STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
THE NEED FOR LICENSE REFORM IN THE 9/11 BILL
The editors of
Human Events make the case for including driver's license reform in the 9/11 bill. "If another set of al Qaeda killers were to enter the United States this morning--this time walking illegally across the Mexican or Canadian border--many U.S. states would still give them driver's licenses," they write.
STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
TRANSSEXUAL SUES DHS OVER VISA REVOCATION
"A Los Angeles couple are suing U.S. immigration services for refusing to recognize their marriage and denying the husband permanent residency because the wife underwent sex reassignment surgery to become a woman," the
LA Times writes. "Donita Secusana Ganzon, 58, had her surgery almost 24 years ago. She married Philippine native Jiffy Hojilla Javellana, 27, three years ago after he legally entered the country that year on a fiance's visa."
STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
NEW LAW SPEEDS CITIZENSHIP FOR IMMIGRANT SOLDIERS
"Thousands of immigrant soldiers are taking advantage of new rules and laws that make it easier for them to become U.S. citizens. Nearly 20,000 U.S. soldiers, representing almost two-thirds of the country's 31,000 foreign-born military personnel, have applied to become U.S. citizens since 2002, according to officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a federal agency charged with processing naturalization applications," the
Arizona Republic writes. "Agency officials said that more than 12,000 soldiers have been sworn in as new Americans and 37 others who died fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have been awarded posthumous citizenship. Immigrants make up 3 to 4 percent of active-duty military."
STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
COLUMNIST: PROP. 200 AND DEMOCRACY THROWN FOR A LOOP BY JUDGE
"Last week, good-faith implementation - and democracy - got at least temporarily derailed. A federal judge, Tucson's David C. Bury, temporarily enjoined the law from going into effect. His rationale was that Proposition 200 might be pre-empted by federal law, and that the "balance of hardships" fell on those challenging the law, not on the state for a deferred implementation," says
Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb. "Populist conservatives, who were the driving force behind Proposition 200, are increasingly alienated from government and downright hostile to the judiciary. Even if they win in the democratic arena, they suspect they will be cheated out of their victory. With respect to what's currently happening with Proposition 200, it's hard to argue that they're not right."
STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
COMPROMISE PREDICTED ON 9/11 BILL
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist predicted Sunday that Congress will have an intelligence overhaul bill by midweek, even though the chairmen of the House and Senate armed services committees want changes in its current version,"
CNN reports. "Rep. Jane Harman said that Hunter and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, the Wisconsin Republican who wants a provision in the bill that would bar illegal immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses, 'have been accommodated' in the conference committee that came up with a compromise bill."
STEIN REPORT XXXXX Monday, December 6 2004 11:52:23 ET XXXXX
9/11 BILL MUST ADDRESS IMMIGRATION TO ADVANCE SECURITY
"If the intelligence reform bill has any chance of passage when Congress returns to the Capitol this week, it must meet all the goals outlined by the September 11 commission's comprehensive report, not just the few selected by the Senate. Specifically, it will have to address illegal immigration as a national security threat," says
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA). "While the compromise bill would have enhanced our ability to stop terrorists from entering through our ports, senators refused to increase our ability to stop terrorists from sneaking across our borders amid the throngs of illegal immigrants looking for work, refused to make it harder for terrorists to obtain U.S. identification, and continued hamstringing our efforts to detect and remove terrorists from the United States."