3 posts tagged “senate immigration bill”
Senator Jim Inhofe is the senior Senator from the State of Oklahoma. He is raising support against amnesty first then securing the border. This is indeed the best logical reasoning. This means of course the bill that President Bush and the Democratic Senate (led by Kennedy on this issue) must be vanquished as bad for American citizens.
This information was forwarded to me by a fellow Republican who received it from the Tulsa County Republican Women’s Club.
JRH
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Our club has been asked by Senator Jim Inhofe to send along an important and timely message. Senator Inhofe has just announced an online petition that asks the millions of Americans who feel strongly that we should enforce existing laws and not grant amnesty to illegal immigrants to sign and make their voice heard.
The website is www.SecureBordersNow.com.
Thank you for taking a moment to review this information. We hope you will take a moment to let your voice be heard on this important topic.
Sincerely,
Nancy Rothman, President
Republican Women's Club
Below is the announcement issued by Senator Inhofe's Office for your review.
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INHOFE ANNOUNCES ONLINE PETITION FOR AMERICANS TO SUPPORT BORDER SECURITY AND NO-AMNESTY IMMIGRATION REFORM
(JUNE 15, 2007) - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) today announced 'Secure Borders Now' (www.securebordersnow.com), a new website for Americans to urge the Senate to consider immigration reform that focuses on enforcing existing border security laws and opposition to amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
'Unfortunately it appears many in the Senate remain deaf to the voices of the American people, as yet another backroom deal has emerged designed to revive the fatally flawed immigration bill and its immediate path to amnesty. The 'Secure Borders Now' petition gives Americans an opportunity to voice their opposition. I hope my constituents and citizens from all across our country will take action, sign the petition and show how many Americans are strongly opposed to this bill.'
'Despite the promise of increased funding for border security and additional votes on a handful of amendments, the proposed legislation will continue to shortcut the current naturalization process and grant amnesty to 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants currently in our country. That is a trade off that I simply cannot support.
'The first step in any significant immigration legislation must be securing our borders and enforcing existing laws. It is unconscionable to make border security conditional on the guarantee of amnesty. Even with the promise of additional funding for border security, the Senate bill focuses far too much on controversial and irresponsible programs such as the 'Z-visa' (which I voted to eliminate), and far too little on ensuring that our borders are no longer porous.
'I have stated from the outset of this immigration debate that I will vehemently oppose any legislation that guarantees amnesty for illegal immigrants, unfairly burdens taxpayers or fails to secure our borders. 'It is time that we deal with real immigration reform beginning with border security. This is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvement of our immigration policy.'
On Tuesday, Senator Inhofe joined eight Senators in writing a letter to President Bush urging him to fulfill the border security provisions listed in the Senate immigration bill whether the legislation passes or not. Each border security trigger in the bill can be implemented under current law without any need for new legislation from Congress.
A Rasmussen Reports national phone survey conducted June 11 and 12, found that only 20 percent of voters wanted Congress to try and pass the Senate bill that failed last week. Sixty-nine percent favored an approach that focused 'exclusively on securing the border and reducing illegal immigration.'
***Paid for by Friends of Jim Inhofe***
Republican Womens Club | , | | OK | 74101
There seemed to be a round of agreement that the Senate legislation on immigration was dead last week. I have come to find out from Newt Gingrich that is not the case. Apparently President George W. Bush in an ever increasing bolt from those who elected him is going to utilize political strong arm tactics in an attempt to push the outrageous immigration bill through the Senate.
It is mobilize the Conservative Forces time and do what I thought would be unthinkable: Oppose the Presidential wishes toward the Senate!
The below essay was actually posted to Blind Conservatives by CD. It appears this has been forwarded a few times thus by the time I received it from Blind Conservatives the formatting was off.
I have performed a little guess work and spell check to make it readable for my posting. The author Rebecca Hagelin is the Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the Heritage Foundation. You can you read her bio and the publications she has written for HERE.
I am sure many of you have probably become aware of the deceptiveness of the Immigration legislation compromised in the Senate and supported by President Bush. For me though it is just now coming to light; therefore I am posting this Hagelin essay that portrays the Heritage Foundation view of the illegal immigration Bill.
JRH
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Blind Conservative Email Post
By CD
Here is something that should be read by all Americans.
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 8:46 PM
Subject: Secret Immigration Deal
Ripping the Lid off a Secret Immigration Deal
By Rebecca Hagelin
Friday, May 25, 2007
I've never been more proud to work at The Heritage Foundation than I was this past Monday.
I was seated at a conference table with 31 of the brightest, most analytical and highly principled people I've ever known as we dissected and analyzed various ripple effects of the Senate’s devastating immigration-reform proposal.
After spending an entire weekend digging through a document that had remained secret for so long, Heritage was further scrutinizing it -- and doing what many in the U.S. Senate refused to do: Reveal the truth.
Heritage received the “secret” text -- one that would fundamentally change the American landscape -- around two 0’clock in the morning on Saturday.
Within hours it was posted online at heritage.org
fo.org/Research/Immigration/2007legislation.cfm.
The next day, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., mentioned this on the Senate floor:
“For the sake of open deliberation and public education, The Heritage Foundation, which got a copy of the bill somehow, is making this legislation, in draft form, publicly available to encourage widespread debate and discussion.
Thank goodness they did make it public: It’s an opportunity, really, for the American people to know what’s involved.”
The document had been developed behind closed doors -- away from public scrutiny. It was crafted far from the eyes of ordinary Americans. Once Heritage experts read the drafts, it became painfully clear that our government is considering a measure that would provide amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants and create multiple problems for how we deal with those pouring over the border in the future.
Heritage experts crunched numbers throughout the weekend, weighing the cost both in dollars and in what it would mean to sacrifice the rule of law.
We provided analysis through blogging on heritage.org and through columns to sites such as National Review Online, where Heritage constitutional scholar Matthew Spalding built a devastating case for why the measure amounted to amnesty (see website, below).
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2RhMmFlMzhjNTc1NjNiMDE1NTI1ZDI3ZGJmY2IzNmM
Again, Heritage did what the Senate failed to do: Inform the public.
But Heritage didn’t stop there. My colleagues continued to scrutinize every line of the bill, researched past proposals, and discussed alternative measures, churned out documents on the many problems of the legislation and how to solve them. (See website, below)
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/misc/index.cfm
Granting amnesty to illegal immigrants will eventually make them eligible for welfare, Social Security, Medicare and other government benefits.
Senior research fellow Robert Rector gave a preliminary estimate of the cost of amnesty to the taxpayer -- a whopping $400,000 per person over the average lifespan and age of entry for the illegal immigrant. Rector called the bill “a blank check to illegal immigrants written at taxpayer expense.” Again, Heritage did something the Senate refused to do: Think critically.
One of the many tragic results of this bill is that people will begin to flood over the border in numbers yet unseen in this country to register for the probationary period. An illegal immigrant needs only two affidavits (one of which can be from a family member) stating that he or she has been here and illegally working before January of this year. Any alien now in custody for entering the country illegally, or anyone caught crossing the border, will actually be offered the opportunity to fill out the paperwork to be put on the road to the entire package of U.S. benefits. Some 12 million people are estimated to take this first step to becoming a protected member of the United States on some level. They will immediately be able to enjoy free emergency health care, free public education and free welfare programs for children.
Another tragedy is the bogus background check. The federal government has only 24 hours to produce criminal records for probationary applicants before the protection status is granted. Just 24 hours! In many cases, it takes longer than that for a background check when a U.S. Citizen is arrested. Suppose three or five or 10 days later, a prior conviction is discovered? Too bad. That person is long gone, with a protection card in hand.
Perhaps this helps explain the secrecy that surrounded this bill – at least, until Heritage got a hold of it. According to Rector, “Any illegal immigrant during the next two years who enters the country and claims amnesty cannot be arrested, detained or deported. It’s essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card for future illegal immigrants.”
Our discussion around the table kept referring back to a previously written Heritage paper on principles of immigration reform (see website, below).
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/bg2034.cfm
Government must be founded on core principles. When it isn’t, matters can spiral out of control easily. In demanding that the Senate act on core principles, Heritage did what the Senate has neglected to do in writing the immigration bill: Use principles as a foundation for policy.
“First Principles” is a rally cry often heard at Heritage’s headquarters.
We’ll continue insisting on them -- and you can rest assured that we’ll keep you apprised of the latest developments in the immigration debate.
