This will enable others to gain a greater understanding of the federal legislative process and its role as one of the foundations of the United States of America’s representative system. One of the most practical safeguards of the American democratic way of life is this legislative process with its emphasis on the protection of the public interest, allowing ample opportunity to all sides to be heard and make their views known. The fact that a proposal cannot become a law without consideration and approval by both Houses of Congress is an outstanding virtue of the United States of America’s bicameral legislative system.

The open and full discussion provided under the Constitution often results in the notable improvement of a bill by amendment before it becomes law or in the eventual defeat of an inadvisable proposal. Section 1 of Article 1 of the United States Constitution, provides that:

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Unlike some other parliamentary bodies, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions and powers with certain exceptions. As both bodies have equal legislative powers, the designation of one as the "upper" House and the other as the "lower" House is not appropriate. The chief function of Congress is the making of laws.

In addition, the Senate has the function of advising and consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the President.

Sources of ideas for legislation are unlimited and proposed drafts of bills originate in many diverse quarters. Primary among these is the idea and draft conceived by a Member. This may emanate from the election campaign during which the Member had promised, if elected, to introduce legislation on a particular subject. The Member may have also become aware after taking office of the need for amendment to or repeal of an existing law or the enactment of a statute in an entirely new field.

In addition, the Member's constituents, either as individuals or through citizen groups, may avail themselves of the right to petition or transmit their proposals to the Member. Many excellent laws have originated in this way, as some organizations, because of their vital concern with various areas of legislation, have considerable knowledge regarding the laws affecting their interests and have the services of legislative draftspersons for this purpose. Similarly, state legislatures may "memorialize" Congress to enact specified federal laws by passing resolutions to be transmitted to the House and Senate as memorials.

If favorably impressed by the idea, a Member may introduce the proposal in the form in which it has been submitted or may redraft it. In any event, a Member may consult with the Legislative Counsel of the House or the Senate to frame the ideas in suitable legislative language and form. Many of the executive departments and independent agencies employ legislative counsels who are charged with the drafting of bills. These legislative proposals are forwarded to Congress with a request for their enactment.

The drafting of statutes is an art that requires great skill, knowledge, and experience. In some instances, a draft is the result of a study covering a period of a year or more by a commission or committee designated by the President or a member of the Cabinet.

There are two types of bills--public and private. A public bill is one that affects the public generally. A bill that affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than the population at large is called a private bill. A typical private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration and naturalization and claims against the United States.

A bill that has been agreed to in identical form by both bodies becomes the law of the land only after--

1. Presidential approval; or

2. Failure by the President to return it with objections to the House in which it originated within 10 days (Sundays excepted) while Congress is in session; or

3. The overriding of a presidential veto by a two- thirds vote in each House.

It does not become law without the President's signature if Congress by their final adjournment prevents its return with objections. Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate--not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, jointly in both Houses. There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution and the two forms are often used interchangeably. One difference in form is that a joint resolution may include a preamble preceding the resolving clause.

Statutes that have been initiated as bills have later been amended by a joint resolution and vice versa. Both are subject to the same procedure except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. When a joint resolution amending the Constitution is approved by two-thirds of both Houses, it is not presented to the President for approval. Following congressional approval, a joint resolution to amend the Constitution is sent directly to the Archivist of the United States for submission to the several states where ratification by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states within the period of time prescribed in the joint resolution is necessary for the amendment to become part of the Constitution.

Perhaps the most important phase of the legislative process is the action by committees. The committees provide the most intensive consideration to a proposed measure as well as the forum where the public is given their opportunity to be heard. The Members do a tremendous volume of work often overlooked by the public, in this phase. There are, at present, 19 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate as well as several select committees. In addition, there are four standing joint committees of the two Houses, with oversight responsibilities but no legislative jurisdiction. The House may also create select committees or task forces to study specific issues and report on them to the House. A task force may be established formally through a resolution passed by the House or informally through organization of interested Members by the House leadership.

One of the first actions taken by a committee is to seek the input of the relevant departments and agencies about a bill. Frequently, the bill is also submitted with a request for an official report of views on the necessity or desirability of enacting the bill into law. Normally, ample time is given for the submission of the reports and they are accorded serious consideration. However, these reports are not binding on the committee in determining whether or not to act favorably on the bill. If the committee votes to report the bill to the House, the committee staff writes a committee report. The report describes the purpose and scope of the bill and the reasons for its recommended approval. Generally, a section-by-section analysis is set forth explaining precisely what each section is intended to accomplish.

The committee having oversight responsibility is required to review and study any conditions or circumstances that may indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new or additional legislation within the jurisdiction of that committee, and must undertake, on a continuing basis, future research and forecasting on matters within the jurisdiction of that committee.

In the context of the proposal to introduce the amendment to the constitution of the United States of America as not to deny the right of employment to any individual on account of his or her immigration status is too early. Before its enacted, I believe that there should be a special task force made to look into it’s feasibility which at the moment appears to be a too over optimistic promise, especially after the September eleven attack and analyzing the current socio economic situation, specifically the current economic situation. Following is the extract of a case, Tyson V/S Plaintiff, in which The Complaint contends that all such persons have been victimized by a scheme perpetrated by Tyson to depress the wages paid to its employees by knowingly hiring a workforce substantially comprised of undocumented illegal immigrants for the express purpose of depressing wages (hereafter “the Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme”).

Tyson perpetrated the Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme through a complex and highly disciplined network of recruiters and temporary employment agencies, which obtain illegal immigrants, and perform additional services to facilitate their illegal employment by Tyson including transporting them to the U.S., obtaining housing in the U.S., and falsifying identification documents. The Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupts Act (RICO) and has directly and proximately caused the wages paid to plaintiffs and the class members to be substantially depressed, i.e., below the level of wages paid by other employers of unskilled laborers in the areas surrounding the 15 Tyson facilities who participated in the Illegal Immigrant hiring Scheme. This has raised the following questions;

Whether Tyson is engaging in the Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme;
Whether Tyson is doing so in order to depress its employees’ wages;
Whether the Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme has caused class members’ wages to be depressed;
Whether Tyson conducted the Illegal Employment Hiring Scheme through its network of recruiters and temporary employment agencies;

Whether the Illegal Immigrant Hiring Scheme violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and RICO; and
Whether Tyson should be enjoined from conducting further racketeering activity and further association with its network of recruiters and temporary employment agencies.

The case mentioned above is one out of the many. Such cases not only promote depressed wages but also affect the tax framework, and on the other end it also promotes illegal migration process in the United States. Cases like such not only promote depressed wages but also bring the image of the US Government on a stake at the global level, in the eyes of the world. This has laid way to the mushroom cultivation of such ill organizations involved in the racketing activity. The production of false identification documents reduces the trail to track the miscreants if involved in other illegal activities including terrorism on the other extreme hand, when the US government has vowed to fight against all the forces and sources of terrorism.

Following is another extract of an extreme case of terrorism in which an American resident of Long Island Vinessa was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant and the family of plaintiff is seeking support to stop the influx of employment of illegal immigrants in the United States. Vinessa Hioera was brutally murdered. An illegal immigrant has been formally charged by the Grand Jury with murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree and arson in the third degree. This man, who worked side by side with Vinessa Hioerra, did not have the credentials to live or work in the United States. The Plaintiff’s family has been living for over more than fifty years in the Long Island in USA. Until now, there never had been a single experience, there has never been noticed anything but a respectful blend of diversified cultures.

Vinessa was a daughter, mother to a five-year-old kid and a sister. This murder was no accident but a deliberate violent act against a beautiful, charming, loving and caring woman. A conviction in this case would justify Vinessa’s Law. The Government has already installed the laws against hiring people without valid credentials. The government does allow immigrants to come to the United States to enjoy a better way of life, through the immigration process. This process allows them to work and pay taxes and become an active and acceptable part of the United States’ society. The laws state that any employer who hires an illegal immigrant is in direct violation of homeland security, and will be fined for each illegal immigrant employed.

The purpose here is not to target any single nationality or minority. The country’s financial resources are being depleted because there are just too many, who are part of the problem and contribute nothing to the solution. The schools are over crowded, the medical facilities are a nightmare and the prisons cannot house the over population of illegal immigrants being convicted of violent crimes. The scales are being tilted in a very dangerous direction and what happened to Vinessa is too much of a heavy load for the victim’s family to carry alone. This cause to stop the illegal immigrants’ employment process should be brought to a halt, to bring the scales of justice back to an even balance of the American society and the safety of the America’s children.

The law should be enforced wherein enforcement officers would have the authority to act as Homeland security and issue violations for each illegal immigrant employed. Then based upon the past violations, they would have the authority to shut down a business if they fail to comply after two violation convictions. These laws have already been passed to defend Americans against the practice of hiring illegal immigrants, yet rarely enforced.

This law would also give the immigrant the opportunity to register and gain legal status through the proper channels or leave the country if they fail to comply. This practice would enforce the regulations already on record on a local level, thus giving home security a wider range of control.

Again, I will emphasize that had the laws on record been enforced the undocumented immigrant that murdered Vinessa had not been working side by side with her, and I believe she would had been alive today. It is argued that it could have been anyone that murdered her. Yes, it could have been anyone, but it was not, it was an undocumented immigrant who did not belong in the United States of America. A ghost that the government did not even know existed, until he murdered Vinessa, now he is costing the tax payers thousands and thousands of dollars.

This man worked side by side with Vinessa, they earned the same hourly wage, yet he was paid one third more for his forty hours then the hard working single mother, because he did not pay any employment taxes.

Self-government is the most important principle in the constitution of the United States. Out of the three main principles of the constitution, the two most important ones are: Inherent Rights that people living in the United States have and Government by the people. These principles arc what has enabled the government to work so well in the USA. Everyone’s rights are protected.

The United States has a government of the people and by the people. The people have the right to vote for and delegate their authority to their representatives in the government; and elect different representatives, change the laws or the constitution when they believe these changes need to be made. Americans have been devoted to defending the principles in the constitution, changing it only as much as needed to adapt to the changing world.

The constitution contains two sections:

-The Document

-The Amendment.

The document part of the constitution has never been changed. The amendments have been added to the constitution to guarantee specific rights and to solve the problems, which have arisen since the document was first written. For this reason the constitution is called a living document. Amendments make the government able to adapt to changing situations. The constitution and its amendments provide the basis of the American government.

All aspects of government in the United States are influenced by the constitution – the country’s most important document. The founding fathers of the constitution believed that the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was very important for the American citizen. This right is the basic foundation stone for all the rights listed in the constitution and its amendments. Everyone’s rights are protected; if the citizens feel the government has to be changed they can change it.

The American government strives to ensure to the best that the interests of all its’ people are served, rather than the interests of a small group.

Until now there have been twenty-six amendments and all these twenty-six amendments assure safety and rights to its American people. But the proposed amendment as to allow immigrants whether of legal or illegal status the right to employment would change the lives of the millions of American people who will feel more vulnerable and susceptible and on the other hand it would contradict the most important principle of the constitution itself, which is government by the people, for the people.

The cases listed above have highlighted the situation further and are an advocate of my opinion as not to allow the amendment to be added in the constitution- the living document of the government of the USA, whose main crux is the protection of American life and American society’s culture.

Works Cited :

How our laws are made: Thomas – US Congress on the Internet
American Law sources online
www.lawsource.com
The online constitution of USA: links to US law resources
www.usinfo.state.gov
Vinessa’s case: Stop the employment of illegal immigrants
www.gopetition.com/online/4518.html
Plaintiff v/s Tyson Foods Inc a Corp
www.vdare.com/misc/tyson_complaint.htm