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NEWS RELEASE: Governor Jon S. Corzine June 28, 2007 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Press Office - 609-777-2600 GOVERNOR CORZINE'S STATEMENT ON THE FAILURE OF THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL I am very disappointed to learn that Congress will not be able to complete its work on much needed comprehensive immigration reform. We are a nation of immigrants and we should be proud of our country’s tradition and roots. I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to earned citizenship and a process that encourages and promotes self-sufficiency and enables our immigrant population to continue contributing fully to our society....

As South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint stood in the well of the Senate on Wednesday morning, he uttered the now famous line: “Our phones have been ringing off the hooks, e-mails, letters. People are trying to get in touch with us. Even now they’re calling in such numbers that it’s crashed the telephone system here in the Senate. My question to the Senate today is: What part of “no” don’t we understand?” Outraged Americans were calling by the thousands, emails were pouring in from all corners of the country and to any and every address that ended in “.gov.” Meanwhile...

Immigration reform is dead. But before conservatives who killed this bill start popping champagne corks, they ought to consider the following. Our borders will be less secure, not more. Employers who want to do the right thing and only hire legal workers won't have the tools to do so. The 12 million illegal aliens who are here now will continue to live in the shadows, making them less likely to cooperate with law enforcement to report crimes and less likely to pay their full share of taxes. In other words, the mess we created by an outdated and ill-conceived immigration...

'THE IMPACT of immigration — legal and illegal — on jobs, schools, healthcare, the environment, national security, are all very serious problems," insists Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), a man famed for his extreme anti-immigration views. "But more serious than all of them put together is this threat to the culture. I believe we are in a clash of civilizations." Tancredo's right about that last bit. We are in a clash of civilizations — and someday, immigrant culture may even displace some aspects of American culture. We'd better hope so. Americans? We're fat, decadent and getting dumber all the time. Our...

The Senate majority that voted yesterday to crush what is almost certainly the last opportunity to fix America's broken immigration system for at least two years was responding to constituents with unreasonable expectations. Flogged into a fury by talk-show agitators and Internet provocateurs, thousands of people called, wrote and e-mailed their senators to protest legislation they believed would do nothing to stop the flow of illegal entry into this country, would forgive millions of illegals already here and would burden taxpayers with the cost to schools and health care. No one is going to round up 12 million people here...

In case you are still trying to figure out who really supports the legalization of illegal immigration and amnesty for invaders, 40 of the 64 are Democrats and the other 24 are Republicrats. Note that four Democrat traitors and three Republicrat traitors hope to be elected President in 2008… (snip) The seven on this list who want to be president, should soon collide with an abrupt end to their fantasy bid to lead this country into an era of One World Order in some North American Union under international democratic socialism. The rest will come up for re-election sooner or...

Immigrants and their supporters reacted with anger and disappointment Thursday to a vote that derailed legislation in the U.S. Senate aimed at legalizing millions of undocumented migrants. ''This is the worst news I've received all day,'' said Ignacio Caravantes, a landscaper who lives in Florida City with his wife Araceli and four of their seven children -- all undocumented migrants from Michoacán, a state in central Mexico. ``We were hoping that at least they would have voted to continue debate. That at least would have given us some hope for the future. Now, who knows what's going to happen?'' But...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jun 28, 2007 TODAY'S VOTE A SETBACK, NOT THE END, FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., expressed deep disappointment with today’s vote to end Senate consideration of comprehensive immigration reform. “Today’s action is a victory for the status quo, and no one should be happy about that. But the Senate vote is a setback, not the death knell, for comprehensive immigration reform. We are not giving up on getting a real, effective, and fair solution to the...

Scott Rasmussen’s first law of politics is that America’s politicians aren’t nearly as important as they think they are. That law was clearly demonstrated earlier today when the United States Senate finally surrendered to the American people on immigration. Politicians may make things messy for a while, but over the long haul it is the American people who determine the nation’s fundamental policies. The final Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll before the vote found that just 22% of Americans supported the legislation. No amount of Presidential persuasion, Senate logrolling, and procedural tricks was able to overcome that solid bi-partisan lack...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - For day laborers seeking work in a sun-baked parking lot on Thursday, defeat of U.S. President George W. Bush's plans for an immigration overhaul has set back their dreams of a normal life. The bill, which sought to give legal status to many of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, failed to get enough support in a make-or-break vote in the U.S. Senate. Workers standing around in searing heat outside a building materials store in Phoenix said hopes of an aboveboard life in this country of immigrants had crashed following news of the...

La Mesa, CA. -By a vote of 46 to 53, the U.S. Senate voted today not to proceed with debate on legislation providing amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants presently living in the United States. Following the Senate's vote, Presidential Candidate and U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) made the following statement: "From the very beginning of the immigration debate, the American people were clear in their strong opposition to granting amnesty to more than 12 million illegal immigrants. While this flawed piece of legislation should never have been considered in the first place, I commend my colleagues in the Senate...

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico reacted sourly to news of the Senate's rejection of the proposed immigration law overhaul, calling the senators' action "a grave error." "It's a grave mistake first because it's a problem that's not being confronted, and with this evasive action the U.S. Senate is making it worse," Calderon told reporters in Mexico City during a joint news conference with President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, who is finishing a two-day visit to the Mexican capital. "Secondly, because to close the door on legal immigration, the only thing the Senate does is open the door to illegal immigration"...

As the debate over illegal immigration from Mexico rages in Washington and across the country, and as the administration's reform bill hangs by a thread, few Americans are aware that this problem will automatically decline and eventually become a vague memory. There has been a stunning decline in the fertility rate in Mexico, which means that, in a few years there will not be many teenagers in Mexico looking for work in the United States or anywhere else. If this trend in the fertility rate continues, Mexico will resemble Japan and Italy - rapidly aging populations with too few young...

An 18-Vote Swing Away From Washington Power, Toward the American People All members of the Winning the Future movement and Americans everywhere who called or wrote their senators to express opposition to the disastrous immigration bill deserve thanks today. In a soaring victory for the American people, just hours ago the Senate voted 46 to 53 to kill the bill -- a full 14 votes short of what the bill's supporters needed to stop a filibuster. This represents an historic 18-vote loss of support for the Bush-Kennedy-McCain bill from the vote held last Tuesday. A Major Step Toward Defining What...

Today I voted against moving the immigration bill forward. It became increasingly clear that there were still too many problems with this bill and not enough time to correct them. Throughout this debate, the American people did not trust that the Congress or the President had the resolve to secure the border. In the end, their suspicions rang true, as we were unable vote on amendments to strengthen the border and workplace enforcement mechanisms, as well as ending the practice of so called “sanctuary cities”. From the beginning, this bill was hastily put together; it skipped the committee process, and...

Hannity is discussing the immigration bill with some lady from California. Apparently she heard on one of the Hispanic oriented radio stations that the illegals are infuriated at the vote and are planning a march - and they are warning that violence could ensue.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Opponents effectively killed President Bush's long-fought and emotion-laden Senate immigration bill Thursday when members voted against advancing the controversial legislation. The tally was 46 to 53, 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate. The president, who visited the Capitol this month to push hard for overhauling the nation's immigration laws, delivered a brief statement shortly after the vote saying he was "sorry" Congress could not reach agreement, calling its "failure to act" a "disappointment." (Watch Bush explain why he was disappointed by the vote ) "Congress really needs to prove to the American people...

With his caucus bitterly divided and the Senate descending into procedural warfare, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) stayed away from the Senate floor as the most sweeping overhaul of immigration laws in 21 years hung in the balance. Facing the biggest challenge of his leadership tenure, McConnell has largely chosen to work behind the scenes and instead allow a bloc of conservatives to spar with Republican supporters of the bill. Conservatives also railed all day on the process used by Senate leaders to bring the bill to the floor. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democrats wasted no...

The comprehensive immigration reform bill that has dodged attacks from the left and right for weeks, survived “poison pill” amendments, and was once pulled from the Senate schedule failed its most important test Thursday. Passage of the legislation now appears unlikely. The bipartisan coalition that had shepherded the measure through so many obstacles failed to get the 60 votes necessary to end debate. The final vote was 46-53 Until Thursday morning, it was unclear whether the bill would survive the cloture vote. But in the end, opponents of the measure from both sides of the political spectrum gained enough support...

A cloture vote on the mis-named Bill to Provide for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (a long but must read for every modern American patriot) went down to resounding defeat on the senate floor this morning. God bless those Americans who believe that representative government still takes precedence over bread and circuses (Paris Hilton is unveiling a new clothing line, don’tcha know?). Those modern American patriots who expended the time and effort to let their views be known have succeeded in derailing a bill that would have eventually spelled the death of our beloved republic, and dealt a major blow to...

Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) made the following statement after the Senate immigration bill was defeated on a cloture vote of 46-53. This motion to end debate required 60 votes for adoption. “When the U.S. Senate brought the Amnesty bill back up this week, they declared war on the American people. This act created a crisis of confidence in their government. Thankfully, the American people won today,” said Senator DeMint. “This is remarkable because it shows that Americans are engaged and they care deeply about their country. They care enough for their country to get mad and to...

FINAL ROLL CALL: 46-53. RINOS: Graham (R-SC), Gregg (R-NH), Hagel (R-NE), Kyl (R-AZ), Lott (R-MS), Lugar (R-IN), Martinez (R-FL),McCain (R-AZ), Snowe (R-ME), and Specter (R-PA). Hats off to the Dems who voted agains this crap: Bayh (D-IN), Bingaman (D-NM), Brown (D-OH), Byrd (D-WV), Dorgan (D-ND), Harkin (D-IA), Landrieu (D-LA), McCaskill (D-MO), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Rockefeller (D-WV), Sanders (I-VT), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT) and Webb (D-VA). It should be noted that the following Republicans switched their vote for “Yea” to “Na” from the bill earlier in the week. They include: Bennett (R-UT), Bond (R-MO), Brownback (R-KS), Burr (R-NC), Coleman (R-MN),...

WASHINGTON - 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. Senators in both parties said the issue is so volatile that Congress is highly unlikely to revisit it this fall or next year, when the presidential...

I just received the following e-mail from the National Republican Congressional Committee. It seems they have seen the light and are living under the cross, at least for now. NRCC Supporters Rep. Tom Cole, MC Chairman, National Republican Congressional Committee House GOP Firmly Against Senate Immigration Bill June 28, 2007 Late Tuesday night, the House Republicans sent a strong message to America that it will stand firmly against the comprehensive immigration legislation currently proposed in the U.S. Senate. The House Republican Conference voted overwhelmingly to express disapproval of the Senate's bill. I wanted you to be one of the first...

WASHINGTON - The Senate defeated attempts Wednesday to make the immigration bill tougher on people who are in the U.S. unlawfully, including a Republican bid to bar illegal immigrants from getting green cards. Senators voted 56-41 to set aside the amendment by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., which would have destroyed a central element of the bill granting millions of illegal immigrants an eventual path to citizenship. Earlier, the Senate killed, by a 53-45 vote, a proposal by Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, to require that all adult illegal immigrants go home within two years to get permanent lawful status. The current...

The White House obscures the cost of low skill immigrants. The White House report asserted that Heritage Foundation research on low skill immigrants is flawed because it lacks a "forward looking projection." The Council of Economic Advisers stated that, from the 'long-run point of view," low skill immigrants are remarkably inexpensive: Each immigrant without a high school degree costs the taxpayer a mere $13,000 overall. The CEA failed to note that its "long-run point of view" includes the estimated taxes paid by the low skill immigrants' descendents for the next 300 years. In other words, the White House is asserting...

We WON

REP. HUNTER HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES JUNE 14, 2007 SPEAKER: REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, R-CALIF. (JOINED IN PROGRESS) HUNTER: And if it should make it through the U.S. Senate, once again, the people's house, the House of Representatives, hopefully will stop this bill. QUESTION: I have a question on the funding, this $4.4 billion, the Kyl-Graham amendment that funds security at the border by using fines and fees gathered by illegals inside the country. Is that -- do you think that's maybe fuzzy math or... HUNTER: Well, first I think it is fuzzy math because it obviously doesn't --...

The bitter fight over a comprehensive immigration overhaul has pushed President Bush and his fellow Republicans to the brink of divorce -- and, for the first time, the opportunities for reconciliation appear severely limited. House leaders played down the friction Wednesday, but Republicans have predicted a showdown with the White House over immigration since Democrats took control of Congress last fall. And that longstanding tension spilled out Tuesday when GOP lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to reject the Senate -- and, by turns, the White House -- immigration overhaul. This immigration fight marks yet another low ebb for the White House, and...

As an everyday citizen of the United States, what are your realistic options when you believe your country to be in a death spiral from which it almost assuredly won’t recover? If you are an American who still deeply believes in the promise of our republic, how can you fight back against those from within, intent on destroying everything you hold sacred by subverting traditional family values, western civilization, national security, and just plain commonsense? Shockingly, maybe you can’t. I’m told it’s basically too late to save the nation that represents the last best hope for mankind. Six months ago,...

WASHINGTON — The fragile immigration reform bill crafted in the Senate faces sudden death Thursday when a second vote is scheduled to shut down a filibuster. If supporters don't get the 60 votes they need to end debate, then the bill is dead since the Senate schedule does not allow any more time to revive the legislation. In an unusual admission, two leadership aides — one Democrat, one Republican — told FOX News that they have no idea how the vote will go. Vote-counting is something that is normally down to a science in the Senate chamber. The vote to...

Proponents of the Senate immigration bill were unable to block an amendment Wednesday on identification requirements, casting doubt on whether the overall measure will clear a crucial test vote set for Thursday morning. The bill survived its first cloture motion Tuesday by a vote of 64 to 35. Only five senators would need to change their position for the bill to collapse Thursday. It just so happens that four senators who voted Tuesday to move the bill forward have since seen the Senate reject their amendments, potentially moving some of them into the “no” column. The list includes Sen. Kit...

MIDLAND — Late last spring, Republicans in this West Texas oil town called for a boycott of Doña Anita's Mexican restaurant, a retaliatory step against its owner, Luz Reyes, for closing shop and showing up at a rally against proposed new penalties for illegal immigrants. But President Bush's three best friends in Midland defied the boycott and went to the restaurant, Bush's favorite when he lived there. One of them, the president's close confidant and former commerce secretary Donald Evans, told Reyes, "Luz, you didn't do anything wrong. We love you." As a congressional candidate in Midland in 1978, George...

No, I don't know the details of the immigration bill. I don't need to. And neither do you. And you need to realize that people who want to drag you into the details are hoping to confuse you with crap. You need to realize that your congressman and your senator may -- just like your president -- be trying to pull the wool over your eyes. They are attacking talk radio and conservatives, saying that critics of their immigration bill are simplistic. They throw around words like "xenophobic" and "racist." Don't let them fool you. This issue is actually very...

In 1993, America was overwhelmed by millions of aliens who defied our borders and immigration laws and came here unlawfully. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid United States Senate Washington, D.C. Dear Majority Leader Reid: In 1993, America was overwhelmed by millions of aliens who defied our borders and immigration laws and came here unlawfully. As a responsible steward of the United States Constitution and a dedicated patriot at the time, on August 5, 1993 you released the following statement to the floor of the U.S. Senate to the address the illegal alien crisis: “In response to increased terrorism and abuse...

ON TOUCHBACK: Not every illegal alien will have to return to the home country . As the talking point notes, only the head of the household will have to. Additionally, this creates a special path for illegal aliens, one that legal aliens who want to come do not get to participate in. So those aliens who have followed and respected the law are treated more harshly than those who have broken the law. Finally, the amendment allows the Secretary of State to direct any consulate to accept a Z applicant's application if the alien's home country is "not contiguous to...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce leaders are among those singing President Bush’s tune on immigrant amnesty. They propose an immigration reform plan propped up by four pillars. One pillar proposes to increase border security, which echoes the twice-failed bill being debated in Washington. They want illegal alien workers as well as carefully screened immigrants permitted to work and reside in America. This will allow law enforcement to focus their resources on criminals and terrorists. Most Americans have agreed on securing the borders for many years, even after Congress opened them to all aliens whether criminal or not. Since 9/11 and 12...

Okay, I just got home and started to watch the "debate" on CSPAN-2....it appears to ME that Harry Reid, once he got the 60 votes for cloture, has now gone on a mission to table many of the anti-amnesty amendments. He appears to be able to do that with only 51 votes. So the "promise" to "consider" several amendments was a bald-faced lie, was it not? Isn't he now "considering" it in his mind...then voting for a TABLE of the amendment--not even allowing these amendments to come up for a VOTE?!?Someone wiser in the details and parliamentary procedures...please help me...

Yesterday, 64 United States Senators – including two of my opponents for the Republican presidential nomination, Sam Brownback and John McCain -- voted to move the Bush-Kennedy-McCain Amnesty bill forward. When those 64 Senators cast their “aye” votes, they betrayed the trust of the American people and the security of the United States. It really is that simple! I am absolutely disgusted at the arrogance of those Senators who freely disregard the will of the American people by their support of massive amnesty for illegal aliens. They have willfully ignored the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty bill, in order to...

Dean Applauds Immigration Vote in Senate *** ENGLISH AND SPANISH VERSIONS INCLUDED BELOW *** Dean Elogia Voto Sobre Reforma Migratoria en el Senado Howard Dean, Presidente del Comité Nacional Demócrata, emitió la siguiente declaración luego del voto en el Senado que permitió seguir adelante con el proyecto de ley para la reforma integral del sistema de inmigración. En su mensaje, Dean reafirmó el apoyo del Partido Demócrata por una reforma integral que restaure el orden en la frontera, proteja a los trabajadores y a sus sueldos, deje de dividir a las familias, y que permita que inmigrantes trabajadores que paguen...

Despite a valiant effort, the power of conservative talk radio was no match for the White House, the Republican and Democratic Parties, and the major media. The Senate on Tuesday voted to revive the illegal alien amnesty bill by a vote of 64 to 35. Senate leaders are pushing for a final vote of approval by Friday. One reason for the outcome was the propagandistic ability of supporters of the bill, such as Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post, to frame the debate in terms of a “solution” to the immigration problem?the Senate bill?versus rounding up illegals and deporting them...

From a Different Irritated but Fighting Hard GOP Senate Aide [Kathryn Jean Lopez] The Grand Bargainers are playing "hide the ball." We are not seeing language - they are trying to move this thing through without allowing full review and debate. 373 pages thrown together yesterday - AND AILA, a liberal advocacy group, gets to see it before fellow Republicans? What a slap in the face... Now - the Grand Bargainers are trying to roll through "tabling votes" to make some attempt to show strength in support of / or in opposition to various amendments to keep their deal "cobbled...

From a Different Irritated but Fighting Hard GOP Senate Aide...The Grand Bargainers are playing "hide the ball." We are not seeing language - they are trying to move this thing through without allowing full review and debate. 373 pages thrown together yesterday - AND AILA, a liberal advocacy group, gets to see it before fellow Republicans? What a slap in the face... Now - the Grand Bargainers are trying to roll through "tabling votes" to make some attempt to show strength in support of / or in opposition to various amendments to keep their deal "cobbled together." When we get...

WASHINGTON - 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. The vote was 53-45 to table an amendment by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, that was one of several proposals designed to respond to conservatives who decry President Bush's immigration bill as a form of amnesty. The bill could grant lawful status to as many as 12 million illegal immigrants as long as they passed background checks and paid fines and fees. Heads of household seeking permanent legal residency...

There is no nice way to describe what happened yesterday in the Senate...which failed the American people on the most critical border-security vote... a set of amendments... to give senators plenty of political cover: They can vote for a bill replete with provisions that undermine our defenses against criminal and terrorist aliens and set the stage for an explosion of the welfare state and massive tax increases in the decades ahead, while approving a couple of amendments in order to give senators political cover. These amendments will either be defeated on the Senate floor (or stripped from the bill in...

Senate Sausage [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Brian Darling, director of Senate relations at the Heritage Foundation, e-mails: Someone once said not to watch how sausage or legislation are made. Today especially I prefer to be at the sausage factory. As if the Senate floor situation could get any worse, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's staff is now rewriting the Clay Pigeon amendment behind closed doors. It is the intent of the Majority Leader to bring this new unread Amendment up without the Republicans seeing the language. Yesterday Senator Reid did not have his massive 373 page amendment ready when he started...

Senate backers of an immigration overhaul kept the bill alive Tuesday, setting up debate and votes likely to determine the fate of the legislation in the 110th Congress. But even after losing a key procedural vote, opponents of the bill refused to go away quietly, stalling consideration of a series of amendments by insisting the clerk read aloud a 373-page amendment... And, despite the best efforts of the opponents, that vote is coming soon... But Reid couldn’t neutralize the bill’s opponents altogether. When he made the routine motion to waive the reading of the amendment, DeMint objected. So Kathleen Alvarez,...

Monday's column from the Administration's Karl Zinsmeister and Edward Lazear ("Lead Weight or Gold Mine: What are the True Costs of Immigration?" June 25, RCP) is a study in misdirection and misstatement. Since they devote much of their piece to attacking my research, I'd like to set the record straight. Let's start with a brief review of what my research into the fiscal cost of low-skill households has actually found: * Low-skill individuals (i.e., those without a high school degree) receive far more in benefits and services than they pay in taxes. * The net fiscal cost of the families...

​ ​​​​ WASHINGTON — Even as the Senate voted Tuesday to restart the stalled debate on immigration legislation, Democratic support for the bill appeared to be slipping, and could jeopardize it as much as fierce Republican opposition does. A handful of Democrats who could be crucial to the bill's fate, including California's Barbara Boxer, remains undecided. And Tuesday, five Democrats who welcomed debate on the issue a month ago switched position and voted to oppose further discussion of the bill. The 64-35 procedural vote to move to a debate — four more votes than the required 60 — resuscitated the...

WASHINGTON - President Bush, short on political capital and time, is devoting much of what's left of his term in office to getting an immigration deal. Starting with an April 9 speech in Arizona, in which he talked tough about border security and prodded Congress to get moving, Bush has staged a dozen immigration events. That's not counting his four radio addresses on the topic in that time, or his phone calls to lawmakers, or his bold prediction that he'd see reporters at the bill-signing for a bill that seemed dead. His agenda reflects that immigration is a White House...