Posted on 04/14/2006 9:56:20 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Reid and Pelosi: Spin Doesn't Change The Mean-Spirited House Republican Immigration Bill
4/14/2006 12:42:00 PM
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
Contact: Jim Manley or Rebecca Kirszner, Reid, 202-224-2939; or Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider, Pelosi, 202-226-7616
WASHINGTON, April 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement on Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist's support of the Sensenbrenner amendment, which would criminalize an entire population of immigrants:
"Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist's statement on immigration this week is a clear reflection that Republicans now feel the heat from the American people on the mean-spirited approach of the House Republican immigration bill, H.R. 4437, authored by Congressman James Sensenbrenner.
"The statement serves to underline a key fact: that the Republican Leaders of both the House and Senate support the criminalization of an entire population of immigrants by expressing support of an amendment that would have authorized 6- month jail sentences.
"No amount of spin by the Republican leadership can change the fact that the Sensenbrenner bill -- including the felony provision -- was authored by Republicans and ultimately passed by Republicans.
"The fact is that Congressman Sensenbrenner's amendment, if adopted, would have still criminalized an entire population for the first time in our history, rather than charging presence violations as civil offenses as provided under current law. 11 million men, women, and children, with no exceptions, would still go to jail for up to six months under the revised Sensenbrenner amendment. That is why many Democrats voted against the Sensenbrenner amendment.
"As we consider immigration reform, Democrats believe that we must protect and defend the American people by protecting our borders. As we do so, we must also protect and defend our values as Americans with comprehensive, humane, and realistic immigration
(Excerpt) Read more at releases.usnewswire.com ...
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
" Democrats believe that we must protect and defend the American people by protecting our borders"
No amount of spin is going to convince anyone of that, either, dearest Pelosi.
It's not fair that the law discriminates against those who break it!!!
Just build the wall and streamline/expedite processes for deportation. Along with some very heavy fines for crimalean employers, should begin to turn the tide.
...like the dem stand on slavery, jim crow, literacy requirements for voting and trying to stop civil rights...
So we are not going to criminalize anyone who breaks the law? NO misdeanor, nothing etc. Give everyone here amnesty and no arrests of anyone in the future who comes here illegally?
WE must be losing our minds in this country.
So, this whole meme about "making all aliens felons" is about an amendment that didn't pass? Boy, don't tell the MSM or the demonstrators, they'll be heartbroken. Funny thing is, I read through the text of the house bill, as passed, and didn't find any blanket felony provision. Did I overlook it, or was there never one in the first place, just an amendment that failed passage?
Gee, we're back to 'mean spirited' again. Last time I heard that was when the Dems ran out of facts during the Clinton impeachment. Apparently they're only in favor of laws against law breaking if those laws don't hurt the law breaker's feelings.
But I thought the rats where going to get tough on illegal immigration..
Maybe they should be taken seriously.
The last time Democrats spoke in favor of maintainng slavery, they seceded from the union.
Here's a partial answer....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101643.html
Apparently, the Republicans offered an amendment to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor, and all but 8 Democrats voted against it. They're now claiming that was okay, because they 'weren't helping the bill get passed.'
Congressman JD Hayworth (R-Arizona) remains apologetic. He has been pushing for the felony provision for a long time.
It was no accident. The bill was written by the law-and-order caucus of the Republican House.
Now running from their conservative law-and-order Republicans, like Hayworth, will really help Republicans. Not.
By the way, Hayworth looks very well on TV. He's telegenic and excellent at destroying the Democratic talking points.
Republicans proposed HR 4437, an amendment to our current Immigration and Naturazition Act. HR 4437 will make illegal presence in the US a criminal offense, and in the original version, illegal presense is also a felony.
After the White House protested, Sensenbrenner offered an amendment to make illegal presense a misdemeanor instead of a felony.
Democrats believing that Republicans had overreached joined 65 law-and-order Republicans to oppose the Sensenbrenner amendment.
The original language stayed, and the overwhelming Republican caucus voted for the whole bill.
The "illegal presense is a felony" was introduced by Republicans.
Now trying to blame the Democrats is lame. After all, the Democrats want the status quo, which is a civil violation (fine), not jail time. And most illegal aliens don't even know the difference between a felony or a misdemeanor. All they know is that the Republicans want to make them criminals, instead of civil offenders.
thanks, I will probably need this for my political debates with the left later.
Okay... here's Sensenbrenner's actual comments as he introduced the amendment. Among other things, he points out that illegal entry is ALREADY a crime under existing law.
"Mr. Chairman, under current law, illegal entry into the United States makes an alien subject to a Federal criminal misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison. However, unlawful presence itself, such as by overstaying a visa, is not a criminal offense, but only a civil ground of inadmissibility.
Forty percent of the current illegal alien population entered legally, but overstayed their visas. The other 60 percent of the illegal alien population came here by illegal means and are therefore already subject to criminal penalties for committing a Federal criminal offense.
At the administration's request, the base bill makes unlawful presence a crime, such as unlawful entry already is. This change makes sense. Aliens who have disregarded our laws by overstaying their visas to remain in the United States illegally should be just as culpable as aliens who have broken our laws to enter and remain here illegally.
In the base bill, the maximum penalty for illegal entry was increased to a year and a day, and the same penalty was set for unlawful presence, to make the enhancements for these offenses consistent with the other penalty enhancements of the bill.
The administration subsequently requested the penalty for these crimes be lowered to 6 months. Making the first offense a felony, as the base bill would do, would require a grand jury indictment, a trial before a district court judge and a jury trial.
Also because it is a felony, the defendant would be able to get a lawyer at public expense if the defendant could not afford the lawyer. These requirements would mean that the government would seldom if ever actually use the new penalties. By leaving these offenses as misdemeanors, more prosecutions are likely to be brought against those aliens whose cases merit criminal prosecution.
For this reason, the amendment returns the sentence for illegal entry to its current 6 months and sets the penalty for unlawful presence at the same level. Some have argued that this provision would require 11 million prosecutions. That is not true. Prosecutorial resources are limited, and authorities would rather quickly deport an alien whose only offense is to be here unlawfully rather than to prosecute and have to detain that alien pending trial.
Even if an alien were prosecuted under this provision, a conviction of unlawful presence would not prevent an alien from some day attaining legal status or even citizenship if the alien would otherwise qualify.
Making unlawful presence a crime, however, would serve as a greater deterrence to aliens overstaying their visas. For these reasons, I ask that the Members support this amendment."
Glad to hear from the our 'lies are the truth' crowd.
I'm confused! How does this fit in with the coming asteroid impact and the price of tea in China? How about a group hug people!
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