The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

July 26, 2007

House OKs Capito proposal on aliens, female crime victims

Mannix Porterfield

Riders that Rep. Shelley Moore Capito proposed to a $53 billion justice, science and commerce spending bill to deal with illegal aliens and help women victimized by crime in rural settings has gained House approval.

One amendment provides more money to prosecute illegal aliens, the source of much controversy this year in Congress, while a second change she added to the bill guarantees the federal government doesn’t hire illegal immigrants.

An extra $10 million is provided for the Southwest Border Prosecutors Initiative.

Often, Capito explained, aliens and drug traffickers are caught along the border but the federal government decides against prosecution, leaving state and county officials to absorb the costs of pursuing such cases.

Capito, R-W.Va., said her intent is to provide local authorities with more money to support prosecutors, probation officers, courts and detention facilities.

Another $10 million would go to grants programs covering rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and child abuse under the Office on Violence Against Women within the Justice Department.

“To be safe in their communities, women first need to be safe in their homes,” she said.

“Of the 12,621 domestic violence victims reported in West Virginia in 2005, a total of 8,626 — or 68 percent — were victims of intimate partner violence.

“We must break this cycle of violence against women.”

Her third amendment requires that none of the funds be spent in violation of an existing law obligating all federal departments to screen new hires to ensure they are in the country legally.

Programs for employment eligible verification were set forth in a 1996 law known as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

Eleven years later, Capito said, the Departments of Commerce and Justice aren’t in compliance by failing to check the legal status of new employees.

“There’s no excuse for any aliens illegally taking federal jobs,” she said.

“For years, we’ve had an employment eligibility verification program designed to stop aliens from being hired illegally, and for over a decade, we’ve had a law on the books that requires federal agencies to use it for employment eligibility verification. My position is clear — the federal government needs to enforce the law when it comes to illegal aliens.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

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