Sell-Out: Senate Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill Capitulates to Every Special Interest...

Sell-Out: Senate Illegal Alien Amnesty Bill Capitulates to Every Special Interest Demand [align=left] PR Newswire
Friday, May 18, 2007

WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The immigration bill unveiled yesterday by the Senate, which would grant amnesty to virtually every illegal alien in the country, plus an unknown number of their relatives, amounts to a complete sell-out of the interests of the American public, declared the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). The Senate bill, S. 1348, includes immediate and irrevocable benefits for tens of millions of illegal aliens, access to low-wage foreign labor for business interests, and nothing but more worthless promises to the American public that the government would enforce immigration laws in the future.[/align]
S. 1348, which the Senate is expected to vote on as early as Monday, was hammered out behind closed doors, bypassing the hearings process or any assessment of the fiscal, labor market or environmental impact. The bill would grant amnesty to nearly every illegal alien in the United States as well as children and elderly parents who may be residing outside the country. Within 24 hours of filing an application, illegal aliens would be granted work authorization and relief from possible deportation, without any background checks. In addition, the legislation calls for the admission of 400,000 additional "guest workers" plus their dependent family members each year, some of whom will be permitted to remain permanently.
"In agreeing to this bill, the United States Senate has broken every promise that has been made to the American people," charged Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The bill reneges on promises that amnesty would never again be offered to people who are in this country illegally; it violates commitments that Congress has made to protect the interests of American workers; and it compromises the security of this nation by granting legal status to people who may pose a threat to the nation. Adding to the betrayal, this surrender of the public interest was negotiated by senators who had personally pledged, as recently as last year, never to agree to any bill that includes amnesty."
The provisions of the bill that call for tougher immigration enforcement in the future were described by FAIR as "worthless and an insult to the intelligence of the American public." The 2007 version of immigration reform contains the identical set of promises to secure the borders, establish a verifiable worker identification system, and enact penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens that Congress and successive administrations have made and broken countless times over the past 20 years.
"The security and enforcement provisions are less than meaningless. They will either not be funded, endlessly delayed, or ignored all together," Stein declared. "While tens of millions of illegal aliens will reap rewards and enjoy access to the courts to appeal any denial of benefits, the American public gets shafted with no avenue for appeal."
FAIR is calling upon the Senate to delay voting on S. 1348 until the bill receives a full public hearing, and until a thorough study of its impact is completed. "This is a bill that will quite literally affect the future of this nation. Its ramifications deserve more than a weekend's review on the part of the people who will vote on it," said Stein.
Federation for American Immigration Reform

A Travesty Of A Mockery Of A Sham(nesty) [align=left] Stein Report
Friday, May 18, 2007

"An amnesty is an amnesty, no matter how it is packaged and spun. The guest worker program will surely enrich employers, but will exacerbate the downward trajectory in the economic status of poorer workers . . . The bill neatly summarizes the intellectual flimsiness of the Bush administration --- a flimsiness that has cost us dearly in so many other areas. Perhaps they can convince themselves otherwise; that legalizing the status of illegal immigrants is not an amnesty; that the laws of supply and demand can be repealed when it comes to immigration; that we will trust them to secure our borders in the next two years when they havenâ??t done so in the previous six. But we all know that, in the end, their promises are a sham, a travesty, and a mockery of what immigration policy should be about," says Prof. George Borjas of Harvard of the Senate amnesty bill.[/align]
More reactions:
"I strongly oppose today's bill going through the Senate. It is the wrong approach. Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new 'Z-Visa' does, is a form of amnesty. That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S." -- Mitt Romney
"In short order, the system will be overwhelmed. Whatever minimal fraud detection and prevention safeguards might be erected wonâ??t last long in the face of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of applications and petitions to be adjudicated." -- Bill West, former INS official.

"We're doing everything else in this bill that's cockamamie and out of the world, so let's just excuse the fraud that exists here. We're already excusing the illegal status. It's like I said yesterday, the thing about this that just doesn't make any sense is that we're treating the illegals as though we are doing something wrong, as though we've been bad and we're guilty of something. We want them to forgive us! " -- Rush Limbaugh
"Donâ??t be fooled. Prerequisites to citizenship or permanent residency status are irrelevant to whether this bill rewards law-breaking or will encourage more in the future. Its key feature is rather that illegal aliens, according to press reports, can immediately have their illegal status wiped away with a temporary-residency permit, available virtually upon demand. Thatâ??s it. The rest is noise." Heather MacDonald, Manhattan Institute
"According to Bloomberg, Democrats expressed doubts over provisions to create a temporary-worker program and to reduce the emphasis on uniting families when deciding which legal immigrants are admitted to the U.S." -- Redstate
"The reaction to the immigration announcement was swift. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and perhaps future presidential candidate, denounced it on Sean Hannity's radio show as 'a sellout of every conservative principle.' The Heritage Foundation agreed. Congressman Mike Pence issued a statement calling the bill an amnesty." -- James Antle, American Spectator.
"We should scrap this 'comprehensive' immigration bill and the whole debate until the government can show the American people that we have secured the borders â?? or at least made great headway. That would give proponents of the bill a chance to explain why putting illegals in a more favorable position than those who play by the rules is not really amnesty." -- Sen. Fred Thompson.
"That conservatives would be upset with the immigration deal was predictable. But the degree of the indignation has been remarkable. Even before there was any deal announced, Slateâ??s Mickey Kaus was calling the immigration debacle 'Bushâ??s domestic version of Iraq.'" -- National Review roundup of conservative reaction.
John McCain decreed yesterday that his immigration bill would be the law and that there would be no dissent. My new Townhall.com column, 'Damning The Jam-Down,' deals with the extraordinary repulsiveness of such a stance, but in practical terms, the only way to respond is by contributing to a serious opponent of McCain, either Mayor Giuliani or Governor Romney. Or both. If you don't like being treated like a political serf, fund the opponent of the candidate who embodies contempt for the Republican base . . . Simply put, Senator McCain's contempt for you is complete. React accordingly. The Senate's GOP leadership has not yet followed Senator McCain over the cliff. I hope they wake up in time to realize the party-splitting peril they are in with the proposed jam down on the table." -- Hugh Hewitt.
"Next week, I'd suggest you make sure to pack an umbrella because you're going to be hearing from a lot of Republican senators who are going to be peeing all over your leg and trying to tell you that it's raining. That's because the Senate GOP is about to betray America by voting for Ted Kennedy's amnesty bill." -- John Hawkins, Right Wing News.
"Does this empty promise of the amnesty/deportation trade-off sound familiar? Why, yes, yes it does. Let me boil it down to fundamentals: Bush-Kennedy amnesty is the J. Wellington Wimpy plan: 'I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.' Amnesty is the hamburger. Enforcement is the payment that will never come. I've reported this reality over and over and over and over and over again . . . It was true in 1986. It's as true as ever in 2007. Wimpy will get his amnesty burgers and the Beltway fools who keep deluding themselves about the false promise of immigration enforcement will be left empty-handed. Again." -- Michelle Malkin.
"Without modifications the proposed bill could devalue the importance of family reunification, replace the current group of undocumented immigrants with a new undocumented population consisting of guestworkers who will overstay their visas, and potentially drive down wages of American workers." -- Sen. Barack Obama

Colorado Lawmakers React to Immigration Deal [align=left] Fox 31
Friday, May 18, 2007

DENVER --
An immigration compromise reached Thursday between the Senate and White House drew praise from Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as "an important start" while Republican Representative Tom Tancredo attacked it as "a slap in the face" to working Americans.[/align]
Salazar, a Democrat, is part of a bipartisan group of senators working on a compromise to increase border controls, authorize a tamper-proof employee identification program and eventually grant legal status to immigrants in the country illegally if they pay fines and take English and civic classes.
"This bill secures our borders, has tough enforcement of our immigration laws on the border and in the interior, brings the 12 million undocumented workers in our nation out of the shadows and creates a real immigration system for the future," Salazar said.

Tancredo, a Republican presidential candidate and a hard-line foe of illegal immigration, called the proposal "instant amnesty" for millions of people in the country illegally. He said senators behind the proposal think they can trick Americans into accepting blanket amnesty by referring to the program as "comprehensive" or "earned legalization."
"The president is so desperate for a legacy and a domestic policy win that he is willing to sell out the American people and our national security," Tancredo said.
President Bush has made immigration reform a priority as his administration winds down.
The proposal would allow illegal immigrants to obtain a "Z" visa and start down the path to citizenship. Heads of households, though, would have to return to their home countries first.
Salazar said the proposal includes a guest-worker provision that will help farmers, ranchers and business owners in Colorado and nationwide who need workers.
Thousands of people demanding change in the nation's immigration laws took part in protests in downtown Denver last year and earlier this month. Marchers also protested federal raids targeting illegal immigrants at business across the country.
Swift & Co. meatpacking plants, including one in Greeley, were raided last December.

Amnesty Opens Door For Foreign Occupation Of U.S.
Reform Bill drafted in secret by foreign stakeholders, not even provided to Senators to read
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, May 18, 2007

[align=left] [align=center] [align=left] [align=left] http://infowars.net/pictures/may2007...on_Protest.jpg The Senate is on the verge of passing a bill that has been written in secret and has not even be read which provides total amnesty for 12 million (if you are to believe official figures) illegal aliens already inside the US, allows them to bring in their entire families from outside and ultimately paves the way for foreign occupation of the United States.
The immigration reform bill, which has been hailed by President Bush, has been denounced by many commentators and Senators as total amnesty by stealth.
Listen To Alex Jones' impassioned rant on this subject from today's show.
It has been drafted in total secrecy with the help of liberal think tanks and Latino national interest groups such as the National Council of La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which as the Washington Post reported now have virtual veto power in the immigration debate. Some of these groups are notoriously racist and have openly called for revolution.
On Wednesday conservative web site redstate reported: [/align]

[/align]
[/align]

[/align]

[align=left] [align=center] [align=left] The issue boils down to whether Senate Republicans leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Conference Chairman Jon Kyl (Ariz.), will give Democrats a free pass to bring up the bill without ever giving Republicans a chance to review it. Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) is leading negotiations for the Democrats, and has so far negotiated a favorable deal for Democrats, according to sources close to the negotiations.
A motion to proceed is a procedural step to start debating the legislation. It would allow leadership to present a bill to the Senate with no time for senators to actually read the legislation.

[/align]
[/align]

[/align]
[align=left] [align=center] [align=left] â??There is concern among conservatives on the Hill that leadership will cave in on the motion to proceed on a bill that theyâ??ve never seen,â?� one senior Senate aide told me. â??Conservatives donâ??t want to do this because they donâ??t trust that the negotiators will produce a bill that will be satisfactory to conservatives.â?�
[/align]
[/align]

[/align]

[align=left] [align=center] [align=left] The legislation would grant undocumented workers who came into the country before January a permit to remain. They could then apply for a new, four-year "Z Visa," renewable indefinitely, as long as they pay a $5,000 fine, a $1,500 processing fee, show a clean work record and pass a criminal background check (even though they entered the US illegally, so are criminals).

The "Z visas" also pave the way for "chain immigration" allowing an immigrant to bring in relatives. Previously chain immigration was limited to immediate family members. New legislation will open it to include possibly more than 11 family members of any relation. Once those family members become resident they too will be able to bring in their extended families and so on.
Advocates of the bill are claiming that this can only happen in tandem with a total crackdown on border control. In other words before those immigrant-rights measures could go into effect, the government must deploy 18,000 new Border Patrol agents and four unmanned aerial vehicles; build 200 miles of vehicle barriers, 370 miles of fencing, and 70 ground-based radar and camera towers; provide funds for the detention of 27,500 illegal immigrants a day; and complete new identification tools to help employers screen out illegal job applicants.
Given that the government has not been able to build a simple fence in six years how is it going to be able to achieve all this within eighteen months? We have also seen in the past how "immigration control efforts" such as Real ID, boosting troops on the borders and building fences are simply smoke and mirrors behind which lie methods of control, outrageous elitist profiteering and the destruction of freedom.
This is not the first time the Bush administration has moved to aid the benefits of Mexicans illegally working working in the US. In 2005, the New York Times reported that the Bush administration had initiated a program to start paying hospitals and doctors for providing emergency care to illegal immigrants. Members of Congress from border states had sought the money, totaling $1 Billion. They said treatment of illegal immigrants imposed a huge financial burden on many hospitals, which are required to provide emergency care to patients who need it, regardless of their immigration status or ability to pay. The administration had previously abandoned a proposal that would have required many hospitals to ask patients if they were U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.
http://infowars.net/pictures/may2007/180507amnesty.jpg Add to this previous mainstream reports of banks and lenders opening their doors to illegal immigrants, facilitated by government agencies, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the FDIC is encouraging banks to lend and invest in undeserved markets regardless of customers' immigration status.
Given these facts why should anyone now believe that the real agenda is to create a system that is tough on illegal immigrants?
In 1986 Reagan announced an amnesty of one million illegals which ended up being between three and six million with the promise of tougher border control which never materialized. There are now officially twelve million illegals in the country, however this figure is universally thought to be flawed as it is based primarily on the national census, to which illegals are most likely not to partake in. Higher estimates put the figure at over twenty million, with three or four million a year now entering the US.
The new bill's authors "seem to think that they can dupe the American public into accepting a blanket amnesty if they just call it 'comprehensive' or 'earned legalization' or 'regularization,' "commented Rep. Tom Tancredo "The president is so desperate for a legacy and a domestic policy win that he is willing to sell out the American people and our national security."
â??It is unconscionable that with an issue of this magnitude and complexity that the Senate would proceed to legislation without any text available to review by senators,â?� another senior Senate source said.
[align=left]U.S. Senator DeMint commented "I hope we don't take a thousand page bill written in secret and try to ram it through the Senate in a few days. This is a very important issue for America and we need time to debate it." DeMint denounced the "Z visas" stating "This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don't care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty."
Indeed it is amnesty, but it seems this time it will be much much more as well.

The AP is reporting that the Santa Fe Police Department is considering the possibility of recruiting Mexican nationals to fill vacant police jobs. Current regulations prohibit non-citizens from serving as police officers, but as a total amnesty would legalize all illegals this problem would dissolve.
Law departments are arguing that they, like the armed forces, should be allowed to recruit foreign nationals into vacant positions.
The US armed forces has also seen an influx of foreign troops, an average of 20% of ground troops in Iraq are now non citizens, this is set to rise to 50% over the next year with foreign recruitment stations facilitating the supply.
There now exists a situation in the US where foreigners are being recruited to the armed forces and soon enough to law enforcement.
Add to all this the fact that there is a huge push for a North American Union underway, which is continuing apace in relative secrecy and without Congressional oversight. We have issued several reports, the latest here, covering the fact that a wide range of US administrative law is being re-written in stealth under this program to "integrate" and "harmonize" with administrative law in Mexico and Canada, just as has become commonplace within the EU.
As this issue has raged on and tensions have continued to mount we have also seen that 'Immigration Protests' are being used as a cover for a racist ethnic cleansing movement. The fallout of increased tensions could lead to rioting and may provide the perfect pretext to begin round-up and internment procedures that have been previously outlined in the REX 84 program and were cited in the recent Kellogg Brown and Root contract to construct detention camps which was given to them by Homeland Security.
Social, political and economic forces are pulling America apart and driving her toward a bloody conflict that may fracture and Balkanize the nation. The move to cement a legal force of underling workers that will do the dirty work for America while at the same time wiping out middle class opulence and sustainability is a direct avocation of a creation of a massive underclass of illegal, third world, uneducated and poor slaves. [/align]
This only serves to benefit one section of society, the elite.
We urge you to flood the switch boards of the Senate and Congress and vent anger at the fact that the latest immigration reforms are set to be passed without even being read. We ask you to demand to know why the legislation has been drafted in secret under the direct influence of foreign stakeholders. And we ask you to demand your Senators and Congressmen to halt this blind overhauling of American security and to restore the system of constitutional debate before it is too late.
202-225-3121 Congress Switchboard

202-224-3121 Senate Switchboard
Department of - Government Information

[/align]
[/align]

[/align]

Massive New Senate Amnesty Bill Uses "Big Lie" Technique Again [align=left] Donald A. Collins
Friday, May 18, 2007

On Tuesday, May 15, 2007, Grassfire's website has summarized a copy of a leaked plan for a new 'comprehensive immigration reform' proposal being developed behind closed doors by the Bush Administration and some Republicans in the Senate. Its dreary points confirm the same old, same old, only with greater cost and less likely scrutiny.[/align]
These open border Senators will sell us out in a New York minute and constantly keep hoping that by using the old Nazi propaganda expert Joseph Goebbels' technique of telling the Big Lie over and over that they can hornswoggle voters into thinking they have made a silk purse from a sow's ear.
They can't because you have heard all these tired, bad ideas (e.g. lies) before.

Examples from the Grassfire summary of the Bush plan, it calls the "Z" Amnesty Plan:
Provides guaranteed three-step path to citizenship for 12-20 million illegals.

Immediately creates a legal status for 12-20 million illegal aliens.

Allows current illegals to stay legally in our country indefinitely.

Does not require a "touch back" to obtain Z-visa (only for Green Card app).

Gives illegals healthcare/education benefits and back credit for Social Security wages.
Here are the Grassfire details, again simply hyping the same old song at more cost to American Citizens:
Key Points Of Bush's Proposal In More Detail
Z Visa for Illegals. Under the proposal being floated by the Bush Administration, a new classification of visas, the "Z Visa," would be created for all illegal aliens living in the United States at a certain point in time.

Instant Legalization for illegals. As a first step toward receiving the Z Visa, illegals would have 12 months to come "out of the shadows" and receive a probationary card, which in essence grants them transitionary legal status in the country. No "touchback" to home country required to obtain probationary card. It is unclear if they must pay fines or fees at this point.

After "Triggers", Z Visas Issued. After certain "triggers" are met (border security, fence, background check, etc), those with probationary cards would be issued "secure long-term Z visas." $2,000 fine and $1,500 fee due every three years. No "touchback" to home country required to obtain Z Visa.

Taxpayer-Funded Benefits. Z-visa holders are eligible for medical care and primary/secondary education. Illegals would also be eligible for SS wages for wages earned as illegal if they used their own SSN. No "touchback" to home country required to obtain benefits.

Long-Term Legal Status. Z visa holders can stay legally in our country on an indefinite basis as long as they re-up every three years for $3,500. No "touchback" to home country required to stay in country indefinitely under Z Visa.

Direct Path to Citizenship. Z visa holders would then be able to apply for a Green Card, paying a $2,000 fine and an $8,000 application fee. Head of household would then have to "touch back" to home country, with guaranteed re-entrance on Z-visa.
This latest effort levies heavy environmental, cultural, and economic costs, which are again being happily hoisted by these special interest power blocks on us citizens. These evil amnesty promoters know this and yet they rush ahead. We can only pray a few level heads like Senator Jeff Sessions can keep this from getting through. As a Democrat, I am clearly ready to vote in the future for anyone from either party or an independent who can show me promise of real reform, not these hackneyed regurgitations from the bellies of the greedy.
Folks, how long are we going to keep dogs like these in office? We have no choice on Bush, since no one has the guts to impeach him, but surely in the next cycle anyone who signs on to this amnesty band wagon should be voted out of office. The same greedy employers, some religious leaders and the ethnic lobbies are trying to change the will of the vast majority of American citizens who for years have asked for real reform and gotten bad legislation and lip service promises of reform. Disgusting.

Get Ready USA, Amnesty is on the Way [align=left]Craig Chamberlain
Conservative Voice
Friday May 18, 2007 [/align]
Here we are in the immediate aftermath of the attempted attack on Fort Dix, an attack that was being planned by men who immigrated illegally to the United States, and the Senate is getting ready to support another amnesty of illegal immigrants. This is just a much larger replay of the amnesty that was enacted in 1986. In that amnesty three million illegals were legalized, with false promises of a Democratic Congress to enact strict border security. Somehow they never got around to that part.
This time they want to legalize twelve million people who broke the law, and they give us more empty promises of border security. It is probably an inevitability that this becomes law. Senate Republicans will cave, vainly believing that something will actually be done on enforcement, and Congressional Democrats will gleefully open up the border to every criminal, terrorist, and parasite all to continue the balkanization of America and get themselves more votes.
Call it what you will, but I call it America's elected leaders selling out Americans. Apparently foreigners, esepecially foreigners that broke the law in coming here, are now more important than citizens. They violate immigration law, and usually they violate many other laws once they're here(don't believe the stories for one second that they are just honest hard working people looking for a better life. If that were true they would come into this country legally.) and we reward their criminal behavior. I can't see any other group of people getting a free pass on breaking the law. But since Democrats see votes in legalization, and Republicans see cheap labor they are williing to go for it. Maybe we can solve the overcrowding of American prisons the same way. Instead of arresting people we can legalize the criminals so long as they vote Democrat, and work cheaply for corporations. Why not? Once we've got the ball rolling why try to stop it?
Every year over one million people enter this country illegally. That is one million too many. Instead of rewarding the lawbreakers we must secure the border, first and only. We don't bother to assimilate our new arrivals any more. While it should come as no surprise that immigrants bring their old culture with them it should outrage us that they retain their old allegiances. For example, many Mexicans don't think of themselves as Americans who came from, or who can trace their ancestry to, Mexico. They just think of themselves as Mexicans who live in the United States with their loyalty to Mexico City and not to Washington. Muslims think of themselves as Muslims first. They are willing to take advantage of everything this country has to offer them, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and the right to vote, things they won't find in their own countries, but they are more loyal to Islam than to America. We give Mexicans( and other hispanics) bi lingual education, we let Muslim cab drivers refuse to pick up people who are carry alcohol, and give them seperate facilities.
This is Balkanization, where a person is more loyal to ethnicity, religion, or their old nationality, over the United States. There is no room for any flag but the American flag, no room for any loyalty but loyalty to the United States. We can't even bring ourselves to ask that immigrants learn English, is it any wonder that we can't get them to see America as their country?
What was once the melting pot has now become divide and conquer, and we have reached critical mass. Yet, Washington, led by President Bush(who should no better) is bound and determined to keep pushing things. America simply can't take any more of the worlds poor and huddled masses. We need a freeze on immigration to give us time to deal with the millions that are here, amnesty is not the way to do that. It will only invite more immigrants, most of whom will come illegally. Flaunting our laws and stealing the jobs of American citizens.
We can't afford amnesty. If there are any patriots left in Congress they need to remember that, and stop it before it's too late.