US hikes foreign workers' quota

It also increased number of foreign nurses that can come into this country.

The US Senate has passed a bill that makes it harder for citizens to get driver's licences and bans them altogether for illegal aliens.

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It also increases the number of foreign nurses that can come into this country as well as removes the cap on seasonal guest workers under H-2B.

The Senate unanimously approved the conference agreement on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (HR 1268) that was for increased funding for Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now that HR 1268 has cleared both bodies of Congress, it heads to the president's desk for his signature to become law.

For weeks now, political and civil rights activists have opposed the Real ID Act provisions and most Democrats have opposed the restrictions it puts on people seeking asylum in this country.

It also has stricter rules for driver's licences, which, they contend, create something like citizenship identification.

Under the Real ID provisions, all states must require proof of lawful presence in the US if their driver's licences are to be accepted as a form of identification to a federal official.

Some concessions were made allowing states to issue "driving certificates" that do not meet the national requirements, but they would not be valid for official purposes. The terms of these cards would be a maximum of one year.

Temporary driver's licences issued to foreign visitors by a state must expire when the visitor's visa expires, with a maximum term of one year.

According to conservatives, had this been in place prior to 9/11, the illegal aliens among the terrorist hijackers who overstayed their visas would not have had valid driver's licences.

The bill also authorises the Secretary of Homeland Security, subject to federal judicial review of constitutional questions, to waive laws that may slow down or hamper completion of border fences and roads for national security purposes.

Some provisions allow immigration judges to determine the credibility of an asylum seeker. It calls for immediate removal of terrorists as well as criminal aliens, and illegal aliens from the country, though it does say that this can be done after proper judicial review. Aliens will therefore not be allowed to appeal their deportation.

The final bill includes funding for 500 additional border patrol agents, 50 immigration and customs inspectors, 168 enforcement agents and detention officers, and 1,950 detention beds.

But along with these restrictions, some concessions were made increasing some foreign worker quotas. The Mikulski amendment was included in the final bill, exempting H-2B seasonal guest workers who have worked in the US in the past from the 65,000 annual cap.

An additional 50,000 foreign nurses will be permitted to enter the country. And about 10,500 Australian guest workers will be allowed to enter the country annually under terms similar to the H-1B high-tech visa category.