Jett & Coates to GUT HB-1804

HOW DUMB !

Also anybody know how old Ana Jett is ?

You have to ask what is in the water in Pott County...


Updated: Thursday, November 29, 2007

Jett Pushing New Approach To State Immigration Law

By Wayne Trotter

Rep. Shane Jett is working on a new state immigration bill that would soften some of the edges on HB 1804 but not pull all the teeth from the controversial measure that took effect Nov. 1.

Jett, a Tecumseh Republican, said he drew on the “life experiences” he and his wife encountered as she became an American citizen over a six-year span. Ana Jett, originally from Brazil, was naturalized earlier this year.

At the heart of Jett's proposal will be what he feels is an innovative plan to track and tax guest workers who could be issued a tax identification card and be eligible for a driving permit provided insurance constantly remains in effect.

“Failure to comply with the voluntary guest worker taxation program would subject those undocumented to the full measures of the law provided for in HB 1804,” he said.

Jett said he is working with legislative attorneys now to draft the language of the proposed bill and plans to have it in the hopper by the Dec. 7 deadline for new legislation. He said Sen. Harry Coates (R-Seminole) has agreed to serve as Senate author.

“The purpose of my legislation is to address the unintended consequences of HB 1804,” Jett said in a back-and-forth e-mail interview with The Countywide News and The Shawnee Sun. Jett has been in Africa for the past week.

He said HB 1804 is capable of doing serious damage to Oklahoma's economy. “I expect this new legislation to curb some of the extremes. What we are looking for is a well-balanced approach to immigration reform.”

He said his plan would not automatically make immigrants eligible for state benefits. “The whole plan is predicated upon the program being designed for ‘workers,'” said Jett. “There should be no need for state welfare benefits. This program is designed to put people to work.”

In an accompanying position draft, Jett made it plain that he is opposed to illegal immigration and believes it is essential for the federal government to secure the nation's borders. He also said amnesty is not a solution. “Amnesty was granted in the 1980s and we are again with another 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants,” he commented.

He said a well-regulated immigration and guest worker program “is far more desirable than a laissez-faire border policy and periodical amnesty program.”

Jett said a key to making any program work is a system of identification, classification and taxation. In addition, he said, that will help “get a handle on those who area already here.”

He was harshly critical of the federal government for allowing the immigration situation to get out of hand and said the Mexican government has not made “a sincere good-faith effort or even a discernable attempt to curtail the flow of undocumented workers crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.”

Some of the shortcomings of the present law, he said, are that it makes Oklahoma responsible for enforcing federal law, doesn't differentiate between undocumented criminals and undocumented workers, piles a new burden on Oklahoma businesses and subjects some to potential lawsuits. He said it also puts landlords in the middle.

http://www.countywidenews.com/articles/2007/11/29/news/04jett%20immiration.txt