Assessing the Population and Environmental Impact of the Gutierrez-Flake Bill (H,R. 1645) ENDNOTES 1 Martin, Jack and Stanley Fogel, Projecting the US. Population to 2050 Four Immigration Scenarios, FAIR, 2006. 2 3 4 The data and analysis in this section draw heavily on the invaluable research effort of the Center for Environment & Population, see "U.S. National Report on Population and the Environment Center for Environment & Population, 2006. Calculation based on USDA acreage data reported by Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2002 Annual NRI Highlights. Thome, Sarah and Dan Sundquist 2001 New Hampshire's Vanishing Forests Concord Society for the Protection of New Hampshire 5 Schrank David and Tim Lomax Urban Mobility Report, 2005 Texas Transportation Institute, College Station. (http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/data_tables/watcoa1_2005.pdf), accessed 2007, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Conservation and the Water Cycie." (http://www.wcc.nres.usda.gov/factpub/a/b326.html), accessed 2007. The estimate is based on national use of about 37 billion gallons of water per day and a population of 250 million - the population size in 1990. "Water Conservation; Western Basin Municipal Water District, (http://www.westbasin.com/waterconservation.html), accessed 2007 Estimates vary. Another estimate from the San Diego Metropolitan Water District puts a family's average daily water consumption at 450 galions per day for personal consumption. North County Times, "Rates rising faster than supplies, April 12, 2007, http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04/13/opinion/editorials/18_14_554_12_07txt. Krchnak, Karin, et al, Population, Water, and Wildlife. Finding a Balance, 2001, National Wildlife Federation. 10 'The Ogallala Aquifer High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1. (http://hpwd.com/the_ogallala.asp), 2007. 11 Fletcher, Robert. Loss of Wetlands: How are Bird Communities Affected? ActionBioscience.org, October 2003 (accessed 2007) 12 Goldburg, Rebecca, et al, "Marine Aquaculture in the United States: Environmental Impacts and Policy Options, 2002, Pew Oceans Commission. 13 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Land Use, Natural Resources Inventory 2002, 2004. 14 National Commission on Energy Policy, "Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America's Energy Challenges: 2004. 15 The numerically-capped family preference categories in theory can exceed 226,000 visas per year, but only if immediate relative visas, which have higher priority, use less than the other 254,000 allotted visas Immediate relative visas have exceeded that number every year since 1996. The 480,000 cap is pierceable because the number of immediate relative visas is uncapped and there is a floor' of 226,000 visas for the other family-sponsored visas 16 In this subparagraph, the term "immediate relative' means a child, spouse, or parent of a citizen of the United States (and each child of such child, spouse, or parent who is accompanying or following to join the child, spouse, or parent), except that, in the case of parents, such citizens shall be at least 21 years of age? (HR.1645 § 516). 17 Sec. 507(a)(3) of H.R.1645 provides for the expansion of the exemption for foreigners who have earned a master's or higher degree from a U.S. university to others who have similar degrees, "...in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics from an institution of higher education outside of the United States' 18 Occupational Employment: Growth by Occupational Group (2004-2014) Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2005/winter/art02.pdf. 19 While it is clear that not ali H-1B visa recipients will stay in the United States for 6 years, a large majority of them may be expected to do so, and those sponsored for a green card are able to stay for periods in excess of 6 years if necessary to wait in line for an adjustment to immigrant status. Thus the average length of time in the US. for H-18 workers is not limited to 8 years. 20 "Mexico envoy backs US plans but says migration won't stop: Leader says reform won't diminish number of border-crossers April 10. 2007. Martin, Jack and Stanley Fogel, Projecting the US. Population to 2050. Four immigration Scenarios, FAIR, 2006. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels With more than 250,000 members and supporters nationwide, FAIR is a non-partisan group whose Here's an additional contribution to help spread the word. Federation for American Immigration Reform 1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW | Suite 400 | Washington, DC 20009 | (202) 323-7004 | (202) 347-3887 (fax) | info@fairus.org. | www.fairus.org FUR HIMAN TM May 2007 FAIR Horizon PressM All rights reserved | Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-0-9797192-0-2 Ms. LOFGREN. Thank you. And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Stewart. TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE COREY STEWART, CHAIRMAN AT-LARGE, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Mr. STEWART. Thank you, Madam Chair, Ranking Member King, Members of the Subcommittee. I am Corey Stewart, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, Prince William County, VA. As I am sure some of you know, Prince William County is located approximately 25 miles south of here. At 400,000 residents, we are the second largest county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are also the seventh wealthiest county in the United States. This economic prosperity and economic opportunity and high quality of life in Prince William has drawn talent from all over the Ünited States and, in fact, the world. We welcome the increasing diversity in our community. We welcome legal immigration in our community, and I better say that, since my own wife is a legal immigrant from Sweden. What we do not welcome is unlawful, illegal immigration in our community. Illegal immigration is degrading the quality of life in our community. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, approximately one-third of the gang members in Northern Virginia are illegal immigrants, people that should not have been here in the first place. At last check, fully one-fifth of our inmates in our local adult detention center were illegal immigrants. In a sick twist of fate, one of the suspects in the brutal executionstyle murders of three American college students in New Jersey is, in fact, a resident of Prince William County, Virginia. And just this morning, Madam Chair, if you will allow me, a murder committed by an illegal immigrant, twice deported from the United States, another murder by an illegal immigrant in Prince William County. The suspect here was twice deported and allowed to come back to the United States. We are on the front line of this problem. The localities and the citizens and the local taxpayers have to pay for the problem. But what caused the problem was you, the Federal Government failing to enforce the law, and this is the problem. We are asking for your support to crack down on illegal immigration. The Federal Government has failed to secure the border. The Federal Government has also failed to support communities such as Prince William County that are dealing with the effects of illegal immigration. So what do we do as a community? We use our limited resources and our limited legal authority to crack down locally. We have successfully teamed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to implement the 287(g) program. And I want to thank certain Members of this Committee who supported that in 1996. In the first month of implementation this past July, we initiated deportation proceedings on 52 illegal immigrant criminals-illegal immigrants who, on top of being illegal, entered our community and committed crimes. Those 52, at least for the time being, will not be committing crimes such as this and threatening the lives and the property of Prince William County residents. What we would ask, however, is that you enforce the laws at the Federal level. Failing that, we ask that you give us more authority to do so at the local level. We ask that you give us the authority to detain and arrest suspected illegal immigrants based solely upon a civil detainer. We also ask that you give us the authority to, as Hazelton, Pennsylvania did, fine landlords who house and harbor illegal immigrants. We also ask that you give us the authority to fine employers who hire and exploit illegal immigrants. The law must be enforced. It is degrading our quality of life. If you are not going to enforce them at the Federal level, we ask that you give us the tools at the local level to do so, and we will. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Stewart follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HONORABLE COREY A. STEWART Madam Chair, Ranking Member King and members of the Subcommittee, I am Corey A. Stewart, Chairman of the Prince William, Virginia Board of County Supervisors. I have served in this Countywide elected position since November 2006. Previously, I served as the Occoquan Magisterial District Supervisor starting in January 2004 until assuming my current position. Prince William County is located in Northern Virginia approximately 25 miles south of Capitol Hill on 1-95 or 30 miles west on I-66. Approximately two-thirds of our employed residents commute to jobs outside the County in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Northern Virginia. The major job centers in the County include Marine Corps Base Quantico, Potomac Mills, and the Innovation Technology Park which includes a campus of George Mason University. Prince William County has a population of approximately 400,000 and has grown by nearly 100,000 residents in the last 7 years. The County is the seventh wealthiest large locality in the United States. We are also a diverse and cosmopolitan community. Among the fastest growing groups in the County is the foreign born population. From 2000 to 2005, according to the US Census Bureau, the percentage of our population that is foreign born rose from 6.2% to 19.4%. Approximately onethird of this group is naturalized. Prince William's high quality of life and economic opportunity has drawn talent from around the world, and legal immigration has been a tremendous asset to Prince William County. Many businesses are owned and operated by naturalized citizens and legal immigrants. One research institution located in the county specializing in the life sciences employs scientists of the former Soviet Union in an effort to prevent the spread of deadly bio-terror toxins. A local chain of supermarkets catering to the Hispanic population was recently honored by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce as one of the "Fantastic 50" Companies. We are very proud of the contribution they have made to our community and to our nation. Like a lot of other communities throughout the country, the County has been facing the issue of illegal immigration and its secondary impacts upon our community. A serious problem the County is facing is the presence of criminal street gangs. The County has been partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other local law enforcement agencies through the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force to combat this problem. The Congress has appropriated federal funds for this task force due to the efforts of Congressmen Frank R. Wolf, Tom Davis and Jim Moran. Our law enforcement partners at ICE estimate that 18% to 30% of criminal gang members in Northern Virginia are illegal aliens. Over the three and a half years of the task force 368 gang members who are illegal aliens have been placed in deportation proceedings. At last count, the percentage of inmates in our regional jail who are here illegally was 21%. These inmates are incarcerated for a variety of crimes ranging from murder and rape to drunken driving and drunk in public. While the jail receives some reimbursement from the Federal Government through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, it only accounts for 10% of those costs. |