How many politicans does it take to change a light bulb? Eight – Seven to assure the people everything possible is being done for the good of our nation and one to screw the bulb into a water faucet.
In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, granting amnesty to 3 million illegal aliens with promises of a secure border and worker verification. Nearly 30 years, 6 additional amnesties granted in the 1990s, and 11 million illegal aliens later, the border is not still secure and 7 of the 11 million illegal aliens are in the non-agricultural labor force, holding jobs that should have gone to American citizens.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s first round of markups last Thursday to the Gang of Eight’s current amnesty bill shows that Democrats still aren’t interested in securing the border.
The Committee Democrats aided and abetted by two Republican sell-outs, Senators Jeff Flake or Arizona and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, voted down 5 amendments from Republicans that would have required measurable enforcement efforts occur before illegal aliens are legalized and given work permits.
The defeated enforcement measures include:
- Sen. Jeff Sessions – An amendment that would require fulfillment of the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to build a double-layerd fence along 700 miles of the Southwest Border before amnesty can be given to illegal aliens. Under the bill, DHS only has to submit a fencing strategy before amnesty is given.
- Sen. Chuck Grassley – An amendment that would require DHS to reach the 90% apprehension rate, as proposed in the bill, for at least six months before amnesty is given. The bill currently requires DHS to submit a plan describing how they’ll try to reach a 90% apprehension rate before amnesty is given.
- Sen. Mike Lee – An amendment that would require Congress to approve DHS’s Southern Border Security and Fencing Strategies before the amnesty is given to illegal aliens.
- Sen. Ted Cruz – An amendment that would require securing the border, including massive increases in personnel and resources along the border, and completion of a biometric entry/exit system at all ports of entry before the amnesty is given.
- Sen. John Cornyn – An amendment that would require the border secured, fencing completed, E-Verify mandated for all employers, and completion of an electronic entry/exit system at all sea and air ports before the amnesty is given.
By voting down amendments from Grassley and Cruz to require enforcement before amnesty, the Senate Judiciary Committee left the amnesty-first foundation of the bill in tact. As soon as Janet Napolitano submits two plans, one to secure a border she has already deemed secure and another to say where she thinks fencing should be added, the bill would allow 11 million illegal aliens to apply for legal status, Social Security Numbers, and work permits to seek jobs alongside 20 million unemployed Americans.
Amendments that passed included one from Dianne Feinstein of California that would reimburse states and local governments for pre-detention costs association with the imprisonment of illegal aliens. The Senate then adopted an amendment from Dick Blumenthal that would grant the Attorney General discretion to waive the requirement that states be reimbursed for costs of detaining illegal aliens when there is an allegation of impropriety on the part of local police. You can guarantee this administration would use that “discretion” liberally.
Other amendments adopted would prohibit border crossing fees at land ports; require annual audits of the new 501(c)(3) non-profit Comprehensive Immigration Reform “Trust” Fund that funnels money to left-wing immigration groups; allocations of even more money for startup costs for “various” programs hidden within the bill; the establishment of an ombudsman’s office within DHS to “focus” on immigration issues; requirements for DHS to give “special consideration” to family unity in decisions to deport or prosecute illegal aliens, etc.
The Senate then adopted an amendment from Dick Blumenthal that would grant the Attorney General discretion to waive the requirement that states be reimbursed for costs of detaining illegal aliens when there is an allegation of impropriety on the part of local police. You can guarantee this administration would use that “discretion” liberally.
According to a recent Rasmussen poll, only 25% of voters agree with Napolitano’s claim that our border is secure. 57% of voters polled want the government to keep building the border fence.
Source: Numbers USA; RedState; ImmigrationPact
“A nation of sheep will begat a government of wolves.” Edward R. Murrow
