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GOP Chiefs Don't Want Immigrants Charged [losing their spine - Hastert, Frist...]
Yahoo ^

Posted on 04/11/2006 4:43:58 PM PDT by Sub-Driver

GOP Chiefs Don't Want Immigrants Charged

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 29 minutes ago

The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal aliens to prosecution as felons.

A written statement by Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, did not say whether they would seek legislation subjecting illegal immigrants to misdemeanor prosecution or possibly a civil penalty such as a fine.

"It remains our intent to produce a strong border security bill that will not make unlawful presence in the United States a felony," the two men said. An estimated 11 million men, women and children are in the United States illegally.

The Republican-controlled House passed legislation late last year that is generally limited to border security measures. It makes illegal immigrants subject to felony prosecution.

Senate efforts to write a broader bill — covering border security, a guest worker program and a path to citizenship for many of the 11 million in the country illegally — are gridlocked with lawmakers on a two-week vacation.

Frist has said he intends to bring the issue back to the Senate floor, although he stopped short of a flat commitment and the prospects for passage of an election-year immigration bill are uncertain.

The late-afternoon statement by the top GOP leaders in both houses came after days of large street demonstrations by protestors opposed to criminal penalties for illegal immigrants.

Additionally, in a Washington Post-ABC News poll published during the day, only 20 percent of those questioned said they favored declaring illegal immigrants to be felons

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 109th; aliens; coddlingillegals; firefirst; firefrist; firehastert; folded; forcheaplabor; frist; hastert; screwedbytherinos; sellingoutamerica; soldoutcheap
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To: Sub-Driver

The Republican Party is bound to call for a donation.

When I'm done with the caller, they'll never call back.

Never.


141 posted on 04/12/2006 2:29:27 AM PDT by Pete'sWife (Dirt is for racing... asphalt is for getting there.)
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To: Wormwood

Hey, as the saying goes, I haven't the GOP, they left me!


142 posted on 04/12/2006 3:47:32 AM PDT by pctech
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To: Don Joe
I see your point but still the felony charge is ridiculous. You want an immigration bill that finally will close the border? It won't contain that. The politicians will never pass it because it will be unenforceable in all practical terms. We're talking about 20 million felons, lots of them children. You gonna put them all in jail (which is already overcrowded), build new childrens' jails and wait for 20 million court cases over the next century?

Whatever legislation we pass needs to:
1- close the border now.
2- make jobs impossible to get without real ID.
3- make benefits impossible to get without real ID.
4- make hiring illegals more expensive than hiring Americans (hefty fines).
5- provide an expedited, streamlined deportation process.

143 posted on 04/12/2006 5:11:31 AM PDT by Sender ("You have no idea how far I'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer)
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To: Sender; Sub-Driver
I see your point but still the felony charge is ridiculous. You want an immigration bill that finally will close the border? It won't contain that. The politicians will never pass it because it will be unenforceable in all practical terms. We're talking about 20 million felons, lots of them children. You gonna put them all in jail (which is already overcrowded), build new childrens' jails and wait for 20 million court cases over the next century? Ah, so you're an AllOrNothinger, eh?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Can't handle ALL of them at once?

Well, I tell you what. Just handle the ones you CAN handle, OK? Why must it be ALL or NONE?

What BOGUS "logic"!

Reminds of of a line from that movie where Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder are hauled before the judge, who hands down some hard-time sentence, like maybe 20 years or so. Pryor has a fit, says Twenty years? I can't do twenty years! There's NO way I can possibly do THAT much time!

The judge replies, oh, you can't do that much time? Pryor says No, your honor, I just can't do it! The judge answers, Well then, I tell you what. You just do as much of it as you can. He then bangs his gavel and they get hauled off to the pokey.

See the parallel?

"We can't handle TWENTY MILLION of them!" LOL

144 posted on 04/12/2006 5:28:35 AM PDT by Don Joe (We've traded the Rule of Law for the Law of Rule.)
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PS:

It hardly matters what "I want", or what you want, or what any of us want. We're gonna get what THEY want. It's THEIR store, we only pay their wages!

And as to the "problems" you forsee with enforcing felony charges, LOL! It wouldn't be any harder than enforcing the CURRENT laws! (In other words, they won't enforce it, so who CARES what it says?)


145 posted on 04/12/2006 5:30:54 AM PDT by Don Joe (We've traded the Rule of Law for the Law of Rule.)
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To: Don Joe; Auntie Dem
Reading all these stories about illegals who are actually committing crimes, other than just being here, well I see where you're coming from.

Even if the ARE felons though, I don't want them here in our prisons...I want them OUT. They can be felons in some other country. IMHO.

146 posted on 04/12/2006 5:30:56 AM PDT by Sender ("You have no idea how far I'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer)
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To: Halgr

See above (my two prior posts)


147 posted on 04/12/2006 5:32:23 AM PDT by Don Joe (We've traded the Rule of Law for the Law of Rule.)
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To: SeaBiscuit
Do the Spineless Ones propose to issue a blanket amnesty for all the rest of us who may have fractured a few of these laws, or are we held to a different standard than the average criminal alien?"

There's still time for us all to hurry down to Mexico, and then enter the USA illegally. Once here, we can get fraudulent docs proving we've BEEN here all along.

Don't you just LOVE it when the lunatics are running the nuthouse?

148 posted on 04/12/2006 5:34:23 AM PDT by Don Joe (We've traded the Rule of Law for the Law of Rule.)
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To: Don Joe
And as to the "problems" you forsee with enforcing felony charges, LOL! It wouldn't be any harder than enforcing the CURRENT laws! (In other words, they won't enforce it, so who CARES what it says?)

Well I for one care what is says, because a feel-good law that won't be enforced is worse than doing nothing.

149 posted on 04/12/2006 5:36:54 AM PDT by Sender ("You have no idea how far I'm willing to go to acquire your cooperation." - Jack Bauer)
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Comment #150 Removed by Moderator

Comment #151 Removed by Moderator

To: Sender
Illegals should not necessarily be felons. Felonies are for people who kill and rape. If they kill or rape, then so be it.

If somebody breaks into your house, should that be a simple misdemeanor? After all, as long as they don't kill or rape in your house, what's the damage done?

The solution is to deny all benefits to illegals. No job, no school, no in-state tuition, no emergency room. Nothing for you here. Move along back home.

That will never happen in a million years, not with today's GOP.

When the pols have the spine to deny jobs to illegals, the problem will take care of itself.

Again, with the way campaign financing, donations, lobbying, etc., are these days, that won't happen either, because the pols don't want to piss off the big donors.

I'm not much of a "compassionate conservative" I guess. I can't live up to the President and Congressional leader's "compassionate" viewpoints about the people invading our country. I guess it's having to cope with having 10s of thousands of dollars of property damage done to our family's property in South Texas and basically being told by the government "too bad, sorry we can't help you out".
152 posted on 04/12/2006 7:03:08 AM PDT by af_vet_rr
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To: Sub-Driver

I feel like I am on a sinking ship. The last life boat jest left without me. The captain of the life boat says look, we will take this keg of beer and come back and get you. I, being naive and trusting, say ok.

Water is up to my shins and I am thinking I hope they come back soon... when the light goes on.

Its not that these people dont have a clue, its just tha they dont care.


153 posted on 04/12/2006 7:04:36 AM PDT by truemiester (If the U.S. should fail, a veil of darkness will come over the Earth for a thousand years)
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To: truemiester
Its not that these people dont have a clue, its just tha they dont care.

There are two things almost all politicians care about - campaign donations and votes. They are lobbyied not to care in order to get campaign donations, and the campaign donations insure that they can spend the money they need to get the votes.

We can blame the politicians all we want, but the fact is, we keep electing the same damn people and wondering why nothing's changing.
154 posted on 04/12/2006 7:30:47 AM PDT by af_vet_rr
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Comment #155 Removed by Moderator

To: Sub-Driver
Frist has said he intends to bring the issue back to the Senate floor, although he stopped short of a flat commitment
Wow! I'm impressed. Frist intends to do something, but he is not committed to do it.

Is he gonna do it or not? Is he gonna bring up the immigration issue back to the Senate or not?

Frist makes Lott looks like He-man

156 posted on 04/12/2006 9:29:13 AM PDT by george wythe
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To: Clemenza
CALL HASTERT AND FRIST and let them know that we WILL NOT let ourselves be held hostage by a bunch of Cholo busboys and dishwashers!

LOL! You forgot the Cholo maids who clean Frist condo in Ft Lauderdale. Frist is scared of cleaning his own place.

157 posted on 04/12/2006 9:31:09 AM PDT by george wythe
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To: Regulator
It's violating labor laws, tax laws, document fraud, welfare fraud, driving laws (you drove a car without a license and insurance for 5 years?), a whole laundry list of felonies that already exist on the books.

Do the Spineless Ones propose to issue a blanket amnesty for all the rest of us who may have fractured a few of these laws, or are we held to a different standard than the average criminal alien?

Good points. Have your ever asked that question to our Congress critters? I'm curious to see how they will try to wiggle out of that one.
158 posted on 04/12/2006 9:33:50 AM PDT by george wythe
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To: Sub-Driver

Como se dicé, "Falta de Huevos"? Because it's totally appropriate in this case.


159 posted on 04/12/2006 9:35:12 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana (Hey, Washington, which laws do I get to break?)
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To: Regulator
A woman in Phoenix quoted on ABC radio ( ! ) yesterday had it right (a Mrs. Marquez, who was described as a citizen): "What about all the poor people in Mexico who are so afraid of breaking American laws that they didn't come here illegally? The people who came here missed some basic things that you learn in Kindergarten, like getting in line" - maybe not the exact quote, but close. I was amazed to hear that on ABC...
This lady makes an excellent point. Nevertheless, I would like to submit that there is also another side to the story.

The line jumpers belong to a self-selected group of people who are driven. They have what it takes to become entrepreneurs and succeed in a capitalist society.

My high school friends who had small scraps with the law and were borderline delinquents are now successful business owners. The passive types, always-do-their-homework students, are doing well as middle class professionals working for the "C" students. The "average" students were driven and willing to take risks; the marketplace rewards those types generously.

160 posted on 04/12/2006 9:43:17 AM PDT by george wythe
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