Posted on 12/17/2005 2:21:08 PM PST by arnoldpalmerfan
INVASION USA Tancredo wins round 1 to build Mexico fence House passes new border controls, with eye on deportations next year
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: December 17, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
Rep. Tom Tancredo WASHINGTON – It was a victory the once-obscure Colorado congressman savored yesterday.
When the House of Representatives passed a tough new border control bill last night, Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo was all smiles.
He led an often-lonely and sometimes seemingly hopeless fight not only against Democratic opponents but against his own party and his own president.
"Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill which strengthens our border security and begins to enforce immigration laws throughout the country," he said. "Over the last two days, reformers in the House have accomplished much: we have approved a security fence along our southern border, we have taken steps to end 'catch and release' nationwide, we have slashed funds to localities that shield illegal aliens, and we have gone after employers who attract illegal aliens to the U.S."
The House voted 239-182 to stem the tide of illegal immigration by taking steps to tighten border controls and stop unlawful immigrants from getting jobs. But lawmakers left for next year the tougher issue of what to do with between 11 million and 20 million illegal aliens already in the country.
The House legislation, billed as a border protection, anti-terrorism and illegal immigration control act, includes enlisting military and local law enforcement help in stopping illegal entrants and requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers. It authorizes the building of a fence along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
One measure that Republican leaders wouldn't allow a vote on was a volatile proposal to deny citizenship to babies born in this country to illegal immigrants.
The issue next moves to the Senate, where Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., says he will bring up immigration legislation in February that will provide a framework for guest worker ideas that some see as amnesty for lawbreakers.
President Bush has proposed that illegal aliens be allowed to get three-year work visas. They could extend those for an additional three years, but would then have to return to their home countries for a year to apply for a new work permit.
The House bill would beef up border security with the help of local law enforcement and military technology, impose tougher penalties for smuggling and re-entry, and end the "catch and release" policy for illegal non-Mexicans. It makes drunken driving convictions a deportable offense.
The bill makes unlawful presence in the United States, currently a civil offense, a felony. An amendment to reduce the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor was defeated, with many Democrats voting against the proposal because they did not want to make it a criminal offense at all.
The House bill would also require all employers in the country to submit Social Security numbers and other information to a national database to verify the legal status of workers.
"Some said that we couldn't do it, that businesses are too addicted to illegal labor, that the problem is too complex for Congress to tackle," said Tancredo, the chairman of the 92-member House Immigration Reform Caucus. "When it became clear that the American people's demand for reform was too loud to ignore, our political foes changed their arguments and hid their intentions behind new language. Suddenly, amnesty was a 'path to citizenship,' an 'earned legalization,' or 'comprehensive reform.' We passed comprehensive reform today: we penalized illegal alien employers and secured our borders."
Tancredo added: "The fact that Congress was forced to discuss immigration reform in itself is a victory for my allies. Such a victory has been years in the making, and credit is due to the millions of Americans who attended town halls, wrote letters to the editor, called talk radio shows, and even defended the border on their own. I thank them whole-heartedly for their efforts, and I am deeply honored by the support they have shown me and my congressional allies."
Just a year ago, Tancredo said he could count his allies in the House on two hands. But Republican lawmakers began to see just how critical the issue was to voters in their districts. A recent poll showed border security second only to the war in Iraq as a motivating issue for voters.
"Today we savor our victory, but tomorrow we must begin the fight to ensure our victory becomes reality," he said. "I am well aware that this is a three-round fight, and while this has been a good round, we haven't delivered the knockout punch. The open borders lobby and its cronies in the Senate will undoubtedly attempt to attach an amnesty to our reform bill. The American people know what the Senate's plan is, and they will bring political punishment to any official that favors it. No backdoor amnesty -- no matter what you call it -- will become law. Americans demand real reform now and, thankfully, they may get it."
Frankly, I think that Tom Tancredo is a loon. While protecting our border is fine (I'm much more concerned about the Canadian border than the Mexican one myself), I don't think it should be done at the expense of all immigration, which is what Tancredo wants. The best way to stop illegal immigration, in my opinion, is to increase the # of people allowed in the U.S. legally.
Agreed. This will never happen. But imagine the reactions from Lurch, Al-I, Nancy, Barbara, The Swimmer, The Beast, Stainman, Chuckie, Feingold, Al-II, Jessie, McLaime, Daschle, and Donner, and Dixon, and Prancer and... ?
1. Does anyone think this boondoggle will actually work?
2. How many of my tax$$$ are going to go to crooked contractors on this? And the maintenence for years every tiime some Mexican blows a hole in it.
3. I must admit, I used to think Tancredo was a yahoo. But, I was surprised that he's highly articulate and intelligent. But, this is just a "Let's DO Something!" boondoggle. I don't think the USA should be symbolized by barbed wire, even if it was workable.
Our scenic areas and historical battlefields are being destroyed for tacky housing developments. Traffic jams are growing problem in my area. As Daily pointed out in "Too Many Americans," our quality of life is being damaged by numbers.
We import legally Somalis, for example. I recommend that you read the book or watch the film "Black Hawk Down."
It's a waste of money to put up a fence when the NAFTA program was implemented to equalize the standard of living so they can merge all of the North American countries into one entity.
[b]Can you all say Amero $....?[/b]
Why do you think they have let all of the Mexicans in the US for? Every Friday they pay their Tote UR Note car lot a payment, buy a case of beer and send a Western Union MO to MX. This elevates the standard of living and the NAFTA bill sends all of our jobs to MX as well. They should be either catching or passing us soon.............
Well, then, let's just get out of the middle! Do something like an underground railroad to get them quickly from Mexico to Canada. After all, Canada is much more progressive, with government health care for all and cheaper drugs, so it's probably a better place for them to go to.
Congrats to Tancredo. Too bad we don't have more like him.""
AMEN
"Fine"? "Fine"? Accygirl - it sounds like you don't know too much about the subject but are spouting rehearsed lines.
Just for starters, we already legally allow in more than any other country and our cities and towns are bursting at the seams without adequate infrastructure.
As usual with you open border types, you haven't posted a state flag, so it's hard to tell if you have any idea of the diseases being brought to the Southwest United States. Thanks to Kennedy, Clinton, now Bush, and globalist people like you, not only have we lost most of our emergency rooms, we are dealing with dengue fever, leprosy, tb, and whooping cough outbreaks, among other things.
HOSPITAL TO THE WORLD WELCOMES ILLEGALS & CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
- Note the difference between legal and illegal immigration. Frankly, I have nothing against people from other countries who want to immigrate and work hard in the U.S. My ancestors were just those types of people, and I'm 100% sure that yours were as well.
- My main concerns with the border situation is A. terrorism and B. drug/ human trafficking. I have nothing against hardworking Mexicans who come to the U.S. to find jobs; in my opinion, they make this country a better place.
There are many good people among immigrants, and millions of good people would want to migrate to this country. The problems is numbers. This country already has too many people.
If this keeps up we'll end up a 3rd World country.
Let's hear some numbers. How many illegal aliens would you allow into the country? How many legal immigrants should be allowed yearly?
No need to read any further...
You're right, but my parents had to wait several years to be admitted into the United States, and they were escaping the horrors of Stalin and Hitler, not just seeking economic opportunity. In those days, there were quotas and we only absorbed what we could absorb. People had to be healthy to be admitted, have jobs (those old enough), sponsors, speak English well, know the Constitution, and so on. I have many relatives who weren't admitted because they (falsely) tested positive for TB.
Now, after the 1960s, almost anyone can come legally from almost any country. How many is too many? We already import more than our share, legally, plus we have an estimated 20 - 35 million here illegally. After the last five years of the rampant illegal alien invasion, yes, we may need to reassess the entire situation, legal and illegal. I know we don't have the roads, hospitals, or schools in AZ to support any more of this without becoming 3rd world.
http://www.cis.org/articles/1995/olg12-28-95.html
I would say we aren't exactly getting the cream of the crop anymore.
Forgot to ping you to post 37.
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