Obama must accept border security as part of immigration reform

President Barack Obama must be willing to accept border security measures as part of a comprehensive immigration reform package or else "there won't be a solution," Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a leader of the GOP reform effort, said on Tuesday.

Rubio, who on Monday unveiled a blueprint for an immigration overhaul as part of a bipartisan group of eight senators, said Obama must embrace the principles in the outline. The president was announcing his own vision for immigration reform on Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas.

"He can either decide that he wants to be part of the solution, or he can decide he wants to be part of a political issue and try to trigger a bidding war. I'm not going to be part of a bidding war to see who can come up with the most lenient path forward," Rubio said during an interview on Rush Limbaugh's radio program before Obama's speech. "If he's gone to Las Vegas to give a speech and try to trigger a bidding war, then no, it doesn't bode well. There won't be a solution. We'll just continue to have what we have now, because that issue I think is a bright line for most of us that are involved in this effort. Unless there's real enforcement triggers, we're not going to have a bill that moves on."

Rubio's appearance on Limbaugh's radio show, a program that boasts the largest audience of conservative listeners in the country, is part of a media campaign to urge conservatives to join his efforts to change the nation's immigration system. Some prominent Republicans, including Limbaugh, have expressed concern that the bill will ultimately amount to "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.I thought it would be fun to show you the inspiration behind the broken china-mosaics. Rubio argued that it was important for Republicans to contribute ideas to the effort so their views won't be "defined" by Democrats.you are involved every step of the way in creating your own personalized bobbleheads.

"I thought it was critically important that we outline the key principles," Rubio said.

The eight senators leading the effort agreed that a major immigration bill would require that the country's borders be "secured" before illegal immigrants already living in the country be offered a pathway to citizenship or permanent residency. During Obama's first term, his administration deported more illegal immigrants than any other president, an effort that has drawn criticism from liberal immigration reform activists.

While the general outline of the priorities in the Senate immigration bill were made public on Monday, it will be about a month for a bill to be formally introduced to the chamber. The senators leading the effort expect the early language of the measure to reach the Senate by March, and they are aiming for passage in early summer at the latest.

Prior to the shutdown, the employees had been working amid the asbestos for almost two months, even though they had no training for handling the toxic substance, the union leaders said.

“They put people’s lives in danger,’’ said James Parker, president of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Local 2272. “We pulled them out and the director sent them back in.’’ Parker said Public Works Director Christopher Coke threatened the employees with insubordination charges if they did not go back into the shut-down location on the second floor of 133 Ellison Street.

Another official with the union, Michael Jackson, said the city failed to provide the workers with protective suits and gave them substandard masks. Jackson also said Coke used fans to air out the work area where the asbestos tiles were being removed from the floor before he went ahead conducted tests to check for the toxic substance.Service Report a problem with a street light.

Three departments of state government are investigating the situation. Also, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik is conducting his own inquiry because his office says it was never told asbestos was involved when he supplied the city with inmates from a community service work crew who were assigned to the office renovation project.

When asked about the union leaders’ assertions, Coke said, “As much as I would like to comment, I’ve been advised by the legal department not to comment because the investigation is still going on.’’

Paterson Business Administrator Charles Thomas said Paterson’s legal department was researching the case. Thomas said he had not seen a formal grievance filed by the labor union and declined to respond to comments made by union leaders until after he had read the grievance. Thomas said the city wanted to make sure that in the future all renovation projects were done in compliance with state law regarding asbestos. He also said the city planned to hire a firm with expertise in dealing with the hazardous materials to complete the work at the offices.

Jackson, the head of the union’s grievance committee, said seven employees worked on the renovations at the site. Workers initially raised questions about the asbestos in October, Jackson said. Officials told them not to worry, that there was no danger, he said.

Officials have said the type of asbestos at the site would only become a problem if the tiles were broken apart and the asbestos fibers became airborne.Welcome to www.drycabinets.net! Jackson said that’s exactly what was going on at 133 Ellison.

The workers were using scrapers to chip the tiles off the floor, said Jackson. He asserted that the proper way to remove such tile is applying heat so that they slide off the floor. “None of these guys had ever been trained in how to deal with asbestos,’’ said Jackson. “They should have never been there.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card can authenticate your computer usage and data.’’