ISSUE 1095
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437) late on Friday, December 16. An amendment introduced by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) that caps financial penalties for businesses guilty of hiring illegal immigrants was added earlier. The bill includes provisions for mandatory electronic verification for new and existing employees and higher employer penalties, but contains no language establishing a guest worker program. FFVA
had faxed letters to lawmakers December 13 stressing the importance of guest workers
to the Florida agriculture industry. The Senate is expected to take up that issue.
ALSO IN THIS WEEK'S RAP-UP (Members-Only articles are indicated in bold.) | |
