arrive on the 4th day of the month, wearing red, while under a full moon, and drinking soda?”
    its rediculous. and morons for and against- will settle for anything.

    Reply