Posted on 09/29/2006 9:06:48 PM PDT by mdittmar
Republicans will go into the elections with a message that they've made great strides fighting illegal immigration, including authorizing a fence along one-third of the U.S.-Mexico border and making a $1.2 billion down payment on it.
Among its final tasks before leaving to campaign, the Senate on Friday night passed and sent to President Bush a bill authorizing 700 new miles of fencing on the southern border. No one knows how much it will cost, but a separate bill also on the way to the White House makes a $1.2 billion down payment on it. A 14-mile segment of fence under construction in San Diego is costing $126.5 million.
The fence bill was passed by the House two weeks ago. The Senate vote on it Friday night was 80-19.
In addition to money for starting work on the fence, a homeland security bill passed Friday by the House and later by the Senate includes $380 million to hire 1,500 more Border Patrol agents and money to build detention facilities to hold 6,700 more illegal immigrants until they can be deported.
"We have made giant steps in terms of our ability to control illegal immigration," House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters.
The fence bill became House Republicans' immigration focus in September after they abandoned President Bush's call to bring millions of illegal immigrants into the American mainstream.
In addition to the money in the Homeland Security spending bill, Boehner cited Bush's deployment of the National Guard on the border and more frequent arrests of illegal immigrants at work sites.
"The perception that has been painted mistakenly is that the United States government, our Congress is not delivering to the American people on a huge problem that's out there," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "We're active."
Democrats and immigration advocates say Republicans can hardly claim victory.
House Republicans failed to win measures for deporting immigrant gang members and empowering local police to enforce immigration laws. Their biggest obstacle turned out to be another Republican, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the border security achievements trumpeted by Republicans don't measure up to the more comprehensive reforms her party backed. What the GOP calls achievements fall "very far short of what Democrats have proposed over and over and over again," she said.
After a debate that stretched over three months, the Senate in May passed a sweeping immigration bill that combined tougher border enforcement measures with new guest worker programs and a plan to give millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. a shot at citizenship.
Despite Bush's ringing endorsement of the measure, the House would have no part of it, sticking to the bill it passed five months earlier that would treat illegal immigrants and people who offer them aid as felons.
Rather than negotiate a compromise with the Senate, Republican leaders plucked out many provisions of the House bill for new votes in both the House and Senate over the past two weeks.
"It's been two years of high visibility, high volume debate in terms of which way to go in the immigration system," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. In the end the debate ended in a tie, he said.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., called the fence "a bumper sticker solution for a complex problem."
"It's a feel-good plan that will have little effect in the real world," he said. "We all know what this is about. It may be good politics, but it's bad immigration policy. That's not what Americans want."
Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., made a 11th-hour appeal to colleagues to include in the fence bill a measure to help the agriculture industry, which relies heavily on undocumented workers.
Those workers have become harder to find because of increased border enforcement and availability of jobs for the workers in construction and other industries, they said. Consumers ultimately will pay the price for that at the grocery store, they added.
"Pickers are few and the growers blame Congress," Craig said, reading a news headline. "The growers ought to blame Congress. They ought to blame a government that has been dysfunctional in an area of immigration that has been problem for decades."
I blame you, Senator, for having ridiculous labor, enviornmental, and tax laws that cause businesses to seek out illegal labor in the first place.
I completely disagree. Putting Democrats in office to punish Republicans for the border mess is nonsensical, akin to jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
The Republicans will fix the borders if we the people demand they do so. Until recently, we have not demanded it, not in any organized, coherant way. That has changed, and with it, government policy is changing. All of these positive policy proposals have come from Republicans.
Putting the Democrats in charge would be a disaster--regarding tax and economic policy, the WOT, social policy, borders and immigration and every other policy I can think of.
That said, it is still my opinion that Republicans will do nothing to actually stop the flood of border violators, completely sealing up the entire southern border, regulating its cross traffic, deporting those who are here and punishing those who illegally employ them.
GOP leadership is far more concerned with capturing the Latin vote and not endangering our economic arrangements with Mexico.
Have I advocated putting the democrats in? A reading of my above statements demonstrates that I have not advocated that, have not recommended it, urged it or agitated for it. Again, what I have said is that the GOP will only protect our southern border if they are voted out. Personally, I don't plan to do that. So, in my case, they have "called my bluff." IMO, we are simply stuck with this problem unless enough Republicans and undecideds get angry enough in November to actually pull the plug on the GOP, consequences be d*mned. If that happens, the border problem (among many others) will get worse until the GOP gets back in control. Of course, this is just my own humble opinion.
I think taking the half a loaf we've been offered now, with the goal of pushing for the rest of the loaf as soon as possible, is the best strategy. I don't believe in firing politicians who are doing most of the things I want done.
If we fire the Republicans now over the border issue, that will send the message that border security isn't a winning issue for Republicans, exactly the opposite message from the one we want to send.
Unless I run for office, and I won't, I will never agree 100% with any politician or political party. For all their faults, the Republicans are way ahead of the Democrats on this and every other issue I care about, and I'm not a cut-off-my-nose-to-spite-my-face type of person.
But elected Republicans have notoriously short memories... 1976... 1992... 1996...
They seem to have no idea how much rage there is about the border. Having seen it, I'm well aware of it. Not anger. Rage.
I wonder if any illegals will help build it.
A fence has to be the first step in any realistic plan to deal with illegal immigration. Did you know that illegals deported to Mexico now return to the US within hours or days? Sending illegals back sounds good, but until the border is secure it means nothing.
We'll,they would just "be doing the work Americans won't do".
And their close;)
"Republicans will go into the elections with a message that they've made great strides fighting illegal immigration,"
As will the Democrats who voted for it. What they and this article fail to tell us is that of the 700 miles of fencing approved, only 300 miles has been funded. 300 miles.
"Great strides" will not prevent illegals, including terrorists, from crossing the border. Until the entire border is secured, there is NO border security.
Bush, had he been the least bit concerned about border security instead of his own agenda, should have deployed our military (armed) to secure the border on 9/12 and should have remained there until a wall was approved, funded and built.
Nice you have feelings. Perhaps you should have the Doctor up the dosage on your anti paronia medication.
Bush signed the legisation. One part of my predictions has occurred. Now, we'll see what happens AFTER the mid-term elections. That's when the rest of my predictions will come to pass. I'll get back to you to rub it in as each shoe drops. Ready for that? Ready to be wrong?
The $1.2 billion is IN the bill. They can start NOW since the bill is for THIS fiscal year. Some times paranoia and cheap cynical ranting is nothing but NOISE. The con men in various activist groups see their rice bowl being taken away if action is actually taken on the border. They don't want the dupes donating to their PACs and Activist groups going away so they scream nonsense and noise. Conservatives should be smart enough to be a suspicious of the Activists as they are of the Politicians. Just because some activist group or Talking Head is sending out emails telling you what you want to hear does NOT mean they are telling your the truth. The bill just signed today is reality. All the "well I heard" rumormongering about "what happens next" is nonsense.
The bill just signed today is reality.
You know, you are so politically naive. The alleged funding is only enough to build one short part of the fence, not the whole thing. It's only partially funded, ding dong. Plus, it's what's going to happen AFTER the mid-terms that counts. That's when we'll get the "well we passed the border fence bill so now let's get on with amnesty and a guest worker program" part will hit the fan. But I can't convince you of the obvious, so we'll let it sit here. But I'll be back to you as the sh*t hits the fan once the elections are over.
They have too much of an incentive to come here in the first place. We don't need anything new in America, we just need to enforce the laws already on the books. The fence is just another lame excuse congress gives the taxpayers to tax the living crap out of them and steal American taxpayer's money. This is all about congress's control of our money and our property.
And further more, the Mexican government does not fear America. A few military threats sent their way and we wouldn't need a patrol this side of the border.
I’m still waiting for the completion date...anyone? Anyone? Buehler???
Teddy Kennedy... “Hello?” Phhhhhhhhhht!!!
$1.2 billion? Get illegals to work on it, they'll do it for a fifth of this price!
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