Amnesty Bill Down in Flames...Again

From MyWay News:

The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush's plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.

The bill's supporters fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and clear the way for final passage of the legislation, which critics assailed as offering amnesty to illegal immigrants. The vote was 46 to 53 in favor of limiting the debate.

Reports are that the Senate switchboard was shut down due to the huge number of calls coming in on this. Most Americans apparently recognize how important the border and the rule of law is.

You might have heard Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) melt down on Sean Hannity's radio show yesterday afternoon when Hannity boxed him in with uncomfortable questions. I listened to most of it, and you could tell Voinovich knew he was sucking wind and looking for a way out...but there was none. So he finally hung up. He hadn't read the amnesty bill, didn't have a grasp on the problem, and wasn't willing to uphold law and order.

Click here for the vote breakdown.

Senator Johnson: Tax Illegals

From Badlands Blue, the South Dakota Democratic Party blog, a statement from Senator Tim Johnson on his support for the amnesty bill:

There are an estimated 13 million illegal immigrants inside the United States and reasonable reforms are necessary to bring them out of the shadows so they can be taxed and better contribute to our nation as a whole.

Is that a key reason some Democrats have for immigration reform? "So they can be taxed?"

Idiots in Charge of Immigration

According to Breitbart.com, a Republican amendment requiring illegal aliens to go home before they could apply for legal status in the United States was defeated.

The Senate on Wednesday killed a Republican proposal to require all adult illegal immigrants to return home temporarily in order to qualify for permanent lawful status in this country.

Surprisingly, I don't feel bad about the defeat of this amendment. It was stupid of Republicans to forward it.

Does anyone really think illegals are going to go home before applying for legal status? Most of them came here with just the shirt on their backs and are getting paid a pittance, and couldn't afford to pay any fees and/or go back home...even if they wanted to. Anyone who thinks they would is either woefully ignorant, or disingenuous.

A Washington Times article about an "amnesty documents" forgery ring that was busted shows how naive Congress is in piddling around with all these half-measures:

Julio Leija-Sanchez, who ran a $3 million-a-year forgery operation before he was arrested in April, was expecting Congress to pass a legalization program, which he called "amnesty," and said he could forge documents to fool the U.S. government into believing illegal aliens were in the country in time to qualify for amnesty, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent said in the affidavit.

The solution is really simple, but it "eludes" these people who are blinded by their connections to special interests, whether those interests include Democrats looking for more "victim voters" or Republicans listening to businesses that like having a cheap labor pool.

That solution is to lock down the border, deport every illegal alien we can find, and maintain those actions while pursuing some sane immigration procedures.

Immigration Reform: Security First

The National Center for Policy Analysis spotlights an Opinion Journal piece by Pete Du Pont about the immigration issue aptly titled "Security First."

Some of the essential actions he points out:

Build the additional 600 miles of border fencing authorized by the 2006 law; we must also add better surveillance technology and more border security agents.

Make sure the bill contains the provisions of the Isakson Rule that no other immigration reform programs can be implemented until the border is secure.

Require tamper-proof ID cards of all immigrants; today there are no such cards and verifiable identification is essential to both immigration policy and national security

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For the lawbreakers already here, this is what he proposes:

Illegals would have to apply for a Z visa (temporary legal status) by admitting they have broken the law, pay an initial $1,000 fine and submit to a background check (those with criminal records would be ineligible).

They would still not then be eligible for welfare benefits or food stamps, and if they wanted a green card and permanent legal status, they would have to pay an additional $4,000 fine, learn English, and then return to their home countries to file for it.

Since I doubt many would be able to fork over this much dough, that still means we should be prepared to deport most of them. Since they invaded our country and broke our laws, I don't have a problem with that.

For a nation that can go from backwater colony to world power in less than 200 years, for a nation that can join Atlantic and Pacific oceans with a canal, for a nation that can carve its heritage into a mountainside, for a nation that can wire the planet, for a nation that can send men to the moon and probes beyond our solar system, deporting most of the illegal aliens in this country shouldn't be insurmountable, if we set our minds to it.

Video Tells Businesses How to Skirt Immigration Law

Here's the other side of the illegal immigration problem. It isn't just bleeding-heart liberals who are trying to subvert our laws, but some greedy businesses that would rather bring in a foreigner for a job so they can pay them less than an American.

The San Francisco Chronicle has a story about a video that shows businesses how to "get around" the law in this regard:

Siding with the displaced Americans, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, wrote Chao Thursday after seeing a five-minute video in which the marketing director of a Pittsburgh law firm is shown telling employers how they can advertise a job so as to appear that the only qualified applicant is a foreign national.

"Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker," says Lawrence Lebowitz of the Cohen & Grigsby law firm during a seminar taped in May. "In a sense it sounds funny, but that's what we're trying to do here."

Here's how they're doing it:

H-1B program opponent Ron Hira, a professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, said that in one respect, the flap is a misunderstanding because the seminar was aimed at companies that are sponsoring foreign workers for green cards rather than for temporary H-1B visas.

But, said Hira, by showing how to get around the tough requirements that exist -- on paper -- to ensure that green card applicants don't displace Americans, the video suggests how easy it must be for employers to hire foreign workers under the H-1B program, which has far weaker protections against job displacement.

These companies are putting their greed ahead of the national good.

New Stealth Amnesty Bill

The Heritage Foundation has posted a link to the new and resurrected amnesty, er, immigration bill introduced by Senators Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter (doesn't that just make you wince?).

It sounds like the bill will be on the fast track to a vote (obviously to minimize protests from us bothersome law-and-order types who also want protected borders).

Go read the bill and follow up with the Heritage Foundation in days to come as they analyze the bill. *WARNING: The bill is a 20 MB download, so don't try it if you're on a dialup connection.

DV Poll Results: Immigration Legislation

Here are the results from last week's Dakota Voice poll: What do you think will be the next development on the illegal immigration issue?

The amnesty caucus will revive the amnesty bill per President Bush's request 25%
Lawmakers serious about the law and border control will produce a bill that honors both. 25%
Nothing significant will happen in the near future. 50%

The new poll is up in the upper left corner of the page: Should President Bush pardon Scooter Libby?

Thanks to those who participated in last week's poll!

D.C. Republicans Want to Stay in the Minority

Think Republicans learned anything from their whipping at the polls last November? Think again.

From the New York Times:

Comments by Republican senators on Thursday suggested that they were feeling the heat from conservative critics of the bill, who object to provisions offering legal status. The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: “Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.”

At some point, Mr. Lott said, Senate Republican leaders may try to rein in “younger guys who are huffing and puffing against the bill.”

Lott's comments are indicative of the elitist, out-of-touch, country-club mentality of too many D.C. Republicans. It's what put them in the minority last year.

And with this kind of garbage still coming from them, apparently congressional Republicans are comfortable being in the minority.

Poll: 20% Back Amnesty Bill

From the Business Journal of Phoenix, the amnesty bill isn't playing to well among most Americans:

Only 20 percent of American voters want to revive the controversial federal immigration bill that has the backing of business groups, Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, President Bush and Democratic Senate leadership.

A new poll by Rasmussen Reports found that only 20 percent of those surveyed want the bill revived for further consideration. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they prefer smaller steps than the comprehensive approach taken in the proposal. Another 16 percent want the immigration plan put off until next year.

Why is simply enforcing our laws and protecting our borders such a vexing concept for some in our government who swore to protect and defend this country:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Immigration: We Don't Need More Laws

The Heritage Foundation says the amnesty bill, eh, immigration bill isn't needed to enforce our borders.

As many have said, there are already adequate laws on the books to protect the border and clean up illegal immigration.

The Heritage Foundation report outlines four things the White House can do to protect the border:

1. Increase the number of border patrol agents
2. Cooperate with state and local law enforcement
3. Deploy technology and obstacles along the border where they make sense.
4. Target enforcement on specific sectors of the economy.

I can sum up what needs to be done in one sentence: get serious about immigration and border enforcement.

Letter to the President

Let me add my "Amen!" to "An Open Letter To President Bush" at the American Daily by Doug Edelman.

Here's an excerpt:

Mr. President. You have been amazingly out of touch with the American People throughout your tenure. While I supported you in both elections, staunchly defended your INTENT (though not your implementation!) on Iraq and the War on Terror, and your tax cuts - I must honestly say that as a conservative, you have failed miserably and your approval ratings are in the toilet NOT because America is 70% left leaning moonbats… but because you have lost almost ALL support from the right.

I encourage you to read the whole article.

Arnold Schwarzenegger to Immigrants: Learn English

From the San Francisco Chronicle, Austrian-immigrant-turned-movie-star-turned-California-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tells it like it is and tells Hispanic immigrants to learn English in order to succeed:

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said.

"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said, noting that he rarely spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.

Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can improve academically. Many journalists for Spanish-language organizations in the audience were surprised by the remarks.

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," said Alex Nogales, president and chief executive of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Notice how this media guy Nogales is trapped by his own short-sided political correctness.

It's call assimilation. A S S I M I L A T I O N. It means adopting the culture of your chosen country. It's how immigrants have succeeded in America for over 200 years.

Or you can refuse to assimilate and just keep working minimum wage or below jobs. Your choice.

Bush Polling Low, Congress Lower Still

From MSNBC:

In the poll, Bush’s approval rating is at just 29 percent. It’s a drop of six points since April, and it represents his lowest mark ever on this question in the NBC/Journal poll.

But President Bush's numbers aren't the worst:

Also in the poll, only 23 percent approve of the job that Congress is doing, a decline of eight points since April. That number is within striking distance of the 16-percent rating Congress held in October 2006, just before Republicans lost control of both the Senate and House in last year’s midterms.

Democrats have only had Congress for about six months, and they've already driven their numbers this low!

If Bush would just quit spitting in the face of his base, his numbers would go up. I admire his persistence in the War on Terror, but this flirting with global warming and insistence on amnesty for lawbreakers is just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Illegal Immigration "Line of the Day"

Pat Powers at the South Dakota War College sums up why the illegal immigration amnesty proposals are so unpalatable to most people:

Better to secure our borders than to go "oops, we missed you as you snuck in. Have a cookie."

Illegal Immigration: From Bad to Worse?

From My Way News:

President Bush pressed divided Republicans on Tuesday to support him on immigration overhaul, saying "status quo is unacceptable."

I agree, Mr. President. But changing the status quo at the price of amnesty is unacceptable also.

We need to lock down the border, allowing legal immigrants only through, and send all the lawbreakers home. THEN we can talk about guest worker programs, etc.

Terrorists Cross Border

Need a reason beyond just upholding our laws to secure our borders?

From NewsMax:

Counterterrorism authorities have come to fear that the porous U.S.-Mexico border provides entry into the United States, not only for illegal aliens, but for Islamic terrorists as well.

And these same Islamic terrorists may also be using Mexico as the conduit to bring nuclear devices into the U.S. for a WMD attack. These are among the chilling disclosure from Paul L. Williams, author of the just-released book "The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World."

According to Williams, al-Qaida has already hatched plans to smuggle nuclear materials across the Mexican border and use them for a mammoth simultaneous attack on several large U.S. cities.

Terrorists would be fools not to take advantage of our essentially open border.

Bush Matches New Poll Low

From NewsMax.com:

Public approval of the job President Bush is doing now matches its all-time low, with widespread discontent over how he is handling the war in Iraq, efforts against terrorism and domestic issues, an AP-Ipsos poll released Thursday said.

Only 32 percent said they were satisfied with how Bush is handling his job, the same low point the measure hit last January.

That's what you get when you sell out your base...especially by making our national borders meaningless.

The "mainstream" media would like you to think Bush's low poll numbers are because he's just not being liberal enough. In fact, the opposite is true. He's spit in the collective face of his base with things like lending credibility to the global warming myth and this travesty of an amnesty bill on immigration. Failure to aggressively prosecute the war on terrorism (allowing our soldiers to be put on trial for defending themselves, not aggressively rooting out terrorists everywhere, and all this "emperors clothes" talk of the "Religion of Peace") hasn't helped the president's numbers, either.

Desert the base, they'll desert you. It ain't rocket science.

Thune Helps Roadblock Amnesty Bill

According to KELO, Senator John Thune voted for an amendment to the amnesty bill which would place a five-year limit on a temporary worker program.

In the complex world of political maneuvering, this amendment is described in an AP story as a "major stumbling block."

From the AP piece:

The reversal dismayed backers of the immigration bill, which is loathed by many conservatives. The measure could sink altogether if proponents fail Thursday to muster the 60 votes needed to scale a procedural hurdle; otherwise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he will shelve the bill and move on to other matters.

The bill would tighten borders, hike penalties for those who hire illegals and give many of the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a pathway to legal status.

The first two provisions mentioned would be great...but not the third, to provide amnesty to those who broke our laws and invaded our country to get here.

There's a simpler solution actually: just allocate money to build a border fence, hire more border patrol...and just enforce the laws we already have.

Leftist Groups Undermine Sovereignty

Nothing's ever a surprise from the Left, but here's an article on how the Leftists are undermining our borders and our national security by promoting illegal immigration.

From the Washington Times:

Wealthy philanthropic foundations are helping bankroll the pro-immigration movement, while groups advocating for tighter control of U.S. borders say they take a more grassroots approach to raising money.

The Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and Democratic activist George Soros, among other liberal funders, have donated millions of dollars to pro-immigration groups, as the Senate continues its debate on a contentious bill that would overhaul the nation's immigration policy.

Too Broken Not to Fix

By Paul E. Scates

I read today that backers of the compromise immigration bill see the resistance lessening, and believe it will pass this week. Although it’s over 300 pages, the desperate rush to ram through this legislation last week before any senator had the time to read it, let alone reflect on its provisions, was deemed necessary because the current immigration system is “too broken not to fix.” (Full Story)