Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Is Congressman's immigration bill doomed?


The Democrat's immigration bill is not likely to make it far in the political process, but that may not be the point.

Saying the time for waiting is over, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D -IL) introduced his 600 page bill Tuesday that includes greater enforcement of immigration laws, employment verification, family reunification programs, and a path for legalizing millions of illegal immigrants. He has encouraged his most ardent supporters and millions more who are tired of waiting for congress to fix what President Obama called the country's broken immigration system.

Standing before activists chanting "Si, se puede," Gutierrez said the bill was "pro-family, pro-jobs and pro security."

But as one of the most vocal and well known advocates in the fight for reform, Gutierrez is an easy target for pro-enforcement groups. They're already using the news to build up their own base by painting him as a liberal who has introduced the expected “amnesty bill.”

Frankly, it appears Gutierrez is taking one for the team. He could propose building a 50-foot-wall, but many Americans consider Gutierrez and his supporters out-of-touch with our nation’s laws and ongoing woes with high unemployment. He’s sure to build up his base and win supporters in diverse cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. But it'll be tough to make headway in North Carolina and across middle America.

Gutierrez’s bill already has nearly 90 co-sponsors, but all are Democrats.

He may not have an expectation that his bill will make it that far. But he’s definitely teeing up the debate so immigration is near the top of the political agenda once healthcare is resolved. And he sets the discussion. His bill becomes what future bills introduced will be judged upon.

Keep an eye out on Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who are reportedly nearing completion on a less liberal, bipartisan bill expected to be introduced early next year.

The reality is any bill on such a divisive issue is going to be a tough sell - especially so close to midterm elections. Think back to September and the fury over illegal immigrants that Joe Wilson caused when he yelled those infamous two words, "You Lie."

Photo: AP

35 comments:

  1. I sure hope it IS doomed... despite the 90+ 'sponsors'. A quick review of Gutierrez's webpage makes it clear that the majority of sponsors come from Texas, California and New York. Not exactly 'representational' of the rest of the country, is it?

    If any kind of amnesty for illegal aliens is included in immigration reform, you can be sure that there WILL be a major shift in Congress in 2010 and in 2012. Passing something like this will guarantee a single term for Obama... something he's smart enough to know.

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  2. "He’s sure to build up his base and win supporters in diverse cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. But it'll be tough to make headway in North Carolina and across middle America."

    Are you Franco picking up his banner here in Charlotte? Too bad you didn't write anything about the details such as paying a $600 fine and getting permanent status in return.
    BTW, all signs point to the fact that Joe Wilson was right.

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  3. I have to admit that I'm really disappointed to see representatives of the Congressional Black Caucaus on this bill... indicating that the leadership is (again) voting against their own best interests.

    Employers of illegal aliens deliberately ignore black americans, not because they can't work but because they're American ciitizens and are owed basic minimum wage. So these employers are able to increase their profit margins through alien labor.

    Our duly elected officials need to put an end to this kind of hiring. If our laws are enforced, the aliens will have to go home... especially once their no longer subsidized by our welfare programs.

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  4. In addition to ListenNC, listed on this blog site, the following sites contain information on how to contact your representatives and senators to encourage them to enforce our laws and put an end to this invasion of illegal aliens.

    http://www.endillegalimmigration.com/


    http://www.fairus.org/

    If you're not concerned, you should be! Based on current demographic numbers, each alien couple will have at least two anchor babies... likely more. In 50 years, we can very well be living in a very different country... and speaking a different language.

    I like our culture just the way it is, thank you very much. We have enough immigrants coming into the country legally... we don't need to subsidize the rest of Central and South America.

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  5. why in the world does anyone need 600 pages to tell a bunch of illegal aliens they need to go back home and come back in the front door like normal law abiding people of they want to live here?

    It takes two words..."GO HOME".

    Dealing with "amnesty" in any way shape or form is going to be like turning the lights on in the rest of the world...the scurry to the darkness formally known as America will be frightening...think of all the extra handouts and entitlements the tax payers will be on the hook for at the hands of the liberals.

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  6. Good! We have a leagal process, use it!!!! Just like other countries have one.

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  7. Dem's aren't dumb enough to touch immigration before 2010 elections. Fact is 2/3's of the American people are against amnesty and want the border enforcement increased.
    And why wouldn't they, where do you think all the black tar heroin is coming from here on the streets off Charlotte.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. This is all about being re-elected. Re-election first. Party affiliation second. Committee appointments third. Will of the people........way, way down the list.

    This is what happens when the "straight ticket" voters come out in mass.

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  10. After all the crap trying to be jammed down our throats, you can bet a fuse will be lit if they try this one. The law abiding Americans will not stand for this, it will be the breaking point.

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  11. If African Americans were not that lazy I’m sure it would be a lot more difficult for illegal aliens to find jobs, but we all know how extremely lazy blacks are, therefore the mess that we are in with a bunch of unemployed African Americans and a bunch of aliens in this country.

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  12. Ray,

    Your terror is classic John Tanton fear mongering. Did ever occur to you that couples having "two...babies" are merely reproducing themselves?

    Are you so incapable of recognizing the humanity of immigrants that you see their God-given reproductive instincts as some sort of sinister plot to strip you of power?

    It really smack of eugenicist delusion.

    FAIR was founded by John Tanton, a eugenicist white nationalist so deranged that he had to create a network of front groups to give him cover. One of Tanton's strategies is to generate a network of outlets for his aggregated hatred to present the false impression that there are multiple voices speaking.

    Both ListenNC and Alipac (the puppet master pulling the strings of End Illegal Immigration) sprang up in the penumbra of this network.

    The jewel in Tanton's crown is the Center for Immigration Studies--a anti-immigration "think tank". The CIS occasionally publishes a legitimate study, but most often operates as a "moral entrepreneur" generating a "moral panic" over immigration.

    The CIS is to immigration research what the Tobacco Institute was to cancer studies. The positions taken by FAIR, ListenNC, and End Illegal Immigration are all predicated on the selective aggregation of information that is the hallmark of Tanton network organizations.

    There are excellent legitimate sources of information on immigration: the Pew Hispanic Center is probably the best known.

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  13. Peregrino, thanks for the background on those groups. My comments about pro-creating aliens have nothing to do with eugenics. The dynamics of unrestricted population growth is well known and can be understood with a knowledge of fairly basic mathematics.

    The reality is that illegal aliens exploit the humanity inherent in our laws... and have been taking gross advantage of them. Our laws were not intended to create a welfare state supporting illegal aliens. They were created to serve the citizens of this country when we found ourselves in need.

    We are being invaded... the numbers make this clear. I find it morally reprehensible that our laws are being manipulated in such a way that anyone with the ablity to pro-create can pop out a new U.S. citizen. These laws must be changed, and I personally am involved in getting them change. It's time to close the door on illegal aliens... or our country will soon be seeing the same kinds of demographic issues as Europe, which is in the process of transforming into Eurabia.

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  14. Peregrino,

    ALIPAC has absolutely zero association or affiliation with John Tanton.

    ALIPAC was founded by a North Carolina Native with two decades of experience working with members of the NC General Assembly.

    Your intentional lie about this matter has cost you your credibility on anything you may have had to offer this debate.

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  15. I said ALIPAC emerged from the "penumbra" of the hate spewed by Tanton. These sorts of ideological groups spring up in the shadows of the larger groups. Alipac cannot adopt the rhetoric of FAIR and convincingly pretend that it is completely separate.

    This is a general problem with ideological extremists. I suspect it is why William Gheen was so upset when his fellow travelers at Stormfront were piggy-backing on his rage. If there is no space between rhetorics, there is a similarity in the social space created.

    Gheen wants to be judged by his intentions, but the world is seeing his actions. His actions create fear and hatred. That fear and hatred is Don Black's stock in trade.

    "If you lie down with dogs..."

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  16. Peregrino, so what's YOUR solution? Open the borders to everyone? Do you really think that uneducated hispanics can add anything but more poverty to our country? And live off of educated and working citizens indefinitely?

    I'm not trying to dehumanize illegal aliens. I'm simply pointing out that they make a deliberate choice to break our laws everytime they cross our borders. Do the math... and see what our country will look like in 20 or 30 years if this cycle of invasion isn't broken. It's pretty horrifying.

    I urge everyone concerned about our nations future to write their representatives and senators and urge them... no, DEMAND... that they change the laws to prevent children of aliens to automatically become citizens. That's step one and will do a lot to put an end to this invasion.

    Next step: Prosecute companies that hire illegal aliens. If you put an end to the hiring, they'll have to go back.

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  17. The Cost of Illegal Immigration to North Carolinians

    Familarize yourself with the latest study just released on the impact of illegal immigration to North Carolinians here: http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/nc_costs.pdf?docID=2441

    You won't see its findings and contents discussed by the dinosaur media because they'd rather you not be aware. In short, it costs our state $1.3 billion annually for just incarceration - emergency medical care - education services to illegal immigrants. That figure does not include English instruction, law enforcement/courts, translators, assistance for public housing, food stamps, welfare payments, etc. Other factors not considered in the reports are job losses by citizens to illegal aliens and the depression of wages in the construction, landscaping, assembly, food processing and service sectors that most illegal aliens are employed in.

    Also, the cost to North Carolinians of their share of the impact that illegal immigration places on 15 federal department was not included.

    Furthermore, FAIR points out that the cost of educating a public school student in NC is $8,150 per year which translates into an annual expenditure of $975 million for illegal aliens and the U.S. born children of illegal aliens in our state. Is this alone not an outrage? Just think, using that $8,150 cost and multiplying it by 13 (K – 12 school years) produces a cost of $105,950 over the term of the illegal alien child!!! That is money forfeited by taxpayers to educate them and now our NC CCS wants to welcome illegal aliens in with open arms!!!

    Overall, the cost of illegal immigration nationally is in excess of $100 billion annually.

    Another item gleaned from the study I cited is the remittances of $1.2 billion annually from illegal immigrants in North Carolina to Mexico. Nationwide, $26 billion in remittances is transferred from the U.S. to Mexico. This is money that is permanently transferred from our economy to a foreign country due to the lack of border control and non-enforcement of hiring laws.

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  18. The Cost of Illegal Immigration to North Carolinians

    Familarize yourself with the latest study just released on the impact of illegal immigration to North Carolinians here: http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/nc_costs.pdf?docID=2441

    You won't see its findings and contents discussed by the dinosaur media because they'd rather you not be aware. In short, it costs our state $1.3 billion annually for just incarceration - emergency medical care - education services to illegal immigrants. That figure does not include English instruction, law enforcement/courts, translators, assistance for public housing, food stamps, welfare payments, etc. Other factors not considered in the reports are job losses by citizens to illegal aliens and the depression of wages in the construction, landscaping, assembly, food processing and service sectors that most illegal aliens are employed in.

    Also, the cost to North Carolinians of their share of the impact that illegal immigration places on 15 federal department was not included.

    Furthermore, FAIR points out that the cost of educating a public school student in NC is $8,150 per year which translates into an annual expenditure of $975 million for illegal aliens and the U.S. born children of illegal aliens in our state. Is this alone not an outrage? Just think, using that $8,150 cost and multiplying it by 13 (K – 12 school years) produces a cost of $105,950 over the term of the illegal alien child!!! That is money forfeited by taxpayers to educate them and now our NC CCS wants to welcome illegal aliens in with open arms!!!

    Overall, the cost of illegal immigration nationally is in excess of $100 billion annually.

    Another item gleaned from the study I cited is the remittances of $1.2 billion annually from illegal immigrants in North Carolina to Mexico. Nationwide, $26 billion in remittances is transferred from the U.S. to Mexico. This is money that is permanently transferred from our economy to a foreign country due to the lack of border control and non-enforcement of hiring laws.

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  19. New Publication Exposes Tactics Used by Southern Poverty Law Center to Discredit Immigration Reform Groups

    Guide Examines How and Why the SPLC Engages in Widespread Media Disinformation and Slanderous Allegations

    (Washington, D.C October 2, 2009) The Federation for American Immigration Reform today released a Guide to Understanding the Tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Immigration Debate. The publication is designed to help journalists differentiate fact from fiction, and politics from policy in order to improve the accuracy of immigration reporting and foster more meaningful, temperate debate. The guide reveals the unscrupulous methods the SPLC uses to discredit organizations advocating enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. In particular, it examines why the SPLC’s financial motives fuel their increasing use of ad hominem attacks.

    Among the key conclusions of the report:

    The SPLC has no self-avowed immigration policy expertise yet they exploit the current national debate to increase fundraising. Their inflammatory charges against FAIR and others are politically driven, factually distorted, and wildly exaggerated for the purpose of making their mission more urgent in order to raise vast sums of money.

    Third party analysis by The Nation, Harpers, and even the SPLC’s hometown newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser, all came to the same conclusion; the SPLC is a self-propagating fundraising machine with little regard for the truth.

    SPLC offers no objective criteria for their "hate group” designations nor is there any basis in fact to their claim that hate crimes are rising due to the immigration debate.

    When writing about the immigration issue, journalists have an obligation to test the accuracy of the SPLC’s information, question their motives, seek out responses to their allegations, and clearly distinguish between advocacy and news reporting.

    “While once a constructive voice in society, the SPLC is now a deconstructive drone of heresy and baseless allegations designed to shut down debate. The SPLC is an opportunistic outfit, seeking to raise money by smearing mainstream groups and moderate Americans who simply want order restored to our nation’s dysfunctional immigration system,” charged Dan Stein, President of FAIR. “Fabricating labels like “hate group” based on their own set of criteria, playing fast and loose with the facts, and attempting to tarnish reputations is truly the new era McCarthyism. There must be standards and consequences for public debate and public conduct.”

    “The SPLC has no record of offering constructive solutions to our immigration problems. FAIR hopes that the Guide to Understanding the Tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center in the Immigration Debate will encourage journalists, legislators, students and others researching the immigration issue to judge independently, claims made by the SPLC. FAIR proudly stands by its 30-year record of advocating for reforms to our immigration policy that are supported by the majority of the American people,” Stein concluded.

    Download the 31 page guide in pdf format: http://www.fairus.org/site/DocServer/SPLC_Jounalists_Guide.pdf?docID=3541

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  20. House Democrats Massive Amnesty Bill Certain to Encounter Fierce Public Opposition, Predicts FAIR

    (Washington, D.C. December15, 2009) The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) described the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP) as wholesale sell-out of the interests of the American people. The bill being introduced today by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and over 90 Democrats is certain to meet fierce public opposition.

    CIR ASAP would grant amnesty to virtually every illegal alien in the United States and vastly increase future flows of low-skilled, low-wage immigrants. The legislation focuses exclusively on satisfying the demands of illegal aliens, ethnic interest groups and cheap labor employers, while offering nothing that serves the interests of law-abiding Americans.

    "At a time when some 25 million Americans are either unemployed or relegated to part-time work, the last thing the Democratic majority ought to be focused on is a massive amnesty and immigration expansion bill," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Legalizing millions of low-skill, low-wage workers who would depend heavily on government services is simply bad immigration policy at any point in time. When the federal government is running a $1.4 trillion deficit, and numerous state and local governments are facing fiscal crises, it represents the epitome of irresponsibility."

    In addition to granting amnesty to millions of immigration lawbreakers for the bargain basement price of $500, CIR ASAP would:

    Weaken immigration enforcement at the borders and in the interior of the country.

    Vastly expand the ability of illegal aliens to fight their removal from the U.S. (in many cases with U.S. taxpayers footing the bill.)

    Preempt state laws that assist in immigration enforcement.

    Dramatically increase both employment-based and family-based immigration.

    Eliminate federal/local enforcement cooperation agreements.

    "CIR ASAP offers nothing to law-abiding Americans, except more competition for scare jobs, higher taxes, and more government deficits," Stein said. "While American families are feeling the pain of this deep and protracted recession, Rep. Gutierrez, with the backing of the Democratic leadership and the White House, seems to be focused on political payoffs for a narrow group of amnesty obsessed constituencies.

    "If congressional leaders were surprised by the intensity of public opposition to amnesty legislation in 2007, when unemployment hovered around 4.6 percent, they had better brace themselves for an even stronger reaction in 2010. CIR ASAP amounts to a fire sale on American citizenship and American jobs and the public will make its voice heard loudly again in 2010," predicted Stein.

    http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=22041&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1741

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  21. zeezil, thanks for these highly informative posts. It's a shame that the Observer doesn't publish this kind of information.

    Franco, is this not considered news-worthy? Or does it conflict your personal opinions too much?

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  22. Ray,

    Three points:

    1. The phrase "anchor babies" denies the basic humanity of children and supplies a demeaned and demeaning motive for what I think of as the greatest gift that God gives us--the joy of welcoming, loving, and providing for our children. It is the sort of language frame provided by the hate-groups that Tanton spawned and those who have sprung up in his shadows.

    2. I suspect the Observer does not publish information from FAIR because FAIR is a thoroughly discredited source. They don't publish information released by Stormfront, either.

    3. Finally, you probably would not agree with my "solution" to immigration. It requires an attempt to reach out to all immigrants, both documented and undocumented, to work together to resolve root causes, and it requires comprehensive reform that regularizes economic migration. The nature of that regularization is open for debate, but the need for it is not. My position is probably most in keeping with that of the Catholic Church. The NC Religious Coalition for Justice for Immigrants has published the positions on immigration taken by various religious denominations.

    If you are a member of a faith community, you may find one published by that community at: http://www.welcometheimmigrant.org/denominational-statements/

    The Coalition's position is at: http://www.welcometheimmigrant.org/our-statement

    My objection to the language of the anti-immigrant crowd is that the language they use treats the people's immigration status as their primary identity. My faith tradition requires that I treat human beings primarily as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is such a challenge to me that I rarely get around to addressing their secondary characteristics.

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  23. Peregrino:

    Your leftist tactics of denial, deception, deceit and deflection are well understood by those who have experience dealing with the lies of the left. I have already debunked your false claims against FAIR. Also, the discredited race hustling grievance organization SPLC, the well known leftist anti-American organization ACLU and the exposed ethnocentric radical racist organization La Raza are the criticizers of FAIR and ALL other anti-ILLEGAL immigration groups. 'Nuff said.

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  24. Zeezil,
    It's been a while since a Catholic position is called "leftist". Nice contortion. Fiber Choice must be working for you.

    I am not sure what denial or deception is involved in offering access to mainstream religious positions on immigration.

    There is a list of 351 ministers and a couple of dozen bishops at the NC Religious Coalition for Justice for Immigrants. As I said the other day, there is no need for any American to belong to any faith community, but many of us do.

    For many of us, issues of immigration are fundamentally questions of how we interact with God's children. I happen to like to feel community with other people of faith when I grapple with these issues.

    Sorry if this frightens you.

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  25. Peregrino:

    It's obvious that you are one of the sheeple and one of the herd of lemmings. I like to refer to those who have drank the indoctrination kool aid as SLEMMINGS. Can you not see that the Catholic Church is desperate for someone, anyone to fill their pews and coffers since their membership has been declining, particulary after the pedophile Priest scandals? Illegal aliens fill the bill nicely:

    1.) there are massive numbers of them (20 million or more)

    2.) the vast majority of them are hispanics who allmost exclusively are Roman Catholic

    3.) the Church in it's search for vast numbers of new members can use the "compassion/moral imperative" line in their campaign to legalize illegals

    The Catholic Church is no different than the unions in supporting amnesty. With vast numbers of new members come more money and more money and more people mean more power for the leadership. No matter that allowing illegals to remain here by legalizing their presence is a huge negative to the country economically, politically and culturally...they could care less because it'a all about the money and power.

    BTW, Peregrino...how do you interpret this?:

    "Amen, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber."
    (John 10:1)

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  26. Dead on Arrival

    By Mark Krikorian, December 15, 2009
    http://cis.org/krikorian/democraticamnestybill

    Not all change is reform. Sometimes the status quo is better than proposed changes, and the new Democratic amnesty bill is a case in point.

    I haven't seen the full text of the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009" (CIR ASAP) yet, but the immigration lawyers' think tank has a pretty detailed summary (in pdf here), which would suggest that they wrote the bill, and it shows. The "border security" section is larded with the appearance of action without any real action: "formalize a national strategy," "Creates a Southern Border Security Task Force," "take an inventory," "additional training," "requiring a study." In fact, the section takes a big step backward by suspending Operation Streamline, which prosecutes all illegal crossers along certain stretches of the border.

    The bill limits authorities' ability to detain illegal aliens (the subject of a House hearing last week at which I testified), and seeks to curb enforcement activities. I liked this especially: "Ensures social service agencies, translators, and legal services are available during enforcement activities, and establishes access to legal orientation programs for all detained immigrants." That's all we need — "legal orientation programs" for illegal aliens.

    The measure would also scrap the current successful E-Verify system and establish a totally new electronic verification system, ensuring that it will be years and years before there's a functioning system, which is the point. It would hugely increase legal immigration by exempting from the ostensible "cap" on numbers more and more categories, including the spouses and children of green-card holders (only those of citizens are now unlimited). The result would be an increase in legal immigration of hundreds of thousands each year. The amnesty is, of course, laughably loose, including among its few requirements that immigrants "attest to having made contributions to the U.S. through employment, education, military service, or other volunteer/community service." Well, who would attest otherwise?

    In addition to being comically over-the-top, the measure isn't likely to gain even the support of the right wing of the open-borders coalition because it hews to Big Labor's line and doesn't include a big "temporary" labor program. Now, that's about the only thing good about it for me, but Jeff Flake condemned the bill immediately for this reason, which is a sign of how little support there's likely to be for it.

    This bill is more evidence, if we needed any, that the White House and the congressional Democrats aren't serious about actually passing an amnesty and are instead just stringing along the Hispanic groups and the lefties.

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  27. Welcome to America!

    Mark Krikorian
    http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MGYwY2IzNDQ4MzMyMjI2MDIyZTExMWUzNTdlMmQwNWY=

    I forgot to mention the cut-off date for amnesty in the Democrats' new bill. The 1986 amnesty legalized those who'd lived here since 1982, which still was kind of short but at least conveyed the idea that it was for people who had put down some roots here. The cut-off date in new amnesty bill? Today — Dec. 15, 2009. So, if you sneak in tomorrow you wouldn't get an amnesty (at least not this amnesty), but if you came last Friday, you're all set. I mean, really, are they serious? Obviously not.

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  28. Every City a Sanctuary City

    By Mark Krikorian, December 16, 2009
    http://cis.org/krikorian/statelocalauthority

    The Democratic amnesty bill (HR 4321) is relatively modest in size, compared to other recent efforts, at a "mere" 644 pages. But those pages are packed with juicy bits of open-borders goodness. I mentioned some of the highlights yesterday but there's plenty more.

    For instance, Sec. 183 of the bill prohibits any state or local assistance in enforcing immigration law. This means repeal of the successful 287(g) program (examined in a Center for Immigration Studies report here: http://cis.org/287greport). But it would also seem to preempt laws in Arizona and Oklahoma and elsewhere requiring that some or all employers in those states use the E-Verify program for screening out illegal aliens among new hires.

    Such a prohibition on state and local governments from partnering with federal immigration authorities would reverse the modest gains that have been made over the past couple of years in enforcement. As constitutional law professor Kris Kobach has written, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) "has a Herculean task on its hands — one that it simply cannot accomplish alone. The assistance of state and local law enforcement agencies can mean the difference between success and failure in enforcing immigration laws. The more than 650,000 police officers nationwide represent a massive force multiplier." And it's not just a practical matter; Kobach explains the "inherent arrest authority that has been possessed and exercised by state and local police since the earliest days of federal immigration law."

    Jim Edwards has also written on this topic, concluding that:

    "Local law enforcement’s involvement in enforcing immigration violations would increase homeland security. It would raise the stakes of illegal immigration. It would increase the chances of an illegal alien getting caught. And it would help protect public safety at all levels."

    And that's precisely why the amnesty folks don't want it.

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  29. Taqiyya in Immigration

    By Mark Krikorian, December 17, 2009
    http://cis.org/Krikorian/Taqiyya

    The Democratic amnesty bill is almost like something I'd write as a parody. Sec 157, for instance, prohibits the arrest of any illegal or criminal alien on the premises of, or in the immediate vicinity of, a childcare provider, a school, a legal-service provider, a Federal court or State court proceeding, an administrative proceeding, a funeral home, a cemetery, a college, university, or community college, a victim-services agency, a social-service agency, a hospital or emergency-care center, a health-care clinic, a place of worship, a day-care center, a head-start center, a school bus stop, a recreation center, a mental-health facility, or a community center. Depending on how you define "immediate vicinity," that wouldn't leave much of anywhere to arrest illegal aliens, which is the point.

    But this bill is more than just an object of hilarity. It accurately reveals what the open-borders side really wants, or at least what they think they can safely reveal about their goals. The counterpart bill in the Senate, to be introduced early next year by Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham, will have the same broad outlines but won't be quite as wacky. But the difference between the bills won't simply be one of degree, like whether we should buy 10 new fighter jets or 20. Rather, the Senate bill will be an exercise in taqiyya or dissimulation, an attempt to deceive the public into believing that the supporters of legalization will vigorously enforce new, tougher immigration laws in the future once the current illegal population is amnestied. The House bill makes clear, in this provision and in many others, that that's simply not true.

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  30. Insane Asylum

    By Mark Krikorian, December 18, 2009
    http://cis.org/krikorian/insaneasylum

    Another thing the Democrats' amnesty bill would do is eliminate the requirement that asylum applications be filed within one year after the person's last entry into the United States. The deadline rule was passed by Congress in 1996 to incorporate into U.S. law a provision of the UN refugee convention that illegal aliens must be permitted to apply for asylum "provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities." One might think that a full year is a pretty broad definition of "without delay" (the Republican sponsors of the bill originally wanted 180 days), but at least it's a deadline. But if the deadline were repealed, an illegal alien who'd lived here for years and finally gotten caught would again be free to concoct a bogus asylum claim in order to delay his removal. This would take us back to the bad old days when asylum claims were routinely used by immigration lawyers as a dilatory tactic and the backlog of unresolved asylum claims ballooned.

    But this administration doesn't need Congress to turn asylum back into an engine of illegal immigration (and terrorism). It announced new rules this week that require the release of people who arrive in the U.S. and are found to have a "credible fear of persecution" — that doesn't mean they get asylum, just that their claim for it isn't absurd and warrants a hearing. They will be paroled in the U.S. and given work authorization. If they fail to show up for their hearings, they will be considered fugitives and issued a deportation order in absentia. This is how WTC bombers Ramzi Yousef and Ahmed Ajaj were released into the U.S.; see the details in the long pdf of the 9/11 Commission staff's immigration report, here, co-authored by my Center for Immigration Studies colleague Janice Kephart.

    But it gets better, because the previous week, ICE issued new rules for which of today's 500,000-plus fugitives like this immigration agents are supposed to look for. And, guess what — they're not supposed to bother with people who've been issued deportation orders in absentia!

    Raise your hand if you think alien smugglers and terrorists are already adapting their tactics based on this windfall and coaching their clients on how to make plausible-sounding asylum claims that may not hold up in court but are good enough to get them released and issued work authorization, after which they're home free. Unbelievable.

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  31. The bill is great its a win win for everyone. With this students who have a college education, but can't do nothing with it because they are here illegally (not by choice brought here by their parents before age 16) will be able to gain permanent residence in the US. Laborers from different countries will be able to come to this country legally through visa programs to come and work. People who have jobs and are wanting to do better for themselves and their kids and escape their horrible governments including religous persecution will be allowed to stay this country which they consider their home. No more families seperated by the broken immigration laws.. I don't know how many stories I have heard from US Citizen minors losing thier parents to deportation (what kind of a country would allow this)!!! This is a country of immigrants this is noone's land other than the Native Americans!! If you are not Native American and are completely against this bill then you are f*** ridiculous, where do you think you came from and how do you think you got here. It's funny how everyone forgets that part of history. Christopher Columbus didn't apply for a Visa or anyone else on that boat looking for a new home with new freedoms!! Why can't these people no get their freedom the majority of them come here for just that freedom, and better opportunities.

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  32. Anything short of deportation is amnesty.

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  33. Implement the law, simple as that!

    Tracy, Status Nowha

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  34. Gutierrez amnesty bill and “The Commission”

    Health reform isn’t the only bad news coming from Washington DC. Just 10 days before Christmas another Congressional grinch decided it’s the right time to spoil the holiday cheer for hard working Americans. Grinch’s name is Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL). He introduced a stinker of an amnesty bill called the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009″ (H.R. 4321).

    The Gutierrez bill means more foreign workers and less jobs for Americans....MORE AT: http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2009/12/23/gutierrez-amnesty-bill-and-the-commission/#more-20251

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  35. Why The Gutierrez Amnesty Bill Is So Bad

    http://www.vdare.com/washington_watcher/091228_gutierrez_amnesty_bill.htm

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